E-commerce – the future is now
Do not take a risk, just get it started.
So what is e-commerce? In other words it’s online trading. A very broad term that applies to all online transactions. Every time an individual or company buys or sells products and services online is being engaged in the e-commerce process. This term also includes other activities like online banking, online auctions, all kinds of payment gateways and online ticket sales.
The first online transaction is credited to 1994, when a certain Phil Brandenberger used his Mastercard to buy a book online. It is this transaction that went down in history, because for the first time encryption technology was used to enable secure purchase on the web.
E-commerce is a future
This transaction gave rise to a new era of trade. In 2007, e-commerce in the United States accounted for only 5.6% of all retail purchases. For comparison, statistics carried out at the beginning of 2020 indicate that the percentage of total online sales accounts for as much as 16.0%. The study excluded the sale of products that are not usually bought online, such as fuel, cars and restaurant sales. If you list all the services that go to the online world, the percentage would be even higher. It is certain that the number increases at a dizzying pace.
There are many more statistics supporting the growing trend, e.g. according to 99 Firms, it is estimated that by 2040, 95% of all purchases will be done via e-commerce.
Due to a global pandemic, dozens of services and businesses have moved to the online zone, and the increase in weekly online orders for some European countries is up to 200%.
These types of commercial transactions are most often carried out using online stores, which in Poland at the end of 2018 were over 30,000, therefore in the rest of the article we will focus on this type of activity.
Why e-commerce?
From the client’s perspective, the main argument for which they shop online is convenience and 24/7 availability – over half of those surveyed by Entrepreneur in 2017 indicated that they prefer online shopping because of the ability to shop wherever and whenever they want. This is confirmed by the Status Labs portal, which in a consumer survey from 2018 showed that as many as 61% of people have a better opinion about brands that offer a good mobile experience.
Interestingly, about 93% of online shoppers declared that the appearance of the online store plays a key role in their purchasing decisions. So let’s make sure your future store is aesthetic and attractive in line with the latest trends.
The conclusion is obvious – the entrepreneur’s move towards e-commerce seems to be inevitable if you want to stay in the game. But how can you make your business development towards e-commerce effective? The answer is short – automation. Time is your most valuable resource and is limited. Automation saves time by doing a number of activities related to running an online store for you.
Tremendous possibilities
Today’s technology, which supports online sales in an automated manner, comes to the rescue in virtually all areas. Starting from content management systems on the website (CMS), through invoicing systems, inventory, relationship management systems (CRM), to advanced systems identifying customer needs and real-time communication (Marketing Automation). Thanks to such tools, we analyze our sales more thoroughly and more effectively forecast demand and build measurable profile of our client, which gives us the opportunity to better plan our strategy.
E-commerce automation can take many different forms, such as tagging clients for segmentation and marketing, standardizing visual merchandising, improving tracking and reporting, and suspending high-risk orders. The goal is the same for every workflow: simplifying tasks.
A good example of such automation is the issue of order processing: When the product is ready for pickup in the store, automatically launch an email, SMS or Facebook message to the customer’s address.
Another example of automation; In the field of resource control: When a product is unavailable – unpublish it in the store and send a message to an internal messenger or email to the marketing team so that they can pause advertising.
There are plenty of such solutions, which is why in the following articles I will focus on individual components of effective e-commerce systems.
After the implementation of new optimization solutions, time and work resources can be shifted to other tasks. We will be able to spend more time promoting our products on the web and creating new marketing strategies. Thanks to this, we will be able to reach our customers more effectively with our product.
Delegate your tasks
For an entrepreneur, entering the e-commerce zone is a definite extension of sales horizons and a response to today’s consumer standards.
However, creating a prosperous online store requires the selection of appropriate tools together so that they work stably and efficiently, and at the same time do not burden the operation of the site and do not limit its aesthetic values. To optimize the operation of the store, it seems inevitable to analyze the whole mass of tools available on the market which might be an enormous time consumer.
You can also seek specialist advice. At Giraffe Studio, we know a lot about creating complex e-commerce systems and we are happy to share our knowledge. We will help you choose the right tools and design your dream store.
If you’re interested, write to us or give us a call and arrange a free consultation.
