How businesses can benefit from e-commerce
It's clear that online shopping revenues are set to increase over the next few years, with Thailand predicted to grow to US$6 billion from 2020 to 2025.
However, tapping into this potential requires investment from businesses that are not already online. The big question is, how do retailers justify this and when can they expect to see a return on investment (ROI)?
One option is to join an e-commerce marketplace and see how easy it is to establish an online presence compared to going at it completely alone.
Starting your own online store comes with challenges such as the basics of how to manage logistics, arrange payments, market to the right audience and a whole host of other issues.
By joining an established marketplace, you should have easy access to the platform and a team of consultants who can offer support in getting started, leveraging data-driven insights and providing advice on marketing strategies, resulting in a quicker realisation of ROI.
For a new retailer, a good starting point is deciding what value you can provide and how you can make a difference to the world with your products.
Even if you have a good product, it doesn’t mean it will sell automatically. You will still need to market your products and generate exposure for them.
This is where search, social and mobile become key channels in the consumer journey, and have become critical elements for a successful e-commerce business.
Mobile
As smartphone penetration continues to rise, more people are accessing the Internet via their mobile devices throughout the day. For an online business, this means that you have even more chances to connect with potential customers and entice them to discover products in your store.
It also makes it highly likely that a consumer’s first contact with your brand could be through their mobile device. This makes it even more important for businesses to develop a mobile strategy to ensure the mobile shopper experience is spot on.
A badly optimised mobile site or complicated payment process can lead to shoppers losing interest quickly and moving on to other sites to complete their purchase.
Retailers must be aware of how images may look different on a mobile site, affecting the presentation of their products. Think of how best to display your hottest products, while remembering the importance of reaching shoppers with the right product at the right time.
Modern consumers are used to searching on their mobile devices and completing the transaction elsewhere. It could be they’re on personal computers at home, or even at a brick-and-mortar store.
Unfortunately, this may impact the perceived value of the mobile platform to marketers and is something that we have to be wary of when evaluating ROI. Mobile platforms also offer valuable analytics and insight to consumer shopping habits.
Social
Social media give retailers the opportunity to leverage big data to understand their customers and what they care about. It is also a good channel for connecting with consumers and extending the brand experience beyond an online store.
Search
A good tip is to think like a consumer and understand what they want to see and what they want to experience. Search is becoming a key starting point for mobile discovery from users’ browsers and has become integrated into our everyday lives.
While online marketplaces have seen significant growth in recent times, conservatism from businesses may hamper the growth of e-commerce in Thailand, as many are still hesitant to enter this space.
The question that retailers should be asking themselves is how can they justify not moving to e-commerce since customers have already moved online?
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu is the founder and managing director of Rakuten Tarad.com.
