On the topic of ecommerce, one wonders to what extent this business model is applicable, and where is it likely to end? This is the prime question that goes through most online retailers, entrepreneurs today. It’s the extent of this phenomenon that has resulted in soaring businesses across the world. Some of the many ecommerce examples include Alibaba, Newegg, Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Target.
The Rise of Ecommerce
The rise of ecommerce started in 2001 – during the growth of the commercial availability of the internet in households. This was also the time when major companies set up their online properties to sell and buy products. This new shift impacted as much as a 4% improvement in total sales of brands that had made the shift.
One of the most common perceptions, according to brand surveys at the time, was how ecommerce had changed the playing field for the brick and mortar stores. Here, consumers saw the price and also got the opportunity to place things on their wish list.
For most online vendors, this new revenue model was a significant change in the way brands set advertising campaigns. The breakthrough here is how smaller online shops found a platform that helped them reach the global market and be a part of this new rising phenomenon.
It’s during the rise of this revenue model; banks found a way to increase their presence by pushing development in online payment gateways like Paypal, VISA, etc.
Furthermore, this was the time Amazon became more popular in the market. The idea of being able to purchase a kettle, water cooler, laptop, or even a lawnmower with just the click of a few buttons took the market by storm.
By 2009, the success of this ecommerce model was more evident.
Brands started working towards creating their online portals to push for sales online while continuing their brick and mortar operations. According to big stats, Amazon’s ecommerce portal had started pulling about 6.1 million annual customers.
This transition from the traditional business model to a complete online sales became a popular revenue trend during this time.
Dell – the American multinational computer technology firm had broken the barrier of a million-dollar online sales back in 1994.
Tech companies realized it’s easier to host an ecommerce website than open a shop and pay for the warehouse as well. It’s as crucial to know standard practices that entrepreneurs sometimes tend to overlook. This, more often than not, results in a lack of optimization and the inability to cash in potential goals.
The Ecommerce Traps and Potholes
To be able to pick up on cost-effective sales, it’s essential to understand why and how ecommerce has become a success story. Let me clear this point with an example here.
You have your business venture ready, you’ve bought the domain and hosting, and prepared to be famous. But there’s a catch 22. Perhaps there is more than one problem that wasn’t taken into consideration.
A basic search on Google shows several ecommerce portals selling the same products that your business sells.
But your brand’s name is nowhere to be seen. You’ve somehow ignored some of the new practices based on your location to optimize your website. Search Engine optimization, along with ignorance of some primary content fields of your ecommerce store, can make the difference in pushing your name within the market.
Webstore Optimization
If you feel that you’re finding it hard to survive the giant of ecommerce, due to the never-ending capital spending, here’s some good news for you. While we’re on the topic of the products, an essential part of portraying your products is through the product description page.
One should also know that the content placed there serves more purposes than just for customers to see.
Factors such as mobile incompatibility, where the active mobile users browsing through the store on their smartphone device could lose interest in your store due to the lack of mobile responsive design, plays a considerable part.
User interface and user experience are also two of the most critical factors that you must consider for improving the brand image of your ecommerce store for your customers.
Moreover, the seamless navigation of the ecommerce store is vital for the users. They may not give in to clicking the purchase button, but chances are these users will likely revisit the store and check on new products that are now available. This is where customer retention comes into play.
An excellent place to start is Google’s shopping ecommerce portal.
You can easily integrate this portal with different social media channels. It also provides pre-configured analytics. You’ll get the advantage of placing SEO optimized content, which is more likely to rank in the searches.
Eventually, when the ball gets rolling, one can always migrate their ecommerce store and host it on an independent infrastructure.
Customer Reviews and Engagements
When your ecommerce starts making sales, it’s crucial to cash-in testimonials from these customers for the site. People are likely to trust a brand more, which has authentic and unbiased customer reviews. Hence, it’s also essential to keep the tone as natural as possible.
Readers of these testimonials feel more curious about the brand’s products.
Here, acts such as social media endorsements work best. Social media implants awareness regarding top trends. Using these can aid in terms of co-campaigning will push your brand’s awareness.
So mixing up the content with videos, product write-ups can make all the difference in showing a fresh people-centric brand engagement.
Marketing Channels
Businesses can also mix up channels of marketing for their brands. With so many distribution channels available, it can be confusing to know which method works best with which product.
The use of an email marketing strategy is a popular choice when it comes to higher conversion rates. A personalized email to a susceptible user is likely to land him on your business’ landing page.
Furthermore, it’s vital to run analytics and update the brand persona, as one needs to know what the market perception about the brand is. Analytics are also essential to get a gist of where customers land on the page, and at what point of the purchase journey do they lose interest in your ecommerce store.
Think of the analytics as an assistant that provides you with what customers are seeking.
Why they end up on the online store, and to some extent, their search intent? The rise of ecommerce is likely to prevail more prolonged than expected. However, competition for brand visibility is evident. People benefit from a more convenient, affordable, and attractive offer at the end of the day.
Becoming a part of the top-tier ecommerce stores is a journey on its own.
It’s essential to understand the risks involved in terms of cyber attacks, scams, and social media frauds that become hurdles in the way of success.
If you wish to know more about successful cyberattacks or ways of improving your website’s visibility – be sure to write to us.
Salman Saleem
Digital Marketer & Developer
Salman Saleem is a software engineering graduate and digital marketer by profession. He works as a Digital Marketer at Cloudways where he looks after Brands AWS, DigitalOcean & Google. He loves to create value for the Startup community & help entrepreneurs reach their goal. He is a big fan of cricket and does play AAA games in his free time.
