Back in 2013, Louis Columbus named five factors that were reshaping eCommerce: mobile, social, globalization, cloud systems, and legacy order management systems. He predicted that their common goal of delighting the customer and earning their trust would impact eCommerce in the long run. Now, three years later, was he right? We’re taking a look at the influence of some of those factors over the past few years.
We don’t need to tell you that mobile has been a huge influence on eCommerce in the past few years. Daniela Forte, who reported on Columbus’ findings, was right when she said that mobile was completely redefining multichannel selling strategies. If you weren’t at least thinking about implementing mobile back in 2013, then your company was behind the times.
Mobile eCommerce isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, mobile accounts for approximately 60% of total time spend shopping online, and in 2015, Google mobile searches passed desktop.
But shoppers aren’t just purchasing on their phones or tablets, they’re using them as part of the research and buying process. Be sure that your site allows your customer to research your products, close the consideration gap, and make a purchase from you, whether on desktop or mobile.
Mobile is not just impacting B2C eCommerce either. Check out this blog post to learn how to implement eCommerce for your B2B organization.
Social media has quickly had a huge impact on the eCommerce industry. Whether promoting a product or service or answering customer service questions, social media has become a crucial extension to an eCommerce site.
Connecting with customers over social media is a great way to establish a relationship and encourage repeat sales. People like working with people, so don’t be afraid to remind your customers that there is another person on the other side of the eCommerce experience.
Social selling has also become a popular way to maximize social channels. Your company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest accounts are free advertising that can cultivate your brand’s image and entice buyers to purchase from you.
Additionally, by including social share buttons on order confirmation pages, your customers can do the work for you. When they share on Facebook what they just bought from you, your product suddenly reaches their network attached to a reliable review or endorsement.
Well, it may be three years later, but when it comes to the cloud, are we any wiser? Everyone seems to have a different definition of the cloud or explanation of its services, but Columbus was right: it’s shaping the eCommerce landscape.
Whether for hardware hosting or software licensing, cloud solutions are prevalent in the eCommerce industry these days. People are still talking about it, but does anyone understand it? We believe that the cloud will continue to unfold over the next few years.
So, Columbus was right on with these predictions. But what will the next three years of the eCommerce industry have in store? The next ten years? What are your predictions?
Do you have an eCommerce project that needs some expert assistance? Contact our team.
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