E-commerce brought the whole new era of Retail.
One need to know how this came and what does this mean.
E-COMMERCE involves all the money transaction such as selling purchasing or exchange of products online done over the internet. The term also refers to the stock & bond transaction, buying and downloading software without actually walking in the store.
Also, eCommerce includes business-to-business connections that make purchasing easier for the businesses.
The online shopping call the eCommerce has evolved within years with certain technologies that have come in picture and evolved within years-
- Computerization and internal networking called the Internal Computerization
- Extension of the Internal network to suppliers, such that they can get access to a database called the Electronic Data Interchange
- Extension of external network giving Internet connectivity to End- Users
- Money transaction, buying and selling over the internet called the eCommerce
As the internet is growing the mediums for marketing, advertising and purchasing and selling have grown in rival ways. Tech giants like Amazon entered the market in 1995 and them, later came down PayPal in 1998. The overall e-commerce continuation had accelerated in last decade, the most impactful changes that have taken place in past few years, which will continue to dominate in 2018 are-
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- Online Marketplaces at a BOOM!
- Shift Towards Mobile Shopping- mCommerce
- Growth in Online and Digital Marketing
ONLINE MARKETPLACES
As an online seller, what do you want? A readymade platform to sell your products to reach an extensive ready-to-buy customer base.
These online marketplaces are very popular selling channels providing an online seller with the platform to reach out a large number of customers. There are around 63% sellers who sell only through marketplaces and 55% have a profit margin of above 20%.
Various marketplaces have been dominating the online retail in various countries, such that there is Amazon in the USA, Alibaba Group in China and Flipkart in the South Asian region. Since 2014, the world largest marketplaces have grown 51.7% over three year period.
With these marketplaces available there are some big players in the race such as Amazon, it has changed the way how people consume with an added layer of convenience. Amazon launched its mobile eCommerce site in 2001 and continue to lead innovation in the eCommerce market.
With online marketplaces, consumers find a range of product offerings, compare prices, brands, read reviews and purchase products below the MRP.
Not only buying & selling of products has taken a new turn but also there is a lot of selling services online through these marketplaces. Magento is one such example, it is an eCommerce content management system allowing users to create an online store. Magento stands tall with 26.1% of market representation.
M-COMMERCE
Going more technically, mCommerce is the act of buying and selling of products, goods or services through wireless handheld devices. A way of paying services using a mobile phone or personal organizer.
mCommerce has come a long way, it is one of the most important evolutions as it has the ability to browse, compare and shop from beautiful mobile sites and apps via smartphones or tablet. Consumers can make purchasing decisions and buy products without even entering a brick and mortar store.
Read some stats –
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- 56% of the people feel mobile shopping makes their buying experience more enjoyable.
- 48% of the consumers use their mobile to look up product rating or promotions.
- 62% of the mobile users said that they have purchased physical good from their mobile devices.
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The mobile market has proven its importance over the years and these data show that it will continue that way only. Mobile applications create more interactivity and engagement and push notifications are an advantage that mobile shopping apps pose. Push notification helps in re-engaging customers and promote sales.
DIGITAL MARKETING
The increase in the use of mobile devices and the mobile optimization of eCommerce has impacted a lot in the way companies connect with consumers. Most of the mobile users keep their smartphones handy and are available all the time to marketers and advertisers.
Digital marketing is definitely more inexpensive than traditional marketing. Online and digital marketing campaigns have completely replaced previous methods of marketing to consumers. Now marketers are directly hinging to the places where the consumers are likely to be present or spend more time at.
The key ingredients of DIGITAL MARKETING include-
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- Social Media
- EMail marketing
- Analytics and reporting
- Paid Advertising
- Search Engine Optimization
- Web Design
- Blog
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Digital marketing helps you to reach out a maximum number of consumers, do client-specific marketing, is versatile i.e you can make changes to the advertising and provides you with immediate communication with your clients.
The evolution of these eCommerce technologies has changed the way people buy and sell online. In the future when VI(virtual reality) and AI (augmented reality) will find its way into the mainstream & surely dominate the future.
Also, if you are into buying & selling of goods and services then it is the time to follow the trends. Go with the latest technologies and build your own online store. Start to sell online with a beautifully designed website with ready-made themes from ThemeJungle.
