As technology becomes obsolete with each passing day, the world is experiencing incredible changes in the e-commerce industry. “According to research, over people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services online in 2021, up from 1.66 billion global digital buyers in 2016.” Progressively, consumers are now connecting with various brands via digital aspects. As the e-commerce business models in the technological realm are marking their place in the world, the interaction between the firm and the customer is becoming crucial for the overall growth and profitability of the business.
Companies that have the digital art of customizing the client needs can stand out from the crowd as compared to the ones who lack this skill. To give your online customers the experience they need, you can use their ERP. Consistency in maintaining experience is more challenging than creating the customer experience in the first place by putting into action the e-commerce strategy.
Following touch points will help you understand what a smart integration between business and ERP e-commerce integration can do to your financial outcomes:
Online Cart Abandonment
- abandon their shopping cart if presented with unexpected shipping cost.
- online shoppers have abandoned their cart due to the too complicated checkout process.
- online shoppers have left the cart because they were browsing and were not ready to purchase yet.
The key reasons for shoppers to abandon their carts are:
- They are not sure about the quality of the product
- They always keep looking for something better at a lesser price
- They are forced to pay the unexpected shipping charges before they hit the buy button
- They are not sure if they will be receiving the same product as shown
- They are not able to apply a discount coupon
Therefore, product interaction is key to develop trust in the e-commerce sphere. Smart customers know how to put e-commerce benefits to best use. Before purchasing online, they often read reviews about the company or the product - it is more about engaging with the product for the real-time experience.
Gone are the days when images and a 360-degree view of products were enough to close a deal. Today, e-commerce trends are scaling - and virtual interaction are the new elements. For example, online eyewear stores allow customers to try the glasses over a smartphone before finalizing one virtually. These e-commerce advantages provide the customer with the confidence that he/she needs to hit the buy button with a blissful feeling without any hesitation.
To successfully leverage on these trends, online stores must leverage on ERP e-commerce integration. Innovative strategies have been conceived to overcome these challenges. However, most will not work without the data from ERP.
Smartphone Shopping
“The mobile purchasing will reach 80% by the year 2020”, states a study conducted by . If companies need to evolve the shopping experience for their customers, then they need to integrate feature to their business. In addition, along with , digital wallets are gaining popularity. This means the customer will not be hesitant to purchase on the go. The downside of such a rapid purchasing solution is the obsolete systems e-commerce companies use. To adopt companies need technology stack that can match up to the evolving mobile shopping experience.
ERP can play a vital role in adapting to these technologies. It generally plays the role of the central repository and is critical for information management in the e-commerce business. Any e-commerce business that wants to catch up to this trend needs a robust and adaptable integration between e-commerce platform.
Item Specific Packaging
The customer end experience depends a lot on the packaging of the product. According to , about 61% of the customers agree that the packaging of the product intensifies their excitement bubble. The same study also reported, 68% of shoppers claim that a brand becomes affluent due to its packaging. One example of this is the explosion of e-commerce varied products are sold online, which have unique packaging needs. Out of shape are the best examples. These spare parts can be small, heavy and delicate or large, light and delicate. Every product has specific needs.
ERP e-commerce integration must be agile enough to adapt to these requirements. One cannot have obsolete systems that cannot differentiate the packaging needs of each product within the same warehouse. These will seriously limit e-commerce store growth.
Exploring B2B E-commerce
Nowadays, business is not just restricted to the customer horizon. According to , “B2B e-commerce sales will increase worldwide to $6.6 trillion by 2020.” helps the supplier to get rid of the hassle of shipping a product to the end user. Indeed, this business model brings various advantages with minimum risk factors. “Out of 450 online stores, 16.4% were using B2B e-commerce business model,” reported by .
Today, most stores are planning to target B2B customers with the same e-commerce store. This will introduce . However, these challenges can be mitigated by implementing adaptable e-commerce ERP integration, as ERP plays a central role in managing this. This is a vast topic and we have written extensively on this.
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, & Chatbots
A decade ago, companies used to hire people for customer support to give their brand visibility it needed. However, now companies are developing the engine of technology to offer their customers a rich digital experience. E-commerce websites are increasing their customer interaction by using chatbots and AI. Today, to deliver an exquisite shopping ordeal, robot-human interaction is the new e-commerce strategy.
Artificial Intelligence has helped companies to remove the hindrance of time and human labor. It can simultaneously solve queries and create a track record of inventory available online (that is the reason why sometimes the item in your cart suddenly becomes out-of-stock). According to research, “by 2020, AI will handle 80% of all customer interactions.” With the integration of AI, warehouse affairs and delivery transactions can be robotized effectively, with many working prototypes already in place.
In spite of so many indications, most online store owners do not acknowledge the need for systems that work in tandem with AI. Online store owners need systems that can seamless with the e-commerce ERP technology stack and should not play a hindrance instead.
These latest trends will accelerate the growth of e-commerce in the coming time. With the evolution of e-commerce trends, to keep your business at its toes, for powerful advice.
