Ecommerce

The eCommerce industry has demonstrated unprecedented growth over the past decade. With increasing accessibility and convenience, it’s no surprise that around 2.64 billion people are shopping online in 2023. Naturally, there is a lot of optimization going on in the background to make eCommerce platforms work seamlessly.

Apart from optimized websites, fast loading times, and a friendly user interface, you also need dynamic pricing strategies to be a successful eCommerce business. While the concept of dynamic pricing has been around for centuries, the eCommerce industry has given it a new angle. Brands can now leverage AI-driven dynamic pricing strategies to target a wider range of customers and increase their profits.

This blog covers everything you need to know about dynamic pricing strategies in eCommerce and how you can implement them in your business.

The Future of Dynamic Pricing

The combination of AI and dynamic pricing is clearly the definitive solution for the eCommerce businesses of tomorrow. In the future, AI-based pricing software and big data will help increase profit margins by automatically processing data points to come up with dynamic pricing recommendations. 

AI-based dynamic pricing strategies will help businesses develop a better understanding of their customers and what they will be willing to pay for each product or service. These solutions provide the best ways to optimize prices and meet revenue targets. According to a survey of 1,000 companies in 2022, 97.2% of the companies were willing to invest in AI and big data. In essence, getting accurate predictions about your business metrics will significantly increase your sales and revenue. 

The Importance of Pricing in E-commerce Businesses

According to statistics, 81% of customers do their research before purchasing from eCommerce platforms. As this research is mainly focused on product prices and additional costs, brands need to have advanced pricing strategies to attract customers. This is where dynamic pricing comes into play.

By implementing dynamic pricing, your eCommerce business is able to:

• Offer competitive pricing and have better chances of pulling customers from your competitors
• Increase your sales and revenue 
• Extract maximum business value with accurate SKU-level pricing
• Understand customers’ price perception and unlock long-term profitability
• Gain control over your business with better insights into pricing 
• Benefit from customers’ growing interest as they monitor dynamic price changes over a period of time.

When you implement dynamic pricing in e-commerce, it means your business is now adapting to market changes, customer behavior, demand, and other competitive factors. As your customers have a lot of brands to choose from, it is essential to price your products in a justified manner. With dynamic pricing, you are able to target the right customers at the right time. 

The Evolution of E-commerce Pricing Strategies

Setting prices in eCommerce is a tricky game altogether. If you set the price too high, you get a high number of abandoned carts. But if your products are too cheap, customers might assume that the quality isn’t that great.      

Today’s eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces allow retailers to adopt a pricing strategy of their liking in order to maximize their sales. Traditionally, eCommerce businesses have implemented a static, or fixed pricing strategy. This method involves retailers manually setting a fixed price for each product that does not change. Although static prices can be changed manually, they do not necessarily reflect market changes, competitive pricing, or demand-based pricing. E-commerce businesses use static pricing as a way to have more control over their pricing. However, there are many drawbacks of static pricing:

• Pricing does not change automatically with respect to market fluctuation, fulfillment costs, or changes in demand
• Retailers need to place buffers to compensate for fluctuations and shipping costs
• Loss of potential sales due to the wrong fixed price of the product when competitors change their price
• Lower market visibility
• No competitive advantage

When it comes to eCommerce, you simply cannot take so many risks at once. For this reason, dynamic pricing is a solution that factors in market dynamics and changes in customer behavior. 

What is Dynamic Pricing? 

Dynamic pricing in eCommerce is the practice of pricing products based on multiple data-driven factors. Using both real-time business data and algorithms, retailers can monitor the demands and preferences of customers, the inventory levels of the product in question, and competitor pricing strategies. 

Today, numerous brands and eCommerce platforms implement dynamic pricing without us even noticing it. A common example of dynamic pricing can be seen in aviation, as airlines change their ticket prices almost every day of the week. Considering the seasonality, time, and location, eCommerce brands adjust their prices to extract maximum benefits. 

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The Benefits of Dynamic Pricing in eCommerce

Dynamic pricing allows retailers to offer flexible pricing for products and services, which is why it is now being adopted in the hospitality and entertainment sectors as well. It helps fulfill business goals and stay profitable while providing customers with the confidence to purchase the right products. 

There are different types of dynamic pricing, some of which we will discuss later in this blog. Online retailers often need to lower their prices for new customers and also need to raise them in case of products that are high in demand. To address such challenges and make life easier for eCommerce businesses, dynamic pricing can take the form of surge pricing, segmented pricing, time-based pricing, and personalized pricing. 

How is Dynamic Pricing Different from Traditional Fixed Pricing

But what really makes dynamic pricing great is that you do not have to manually calculate and set prices every now and then. The hands-off approach to eCommerce pricing is referred to as intelligent pricing, as it is backed by AI and machine learning algorithms.

Unlike traditional fixed pricing, retailers who adopt dynamic pricing can set predefined rules to change their product prices based on market conditions and customer expectations. They can also set margins and pricing caps to make the price changes as seamless as possible. While traditional pricing involves manually setting prices, dynamic pricing automatically updates the listing prices without the need for any manual input.

Factors Influencing Dynamic Pricing

Demand Fluctuations

When there is a decrease in demand, retailers often reduce prices to try and get more sales. In case you do not know what is currently happening in the market, you should not price your products based on guesswork. Dynamic pricing is based on data-driven decisions that factor in market conditions and set the best price range for the given product.

Competitor Pricing

Setting a lower price just to attract more customers does not always work in eCommerce, especially if you do not know what your competitors are doing. As customers can compare prices within seconds, you need to be sure that your pricing strategy is based on real market data. Dynamic pricing helps you bypass this challenge with valuable insights ranging from competitors’ pricing to customers’ shopping habits.

Customer Demographics

The customer segment your eCommerce business targets matters a lot when it comes to product pricing. Customers from different regions and age groups demonstrate different buying decisions, which makes it harder for businesses that set prices manually. Thankfully, dynamic pricing solutions are based on AI algorithms that process demographic data to make the right pricing decisions.

How AI Powers Dynamic Pricing in E-commerce 

The use of artificial intelligence in dynamic pricing means that there is a lot of data analysis going on behind the scenes. The pricing decisions are dependent on real data from different crucial aspects of eCommerce. AI algorithms make adjustments in real-time based on market demand and inventory levels. This not only speeds up your decision-making process but also makes it more accurate.

How AI algorithms analyze large sets of data in real-time

Using a combination of data-driven insights and predictive analytics, AI processes large chunks of eCommerce data to produce the best dynamic pricing strategy. AI is also capable of accurately tracking competitors’ pricing changes to keep your eCommerce at par with the competition.

The role of machine learning in understanding patterns and predicting market changes

Machine learning models such as deep learning and reinforcement learning are used for more accurate prediction of the right price point at a given time for a given product. Machine learning is a subfield of AI with a major focus on training algorithms to spot patterns and anomalies in datasets. These algorithms utilize computational methods to pull out the required information from market data and run predefined models to generate the most reasonable results.

Types of Dynamic Pricing Strategies

Time-Based Pricing

There are always those cases in eCommerce where the price of a product increases or decreases for a particular time period. In such cases, dynamic pricing takes the form of time-based pricing. This method of dynamic pricing is based on the time period for which the product or service is used by a customer. For instance, eCommerce brands often increase their prices for products with the option of same-day delivery. Similarly, ride-hailing services raise their prices during rush hours due to increased demand.

Segmented Pricing

As discussed previously, customer segmentation makes a lot of difference in eCommerce. With segmented pricing, you are able to offer different prices to different types of customers. This allows brands and service providers to generate more revenue by selling a single product or service at different prices. For example, McDonald's and Starbucks offer discounts for loyal customers and cinema tickets are more expensive for those who want better seats.

Demand-Based Pricing

This is where brands change the price of a product or service based on increasing or decreasing customer demand. This type of dynamic pricing helps retailers optimize their sales revenues by capitalizing on customers’ needs. Airline tickets are a perfect example of demand-based pricing, as customers have no choice but to buy tickets no matter how high the price surges.

Competitive Pricing

While the actual price of a product is determined by the cost of production, most eCommerce businesses leverage competitive pricing to take advantage of their market. This kind of pricing strategy is especially useful in competitive e-commerce situations where numerous businesses are offering similar products.

Benefits of AI-based Dynamic Pricing in E-commerce 

Increased revenue and profit margins

AI-based dynamic pricing automatically lowers product prices when you need to get rid of some leftover inventory and when the demand is low. This means you can increase sales for slow-selling products. As a result, your eCommerce business generates higher revenue with improved conversion rates. According to Forrester, companies can boost their profits by as much as 25% by using dynamic pricing.

Improved competitiveness and market positioning

Capitalizing on the natural ups and downs of the e-commerce market, dynamic pricing strategies enable businesses to maintain stable margins. The AI behind dynamic pricing constantly analyzes market trends to adjust product pricing and keep your business ahead of the competition. It also allows you to capitalize on special seasonal trends with the help of promotions and discounts.

Enhanced customer satisfaction through optimized pricing

Every product has a given price range that customers are more likely ‘willing to pay’. By pricing your products according to customer demands, you can attract a larger number of customers from different segments. When a customer finds a product with reasonable and competitive prices, there are higher chances that they will be satisfied with their shopping. 

Challenges of Dynamic Pricing in E-commerce

While there are various plus points of dynamic pricing, it also brings a few challenges for retailers. These challenges are mainly related to the complexity of pricing criteria, transparency, and ethics on the part of those who deal with the numbers. 

• To deal with the complexity, you need to have the right machine learning and AI algorithms in place
• To keep the pricing transparent, you need to be able to justify how and why product prices have changed
• All pricing policies must be communicated honestly within the business and with the customers
• To avoid discrimination and exploitation of customers, you need to factor in the impact of pricing changes on customers, business personnel, suppliers, and competitors. You also need to stay compliant with all the relevant laws and regulations

Examples of Dynamic Pricing Success Stories     

While dynamic pricing is particularly popular among retail platforms, the strategy is adopted by a wide range of industries such as hospitality, ride-hailing, airlines, and car rentals. Here are some examples of dynamic pricing:

Amazon

Amazon is popular for its wide variety of products and services across the globe. It is one of the oldest adopters of the dynamic pricing strategy in the eCommerce industry. The prices of millions of Amazon products are constantly updated to balance supply and demand, address customer behavior, and stay ahead of the competition.

Amazon’s sophisticated AI and machine learning algorithms process large datasets to implement dynamic price updates every 10 minutes. The AI retrieves customer data and calculates the ideal price point to maximize profit margins for each product.

Uber

Another example of dynamic pricing can be seen in the ride-hailing sector. Uber is the most notable ride-hailing service provider with over 93,000,000 active users throughout the world. Uber’s dynamic pricing algorithm adjusts trip costs based on demand, location, time, and rush hours. 

The AI algorithms calculate the distance to the destination, the time it will take to reach there, the expected traffic and peak hours, and the current rider-to-driver demand ratio. As a result, every ride costs slightly different, even for similar routes.

Implementing AI-based Dynamic Pricing 

Data Collection and Analysis

The most basic step in implementing AI-based dynamic pricing in your eCommerce business is to gather market data. Here’s the data you need to collect:

• Competitors’ pricing strategies
• Customer demand in terms of online searches
• Customer reviews of similar products
• Buying behaviors during different time periods

All this data is then analyzed and processed by AI to provide the most accurate pricing for each product.

Choosing the Right AI Solution

In order to choose the right AI-based dynamic pricing solution, you need to look for various factors. These include customizability in pricing criteria, control and limit-setting features for controlling and setting limits, and A/B testing capabilities. You also need to look for a solution that provides visualization of pricing and revenue metrics and helps you understand which prices are the most optimal. Choosing the right AI solution allows you to unlock the maximum potential of dynamic pricing and generate higher revenue.

Key Takeaways

For businesses operating in volatile markets such as eCommerce, dynamic pricing strategies are a viable solution. Regardless of the changes in market conditions and customer demands, dynamic pricing strategies always take your business further in terms of revenue, inventory optimization, and staying competitive.

There was a time when businesses used to go online only to establish their presence as a brand. But now the tide has, today, businesses are starting their journey online right away. Now, the eCommerce industry is a powerhouse of global commerce, holding more than 20% share of the global economy. 

However,  running a successful business is not everyone’s cup of it as with profits, eCommerce brings challenges. And of course, such challenges require specific solutions and sets of skills.

One cannot make sales by simply setting up their website and listing products. The opportunities are vast, but so are the hurdles, making it essential to take well-informed decisions. So, you’ll have to work on full-service eCommerce solutions to run a large online shop or manage a retail store.

From choosing the right platform and setting up a product database to building a user-centric website, there’s a lot that goes into an eCommerce business. Not to mention the multiple integrations such as payment processes, order and inventory management, and 3PL logistics.

In full-service eCommerce, you have to manage and optimize various aspects of operations efficiently. Every facet demands expertise but it’s hard for online stores to have specialists in all the fields. Online store owners need an expert eye to navigate the intricacies of the digital landscape successfully.

They need professionals who can manage affairs such as web development, marketing strategies, order fulfillment, and customer support.

This is where a Full-Service eCommerce agency steps in as a valuable strategic partner.

What is a Full Service eCommerce Agency?

A full-service eCommerce agency is a one-stop solution provider for all eCommerce needs. It comprises a team of experts specializing in various fields such as website development, digital marketing, analytics, logistics, customer service, and much more. These agencies help businesses build, manage, and grow their online store by providing an end-to-end eCommerce solution.

From bringing your business online and enlisting products to ensure sales and shipping, they offer full-service eCommerce solutions.

However, you should not hire an agency until you are well aware of your needs. Even if you are thinking to expand the operations, pay attention to the benefits and demerits of such a decision. 

Benefits of Choosing a Full-Service eCommerce Agency over DIY Solutions

When it comes to online shopping, businesses are often torn between doing it themselves (DIY) or partnering with a full-service eCommerce agency. The DIY route may seem attractive but it often fails to deliver long-term results. On the other hand, choosing a full-service eCommerce agency offers significant benefits that contribute to overall success.

Comprehensive Expertise

A full-service eCommerce agency houses professionals who specialize in various e-commerce aspects. You will have experts working on web design and development digital marketing, SEO, data analytics, and more. Such deep knowledge and varied skill sets are hard to achieve in the DIY approach.

When you hire an agency, it ensures that your e-commerce operations are handled holistically. The team works on all the crucial elements at the same time which lead to success.

Time and Effort Savings

Let’s be honest, running an e-commerce business is no small feat. You have to manage multiple tasks, such as inventory, order management, marketing, customer service, and much more. This requires effort and often eats up significant time, which could be better spent on core business activities.

By choosing a full-service eCommerce agency, you delegate these tasks to experienced professionals. This strategy will free up your time and allows you to focus on strategy, growth, and innovation.

Scalability

The demands of managing your eCommerce operations will increase as your business grows. You’ll constantly be needing experts’ opinions and scalable solutions to ensure consistent growth. You cannot work simultaneously on expanding your product range and targeting new markets while focusing on seasonal demand fluctuations. But an agency can swiftly scale up their services to meet your requirements.

Consistent Branding

Professional branding across all touchpoints is key to building trust with your customers. But you will need consistency in approach to be the brand you want across multiple sales channels.

Your branding efforts must portray a seamless picture be it your website design, social media posts, or email marketing campaigns. A unified approach to branding boosts your brand's credibility and recognition. But for this, you may require a large marketing time, which means extra costs on labor and infrastructure. This is where a full-service eCommerce agency shares your burden and helps you grow upward.

Ongoing Support and Maintenance

In the DIY approach, you have to figure out things on your own. But when you go for full-service eCommerce solutions, you’ll get ongoing support and maintenance. That’s because agencies are always updated with the latest eCommerce trends and technologies. They know how to implement necessary changes to keep your online store at its best performance.

Moreover, if any issue arises, their team is just a call away to resolve it promptly. You won’t have to allocate resources and change your focus from marketing to fixing an internal issue.

Improved ROI

The ultimate goal of any business is to generate revenue while maximizing its ROI. When you choose full-service eCommerce solutions, you get data-driven strategies to optimize your eCommerce operations. The hired agency will always be working to improve your site's user experience and effective marketing campaigns. You can expect increased conversions and customer retention as well as a higher ROI.

Key Factors to Consider When Selecting the Right Agency for Your Business

Selecting the right full-service eCommerce agency is like choosing a growth partner. This is a decision that can make or break your online business in a matter of months. Consider the below factors when you are selecting the right agency for your business:

• Expertise and Experience
• Full Understanding of Your Business
• Technological Proficiency
• Comprehensive Services
• Scalability Options
• 24/7 Client Support
• Cost and Value for Money
• Transparency in Reporting
• Effective Communication
• Culture Fit

In addition to expertise, pay attention to their previous track record and understanding of your business model. Always ask for references and case studies to ensure they can deliver on their promises.

Technology Selection for Different Business Models

The technology you select to power your eCommerce operations should align with your business model. There is no one-size-fits-all solution as each business has different needs and requires different solutions.

B2C Ecommerce Solutions

For B2C eCommerce businesses, technologies that prioritize user experience, flexibility, and scalability are top considerations. Shopify and BigCommerce are ideal platforms which offer easy setup, seamless integrations, and extensive support, which are excellent choices.

B2B Ecommerce Solutions

Online stores that serve businesses require robust and flexible solutions to handle complex operations, large catalogs, and varying customer roles. Platforms like Magento and Salesforce Commerce Cloud are suitable options for B2B businesses. These technologies are known for their scalability, customization capabilities, and built-in B2B functionalities.

B2B2C Ecommerce Solutions

Large enterprises often require both B2B and B2C solutions for their eCommerce businesses. This is where you can utilize platforms like Fabric, known for its robust solutions and supply chain integrations. The best part is that it has a user-friendly, customer-focused interface. Such platforms allow businesses to manage multiple channels, partners, and customer segments from a single place.

Remember, your eCommerce technology should empower your business model, not limit it!

Full-Service Ecommerce Agency Offerings for Leading Platforms

When we talk about full-service eCommerce solutions, we mean a comprehensive business solution. This includes front-end creation, design implementations, multiple channel integrations, migrations, and marketing automation.

Shopify and Shopify Plus

Shopify is the best eCommerce solution for any new business right now. For larger businesses, Shopify Plus offers advanced features that an agency can leverage for your benefit. Full-service eCommerce agencies can help with customizing Shopify themes, app integrations, and setting up automated marketing campaigns. 

BigCommerce

It’s an ideal solution for businesses that want to run online and mobile eCommerce stores. You can easily handle payments in multiple currencies and can exchange them. Agencies can optimize your BigCommerce store for SEO and implement custom functionalities. Furthermore, they can integrate it with essential third-party apps for superior customer experience and business operations.

Magento

This is a versatile eCommerce platform that is ideal for almost all types of audiences. However, Magento's highly customizable platform requires proficient development skills. And a full-service eCommerce agency can help you make the most of it, from development and integration to optimization and support.

WooCommerce

This is not a platform but a WordPress plugin that is suitable for small businesses. You can easily install it but WooCommerce requires professional assistance for optimal performance. You can hire freelancers or an agency for services like custom theme development, plugin integration, and site optimization.

Fabric

Fabric is an end-to-end headless commerce platform. It’s highly suitable for large enterprises and eCommerce businesses that target both B2B and B2C marketing. Fabric is based on Omnichannel architecture so it can help you scale your operations on multiple channels while providing easy payment solutions. A skilled eCommerce agency can help you leverage Fabric to build a flexible, scalable, and efficient eCommerce operation.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC)

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a comprehensive digital commerce solution that comes with an AI-based recommendation engine. In addition to predictive AI, you’ll get optimized localization, marketing strategies, and effortless auto upgrading. However, implementing such a complex eCommerce technology requires expert guidance for customization and ongoing support.

Optimizing Operations for Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction

The success of an eCommerce business is directly associated with user experience. For online stores, it’s compulsory to streamline operations and offer a seamless shopping experience. Below are some key strategies that can help you optimize operations, increase efficiency, and delight your customers.

Managing and Tracking Purchases

For large enterprises, an efficient order management system (OMS) is the backbone of their operations. It is a software that enables eCommerce businesses to process and track orders seamlessly. Such a  tool not only curtails shipping delays but also reduces the risk of errors.

With a reliable OMS, businesses can automate order processing, manage inventory effectively, and provide real-time updates to customers. Such transparency in the order fulfillment process enhances customer trust in the brand. It adds a sense of satisfaction, leading to higher retention rates and positive reviews.

Fulfillment Operations Optimization

Full-service eCommerce is incomplete without streamlined warehouse management and shipping. This is the part of your online business that’s responsible for timely and accurate order delivery. By optimizing warehouse management and improving shipping processes, businesses can ensure products reach customers promptly. This also helps in reducing shipping costs.

For this, you can leverage technologies such as automation, barcode scanning, and optimized picking and packing strategies. Furthermore, you can synchronize your shipping integrations with trusted carriers. This way you can utilize multiple delivery options and track orders in real-time.

Omnichannel Enablement

The modern market is a multichannel selling landscape where offering a seamless experience across all channels is imperative for any business. Customers expect a seamless yet cohesive experience whether they are buying in-store, through social media, or on a mobile or website. As a result, retailers are following the Omnichannel approach that integrates all sales channels.

Omnichannel eCommerce allows customers to switch between different sales channels effortlessly. Whereas businesses can leverage data synchronization and unified customer profiles to personalize interactions. They can recommend relevant products, and maintain a continuous shopping journey regardless of the channel used.

Leveraging Headless Commerce Technology

Headless commerce decouples the front-end and back-end of an eCommerce platform. The separation allows online retailers to maintain the core eCommerce functionalities while adopting modern front-end technologies and frameworks.

The benefits of headless commerce include:

· Best-of-breed integrations

· Agility and speed-to-market

· Rich personalization

· Scalability and performance

· Omnichannel experience.

· Flexibility

· Unique customer experiences

With headless commerce, eCommerce stores can experiment with various front-end designs and interfaces without impacting the backend. This ability empowers them to stay ahead in the ever-evolving eCommerce market.

Enhancing Customer Experience and Support

Now let’s consider how full-service eCommerce can help businesses provide exclusive and exceptional customer experiences.

Order Tracking and Management

We know order tracking and management stand as critical elements when it comes to offering exceptional customer experience. Full-service eCommerce solutions provide comprehensive tools that allow customers to monitor their orders' progress in real-time. Timely information about purchase status, from order placement to delivery, boosts a buyer’s confidence.

Furthermore, order tracking offers transparency that in turn contributes to a trustworthy relationship.

Logistics/3PL Integrations

Shipping and delivery are key touchpoints in the customer journey of an eCommerce buyer. A full-service eCommerce solution provider can help you leverage integrations with logistics and Third-Party Logistics (3PL) providers. Such integrations streamline critical processes, improve inventory management, and result in prompt delivery.

Additionally, a well-integrated logistics system enables efficient handling of returns and refunds. This reduces the workload for stores and makes the process less frustrating for customers.

Elevating Customer Service

Customer service is about exceeding customer expectations to generate a positive impression of the brand. When you hire a full-service eCommerce solution provider, they build a supportive and responsive customer service team. The goal is to equip them with the right tools and training and enable them to provide immediate assistance.

An ideal customer service team should resolve complaints effectively, and offer personalized solutions. You can also use AI-powered chatbots and CRM systems to manage customer interactions efficiently.

Harnessing the Power of Digital Marketing and Social Commerce

To be successful in eCommerce, retailers must conjure robust marketing strategies. This includes targeting their focused audience wherever they are present online.

Digital Marketing Strategies

Digital marketing encompasses everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Paid Advertising. But these two strategies provide brands with a wealth of opportunities to expand their reach and grow their customer base.

SEO strategies ensure the brand's website ranks high in search engine results. This is a consistent, long-term process that increases visibility and organic traffic. Whereas paid advertising campaigns like PPC (Pay-Per-Click) help you generate immediate results. Below are the key differences as well as benefits of these two strategies.

Social Shopping Sites and Marketplaces

The advent of social commerce has truly transformed the way people do buying online. Modern platforms like Facebook or TikTok are blurring the lines between social networking and shopping. They offer a more interactive and personalized shopping experience that aligns with consumers' preferences and lifestyles.

Online sellers can leverage these platforms to showcase their products within a social context. This strategy can help them foster better customer engagement and increase sales. In case you are new to social media marketing, below are some popular platforms where you can advertise and sell your products.

Enabling Growth through Automation and Analytics

Efficiency and personalization are two crucial aspects of modern eCommerce. A full-service eCommerce agency can help you grow multiply by introducing automation and analytics tools.

Marketing Automation

By implementing marketing automation tools, businesses can streamline repetitive tasks. For example, you can automate email marketing, customer segmentation, and ad campaigns using distinctive tools. This way your online business can free up valuable resources while offering personalized customer interactions. You can make decisions and run campaigns based on their behavior and preferences.

Customer Loyalty Programs

The key to a successful eCommerce business is forging lasting relationships with customers. One effective strategy that full-service eCommerce agencies recommend is the implementation of a customer loyalty program.

Loyalty programs reward customers for their continued patronage, encouraging repeat purchases. They prompt brand loyalty and motivate customers to spend more while fostering a sense of belonging and appreciation.

Tracking and Analytics

A full-service eCommerce agency recognizes the importance of harnessing data to uncover invaluable insights. And so, you get to look into customer behavior, market trends, and campaign effectiveness. That’s why data-driven decision-making is considered the backbone of successful eCommerce operations.

Businesses can monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) effectively using data. By using sophisticated tracking and analytics tools, they can identify areas of improvement, and optimize their operations.

Audits, Insights, and Recommendations

Regular audits, insights, and data-backed recommendations help eCommerce businesses maintain a competitive edge.

Conducting eCommerce Audits

The eCommerce audits involve a comprehensive evaluation of different aspects of the online store. These may include evaluation of website design, SEO performance, social media engagement, customer experience, and more. Such eCommerce audits help businesses align their strategies with customer needs and market trends.

Furthermore, eCommerce audits offer a fresh perspective on the business, revealing gaps. They indicate inefficiencies that may have been overlooked, ultimately contributing to a more optimized and profitable eCommerce operation.

Actionable Insights

Full-service eCommerce agencies use advanced data analysis tools to interpret complex data sets, turning them into clear, actionable insights. These insights might relate to customer behavior, sales trends, website performance, or other important metrics. Understanding and application of these insights help online stores make strategic decisions.

For example, insights into customer behavior can guide improvements in product offerings. Similarly, analysis of website design and marketing strategies can provide a detailed overview of customer experience. 

Recommendations for Future Growth: Strategies to Stay Competitive in 2023

Competition in the eCommerce industry is fierce and you cannot survive without leveraging market research. So, stay updated about the latest trends and follow the strategies to stay competitive in 2023.

Embrace AI and Machine Learning: Utilize AI-powered tools for personalized marketing, customer service, and predictive analysis, ensuring a tailored and efficient customer experience.

Mobile Commerce: With the continued rise of mobile shopping, optimizing for mobile users is a must. This includes responsive design and mobile-friendly checkouts.

Social Commerce: Make the most of social media platforms that allow direct sales. These offer a seamless transition for customers from discovery to purchase.

Data Privacy: As consumers become more privacy-conscious, ensuring strong data protection measures can boost customer trust.

Omnichannel Marketing: Establish and maintain a consistent brand experience across all channels to reach customers wherever they are. This means ensuring a strong presence on the website, social media, mobile, and even physical stores.

Customization: Offer personalized products or services. The ability to customize can elevate the customer experience and increase brand loyalty.

Sustainability: Adopt eco-friendly practices and transparently communicate them to customers. Sustainability is a growing priority for consumers and can differentiate your brand.

Continuous Learning: Stay informed about the latest eCommerce trends and adapt your strategies accordingly to maintain competitiveness.

Conclusion

Businesses require customized eCommerce solutions as each has distinctive needs based on their audiences. By partnering with a full-service eCommerce agency, you can capitalize on their comprehensive services to optimize operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth. Not to mention the benefits of harnessing their expertise in technical knowledge.

We, at shopdev, provide you with tailored full-service eCommerce solutions and strategies. You’ll enjoy seamless integrations as well as 24/7 support from our tech experts. We will be empowering your businesses to stay competitive and adapt to changing market trends while creating lasting relationships with your customers.

The e-commerce world has evolved significantly over the past decade with the introduction of digital solutions such as speed-enhancing tools and infrastructures. MACH architecture is among the most buzzworthy terms in e-commerce, as it has transformed the digital landscape for the better. Endorsed by IT experts and e-commerce gurus alike, MACH architecture is everything a digital commerce platform needs.

As seen in a recent survey, 4 out of 5 (from 500 tech leaders surveyed) consider Mach as the solution to market volatility, citing its scalability and flexibility to be beneficial for adapting to evolving market conditions. 

So, what is MACH architecture? And why is it considered the best thing for e-commerce? This blog covers everything you need to know about MACH software architecture, including its benefits and examples.

What is Mach Architecture?

Let’s start with the terminology. MACH is short for Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless. These are four technology principles used in modern software architecture to enable interoperability, flexibility, and scalable design. These principles collectively form modern, best-in-breed platforms for e-commerce. 

Today’s customers are getting more and more used to digitally advanced shopping experiences and lightning-fast transitions between channels. To meet these expectations, companies must be digitally fluent and continuously evolve.

Here’s how MACH architecture allows brands to embrace digital transformation:

Microservices

The first letter of the acronym that makes up MACH architecture refers to stand-alone components or services that are developed, deployed, and managed independently. Each microservice is designed for a specific functionality, such as product search, checkout, items added to the cart, and more.

These loosely coupled services collectively form integrated applications capable of providing faster responses. Using well-defined APIs to link the backend with the front end, microservices are reliable and frequently deployed to offer a better customer experience.

API-first

Speaking of APIs, most modern digital applications have adopted the use of APIs to integrate the best components and build custom applications. Apart from fulfilling their unique business requirements, these APIs facilitate easy communication and data transfers between different applications within the system. This allows the independent components to operate simultaneously, providing a seamless experience to end users.

Cloud-Native

If you run an ecommerce business, you already understand the importance of cloud-based infrastructure. This is why MACH architecture revolves around using cloud-based services to reduce the costs of on-premises hosting, infrastructure, and security.

E-commerce brands can also leverage the pay-as-you-go model offered by cloud providers, minimizing the cost of hosting and provisions. As a result, businesses of all sizes can offer flexibility to their customers and expand to new locations while reducing unnecessary costs.

Headless

Have you ever thought of building your own user interface to suit your e-commerce brand?

That's exactly what headless commerce addresses. It allows you to create captivating shopping experiences by choosing a front end of your choice. MACH architecture makes this possible by decoupling the front end from the backend engine. You can choose whether your front end should be a social media platform, a webshop, or a mobile app.

The independent backend handles the systems, tools, and processes to manage commerce operations. These include managing product information, updating details, tracking inventory, processing checkouts, and more.

The Role of MACH Architecture in E-commerce

Now that we've established that MACH architecture employs a best-of-breed approach to develop e-commerce platforms, let's explore its impact compared to legacy infrastructure. Before MACH gained prominence, e-commerce businesses relied on monolithic infrastructure.

Given the rising customer expectations and the increasing need to future-proof e-commerce businesses, the world sought a more flexible approach. The ideal software architecture in this case would enable companies to grow and scale their e-commerce ecosystem by adapting to market trends.

Sources: Infosys, Mach Alliance, and Zippia’s Cloud Statistics 2023

Why You Should Move On from Monolithic Platforms

Although you might find monolithic platforms suitable for your e-commerce business right now, this won't be the case for long. When compared to MACH architecture, these legacy platforms have significant drawbacks. For starters, you need to consider the costly maintenance and upgrades of monolithic platforms. Additionally, there's the issue of downtime and slower speed to market.

If you've been running an e-commerce platform for a while, you understand how detrimental downtime can be. When a customer has to wait for your system to respond before making a purchase, they're more likely to abandon your brand entirely and seek an alternative. Not only are monolithic systems more susceptible to downtime, but they're also vulnerable to hacking, potentially resulting in financial and data losses.

Lack of Flexibility

Given the evolving e-commerce landscape, constant system upgrades are necessary to stay ahead of the competition. However, this isn't straightforward with legacy systems. These systems aren't designed for flexibility, requiring significant IT resources for upgrades and maintenance. Additionally, creating new platforms from scratch becomes problematic when adding new functionalities.

Time to Market

Another downside of legacy infrastructure is slow time-to-market. A fast and responsive system is essential for success in today's e-commerce landscape. Your online platform must load quickly, support rapid releases of marketing campaigns, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Unfortunately, legacy systems lack these capabilities. They're usually slow and prevent e-commerce brands from customizing or updating their online stores to meet their needs.

How MACH Architecture is Transforming the E-commerce Industry

Finding suitable business tools today is challenging, as technologies quickly become outdated with the introduction of newer versions. In this context, MACH architecture benefits your e-commerce business with its modular design, enabling you to scale up and stay aligned with emerging market trends.

According to a study, 79% of IT leaders intend to incorporate MACH elements into their systems in the future, with 27% of them planning to adopt MACH within the next 12 months. The study also found that transitioning to MACH architecture improves customer experiences by 60%.

With MACH, you can quickly and easily build and deploy new applications without having to worry about the backend infrastructure. When you consider switching from your legacy infrastructure to a MACH setup, re-platforming should be the least of your worries. 

Once you have your system running on MACH architecture, you can mold it to address changing market scenarios and also leverage the best tools to improve your ecosystem. Such flexibility in e-commerce means that you can unlock streamlined growth towards success.

Reduced Downtime and Enhanced Customer Experience

Since MACH has independent microservices working simultaneously, you can make changes to a part of your system without affecting the rest of your operations. In e-commerce, this means that your system’s downtime is practically reduced to zero. Additionally, MACH also makes your ecosystem more secure as you can work on independent modules. 

With reduced downtime, customers get to browse and shop faster and never face any delays. The best part of MACH architecture is its headless component, which makes the shopping experience equally great on any device. As a result, brands can target the channels frequented by their customers and design their e-commerce stores for those channels to enhance the shopping experience.

Best-in-breed Tools and Unmatched Scalability

If you make the switch to MACH, your e-commerce platform will no longer have to use the same set of tools for an extended period of time. With support for best-in-breed functionality, MACH provides your business the ability to select the best tools from each category. Whether you want to optimize your payment processing, product search, or inventory management, everything can be top-notch.

With that said, any tool would be useless in the coming years if it wasn’t scalable. The same is the case with software architecture. Regardless of the changing market trends and traffic on your e-commerce site, MACH architecture allows you to scale accordingly and provides the flexibility to adjust with each scenario.

By far the most useful aspect of MACH in e-commerce is the ability to upgrade. Unlike legacy systems that render useless whenever a new feature is to be released, MACH-based systems simply allow you to integrate new features and remove older ones that you don’t need. This means that developers can get their work done in less time as they do not need to add features from the beginning. The use of APIs in MACH architecture allows you to add integrations and form connections with new digital channels, hence allowing you to achieve faster time to market.

Benefits of MACH Technology   

Bringing together the technologies used to make up MACH architecture is bound to be beneficial wherever it is implemented. Whether you consider the agility, flexibility, or sheer ability to create and deploy any application whenever you want, MACH only brings good news.

Agility

Frontend developers can work their charm without having to involve anyone from the backend team. This means that running test apps and tweaking the frontend design for a better customer experience is now easier than ever. Since e-commerce revenue is directly influenced by customer experiences, the ease of designing new frontends is definitely a benefit. 

Improved Customer Experience

When it comes to e-commerce, time is literally money. So you can never accept poor web performance as an answer. Here, MACH technologies help you ensure high-speed transitions between multiple online shopping channels and different pages of an online store. 

Response to Failure

As if that wasn’t enough, MACH also provides you with better tolerance against unexpected issues. You can overcome downtime by quickly developing and deploying independent applications. Another advantage of using cloud-native infrastructure is the built-in mechanism to counter internal redundancy and failure.

Faster Time to Market

As you are able to build features and microservices as blocks, you can enhance the speed of testing and deployment of resources. Using modular and independent microservices also enables quicker development cycles and the availability of cloud provisions is the cherry on top.

How MACH Principles Work    

In the simplest terms, MACH architecture breaks down an application into various smaller microservices that are designed to work best individually. To create a feature-rich application for online shopping, you need a lot of these microservices such as analytical tools, payment options, CRM, product search, and more. 

Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms, the microservices in MACH platforms are self-contained and have their own database. In essence, you get to create different individual applications for product management, analytics, and payments. 

Microservices in MACH architecture are designed to balance their load and perform different functions simultaneously, such as showing users the items in their cart and capturing their preferences for the service’s own database. 

In terms of architecture, MACH systems are made up of:

• Containers to ensure consistency throughout development and testing processes.
• Service mesh with separate IP addresses
• Service discovery for a unique, decentralized architecture 
• API gateways to connect services with customer touchpoints
• Content delivery networks (CDNs)

In order to look for a suitable communication route between components, microservices make use of service discovery. Then, APIs are used to establish communication between each microservice. Upon communicating with each other, microservices send out static content through CDNs to cloud-based services. With all of this, microservices allow the system to be individually scalable as per the business requirements.

When you create new apps within your e-commerce ecosystem, you want them to be consistent across all channels and touchpoints. This is where the cloud-native principle of MACH architecture comes into play. Every time you build and deploy an application, it becomes a part of your entire system. 

Finally, the headless API principle of MACH allows you to extract and send data to any application, device, or network. Headless commerce is especially useful in streamlining communications between different components like inventory, payments, and CRM to keep all data consistent and updated.

Examples of MACH Architecture

Shopify

Yes, the popular cloud-based e-commerce platform Shopify is a successful enough example of MACH architecture. It utilizes the headless, API-first approach to allow developers to build custom e-commerce stores and create memorable shopping journeys. Developers can integrate with third-party services and systems conveniently using the API-first principle of MACH systems.

Amazon

Speaking of online retail platforms, no one does it better than Amazon. The giant has been using microservices as part of the MACH architecture since 2006. Amazon’s system consists of thousands of microservices working behind the scenes of hundreds of user interfaces. The company leverages the MACH principle of decoupling the frontend and backend services to deploy code every 11.7 seconds without any downtime or interruptions.

Puma

MACH architecture examples are not limited to e-commerce platforms. Puma, the well-known multinational retail brand uses MACH’s microservices to speed up and extend the functions of their apps. Customers can now enjoy the shopping experience with quickly deploying customized US and headless APIs. As a result of the MACH implementation, Puma now supports up to 300% to 400% more users than monolithic systems.

Key Takeaways

In conclusion, it is safe to say that e-commerce businesses greatly benefit from transitioning to MACH architecture and ditching legacy infrastructure. Not only do they get more chances to enhance their omnichannel capabilities but also create memorable customer experiences. 

This is the ultimate objective for higher revenue and the ability to scale your business to new markets.

In today’s time, the growth of any business is directly linked to its capacity to handle data processing at a large scale. As companies started to grow, they started generating huge amounts of data with variable rates and volumes. So it becomes crucial to set up a robust cloud strategy in place.

The Internet of Things has accelerated the growth of data, both structured and unstructured. It is necessary to extract valuable insights from this data to drive profitable decisions as the ultimate goal. To acquire this processing and decision-making capability, businesses need to generate capacity to gather, store and retrieve data with ease.

Amazon S3

Amazon S3 solves this problem as Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the most basic and global infrastructure.Amazon S3 allows high scalability, secured, and low-latency data storage from the cloud. With its user-friendly web service interface, one can easily store and access data on Amazon S3 from anywhere on the web. It starts by selecting a region, creating a bucket, and transporting to quickly and easily share data.

Also, with Amazon S3, we don’t need to predict future data usage. You can store and access as much data (though individual objects can only be up to 5 terabytes in size) you want and whenever you want to.Amazon S3 automatically creates multiple copies of your data to keep it secure and restorable in case of any unfortunate event. 

Furthermore, with almost zero budget and setup cost, lifecycle policies, such as moving your less-used data to Amazon Glacier to reduce costs and secure it from unauthorized access, Amazon S3 allows you to utilize most of the data efficiently without any hurdles.

Key Benefits of Amazon S3

Amazon S3 is a trendsetter in cloud data storage and has numerous advantages, but let’s discuss the five most notable ones:

• Trustworthy and Secure Infrastructure: When created, Amazon S3 buckets can only be used by the identity that created them (IAM policy grants are an exceptional case). Also, you can manipulate access control for each file and bucket. Thus, IAM (Identity access management) sustains your complete control over how, where, and by whom the data can be accessed. Amid such a set of regulations and authorization policies, you can ensure no unauthorized access to your data.

• 24/7 Availability: Amazon S3 provides full-time and full-scale service access to the fast and inexpensive data storage facility that Amazon itself uses to carry out the operations of its global network of websites. S3 Standard is set up for 99.99% availability & Standard – IA is set up for 99.9% availability as both enjoy the patronage of the Amazon S3 Service Level Agreement, which Amazon strictly follows.

• Low-Maintenance: Amazon S3 binds you to only pay for the data you are using, making it a low-maintenance service that costs around $0.022 / GB to approximately $0.0125 / GB for infrequent access. You can also outline policies for automatic data transition to the infrequent access framework of Amazon Glacier, which further lessens the cost as Amazon Glacier is cheaper(approx $0.004 / GB).

• Ease of Migration: Amazon S3 provides you with various migration options such as the S3 command-line interface and Glacier command-line interface. This migration practice is very budget-friendly, and it is very easy to transfer huge amounts of data to Amazon S3 or out of Amazon S3. Amazon S3 also allows you to import or export data to any external device or on any network.

• Simple and Easy Management: Amazon S3 possesses a very user-friendly web interface that eliminates the usual headache of technical workload by allowing easy and instant security maintenance, capacity optimization, and data management in the most suitable way possible. You can outline your lifecycle policy, set up replication scenarios, and restructure the Amazon S3 inventory. It also enables you to apply different filters to a better and more managed outlook of your storage.

Snowflake

Snowflake is a data warehouse built on top of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) or MS Azure cloud framework. It lacks any hardware or software to choose, install, or handle as a low-maintenance solution, making it a perfect choice for organizations that don’t want to allocate resources or spend dollars on setup, maintenance, and support on-site servers. And data can be transported easily into Snowflake via an ETL (Extract, transform and load) framework.

But the attributes of Snowflake that make it unique are its architecture and data sharing capabilities. The Snowflake architecture enhances the storage and computation process by allowing both to work independently, so customers can either use and pay for storage and computation separately or for both. And the sharing option is capable enough to allow organizations to quickly and easily share regulated and secured data in real-time.

Key Benefits of Snowflake

Snowflake is designed specifically for the cloud, and it’s developed to fill all voids in older hardware-based frameworks, such as limited scalability, data transformation problems, and delays or crashes due to numerous query requests. Here are five perks of integrating a Snowflake framework into your business.

• Speed and Reliability: The highly scalable model of the cloud means if you want faster data transfer or make multiple queries at a time, you can escalate your virtual warehouse to enjoy the perks of extra computational power and capacity. Once you are done, you can scale back to the previous capacity without paying continuously for abandoned resources.

• Capacity and Support for Structured and Semistructured Data: You are not required to transform, convert or pre-process any data before analysis. Instead, once the data is available, you can directly combine both structured and semi-structured data for analysis and load it into your cloud database as a snowflake is capable enough to optimize how the data is stored and processed.

• Concurrency and Accessibility: With conventional data warehouse frameworks, a large number of users, and queries being made, you could encounter concurrency issues (such as delays or crashes) as more users and queries tend to occupy more resources.Snowflake eliminates the concurrency issues with its state-of-the-art multicluster framework by allowing queries from one virtual warehouse to refrain from impacting the queries. Furthermore, each virtual warehouse can be either scaled up or down as per requirements. As a result, data analysts and data scientists can achieve what they are struggling for, whenever required, without delays due to slow loading or preoccupied resources.

• Effortless Data Sharing: Snowflake’s architecture allows data sharing among Snowflake users and helps organizations share data with any data consumers (whether they are snowflake customers or not) without any effort. In addition, this functionality allows the service provider to develop and configure a Snowflake account for multiple consumers.

• Availability and Security: Snowflake is designed to operate with consistent and continuous availability. It can bear component and network failures with minimal impact on customers. It possesses SOC 2 Type II certification and additional layers of security, including support for PHI data for HIPAA customers and encryption across all network protocols.

Delta Lake

To understand the role of Delta Lake, it is necessary to understand what Data lakes are. Data Lakes are very puzzled and messy pools of data as everything gets dumped there. Sometimes, there is no need or reason to dump data in data lakes, but we may be thinking we’ll need it for later usage. Much of this mess and lack of organization happens due to the many small files and many data types. Because multiple small files are not in a suitable format, reading them in any shape or form is difficult, if not impossible. In addition, data lakes often possess poor data or corrupted files, so it becomes impossible to analyze such files. All you can do to handle such files is to roll back and start over again.

This is where Delta Lake emerges as a guiding light. It provides an open-source storage layer that offers ACID transactions: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability, to Apache Spark big data framework. So, instead of the mess discussed above, you get an extra layer of your data lake from Delta Lake. Delta Lake enhances ACID transactions by utilizing a log linked with each Delta table created in your data lake. This log possesses the listing of everything that was ever performed on that data table or data set, which provides high levels of reliability and stability.

Key Benefits of Delta Lake

• ACID Transactions: With Delta, you don’t need to bother writing any code – the transactions written to the log are automated. This transaction log is the key, and it portrays a single source of data as truth.

• Scalable Metadata: Delta Lake can handle terabytes or even petabytes of data without any problem. Metadata is stored just like mainstream data, and you can view it using an option called Describe Detail which will elaborate the detail of all the metadata linked with the table.

• Single Platform enriching Batch & Streaming: Delta Lake no longer requires a separate framework for reading a data stream alongside a batch of data, eliminating streaming and batch flux limitations. Instead, you can do parallel streaming or write a batch to your table, and it all gets logged automatically, making your clicks and decisions reserved.

• Schema Enforcement: This is what makes Delta Lake unique as it enforces your schemas. If you write a schema on a Delta table and push data to that table that is not consistent with the schema, it will pop up an error and restrict you from writing that, holding you back from making wrong inputs. The enforcement mechanism reads the schema as a metadata segment by analyzing every column, data type, etc. It checks whether or not your input to the Delta table is the same as what the schema represents for that Delta table. Thus, it frees your mind from the tension of writing wrong data to the wrong table.

• History Preservation: You can retrieve an older version of your data using queries to make rollback or audit data decisions.

• Merge, Insert and Delete: Delta enables you to carry out operations like upsert easily or merge. Merges works like simple SQL merges into your Delta table. You can perform merges over data from another data frame into your Delta table and perform update operations like insertion and deletion. You can also perform a regular insertion or deletion of data using a predicate on a table. This regular update option is something that is not offered by any platform except Delta.

• Compatibility with Apache Spark: Apache Spark is the top-of-the-line processing framework for big data. Delta Lake adds value to Spark by ensuring reliability. Doing so enables analytics and machine learning initiatives to gain ready access to high-quality and reliable data.

Comparison Between Snowflake vs. Amazon S3 vs. Delta Lake

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Conclusion

This blog post must have helped you choose between Snowflake vs. Amazon S3 vs. Delta Lake frameworks as per your feasibility. Delta Lake and Snowflake are much better choices for handling data that lacks organization and structure. Moreover, all these solutions are highly scalable, allowing you to enjoy the perks of these services without spending too much on unnecessary space and processing.

For everyone who prefers to shop from eCommerce platforms around the globe, Amazon is the first eCommerce marketplace that clicks their minds. Amazon had its feeble birth in the garage of Mr Jeff Bezos, and later it rose to its dominance by claiming a jewel in the eCommerce market in the last decade.

The only other company to attain a trillion dollars market share with the gigantic Apple Inc, Amazon is what it is today, following a sustained and smooth path of innovation, dedication, reimagining the eCommerce domain, and solid professional principles from its founder, CEO, and the world’s richest man to date, Jeff Bezos. For marketers, eCommerce start-ups, and e-retailers, Amazon is the perfect case study if they want to learn how to do things.

eCommerce Omnichannel Marketing - Amazon’s Success Story

To set itself as the top suggestion when it comes to buying any product online, Amazon Marketing sets the trend and culture within itself by utilizing every channel possible that keeps prospects as well as customers engaged, active, and keen on frequent purchases, i.e, Omnichannel Marketing. Amazon has remarkably adapted eCommerce omnichannel marketing for its mission to operate at a much higher frequency than its competitors. It is aggressive, customer-centric, and evolutionary.

Amazon is using only SEO for gaining popularity is an absurd statement. Amazon capitalizes on user-generated reviews to easily boost its product pages to the number one position. However, this was an idea they invented way back in the early 90s. There are a bunch of cultures and trends they set, which have now become SOPs for eCommerce marketing experts.Their primary reason to attract overwhelming fame is easy to access to products integrated with a service network that pays micro-grade attention to detail. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos had the vision to make Amazon the most customer-friendly eCommerce platform in the world and has been able to accomplish this up to a remarkable extent and gave the bleeding edge to his competitors.

Renown eCommerce Practices Introduced or Improved by Amazon

Today, most eCommerce platforms adapt design and UX approaches that this eCommerce king has either pioneered or mastered. Below are the top 4 omnichannel marketing strategies that Amazon has utilized to become what it is today. Let’s discuss each of them in detail.

User experience

Amazon believes in the customer-first approach. It has triggered a massive transition in the entire eCommerce marketing domain, pushing entrepreneurs and marketers not to put themselves first and consider putting their customers on priority. They introduced the use of UX processes and design elements to make the online purchases of products or services an interactive and enjoyable experience. They dedicated a notable amount of time and investment into acknowledging customer pain points, prospects’ journey, and understanding what turns a visitor into a customer.

One of their most renowned patented technologies (ended in 2017) is ‘Amazon One-Click.’ It makes the overall process of online shopping smoother and more efficient. Once your account is set up with payment and shipment details, the next time is to just click on the ‘Buy Now’ button. It jumps the cart and directly finishes the payment, and ships your deliverables. This feature has been well embraced by customers who want to refrain from visiting different pages and carts and complete their purchase journey faster. The same methodology is incorporated by the Amazon Echo device, where you can make online purchases by giving voice commands to its speech recognition engine, Alexa.

Exceptional customer service

Amazon went through an exceptional roadmap to ensure that its customers were taken care of. Their supply chain and inventory management possess state-of-the-art technology and methodologies, most of which are industry-based. ‘Amazon Prime’ is an excellent example of their customer-first approach. The Customer-first approach is the key reason behind Amazon’s remarkable growth over the decade. Using Amazon Prime, users get to enjoy multiple perks for a yearly subscription, including same-day delivery, special discounted offers, major add-on utilities such as Prime Video, and much more.

Amazon is unbeatable on the pricing edge. Mostly, Amazon offers the most aggressive pricing models that limit its competitors. The most reasonable pricing structure is due to their highly optimized supply and logistics chain, decreasing unnecessary expenditure and cutting down the overall purchase cost. Using robots to increase efficiency in their inventories has drawn criticism from different segments who believe that it puts people out of work. Amidst this negative feedback, Amazon raised its minimum wage for warehouse workers to $15 per hour, which is considered one of the highest wage scales in the world. It stresses the fact that Amazon knows how to move with the flow and does what is needed to incorporate sustainability mixed with innovation and a futuristic approach.

Innovative advertising strategies

The most recent ad strategy they have implemented involves artificial intelligence and machine learning to gain insights into user preferences and send them samples of products they potentially like and the products they purchased. This perfect combo of advanced AI and user preference tracking ultimately allowed Amazon to serve its customers. Their giveaway campaign is also a top marketing strategy adopted by many eCommerce businesses now. Thousands of products are promoted using this practice by allowing you to win the product for free once you click on the giveaway button. If you fail to win, you have the option to buy that product at the least possible price, most of the time much lower than available anywhere. It's a win-win situation for both the customer as well as the company.

They are also trendsetters in enabling customer interactions via omnichannel marketing. Push notifications, email, SMS messaging, and digital omnichannel advertisement strategies have been used for a long time to enhance customer engagement and unlock cross and upselling opportunities. Their “Frequently bought together” and “people also purchased” options and sponsored product placement at strategic positions on the web store and mobile application are some of the most popular initiatives adapted by every eCommerce retailer in the market nowadays.

Diversification in eCommerce marketing is essential

Other than primary eCommerce operations, Amazon has diversified massively over the course of the decade. Echo, one of the most successful virtual assistant-based products, is a severe shocked by its well-known failure in the form of the Amazon Fire smartphone. It failed so badly that it had to stop production within a year of launch. This bold step company to try different ideas itself shows that they don’t refrain from experimenting and accepting failure as a part of the roadmap to utmost success. They have a notable presence in other businesses such as:

• OTP Amazon Prime Video
• Purchase of the Washington Post
• Purchase of video game streaming site Twitch
• Setting up brick and mortar retail stores
• Launch of the Amazon book stores, etc

Their thrust to change, evolve, and upgrade has made Amazon such an unbeatable eCommerce entity.

Conclusion

From being one of the first eCommerce platforms to one of the largest, Amazon has been able to mark success because of the time and effort invested in offering top-notch and premium customer services. They use data along with high-end Omni-personalization to turn their prospects into satisfied and loyal customers. By critically focusing on crucial data points and maximizing their interactions, offering programs that entrust loyalty, and improving their logistics and supply chain, they maintain to remain the dominant eCommerce platform in the tech-driven globe.

With the newly emerging B2B eCommerce market trends, a global B2B eCommerce market share is estimated to reach USD 25.65 Trillion, Expanding at a CAGR of 18.7% from 2022 to 2028. Despite having a sluggish trend of adapting eCommerce in the pre-COVID era eCommerce, B2B brands are now significantly shifting towards digital means to boost revenue streams through eCommerce channels. That is something accelerated after the COVID19 pandemic and another inspiration coming from the remarkable success of Amazon Business and the evolving B2B customer demographic.

B2B Ecommerce Statistics

Let's look at the numbers that reveal the significance of today's top B2B eCommerce trends. Almost half of B2B businesses prefer blogging as their prime marketing approach, while the rest look to sending emails and uploading engaging content on social and digital media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. Digital approaches in content marketing have replaced conventional print advertisements and flyers, and B2B customers are exploring different brands across the said digital channels. Almost 30% of content demand is pushed by audiences in IT, followed by CEOs, HR departments, marketing, and the education sector. B2B customers expect a multitude of digital efforts from brands, like:

• 45% want personalized content in the form of blog posts or articles

• 44% are looking for interactive and user-friendly ROI calculators

• 38% seek support for augmented reality.

According to research, over 50% of B2B decision-makers claim that video was the most useful content to engage and convert prospects into customers, followed closely by comprehensive case studies. Once the sales funnel was almost linear, but now 90% of B2B customers enter and exit the funnel to reenter the at different layers. Around 80% of B2B purchase decisions are driven by customers’ direct or indirect CX, and only 20% are driven by the price structures or the discount offers.

Evolving B2B eCommerce Trends

In 2021, almost 50% of B2B customers were millennials, nearly 2x the number of millennials in the early 2010s.With the changing demographics of B2B customers, businesses are also witnessing significant changes in their revenue cycles. If Gen X customers prefer to have a brick and mortar store experience for their purchase journey, millennials prefer to have a more comfortable and personalised experience through streamlined, digital platforms. It leaves businesses to embrace the digital means of B2B customers’ preferences that are driven by:

1. Changing Audience

Before the COVID19 pandemic, the B2B customer segment was mainly baby boomers, and members of Generation X. Baby boomers used to follow a conventional practice of getting information from hard copies of documents, sales records, and product trials. On the contrary, Gen X intended to acquire information from trade shows, conferences, and social media marketing channels. Today, around 3/4th of millennials are involved in the B2B process. These newcomers have confused most merchants by revealing a sudden shift in preferences and buying habits. Still, they possess some distinguishing attributes that showcase how and why their mind functions while making a purchase. Millennials are brought up under the shadow of digital technology, and as many as over 30% of them admit to using the latest gadgets like tablets, laptops, smartphones, etc. More millennials hold at least a graduate degree compared to their preceding generation.

While this trend is interesting, it has cast a notable impact on how they are making their career choices. The student debt crisis in the US and other developed or developing countries is also a primary reason why millennials are protective of spending their money and seeking transparency from brands. Another notable reason is the growing trend of adopting a minimalist lifestyle among millennials that refrain them from buying too often. These factors translate into how this group of B2B customers perceives marketing campaigns.

2. Impact of Digital Marketing

Before 2014, conventional marketing practices included television advertisements and trade shows. Experts started accepting that these mainstream marketing practices are going to dilute soon, and digital marketing in terms of ebooks, email marketing, blogs, and social media, will occupy the main ground. According to the survey, in today’s time, B2B customers perform around 12 online searches before finalizing their purchase decision from a particular vendor. It made marketers shift their approach. Now, over 50% of B2B marketing budgets are directed toward digital marketing, ensuring a highly personalized CX by integrating recommendation engines and AI algorithms to help consumers enjoy their purchase journey.

More businesses are adopting AI to gain a competitive edge over their rivals by introducing chatbots, single-click purchase options, and recommendation engines. By the end of 2022, it's expected that over 25% of enterprise-grade organizations will launch augmented reality, and the rest of them will start experimenting.

3. Payment Gateways

Around 25% of B2B retailers with eCommerce platforms accept orders via fax.  That chunk is much less compared to the most preferred payment methods:

• eCommerce site: 80%.

• Email: 77%

With the sudden upsurge in mobile apps and eCommerce platforms like Amazon, B2B retailers quickly transition from isolated eCommerce platforms to full-scale omnichannel digital practices.Credit cards still share a notable share in eCommerce payment methods at 94%.In 2018, most B2B retailers, over 75%, were selling their products and services for at least 2-5 years or more.

Top B2B Ecommerce Trends for 2022

We've compiled the top B2B ecommerce trends for businesses to adapt to embrace digital transformation.

1. Aim on producing B2C-like experiences for their niche
2. Acceleration of eCommerce platforms
3. Businesses prefer B2B mobile commerce.
4. Increasing expectations of personalized B2B CX
5. Introducing a DTC medium
6. Integrating different platforms for omnichannel marketing
7. Demand for hassle-free B2B order fulfilment process
8. Refrain from jumping on the bandwagon

• Aim on producing B2C-like experiences for their niche

An increasing number of B2B customers prefer to purchase products digitally. In fact, B2B customers perform comprehensive research on a brand and its products before they even think about consulting a sales representative. According to the research, B2B customers go through around 12 online searches before finalizing their eCommerce vendor to buy a particular product. Additionally, 74% of B2B customers claim to explore at least half of their procurements online.

Also Read: 7 Benefits of Using Chatbots for B2B Lead Generation

So it requires your eCommerce site to provide a B2C experience. Considering business procurement individuals are the same people who visit online platforms for their personal purchases, offering them a B2C-like shopping experience can play a vital role in improving your engagement. And it remains vital to improving an overall user experience and user interface (UX/UI) that makes it interactive and user-friendly for the visitors to quickly find what they want to purchase, as most B2B customers already know exactly what they are looking for.

• Acceleration of eCommerce platforms

In 2018, eCommerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba claimed their dominance in the B2C eCommerce industry by holding more than 50% of online sales. Similarly, B2B ecommerce sales via eCommerce sites are growing significantly. Only 6% of B2B buyers are not using eCommerce platforms, and 75% of B2B procurement drives are expected to happen via eCommerce marketplaces within the next five years.

According to statistics by Gartner, the enterprise eCommerce platform is a new business model that will open a wider portal, offer new opportunities, and allow businesses to generate new revenue streams by targeting a vast majority of buyers. eCommerce marketplaces are more efficient in saving time and cost, as they serve as a one-stop solution for B2B customers. One of the primary benefits of B2B eCommerce platforms is their ability to attract and convert new audiences. It will boost revenue streams and offer an opportunity to attain a global reach and test new product niches.

• Businesses prefer B2B mobile commerce.

Following are some recent statistics about B2B eCommerce trends from Google and BCG that showcase the cruciality of a hassle-free mobile UX for the B2B segment.

• 50% of B2B queries today are performed via smartphones. Experts claim this number to grow significantly in upcoming years.

• The mobile-friendly interface of eCommerce platforms is responsible for around 40% of sales in leading B2B enterprises.

What should we interpret from this data? Apart from making your B2B business available online, it must be mobile-friendly as more B2B customers prefer to explore and purchase their products via smartphones. Let’s discuss this in detail. Overall, these emerging challenges contain B2B businesses from launching eCommerce platforms to initiate with, due to:

• Fear of lack of expertise in introducing and experimenting with a new channel or platform.

• The inability to break the threshold is based on fear of the unknown concerning a new channel or platform.

• Lack of revenue streams due to sluggish adaptability and reforms

It is difficult to embrace change. Adapting mobile-friendly platforms is undoubtedly the most important B2B eCommerce trend. Introducing such UX will allow B2B customers to log in and see their particular product and checkout instantly using a preferred payment gateway, all in minutes with comfort and without opening their laptops or desktop PCs. This is how you enjoy the perks of having B2B mobile commerce. Over 20% of B2B businesses reported having and using an interactive mobile application to facilitate their customer base as a mobile application allows faster-recurring orders based on the business account. The app can also board your sales team for instant sales that are currently waiting in your funnel for the final steps.

• Increasing expectations of personalized B2B CX

According to recent research, around 50% of B2B customers prefer improved personalization as a primary utility while searching for products or services on eCommerce platforms and turned out to be loyal customers. Consumers prefer to spend 50% more if they find their purchase drive is personalized. The CX management market is expected to be twice the existing one, attaining $14.9 billion by this decade. B2B customers expect the same engaging experience that B2C customers experience, and businesses must admit it. For completely personalized B2B customer experiences, businesses must leverage customer data, recommendation engines, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms. For most B2B businesses, the experience of their IT teams is enough to embrace an emerging B2B eCommerce trend of better customer experience.

• Introducing a DTC medium

According to research, its member organizations of DSA UK had experienced around 50% growth in revenue, on average, through the direct channel until now. It makes DTC’s rivals one of the primary challenges many B2B businesses are experiencing. However, a DTC channel introduces a variety of opportunities, such as engaging new customers ready to buy from the business directly, introducing:

• New Revenue Streams

As brick-and-mortar stores face operational restrictions due to COVID19 containment measures, consumers prefer eCommerce stores to make purchases they used to purchase by physically visiting the stores. Brands are in an impactful position to help fulfil these consumer demands while making up lost sales due to COVID19 restrictions.

• Customers’ Data

Integrating first-hand data from customer behaviour with a transactional record from retail stores leads to a better understanding of your customer’s preferences and buying habits. You can make strategic business reforms in product placement packaging and price structures using this insightful data.

• Build Customer Loyalty

Introducing DTC gives you complete control over the sales funnel, from the moment a prospect visits your website and converts into a customer by finalizing a purchase up to delivery and beyond. More engaging customer experiences are easier to personalize for different segments offered to the visitors from the collected data.

• Integrating different platforms for omnichannel platforms

While the B2B ecommerce trends are evolving continuously with a growing number of B2B customers, businesses have a relatively small domain to choose their digital approaches from.B2B requirements are difficult to fulfil, and not every platform ensures 100% efficiency.B2B businesses can deploy comprehensive and expensive eCommerce platforms that demand expensive customizations and a whole team to handle different aspects of the site. Others will hire an outsourcing vendor to get the job done. Some B2B businesses choose third-party apps to work in parallel with their eCommerce platforms to process order fulfilment, inventory transparency, or payment gateways.

However, for the practical implementation of this omnichannel framework. An integration provider is needed to integrate multiple systems to efficiently produce fruitful outcomes for your business. Integration providers are intended to provide pre-built APIs or several connections to sync data and streamline critical functions between eCommerce platforms and back-end frameworks like an ERP, POS, or 3PL to boost operational capacity and curb resource-consuming hurdles. Around 60% of B2B businesses claim that eCommerce integration like omnichannel marketing and sales channels are another primary digital need. They perceive eCommerce integration as integrating backend frameworks for managing different aspects of the business, including warehouse, supply chain, and orders fulfilment with their eCommerce platform.

• Demand for hassle-free B2B order fulfilment process

As more and more B2B businesses overcome the digital barrier, the need for a fast and effective order fulfilment process has become a vital need for any business. Before Amazon changed the digital makeup of the eCommerce domain, millennials were still looking for this feature, and 75% of them are already involved in the B2B purchase drives today. Customer expectations are evolving rapidly, and this is another way B2B businesses can attract and engage potential customers. Businesses can automate their order fulfilment process by using order management programs. These types of software programs assist B2B businesses to manage and track orders across different stages of the sales funnel, ensure transparency, and eliminate inventory-related issues. Businesses can also opt for third-party extensions or tools to get the job done most budget-friendly manner. This is a great option if your business is growing rapidly, your current sales are escalating, or you waste too much time and effort on inventory management that you can utilize elsewhere.

• Refrain from jumping on the bandwagon

Do not jump irrationally on any bandwagon to follow masses and trends, as not every trend is worth following. If some B2B eCommerce trends provide significant advantages, others can be too expensive and irrational to adapt. Filtering the value-added B2B eCommerce trends will often come down to knowing your target market, your limits, and competitors in each domain. There are multiple practices you adapt to examine industry trends and make the right choice for your business.

Tips to Follow the eCommerce B2B Market Trends

• Identifying the evolution of the industry, backed by numbers and statistics

Every industry undergoes transition sooner or later, and staying up to date with all the latest trends by regularly consulting authentic reports and statistics from the relevant sources can prepare you for the launch. The data and stats in these reports often originate from comprehensive research you can rely on instead of just following the masses. Apart from this, when you keep yourself updated with what's happening in your niche, you'll get a rich idea of each trend, whether it’s worth following.

• Evaluate customers' behaviors

Use customer data to determine if a trend is fruitful for your businesses. Most trends might work for your competitors, but only you can know your customers better than anyone else. Refrain from relying on a single data-gathering source so that you can see customer needs and priorities from different perspectives. Use this data and stats to evaluate the overall trends in your niche. Would adopting a particular trend support your customers’ interest or contradict it?

• Ask for feedback

Please don't refrain from asking your existing customers what they need. Getting feedback and valuing constructive criticism from your customers can give you insight into the trends that best serve their expectations. You can also develop more targeted strategies for the future. You never know if your customer will suggest an idea you would never think about.

• Keep an eye on the competitors

Closely look at your competitors. Did they jump on a particular B2B eCommerce trend? If yes, how effective it would be for them? Of course, you don't have to adapt to everything your competition is up to (as we discussed earlier), but being familiar with their footsteps is another way to measure the cost and impact of any particular trend.

Conclusion

It is certain to say that global eCommerce sales are expected to break all the records by the end of 2022 with a 300% increase in market share compared to 2015.Payment gateways and website UX remain the two primary factors for converting your prospects into loyal customers. Your reputation in the market remains vital in brand awareness and the consideration phase.

FAQs about B2B eCommerce Trends

Are B2B eCommerce platforms using VR or AR?

‍Some B2B eCommerce platforms offer VR and AR utilities. The most common way B2Bs use this technology is to provide customers with the experience to see their products in a virtual environment. VR and AR can also provide B2B customers with the highly personalized UX they are looking for.

‍Is B2B eCommerce using video content?

‍Yes, many B2Bs use video content to establish and improve brand image. According to a survey, over 50% of B2B marketers stated that the video is the most impactful form of content, followed closely by case studies or white papers. For B2B customers in a tech niche, videos are considered the preferable content type.

‍Can B2B businesses integrate an omnichannel marketing approach?

‍Yes, B2B businesses can enjoy the perks of having an omnichannel marketing approach. In fact, B2B buyers expect a smooth and hassle-free purchase drive on any medium they are using, whether it's a mobile application or an eCommerce site.

Are you running a business and finding it difficult to manage your orders? An order management system is an answer to the problem. Some companies use an independent order management system while some integrate it with their already existing ERP systems. Sales, orders, inventory, and fulfillment are monitored by an order management system. This also helps the necessary people, systems, and alliances to make their way to the consumers who bought the goods. A successful OMS offers one unified location for all distribution channels to handle orders.

You can handle customer details and transactions through a single order management system, view your accounting data, configure your retail point-of-sale system, and upgrade your warehouse inventory — all from one platform. You can also use the data generated with the right tools to use business intelligence strategies to enhance your business processes — like controlling your supply chain. It was probably relatively simple handling orders in the early days of your company.

You can probably also recall the first one, from details about the consumer to the product you sold, and even how you handled it. With every new sale, however, you tend to find it harder to manage your orders and will lose the magic to be on top of every order manually. It is critical at this point to find the perfect order management system designed specifically, otherwise, you’ll scare away customers, harm your credibility, or set up an order management system that doesn’t support the process of your company.

In this article, we will discuss order management solutions, tips that you should follow to choose the right order management program, and the benefits of enhancing your order management.

What is an Order Management System (OMS)?

An Order Management System is a tool that allows you to keep track of your order process from the customer’s first interactions with your company to the delivery, thus improving the order management efficiency. In between owning a physical store, social media sales, and managing e-commerce, you need your order management system to help you track:

• Customers
• Multi-channel selling
• Multi-location inventory management
• Purchase order and receiving management
• Customer service
• Order processing
• Make-to-order or make-to-stock business model.

Benefits of Integrating an Order Management System

Let’s have a quick look at the benefits of integrating an Order Management System for your business;

Automation

You may be the master of spreadsheets, but sadly you will not be able to outperform automation of the manufacturing process. Good order management will affect manual labor efficiency, reducing the likelihood of human errors, and freeing up resources so that you can concentrate on growing your company and improving customer service.

24/7 Accessibility

If you wake up unexpectedly in a nervous sweat and want to check your orders quickly for peace of mind, without a cloud-based order management app, it would be a sleepless night for you. By setting up an order management system, you can manage orders, you can check your orders anytime from anywhere. Aside from calming any worrying thoughts about your out-of-whack order management, this immediate, 24/7 access allows for enhanced data monitoring, better customer satisfaction, and more effective order processing.

Growth

Your order management system automates the delivery of your order. Most specifically, all of the distribution platforms are taken into a single forum. This smooth automated process allows you to leave it to run in the background, allowing you to free up time to collect and analyze data. Invaluable free time to collect this information helps you to prepare smartly to expand your company further and recognize any problems that can occur during your manufacturing process.

Management of Inventory

Solutions for order management will significantly enhance your inventory management by providing you with real-time information about current stock rates, products delivered, returned, traded, or in production. This helps suppliers from making inventory over-selling or not producing enough. However, for retailers most order management software was developed in mind, or drop shippers hoping to gain more control over their company. Be sure to find something that can help you out with your inventory management of raw materials when looking into an order management tool.

Business Centralization

Using an order management system, as mentioned earlier, enables manufacturers not only to manage their sales channels in one place but also to manage their entire business from one dashboard. An order management tool can break down complicated details to simplify your orders into one location, protecting you from order mistakes, customer frustration with delays, or loss of low inventory revenue and incorrect invoicing. Yet once again you want to centralize your sales as a distributor, but still consider a tool that can help you handle your production planning and scheduling too.

Real-Time Information Feed

Ultimately, and commented on again in the earlier sections, providing real-time knowledge about the success of your company with an order management system is a critical component to the growth of your company. Even if you use small business order management software, having live inventory and sales updates will help you react to any issues with your automated order management immediately, rather than allowing problems to develop and leave the customer unhappy.

How to choose the right Order Management System?

It is essential to choose the right OMS for your business and you must do your research for the final selection because the wrong system can hurt your business; so, consider the following points while making the decision.

System Integrations

Does the OMS fit easily into your platform, or do you have to create a whole new structure around it? Most leading software systems for order management are designed to be integrated with the major eCommerce platforms. Our list of the best OMSs below will provide examples that can be conveniently installed directly at your eCommerce store or manufacturing management systems.

Consider Your Suppliers

Will this system make it harder for you to get your suppliers to buy and process orders? That should not be the case, at all. The right OMS will simplify complicated concerns about the supply chain and make communication with suppliers simple.

Fulfillment Process Integrations

Not only does your OMS need to integrate with your site, but it also needs to work with those who are packaging and shipping your orders (assuming you are using a partner for fulfillment). A program that has already been tested within the industry will have the framework in place to combine delivery and adequate resources, making fulfillment management easier.

Scalability

When you undergo rapid growth, would your order management system be able to scale with you? Most systems have their drawbacks, and learning what those are is well worth the time. Make sure the system will comply with the growth goals and beyond.

Ability to Generate Reports

Order management systems are not only designed to check the order process, but they are also perfect for monitoring demonstrated results. Revenue, distribution, and demographic reporting are top features and the program should also help you stay within regulatory requirements with ease.

Customer Handling

Can they manage your sales — even multi-channel orders — regardless of where your customer is and what currency they use in the world? eCommerce opens the door to the whole planet, so differences in language, currency, and taxation can cause headaches. When your order management system is equipped with a single interface to automate much of this, it gives you more time to concentrate on the expansion of your company, rather than dealing with order management issues.

Order Management System for eCommerce Business

Although some businesses prefer to use their eCommerce platform as their order management system, it is not commonly advised — especially if you are already taking in revenue in millions. But, if you are a small business (and plan to remain that way), all orders are put on your website, and your website is closely connected to your delivery and inventory (allowing customers to check their order history), this could be a reasonable choice for the current state of your business.Using your order management e-commerce platform may not be the best choice if you have multiple outlets, expecting growth in the long-term, you get orders from multiple warehouses or different locations, i.e websites, point-of-sale, etc. The separation of the distribution channels from the background management processes helps you to separate and concentrate on each specific role.

Few Order Management Systems (OMSs) To Consider

I’ve compiled a list of a few order management systems for you to consider based on the reviews and user experience. Note that the following are not recommended by shopdev or any person associated with the company except for the Omni Channel Engine built by shopdev.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides integrated solutions that enable companies to automate field service, drive sales, and track leads, and improve operations using cloud-based mobile business apps that are ready for the enterprise.

OE (Omni-Channel Engine)

A cloud-based omnichannel commerce platform with multichannel inventory management and distributed order management. A single interface to manage your products, orders, and customers seamless integration with POS, ERPs, eCommerce, Shipping, and Accounting platforms. The Omni Channel Engine adds in the capabilities of Order Management, Inventory Management, and Logistics & Supply Chain management.

ShippingEasy

ShippingEasy is a cloud-based system for shipping and inventory management, suitable for small to medium-sized e-commerce companies. Main features include order control, product customization, multi-seller channel integration.

Odoo

All in one software solution, Odoo is a customizable open-source and fully integrated suite of business applications including sales, CRM, project management, manufacturing, inventory, accounting, and other business needs.

Shippo

Shippo is a cloud-based shipping management solution that supports order management and label printing for eCommerce businesses of all sizes. Its main features include mapping customer experience, cost comparison, monitoring of shipments, and more.

Zoho Inventory

Zoho Inventory is a cloud-based inventory management system designed for businesses of small to medium scale. This provides modules for inventory management including monitoring and analysis, inventory handled by the manufacturer, and traceability by the lot.

Conclusion

As eCommerce continues to expand and break down barriers globally, it’s even more important to employ the right system to manage purchase orders. As you’re searching for the right one for your business, make sure you first Identify your business processes, goals, and objectives, then assess the benefits, costs, and features that align with your business, and at the end do proper research of OMSs to find the one that works best for your business needs. Order management is an inherently complex process.Selecting the right order management system is not only vital to business longevity and quality, it’s an often-overlooked area where you can get some easy wins. You can always opt for custom software development to get an order management system developed that is completely customized for your business but that has its perks and downsides, which I’ll try to cover in another article. A dedicated OMS presents a complete view throughout the lifecycle of all orders across all channels, giving business owners the extra time to focus on what they should be focusing on; the growth. Businesses will save money by increasing business processes faster without compromising on quality while increasing customer satisfaction and retention.Fee free to get in touch if you have any queries or need assistance with order management systems.

Magento is one of the largest and most successful eCommerce platforms. Since Magento is a feature-loaded platform, it can be challenging to navigate, but you can find solutions to most Magento-related problems if you know where to look (Yes, a guide like this one). There are problems that everyone encounters when they work with an e-commerce platform, and some of them are complex problems, while others may be easier to solve. Only because you work with a powerful and complex platform like Magento doesn't mean you can't solve the problem without an expert.

We have mentioned the most typical Magento issues and have also provided the appropriate solutions to make things easier for you. We will discuss the common issues in the Magento 2 version in the current blog post, along with their helpful solutions for Magento store owners, Magento developers, and Magento development companies.

14 Common Magento Issues and Their Smart Solutions

I've listed down possible Magento issues (particularly with Magento 2 – technical and non-technical) and their solutions; feel free to add a problem (with or without its solution) in the comments section below, and we'll add the helpful ones to the list below.

1. Re-Indexing of URLs
2. PHP Configuration and Extension Settings
3. PHP Settings Errors
4. System Error Upon an Extension Installation
5. Version Incompatibility of Magento 2
6. Reset Admin Password
7. CSS Cache
8. Clear Cache
9. Magento 2 – Slow Load Time
10. Setting Up a Blog in Magento 2
11. 404 Error for CSS and Scripts
12. No Graphics is Displayed After Installation of Magento 2
13. Enable SEO Friendly URLs
14. Setting Up a Contact Us Form in the Magento Website

Re-Indexing of URLs

Most users have problems with this system message in Magento 2: "One or more indexes are completely invalid." You can fix it by properly running a Cron Job Or by running the following command in the root directory of your Magento 2

PHP Configuration and Extension Settings

PHP extension and configuration settings are among the most common problems in Magento 2. Just re-configure the php.ini settings to resolve this problem.

PHP Settings Errors

Another common problem concerns the error on the PHP memory cap. While readiness tests allow at least 1 GB of memory set aside for PHP operations, retaining at least, 2 GB is best to avoid problems. Change the value of the memory limit to 2 GB to increase the memory limit.

System Error Upon an Extension Installation

Check the system requirements for the extensions before running and updating them, and make sure to get it right.

Version Incompatibility of Magento 2

Verify that your Magento version matches the versions mentioned on the Vendor's module website. If you wish to download an extension made for a later version than yours, there may be an error. So make sure that your web store is up-to-date and download only the modules built to run on your application version.

Reset Admin Password

If you have forgotten your Magento 2 admin password and want to fix it as soon as possible, the easiest way is to update the phpMyAdmin password. Open your database on Magento 2 and find the table admin user. Now the new password will override your old password.

CSS Cache

Some users have problems updating the CSS but that doesn't affect the front page. This is because of the cache. Just run these commands in your root directory for Magento 2 one by one.rm -rf var/di/* var/generation/* var/cache/* var/log/* var/page_cache/* var/session/* var/view_preprocessed/* pub/static/*php bin/magento setup:static-content:deployphp bin/magento cache:cleanphp bin/magento cache:flush

Clear Cache

Some Magento 2 users face updating problems, and the frontend pages do not display the updates. The cache has to be cleared, so Magento uses your most updated settings. Clearing the cache also makes the website run more swiftly.

Magento 2 – Slow Load Time

By default, Magento 2 doesn't run slowly. If you find Magento 2 running slow, there are ways to improve it. Firstly, ensure that your server and device specifications are up-to-date, use the latest versions. Use completely optimized photos, allow cache, issue-free extensions, and more. The following points can help your Magento based eCommerce website perform better;

• Reconfigure JavaScript and CSS settings
• Upgrade Magento to the latest version
• Enable Varnish Cache
• Set flat categories and products to increase the read speed of the database
• Set up Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• Optimize images and themes

Many inexperienced Magento users underestimate their Magento store's speed and tend to lose their potential customers and conversion rates. If you want to get more quality leads, speed optimization is critical. By allowing its Compilation feature, you can boost the speed of your Magento shop. It would increase the efficiency of page loads from 25 percent to 50 percent. To enable the Magento Compilation function, go to your admin area > System >Tools > Compilation > click on Run Compilation Process.

Setting Up a Blog on Magento 2

Magento 2 does not have any features to build a blog, but a well-designed blog can add brand value and attract more traffic to your website. It would help if you used extensions to create a blog for your Magento website. In Magento Connect, you will find several extensions to help you set up a blog in minutes. Magento Blog - Community Version is one of the most recommended free extensions for the same reason. You can see an extra section at the top of your admin area called Blog after installing the extension. You can change the blog settings, add, remove, or build posts yourself.

404 Error for CSS and Scripts

When you get a 404 error in static resources for scripts and CSS, this can happen even if you are not in the development mode; Magento 2 generates symlinks for specific static resources. Go to app/etc/di.xml to solve the problem, and find the section called virtualType name=" developerMaterialization. Here, the element name=" view preprocessed "should be changed or removed. Change the content from Magento\Framework\App\View\Asset\MaterializationStrategy\Symlinkto Magento\Framework\App\View\Asset\MaterializationStrategy\Copy.Additionally, deleting the folders in pub/static can clear all existing symlinks. But be careful! Do not remove the file .htaccess.

No Graphics is Displayed After the Installation of Magento 2

The path to photos and stylesheets is possibly inaccurate due to a rewrite of an incorrect base URL or an inappropriate server. First, to solve the problem, make sure your static assets are correctly located (in the directories frontend and adminhtml under < your Magento, install dir>/pub / static/). Then search the rewrite settings on your Apache server and the base URL on your Magento site. Failure to set the Allow Override directive will prevent the program from retrieving static files. In addition, the magento setup: static-content: deploy command can be used to deploy static view files in production mode. Only the command can function in any mode up to a version of Magento 2.2. However, starting from Magento 2.2 edition, add -f key: magento setup: static-content: deploy -f if you need to deploy it in the developer mode.

Enable SEO Friendly URLs

You can easily enable the SEO friendly URLs in Magento;

• Log in to your Admin area of Magento
• Click on the Setup button
• Now click on the left panel on "Web"
• Click the tab Search Engines Optimization and turn to Use Web Server Rewriting by marking "Yes."
• To allow search engine-friendly URLs in Magento, click on the "Save Config" button.

Setting Up a Contact Us Form in the Magento Website

By design, Magento has the features of a contact form. Usually, a link to a contact form is shown on your Magento store's footer, but you can add it to any page in your web store. Set It up with the following steps;

• Sign in to the Admin area
• CMS Access > Pages
• Select a page to edit or create a new one.
• Now paste the following section, using the WYSIWYG editor's HTML option:

<!– CONTACT FORM CODE BEGIN–>{{block type='core/template' name='contactForm' template='contacts/form.phtml'}}<!– CONTACT FORM CODE END–>

Conclusion

Developing and maintaining a Web store in Magento can be a crucial challenge, particularly for startups. You might experience several obstacles, and this blog post included some of the common and potential errors, challenges with their solutions that you could face while working on the Magento website. Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any queries setting up the Magento store or need custom Magento development for your business.

With the rapidly-evolving era of technology, businesses are experiencing a rapid transition in their digital makeup and IT infrastructure as organizations around the globe – specifically those linked with eCommerce – must acknowledge, embrace and effectively deploy modern digital technology across their entire infrastructure to improve functional efficiency, productivity, and customer experience.

This is where top-notch eCommerce business Consulting Services join the stage to be instrumental in more ways than you can think of. All renowned organizations and enterprises are based on a proven system that is constant, consistent, efficient, and productive without any deadlocks and irrelevant distractions or hurdles! This applies to any successful, viable, and effective small to mid-sized business – be it on a local or global scale.

How to Evaluate the Need eCommerce Business Consulting Services

The question is, how can you effectively utilize the E-commerce Consulting Services for proven outcomes, customer satisfaction, goal-oriented business operations, and initiatives that take your business to the new summits.

This blog post will cover all the relevant aspects and reasons to hire eCommerce consultancy services. Let's discuss this in detail.

‍When does your business need an e-commerce consultant?

• During the phase of creating and launching an eCommerce store.
• For your poorly performing eCommerce store that needs an overhaul and evaluation
• To boost productivity and ROI

In simple words, you need consultancy at every scale or phase so that your eCommerce business becomes viable and provides value at all times.

‍What are the main problems that consultancies detect?

‍Lack of transparency, poorly structured framework, lacks in optimization, services & products that do not address the contemporary market needs, supply-demand gaps, lack of differentiation or specialization.

‍To simplify the concept, let's break down the whole scenario into 1 simple question: What can a consultant do for your eCommerce business.

‍eCommerce consultants tend to add a solid, sustainable, and differential value to your business and make it capable enough to show rapid improvements and growth. To achieve this goal, consultancy experts try to:

• Gain a competitive edge over rivals.
• Defend against competitors.
• Attract the convertible and long-term customer base
• Evaluate a price policy that is profitable as well as aggressive
• Maintain profitability levels that have been initially projected.
• Monitor and handle the growth of ongoing projects
• Cut unnecessary costs and burdens
• Evaluate and study market and niche to gain opportunities for expansion.

How does a consulting company work?

1. Collects information to conduct an audit
2. Evaluate the different areas and departments of business
3. Investigates the targeted market in order to offer them what they actually want
4. Introduce the 4 key areas related to the customer-facing sales process that are:
5. Discovery
6. Consideration
7. Conversion
8. Loyalty.
9. Study competitors, their patterns and strategies deeply
10. Suggest proposals from an impartial perspective
11. Suggest ideas and innovative methodologies or alternatives
12. Identify hidden opportunities and potential
13. Outline key stakeholders in the business and solid suppliers
14. Suggest strategies and solutions
15. Provides guidance and assist in the process of the application and implementation of the action plans and strategies

How does a consulting company accomplish this?

What tools do they use?

What actions do they take?

‍Here we have some examples.

• Usability and in-depth analysis of the digital architecture.
• Analysis of the product catalog and campaigns
• Evaluation of metrics and implementation of the sales target control.
• Analysis of the traffic and the patterns, interest, attention time, and preferences of the website visitors
• Search engine optimization
• Generating lead funnels
• Optimization of the payment gateways, shipping and refund policies, etc.
• Reviewing the legal and tax framework of all digital activities and the services or products
• Crosscheck and evaluate price structures and compare them with that of competitors
• Suggesting online and offline marketing strategies

Benefits of Choosing eCommerce Business Consulting Services

1 – Lowering Business Costs

The revenue your business makes is needed to be increased. On the other hand, your business's budget needs to be downsized. This dual impact causes your Return on Investment (RoI) to boom and helps your eCommerce to thrive at a rapid pace.

Undoubtedly, an eCommerce Consultancy is a great way to cut operating costs and keep your business running. The reason is operating costs contribute to the fact that small business owners always worry about. As compared to a regular or full-time employee, an eCommerce Consultant charges cast less burden on your budget. Suppose you compare the cost of outsourcing an eCommerce Consultant against a full-time employee. In that case, you'll be amazed to see the expenditure gap, as well as other benefits like You, will not have to give paid leaves or any other retirement benefit to your eCommerce Consultant. You can also free yourself from acquiring an in-house HR department to deal with employee-related liabilities and management. You just have to pay at the time you hire an E-commerce Consultant, and no work means no money.

2 – Higher Productivity

As a small or mid-sized business owner or entrepreneur, you are expected to keep yourself engaged in carrying out challenging and core business tasks rather than non-essential and mundane tasks, such as making bookings for travel, managing meeting schedules, etc.

Outsourcing a dedicated resource to handle these tasks is highly recommended as a good eCommerce Consultant can draw a line between core and non-essential(but urgent) and energy and time-consuming tasks. By outsourcing a dedicated role for administrative and non-core business processes, small businesses free up their time and commitments to maximize productive tasks like decision-making, strategy building, etc.Successful SMB owners fully acknowledge the perks of having an eCommerce Consultant, and it allows them to spend their time only on growth-centric and productive activities.

3 – Turn Weaknesses into Strengths

All businesses used to face a set of challenges pushed by a particular area of weakness (both digital and structural)In this situation, virtual assistants can help you fill the void in the skill domain of any SMB. eCommerce Consultants are no longer remain remote workers. Instead, they are skilled experts and can perform various duties with utmost efficiency.

For instance, if you want any resource that can well manage your social media or someone who can carry out product research for Amazon, Shopify, or eBay, you can easily rely upon a virtual assistant for the said purposes.

4 - Growing Your Business

What's an obvious priority and long-term goal for any business – online or offline, small or big? All businesses want to grow, flourish, bolster, and scale to new summits like never before. A company that doesn't scale is like a plant that stops growing and only consumes resources.

It is easy to scale up by collaborating with virtual assistants that manage your business's concerned aspects well. And if you outsource an eCommerce consultant from a different demographic background, you can enjoy the perks of having a flexible schedule and 24/7 functionality. As consultants are skilled professionals, you don't have to invest time in spoon-feeding and training them for each and everything. They will start working as soon as they join you, and it allows you to scale up easily without dealing with any irrelevant hurdles and roadblocks.

5 - Pay as You Go

eCommerce business consulting frees your company from managing any Legal contracts or Human Resources compliances like you do when hiring an in-house employee.

For instance, you cannot instantly cut ties with an in-house employee when he fails to meet KPIs with significant margins. However, on the contrary, you can end the agreement with your eCommerce Consultants whenever you want without any legal limitations. Simply, you can hire a consultant on a pay-as-you-go basis, allowing yourself to have more flexibility and authority.

End Words

An expert, professional, and experienced eCommerce Consultant under your authority is practically a secret sauce that any eCommerce or online business owner requires to boost RoI & productivity and experience instant growth and sustainability. So regardless of the size of your business, you can never overlook the importance of getting an extra set of hands to take the burden off you! Get in touch with us to discuss the future opportunities and expansion plan of your e-commerce business.