Due to the changing retail landscape and growing desire for brands to trade directly with consumers online – the investment in e-commerce and digital marketing has expanded exponentially in the last few years and will continue to relentlessly grow.
Nike, an example of a global brand developing their D2C footprint , who in the first quarter of 2020, saw e-commerce sales soar to 82%. By 2023 e-commerce sales were predicted to account for 30% of total revenue, but the
All businesses have benefited from the e-commerce appeal, as they bring products and services to a global audience, substantially enhancing their target market and reach. During the pandemic, consumers had little option but to “go digital”, as high streets closed, and supply chains were transformed. Businesses were transforming their supply chains overnight and increasing the e-commerce global retail trade share from 13.6% at the end of 2019 to 19.5 % in 2021. Inevitably the pandemic has changed consumer behaviour with little evidence to suggest things will go back to how they were, with 48.8% percent of internet consumers claiming they will continue to buy online having made the transition. An increase in consumers buying online inevitably results in:
a) an increase in market-place competition
b) an uplift in spend on e-commerce platforms
c) an increased spend in digital and performance marketing
It is essential that businesses now develop an omnichannel approach and ensure data is fully mined and utilised effectively to improve the user experience. Loren Padelford who is the general manager at Shopify plus states, “The brands who do a better job of making it easy for people to buy their first product will probably be the ones that win out over the ones that have very intricate stores, but nobody knows how to shop on them.”
The following platforms are some of the leading e-commerce platforms for start-up businesses:
1) Wix: Offering its customers a straightforward way of building a website, quickly and effectively. Their platform helps over 500,000 businesses online and is seen as a cost-effective option with subscriptions starting from $23 a month.
2) Shopify: Considered the most popular of all platforms, and the stats back this up with just over 2.1 million active users. Starting from $29 a month, Shopify is highly competitive, well regarded and includes a host of notable features including unlimited storage and no restriction on how many products you can sell.
3) Squarespace Commerce: Squarespace is another great platform for beginners. They take care of all the server management and give you extremely easy tools to help you kickstart your business. Their pricing structure is very reasonable with subscriptions starting from $18 a month. A platform built with design and style in mind.
With so many brands and agencies entering such a completive market, there are many things to review and consider when choosing an e-commerce platform, including the following:
1) Pricing: Inevitably this is a primary consideration. Virtually every platform will have a monthly fee (subscription). Whether you are a small business or an established brand, it is important to know what you are paying. Often there will be additional fees relating to transactions, multiple payment gateways, tiers of customer support, customisation and rebilling. It is crucial to review these add on charges, to ensure they are captured in your budget.
2) SEO: It is imperative that your website ranks as high as possible – ideally in the top three searches. When looking for an SEO friendly platform, you should look at factors such as having the ability to easily add content to your website and the ability for customers to leave reviews quickly and seamlessly after they have gone through their customer journey and experienced a transaction.
3) Mobile capabilities: Recent stats show that nearly 60% of searches are now done from hand-held mobile devices. Many consumers go on to purchase the product form their device so a market leading mobile user experience is now a must have requirement when selecting a platform.
4) Security: No consumer wants to enter their billing information onto a website with questions around the security and integrity of the data transactions. You must ensure that the platform you choose is backed up by the most up to date security protocols (including SSL, SQL checks, latest patches/updates, data back-up) for customers to experience a swift and safe checkout.
If you would like any more information or would like to discuss your e-commerce needs, please contact hello@tkm-consultants.com
Author: Aman Dhaliwal, Junior Consultant, TKM