The retail world is in its biggest revolutionary phase; before the emergence of eCommerce website the latest big things was adopting the bar code scanner over the hand held pricing guns. Since then there have been constant revolutions in the eCommerce industry. Even in the small corner shop, you are likely to come across the former one, although you will always come across a handful retailers holding on to the tradition. The consumers are moving from physical shopping to virtual shopping at a fast pace. In today’s world eCommerce is no longer a word only used by some small part of the demographics; it has become a common term that is used by 99% of the population. Yet there is a question in the minds of the retailers and the online buyers that where eCommerce goes next.
Here some of the future insights in accordance with the current growth trend in the ecommerce industry
Social Media
The social media websites have witnessed tremendous growth and in the near future they will gain more importance in the lives of individuals and businesses. The social media websites had a limited spectrum earlier, however now it’s a completely different picture altogether. Just like the social media websites are used for connecting with people and sharing information, in the coming future, the social media websites will become a prominent part of the eCommerce industry. The consumers will use the social media platform for discussing and comparing the products. For the online store owners, this is an important opportunity to forecast the consumer purchasing behavior by listing, following and analyzing the social networking websites. For eCommerce websites social media is an easy and rewarding platform and they must start capitalizing on it right away. Set up an online store in accordance with all the information and demographics you collect, this will prove beneficial in the long run.
Mobile / Smart Phones
Use of smart phones and handheld devices is the next big thing in the eCommerce industry. After laptops, people have got hooked on to the smart phones for daily tasks like reading news, getting information, booking tickets, paying bills, checking emails, banking and also for checking out the latest page 3 paparazzi; it’s the same with eCommerce industry as well. This goes on to say that the online stores must work rigorously for optimizing the websites for the smart phones and handheld devices. As the number of smart phone users increase, the mobile industry is getting closely associated with the eCommerce industry. Even if you have a website that can be accessed and used through a mobile, you are sure to get a better exposure.
Discount Codes
Over the past years there has been a significant increase in the number of discount codes being accessed through group buying strategies and mobile coupons. Online merchants have found new ways to approach the customers through discount code distribution companies like GroupOn that consists of a network of more than 50 million subscribers. Such kind of companies send deals and coupon codes straight to the email or mobile inbox of the subscriber. The trend of popularity of the discount codes will continue to increase in 2012, however merchants will have to identify efficient ways to use them for driving loyalty rather than just limiting them to one-time opportunistic purchases.
International Reach
The eCommerce industry widens the spectrum for consumers and merchants in terms of providing with better opportunities so that they can reach beyond the traditional boundaries. This will certainly be a growing trend in 2012 and for the coming years as well. Expanding the business oversees presents with a whole new array of prospects that can be easily accessed through the online channel. The online merchants are making the complete use of the opportunities abroad and are shaping up their websites to offer the international customers with their preferred mode of payment. eCommerce businesses of all sizes are gaining benefit from this; international reach is specifically beneficial for the smaller businesses who have traditionally only sold to the consumers in their geographic region.
Having said that, it is also true that while widening the spectrum of eCommerce business, the online merchants should be cautious in terms of providing the additional payment methods. They must consider the further compliance requirements and also take the necessary security steps for avoiding the risk of fraudulent transactions. If you sign up with a good eCommerce hosting provider, you will be provided with a safer platform to work on and thereby capitalize on the eCommerce industry in a better way.
Key Takeaways
Rapid Pace Of Growth
As far as an eCommerce business in India is concerned the market is smaller in comparison to the other eCommerce markets in the developed nations; however it is growing at the fastest pace. There is a sizeable opportunity for the retailers as the online population is willing to spend more and buy quality stuff online.
Inflated Expectations Of The Online Shoppers
Similar to most of the emerging eCommerce markets; the retailers in India are taking all the necessary steps to provide a great online shopping experience to the customers. The online shoppers can see good deals along with free or low cost shipping costs.
Localization Is Also Crucial
As far as India is concerned, in order to gain success, it is important for the Indian online store owners to go along with the local eCommerce trends. One of the key focus areas for the companies would be – focusing on providing with localized payment and fulfillment options.
The online retailers are experiencing a totally new way of doing business. The growth trend in the eCommerce industry provides them with a unique opportunity to capture consumer mind share and wallet share if they succeed in delivering consistent experiences and enable unique multichannel commerce behaviors before their competitors do so. When it comes to eCommerce industry, having a powerful website will also be a crucial factor. This is because competition is fierce, so any loading issue with your website might straightaway induce the customer to go on some other website. For avoiding this, it is important to consider an eCommerce web hosting package that is full fledged and provides with all the necessary software applications as well. Considering all the factors it can be said that it is the right time to be a part of this industry as the future looks promising.
