We all know that eCommerce is a lucrative industry in which merchants can gain a large amount of benefits with a smaller budget than traditional retail. However, before starting any online store, merchants have to consider outstanding components of eCommerce that affect their businesses.
In this article, we will analyze the top 7 components of eCommerce that affect business directly.
1. Attractive Pricing
Pricing is one of the most important components of eCommerce that affects your sales directly. Based on your products, customer demographics, and pricing plans of competitors, you can set attractive prices for each product. You can utilize some promotional programs including reducing costs for loyal customers, buying one, getting one free, or vouchers for customers who have high bills.
2. Supply chain and inventory
Make sure that you can deliver products to your customers at the right time. The delivery time affects customer satisfaction and your operation costs. You need to consider and choose appropriate merchandise and work with them closely.
Customers always want to track their product’s shipping procedure and statement. Thus, merchants should update the delivery statement through the website or email so that customers can know which day they can receive their products.
3. Customer engagement
Keeping customers engaged is crucial for any website. Unlike physical stores, it’s a bit challenging to turn visitors into actual customers in the online world. Make sure your website is easy to use, looks good, and works well on phones.
When you’re starting your website, begin by picking a good name for your site. Check out some unique small business name ideas to get tips on choosing a name that might bring you luck.
Also, pay attention to the info you can get from your website. Look at what visitors do, and use that info to make your website better. You can suggest interesting things and run special deals based on what visitors seem to like. This can help more people connect with your site.
4. Product information
Because customers buy online, they just only understand products via information on the website. Rich product information differentiates your listings from the competition by offering buyers more appealing content to assess your items, such as detailed descriptions, reviews, and videos.
Using product information management (PIM) software, you may improve the quality of your things by adding reviews and descriptions suited to the preferences of specific customers.
5. Shipping and returns policies
Shipping and returns are the most crucial elements that customers consider when deciding to buy your products. That is why you need a good merchandise partner with an innovative management system and an excellent shipping service.
The shipping process is often handled by a third party. You can choose trustworthy providers and negotiate a marketable shipping rate to reduce costs. Once you’ve collaborated with these shipping companies, connect their systems with yours for faster product packing and delivery.
If there are any issues occur with products and customers want to return them, you have to handle returns and refunds for the products they originally purchased. In this case, you and the shipping source can collaborate, but your store will be responsible for all correspondence.
6. Product quality
Customers cannot inspect items before purchase, thus they rely on accurate product descriptions, high-resolution images, and transparent reviews to verify the quality. Make sure that you show all this information clearly on your website.
Besides, choosing reputable suppliers and testing their product quality is important to ensure durable goods. You should collaborate with them to create a working process and clarify the packaging and shipping procedures.
7. Loyalty and marketing programs
Loyalty and marketing programs are the most important components of eCommerce that affect the success of your business. To stand out among various competitors in your industry, merchants need to create attractive loyalty and marketing programs. Customers will hunt for the best deal and then purchase from whoever offers it. To win customers’ hearts and increase conversion rate, you can create loyalty programs such as the following:
- Purchases with rewards – offer points on the reward ticket when customers purchase on your online store. For example, customers will receive a valuable gift when they have 10 points on their ticket. It will stimulate customers to buy more and recommend it to their acquaintances.
- Referral programs – When joining these programs, customers can receive special discounts or gifts from your brand. It is a great way to attract more new customers.
- Reward social media – Merchants will stimulate customers to post their reviews and stories relating to products on social media. After that, customers will receive a special gift from this brand. As a result, you can enhance a strong bond between your brand with customers.
About marketing, there are an increasing number of marketing solutions available to help you promote both your items and your business. However, not all of these marketing solutions are the same. You have to try on some marketing activities and find out the best one for your business. You can consider the marketing channels below:
- Paid search results and search engine
- Social media platforms
- Email marketing
- Influencer and referral networks
They may appear not much on their own, but when combined, they have the power to distinguish between a failing business and the next major online retailer.
8. Conclusion
By mastering the components of eCommerce, having the right strategies for each component, and combining these elements, you can evaluate your eCommerce business to a new high and stand out from the crowd. Remember, your journey starts with understanding the components of eCommerce – but the true magic lies in their harmonious combination.