In the modern business landscape, eCommerce has been an area which has seen substantial growth over the last few decades. That growth has accelerated exponentially over the last few years, so ensuring your business has an effective eCommerce strategy is often a key part of securing success within your industry.
Why an eCommerce strategy is essential
As the reach of digital technologies has grown and become an intrinsic part of how we live our lives, the impact of a successful eCommerce presence has also increased.
The market share of eCommerce vs. traditional high street entities has recently seen greater shifts towards online sales gaining on physical store sales. In fact, according to recent research 20.70% of people said they spend more online than they do in stores.
Any business competing against other brands in their industry without utilizing eCommerce is likely at a disadvantage, and those who’re using poorly designed eCommerce solutions are equally hampered.
Using an intuitive eCommerce platform, tailored to the exact requirements needed, can enhance your business capabilities in many ways. Lewis Sellers, Managing Director of Pinpoint, discussed why eCommerce is directly linked to the potential for future success:
“While the pandemic can be held responsible for accelerating the opportunities behind eCommerce, the change is here to stay.
Will a direct to consumer eCommerce website help you succeed? The number of direct to consumer brands were expected to grow by 71 percent in 2020 alone – so no matter what you do next, this isn’t a time to stay still.
If this is a business model that suits your business, don’t get left behind. Be in control of your future, protect your brand and serve your customers directly with full ownership over a direct to consumer (D2C) offering.”
The benefits of eCommerce
The power to connect directly to consumers
Having your own eCommerce presence gives you a greater degree of control over your connection with customers.
Enacting a D2C relationship allows you the opportunity to implement proper branding assets, drive traffic and sales seamlessly without directing to a third-party site, and creates a better customer journey overall.
Brand loyalty is a significant KPI for most businesses. eCommerce provides an opportunity to build that brand loyalty and trust through an effective eCommerce strategybecause of the direct connection between consumer and retailer.
The ability to capitalize on data
By managing your eCommerce activity, you can gain a greater understanding of how your consumers interact with your brand and the journey they take. This can allow you to make adjustments and optimize ineffective areas of your user experience (UX).
Data is a crucial tool for modern businesses to use, and it’s something you will get significantly less of with just physical approaches to sales. With a direct connection to customers comes personal data, spending habits and the opportunity to gather specific feedback. Not only can this support efforts to improve customer satisfaction for existing customers, but also in reaching out to new customers.
A presence that reaches wider audiences
An effective eCommerce strategy can uncover data which helps you to connect with consumer groups you hadn’t considered before. Geographical limitations can be overcome through an effective eCommerce presence and smart marketing activity. This can also afford businesses new routes toward expansion.
eCommerce offers consumers the convenience that is often missing from physical stores. Being able to browse during all hours of the day and ordering from anywhere in the world again provides the opportunity for businesses to reach wider and potentially more lucrative markets.
The chance to support business scaling
If growing your business is one of your goals over the next few years, a tactical eCommerce strategy can give you a method of supporting sales into new areas without requiring new physical presences or a considerable increase in resources that might overstretch your business.
Compared with brick-and-mortar businesses, eCommerce provides the unique ability to scale without increasing your overheads exponentially. This means that growth can occur in a more sustainable fashion and with less risk.
Is D2C the future of consumer relationships?
As Pinpoint highlighted, more businesses than ever are moving to a direct to consumer model and using eCommerce platforms to achieve this. Platforms like Magento allow businesses to create engaging and personalized shopping experiences, whilst also integrating into existing business systems.
Cutting out the middleman creates a better situation for both business and consumer, bringing the type of personalized retail experience expected from physical retail into the digital space. The recent global events have sped up this shift, with the results meaning that this trend is likely to continue for years to come.
Selecting the right eCommerce platform is the key to success when doing this for your business, so speaking to an expert like the ones over at Pinpoint can help you to find the solution that suits your business needs.
