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The Major E-Commerce Driver in 2020 is Global Expansion
According to a US Census estimate, from June to July of 2019, the eCommerce market in America generated $154.5 billion in revenue. This was way before the COVID-19 pandemic when physical stores and online shopping functioned properly. Now, businesses are heavily dependent on eCommerce for sales. Now, eCommerce is a vital part of the average American’s everyday life. And while the reality of depending on online shopping for necessities will take some time to kick in, businesses are already breaking borders.
eCommerce is transitioning from the bare novelty of payment and swift deliveries. Apart from deliveries getting faster, the customer experience online businesses will offer as time progresses will be unmatched. These businesses are taking advantage of the world’s current situation to
break mundane barriers. In a couple of years, customer satisfaction will take on a whole new level and service providers and businesses will meet customers at their exact point of need.
No Barriers, No Borders
Online shopping has practically shattered barriers. A customer can buy goods and services at the click of a button even if the seller is on the opposite side of the world. This sort of customer-to-seller access is why businesses that are heavily invested in eCommerce will grow exponentially. Studies show that in the next three years, the eCommerce industry is going to be worth an additional estimate of $5.9 trillion, which is a whopping growth rate of 53%. With the introduction of faster and more efficient methods of payments and online transactions, the online shopping market is set to experience a well-deserved progression spur.
Piece of cake, right? It’s not that simple. If anything, globalization of the eCommerce industry can be unreliable. For global expansion to work, businesses have to be able to successfully expand their businesses to new localities. They also need to have an all-round understanding of the thorough procedure for local sales and the laws that govern such trades. From navigating a complex ecosystem of vendor contracts to ensuring total compliance with laws and regulations, online vendors will have to think locally.
Understanding the entire process can take months and even years of experience, commitment, and work. The seller also has to establish local banking relationships, define their most preferred payment methods, and understand local taxes, fraud and many more. Even with the right partners and expertise, investing in global expansion is a huge risk. Yet, business owners should be willing to take such risk to grow their businesses.
For online vendors, easing the process of transactions for their clients based on their location is easy. The businesses only have to create a trustworthy relationship with local banks. This takes away the need for both parties to engage in cross-border transactions. Shopping online is more than click and pay. By building a local experience for their customers into their setup, brands make the buying process easy for both parties.
Larger and more established businesses can handle the process all by themselves, even as it is a huge investment, demanding time and money. If a business cannot take this on alone, it is advisable to partner with another merchant that has the experience and infrastructure to oversee the customer-to-seller transactions, as they apply to the locality that the business is interested in. Whether they be small scale or already established, businesses that take this approach are more likely to succeed.
Additionally, a rising number of buyers are paying attention to the flow of their data online. They are becoming interested in the sites that can access, accumulate, keep, receive, and even process their (personal) data. Business procedures are being reformed worldwide with regulations like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which provides a layer of sophistication for sellers with international stores.
One Brand, Many Channels
With the evolution of business transactions and the influence of eCommerce on the market, brands too are adapting in order to meet up with the demands that result from this innovation. Businesses that want to maintain relevance now need to utilize mobile commerce and also give their clients and potential customers a physical feel. Some brands organize regular pop-up events to create a physical experience for their customers.
This goes beyond providing top-notch customer service and speedy deliveries. Those are important too but how a customer feels before and after patronage is key. No matter the channel of business, be it online or a physical store, a customer should always leave with positive remarks about the brand, whether they made a purchase or not. For brands, prioritizing reliance, convenience, familiarity, and competence in business is essential in ensuring old and new clients stay loyal to your brand. This is still a struggle for many businesses, considering that there are so many avenues for shopping these days. They tend to focus on one channel, leaving others to suffer neglect.
Mobile Is The New Cool
It is predicted that in the next five years, about 3.7 billion internet users around the globe will access the internet from their phones. Businesses will have to think big by targeting smartphone users. A branch of eCommerce called mobile commerce also known as m-commerce exists because of the ever-increasing number of users. These users prefer to experience online shopping in ease, via their smartphones or other smaller tech devices. Success for brands in eCommerce and mCommerce in the coming years will depend on how flexible they are to adapt to their customers’ channel of preference, no matter how small or mainstream they are. To get new customers and retain old ones, businesses will need to be innovative in this regard and be quick
to catch up with mobile trends. So, businesses have to be customer-centric and be ready to jump on trends and take advantage of current technology within the bounds of their infrastructure as well as the best possible solutions. Overall, no matter how much online businesses and brands are growing along with new digital skills, the importance of mobile-first shopper experience can never be overemphasized. The entire world is shifting towards versatility in order to provide shoppers with the convenience they deserve on all platforms.
