tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965764948940587012024-03-29T00:43:40.907-07:00The SELLinALL Blog"SELLinALL partners with you on your ecommerce journey to reach more buyers, increase sales and scale your business beyond borders"SellinAll Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06313123690503126958noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-11807658798139468972022-06-20T20:13:00.000-07:002022-06-20T20:13:56.411-07:00Buy Online, Pickup in Store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1Q6qbMBLmnAKE-t0hCQv2BzLJ1FNku51uBoLJ9-G6-jQPnejEIjovZa0chAXzt7rtcqKydxQj7tGxx8bLEBKSZjsgdQMBxVU_Rx1k-0bGPvc45N2tOYVH3VVx9uelAkWN6ezYa1wVl75N9RaIUVPIK9997PocIZ5lkmnIbTA2xDfpL8Muqxhxd94Qg/s512/BOPIS%20Cover%20original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit1Q6qbMBLmnAKE-t0hCQv2BzLJ1FNku51uBoLJ9-G6-jQPnejEIjovZa0chAXzt7rtcqKydxQj7tGxx8bLEBKSZjsgdQMBxVU_Rx1k-0bGPvc45N2tOYVH3VVx9uelAkWN6ezYa1wVl75N9RaIUVPIK9997PocIZ5lkmnIbTA2xDfpL8Muqxhxd94Qg/w567-h284/BOPIS%20Cover%20original.jpg" width="567" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A National Retail Federation study on Consumer Views in late October 2019 revealed that70% of the survey participants would pay for a Buy-online, pick-up-in-store service (BOPIS).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">BOPIS has emerged as a convenient option not only for consumers but retailers that invested in brick-and-mortar stores. Growth in online retail sales was overtaking traditional brick-and-mortar retail before the pandemic and BOPIS was being adopted by top retailers. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020, a Digital Commerce 360 survey in late 2020 showed results that 43.7% of the top 500 retailers with physical stores were offering BOPIS — up from 6.9% before the pandemic started. BOPIS, also known as click-and-collect or curbside- pickup provides a safe, contact-free way to shop online and pick up the ordered items.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>In order to implement BOPIS, a retailer needs to implement the following tools:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1) A website or app where customers can shop and place orders for the products online</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2) A brick-and-mortar location where customers can pick up the products ordered. The physical location can be a storefront or warehouse and can be delivered in a package to a customer in a designated drop-off area outside the location. A storefront is more advantageous as it can entice an online buyer to peruse and buy more products inside the physical store. 67% of shoppers using BOPIS buy additional items, according to a survey conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3) A real-time integrated inventory management system that can update both the retailer and consumers the current availability of a product across locations, physical or digital and schedule pick-up.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #660000;">The benefits of BOPIS for customers and retailers are evident.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1) Instead of waiting for delivery of the product which can be queued with other outbound orders, customers can pick up their orders immediately after buying their order. In the US and Canada, last-mile delivery still poses a challenge for retailers and customers, either being expensive or time-consuming. BOPIS offers a convenient and quicker option for the customer, helping retailers to provide a simpler and smoother customer experience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">2) Picking up from a physical location result in reduced prices as customers do not have to pay for extra shipping. Retailers do not have to invest in logistics infrastructure or find logistics providers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">3) BOPIS also lets returns or exchanges be quicker. Customers do not have to pay for return shipping if any, or wait for a long time for refunds or exchanged products. Customers can directly return or exchange the product/s at the physical location.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZAGvz3LSNwfr3x2xgpo1ld0Iwo9iKWPysQ-3ZaBUX-O7y0Droo8psuD-n8tEXYlmwwCZ_qT9cEeKbUOTLe3_AnSpCFLS7huPbXPS9uYR0UMYLThzShwkL_0oZp34DVTfa7vOTa11geQYHGpAwJycGk0Y8eoOy5DznakXhGdg8qWVCnTdq_pTXKmkPg/s873/BOPIS%20Info.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="512" height="703" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjZAGvz3LSNwfr3x2xgpo1ld0Iwo9iKWPysQ-3ZaBUX-O7y0Droo8psuD-n8tEXYlmwwCZ_qT9cEeKbUOTLe3_AnSpCFLS7huPbXPS9uYR0UMYLThzShwkL_0oZp34DVTfa7vOTa11geQYHGpAwJycGk0Y8eoOy5DznakXhGdg8qWVCnTdq_pTXKmkPg/w413-h703/BOPIS%20Info.jpg" width="413" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">An additional benefit for the retailer is that they can use existing physical store locations as fulfillment centers. Real estate prices are prone to appreciation it has been observed In North America that there has been a drop in mall visitors over the past few decades.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many brick-and-mortar retail giants, such as Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Petco, have adopted best practices in online retail, including implementing BOPIS as a convenient option for the customers. Conversely, online retailers or direct-to-consumer brands are opening physical stores to strengthen the consumer community, offer BOPIS and improve customer fulfillment. In May 2022, Amazon opened its first physical retail fashion store. Amazon has been opening physical stores since 2015 with a bookstore and then its acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017. But the recent opening confirms that brick-and-mortar stores will grow after COVID 19 and will be important in retail strategy.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The critical success factor for BOPIS is an integrated real-time inventory system across physical locations and digital stores. 58% of customers prefer flexible, blended shipping options, according to The Future of Commerce Trends Report 2022. Successful implementation of BOPIS results in delivering a consistent omnichannel retail experience for the customer.</div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-47581435721886598422022-05-22T21:17:00.000-07:002022-05-22T21:17:36.733-07:00Loyalty Program : Buy Now, Pay Later <p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2ZDUAW6T809qKXEZs70cVyx_8NxqDdmma7nUgrWh6eH6jblw6_nGu7tyRAblrpTkBA_SueENVqHWO6Xh_GQa1H7c1_ZSnAPVoaDYl3Nma9z2LQ1dhAglaxNgsWlsN-tQV5CfpLYCvrUp3tpPX2pSn32MRuEmOGdzhYfGJZAP3FtN4DYdXjkjPfVHxQ/s512/BNPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2ZDUAW6T809qKXEZs70cVyx_8NxqDdmma7nUgrWh6eH6jblw6_nGu7tyRAblrpTkBA_SueENVqHWO6Xh_GQa1H7c1_ZSnAPVoaDYl3Nma9z2LQ1dhAglaxNgsWlsN-tQV5CfpLYCvrUp3tpPX2pSn32MRuEmOGdzhYfGJZAP3FtN4DYdXjkjPfVHxQ/w613-h307/BNPL.jpg" width="613" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.847pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: -0.176003pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A new season has come and you are raring to shop for a new line of clothes launched. Or you want to experience a new cycling adventure outdoors and you are eyeing that expensive but amazing new bicycle that costs $1600+. But you don’t want to break the bank. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5417f28d-7fff-f87b-61a2-8e81255aef2b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1385pt 13.7589pt 0pt 0.197998pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.605003pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) is a loyalty program that has become very popular in recent times. BNPL is a form of installment plan where customers pay in installments for a product that they have purchased. The installments are structured and paid over a period of predetermined months. Typically installments are free of interest and fees so long as customers pay the installments on time. Interest may be for larger amounts and/or when installments are spread over a long period of time. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1385pt 0.440979pt 0pt 0.098999pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.748001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paying in installments has existed since the </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1840s</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">when manufacturers of furniture, pianos, or farm equipment tried to make their products attractive and attainable. It is still relevant today and BNPL is another form of financing. The relevance of BNPL was proved for Peloton and its expensive products and services. Approximately 30% of Affirm’s (a leading BNPL financing company) first-quarter 2021 revenue was largely due to Peloton sales. According to the </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Financial Conduct Authority</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 25% of BNPL consumers are users between 18 and 24 years old, and half are 25 to 36 years old, namely, Gen Z and millennials. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimui1TRQ2UjKqX4sGcczT2XTCvQ_4oBlBqJtjf7tg6gGsfaYewOcV404FZB6pwl0cuCMvpztTMpAuGZCHcl65VQHa0jztpa4BPL8czUdr6jy929y1ApirdWhaPFVmv6MR-PIQf5oDJ_bnjlROyJlv5BNv6lx1Eut6gFCMXLayNUbFuHBLRD05iUniMxA/s821/BNPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="600" height="537" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimui1TRQ2UjKqX4sGcczT2XTCvQ_4oBlBqJtjf7tg6gGsfaYewOcV404FZB6pwl0cuCMvpztTMpAuGZCHcl65VQHa0jztpa4BPL8czUdr6jy929y1ApirdWhaPFVmv6MR-PIQf5oDJ_bnjlROyJlv5BNv6lx1Eut6gFCMXLayNUbFuHBLRD05iUniMxA/w393-h537/BNPL.jpg" width="393" /></a></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 29.6848pt 4.97028pt 0pt 0.0329971pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.869003pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For customers, BNPLs are a form of the subscription-based plan which are more controllable and transparent than credit cards. With an upfront structured payment plan, there is less chance of encountering hidden fees, exhaustive credit checks, or falling prey to complex written agreements. Approximately 57% of customers were found to be more willing to make purchases during the 2020 holiday season, according to </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a study by PYMNTS or Paypal</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. BNPL is also preferred by consumers who do not have access to credit or want to purchase credit cards to cover their shopping. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1384pt 8.00275pt 0pt 0.197998pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.704002pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For e-commerce sellers, BNPLs offer higher sales conversion, higher customer retention, and an increase in trust with customers by allowing smaller payments over longer periods. “</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">RBC Capital Markets</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">estimates these point-of-sale loans increase retail conversion rates 20% to 30%, and lift the average ticket size between 30% and 50%.” Although BNPL constitutes only 2% of the global e-commerce payments, it is quickly growing and expected to reach</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$181 billion by this year</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1385pt 22.0654pt 0pt 0.429001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.374001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BNPL services come through apps or extensions on e-commerce platforms. The leading BNPL company is Stockholm-based Klarna which has 90 million users. The next largest competitors are Affirm and Afterpay, which have millions of customers, too. Banks, credit </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: -0.0660019pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">card companies, and fintech companies are heating up the BNPL market. In August 2021, Square Inc., a mobile payment company, agreed to acquire Afterpay </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-indent: -0.0660019pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for $29 billion</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: -0.0660019pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1384pt 6.61322pt 0pt 0.362999pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.440002pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">BNPL companies are attracting consumers with their rewards programs. To take on the credit card industry, their rewards programs now offer loyalty points, discounts, Airmiles and other offers. For example, Klarna launched a rewards program in 2021 called</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vibe</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, where consumers can earn vibes when they make payments on time. Vibes reset every year and are only credited after consumers join the program. Brands such as Amazon, Adidas, Best </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 0.406998pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buy, Foot Locker, H&M, Macy's, Starbucks, and Walmart are participating in this program and consumers can also redeem points as gift cards for these brands and more. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3218586921691895; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -0.197998046875pt; margin-right: 11.10919189453125pt; margin-top: 15.13848876953125pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.197998046875pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.197998046875pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although many e-commerce sellers can resolve to let BNPL companies offer rewards and incentives for shopping, many of them are combining with their own loyalty programs. For example, an online store may offer a discount to incentivize a customer to use Klarna and the customer may further benefit from Klarna’s rewards program. BNPL companies are still </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: -0.010994pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">at a nascent stage and yet to incorporate cashback into their rewards program, so e-commerce sellers need to plan their consumer loyalty strategy with BNPL as a key component. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.32186; margin: 15.1385pt 2.03973pt 0pt -0.197998pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.197998pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.197998pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As BNPL grows, it is considered to promote reckless consumerism just like the credit card industry. “</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Research by Equifax</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">estimates buy now pay later users to spend 51% more on clothes each month than online shoppers who pay upfront.” The industry is unregulated and therefore does not have access to information on consumers’ credit lines. To encourage responsible spending, BNPL companies work in a number of ways such as starting with lower spending amounts for consumers and building budget features that consumers can keep track of. For the e-commerce business, it needs to consider the BNPL partner for its technology, features, rewards program, and brand reputation so it resonates with the business’ branding.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-66819809507831199702022-04-17T21:50:00.001-07:002022-04-17T21:50:55.047-07:00How can a Warehouse Management System have a Positive Impact on Your Warehouse?<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj97_LecOfZOD3nC51hmT5dfFywL5FKtGbEbA9iemJTwwQOeyrjXdpuNNLMqVwk9HPiIkbOh0AEcDck1QB0eW0RjQzk9yU2CoxEvb9tV-Ml4m6KHDMnrf5JtYq9O_1QLkj4UTjFx5P5afWjGrnivF8A91kmlXM0qci0uAGabK1zJd2DS2yAhCLD2o/s600/IMG_8028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj97_LecOfZOD3nC51hmT5dfFywL5FKtGbEbA9iemJTwwQOeyrjXdpuNNLMqVwk9HPiIkbOh0AEcDck1QB0eW0RjQzk9yU2CoxEvb9tV-Ml4m6KHDMnrf5JtYq9O_1QLkj4UTjFx5P5afWjGrnivF8A91kmlXM0qci0uAGabK1zJd2DS2yAhCLD2o/w640-h320/IMG_8028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>How can a Warehouse Management System have a Positive Impact on Your Warehouse?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A fulfillment warehouse is a vital part of any eCommerce business, but it can be challenging to organize and run smoothly. If your warehouse is in chaos, it can be difficult to keep up with orders and meet customer demands. A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software application designed to support and optimize warehouse functionality and distribution center management. WMS software guides inventory receiving and put-away optimizes orders' picking and shipping and advises inventory replenishment. It helps control and manages the day-to-day operations in a warehouse. Of course, WMS functionality can vary, from essential functions, pick, pack, and ship to advance programs involving material handling devices. Let's look at these points below.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Unify your e-Commerce orders. Never have multiple credentials logins to your marketplace platforms</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The squirreling of e-Commerce orders is a problem that many businesses face. With SiAWMS, you can centralize and automate your order fulfillment with a single login for your e-Commerce orders so that there is never any need to have multiple credentials.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Improving inventory control and order fulfillment</b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We are now able to improve inventory control and order fulfillment. It is possible through our new system that tracks every item as it moves along the supply chain, keeping an eye on stock levels for each branch of business worldwide. Our clever computer algorithms help warehouse workers determine what they need in advance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Streamlining warehouse processes</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Maintaining an efficient warehouse is key to any business's success. Often, it can be challenging to make sure everything runs smoothly in your facilities because there are so many different tasks that need attention at once- but with streamlining processes, you'll have less work cut out than before!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Minimizing online shipping errors and returns</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Shipping errors and returns are the banes of any company's existence. The last thing you need is for your new product delivery or return to be delayed because it didn't come off a truck just right, but with our innovative solution in place, there will no longer be delays due to these pesky problems!</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Reducing labor costs</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The cost of labor can be reduced by 50% with the use and automation. The overall goal of warehouse management system software is to achieve a paperless environment that directs your employees automatically on the optimal picking, put-away, and shipping of your products. A warehouse management system is an essential part of any company's supply chain management. The system helps to reduce the likelihood of errors, fulfill orders rapidly and instantaneously trace products. By implementing a warehouse management system, your company can ensure that it meets its distribution channels' unique customer demand requirements.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>So, the question is, why speak to us?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">1. SELLinALL WMS is integrated with eCommerce platforms - no more having to have multiple logins and downloading of orders, uploading of your inventory manually to each platform!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2. SELLinALL WMS automated warehouse automation software is designed to streamline your operation with a speedy implementation and take full advantage of the advanced features.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">3. SELLinALL WMS is a warehouse management software that allows retailers to reduce operating costs, increase productivity and enhance customer satisfaction.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">4. SELLinALL is an enterprise software focused on retailers who want to create inventory control systems and improve the efficiency of their business.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Request for a DEMO with us now!</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><b>Article by Cyndi Vivi Ding!</b></span></div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-61286997823391485682022-03-09T20:28:00.000-08:002022-03-09T20:28:38.524-08:00Cloud Computing Technology in Ecommerce<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB78ZTwzsbRRfyhH_dkSyT_iJAa2fYH5X1D1JPE3lGP2OBPFLMfWEk5IGXzvlUFVSGUyXmuWU6C-aUomg6cxycznYhoVlqE0m11UI_ODLdLTCwcifP5_gTSHFGCVpO11VG4lvdMc5yiYNly3tSAvtfquBIoYzjUG8Kn2rROLvJM8gqrkHXv7fKNSqKpw=s512" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB78ZTwzsbRRfyhH_dkSyT_iJAa2fYH5X1D1JPE3lGP2OBPFLMfWEk5IGXzvlUFVSGUyXmuWU6C-aUomg6cxycznYhoVlqE0m11UI_ODLdLTCwcifP5_gTSHFGCVpO11VG4lvdMc5yiYNly3tSAvtfquBIoYzjUG8Kn2rROLvJM8gqrkHXv7fKNSqKpw=w448-h224" width="448" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7e345419-7fff-1c69-cee3-af84a4796298"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The e-commerce market has boomed thanks to rapid advances in cloud computing technology. According to </span><a href="https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/2651117/the-top-four-impacts-of-cloud-computing-on-e-commerce-ap" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gartner’s report </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on the impact of cloud computing technology on e-commerce, e-commerce has allowed businesses to respond more quickly to market trends than in-house technologies, however, deploying cloud computing has also its cons which IT leaders must consider. It is approximately </span><a href="https://www.resourcifi.com/blog/e-commerce-going-gaga-cloud-computing/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">92% faster</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to install an e-commerce platform using cloud computing technology than developing it in-house.</span></span></p><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-21d6dcbf-7fff-0c72-724d-8d89b6fb65ce"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cloud computing technology can be private, public, or hybrid. While private cloud services are delivered by a single organization or data center to internal users, public cloud services are provided as pay-per-use services by third-party providers over the internet. Hybrid combines the best of private and public cloud services.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cloud services can be categorized into Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (Saas), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). An example of each is :</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IaaS - Netflix uses Amazon Web Services to host its platform and provide streaming video-on-demand.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SaaS - Shopify and Bold Commerce offering components or applications which allows online retailers to build their e-commerce site rapidly</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PaaS - While this is not prevalent in e-commerce applications, there are some platforms such as </span><a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-is-cloud-computing/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apprenda</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> or Google App Engine.</span></p></li></ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBuvs_uq_UuT3Tyq62N_IXWvWOXHljGYemUXEe9hBJJR4tLcdV04VsdgG3iW6YxJP7wfsXFHSlHuY7BPJg6zSplGeycrix7Dz0izWMZAf_0-x3tjOD2LFkFFTnQywuhhIyRP6zKOIYGKxvzhd0MZNC4yxYmy-GP1vEc9yoAWAQALVBd8nbnHhdm4UKqg=s2000" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1200" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBuvs_uq_UuT3Tyq62N_IXWvWOXHljGYemUXEe9hBJJR4tLcdV04VsdgG3iW6YxJP7wfsXFHSlHuY7BPJg6zSplGeycrix7Dz0izWMZAf_0-x3tjOD2LFkFFTnQywuhhIyRP6zKOIYGKxvzhd0MZNC4yxYmy-GP1vEc9yoAWAQALVBd8nbnHhdm4UKqg=w351-h586" width="351" /></a></div><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="color: #e06666;">The top four advantages that cloud computing offers for e-commerce applications are:</span></i></b></span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">Improves Scalability</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cloud computing allows online retailers to quickly scale up or downsize their applications and services depending on market trends. Market trends may be seasonal, cyclical, or related to a long-term shift in preferences of target demographics. Many e-commerce solutions providers offer modules or components that can be added or removed, increase or reduce storage and/or computing power giving that flexibility to online retailers.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">Increase in Speed</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blog.shift4shop.com/ecommerce-stores-benefit-cloud-technology" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to Amazon</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a 1-second lag costs the company $1.6 billion in sales per year. For Walmart, a 1-second improvement leads to an increase of 2% in conversion costs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Online consumers prefer e-commerce platforms that are quick to load and intuitive. 40% of users will abandon a webpage if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, according to </span><a href="https://medium.com/@vikigreen/impact-of-slow-page-load-time-on-website-performance-40d5c9ce568a" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">this article</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Cloud computing technology providers continuously improve applications to be ‘light’ to offer speed in loading a website, scrolling through product pages, adding to carts, relaying online payments, or confirming orders. In-house e-commerce applications depend on the servers and technologies and are susceptible to crashing when there is high traffic. With cloud computing technology, online retailers do not have to worry about servers crashing because their technology providers have larger bandwidth and storage space across multiple servers to manage sudden spurts in consumer traffic. With higher speed, the impact on SEO is significant and beneficial for online retailers deploying cloud computing technology.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">Reduces Costs</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adopting cloud computing technology for e-commerce applications enables online retailers to forego IT (hardware and software) infrastructure, which they have to invest in heavily upfront and keep upgrading as technology advances. Moreover, the business has to employ a large workforce to develop, run and maintain in-house infrastructure. With options such as pay-per-use and component/module-based structures, cloud computing lowers technology costs in terms of capital and manpower.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">Security</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to an </span><a href="https://www.itproportal.com/features/top-four-benefits-of-cloud-computing-technology-for-ecommerce-stores/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">article</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in ITProPortal, the volume of monthly bot attacks on e-commerce platforms rose by 13% in 2021. Cloud computing technology provides the benefit of creating redundancy with saves a business from data loss. By duplicating data and having multiple hardware and software which upholds the cloud computing infrastructure, a business can restore its data and platform quickly from malicious attacks. Cloud data centers are constantly monitored by professionals, secured with robust firewalls, and comply with stringent security protocols and regulations to protect data. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The above factors provide a very strong no-brainer case for an online retailer to go for cloud computing technologies, however, the business needs to carefully choose the service provider based on these four factors. There are many cloud computing service providers in the market and the choice of the partner plays a critical part in a long-term e-commerce strategy.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-49929644209148542812022-02-03T03:50:00.000-08:002022-02-03T03:50:53.272-08:00Customer Retention Strategies for E-Commerce<p><br /></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #990000;"></span></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7_AHIF8Yh3Tt50E5bpp8z2RCCOfwWYwubWbvKmPZyPD7nGOW-FODhUmddpCdWTlQUFvkdx7orgXeEtTLVhH9neM_jVcSh32JgsfVtV8khQP5dK-LnogWHyAByRJd3yqQFlKuAc0rwr9HE2F5cccN5n6HZXEdq57mc-aosp2UEdIUW0G8FBQKcAQQKfg=s512" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7_AHIF8Yh3Tt50E5bpp8z2RCCOfwWYwubWbvKmPZyPD7nGOW-FODhUmddpCdWTlQUFvkdx7orgXeEtTLVhH9neM_jVcSh32JgsfVtV8khQP5dK-LnogWHyAByRJd3yqQFlKuAc0rwr9HE2F5cccN5n6HZXEdq57mc-aosp2UEdIUW0G8FBQKcAQQKfg=w536-h268" width="536" /></a></span></i></b></div><b><i><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></i></b><p></p><p><b><i><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer Retention Strategies for E-Commerce</span></span></i></b></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5d803336-7fff-b44b-fec9-215eab85b733"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gone are the days of Henry Ford when he said, <i><span style="color: #073763;">“You can have any color so long as it’s black”</span></i>. Retaining customers is an important aspect of e-commerce strategy as customer acquisition costs increase with new e-retailers crowding the market and vying for the attention of online customers. According to </span><a href="https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/customer-loyalty-statistics/#gref" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smallbusinessgenius.net</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, <b>65% of a company’s business</b> comes from existing customers, and increasing customer retention by just <b>5% boosts profits by 25% to 95%</b>. 82% of companies surveyed agree that retention is cheaper than acquisition.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><span style="color: red;">Customer retention strategy</span></i>, of course, depends on the lifecycle of the brand or online retailer’s platform. At the early and growth stage in a lifecycle, businesses are likely to focus on customer acquisition as the brand or reputation needs to be built among consumers. But a foundation for customer retention strategy needs to be developed in order to maintain consistency with the target audience over a long period of time.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><u>The three key tactics in customer retention strategy are:</u></i></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></b></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #660000;">Personalization: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every consumer is unique in their tastes and preferences. Whether it is offline or online, consumers today like to personalize the products they are going to buy, from floor tiles to jewelry. For e-commerce resellers, they need to differentiate from each other by providing a seamless and intuitive online buying experience. </span><a href="https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/customer-loyalty-statistics/#gref" style="text-align: justify; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">58% of companies</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> pursue personalization strategies for customer retention. Thanks to rapid advances in e-commerce technologies, e-commerce businesses can leverage data analytics to offer recommendations to a consumer returning to the site, by either populating and displaying products similar to previous online purchases made or through chatbots guiding the consumer in their current shopping episode. If a customer has paused midway through their online purchase, online retailers can retain the customer’s shopping carts through their dedicated personal accounts. Custom emails can be sent to the customer to gently remind them or offer incentives to complete their purchase</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Customer loyalty rewards: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">75% of consumers say they favor companies that offer rewards. Offering rewards through gifts and discounts is a way to make customers feel appreciated. Giving them a surprise, bumping them up to a VIP list, or offering a loyalty program are some ways to show to customers that they are being valued for their repeat purchases and loyalty. It is more likely that a customer will remain loyal when a loyalty program and customer service are more customized because of the personal touch. If possible, offering incentivized subscriptions to products or services retain customers and therefore locks in recurring revenues for the online retailer. Many online retailers have benefited from offering products on a subscription basis.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tribe: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brand recognition and sustainability are not only built by social media campaigns. Consumer referrals and testimonials are crucial for retaining customers for an e-commerce business. “56% of customers stay loyal to brands which “get them.”” Loyalty is built around the customer’s voice and stories that connect them to the brand. Online retailers need to respond to and act on the feedback, whether positive or critical, from consumers to improve their products and/or the online buying experience. Using social media effectively, the effect of their proactiveness, prompt responses, and/or actions would lead to a compounding positive impact on retaining customers. The base of customers who are loyal becomes a tribe or community and lends more trust and credibility to the brand, attracting new customers and thereby reducing customer acquisition costs for the online retailer. Another way to build the tribe is to take up causes that resonate with the sensibilities of the target demographics. Care needs to be taken that the causes are not taken for the sake of customer retention but rather because they align with the brand values.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsoZGKIAS6R4YdX7Uj2R8xS_SHrDFLF5YT-N0R-hXQoJJljYMXcniJBq9X3VYnhVKxa3n1iHcCmbVfar6_CZV16_z6sZ-FQU0DKKduK3xDBu6Hs_P17zTlDswoz8jKIwSUU4cFh87-6eI_SuxGvLqKC02LJPqKLR4_HfTYyOdqF556_jRDGUeH7m0cww=s644" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="512" height="665" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhsoZGKIAS6R4YdX7Uj2R8xS_SHrDFLF5YT-N0R-hXQoJJljYMXcniJBq9X3VYnhVKxa3n1iHcCmbVfar6_CZV16_z6sZ-FQU0DKKduK3xDBu6Hs_P17zTlDswoz8jKIwSUU4cFh87-6eI_SuxGvLqKC02LJPqKLR4_HfTYyOdqF556_jRDGUeH7m0cww=w528-h665" width="528" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>Customer retention strategy can be measured by </span><a href="https://www.shopify.ca/blog/customer-retention-strategies" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">three metrics</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span><p></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Repeat customer rate</b> is calculated by the number of repeat customers divided by the number of unique customers </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Purchase frequency</b> is the number of orders divided by the number of unique customers.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Average Order Value (AOV) </b>which is the total revenue divided by the number of orders placed.</span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An increase in any of the metrics means that customer retention is working and customer value is being increased. It is possible to track and evaluate what tactic is working or not working and reshape customer retention strategy. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 18pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Repeat customers are not only an asset for an e-commerce business but necessary for survival in current times as online competition is fierce! </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-41543478428418428812022-01-11T02:50:00.000-08:002022-01-11T02:50:31.087-08:00What is Headless Commerce ?<p><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b></b></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQTsffL529PRyiaNRXq8EsFZ2iVLboccvR9cKeVqRMRseNvtOWuvptCVv0afa-0mqdpVoy8PyFYURELERACeJeLJOiZtDJLazjuoHWebuZfR2xzRB7KhJgGiYDbfh8djPJ3ZEEMFf67PtiUpTv13YU2_6f1YAXshhGvp9C23I2z4dZMrDNzf4sWYYW3A=s512" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQTsffL529PRyiaNRXq8EsFZ2iVLboccvR9cKeVqRMRseNvtOWuvptCVv0afa-0mqdpVoy8PyFYURELERACeJeLJOiZtDJLazjuoHWebuZfR2xzRB7KhJgGiYDbfh8djPJ3ZEEMFf67PtiUpTv13YU2_6f1YAXshhGvp9C23I2z4dZMrDNzf4sWYYW3A=w746-h373" width="746" /></a></b></div><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;"><p><b style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></p>What is Headless Commerce? </span></b><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-474d351c-7fff-f79d-8937-18ead44f6368"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.197998046875pt; margin-right: 1.449462890625pt; margin-top: 25.10980224609375pt; margin: 25.1098pt 1.44946pt 0pt 0.197998pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.681999pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Headless commerce is a trending topic today in e-commerce and a leading force in optimum digital consumer experience. “</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shopify, a company that offers e-commerce solutions, had</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">reported astounding growth in 2020, with revenues growing 86% year over year and GMV</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">growing 96%</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">” Shopify is one such example of a headless commerce solutions provider. “According to research by the advisory company</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gartner</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> one of the top strategic technology trends for 2021 and beyond has been coined the “total experience,” or TX.” Headless commerce has the capacity and capabilities to offer TX. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.0989990234375pt; margin-right: 0.8375244140625pt; margin-top: 20.304931640625pt; margin: 20.3049pt 0.837524pt 0pt 0.098999pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.780998pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Headless commerce essentially decouples the front end from the back end of e-commerce applications. The front end of an ecommerce application is the visual form that a customer experiences, such as the presentation layout on a mobile app, an online shop or an interactive screen at a shopping mall, whereas the back end of an e-commerce application is functional, namely the database infrastructure. Back end operations include merchandising, order checkout and fulfilling orders. APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are utilized to link the front end and back end softwares. Whereas traditional e-commerce applications are described as having monolithic architecture, headless e-commerce applications are based on API driven architecture. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.879997pt; margin-top: 20.3049pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">Headless commerce offers four key benefits over traditional e-commerce as follows: </span></i></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 19.198997497558594pt; margin-right: 9.61199951171875pt; margin-top: 25.10980224609375pt; margin: 25.1098pt 9.612pt 0pt 19.199pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 17.197pt; text-indent: -17.197pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-22eef2a2-7fff-48d2-179e-9b63984d145c"></span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 9.612pt; margin-top: 25.1098pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Time to optimize the presentation layer for customer experience - No longer do ecommerce platforms require time to roll out features that can smoothen customer experience by updating the entire e-commerce applications. Without impacting the back end functionality, features can be added to the front end swiftly in short phases rather than disrupting consumer experience. Concurrently, if there was any maintenance occurring at the back end of the e-commerce application, it would not affect the front end. </i></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 3.1651pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Scalability and customization - headless commerce allows retailers to scale and customize features of e-commerce platforms across media devices instead of having to rework the look for each device. This also provides a seamless experience when customers switch between devices, which are growing in types and proliferating the daily lives of consumers. For retailers, this flexibility allows them to adopt newer technologies, whether they are at the front end or back end of the applications. </i></span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 35.519pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Third party integrations - With this new concept, online retailers do not have to relegate</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to one software application vendor to develop and implement their</span></i></p></li><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="2" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 1.11011pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>e-commerce platforms. They can choose various third party developers and use APIs to integrate them into the existing application. The impact is that front end and back end developers have to stay competitive by offering rich features to attract online retailers. </i></span></p></li></ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: 9.71533pt; margin-top: 1.33154pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Security - Delineating the e-commerce application into front end and back end simplifies the security process and access protocols for administrators to implement across various levels of users. The impact of security breach diminishes as the architecture is delineated and decentralized if headless commerce has been implemented. </i></span></p></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3mSovD1B5r-0qJbTKLr6ymXz4xmftwoXb3GzIToO6s2xmXYVVt-CtPa6bpB9WzjgXxA5_Xq-6p500ki7zmOt2X0zVW85TUjzzISv9pfnbgqwz2gNUH1qRBfQ9xJoMTmNCCF3y1S-MRa3w0kEyXpBjloI14Xc5w7liLj-lgj3VDLh5ngAwMc7nWg_l_g=s2085" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2085" data-original-width="1200" height="948" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3mSovD1B5r-0qJbTKLr6ymXz4xmftwoXb3GzIToO6s2xmXYVVt-CtPa6bpB9WzjgXxA5_Xq-6p500ki7zmOt2X0zVW85TUjzzISv9pfnbgqwz2gNUH1qRBfQ9xJoMTmNCCF3y1S-MRa3w0kEyXpBjloI14Xc5w7liLj-lgj3VDLh5ngAwMc7nWg_l_g=w545-h948" width="545" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.36299896240234375pt; margin-right: 5.7939453125pt; margin-top: 20.304931640625pt; margin: 20.3049pt 5.79395pt 0pt 0.362999pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.516998pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Headless commerce has seen rapid growth in leaps and bounds leading to initiatives such as the </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">MACH Alliance</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a group of technology companies that aim to educate consumers on open tech ecosystems. MACH stands for Microservices based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS and Headless and includes companies such as Big Commerce, Bold Commerce, EPAM and more. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.0329971pt; margin-top: 20.305pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.220001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are certain disadvantages to headless commerce that online retailers should pay heed to before deciding to switch to this type of solution. First, it may be expensive to buy and implement various front end and back end third party solutions. Costs can quickly balloon when online retailers go after scalability. Second, by decoupling front end and back end applications, it is possible that developers working on these different ends can drift apart and work in isolation, which can lead to problems in the future. Lastly, keeping track of the latest iterations of third party solutions can become cumbersome if many are interlinked to the platform. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.72416; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -0.197998046875pt; margin-right: 3.8931884765625pt; margin-top: 20.305023193359375pt; margin: 20.305pt 3.89319pt 0pt -0.197998pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.197998pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.197998pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apart from online retailers, direct-to-consumer brands, small and medium enterprises,, bloggers, tech startups and sports teams have benefited from the availability of headless commerce solutions. With over $1.65 billion in funding raised for headless technologies over the last two years and a large company like Salesforce recently acquiring Modify for $60 million, companies in the e-commerce solutions ecosystem are definitely placing their bets on the future of headless commerce.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-7413617905871010372021-12-06T07:38:00.000-08:002021-12-06T07:38:11.242-08:00Influencer Marketing in E-commerce Strategy<div style="width: 100%; margin: o auto;">
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<p> <i><b>Influencer marketing</b></i> is not a new concept in advertising. Before the rise of the internet, celebrities and sportspersons endorsed brands through traditional advertising mediums (TV, news, magazines). Social media platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, on the internet now allow influencers to directly connect with the core audience. Additionally, the platforms have given opportunities to other people, also known as micro-influencers. Today, <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/influencer-marketing/#influencer-marketing-by-the-numbers" target="_blank">9 out of 10</a> brands utilize influencer marketing to reach their target consumers and the ROI on using influencer marketing has proven to be more effective, generating $18 for $1 spent. With 7.9 million retailers vying for online consumers, influencer marketing has become a core part of digital marketing strategy.</p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">Who or what are Influencers?</strong></p>
<p>It’s not possible for upcoming brands to partner with A-list celebrity influencers such as Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Kim Kardashian, or Kylie Jenner because their endorsements are expensive. Micro-influencers are people who spend time engaging with followers and building a circle of trust and credibility by letting followers into their real lives, offering open transparency. The best micro-influencers do not build a base by sharing only endorsements but by truly connecting with them through common interests. Effectively when retailers use influencers to reach out to their target consumers, they are using a tribal marketing strategy. </p>
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<p> Micro-influencers may not have a large base like celebrity influencers, however, their base of followers is more specific or highly concentrated, which allows brands to tap into stronger connections. Among the <a href="https://mediakix.com/blog/top-instagram-influencers/" target="_blank">top 30 influencers on Instagram</a> are Amanda Cerny, known for her Vines and comedy sketches, and Zach King, known for his video editing magic skills, who each have now more than 20 million followers. Cerny and King engaged with their followers early on with their content creating a platform that brands want to tap into to reach a potential consumer base. Micro-influencers are modern-day celebrities and an example of brands growing through influencer strategy is Daniel Wellington, a luxury watch brand that <a href="https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/instagram-influencer-marketing-in-ecommerce" target="_blank">grew to $180 million in just 5 years.</a> </p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">How to implement a successful Influencer marketing strategy ?</strong> </p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">1.Define goals for your product and marketing strategy:</strong> Depending on the stage of the product life cycle, an online retailer needs to define the goals for the influencer marketing strategy. Some types of goals are building brand awareness, generating leads or attracting a new target market to proceed to the next steps. </p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">2.Research your audience:</strong> Social media consumption differs across demographics of online consumers. E-commerce sellers need to identify the social media channels that their target audience utilize and the influencers they follow. This can be done by looking into the online habits of selective shoppers. According to an <a href="https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-2019-benchmark-report/?_ga=2.266294093.377646229.1633821917-327488232.1633821917" target="_blank">Influencer Marketing Hub survey,</a> 79% of the respondents consider Instagram the most important tool in influencer marketing campaigns, followed by Facebook (46%) and Youtube (36%). </p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">3.Choose your Influencers:</strong> The next step is to identify influencers that are relevant to your brand, how much they engage with their audience and the past sponsorships the influencers have worked with. By observing the influencers on how they promote brands and the responses from their followers, online retailers can choose influencers that align with their brand or product values. </p>
<p><strong style="color: #0b5394;">4.Define your collaboration with Influencers:</strong> In order to execute a successful influencer marketing strategy, online retailers need to flesh out the details with influencers transparently and work on authentic messaging. The seller needs to decide on tactics such as visual and/or video content, storytelling, hashtags, promo codes and contests. Sellers can also feature influencers in advertisements on traditional advertising mediums. </p>
<p>The ROI of influencer marketing campaigns is primarily tracked by the number of redirections to the e-commerce platform from the influencers. Other metrics to measure the effectiveness of the campaigns are likes, follows clicks, votes, user comments, and tracking hashtags. </p>
<p>Pursuing an influencer marketing strategy is certainly compelling given that more than <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahweinswig/2016/10/05/influencers-are-the-new-brands/?sh=5aa28c657919" target="_blank">90% of consumers</a> trust influencers more than celebrities. However, simply paying influencers with the highest number of followers will not necessarily lead to a higher ROI for online retailers. The success of influencer marketing strategies has been largely due to unique and creative campaigns and strong partnerships with the right influencers. Just look out for what is going viral! </p>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-45467656968576908142021-10-08T22:21:00.000-07:002021-10-08T22:21:44.528-07:00Challenges and solutions in Digital Commerce <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OtW_8CClCgM/YV6P-q1d9UI/AAAAAAAAACA/qLZBGeMh56cQa_7EuswK1KEKru8GJFW2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/blog%2Bimage%2Boct.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OtW_8CClCgM/YV6P-q1d9UI/AAAAAAAAACA/qLZBGeMh56cQa_7EuswK1KEKru8GJFW2ACLcBGAsYHQ/w746-h302/blog%2Bimage%2Boct.jpg" width="746" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Challenges and
solutions in Digital Commerce</b> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The rapid increase in online buying has warranted industry
experts to clarify the difference between digital commerce and e-commerce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The leading IT consulting firm, Gartner
describes digital commerce as the buying and selling of goods and services
using the Internet, mobile networks, and commerce infrastructure. Whereas
e-commerce focuses on the tools, functions and operations that a business
utilizes to sell its products or services, digital commerce is
‘consumer-centric’ and focuses on making every stage of the online consumer
buying experience seamless. According <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en/resources/whitepapers/state-of-commerce-experience-study.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">to a survey</span></a> conducted by Forrester Consulting,
more than half of consumers are willing to pay more for a better online buying
experience, so it is crucial that online retailers plan and execute their
digital commerce strategy well.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The top current challenges and their potential solutions
that are trending in digital commerce are:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;">Delivering to customers’
expectations: Businesses need to offer customers a smooth online
experience by keeping updated as newer devices and technologies such as
chatbots, voice assistants, augmented & virtual reality, blockchain
technology for payments, and drones & droids for delivery are being
developed. Personalization as a trend refers to optimization of the
individual consumer experience by streamlining site visits, cookies,
landing pages and product recommendations, through the utilization of
artificial intelligence. Analyzing and measuring consumer experience
through consumer or digital analytics enables the online retailer to make
continuous improvements.</li></ol>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;">ATAWAD (Any Time, Any
Where, Any Device) is an acronym related to the digital transformation of a
business. As it suggests, consumers expect to connect to any platform or
e-commerce site at any time, at any location on any device. For example,
if a consumer places an item in the shopping cart on a mobile device, the
item in the cart should appear across any other device that the consumer
uses. Voice assistants and/or chatbots support in providing 24/7
assistance no matter where the consumer is logging in from. Consistency is
key and even before the consumer registers with the platform, the digital
assets, advertisements and content from the online retailer play an
important part in creating an impression on the consumer. Sustaining the
impression or the brand image needs to continue beyond the transaction so
that repeat sales occur. The need for consistency has placed importance on
content management systems. </li></ol>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify;">Digital commerce has
necessitated B2B companies to join the bandwagon or be left in the dust.
As B2C companies invest more in technologies to engage with consumers
online, B2B companies are required to keep up to engage with business
consumers, such as creating online ordering and real-time logistics
tracking systems. For example, Staples.ca now serves business consumers
online specifically through eway.ca for their stationery needs. A
technology that has become prevalent is API-based commerce or headless
commerce which enables businesses to interface different backend systems
with front end systems, thereby providing flexibility and speed.
Salesforce has seen its adoption soar thanks to APIs available on its
enterprise marketplace. An online enterprise marketplace is a great
opportunity to offer a bundled subscription of programs and/or services by
understanding consumers and to allow collaboration from other
service/software providers.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmsewJ1mKc4/YV520USX1yI/AAAAAAAAAB0/I3q5IQAXBj09qgP0iDjRzKRrB9w3NL2zQCLcBGAsYHQ/s819/Blog%2BImage%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="819" data-original-width="512" height="628" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmsewJ1mKc4/YV520USX1yI/AAAAAAAAAB0/I3q5IQAXBj09qgP0iDjRzKRrB9w3NL2zQCLcBGAsYHQ/w393-h628/Blog%2BImage%2B1.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div><b><i>Revenue</i></b> <b><i>Analytics for 2020 E-commerce</i></b></div><div><br style="text-align: left;" /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Online sellers embarking on a
digital commerce transformation need to monitor and analyze consumer behaviour
through analytics before investing heavily into technologies that offer
personalization. Most companies start small and increase personalization after
testing the most appropriate technology. This approach is cost-effective and
allows for experimentation. Content has become extremely important to maintain
brand image and many companies now outsource to content providers or maintain
content management systems that track effectiveness of content published, going
beyond clicks and simple page views. In conclusion, companies expanding
online need to continuously monitor current trends and solutions being offered
in the realm of digital commerce and adopt technologies to stay ahead of or
with their competition. A failure to do so jeopardizes the company’s brand
image and in the long term, puts them out of the game.</div></span><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /><p></p></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-26237513841178945162021-08-30T22:54:00.001-07:002021-08-30T22:54:43.736-07:00Future of Drop shipping in "INDIA"<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yV9py_8ugJk/YSi9N5Z-FOI/AAAAAAAAAAc/wuZ1jKKJArUfX5yqOpL1z2E6KfPkelLHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s512/Banner%2BImage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yV9py_8ugJk/YSi9N5Z-FOI/AAAAAAAAAAc/wuZ1jKKJArUfX5yqOpL1z2E6KfPkelLHQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/Banner%2BImage.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;"><b><span>Do you fancy yourself as a
digital-savvy marketer?</span><span> </span></b></span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Are you proficient with social media, SEO and online advertising?
Drop shipping has taken the world and India by storm and is a business model that utilizes an entrepreneur’s digital skills and
marketing acumen. According to a market report by <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/10/06/2104052/0/en/Global-591-Billion-Dropshipping-Market-Forecast-to-2027.html"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ResearchAndMarkets.com</span></a>, the drop shipping market was valued at <b><i>US$ 162.44
billion in 2019 </i></b>and is expected to grow to <b><i>US$ 591.77 billion by
2027</i></b>. Drop shipping is essentially a business model where an entrepreneur does
not manufacture, hold inventory or physically arrange delivery of goods to the
consumer but builds a digital store and an online customer base. The seller has
to identify the right partners for supply and distribution and ensure a
seamless buying experience for the consumers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;">Like any business model, drop
shipping has certain core elements.</span></i></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzQ87vMMbr8/YSjTQMi-4bI/AAAAAAAAAAk/dR52ApNWYyszVCuj_SFOKf5qHvaQTft-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1002/Blog%2BImage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="512" height="1079" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzQ87vMMbr8/YSjTQMi-4bI/AAAAAAAAAAk/dR52ApNWYyszVCuj_SFOKf5qHvaQTft-QCLcBGAsYHQ/w553-h1079/Blog%2BImage.jpg" width="553" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Right Supplier:</span></i></b><b><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One may think that the
products need to be selected before starting any business. Drop shipping
differs in this aspect. Since the drop shipping business does not control the
manufacturing process or inventory, it is important to partner with a supplier
that can manufacture and deliver goods of high quality at the agreed price and
schedule. The location and distribution power of the manufacturer can also
impact consumer experience. Without the right supplier, any drop shipping
business would fail as e-commerce customers have more control now through
instant feedback and influence on social media platforms. One bad customer
review on an Instagram story or YouTube channel can sink the business if the
product is poor in quality or packaged badly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Profit Margin : </span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When choosing the right supplier, the seller has
to consider if one or more products have sufficient profit margin to resell on
the digital store. Typically, suppliers and delivery partners prefer long term
agreements and require advances for manufacturing and distribution which means
that the seller has to have financing in place. Apart from costs of financing,
the e-commerce entrepreneur will incur selling and administration expenses. It
is also possible that customers may return goods to exchange or cancel their
orders for reasons such as delay in shipping or unmet expectations.
Cash-on-delivery (COD) has become a popular payment mode and impacts the
working capital. Costs of returns have to be factored by the seller to arrive
at whether the profit margins are sufficient to operate the drop shipping
business. A breakeven analysis would help the seller to understand what is the
minimum quantity to be sold in order to achieve operational feasibility.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 4; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consumer experience</span></i></b><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> :</span></b><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All e-commerce platforms
need to ensure a seamless consumer experience but this is especially heightened
in the drop shipping business model. With a rush in e-commerce accelerated by
the pandemic, drop shipping entrepreneurs need to differentiate their stores
from other competitors. Fortunately tools and plugins offered by Woo commerce,
Shopify and others support e-commerce businesses. Sellers have to be skillful
in managing flow of supply-demand, especially if products being offered are
shipped from overseas. Many drop shippers offer products from China and have to
manage availability of products from and relations with manufacturers when
demand picks up or slows down.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The concept of drop shipping is not new in India and there are
multiple independent ecommerce platforms across the country selling goods such
as ethnic wear from Gujarat to electronics from China. Drop shippers in India
face intense competition from Amazon and Flipkart who have huge financial
resources to increase their product portfolio and discount prices as well as
brick & mortar retailers such as Reliance who have jumped online. Large
e-commerce platforms have negotiating power with their suppliers to demand
preferential treatment in terms of supply, price and availability of products
over smaller retailers. In addition, online fraud involving fake or defective
products has made Indian e-consumers wary of unknown online retailers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Like all businesses, the drop shipping business has been impacted
by disruptions due to the pandemic. The opportunity for drop shippers lie in
selective curation of products that appeal to the sensibilities of the growing
online consumer base and unwavering customer service to build loyalty and
repeat purchases.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-53967409343576655792021-07-14T01:03:00.000-07:002021-07-14T01:03:30.994-07:00Product Protection<p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><h1 style="color: #222222; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Arnie looked at the cracked screen of his Apple iPhone 12 in dismay. He dropped the phone just as he was about to put a new protective case on the device. He cursed himself for not adding Apple care to this purchase. </span></h1><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju0SutufJhM/YOxu1qE_NSI/AAAAAAAADoA/mqLDQ7tZ1o05pVXn69Q5deOuBXR-j-auQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/blog%2Bimages%2Bjune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ju0SutufJhM/YOxu1qE_NSI/AAAAAAAADoA/mqLDQ7tZ1o05pVXn69Q5deOuBXR-j-auQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/blog%2Bimages%2Bjune.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Extended warranty</b><span style="font-style: normal;"> is one of the ways purchased products are protected and according to Allied Market Research, the extended warranty market is expected to grow by a CAGR of 7.4% to USD 169.82 billion in 2027. Customers want product protection depending on the nature of products and e-commerce businesses need to consider this as a part of the consumer experience and product strategy. For example, the likelihood of online consumers buying electronics such as set top streaming boxes, gaming consoles, smart TVs increases by 21% and more when extended warranty is offered.</span></span></p></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Product protection can cover repairs, replacements and additionally accidental damage at different levels of premiums. Some protection plans are offered by online and offline retailers such that they come into effect after the manufacturer warranty expires. An example of an online and brick & mortar retailer known for offering extended warranty and good service coverage is Best Buy. Retailers also offer pricing protection where they give guarantees to consumers that they will match the lowest price found by the consumers for a limited time period.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are several advantages for online retailers to consider and offer product protection :</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1) <b>Additional protection</b> - Options for extended warranty assuages the fears of consumers that their issues can be resolved in case anything occurs to the products they enjoy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2) <b>Resolution of issues</b> - In present times, most manufacturers are prompt in resolving product issues as their reputation is on the line. However, the average manufacturer warranty period has gotten shorter, which is where the online retailer can offer extended warranty from their end.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3) <b>Increase in conversion rates</b> - For higher priced products and as mentioned above, technical products like consumer electronics or consumer durables, product protection increases conversion rates of online purchases.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4) <b>Increase in consumer experience and loyalty</b> - Whether the online retailer bundles product protection along with the product price or offers as an additional option, studies have shown that product protection improves consumer experience and loyalty increases when online retailers quickly resolve any issues under the product protection plan. “Roughly 50% of consumers say they would switch to a new brand after just one bad experience, and that goes up to nearly 80% after multiple bad experiences”. This also helps in differentiating the business from its competitors and becomes crucial to gain or sustain market share. The consumer experience is now easily verified with the popularity of social media and product review platforms.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">5) <b>Additional revenue stream</b> - Last and most importantly, product protection is an additional stream of revenues as in most cases, online retailers earn more than they incur in repairs and replacements of products.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are some pitfalls to product protection which online retailers need to be wary of and mitigate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1) Planning and implementing product protection plans require time, effort, money, awareness of consumer laws, and depend on the products being offered. E-commerce businesses need to assess the risks and conduct a cost-benefit analysis. In the case of extended warranty being offered by the online retailer, the business may have to set up strategic locations for carrying out repairs or replacements if manufacturers do not have a well established presence in the country</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2) Advertising protection plans frequently may send a message to consumers that the product’s quality may be poor therefore product protection is being emphasized by the seller. It may also seem like a cheap marketing ploy to the consumer and sows the seeds of distrust. This typically occurs for passenger vehicles where online dealers try to lure consumers with ‘special’ types of warranties in order to differentiate themselves from the competitors. It can become a race between competitors which can frustrate online consumers. Despite the disadvantages, some prominent online retailers have utilized product protection effectively to create and sustain a loyal consumer base. An alternative to product protection would be guarantees, such as ‘try before you buy’, lifetime, money-back and others. What’s important is that e-commerce sellers understand the online consumer’s behaviour for their products and implement an appropriate strategy that will ensure a smooth, repeatable and mutually beneficial consumer experience.</span></p><div style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-40976972903042408552021-06-11T05:14:00.003-07:002021-06-14T03:32:12.615-07:00Enhanced Shipping Methods in the industry of E-Commerce <p style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://www.invespcro.com/blog/free-shipping/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">According
to invesp</span></a>, 93% of online buyers prefer to buy if free shipping is
offered and 58% will add more to qualify for free shipping. As evidenced, 78%
of Amazon Prime users signed up for the Amazon Prime Loyalty program because of
free shipping. A survey by <a href="https://rejoiner.com/resources/free-shipping-online-retail-sales/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">AlixPartners</span></a> found that 36% of consumers
abandoned their shopping cart because they found delivery costs too high.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn20MvGXX28/YLeC3Ry_4_I/AAAAAAAAAGs/UCVh7smYoFsA3y_fd8upV9bgpPxC3g80wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/blog%2Bimage%2Bmay.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kn20MvGXX28/YLeC3Ry_4_I/AAAAAAAAAGs/UCVh7smYoFsA3y_fd8upV9bgpPxC3g80wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/blog%2Bimage%2Bmay.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Choosing the best shipment method is
crucial to the success of any e-commerce platform. </span>Before the company decides on the optimal
shipping method, it needs to decide on the market strategy. An online retailer
needs to decide on whether it wants to sell only to the domestic market or also
sell internationally. International shipping is obviously more costly and
time-intensive, and the terms and conditions would differ from domestic
shipping. Sellers need to be clear about factors that affect international
shipping such as the time it would take for an overseas customer to receive the
product, the packaging and documentation required and managing foreign exchange
and its associated risks.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">There are various shipping methods that an
e-commerce platform can consider for its domestic market based on price:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Free
shipping:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">This method will attract customers
instantly and usually online retailers offer free shipping on high value items
or when the value of the cart exceeds a certain amount. The online retailer
factors the costs of shipping into either the product’s price or by distributing
over a number of goods placed in the cart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Flat
rates:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">The simplest method to ship to customers is
charging a flat shipping fee on items purchased online, irrespective of the
weight or price of the goods. Shipping services usually charge a flat rate for
cargoes for a specific weight class, e.g. Fedex One Rate charges a flat rate
for items below <a href="https://blog.eniture.com/10-shipping-methods-e-commerce-merchants-should-consider"><span style="color: #1155cc;">50 pounds</span></a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Real
time rates:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Providing real-time rates is the most
transparent shipping method. Some e-commerce platforms display real-time
shipping rates at the time of checkout thereby, protecting the seller’s margin
and saving effort in distributing shipping costs over the purchased products.
It also provides greater transparency to customers over the actual shipping
costs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vHDopOoYcDg/YMNTG_23pyI/AAAAAAAAAHI/0BI2uvVqmFgdsstpIACcHS4EbHvjG7t8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/info%2Bsia%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1052" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vHDopOoYcDg/YMNTG_23pyI/AAAAAAAAAHI/0BI2uvVqmFgdsstpIACcHS4EbHvjG7t8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/info%2Bsia%2B%25281%2529.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Shipping methods for the domestic market
can be enhanced by the delivery time as follows:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Standard
shipping<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">This is usually the cheapest and slowest
mode of shipping products. Typically, the shipment can take up to a week and
most customers do not mind if they can get free or cheap shipping, as long as
their need is not urgent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">2-day
shipping<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">2-day shipping was popularized by Amazon
and has now become the industry benchmark for the e-commerce industry. Most
large e-commerce sellers offer this premium service but it is possible for
smaller online retailers to work with shipping service providers to offer this
service. The online retailer may also offer 2-day shipping at additional cost which
the consumer may be ready to bear depending on his/her need.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Same-day
delivery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">This method is fast becoming a unique
selling point for e-commerce businesses to differentiate themselves from the
competition. For this method to succeed, the store front, backend operations
and shipping services have to work smoothly in order to ensure that the
customer receives his/her order the same day.<a href="https://www.sbpdigital.com/blog/faster-delivery-now-key-factor-customer-satisfaction"><span style="color: #1155cc;"> Approximately 61% of consumers</span></a> prefer this
method and are willing to pay additional for the delivery.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Overnight
delivery<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Similar to same-delivery, overnight
delivery can be operated using shipping providers that have overnight flights
or transportation and can ensure delivery to the customer the next day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Free shipping can be any one of the
delivery modes (standard, 2-day, same-day, overnight) but when factoring in the
shipping costs into the product prices, the retailer has to take care that the
prices of products do not seem higher than their competitors. Being transparent
with flat rates and real-time rates has its advantages but may also put off
online shoppers. Some e-commerce platforms have adopted a table rate policy,
where shipping rates per item drop when more items are added to the cart.
Packaging plays an important role in ensuring that shipping costs are kept to a
minimum as carriers charge shipments based on weight, distance and delivery
time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">The decision for the shipping methods
described above depends on the kind of the business, products and consumers
that an online retailer is targeting and plays an important part in the online
consumer journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-21148366226753583002021-05-10T23:19:00.000-07:002021-05-10T23:19:46.243-07:00 How Artificial Intelligence is redefining the future of E-commerce Industry<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">Artificial intelligence (AI) is proliferating in every way in every
aspect of our lives. It is only set to increase its presence rapidly with major
technology companies investing or acquiring other companies offering AI tools
and expertise. <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2019/12/23/how-the-big-5-bolstered-their-ai-through-acquisitions-in-2019/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">In 2019 alone</span></a>, Facebook acquired GrokStyle
(visual search), Crtl-labs (device-AI interaction), Eero (mesh network), Canvas
Technology (warehouse robotics) and Sizmek (ad tech); Apple acquired Laserlike
(machine learning), Drive.ai (autonomous mobility) and Fashwell (computer
vision); Microsoft acquired Jclarity (machine learning) and Promote (automated
product marketing); Alphabet acquired Onward (machine learning and natural
language processing), Superpod (Question-and-Answer app) and Socratic
(education technology using Question-and-Answer). A survey done by Tractica
found that AI in e-commerce is expected to reach US$ 36.8 billion by 2025.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgJhYXodDGE/YJYxaTzwt0I/AAAAAAAAAGY/a5LQO1tovDIXWT4DxO2N-khW5KiYSqcpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s512/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="512" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgJhYXodDGE/YJYxaTzwt0I/AAAAAAAAAGY/a5LQO1tovDIXWT4DxO2N-khW5KiYSqcpgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/unnamed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Exactly how is Artificial intelligence redefining e-commerce? We can
categorize the impact in four different categories:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Digital Assistants <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Online retailers can now deploy digital assistants such as chatbots
or virtual personal shoppers for their customers. The assistants are more
intuitive in providing better 24x7 customer support and experience. Chatbots
can process customers’ voices and self-learn from previous interactions through
natural language processing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://www.linnworks.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-in-ecommerce"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Starbucks</span></a> leveraged AI to allow customers to
use voice commands to place their orders. Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa and
Apple’s Siri now take voice commands for shopping online. With home assistants
expected to be in 55% of households by 2022 and the expansion of smartwatches
and other IoT devices, this is an avenue that e-commerce platforms can tap into
consumers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Product Recommendations<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">AI has enabled online retailers to understand and track online
consumer shopping. When customers browse (window-shop) on their pages, online
retailers can display products similar to the product pages that customers
visited. This is done through algorithms that process consumer data, search
history and third-party data after receiving consent. Product recommendation <a href="https://medium.com/@Countants/how-artificial-intelligence-is-transforming-the-e-commerce-industry-countants-scalable-custom-73ae06836d35#:~:text=With%20the%20use%20of%20big,products%2C%20and%20online%20browsing%20habits.&text=Improved%20customer%20retention%20and%20sales,a%20personalized%20business%20email%20campaign."><span style="color: #1155cc;">has increased</span></a> conversion rates by 915% and
average order values by 3%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">AI has made it possible for visual search engines to recommend products
with images of their products.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Personalization<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">AI delivers personalization which is the critical success factor for
most e-commerce platforms. Based on user data generated, AI can analyze how
customers interact on the e-commerce platform, their response to social media
or email campaigns and the multiple devices they used to browse or shop online.
According to a survey conducted by <a href="https://www.yieldify.com/blog/ecommerce-personalization-trends-after-covid-19/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">Yieldify</span></a>, although only 54% are using AI for
personalization, 89% of the respondents from companies in the US and UK plan to
use AI to personalize their sites. The key goal for personalization is the retention of customers, then conversion and finally acquisition. 74% of respondents
of the same survey believed that personalization was essential for the success
of their websites.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Another emerging type of personalization that has started to transform
the luxury and fashion industry is virtual try-ons. Shoppers can upload images
of themselves or use augmented reality to try the products on before purchasing
the products. <a href="https://hapticmedia.com/blog/virtual-try-on/#:~:text=Virtual%20try%2Don%20technology%20enables,fit%20before%20making%20a%20purchase."><span style="color: #1155cc;">Baume</span></a>, a high- end watch manufacturer offers a
3D configurator on their website, enabling customers to customize and create
their own designs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Inventory Management<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">On the backend of online retail platforms, AI has helped businesses
to manage inventory more efficiently anticipating seasonal demands by tracking
sales data and factoring supply chain challenges, and in the process, freeing
working capital. AI models are being used to analyze pricing patterns and to
predict and recommend prices for products, using algorithms.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">AI is also integrated with warehouse automation using robots. <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/12/11/20982652/robots-amazon-warehouse-jobs-automation"><span style="color: #1155cc;">In 2012,</span></a> Amazon acquired Kiva Robotics, a
robotics start-up for automating its warehouses. Today, Amazon has over 200,000
robots operating in its warehouses and it is likely in the near future that
these robots may replace human workers as AI evolves by learning further. More
than <a href="https://www.coredna.com/blogs/artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning-in-ecommerce#4"><span style="color: #1155cc;">$1 trillion</span></a> of capital is tied up in inventory
in the US and AI can solve the challenges e-commerce companies are facing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Cybersecurity<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Retail is the fourth largest industry affected by cyber-attacks and
small companies are particularly vulnerable. AI is used increasingly to protect
consumer data and fend off attacks or breaches, detecting spam or fraud when
processing financial transactions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">In conclusion, companies in the e-commerce space, including
e-commerce solutions providers cannot ignore AI and have to deploy the
technology in order to understand their customer needs and deliver the best
customer experience possible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-6579068553372669792021-04-06T23:38:00.000-07:002021-04-06T23:38:44.567-07:00 How to Implement a Returns Strategy on E-commerce Orders <p style="text-align: justify;">Returns can be an opportunity for online retailers to create and sustain a loyal base of customers. Although it does add costs to the online retailer’s’ business, 51% of customers say that they avoid shopping at online retainers that have a strict returns’ policy. In surveys conducted on online customers in 2018, 62% of customers would buy again from a brand that offered free returns and exchanges and 69% and 67% are deterred from online purchases if they were charged for return shipping and restocking fees respectively. On an average, an e-commerce retailer faces 20-30% returns of its total transactions as opposed to an approximate 9% returns for a brick-and-mortar retailer so a returns strategy is critical to the success of an e-commerce business.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMUVI-TlwrI/YGWIfr9YgkI/AAAAAAAAAF8/FDJMlFEEA9svkBEtqVlEKhUn1ttC6eSbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/blog%2Bimage%2Breturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VMUVI-TlwrI/YGWIfr9YgkI/AAAAAAAAAF8/FDJMlFEEA9svkBEtqVlEKhUn1ttC6eSbwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/blog%2Bimage%2Breturn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The top two reasons why customers return the product is (1) the product does not match the
description and (2) the product is faulty or damaged. Around <a href="https://www.shopify.ca/enterprise/ecommerce-returns" target="_blank">72% of returns in fashion</a>
product categories stems from the first reason. Other common reasons are poor quality of
product, the customer ordering more than required of the same item, having issues with
delivery, no longer needing the product or serial returns. There has also been an increase in
returns fraud in e-commerce sales; where a customer makes a purchase and intentionally
claims returns to benefit monetarily from the process. This happens with clothes bought
online when some ‘customers’ purchase the product, use it for an occasion and then claim
returns for the product. An online retailer needs to build a comprehensive yet convenient
return policy to counter such reasons for returns. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned earlier, a flexible returns policy attracts customers and creates a loyal base. It
is also a powerful market tool, can minimize costs and lower cost of customer acquisition for
the e-commerce business. In effect, a returns policy is critical to e-commerce. The returns
policy depends on the type of product and business the retailer has. Some of the key
aspects that needs to be covered in a a good policy are: </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">1) whether the retailer is offering returns only and/or exchanges </div><div style="text-align: justify;">2) whether there is free shipping on returns or some percentage will be charged for
return shipping (the policy would differ for domestic and international returns) </div><div style="text-align: justify;">3) guidelines on what the condition of the product should be </div><div style="text-align: justify;">4) describe the return process so that the customer can follow it </div><div style="text-align: justify;">5) whether the returns can be made by posting it from the nearest post office, returning
it to the nearest store or a pickup offered. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">6) a time limit for returns, i.e.30 days or 60 days or 90 days </div><div style="text-align: justify;">7) whether to include a shipping label for returns or not </div><div style="text-align: justify;">8) finally, disclosing the time to process the return and resolve the issue, which could be
reshipping the order or providing store credit. </div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9qRj_vW3-I/YGTQxhhoOvI/AAAAAAAAAFw/A7rnoJGRuMEc4NL5bY3ah7VvcqRExihVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/How%2Bto%2Bimplement%2BReturns%2Bstrategy%2Bon%2BE-commerce%2Borders%2B%25282%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9qRj_vW3-I/YGTQxhhoOvI/AAAAAAAAAFw/A7rnoJGRuMEc4NL5bY3ah7VvcqRExihVgCLcBGAsYHQ/w256-h640/How%2Bto%2Bimplement%2BReturns%2Bstrategy%2Bon%2BE-commerce%2Borders%2B%25282%2529.png" width="256" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A returns policy has to balance itself in being simple and clearly visible to the customer but
at the same comprehensive in order to protect the online retailer and the customer from
potential ugly disputes and dissatisfaction. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">When pricing returns, the e-commerce business has to capture the costs involved. It may
seem that transportation, which includes shipping, packaging and labelling, is a significant
cost of the return process. However, it is damaged goods and costs of reselling the goods
that usually exceed the price of the product. There is also labour involved in return shipping,
inventory management and customer service. To factor returns in an e-commerce retailer’s
business model, if an online retailer was selling $50,000 per month, the business can budget
for 30% returns, or additional costs of $15,000. This can be spread across the entire product
list or over specific categories where the retailer has identified more returns. As the
e-commerce business gains more experience and continually refines its returns policy,
returns rate will drop and boost the e-commerce platform’s revenues and customer base. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Returns can be minimized with high quality images and detailed descriptions, accurate size
guides and tools on product pages, optimized packaging and responsive customer service.
Another important consideration is implementing a software tool that manages returns, also
known as returns-management systems, which also tracks patterns in products and
customers and would ultimately help in budgeting for returns in the business model and
product pricing. It was found that <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20121218005030/en/Intermec-Research-Shows-Distribution-Center-Managers-are-Unprepared-for-Costly-Post-Holiday-Returns" target="_blank">52% of distribution center managers do not have theresources to manage returns</a> and 44% consider returns as a major challenge in their
operations. A strong partnership with shipping services can reduce costs and make
inventory management more efficient and more importantly, support in sustaining a pleasant
customer experience. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">To conclude, ignoring the development of a returns strategy can negatively impact the
e-commerce platform. Proper research, communication and partnership with adequate
resources are required in order for the business to succeed and one way to learn is to
observe best practices from successful platforms of similar online retailers like Zappos and
Ikea.</p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-17860402037810638002021-03-02T01:48:00.000-08:002021-03-02T01:48:30.455-08:00 History of E-Commerce<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Most of us assume that Amazon was the first to launch an e-commerce platform on the internet,
back in 1995. The first e-commerce business was actually the Boston Computer exchange in
1982 where used computers were sold online. In 1992, an e-commerce store called <a href="https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3722" target="_blank">BookStacks Unlimited</a> was launched to sell books, which was later taken over by Barnes & Nobles. It
can be said that Amazon could really only take off after Netscape Navigator developed and
distributed a user-friendly web browser with encryption certificate in 1994. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0M0PXkta_4/YDc6TCowZmI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/hHaQlK3pyXUd5PEAy-Xw5fBIqTbCMSUEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/image%2Bblog%2Bfeb.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r0M0PXkta_4/YDc6TCowZmI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/hHaQlK3pyXUd5PEAy-Xw5fBIqTbCMSUEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/image%2Bblog%2Bfeb.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The earliest form of e-commerce is attributed to Michael Aldrich, who in 1979 created the connection between television and telephone lines using a real-time multi-user transaction
processing computer, giving birth to the word and concept of <a href="https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/digitaltransformation/2017/06/21/digital-transformation-e-commerce-michael-aldrich-bbc-interview-asher-rospigliosi/" target="_blank">‘teleshopping’</a>. During the 1990s,
the internet became user-friendly with the development of the first browser known as
WorldWideWeb and the National Science Foundation in the US charged fees for domain names
to businesses for commercial use. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Amazon initially started selling books and then added movies. The company pioneered the
concept of user reviews which was decried at the time. This however actually boosted the
company’s brand image and soon, it expanded to other offerings. The online store platform
leapt beyond the limitations of a physical bookstore or retail format, adding product lines as it
grew. <a href="https://money.howstuffworks.com/history-e-commerce.htm" target="_blank">The company went public in 1997 and Jeff Bezos, the founder, was Time’s ‘Person of theYear’. </a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">eBay was also launched in 1995 and quickly became a popular auction platform online. An
important solution for online payment processing emerged in 1998 - Paypal was founded by
Max Levhin, Peter Thiel, Like Nosek and Ken Howery. It later merged in 2000 with Elon Musk’s
online banking company and started to grow rapidly. eBay later bought Paypal for US$ 1.5
billion in stocks in 2020, underlining the importance of secure payment solutions for the
e-commerce industry. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In 1999, Alibaba launched itself as an online market platform with $25 million funding and
quickly turned profits by 2001. The company was the first of its kind as it offered B2B, B2C and
C2C markets on a single platform.
Although Double Click was the first internet-based service for advertising in 1995, <a href="https://searchengineland.com/google-adwords-turns-15-a-look-back-at-the-origins-of-a-60-billion-business-234579#:~:text=AdWords%20was%20actually%20Google's%20second,ran%20in%20the%20right%20rail." target="_blank">Google’sAdWords in 2000 </a>allowed e-commerce sellers to show an advertisement in Google search
results that corresponded to the viewer’s search, improving ad visibility. Brick and mortar
retailers realized by 2000 that e-commerce could not be ignored and two of the largest retailers,
Wal-Mart and Costco established their websites for online shopping. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTT4TBkMrRs/YDc6ddrwi2I/AAAAAAAAAFU/r1znMZaZTWERMnwE5c5J_1hP5AB38P7QACLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/Yellow%2BGreen%2Band%2BBlue%2BFuturistic%2BOrganization%2BProcess%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTT4TBkMrRs/YDc6ddrwi2I/AAAAAAAAAFU/r1znMZaZTWERMnwE5c5J_1hP5AB38P7QACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Yellow%2BGreen%2Band%2BBlue%2BFuturistic%2BOrganization%2BProcess%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://fullfatcommerce.com/blog/a-history-of-shopify" target="_blank">Shopify was launched in 2004</a>, a platform dedicated to setting up online stores and point-of-sale
systems. The company has successfully grown catering to all types of businesses, particularly
small and medium retail businesses in North America. Its competitor, Bigcommerce entered the
market in 2009, processing more than <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.ca/articles/ecommerce/#ecommerce-timeline" target="_blank">$25 billion in sales</a> since then. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">During this time, Amazon was dominating the e-commerce industry in North America and
spread across various regions, with the exception of China where Alibaba was the leader.
Amazon introduced <a href="https://pattern.com/blog/amazon-prime-a-timeline-from-2005-to-2020/" target="_blank">Amazon Prime in 2005</a>, a revolutionary marketing tactic to offer premium
services to its users with the guarantee of 2-day delivery for a flat fee. This increased its
consumer base and loyalty and by which time, it had already become one of the largest
companies by market capitalization on the NYSE. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In 2011, Google introduced Google Wallet, a peer-to-peer payment system with its Android Pay
and Stripe focused on payments strictly for developers. Apple Pay followed in 2014, as its store
became one of the largest stores for mobile apps for the Apple ecosystem. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">e-Commerce businesses took to social media channels for advertising to their potential
customer base and social media platforms looked to monetize their platforms through partner
advertisements. Facebook introduced its shoppable stories in 2011 and Instagram partnered
with BigCommerce to bring shoppable posts in 2017. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As global e-Commerce sales touched US$ 3.5 trillion in sales in 2019, it has transformed not
only the way consumers shop but also supply chain management and marketing for both B2B
and B2C businesses.</p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-81074363778242353752021-01-19T03:19:00.017-08:002021-01-20T20:49:03.045-08:00E-Commerce Virtual Assistants<p></p><div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.3pt; margin-right: 18.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">You have your e-commerce platform idea and the products that you want to
sell. New sellers have the traditional option to organically work on their
e-commerce site and build as the brand grows. But that significantly impinges
the customer experience while shopping on the site.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.3pt; margin-right: 18.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mlxOr0wFuA0/YAgLuV_0czI/AAAAAAAAAEw/HjSfltbLz7M-x89JxXFjHO5DNmbBKpADgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/pleasant-looking-young-short-haired-brunette-lady-with-casual-hairstyle-leaning-her-chin-raised-hand-smiling-positively-isolated-white%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mlxOr0wFuA0/YAgLuV_0czI/AAAAAAAAAEw/HjSfltbLz7M-x89JxXFjHO5DNmbBKpADgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/pleasant-looking-young-short-haired-brunette-lady-with-casual-hairstyle-leaning-her-chin-raised-hand-smiling-positively-isolated-white%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.3pt; margin-right: 18.5pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">E-commerce sellers now have a myriad of options to outsource functions
or tasks of the business to low-cost efficient specialists known as <i>virtual
assistants</i>, resulting in quicker turnaround and growth in the business. The
options can be classified according to important pillars of any e-retail
business:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Design</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-right: 6.95pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Website: </span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Your website is the face of your brand. If the
design and feel of the website is unprofessional or generic from free
templates, it could turn away the customer from shopping or dampen their
experience. Once there is an understanding of who the target market is,
websites need to be designed to capture their attention and foster brand
recall. The design of your website can be outsourced to virtual assistants
based on your requirements and description.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-right: 6.95pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><b>Graphics & Media:</b> To support a well designed website, eye-catching, high quality photos and videos are important elements. Outsourcing graphics and media content to graphic designers, photographers, and/or videographers ensures that your website creates awareness and brand recall with customers, the first stage in the consumer buying journey. Undeniably, video marketing has become very popular. Just look to most social media platforms enabling their users to create short videos or stories. <a href="https://medium.com/@connorgillivan/30-ecommerce-virtual-assistants-to-grow-your-online-store-faster-4270a5f9716a" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-right: 6.95pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">CISCO says video marketing will drive 82%</a> of the growth in traffic in the near future. <a href="https://optinmonster.com/video-marketing-statistics-what-you-must-know/" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-right: 6.95pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">“Tiger Fitness says video marketing helped them achieve a 60% returning customer rate, which is three times the norm for their industry.”</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.55pt; margin-left: 2.25pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Content Marketing: </span></b><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To back those powerful images and videos, engaging
and continuous content is imperative to empathize with your target audience.
They can be vlogs, blog posts, articles on how-to, the-best-of, top-10 or even
infographics that showcase the brand as relevant and knowledgeable in order to
gain the trust of customers. Content needs to not only be managed on the
website but across the e-commerce seller’s social media accounts, with
scheduled releases to convert your visiting potential customers into buying
customers. Virtual assistants in the form of content writers and content
managers support this part of the e-commerce strategy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin: 4.8pt 0cm 0cm 2.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The content ties in with keyword research and SEO tactics, where virtual
assistants have the tools to place and update appropriate keywords, in line
with current industry trends so that customers can be directed to your
e-commerce site. There are virtual assistants for specific tasks such as social
media managers, PPC (pay-per-click) specialists, digital marketing experts, ad
campaign managers and email marketers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Back End Operations</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Back end
operations can be outsourced to virtual assistants for:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Order Fulfilment: </span></b><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The entire
customer buying experience includes how quickly and efficiently their order is
processed and received. The e-commerce seller needs to ensure the right product
is shipped to the right customer, in a safe and timely manner. The product should
not be damaged, of wrong specifications or size or delivered to the wrong
address. Fulfilment specialists are virtual assistants that track orders and
returns and are especially useful when shipment sizes and volume of orders can
become overwhelming.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .3pt; margin: 0.3pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PsEuLM5fCdI/YAgKo01Y0rI/AAAAAAAAAEo/M4JXNPWmSrk57pW9yzudOJOunJAVrIBYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/Website%2BWebsite%2Bdesign%2Bcan%2Bbe%2Boutsourced%2Bto%2Byour%2BVAs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PsEuLM5fCdI/YAgKo01Y0rI/AAAAAAAAAEo/M4JXNPWmSrk57pW9yzudOJOunJAVrIBYgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h640/Website%2BWebsite%2Bdesign%2Bcan%2Bbe%2Boutsourced%2Bto%2Byour%2BVAs.png" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.45pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Website
& IT maintenance: </span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">E-commerce sellers can lose money
and opportunity when websites crash, particularly around holiday seasons.
Fortunately, there are virtual assistants who help to maintain the website, the
e-commerce platform and other crucial IT infrastructure so that the website is
always running smoothly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.45pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sourcing & Inventory: </span></b><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Virtual assistants who manage sourcing and inventory ensure availability of the products for an e-commerce business. Sourcing assistants ensure quality and timely delivery from suppliers to the e-commerce business while virtual inventory managers balance adequate stocks and mix of the products to save costs and avoid inventory losses. A just-in-time practice helps e-commerce sellers to minimize excess inventory and inventory carrying costs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 0.05pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Front End Operations</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-top: 8.55pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Front end
operations manage the customers directly.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-top: 0.05pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Customer
Service & Retention:</span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"> These assistants use chat,
call, or email to interact with clients to manage their queries and concerns
before and after sales. There may be instances where customers are upset with
the order process and raise complaints. In such instances, virtual customer
retention representatives resolve the complaints in the best manner without
further agitating the customers and losing them altogether. Retention specialists
can also manage the most loyal customers by offering incentives for repeat
purchases.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-top: 2.2pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Refunds
& Returns: </span></b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">In the event of refunds or returns, virtual
assistants track the process for the customers, updating them of the status, in
order to ensure that the entire experience is smooth and does not irate the
customers further.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-top: 2.2pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet, serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are many more types of virtual assistants who specialize in
certain tasks or functions for e-commerce businesses to consider. While
specialists offer the expertise and refinement to a task, virtual assistants
offering a bouquet of services allow e-commerce sellers to focus on other
aspects of the business. Choosing them is an important decision as this a
long-term partnership that can determine the success of the business.</span></p></div><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-2420105534008774472020-12-14T05:20:00.004-08:002020-12-27T17:30:46.120-08:00Sustainable Packaging & Shipping<p> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">“Major
U.S. retailers reported jumps in e-commerce volume in the second and third
quarters — some more than 100%. And roughly one-third of U.S. small- to
medium-sized businesses reported, as of September that their shipping volume had
increased, according to a poll conducted by </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/postal-shipments-billion-pitney-bowes-parcel/586839/"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Morning Consult on
behalf of Pitney Bowes.</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">”</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDAYCQHQ8-0/X9dmRyyuw0I/AAAAAAAAADw/8ssk8tYo8FMmcWlh2PGxJDOq5e_tMLa2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2400/s3-2%2Bcopy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2400" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDAYCQHQ8-0/X9dmRyyuw0I/AAAAAAAAADw/8ssk8tYo8FMmcWlh2PGxJDOq5e_tMLa2QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h320/s3-2%2Bcopy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">The
pandemic has created havoc in economies across the world. It may seem from the
quote above and the market valuations of tech stocks such as Amazon, Alibaba
that the e-commerce business is booming, but it has been a mixed bag for the
parcel shipping industry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/shifts_in_parcel_market_conditions_brought_on_by_covid_19_are_still_evolvin"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Reports</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";"> indicate that much of the business in
the US has shifted to the two largest delivery companies, FedEx and UPS and
they have increased shipping rates, which are being borne by the biggest
e-retailers. FedEx and UPS concurrently have been delivering more residential
packages than commercial packages during the pandemic. However, due to the
large business volume, most delivery companies have had to fix caps on weekly
volumes during peak seasons, suspend delivery guarantees or inform about
delivery delays and/or </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/shifts_in_parcel_market_conditions_brought_on_by_covid_19_are_still_evolvin"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">add COVID-19 peak
surcharges</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">It
should be of concern to e-commerce retailers that they adopt sustainable
practices in packaging and shipping, to protect the environment and so that
they can showcase their values to the customers. 47% of </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/01/10/1686144/0/en/CGS-Survey-Reveals-Sustainability-Is-Driving-Demand-and-Customer-Loyalty.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">CGS survey
respondents</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">
in 2019 said that they would pay 25% more for a sustainable product and
according to Nielsen, 73% of survey respondents said they would change their
purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact. Here are some of the
practices using the three R's paradigm of environment - Reduce, Reuse and
Recycle:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Reduce</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Companies can reduce any misinformation
in the order process; when customers place an order, multiple reconfirmation of
order details such as size or capacity, model/make and shipping details. Even
invoice should be clear so that the customer can see the information clearly
and intimate customer service if there are any errors before shipping is
carried out. Reduction of misinformation can help avoid shipping and return
costs and maintain customer loyalty.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Companies can consider minimizing the
package size according to the products they ship. Not only does it save costs,
it reduces the environmental impact. Imagine getting a small set of wireless
in-ear headphones in a shoe-box type of box! E-commerce retailers can consider
software like </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.esko.com/en/products/cape-pack"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Cape Pack</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";"> from Esko or </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://topseng.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Tops Software</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";"> to design the safest and best type of packaging for their
product. Reducing the amount of plastic and instead using biodegradable plastic
reduces the impact on the environment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">It may seem insignificant, but reducing
inking and creating standardized sizes helps in reducing wastes. Bio-based inks
are now available as an option for branding packages.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GL-RSj19FGs/X9B3hIfCFVI/AAAAAAAAADk/bkYHxk-GiIUWEleb-pDkA7U6bkdsZeUswCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/Make%2BUp%2BShop%2BOrder%2BProcess%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GL-RSj19FGs/X9B3hIfCFVI/AAAAAAAAADk/bkYHxk-GiIUWEleb-pDkA7U6bkdsZeUswCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Make%2BUp%2BShop%2BOrder%2BProcess%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.png" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Reuse</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Some companies are promoting packaging
which can be reused. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.sendinblue.com/blog/eco-friendly-packaging-for-ecommerce/"><span style="color: #1155cc; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">RePack and Limeloop</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";"> offer a subscription service where you
use their packaging and return them to the companies for further orders.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Companies can also promote to clients
that they can reuse the packaging if it is durable and eco-friendly, for
example, if products are shipped in customized boxes or bags made from organic
materials like jute, customers can reuse the packaging for other purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Recycle</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Using more recyclable materials like
cardboard, paper, biodegradable or compostable plastic (plant-based) in
packaging contributes to a circular economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Plant-based packaging solutions are relatively new and sourced from corn,
seaweed, wood pulp and others. Not all plant-based packaging solutions are
compostable so e-commerce businesses need to research whether a particular
material is compostable or not.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">Few companies, particularly consumer electronics
manufacturers, have developed programs to take back obsolete products which
requires coordinated shipping as an integral part of such programs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Droid Sans";">E-commerce
retailers can also partner with shipping companies that are taking efforts in
reducing their carbon footprint, such as optimization/aggregation of shipments
using big data analysis and deliveries through electric modes of
transportation. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt;">With
a plethora of options available to e-commerce businesses, going sustainable is
no longer an expensive expedition. Consumers are becoming more proactive and
both developed and developing countries are shifting their attention to
becoming circular economies.</span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-66572251125153791252020-11-20T21:06:00.001-08:002020-11-30T10:07:22.341-08:00What companies are doing different to attract ecommerce customers <p></p><div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: justify;"></p><p class="MsoTitle" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;">The<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>COVID-19<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>pandemic<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>situation<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>has<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>led<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>many<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>consumers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>coming<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>online<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>and/or<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>increasing<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">their
</span><span style="mso-font-width: 95%;">online<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;">
</span>activities. “U.S.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>online<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>sales<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;">
</span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;"> </span>September<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/coronavirus-impact-online-retail/"><span style="color: #1154cc; mso-font-width: 95%;">increased<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>43%<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span></span></a><span style="mso-font-width: 95%;">year<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>over<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>year,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;">
</span>reaching<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;"> </span>$60.4<span style="letter-spacing: -0.85pt;"> </span>billion, </span>according to Adobe
Analytics. This growth was just above August’s online sales growth, which
increased<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>42%<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>year<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>over<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>year.”<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 15.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmVrFHacGhs/X7dg1Xeuf_I/AAAAAAAAADY/7qNEIFp00l0qyFW3n6AWEW1cQ1z_BHkzACLcBGAsYHQ/s512/unnamed.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="512" height="334" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmVrFHacGhs/X7dg1Xeuf_I/AAAAAAAAADY/7qNEIFp00l0qyFW3n6AWEW1cQ1z_BHkzACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h334/unnamed.png" width="640" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: 9.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">This<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>has<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>been<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>boon<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>many<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>companies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>existing<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>e-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>platforms<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>this<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>has<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>led<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.4pt;">to </span>many<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>new<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>e-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -2.05pt;"> </span>businesses<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -2.05pt;"> </span>traditional<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>companies<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>who<span style="letter-spacing: -2.05pt;"> </span>do<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -2.05pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>e-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -2.05pt;"> </span>platforms to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4pt;"> </span>jump<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>onboard<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;">
</span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>expedite<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4pt;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;">
</span>online<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>presence.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>This<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;">
</span>is<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4pt;"> </span>evident<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>increase<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.4pt;"> </span>traffic<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;">
</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;">drop </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.northern.co/covid-19-impacting-ecommerce/"><span style="color: #1154cc;">conversion<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>rates</span></a>.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>What<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;">
</span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>innovative<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>ways<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>which<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>some<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>companies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>stood<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>out<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;">
</span>the crowd?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .5pt; margin: 0.5pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;">E-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>retailers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>turned<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>data<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>analytics<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>track<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>metrics<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>see<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>what<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>tactic<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>worked<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>and hasn’t worked in the short run. Some e-commerce businesses have
created landing pages and are promoting<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>products<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>customers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>looking<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>out<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>manage<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>pandemic,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>such<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>as<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>face<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;">
</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">masks </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>hand<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;">
</span>sanitizers.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>By<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>showcasing<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>them<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>given<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;">
</span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>limited<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>supply,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;">
</span>customers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>likely<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;">
</span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>spend more<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>time<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;">
</span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>add<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>other<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;">
</span>products.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.northern.co/covid-19-impacting-ecommerce/"><span style="color: #1154cc;">Other<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>features<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span></span></a>that<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>online<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>platforms<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>introduced<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>higher
quality<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>and/or<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>360<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>degrees<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>images,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;">
</span>free<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>shipping,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>more<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>flexible<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;">
</span>exchange<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>policy,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>offer <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-font-width: 95%;">buy-now-pay-later solutions, improve
live-chat and FAQs section, promote pre-orders and highlight </span><span lang="EN-US">price match guarantees.</span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .5pt; margin: 0.5pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .5pt; margin: 0.5pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;">Mountainist,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>women’s<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;">
</span>outdoor<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>gear-rental<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>service<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;">
</span>relies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span>outdoor<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;">
</span>events<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>many<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">events
</span>being<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>cancelled<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>due<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>pandemic,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1154cc; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2020/07/13/creative-ways-e-commerce-businesses-are-maintaining-sales-during-the-pandemic/?sh=286cbda54e67">decided<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>waive<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>cancellation<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>fees<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>offered<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>15-minute</a> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2020/07/13/creative-ways-e-commerce-businesses-are-maintaining-sales-during-the-pandemic/?sh=286cbda54e67"><span style="color: #1154cc;">one-on-one<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;"> </span>virtual<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;">
</span>shopping<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;"> </span>experiences<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;"> </span>Zoom</span></a>.<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>These<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;">
</span>experiences<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span>help<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;">
</span>clients<span style="letter-spacing: -2.15pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -2.1pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">become
</span>enthused<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>about<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>future<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;">
</span>events<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>once<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>pandemic<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>ends. </span>Some<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>companies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>only<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>contributing,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>but<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>also<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>partnering<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>NGOs<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>by<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>hosting<span style="letter-spacing: -1.35pt;"> </span>donation<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">links </span>or apps on
their platforms and promoting to customers to contribute what they can to
support frontline<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>workers.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>For<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>example,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2020/07/13/creative-ways-e-commerce-businesses-are-maintaining-sales-during-the-pandemic/?sh=286cbda54e67"><span style="color: #1154cc;">A.Lynn<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>Designs<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>is<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>hosting<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>AmeriCares</span><span style="color: #1154cc; letter-spacing: -1.8pt; text-decoration-line: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></a>so<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>they<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>can<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>get<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>medical supplies to first responders in
this pandemic. This would resonate with the customers of A.Lynn Designs<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.7pt;"> </span>foster<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;"> </span>brand<span style="letter-spacing: -0.65pt;">
</span>loyalty.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mexXyFXTmhE/X7YH4gxKMhI/AAAAAAAAADE/IjbySmDivKosjGuco9XJ4TZ_zj-DJ8PkQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2000/Colorful%2BCareer%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="800" height="2000" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mexXyFXTmhE/X7YH4gxKMhI/AAAAAAAAADE/IjbySmDivKosjGuco9XJ4TZ_zj-DJ8PkQCLcBGAsYHQ/w800-h2000/Colorful%2BCareer%2BTimeline%2BInfographic.jpg" width="800" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .5pt; margin: 0.5pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/21/companies-that-are-helping-americans-fight-covid-19/111565368/"><span style="color: #1154cc;">Other<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>companies</span><span style="color: #1154cc; letter-spacing: -1.95pt; text-decoration-line: none;"> </span></a>like<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>Amazon,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span>Alibaba,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>Apple,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>Facebook,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>Google<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>taken<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span>steps<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>do<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>part<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">for </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>community<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>while<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;">
</span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>directly<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>advertising<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>these<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>efforts,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>consumers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>would<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>feel<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>more<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>positive
towards<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>these<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>brands.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;">
</span>Companies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>strive<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>through<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;">
</span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>messaging<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>be<span style="letter-spacing: -1.65pt;"> </span>shown<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.45pt;">as </span>opportunistic
during these<span style="letter-spacing: -1.9pt;"> </span>times.</p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .25pt; margin: 0.25pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 15.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 7.55pt; margin-top: .05pt; margin: 0.05pt 7.55pt 0cm 5pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>pandemic<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>has<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>hit<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>small<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;">
</span>businesses<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>hardest<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>across<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>world.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;">
</span>Many<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>them<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;">
</span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: -1.5pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.45pt;"> </span>close
their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>shutters<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span>good.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>Others<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span>managed<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>moving<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;">
</span>online<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>completely<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>juggling<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -1.75pt;">
</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;">their </span>presence<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>crowded<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;">
</span>internet<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>space<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;">
</span>offline<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>operations.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>Some<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;">
</span>small<span style="letter-spacing: -1.15pt;"> </span>businesses<span style="letter-spacing: -1.1pt;"> </span>with<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 5.0pt; margin-right: 28.1pt; margin-top: .15pt; margin: 0.15pt 28.1pt 0cm 5pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">e-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>platforms<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span>supporting<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>each<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>other<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>promoting<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span>other’s<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>business.<span style="letter-spacing: -2pt;"> </span>For<span style="letter-spacing: -1.95pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">example, </span>Organic<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>Bath<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>Co.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>partnered<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;"> </span>Bully<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>Boy<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>Distillers<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;"> </span>partner<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>on<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.95pt;"> </span>hand<span style="letter-spacing: -0.9pt;"> </span>sanitizer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .3pt; margin: 0.3pt 0cm 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 15.5pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: 200%; margin-right: 7.3pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 2.4pt;"><span lang="EN-US">Companies<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>are<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>also<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;">
</span>leveraging<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>social<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>media<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;">
</span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>communicate<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>differently<span style="letter-spacing: -1.6pt;"> </span>with<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.55pt;"> </span>customers.<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>For example,<a href="https://www.bazaarvoice.com/blog/shifting-social-media-strategies-for-covid-19/"><span style="color: #1154cc;"> Tracksmith</span></a>, a lifestyle brand for running,
launched a club through Instagram stories featuring<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;"> </span>running<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>related<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>movies,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;">
</span>books<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>podcasts.<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;"> </span>To<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>stand<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>out<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;"> </span>from<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.2pt;"> </span>crowd,<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;"> </span>e-commerce businesses<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>have<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>had<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>get<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>creative<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>not<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>be<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>afraid<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>build<span style="letter-spacing: -1.25pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>personality<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>to<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>their<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;"> </span>target<span style="letter-spacing: -1.3pt;">
</span>audience. Marketers<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>predict<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>that<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>ways<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>e-commerce<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>brands<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;">
</span>communicate<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>through<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>social<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;">
</span>media<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -1.7pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;">current </span>pandemic<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;"> </span>crisis<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;"> </span>will<span style="letter-spacing: -0.75pt;"> </span>impact<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;">
</span>marketing<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;"> </span>strategies<span style="letter-spacing: -0.75pt;"> </span>for<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.75pt;"> </span>long<span style="letter-spacing: -0.8pt;"> </span>term.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p></div><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-29508305489535872342020-10-16T01:45:00.014-07:002020-10-19T03:37:50.196-07:00What you need to know about Gross Merchandise Value<p></p><p style="line-height: 150%;"></p><p style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"><b><br /></b></span></div><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;">Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) is<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gross-merchandise-value.asp" target="_blank"> defined </a>as the gross sales
revenue generated over a period of time by an e-commerce platform before any
deduction for fees or commission . It is used to track the growth
rate of an e-commerce business since it measures the value of the total
merchandise that has been sold through the site for a specific time period,
quarterly, bi-annually, or annually.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 11pt;"><i>Gross Merchandise Value = Number of Goods sold x Price of goods sold</i></b></div></span><p></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="512" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--YRmW9x63oE/X4k6y_EBWvI/AAAAAAAAACY/DjNRlTln8B44Quybq76gKUfciaM2LMlLgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h265/image%2B%25281%2529.png" width="640" /></span></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;">This metric is useful for e-commerce businesses
that buy and store the merchandise from suppliers and delivers to customers
when purchases are made. However, it cannot be used as a standalone metric for
all online retail platforms. For e-commerce sites that operate as a
Customer-to-Customer (C2C) business, they do not physically manage the goods.
The total commissions generated and accrued expenses, such as delivery fees,
advertising, return expenses incurred are more important to track for this
business model. This is also known as Gross Transaction Value (<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/all-you-want-to-know-about-gross-merchandise-value/articleshow/33361672.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank">GTV</a>). GMV is the
<a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-GMV-Turnover-and-Revenue-of-a-company" target="_blank">total marketplace value</a> that the e-commerce site has created whereas GTV is the
revenue that the business generated for itself from running the marketplace.
For example, GMV may increase from quarter to quarter for an e-commerce
business, but if GTV remained constant or fell as a proportion to GMV, it means
that the business is not really extracting more value from the transactions
that take place on its platform. GTV/GMV is a metric that is preferred over GMV
because the stakeholders of the business can analyze the earnings
that e-commerce business is generating from hosting customer-to-customer
transactions on its site. </span></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 200%;"><a href="https://www.repricerexpress.com/amazon-vs-alibaba-winning/" target="_blank">Amazon and Alibaba</a> illustrate two types of e-commerce
business models and how GMV would differ for the two. Amazon is essentially a
reseller, procuring and storing products and then delivering to customers. The
company owns numerous warehouses and now has forayed into offline retail, with
its acquisition of Whole Foods. The main sources of revenue for Amazon is from
sales of electronic products and its member subscription services. It also
generates revenue from facilitating third-party sales. Unlike Amazon, Alibaba
does not own any warehouses and enables all sellers to directly connect and
ship to customers. The commonality between the services are that they have
their own payment structures and have dominated their respective home
countries. Tracking GMV for Amazon and tracking GTV for Alibaba is the logical
route. </span></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">To put things in perspective, </span><a href="https://jingdaily.com/amazon-vs-alibaba-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-two-biggest-e-tailers/#:~:text=Revenue%20Generation,category%20by%20a%20significant%20margin." style="font-size: 11pt;" target="_blank">in 2018, Alibaba's GMV was around $768
billion while Amazon's GMV was $239 billion</a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">. GTVs of the companies are not
given but it can be deduced that the GTV of Amazon would be higher than that of
GTV of Alibaba given their respective business models.</span></p><p style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.visualistan.com/2020/08/ecommerce-gmv-in-covid-19-infographic.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3899" data-original-width="807" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3vJN9cYQVfI/X4k7uHLGj4I/AAAAAAAAACg/KWKY3PtlNAIH2W_M8RRt6yHwt1PoQ0ppgCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/qvPMacw.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infographic by : www.channeladvisor.com<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 250%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Despite Amazon
charging its sellers higher fees and commissions, “the company’s profit margin
(net income as a percentage of sales) is lower at 4.1% (as of 2019) versus
23.3% (fiscal 2019 ending March) for Alibaba .” This is primarily because of
Amazon’s reseller business model which incurs higher overheads than Alibaba. It
looks like Alibaba will certainly give Amazon a run for its money however
Amazon has been differentiating itself by diversifying in its offerings and
focusing on customer service through quality and quick delivery.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 250%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In conclusion, while GMV serves as a popular and useful metric to gauge
the growth of e-commerce platforms, it is important to understand the type of
business model the platform operates on and use it with other metrics to
analyze growth opportunities and challenges the business site is facing or may
face. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 250%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></span><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 150%;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p><p></p><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-33083981551675063672020-09-10T02:39:00.022-07:002020-09-27T23:15:47.465-07:00Challenges for Cross border E-Commerce<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><b>Borders are literally
non-existent in today’s world where buying and selling between countries has
been made so much easy through e-commerce. Technology has
transformed and blurred the line that existed earlier in cross border transactions and continuous
investment is being made by many e-commerce majors to ensure customer satisfaction and high reach of various products and services.</b></span></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Poj5iWT2g0/X1ipqkfdMqI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/ffVwMB_b7Fg7MVBFinPfrQSjz0hahRBywCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/sellinall%2Bblog%2Bimages.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="313" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Poj5iWT2g0/X1ipqkfdMqI/AAAAAAAAC1Q/ffVwMB_b7Fg7MVBFinPfrQSjz0hahRBywCLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h313/sellinall%2Bblog%2Bimages.jpg" width="625" /></span></a></div><span><br /><span style="line-height: 107%;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Global e-commerce sales is projected to reach US <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/296576494894058701/3308398155167506367"><span style="color: blue;">$6.5 trillion by 2023</span></a>, which will be
approximately 22% of total global retail sales. A <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/296576494894058701/3308398155167506367"><span style="color: blue;">study on western Europe</span></a>, found that cross-border
e-commerce accounted for 95 billion of the total e-commerce revenue in 2018 and
that cross-border trade made up 22.8% of the total online sales in Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">More than 2.1 billion shoppers are expected to purchase goods and
services online by 2021. E-commerce as a whole has already shifted away from
the West and will continue to do so despite the slowdown in the global economy.
While most companies who sell online have a good grasp on their local markets,
managing cross-border e-commerce sales presents a set of challenges that must
be overcome and managed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The challenges of cross-border e-commerce sales can be
classified into the following:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">1) Logistics</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Logistics is a primary challenge in cross-border e-commerce
because it is a significant cost (approximately 7% of online sales) and time
consumed in the purchasing process. Amazon has set a standard of quick delivery
within 48 hours and customers now expect the same from online e-commerce
platforms. Online sellers need to be careful in choosing their delivery
partners, considering the reputation, shipping network coverage and shipping
costs. It is not enough that the product shipped by the seller is good; a safe,
prompt and cost-effective delivery has a major impact on the overall customer
purchasing experience. The responsibility of the seller does not end with
handing over the product to the logistics partners. Customers view delivery as
a responsibility of the seller rather than that of the logistics company.
Hence, sellers need to select the right partner. It is even more imperative
because there may be occasions when customers may wish to return the goods,
which could be due to errors from the supplier or customer’s side, such as,
wrong product model, wrong color, wrong size and so on. Sellers need to ensure
they have good relations and coverage with the logistics partner to make
shipping returns convenient to the customer.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ7CkcNs5RU/X1ip8g-Eg1I/AAAAAAAAC1Y/TNtYx-gQ9CMUJFEL9WQeoN1thnG23riEACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/info%2Bgraphic%2Bcros%2Bborder.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: arial; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1550" height="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IQ7CkcNs5RU/X1ip8g-Eg1I/AAAAAAAAC1Y/TNtYx-gQ9CMUJFEL9WQeoN1thnG23riEACLcBGAsYHQ/w379-h500/info%2Bgraphic%2Bcros%2Bborder.jpg" width="379" /></a><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">2) Payments</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The most dominant payment mode for global e-commerce sale
transactions is credit card payment. Almost all e-commerce payments in Europe
are through major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express,
with the exception of Germany. In Japan, Konbini, a local payment method,
accounts for a sixth of e-commerce payments. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">With the rise of online transactions, fraud risk is prevalent and
due to various security restrictions, such as address verification's by
the payment merchants, these measures dissuade customers from purchasing goods
from international online retailers. 13% of online consumers refrain from buying
if a foreign currency is displayed so sellers need to ensure that a local,
secure and convenient payment system is set up for customers to utilize.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">3) Regulations</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">One aspect that e-commerce has minimal impact on is regulations of
foreign countries. Cross border e-commerce requires that international online
sellers follow the regulations and documentation procedures of the country of
destination. Some countries have quality and packaging requirements, high
custom tariffs, stringent custom procedures and consumer laws that sellers need
to adhere to. Despite the rapid technology development in e-commerce platforms
and logistics, import-export documentation is still yet to catch up,
particularly in developing countries as most documentation is done manually.
Duties and export procedures may add and make the products of international
sellers expensive. Certain countries may have legal systems which are weak to
enforce laws and or complicated systems causing judicial delays, consequently
affecting recourse to the seller, if any.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">4) Localization</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Global e-commerce sellers need to be ready to consider local
factors when entering a foreign market. Sellers commonly face language and
cultural barriers and fail to understand consumer habits. While there are many
off-the-shelf translation software's, sellers need to take care that the
website supports a number of languages and that the translation communicates
what is intended. Marketing campaigns also need to be carefully worded. To cite
a well-known international marketing mistake, Coors, a beer manufacturer from
the US, launched its "Turn it loose" campaign in Spain and
translated the slogan literally. When translated into Spanish, the
expression was interpreted as "suffer from diarrhea"! Consumer habits
play an important role and Amazon is one of the leaders when it comes to
localization. The home page or landing page of Amazon is different for each
country, based on the preferences and purchasing habits of consumers. Amazon
India prominently displays the latest mobile phones for Indian consumers. In the
US and Canada, the page focuses on today’s deals for a range of products.
Content and product catalogs need to be updated periodically to capitalize on
seasonal and/or holiday trends, or changes in consumer preferences. Sellers
also need to develop search engine optimization (SEO) tactics in a foreign
country. Although there are several challenges in international e-commerce,
there is a lot of market potential for sellers which they cannot afford to
ignore. One only needs to look at Alibaba’s successes as a platform for mainly
suppliers in China expanding overseas and from the company’s listing in the US.
Through careful planning and execution of resources, global e-commerce sellers
can achieve growth in international markets, capitalizing on emerging technologies
and lower overheads.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Considering a good e-commerce platform is a key to one’s success
in tapping national and international marketplaces and achieving success
in selling across borders , and <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/296576494894058701/3308398155167506367"><span style="color: blue;">www.sellinall.com</span></a> provides just what today’s
sellers are looking for. Explore the rich features that SELLinALL offers and to
make cross border selling more accessible and easier for your business needs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: arial; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-24260592110663641782020-07-22T01:34:00.010-07:002020-07-29T01:26:48.073-07:00How to Make Correct SKU for Faster Listing<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99tPg13c8K4/Xxf2AS5JKEI/AAAAAAAACqQ/D2vWfq1jsDMJCzxYq6DGzj5XqBrLeiWaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/SKU%2BLISTING.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="313" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-99tPg13c8K4/Xxf2AS5JKEI/AAAAAAAACqQ/D2vWfq1jsDMJCzxYq6DGzj5XqBrLeiWaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w625-h313/SKU%2BLISTING.jpg" width="625" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is a code
tied to a particular product for internal use. Believe me, correct SKU is the
very foundation of your store, you cannot mess with this one. These codes
allow us to track our stocks and supplies and it helps a lot for listing in
e-commerce marketplaces.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">So, we must make an SKU that can be
easily understood and used for faster listing in many kinds of marketplaces.
Don't trouble yourself later because you have underestimated this. To get a correct
SKU, you only need to apply these 4 simple rules:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">1. Only use dot ' . ' or dash ' - ' symbols</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This way you won't confuse yourself, the
audience, or the spreadsheet. Symbols like ' / ' will sometimes cause format
problems in your excel. While special symbols like ' @ ' or ' # ' become
irrelevant when you use them in making SKU. And of course, don't use space.</span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-align: left;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">2. Use both letter and number </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Combine but don't mix when representing the information!
Start with letters like the brand's of an item, because it's much easier to
sort out later on. </span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Use one character for one variable. If you code the size of
your items as number, like "15" for "S", do the same for
"all size", don't write it as "ALL". You need some way to
represent it, like "99" or whatsoever.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="IN" style="background: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">3. Don't reuse SKU</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Make sure the SKU of an item is never
used before. Yes it is unique, but please, double check your SKU. One item one
SKU, even for the variations.</span><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="IN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="IN" style="background: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">4. Make it short, simple and consistent!</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="IN" style="background: white; color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the most important thing,
consistency. Make sure everyone who makes the SKU really understands your rules
when making your store SKU. This way, even your customers will know
how to use them when searching for your items.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; text-align: left;">Voila! That's all are our tips for correct SKU, I hope this will help you and whoever manages your store.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.8pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.1pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">** </span><b style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Article
contributed by Adrian Abhiyoga, adrian@sellinall.com</i></b></p><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-37872953405654613132020-07-02T05:26:00.016-07:002020-07-02T05:48:18.164-07:00Knowing what sells after COVID-19<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mR_sY80uTls/Xv1l4MoI5SI/AAAAAAAACko/H_Oo6PTpaNIic7Zoo01vTSH_3zlCyjiHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/image%2Bblog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="arial"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1141" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mR_sY80uTls/Xv1l4MoI5SI/AAAAAAAACko/H_Oo6PTpaNIic7Zoo01vTSH_3zlCyjiHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/image%2Bblog.jpg" width="640" /></font></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">It was not the typical back-to-school this year for Anna,
an 8th grade student at a private school. Topping her list of academic essentials was a laptop. Her school, like most, switched classes to online using Microsoft
Teams to deliver content. Her parents had their dedicated work laptops and considering buying one just for Anna so that she could attend her classes. This
is a conundrum that is being faced by many families globally during COVID-19
times.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">Recently, DigiTimes Research reported that global
shipments of laptops and tablets would surge in the second quarter
after falling in Q1 due to COVID-19. Notebooks are expected to surge by 40% and
tablets by 45% due to remote work and student demands. Gartner, a global IT research and
consulting company, surveyed 317 CFO's and business finance leaders and results
revealed 74% of respondents expect atleast 5% of their workforce who
previously worked in company offices will become permanent work-from-home
employees after the pandemic ends.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">Industries other than the laptop/notebook that
have witnessed a surge in sales globally during the COVID situation are online
video gaming (Nintendo, Electronic Arts), online video streaming platforms
(Netflix, Disney+, Hotstar), household
cleaning chemicals and materials (Clorox, Lizol), home exercise
equipments,video conferencing (Zoom, Skype) and grocery marts. Zoom’s share
price rose 41 per cent since February 16, 2020, tripling its listed valuation
which occurred a year ago. Certainly in the western part of the world, toilet
paper could test the Giffen’s paradox!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="arial">The need of the
hour</font></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">The COVID situation has made companies, from proprietorship's to large corporations, rethink their strategies across
the supply chain, not only to tackle the current scenario but to make their
organizations more robust to handle such situations in future. For instance, </font><span style="font-family: arial;">agriculture
and livestock companies have no choice but to realign their operations to cater
to retail as their traditional bulk consumers such as restaurants, hotels and
schools as well as their logistics partners closed down. Despite the high
demand from retail customers and shortages for essential food items, farms in
the US and other countries are being forced to destroy tens of millions of
kilos of fresh food that they can no longer sell. In several parts of the
world, farmers reached out directly to retail consumers through social media and
delivered to communities, to save their produce from going to waste when
traders had to shut down their shops. Retail customers in North America have
extended support to local small businesses by buying from them rather than from
large consumer retail outlets.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbK4dof5tTo/Xv3Us3LNhKI/AAAAAAAAClo/I0ajrVfKli4XuwOjHUBGyyMYNes0GZDNACK4BGAsYHg/s1696/infografis.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1696" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbK4dof5tTo/Xv3Us3LNhKI/AAAAAAAAClo/I0ajrVfKli4XuwOjHUBGyyMYNes0GZDNACK4BGAsYHg/w283-h400/infografis.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">In other instances, car companies around the world have
assisted with ventilator production and many beauty companies have begun making
hand sanitizers. 3D printing companies have printed respirator valves, medical
masks, and other medical supplies. Some clothing manufacturers are producing
surgical gowns and medical masks to support the healthcare industry. The
entertainment industry is distributing unreleased movies through video
streaming platforms.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="arial">Redesigning the
distribution model for long term</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">Most market analysts agree that the redesign of supply
chains and customer reach to handle the COVID situation would have a long term
impact in the way organizations function. Essential goods and services
suppliers have to build in a response system that is quick to achieve
scalability to meet consumer demand. As an example, with schools being forced
to switch to remote learning, there is a high likelihood that once the
situation eases, they may continue using online platforms for assignments
and/or homework. Farmers who have used Facebook could continue to use this
alternative communication channel to meet consumer demand after COVID eases.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">Companies and institutions, like end consumers, have to
invest in IT infrastructure now more than even and although the initial costs
may be high, the return on the investment will be justified by operation
flexibility, avoidance of cost inefficiencies and enriched supplier-consumer
experience.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">In the case of Anna’s parents and many parents like
them, they would have to internally justify the purpose of buying a laptop for
her as being sooner rather than later in her journey of education!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="arial">REFERENCES</font></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">McKellop, M. 2020-05-04. Report: Global notebook and
tablet shipments soar in Q2. The Burn-In Retrieved on 2020-06-26 from <span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.theburnin.com/technology/global-notebook-tablet-shipments-soar-q2-2020-5/"><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "EB Garamond";">https://www.theburnin.com/technology/global-notebook-tablet-shipments-soar-q2-2020-5/</span></a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><font face="arial">Kovar, J.F. 2020-04-13,<i>Some May Work From Home Permanently After COVID-19: Gartner</i>,
CRN.com R<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;">etrieved on
2020-06-26 from </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.crn.com/news/running-your-business/some-may-work-from-home-permanently-after-covid-19-gartner"><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "EB Garamond";">https://www.crn.com/news/running-your-business/some-may-work-from-home-permanently-after-covid-19-gartner</span></a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial">Powell, J.
2020-04-14.<i>Is the Zoom boom doomed?. </i>Financial
Times. Retrieved on 2018-06-18<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2020/04/14/1586853042000/Is-the-Zoom-boom-doomed-/"><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "EB Garamond";">https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2020/04/14/1586853042000/Is-the-Zoom-boom-doomed-/</span></a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial">Yaffe-Bellany, D.
and Corkery, M. 2020-04-11. <i>Dumped Milk,
Smashed Eggs, Plowed Vegetables: Food Waste of the Pandemic.</i> New York
Times. Retrieved on 2020-06-18. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html"><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "EB Garamond";">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html</span></a></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><font face="arial"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;">Basinger, R.
2020-06-09, How Industries Around the World are Adapting to COVID-19.
iGrad.com. Retrieved on 2020-06-26 from </span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><a href="https://www.igrad.com/articles/how-industries-around-the-world-are-adapting-to-covid-19"><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "EB Garamond";">https://www.igrad.com/articles/how-industries-around-the-world-are-adapting-to-covid-19</span></a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="arial"> </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="line-height: 150%;"><font face="arial"> </font></span></p></div></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-77715010452730731532020-06-09T23:23:00.000-07:002020-06-11T00:06:43.982-07:00Cold Calling is Dead !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">You have probably heard this, ‘Cold Calling is dead.’ And most likely from a new age salespeople and/or the marketing departments of social professional networking platforms. And when quoted with statistics below, one can even conclude that cold calling is futile.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Cold calling results in about a 1-3% success rate for getting an initial appointment and it’s generally abusive to both parties. When that same call is made with a referral, the rate jumps up to 40% and even much higher when that referral comes from within the company. - Mahan Khalsa, co-author of </span></i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596592060?tag=jantschcomm-20"><i><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;">Let’s Get Real of Let’s Not Play</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"> </span></i></b><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFTp4qIeWUU/Xt8ua-wd1kI/AAAAAAAACVQ/qY9FO_DPH3YSLyk_yjS-NWQGcdcm3QEEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFTp4qIeWUU/Xt8ua-wd1kI/AAAAAAAACVQ/qY9FO_DPH3YSLyk_yjS-NWQGcdcm3QEEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #8e7cc3;">"Don't SELL on your first warm call"</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">But cold calling has
always got a bad rap, since the time of landline telephones supported with the
yellow pages. With a huge number of customers in many countries having the
option of DNC (Do-Not-Call) registry,it can seem even more for the case of cold
calling. But the truth is that this is still an effective way to reach out to
your customers. And when a salesperson strikes a rapport with the client at the
other end, it can feel like a beautiful extempore symphony.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Enter <b><a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/warm-calling.asp#:~:text=Warm%20calling%20is%20the%20solicitation,general%2C%20has%20had%20prior%20contact."><span style="color: black;">WARM - CALLING</span></a> !</b> The
new age of cold-calling which is backed by the technological advances made
today and in favour of the inside salesperson - the plethora of tools available
to research your prospects.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Utilize the tools. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">An inside sales person
today has email, Whatsapp and other social messaging apps that they can use
alternatively or use to support their cold-calling. It would be very
negligent if a salesperson did not utilize social media such as Google,
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms available to the
fullest capacity. It isn’t immoral for a salesperson to check a customer on
these platforms. Privacy is long dead when we accepted ‘terms and conditions’
and allowed the social media apps to collect our information and have access to
our photographs and videos on our phones. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Respect the customer and
her/his time. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">It is expected and respectful that a salesperson has researched
the profiles of her/his customers, their needs or wants and then approached
them with the pitch. The more comprehensive the research which leads to a
well-crafted call, email or any outreach, the more likely that a customer would
appreciate the efforts in not wasting their time. With customer tracking
software, it is essential that a sales team maintain the etiquette of follow-up
with prospects. If anything, today’s customers have less time and giving utmost
priority to their schedule would only pave the way in setting up the next call
to discuss how you could solve their problems!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Throw the old script out</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">. Embrace a consultative
approach with customers. Today’s customers are experts, with access to
information that they glean on a continuous basis. It would be fatal to assume
the role of an ‘educator’ with a customer. A study revealed that while the
average number of dials has remained constant over the past few years, the
number of conversations is dipping. The quality of conversation is crucial
which can be backed only by comprehensive research of the prospects.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Use the connections. </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">The biggest advantage
are the connections and referrals that you can utilize to prospect from your client
network.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">“According to Nielsen,
92% of people </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">trust recommendations
from friends and family</span></i><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> over any other type of advertising. Beyond friends and family,
88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they
trust recommendations from personal contacts.”</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sustain the online
presence.</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"> A
cornerstone to any business’ warm-calling operations today is to develop planned
media strategy to build and maintain an online presence. Potential clients most
certainly visit the organization’s website or social media page particularly if
the first call has succeeded in securing a second call. It’s not enough for a
business to have a static page with some flashy photos. The clients needs to
see how an organization engages online with other customers and this plants the
seed of trust and reliability.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Sources:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Jantsch, J. <i>The Abusive Math
of Cold Calling </i>Retrieved on 19/05/2020 from </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="https://ducttapemarketing.com/the-abusive-math-of-cold-calling/"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">https://ducttapemarketing.com/the-abusive-math-of-cold-calling/</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Warren, M. <i>Word of Mouth
Marketing in 2020: How to Create a Strategy for Social Media Buzz &
Skyrocket Referral Sales.</i> Retrieved on 19/05/2020 </span><span style="color: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/#word-of-mouth-marketing-statistics"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/word-of-mouth-marketing/#word-of-mouth-marketing-statistics</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-36671082782403497132020-05-08T02:31:00.000-07:002020-05-12T03:15:47.475-07:00The case of Digital Marketing during COVID-19<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d5qNKB_rVgU/XrTvGOH4bUI/AAAAAAAACB4/WpigQpfrfqYTyiB3leLu1N4jcQR5_MbYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-05-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="512" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d5qNKB_rVgU/XrTvGOH4bUI/AAAAAAAACB4/WpigQpfrfqYTyiB3leLu1N4jcQR5_MbYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/2020-05-07.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span lang="EN"><br /><b>
‘It feels like the end of the world!’</b></span></i><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN"><b>‘What should
we do now?’</b></span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">No doubt
these questions crept into our minds at one point in time since the
beginning of this year. The Covid-19 pandemic is unprecedented, and the entire
economy is floating (or sinking) into uncharted territories as lock-downs are
being extended and social distancing has slowly become the strict rule for
safety and rightly so. Daily reports of infected cases and deaths fluctuate and
information is inconsistent and irregular but one common thread is that the
momentum of rise in the number of infected cases has not slowed.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">As of 5<sup>th</sup> May,
China has recorded the maximum deaths of 4643 , followed closely by India at
1568 , Indonesia, Philippines and Japan among the other APAC countries
according to a survey done by <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104268/apac-covid-19-deaths-by-country/"><span style="color: blue;">Statista.</span></a> And this means that the
lock-down could very well continue, affecting people and businesses. </span>No
doubt, businesses have had to rethink how they can continue to engage with
their customers and employees considering that their operations have been
severely affected by the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">The case for
digital marketing</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Since the
lock-down there has been a spur in the internet usage across the world owing to
video streaming, popular downloads, and e-commerce shopping. More people have
also started using internet for on-line learning, video conferences too . </span>In
the long term, the number of mobile users worldwide is expected to grow beyond 500
million by 2023. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Both short
term and long term trends show that the reach of digital marketing cannot be
ignored by businesses, irrespective of their size or nature of operations. We
can see existing and new internet companies advertising through various social
media platforms and utilizing SEO. The key aspect is that, the more consumers
are engaged with their content like streaming videos or playing mobile games,
consumers are more likely to view and recall ads that they have seen. During
this time, marketers are more likely to grab the attention as the demographics
and base of users expand, especially since online content is conveniently
on-demand.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Technological
developments such as deep learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have made
it possible for marketers to re-target specific ads and content to customers who
repeatedly search, read reviews about and shop online for similar products and
services. Yes, that part of the internet where you get that creepy feeling when
you see ads for shoes when you searched for a pair of the trendiest platforms
very recently!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">But what can
businesses convey when they cannot hold sale promotions and deliver through
traditional retail outlets or through online delivery?</span></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Conversion
rates are bound to be poor as most businesses have had to shut down physical
retail outlets and e-commerce platforms have had to halt their customer
delivery services. But rather than being dissuaded, this is the time that companies
can explore online marketing if they are new to the medium or have not utilized
it fully. Online ad rates in recent times have fallen as some companies have
cut their advertising budgets and smaller and/or new companies can test SEO
optimization and social media platforms.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">Using online
ads, companies can direct to content on their sites, sharing stories. Stories
of how companies are adapting their operations and strategy during the lock-down. Stories of solidarity with their consumers and suppliers during these
times of hardship and isolation. Stories of how they are taking preventive
measures to improve and safeguard the lives of their employees or people who
are still working to provide essential services. Through such stories supported
by robust content marketing, companies show more of their humane side and build
brand recall, resonating with customers and their situations. Results of a
survey of 1000 consumers led by a team at <a href="https://www.conductor.com/learning-center/educational-content-impacts-revenue/"><span style="color: blue;">Conductor</span></a> revealed that consumers are more
131% more likely to buy from the brand and 48% more likely to buy after a week.
The more consumers interact with content, the affinity towards the brand
increases over time.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">If such
digital marketing initiatives are implemented during Covid-19, companies will
be able to capitalize on their efforts after the lock-down is eased and
operations are resumed. Companies not only gain experience from exploring
digital marketing now, they can also sharpen market-segmenting and targeting by
demographics and consumer behavior. One thing for certain is that the Covid-19
lock down has led to an immutable paradigm shift in the way people seek
entertainment and the way marketing engages with consumers, from traditional to
online. To quote John D. Rockefeller, </span><b>‘<i>I always tried to turn every disaster
into an opportunity.</i>’</b></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-18538947108429362382020-04-03T00:02:00.001-07:002020-04-03T00:02:40.479-07:00How can E-Commerce players get up to speed during and after COVID-19<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_g3_gXlkwc4/XobeaTPTEeI/AAAAAAAABsU/UUNjTJmTP9wTbpAY9ANuOpP3H5LhFEyTgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_g3_gXlkwc4/XobeaTPTEeI/AAAAAAAABsU/UUNjTJmTP9wTbpAY9ANuOpP3H5LhFEyTgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/blog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After the World War II that claimed nearly millions around the world and brought a huge economic slowdown, it is to be noted that certain more recent natural disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and Tsunami killed roughly over 230,000 people in fourteen countries. For most of us, a global pandemic such as COVID-19
is the first of it's kind we are facing in our lifetimes. COVID-19 seems to be extremely catastrophic not just for
people but is also seen as one of the biggest known disasters in recent times to
have slumped the world’s economy in matter of weeks. According to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2020/mar/30/coronavirus-live-news-us-deaths-could-reach-200000-uk-warned-six-month-lockdown-covid-19-latest-updates">Guardian</a>, the number of Global COVID-19 cases has crossed 750,000 with a death toll of over 36,000 across the world. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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When COVID-19 was creating havoc in
China and few other European nations during early Jan'2020, its impact was hugely under-estimated by
the rest of the world. Slowly, with the norms of “social distancing” and “Stay
at home” becoming the mantras among everyone, the expectation was that
e-commerce will boom to unprecedented levels in a situation such as this. According
to consulting and research firm <a href="https://www.technomic.com/technomics-take/coronavirus-foodservice-view">Technomic</a>, 52% of consumers are avoiding crowds
and 32% are leaving their house less often because of corona virus. However, there were other hidden aspects like
“uncertain demand”, “supply chain issues”, “product shortages”, “border-tightening”
etc. which seem to have brought the functioning of large e-commerce
companies to a startling halt. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When SARS crisis hit us in 2002 and
2003, noted companies like Alibaba were able to bounce back with their
diligence and dedication turning most of their customers to place orders
online. Alibaba in fact grew to a million-dollar business soon afterward. But,
this was during the times when the shift was happening from brick and mortar to
internet. Currently, we already have a huge pool of disappointed internet shoppers who are seemingly having a tough time not being able to procure their essentials online due to lock down in most countries. Now,
how does one bounce back from this crisis situation? What is life after COVID
for e-commerce companies? Some of the below ideas may be well worth pondering
if you are a seller or running an eCommerce business.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><img height="241" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wGJExipcs6w/XoQv5uKuHII/AAAAAAAAC3g/jpeaRPFsDTolk-1FN8e5v_iPCnZJx_0YgCK8BGAsYHg/s400/2020-03-31.jpg" width="400" /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Business
Continuity</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: Allow your employees to provide “Business continuity” while
working from home. Ensure that it is business as usual, maybe with higher
levels of productivity than before by motivating and rewarding your employees
who are working from home. Adopt the “employee first” approach, by keeping your
employees safe and providing them with adequate support and protective equipment whenever needed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Strengthen
your supply chain: </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Engage with your sellers continuously. Keep in
touch with your sellers to check the status quo of their supply chain .
Keep your website updated and customers intimated about actual availability of stock, rather disappointing them with false information. During and
after COVID-19, if e-commerce companies focus more on Supply chain management,
they are bound to see a huge spike in their selling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Adopt
Omni channel for your sales:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Trying diverse supply chain is a good idea.
For example, Master Kong (Instant noodle and beverage producer) has boosted its
business by moving to retail, eCommerce and smaller stores. Boost your online
marketing efforts and e-commerce sales by a partnering with Multi-channel Selling Management software.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Promote
Differently:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Focus on promoting “Essential Products” rather items of luxury to
your customers during times of need. Items that are used by consumer’s daily , and virtual methods of entertainment (e-books, virtual reality gaming etc.) are a sure sell
in times of COVID – 19. Think of a low cost, long term performance and sales
promotion. With budgets slashed down, every penny counts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Re-calibrate
Marketing Strategies:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Engage more in “Digital and Email marketing”
to stay in touch with your customers and regularly update them on deals, products,
new inventory etc. Try to be as transparent as possible. In the words of Mark
Ritson, a seasoned Marketing Columnist at Marketing Week, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The wheels of industry need to keep turning so workers are paid and
families are fed. Those wheels are best greased by effective marketing.” </i>None
of the best offers or deals can attract customers now who are locked down,
uncertain of their future. Make sure the tone of your message is empathetic but
coherent. It’s a good idea to concentrate on content campaigns now and build
brand equity.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Work
on creative ideas to improvise your business: </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Identify
other creative ways of doing business. For example, Alibaba has started a
selling platform linking sellers to hospitals in need. JD Health has launched
free online consultation services with doctors and also launched an online tool
to help patients with chronic diseases maintain their drug supply. Think about
expanding virtual business and related products and make it more accessible to
consumers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Safety
First: </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Share the measures you are taking to ensure the safety of your
customers and employees. Follow safe methods of delivery and market to your
customers what is your Modus operandi. For example in India, Swiggy has
introduced “No-Contact” delivery where the product is delivered to the consumer
without contact. Sellers should necessarily assure and practice highest safety
standards of items that they deliver especially concerning food and groceries
to build the trust in consumers to continue shopping with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Assuming that the current situation
may take days or several months to regain control and even if it did, the chance
of consumers going back to their old buying patterns is questionable, it remains to be seen how the world will cope up if there is a global economic
slowdown post COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-296576494894058701.post-64750687291375153962020-03-12T23:15:00.000-07:002020-03-13T00:15:05.746-07:005 Major challenges faced by e-Commerce sellers and ways to overcome it!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ubB9q7orNY/Xmh-1TwtYVI/AAAAAAAABfM/yQush_yrQygUBRTGBtL3qQuuHGhcG_8EACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Main%2Bimg%2Bblog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ubB9q7orNY/Xmh-1TwtYVI/AAAAAAAABfM/yQush_yrQygUBRTGBtL3qQuuHGhcG_8EACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Main%2Bimg%2Bblog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Based
on a report by Google and Temasek Holdings, Southeast Asia’s (SEA) digital
market could exceed US$200 billion before 2025. Southeast Asia’s digital
economy is forecast to triple its size in the next 5 years. Read more on
the challenges faced as a seller in the E-commerce marketplace, to help you decipher
and be part of this immensely growing economy.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">E-commerce
stores are on the rise due to a numerous reasons. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As far as market association is concerned,
E-commerce sites already have an existing network of buyers. So, selling your
products becomes relatively easy as branding and advertising is already taken
care of.As <i>Sigmund Freud</i>'s had rightly said <b>“</b>I
carefully consider my decisions as everything comes with pros and cons!<b>” </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
<b><span style="background: white;">Marketplace Management</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When it comes to South-East Asian E-commerce market, the
most underestimated struggle is <i>Fragmentation </i>i.e. there are a
number of e-commerce platforms in ASEAN countries attracting significant
traffic, making it tedious for the brands to make an online presence.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In Indonesia, five
different e-commerce platforms rank in the top 50 in total online monthly
traffic, including Tokopedia (37.6 million), Bukalapak (27 million), Shopee
(15.3 million), Blibli (11.6 million) and Lazada (7.9 million).For Malaysia, it
is Lazada (12.6 million), Shopee (11.1 million), 11th street (4.4 million) and
Mudah (3.6 million).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="line-height: 115%;">Merchant
Vs Monthly web traffic</span></b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
(Data per Q4 2019)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we compare it with
e-commerce marketplace in United States, here it is much less fragmented. The
breakdown of the three horizontal e-commerce marketplaces in the US with
maximum traffic are: Amazon (1,500 million), Wal-Mart (166.5 million) and
Target (88.6 million).</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hence, the number one
challenge faced by the sellers here is </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marketplace managemen</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">t.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Complicated logistic,
legal & banking set up</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another major concern
would be the lack of consistent legal and custom border regulations and the
fluctuating tariff rates across countries. Each region has their own local set
of laws and regulations. The payment methods, customer interactions and support
could pose a barrier as each of these processes / laws are unique to each
country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">As per Barclaycard
stats, 30% of the products purchased online are returned.This is due to
undependable logistics & delivery issues posed by marketplace courier companies.
This ends up costing the seller return charges and the cost of product loss.
The risk of damage or loss of goods across borders immensely affects
buyer-seller relationships. The solution is streamlining orders throughout the
process via. <i>Order management</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Marketplace Complexity</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">With a multitude of
marketplaces and countless number of products, the task of<i> product
listing </i>(attributes and categories) poses on-going hurdles for the
sellers. Along with this, we also see difference in promotions/campaigns,
fulfillment methods, payment agreement & cycles and cumbersome on-boarding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BwaLtesv9vQ/Xmn18yWuYKI/AAAAAAAABgs/f6jFoMA0jzkinV-bC8IoBEKjdkrLIVW_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/pv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="320" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BwaLtesv9vQ/Xmn18yWuYKI/AAAAAAAABgs/f6jFoMA0jzkinV-bC8IoBEKjdkrLIVW_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/pv.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Fig: Every
Marketplace is different</b></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Overseeing Inventory</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Imagine a situation with current </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blog.sellinall.com/2020/02/the-era-of-man-and-machine.html"><span lang="EN" style="background: white; color: blue;">AI
advancements<i> </i>in e-commerce</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, a
customer visual search for a product and identifies it online. He is about to
click on “Add to cart” but unfortunately it is out-of-stock! Not only can
technology bring in customers,but if you master the right inventory management
techniques you can reach maximum productivity. Effective Inventory management
prevents such setbacks and ensures on-time delivery</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="background: white; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lost
sales due to tracking and pricing</span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Competitors continuously change prices which pose as a
huge challenge to present day sellers while they try to keep their sales curve
up. It’s predicted that by 2040, close to 95% of products will be purchased
online! To win buyers, you will need to quote <i>competitive prices</i> in
the marketplace. What you will need is to devise a pricing strategy, which
automatically adjusts the price whenever there is a change in the competitor’s
price.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jrc10NuwGgQ/Xmn2t3zVRAI/AAAAAAAABg0/yHUVauasny4ySRg9wHT4bxKchedP_DRbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="400" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Jrc10NuwGgQ/Xmn2t3zVRAI/AAAAAAAABg0/yHUVauasny4ySRg9wHT4bxKchedP_DRbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/sia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Fig :Sell
Anywhere Sell Everywhere!</b></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">In a nutshell, the challenges faced by the E-commerce
sellers comes right down to listing , synchronizing inventory, managing orders,
shipping & pricing .So what we need today is a </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.sellinall.com/features/"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN;">multi-channel marketplace
management solution</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <b>! </b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">From accepting order, printing invoice and
shipping label to tracking shipping status, we cover everything with
SELLinALL’s user friendly dashboard. With our automated pricing feature based
on a predetermined pricing strategy & a finance metrics dashboard, we help
you stay ahead of your competitors!</span></div>
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<div style="color: black;">
<em>“Not just a platform, we are your support system!”</em> claim our team of <a href="https://sellinall.com/about/" style="color: black;" target="_self"><b>e-commerce experts</b></a>. As the e-commerce industry grows, new challenges will arise and so will new <a href="https://sellinall.com/pricing/" style="color: black;" target="_self"><b>innovative solutions</b></a>.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #403152; font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b><br />
References</b></span></span></span><br />
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<u><span lang="EN"><a href="https://acquire.io/blog/problems-solutions-ecommerce-faces/"><span style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 115%;">https://acquire.io/blog/problems-solutions-ecommerce-faces/</span></a></span></u><u><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span lang="EN"><a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/327425"><span style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 115%;">https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/327425</span></a></span></u><u><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span lang="EN"><a href="https://iprice.co.id/insights/mapofecommerce/en/"><span style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 115%;">https://iprice.co.id/insights/mapofecommerce/en/</span></a></span></u><u><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span lang="EN"><a href="https://99firms.com/"><span style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 115%;">https://99firms.com/</span></a></span></u><u><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="color: #1155cc; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/economysea-2018/&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=1584166655884000&usg=AFQjCNETCs-NBzZ1oSMxREdhf90fwkEBaA"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.blog.google/around-the-globe/google-asia/economysea-2018/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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