According to FirstSiteGuide, a portal that compiles important blogs by experts, the main reason people shop online is because they can find what they want, whenever they want. It is more convenient since shoppers do not have to leave the comfort of their own homes. * It is estimated that by 2040, 95% of all purchases will be made through electronic commerce.
VTEX, one of our business partners, published a report titled Three Investments to Drive Ecommerce Growth. For the benefit of our clients, we are summarizing three of their recommendations to drive the growth and expansion of eCommerce in your business:
1.Invest in your existing
customers
Merchants and brands generally spend most of their budget on attracting new customers. However, 80% of their profits come from relationships with 20% of their most loyal clients. As a result, it is recommended that initiatives focus first on customer engagement, the collection of firsthand data, and integrating the use of multiple communication channels to engage with customers. For example, personalize messages, invest in customer data platforms, or create an initiative to allow for the collection of data and the use of the channels that customers use. After all, THE CLIENT IS THE CHANNEL.
This is an excellent recommendation because merchants often focus their efforts on attracting new customers, but it is more profitable to retain customers than to attract new ones.
2.Turn your inventory and process fulfillment
into your strengths.
According to the VTEX report, 55% of brands are still in the early stages of the omnichannel maturity curve. Although not considered an exciting part of eCommerce, top brands are investing in omnichannel (inventory management, order management, and supply chain) to improve customer satisfaction. For this reason, it is recommended that initiatives focus on treating both inventory and fulfillment —the process from the moment the customer places an order until it arrives at their doorstep— as if it were a product being sold to the customer rather than treating it as just a task. For example, consolidate inventory across all your business channels and leverage technology solutions available in the market.
What a practical recommendation this is! Because when a merchant sells a product to a customer, they need to make sure that the customer is satisfied with every step of the process, from the moment they select the product in the store portal to how it reaches its destination. This is the key to a successful sale and determines how customers will refer the merchant to other buyers.
3.Engage with customers in
new ways
There are currently more eCommerce sites than ever before. Unfortunately, they all look the same. Brands and retailers are moving beyond the traditional eCommerce “experience in a box” and implementing new models that will help them stand out and lead to an improvement of over 40% in conversion rates. Taking all of this into account, we recommend the implementation of: live shopping (integrates video and visual elements), virtual store walkthroughs (customers can browse the store virtually and see what they are buying), conversational (chats), personal shoppers (sales associates offer advice on products), and conditional content (provides customers with product pages based on their profile and preferences), among others.
These recommendations apply to any type of business or merchant, and as noted in the report, merchants are encouraged to implement them as soon as possible. Electronic commerce has become ubiquitous in the business world, and Evertec is ready to give you that technological hand to guide you through the implementation process.
We would like to thank our business partner, VTEX, for sharing such an important report with us.
References:
- Jordan Jewell, Analyst in Residence and Director of Merchant Growth Strategy, VTEX, Three Investments to Drive Ecommerce Growth (White paper).
- *eCommerce Statistics, Facts, and Trends 2023 eCommerce Statistics (2023) – 33 Useful Stats and Facts (firstsiteguide.com)