How To Develop An Ecommerce App That Customers Would Love

So, as time grew tough and people are expected to stay indoors longer than ever, don’t you consider taking your business to your customer’s home?

The mobile revolution is here affecting lives stronger than ever before.

Having a mobile eCommerce app is the trend today. It is the easiest way to reach your audience and provide them the services. Apps have become an indispensable part of our lives.

With the scope of the Internet expanding so well, apps seem to be a cheap solution for targeting a wider audience ensuring connectivity, across boundaries, across regions, across districts, and domains.

With the outbreak of the pandemic, online delivery of essential goods and services are no more a choice but has become a government priority. The scope has expanded to the regions where it was unheard of.

The capacity is being extended and explored. This is a high time to leverage on an eCommerce app and help push your sales and profits in the upward direction. 

Before you hire website developers at A3logics to enter the digital domain, let’s talk about the success principles of an eCommerce app

Principles of a Successful and High Returning Ecommerce App 

Before you plan to take your business online, let’s talk about the basic principles of a successful and high returning eCommerce app that would help your audience enjoy your services from the comforts of their bedrooms. 

Never miss an update for us. Join 10,000+ marketers and leaders.

Principle 1: Assessment for Customers

When you decide to take your business to your audiences’ devices make sure it has everything that they would need.

All the services, products, and variations should be mentioned clearly and easy to navigate. The ability to bring on-screen what your customer wants is the key here. 

Principle 2: Life Is Easy for Customers

It is important that the app you are about to launch serves its purpose well. It should be designed and developed in a way that the user can easily navigate through it and make payments.

If your users get what they want in the shortest navigation, your app is going to slay the market, surely.

Principle 3: Element of Surprise for Your Customers

This is one thing that is going to earn you great ROI. Surprises are something that everyone loves!

Add some interesting elements, offers, and discounts for your customers that would make them stay connected with your business. And if you have something interesting that your customers need to know about then just a few notifications. Interesting way to market, isn’t it? 

Principle 4: Space for Your Customers

Give your customers some space for themselves. They need to express their gratitude, complaints, and reviews.

This is a great way to see if your customers love your product or not. Also, this would increase their engagement with the app. You can click here to hire Salesforce consulting services to come up with a CRM your customers can engage with easily. 

Done!

These are the four principles on which the foundation of an eCommerce app is built. It is important that your eCommerce app developer sticks to these principles before bringing something else on the stage.

Now that we know the principles let’s further move ahead and see how to develop an eCommerce app your customers would love. 

Develop an Ecommerce App That Sells!

When speaking of Ecommerce app development a lot of organizations have sailed through the turn of tides in the app market.

They all excel in building applications that are unique for each customer. Here’s a detail of the process of building an eCommerce app that succeeds in today’s market scenario. 

  • Define the Niche

The first thing before you set a store is to know what you are going to sell. This is the first step. Identify your niche and enlist the products and the variations that you plan to sell.

Studying your audience and the targeted area is a great move. When your niche is decided, the buying tendencies, popular items, importing certain stuff, etc. can be explored better.

Knowing the niche would help you determine the design and style of your app.  

  • List Essential Features

When the product engineer plans your app, it is important they enlist the features that need to include in your app.

These features should fulfill the purpose of your app and help the audience reach the desired item in the least number of clicks. Some essential features that the simplest Ecommerce app to the most creative ones should have, are mentioned here:

  • Authentication feature for app set up 
  • Categories and subcategories to search for the product 
  • Review system to increase user engagement 
  • Integrate payment methods 
  • Interesting and compelling push notifications 
  • 24*7 customer support 
  • Features for intuitive analysis 

These are just a few features that even the basic Ecommerce app has. You can further add features that would make things easier for you and impress your customers.

1. Design Element Aesthetic 

 The pinnacle of the success of your app is its visual appeal. The user aiding design makes it easier for the customer to interact with the app.

Coming up with a design that interacts with the user and provides keys and buttons to navigate easily is something that your customers would love. The important points to consider here are:

  • Placement of essential features 
  • Simplifying check-out process 
  • Ease of order placing 
  • Simple tracking 

These are a few things that your product engineer needs to consider before the implementation and development part begins. 

2. Find the Right Platform

Now, that we have moved to the development part, it is important to find the right platform for developing your ecommerce app.

It could be android, ios or PWA. Many on-demand app developers make it easier for their clients to select the right platform considering the region of their operation, the economic situation of priority customers are all the determining factors of platform selection.

The right platform makes it easier for you to reach the target market and generate the expected ROI. 

3. Test Your Application

As the platform is decided, we next move to eCommerce application development. Often developers ensure the working of functionalities and features with the help of a QA and testing team.

Some of the standard test cases that are considered are: 

  • Execution pattern Ecommerce application
  • Online payment functionality
  • Compatibility with web browsers
  • SEO and mobile responsiveness
  • Social Media integration

Testing and quality analysis of the app is important. Once the app clears this phase, you can be assured of bringing in the market a flawless app. 

4. Launch Your App

Now is the right time to launch your app. In the first phase, you would rather be interested in marketing strategies to make your app popular, before it is brought to the market.

Most companies use traditional techniques like social media promotions, google ads, video ads, and many other techniques like gaming, offers, etc to take the app to the right audience as quickly as possible.  

And with this, you are all set to hit the market with your Ecommerce mobile application!

Bonus

One thing that keeps any eCommerce based company moving ahead of its competition is its way of treating the customer and responding to their queries.

One needs to be really creative and think out-of-the-box to reflect their care and affection for the customers.

Find out innovative strategies to engage your customers with the app and you are ready for the long run. 

I’ve worked with the team at AndolaSoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

Ruthie Miller, Sr. Mktg. Specialist

Salesforce, Houston, Texas

LEARN MORE

Wrapping It Up!

A dexterous study of the steps here would help you come in the market with an app that reflects well. Most developers follow these steps to make sure that their client’s app is unique and innovative and hits the road to success in a matter of weeks.

If you are looking forward to coming up with an eCommerce app like amazon or eBay, all you need is to have a basic plan ready.

Let’s discuss further!

List Of eCommerce Trends To Watch

E-commerce is an integral part of everyone’s life as each of us is well aware of the advantages of online shopping. Due to this pandemic in 2020, massive growth has been witnessed in eCommerce sales.

Besides this rapid shift in online shopping, it is also found that mobile and digital media consumption has also increased massively.

The e-retail sales in 2019 were $3.53 trillion, which is expected to grow to $6.54 billion by 2022-23.

Measuring the increase in online business, most of the retailers are moving towards this growing industry.

So, it is important for each business to know about the value of eCommerce and the top trends that need to be looked for in 2021.

Let’s have a look at eCommerce trends in this year that are set to outline the marketplace –

The Rise in Voice Commerce

The Rise in Voice Commerce
The Rise in Voice Commerce

Whether it is searching or buying a product from an online shop, most people are increasingly using voice assistant devices.

Devices like Alexa and Google Assistant are helping people to make their tasks easy and smart by voice search, every retailer needs to use this technology. So start optimizing your store for voice search as more than 70% of U.S. households will have their smart speakers by 2024-25.

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Once you optimize your store with Voice Search, it will fulfill consumer’s demands and you can provide them ease and convenience of shopping.

You will be stunned if we say, “It is expected that the Voice eCommerce is to reach $40 billion in revenue by the end of 2022”.

Omni Channel Selling – A New Normal

Omni Channel Selling – A New Normal
Omni Channel Selling – A New Normal

In response to a survey by Harvard Business Review, it is found that people are using multiple channels during their online shopping on various platforms. It is expected that the rate of omnichannel customers will rise in 2021 as well.

Many businesses are already aware of the customer’s behavior of using multiple channels like mobiles, tablets, desktops, etc.

To benefit your online business through Omnichannel selling, you need to optimize your website to use it on mobile phones. It will help you to boost your sales.

You can also create a mobile application or a PWA (Progressive web app) to offer a seamless Omnichannel experience to your customers.

Give the option to your customers to purchase the products in various ways like – Buy online, pick up in-store, choose home delivery, get doorstep delivery, etc.

Global Consumer Base

Global Consumer Base
Global Consumer Base

Global eCommerce is selling products across geopolitical borders. As per the recent updates, the cumulative date anticipates a 276.9% increase in worldwide e-commerce sales.

It is found that a large number of online shoppers are looking to buy outside of their country’s borders.

To increase your sales abroad, you have to analyze the outside market through platforms like online advertising or social media abroad. For this, you will need to approach Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and Product Listing Ads through geographic targeting.

Through this global nature of the search, the local companies can reach their international audience to sell their products.

Competition in Digital Advertising

Competition in Digital Advertising
Competition in Digital Advertising

Digital advertising has become the leading form of advertising in most of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.

The increased use of the internet and mobile phones has raised the level of digital advertising. Due to the developments in artificial intelligence and some other aspects, it is now possible to get the targeted audiences through low-cost digital advertising.

More companies are progressing to continue a large investment in a digital advertisement in 2021.

Mobile Payments

Mobile Payments
Mobile Payments

Mobile payments have become an easy and convenient way of digital payments for both retailers and consumers.  It is one of the topmost advanced technologies which is gradually increasing the rate of sales in e-commerce. It is now becoming an essential part of any online shopping platform to add their consumers’ online payment method.

At the time of the pandemic, people used to transact using mobile payment methods as there was a risk of getting exposed to the coronavirus.

In 2021, we can expect that more eCommerce businesses are going to accept mobile payment methods.

Videos & Interactive Content

Videos are one of the significant aspects of the online business world. 7 out of 10 people react positively after watching a well informative and appropriate video.  Across the world, 80 % of millennials use videos to decide on purchasing an online product.

Interactive videos can be used anywhere in the market like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

Shoppable videos are the new frontier in the e-commerce world. Consumers can directly purchase the product through Pop-up or Swipe up features on videos added on various social media platforms.

The shoppable videos can be used by any kind of e-commerce space like fashion, beauty, technology brands.

It Will Be an Influencers’ Era

In 2020 it was expected that the influencer marketing industry would reach $9.7B according to Influencer Marketing Hub. The pandemic had disrupted the influencers’ marketing industry in 2020 but still, 88.5% of marketers consider influencer marketing to be valuable.

Mobile Payments
Mobile Payments

Influencers can help you to ensure the success of your product by lending their authority.

If your brand has a content problem, an influencer can market your product worldwide with their content.

In 2021, we will witness a large number of content creators and influencers selling the product and services of all varied kinds.  There will be a rise and prominence of commerce-led influencer marketing to drive a relatable conversion.

I’ve worked with the team at Andolasoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

Ruthie Miller, Sr. Mktg. Specialist

Salesforce, Houston, Texas

LEARN MORE

So, here’s how to take advantage of an influencer to increase your product sales –

  • Find out the influencers of your niche and get them to help you out to create content for your e-commerce business.
  • You can help influencers to increase their audience and in return, they will also help you out in your promotional activities.
  • Set them free to choose the platforms where they can market your product.

Conclusion

Be ready with all these trends in 2021 to boost your brand’s performance and value.

It will be important to know the potential of your product and add-ons to attract the audience.

Brands need to optimize their website and app as per customer reviews. It will be helpful to build a strong customer relationship with the brand.

How To Make Ecommerce Application More Engaging

So, as time grew tough and people are expected to stay indoors longer than ever, don’t you consider taking your business to your customer’s home? 

The mobile revolution is here affecting lives stronger than ever before.

Having a mobile eCommerce app is the trend today. It is the easiest way to reach your audience and provide them the services.

Apps have become an indispensable part of our lives. With the scope of the Internet expanding so well, apps seem to be a cheap solution for targeting a wider audience ensuring connectivity, across boundaries, across regions, across districts, and domains.

With the outbreak of the pandemic, online delivery of essential goods and services are no more a choice but has become a government priority.

The scope has expanded to the regions where it was unheard of. The capacity is being extended and explored.

This is a high time to leverage on an eCommerce app and help push your sales and profits in the upward direction. 

Before you start wondering about hiring a website developer to make your entrance into the digital domain, let’s talk about the success principles of an eCommerce app. 

A Successful and High Engaging Ecommerce App 

Before you plan to take your business online, let’s talk about the basic principles of a successful and high-returning eCommerce app that would help your audience enjoy your services from the comforts of their bedrooms. 

Principle 1: Assessment for Customers

When you decide to take your business to your audiences’ devices make sure it has everything that they would need.

Never miss an update from us. Join 10,000+ marketers and leaders.

All the services, products, and variations should be mentioned clearly and easy to navigate. The ability to bring on-screen what your customer wants is the key here. 

Principle 2: Life Is Easy for Customers

It is important that the app you are about to launch serves its purpose well. It should be designed and developed in a way that the user can easily navigate through it and make payments.

If your users get what they want in the shortest navigation, your app is going to slay the market, surely.

Principle 3: Element of Surprise for Your Customers

This is one thing that is going to earn you great ROI. Surprises are something that everyone loves!

Add some interesting elements, offers, and discounts for your customers that would make them stay connected with your business.

And if you have something interesting that your customers need to know about then just a few notifications. Interesting way to market, isn’t it? 

Principle 4: Space for Your Customers

Give your customers some space for themselves. They need to express their gratitude, complaints, and reviews.

This is a great way to see if your customers love your product or not. Also, this would increase their engagement with the app.

You can click here to hire salesforce consulting services to come up with a CRM your customers can engage with easily. Done!

These are the four principles on which the foundation of an eCommerce app is built.

It is important that your eCommerce app developer sticks to these principles before bringing something else on the stage.

Now that we know the principles let’s further move ahead and see how to develop an eCommerce app your customers would love. 

Develop an Ecommerce App That Sells!

When speaking of Eommerce app development a lot of organizations have sailed through the turn of tides in the app market.

They all excel in building applications that are unique for each customer. Here’s a detail of the process of building an eCommerce app that succeeds in today’s market scenario. 

Define the Niche

The first thing before you set a store is to know what you are going to sell.

This is the first step. Identify your niche and enlist the products and the variations that you plan to sell. Studying your audience and the targeted area is a great move.

When your niche is decided, the buying tendencies, popular items, importing certain stuff, etc. can be explored better. 

Knowing the niche would help you determine the design and style of your app.  

List Essential Features

When the product engineer plans your app, it is important they enlist the features that need to include in your app.

These features should fulfill the purpose of your app and help the audience reach the desired item in the least number of clicks.

Some essential features that the simplest eCommerce app to the most creative ones should have been are mentioned here:

  • Authentication feature for app set up 
  • Categories and subcategories to search for the product 
  • Review system to increase user engagement 
  • Integrate payment methods 
  • Interesting and compelling push notifications 
  • 24*7 customer support 
  • Features for intuitive analysis 

These are just a few features that even the basic eCommerce app has. You can further add features that would make things easier for you and impress your customers.

Design Element Aesthetic 

 The pinnacle of the success of your app is its visual appeal. The user aiding design makes it easier for the customer to interact with the app.

Coming up with a design that interacts with the user and provides keys and buttons to navigate easily is something that your customers would love.

The important points to consider here are:

  • Placement of essential features 
  • Simplifying check-out process 
  • Ease of order placing 
  • Simple tracking 

These are a few things that your product engineer needs to consider before the implementation and development part begins. 

Find the Right Platform

Now, that we have moved to the development part, it is important to find the right platform for developing your eCommerce app. It could be android, ios, or Progressive Web App.

Many on-demand app developers make it easier for their clients to select the right platform considering the region of their operation, the economic situation of priority customers are all the determining factors of platform selection.

The right platform makes it easier for you to reach the target market and generate the expected ROI. 

Test Your Application

As the platform is decided, we next move to eCommerce application development. Often developers ensure the working of functionalities and features with the help of a QA and testing team.

Some of the standard test cases that are considered are: 

  • Execution pattern eCommerce application
  • Online payment functionality
  • Compatibility with web browsers
  • SEO and mobile responsiveness
  • Social Media integration

Testing and quality analysis of the app is important. Once the app clears this phase, you can be assured of bringing in the market a flawless app. 

Launch Your App

Now is the right time to launch your app. In the first phase, you would rather be interested in marketing strategies to make your app popular before it is brought to the market.

Most companies use traditional techniques like social media promotions, google ads, video ads, and many other techniques like gaming, offers, etc to take the app to the right audience as quickly as possible.  

And with this, you are all set to hit the market with your eCommerce mobile application!

Bonus

One thing that keeps any eCommerce-based company moving ahead of its competition is its way of treating the customer and responding to their queries.

I’ve worked with the team at Andolasoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

Ruthie Miller, Sr. Mktg. Specialist

Salesforce, Houston, Texas

LEARN MORE

One needs to be really creative and think out-of-the-box to reflect their care and affection for the customers.

Find out innovative strategies to engage your customers with the app and you are ready for the long run. 

Conclusion

A dexterous study of the steps here would help you come into the market with an app that reflects well. 

Most developers follow these steps to make sure that their client’s app is unique and innovative and hits the road to success in a matter of weeks.

If you are looking forward to coming up with an eCommerce app like Amazon or eBay, all you need is to have a basic plan ready.

Once you have a basic plan of what you need, hitting the market with a high-reflecting app would become a child’s play. 

Do you still need more clarification for developing a high-engaging app? Let’s discuss.

The Important Elements For Better ECommerce Conversion

In the last 9 months of COVID situation, eCommerce development is considered as the most important development for online product selling businesses. Due to the lockdown, more and more users are turning their heads into the digital world to do business and generate high revenue.

“50-60% of the business contributors are a direct outcome of eCommerce development and designing.”

Having an eCommerce website to represent your business, you need to make it convenient to shop anytime, anywhere across the globe with any device as well.

So, anyone can get your products or services online with a few clicks on a mobile device or computer without the need to visit any store nearby.

And the great part of an eCommerce website is that it also provides the product comparison with an efficient and simpler manner.

Somehow, it is not as easy as it sounds. Due to heavy competition, you need to make your eCommerce application more user-friendly to make your application stands out from the crowd.

Here I have mentioned some of the elements that can help your eCommerce website to make better conversions.

Responsive Design

A first needed element and almost every person caring a smartphone and with the help of which they can also do shopping in a convenient manner. This is where the need for responsive design arises.

Responsive Design

The Responsive UI makes the website accessible on different mobile platforms and desktops.

So, It makes the eCommerce web application more usable for consumers and enhances the online product sale.

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Platform Selection

Choosing the right e-commerce platform for eCommerce development gives flexibility, scalability and expandability to the users of the industries.

Choosing the Right Ecommerce Platform Selection

Among different eCommerce platforms, the common platforms are WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify, which has empowered numerous online retailers and brands to grow.

Highlight Products with Description

The e-commerce website works well when the design is matched with the product. Its main purpose is to showcase the product and description that defines the website to viewers.

Besides, an e-store must have a perfect text, color scheme, theme and images to highlight the products with description and keep it coherent for consumers.

Check-Out Option is Mandatory

Check-out options are necessary for e-commerce website because all customers don’t prefer to create an account every time they visit any site to purchase a product.

Check-Out Option is Mandatory

Adding check-out options removes the barrier for customers to shop and thus, increases the conversion rate too. It provides an easy way to shop online and attract more buyers towards any business.

Easy Navigation

Keeping the search features and web pages easy to navigate assists customers to find the exact products the customers want.

This is because, if it takes a lot of hassle to show the product, then there are chances that people might turn away from the website. Easy navigation helps people to find the product in categories easily without spending much time.

Website Speed optimization

The speed of an e-commerce website is important to gain on online business.

No user wants to be on such site that takes much time to load the page and they might switch to another website after a few minutes.

The speed of website should be optimized in order to make it run smoother and give better results.

Site Security

In e-commerce websites, people have to provide personal information such as bank details, account number, address, and mobile number etc. to shop for the products and access the payment.

Site Security

Ideally, these websites are built with a secure socket layer to encrypt the information stored on the site.

Conclusion

There are some website owners who have a mindset that eCommerce development is just to get more customers online.

But, these types of websites are also used to expand the product pages and even, much more.

So, when go seek eCommerce development, develop the site wisely and try to consider all the above things to develop the best site.

The Most Common Challenges Faced By Small eCommerce Businesses

For a small eCommerce business, the eCommerce store is the primary retail growth engine for their business. The fast growth of eCommerce witnessed over the last 10 years. And it is expected to claim 17% of the industry by the end of the year 2022.

The pandemic has led to major growth in e-commerce business. Many offline businesses have shifted towards the E-commerce platform after observing a major downfall in the offline business.

Never miss an update from us. Join 10,000+ marketers and leaders.

Back in the early days, you could easily sell anything and earn lots of money. The competition was very less, technology was not affordable at that time. But now everything has changed. 

(Source: Sales layer blog)

Amazon has become an important competitor for everyone. As China is expanding its business, that makes technology easily accessible for everyone.

This growth has also risen several eCommerce challenges as well. With this meteoric growth and demand for online business, running eCommerce is not easy, especially for small businesses.

It was estimated that 95% of business transactions is likely to be taking place online. So this is the right time for most retailers to overcome the barriers of ecommerce

As per the survey of NetSolution, 81% of the majority of shoppers begin their shopping journey with a normal online search. So, it is essential to make your online marketplace highly responsive to please the customers’ shopping experience.

Until 2020, the TTV (Total Transaction Value) in the digital eCommerce segment has been reported with a worth of 3.7M USD. And it is expected to hit 5M USD in 2023.

Total Transaction Value

Source: Net Solution

However, to make a stand out in this crowded marketplace, the eCommerce startups must address the core challenges of these niche businesses.

What is the biggest challenges for most e-commerce business?

Entrepreneurs across the globe face a lot of challenges of eCommerce while adapting to the digital commerce business. Here I have listed the most common eCommerce issues and their solutions while working towards building a successful eCommerce business.

1. Capitalization Of Data

The expansion of the eCommerce function to become a part of the holistic brand solution is the first and crucial eCommerce challenge.

To facilitate this, businesses are working hard to build efficient data-enabled eCommerce solutions that help them right from shipping to store management, new Key Performance Integrals (KPIs), beyond conversion rates, and the Average Order Values (AOV).

It is better to capture the systematic data rather than experimenting based on assumed market trends. The entrepreneurs who have realized the impact of the data on their day to day performance is a long-term business decision.

2. Customers’ Exploding Expectations

Retailers all over the world are continuously trying to build their reputation and a sharp brand image with the promise of a great experience.

In an era where experience matters the most and tech giants like Amazon are taking the online buying process to the proverbial ‘next level’ with anticipatory shipping methods, it is very difficult to meet customer expectations.

Thus, competing with these giant eCommerce Companies and fulfilling the never-ending customer demands is a huge challenge in today’s eCommerce business.

3. Agility Challenge

Agility is the capability of a business to introduce eCommerce development, advancements, and deploy digital content, react to seasonal changes, etc. rapidly.

Agility drives immediate digital eCommerce fulfillment and development. It is identified as one of the most important initiatives to adopt in the modern eCommerce business.

The agile eCommerce transformation is at the heart of the digital business, and scaling is essential for making it successful.

A large number of companies including startup businesses find it difficult to move or change quickly as per the needs of customers and seasonal demand.

It is usually because they can’t integrate new eCommerce technologies efficiently with their existing eCommerce applications. As end result penetration into the market gets harder.

4. Personalization Approach

eCommerce personalization is one of the key factors for a good customer shopping experience. Through personalization, retailers provide the customers with a personalized experience without noticing it.

In this procedure, retailers need to develop a one-to-one relationship with the customers. And it turns into a major challenge in front of eCommerce developers.

eCommerce business leaders must focus on developing a one-on-one relationship with their customers. And it needed to strengthen its developing tools and capabilities for a better, reach, and visibility amongst the consumers.

It only can be made possible with the integration of the latest eCommerce technologies, smart coding into current e-commerce frameworks to automate the entire customer journey.

Additionally, the AI eCommerce tool, machine learning approach, cross-platform data sharing also can harness the purpose of services.

5. Being Consistent

Consistency is the most critical element for a successful omnichannel shopping experience.

Customers use multiple platforms to search for items before making a decision which bounds businesses to provide seamless purchasing encounters through every product or service offered by them.

But analyzing and understanding customer interactions across all touchpoints and using it to build a consistent and seamless customer experience is one of the major eCommerce challenges for retailers.

6. Facing Competition

The internet offers everyone an equal platform and hence an equal opportunity. This makes the environment extremely competitive, with possibly hundreds of other businesses offering the same products or services as you and to the same target audience.

Even the most niche brands have to fight hard to carve a place for themselves. And every segment in the eCommerce space is set to get increasingly congested and competitive over the years.

A homegrown startup has to keep pace with a multinational giant and vice-versa. And every enterprise is continuously experimenting to come up with an innovative eCommerce business solution to gain an edge.

7. Data Security

The uptake of eCommerce also brings along associated eCommerce challenges – security threat being one of the most critical of them.

There is a looming threat of hackers and fraudsters attacking the host server and not just stealing confidential data but also infecting with viruses. Breach of credit and debit card details has become common news, and such lapses directly affect the trust of a consumer.

Phishing is yet another threat where hackers pose as businesses and ask for sensitive information from their customers.

Several users are increasingly concerned about the eCommerce websites’ capability to effectively shield their personal identity as well as the security of the transaction details.

8. Technology Partnerships

Technological partnerships are becoming increasingly popular in the eCommerce domain. When businesses join hands with a company to bring their idea to life, there is a lot at stake.

The end product can turn out to be a success not by focusing merely on the tech or processes but also giving precedence to trust, transparency, and communication between the partners.

Many businesses gravitate towards choosing a partner based on costs without setting the right expectations or understanding their work scope.

These gaps lead to a disastrous collaboration and eventually, the end product. With access to an enormous pool of talent and technology, outsourcing eCommerce development in itself can prove to be extremely beneficial if done right.

9. Customer Retention

Even some of the biggest players in the eCommerce segment struggle to retain their customer base.

The reason for customer-centric eCommerce challenges can be attributed to many factors such as :

  • the evolving expectation of the consumer
  • the presence of several similar options
  • failure to provide a pleasant shopping experience
  • and sometimes even the offers
  • discounts on the other platforms.

Customer loyalty is indeed a determining aspect in a business’s success, and even a minor glitch from the retailer can entirely ruin the brand reputation for a consumer.

Many businesses fail to understand that trying to retain a user is about investing in building a steady and rewarding relationship with them over time and employing every channel of communication to materialize it.

10. Relevant Leads

For eCommerce businesses, drawing good traffic may be achievable through promotions and other marketing efforts, but getting the relevant leads remains a huge challenge. No wonder the average eCommerce conversion rates are often minimal.

A report points out how only 2.57 percent of eCommerce website visits have been converted into purchases in the US.

The efforts invested in qualifying the visitor into a user can be futile if the right audience is not accessing the website. Several times brands fail to communicate the right message about their product or service and hence are unable to engage the interested audience.

11. Getting the right customers:

The online shoppers don’t shop in the same way as they were doing earlier. They use amazon to get their products, not only through google. They check lots of recommendations from social media. 

By using the smartphones, they easily get product reviews unlike in the stores and then buy it using all the available payment methods. Many things have changed including the way they accept the content and hold the communication through online. One major challenge of e-commerce is that consumers get distracted through social media and other technology.

The retailer needs to focus on their audience and how to attract them efficiently without hampering the marketing budget.

 Most businesses when going online face some of these challenges but with a strong marketing strategy and advanced technology, will help you to build a long lasting business with your customers.

I’ve worked with the team at Andolasoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

Ruthie Miller, Sr. Mktg. Specialist

Salesforce, Houston, Texas

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 You can get lots of opportunities of e-commerce business, where your business can easily reach out to your customers all through online methods.

Final Thoughts

To overcome these eCommerce challenges, businesses should operate as modern omnichannel retailers. They should focus on turning data into insights, knowledge, and ways for market leadership.

Inspiring shoppers and driving loyalty with personalization at scale can work in their favor and can help support their brand, business model, and international expansion.

In this highly competitive world, entrepreneurs need to use smart digital retail practices to address the eCommerce challenges facing online businesses with the right set of tools.

Finally, all of this must be backed up by strong digital leadership, providing clarity and support with the right resources to help you become a market leader.

On the edge of developing your eCommerce Application? Talk to our expert!

eCommerce Marketing Ideas During COVID-19

It’s no doubt that the Coronavirus pandemic is taking its toll on businesses around the world. Marketers are referring to it as the season of ‘crisis marketing’ where businesses must adapt to consumer demands to survive and thrive.

As consumers are locked indoors, the number of online orders is on the rise and many are working towards stocking up for worse outcomes due to the pandemic.

This is a time when businesses have to be clear and vocal about their communications and operations. Here is a list of the top eCommerce Marketing Ideas During COVID-19 being employed by businesses

1. Pay Per Click or Paid Ads

We’re all stuck indoors due to the Coronavirus and this is a time when people are busy stocking up. If your brand is contributing to helping people and committed to the cause, you should let people know.

PPC Campaigns or Paid Ads are experiencing lesser clicks on average but that doesn’t mean they’ve become irrelevant.

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Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), healthcare and medical businesses, food, and retail – these are the sectors experiencing the fastest growing at the moment. Home improvement eCommerce businesses are seeing a steady increase in conversions and investing their money on ad spends.

  • Google Shopping Ads

Google is giving away free credits that online marketers can use to place shopping ads on the platform. For businesses selling courses or offering valuable products during these times, the Google Product Feed lets merchants sync their inventories with the Google Merchant Center and AdNabu has written a handy guide on how to use these Shopping Ads to your advantage.

  • Re-Targeting Ads

Over 2 billion people log in to Facebook every day and Google itself has a huge user base. Retargeting ads are an eCommerce marketing strategy where you place ads on external websites. When leads click on these ads, they are redirected to your main website or landing pages.

Nomatic does a wonderful job of applying this. Whenever a customer adds something to their cart and leaves it behind, they display ads on their Facebook Newsfeed.

Pay Per Click or Paid Ads

Source: Veeqo

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing has become a priority for brands that want to stay in business. Sales-focused content marketing won’t do too well since this is a time of crisis but content marketing that tells your audiences what’s going on will help.

Sharing updates about your changes in shipment policy, alterations to business inventory, and how the brand is adapting to changes across the COVID-19 landscape economically and more – these are stories your readers want to hear about.

  • Video Content

Over 78% of users online prefer watching videos over textual content according to HubSpot. eCommerce video content trends show that businesses with YouTube channels and IGTV videos tend to perform way better than brands who only post images and text content.

Product videos showing how the technology works or showcasing services offered by the business – these are what people want to see.

  • Blog Posts

There’s just so much that goes into eCommerce blogging but the top two tips would be – writing for your audience and sharing content that provides value.

Don’t sell too much but aim to educate your readers about what’s going on in the industry. Pay attention to optimizing your SEO and if you’re trying to learn more about eCommerce blogging strategies.

  • Interactive Content

Interactive Content has been shown to engage audiences time and time again.

Quizzes, for example, have been shown to engage audiences. 96% of readers don’t finish the pieces they are reading but when you leverage interactive content like surveys, giveaways, and contests, they are more likely to read until the end and participate.

With the blending of AI and VR, eCommerce marketers have already realized that interactive content is the future of marketing in the digital age.

BuzzFeed

Source: Outgrow

As for getting views and engagements, BuzzFeed has been doing it right so far and newcomers can learn from them.

3. Unboxing Experiences

Unboxing experiences are the holy grail of eCommerce marketing. Ask any influencer and they will highly recommend it. Despite the fact it’s COVID, there’s no denying that unboxing videos will help grow your brand.

People are willing to pay up to 4 times as much for the same product if the packaging on it looks simply stunning.

The way your boxes are designed, the messaging, and overall branding, when combined with the ultimate reveal, is sure to make an impact. Here’s an example.

  • Coupon Codes Inside the Box

Giving out coupon codes or promo codes during unboxing videos or at the start is a good way to attract new leads and convert them into customers.

It works!

4. Email Marketing

Big brands are reaching out to their subscribers and letting them know how they are being of help. Email marketing is critical to business success especially in times of this crisis. People are panic buying and brands are doing their best to assure customers that they can make it through the quarantine.

Email

Source: Emailonacid

Take a look at how TruEarth is marketing its products while staying mindful of the situation. This is what customers appreciate.

  • New Customer Email Flows

You should have a customer onboarding and welcome strategy put in place when you’re setting up your mailing list. And this needs to be automated. You can use marketing automation software for this.

You can trigger free content downloads and send helpful relevant content automatically to your leads when they fill up your sign-up forms.

  • Browsing Follow-Up Flows

Neil Patel has best described how to use follow-up flows to increase engagements, drive more traffic, and boost conversions. He knows what he’s talking about and for a business, following up with your potential clients indicates that you actually care and make a difference.

  • Abandoned Cart Emails

Abandoned cart emails are being used as a follow-up strategy by businesses to boost sales and increase conversions. Over 70% of online shoppers fill up and abandon their carts before proceeding to the checkout page. You can prevent this and stand out from the competition.

  • Targeted Offers

Brands are kick-starting their businesses during this time by making targeted offers. We’ve covered this in our mailing list segment but if you want an in-depth guide on how to do that, read this.

5. On-site Marketing

On-site marketing involves optimizing a brand’s SEO strategy, meta descriptions, title tags, and more, in a bid to bring in more traffic and convert leads. The UX design of the website is also considered and making on-site engagement helpful to your customers is key.

A good example of this is recommending related products to your customers based on what they are adding to their carts. Encouraging your customers to share what they buy on social media is another effective tactic.

  • Sign-up Forms

Visitors don’t enjoy filling up sign-up forms which are why you want to make the process as painless as possible. Take notes from the likes of Medium and Facebook.

They’ve kept it simple. Integrate sign-up options using social media accounts for a smoother registration process. Mint has also mastered this art well by pairing it with strong copy, simple details, and a padlock icon for their call-to-action buttons for added security.

Sign Up Forms

Image Source: Justinmind

  • Product Pages

Product pages are the backbone of your selling strategy. The visuals you have must go well with the details and vice versa. Make sure you write product descriptions optimized for SEO while emphasizing on uniqueness and originality.

Product Page

Image Source: BigCommerce

Take a look at these examples and notice how each brand has clearly mentioned the features, benefits, and details for their offerings. Additionally, they’re crisp and concise which boosts the readability factor.

  • Content Copy

Copywriting is an essential element of successful eCommerce marketing. Using interesting and evocative language for your content copy without sounding too sales-y is what you should be going for. There are many good examples you can learn from. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of wordplay and create a sense of adventure through your offerings.

  • Product Images and Product Videos

Product images and videos should complement your content copy. You may have heard of this before but make sure your photos are high-resolution and taken in good lighting. Your product videos should showcase the different angles and have a model posing or demoing how your offerings work. Get your creative juices flowing! There’s no rule to this.

6. Selling Through Social Media

Closures of physical stores and the shift to online spaces have also forced consumers to live their life on the internet. More than 42% of consumers believe that shopping is going to fundamentally change in the future. This makes user-generated content online so much value since users are getting more active on social media platforms.

  • Instagram

Let’s dive into eCommerce marketing with Instagram. Optimize your brand’s profile bio and include a call-to-action. Your profile should be clean and simple. Make sure you also optimize your SEO and match the brand’s aesthetic with the tonality of your content copy.

Instagram

Image Source: Business2community

  • Facebook

Facebook is where shoppers hang out and leave raving reviews. If you haven’t yet created a Facebook page for your business, you’re missing out. Brands prefer spending money on Facebook ads for more engagement. Additionally, your Instagram feed can be integrated with these pages.

  • Youtube

YouTube is a breeding ground for likes and engagements. Your brand can get influencers to talk about its products and services. You can leverage customer testimonial videos and put them up on your business YouTube account to attract more viewers. Ultimately, you have complete creative freedom with this marketing channel.

Doing collabs with other brands or sponsoring influencers to promote your products are good for your business during these times.

7. Market Your Business Beyond Geographic Boundaries

If you’re trying to go local, we understand. But if you’re a business that provides international shipping, your interests would be best put into targeting different geographic regions. You can use Data Analytics tools for discovering new trends and getting new leads.

I’ve worked with the team at Andolasoft on multiple websites. They are professional, responsive, & easy to work with. I’ve had great experiences & would recommend their services to anyone.

Ruthie Miller, Sr. Mktg. Specialist

Salesforce, Houston, Texas

LEARN MORE

For brands that are trying to expand during this season, marketing beyond geographic boundaries is a fantastic way to improve engagements and overall reach. Creating a mobile app on major platforms like Android and iOS is a good way to do that.

8. Highlight Product Reviews

If your customers love your products, you can bring in more leads by highlighting product reviews. These are testimonials that strike a chord with your growing audience and encourage them to buy.

Highlight Product Reviews

Image Source:  Groovehq

Conclusion

We have covered some of the most popular ideas for eCommerce marketing during COVID-19. We realize that businesses are suffering from huge dips but these are some strategies brands can use to grow and connect with potential customers better. Ultimately, COVID-19 isn’t going to last forever but it’s true that brands will be redefining the way they operate moving on. And eCommerce will be that way.