Adding a personal touch to any product makes the customer feel connected to the product and increases the chances of its sale. Currently, the majority of customers of fashion retailers are millennials who are more inclined towards products that resonate their thoughts or interests (also, they can act as a cool conversation starter!). This is so because of the increasing economy of instant gratification and fast fashion. Millennials want what they like and not what they are offered. Also they are highly influenced by the style of their favorite celebrities. The future of clothing is complete customization of the products as per the taste of the consumer. This concept was very much seen when it comes to specialized boutiques and fashion designers. But, in the retail business, the same merchandise was offered to all the customers. The times are changing the retail giants are time and again introducing personalization in clothing to acquire larger market share. The introduction of a proper retail analytics software can largely help fashion retailers of all sizes in providing customized clothing to their customers. The trend of personalization was studied by Deloitte, and the results of the research are:
Personalized Clothing and Small Retailers Not only big names like H&M, Uniqlo and Zara but also small retailers can use personalization to make the most out of their investment. Customers agree to pay more not just because of the personalized product but also the personalized experience that they receive. The big brands mostly provide a personalized experience through machine-made products and computerized systems. The small-scale businesses, on the other hand, can provide a personal touch. As they are mostly the local stores knowing the customers in the neighborhood. As suggested above, many customers are willing to pay a higher price for a personalized product. So, in terms of personalization, small retailers do not have to compete with retail giants on the price. Before some years, personalization by small retailers was limited up to alterations in terms of size and minor changes in embroidery, etc. These days order processing software enabled with technologies and Artificial Intelligence that can largely facilitate the provision of personalization products. These technologies also can help in studying inventory analytics and implement personalization accordingly. Analytics are largely helpful in customization as they represent the patterns of purchase of the customers and can largely identify the scope of personalization in a product. The hottest selling products can be sold as they are but the products with fewer sales can be put up for personalization. This software can be deployed cost effectively and largely support in providing quality service and a delightful experience to the customers. Customized Inventory Management Software for the Customized Clothing Business A customized software like Orderhive Plus facilitates its users with customized inventory management software that offers high-volume features and workflow. It offers accurate data aids retailers in archiving and optimizing inventory effortlessly. With precise BI analytics and tools, optimizing inventory has never been easier. It also helps you in cutting down costs, saving a fortune on labor costs and helps in managing products efficiently across multiple channels. In Conclusion… The purchase of personalized clothing is often observed around festive occasions, movie launches, and a spike in customer phenomenon. Contrary to large brands, growing startups do not need to worry about large-scale production, which enables them to experiment and invest in futuristic technology. Furthermore, they can have the upper hand in customization due to their exclusive approach and attention to every customer. The use of a proper retail analytics software will help small and medium-sized retailers in providing efficient customized clothing solutions to their customers, ensuring long-term loyalty.
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Allowing consumers to shop for their favourite products and brands at their own convenience is surely increasing the demand for eCommerce business. Below is a list of global markets with highest online penetration rate as of fourth quarter of 2015. Source: Statista With the increasing demand of shopping online, more and more sellers are seen to be expanding their presence online; hence, many may still finding it difficult to withstand the ever-growing competition. In this article, we discuss on those important factors that can help sellers build a reliable eCommerce brand When consumers think of purchasing a product online there are many areas that influence their decisions, however, with multiple options available across the web, it is important on how you win their trust and retain them for your eCommerce brand. Spending hundreds and thousands of dollars behind those promotional tactics may help you divert traffic to your store; however, to bring them back to your brand will depend on the customer experience you offer. Considering Usability: 1- Convenience to reach brand With competition increasing in the online world on a daily basis, sellers need to realize the importance of getting their brand visible to online consumers. Why? With hundreds and thousands of sellers selling identical products online, may not make your brand visible in the crowd. What you can do? Focusing on improved SEO tactics and experimenting with valuable keywords in your content strategy for your eCommerce store can help you enhance your brand ranking in Google and other search engines too. For instance: If you are running a fashion business online, looking up for keywords close to your brand name in search engines can help you utilize the ones that are already trending. 2- Access to information on-the-go Once consumers land at your eCommerce store, they would look up for information and products they wish to purchase. Why? Unable to access information for making strong purchase decisions, consumers will immediately jump to one of your competitors who allow them. What you can do? Allowing consumers to easily spot information they are looking for, can increase engagement level and encourage many to take action on-the-go. For instance: Whether your consumers visit your online store via mobile, the web, or even through social media channels, ensuring accurate information is upfront available for consumers, can eliminate them from giving a second thought on purchasing their favourite products online. 3- Flexible delivery Gone are the days when cash on delivery was a compulsion to withstand competition! Today, with sellers having their brand presence across the globe, consumers prefer to transact with the ones that allow them with flexible payment options. Why? Instead of having to depend on a certain day or date to receive products, many consumers may find it time-saving and effortless if they are allowed to receive delivery of their products as per their requirements. What you can do? With Amazon lately announcing its first cargo service, sellers can expect to offer consumers with the same day delivery. Therefore, considering your target audience and offering innovative delivery options may make them depend on your brand for their future purchase and receive their favourite products in the most convenient ways. For instance: Considering you have more of local customer’s, or, you are using Amazon’s fulfilment centers to stock your products across their multiple warehouses, offering in-store, as well as, a fixed-hour delivery slot will automatically not make your consumers wait longer over a cheap or free delivery service. 4- Access to reviews Direct voice from people is a physiological trigger that helps consumers save time and enhance their purchase making decisions when shopping online. Why? With hundreds of sellers selling the same products online, it becomes difficult to create trust in consumer’s mind. However, having an access to opinions by consumers who have already used your products can eliminate them to jump to one of your competitors even if they are popular. What you can do? Encouraging customer’s reviews are surely helping online sellers enhance awareness for their brand, however, focusing on the relevant keywords and tags in your reviews will automatically make other consumer’s inquisitive to know more about your brand. For instance: You receive an online review and it offers the exact purpose and information that is required to capture consumer’s attention, however, requesting the online reviewers to tag your brand and share them in their social networking can help create trust among potential consumers in their networks too. 5- Fulfilment and returns policy Consumers may not come back if offered a bad shopping experience. Therefore, the time duration you deal with your consumer’s purchase and return orders, will determine the retention rate for your eCommerce business. Why? Offering on-the-spot delivery service like that of a brick-and-mortar store is not possible for any online seller, however, consumers would surely not like to wait longer than what was promised. What you can do? Adopting multi-channel fulfilment software, which allows you to connect your Amazon fulfilment stores as well as other selling channel’s order details at one place, can help process multiple sales order in one go. Return orders can also be tracked in real-time to ensure consumers can get their purchase orders as soon as possible. For instance: Selling across multiple channels you may receive hundreds of orders for your stores, however, being able to auto-sync details at one place can enhance fulfilment processes. Considering Safety: 6- Payment method Having consumer’s pay for their purchases online depends on the transaction safety offered. Unable to offer the most preferred payment method will automatically make consumers hesitant to pay upfront and increase the number of COD orders for your eCommerce business. Why? Consumers who transact online easily trust popular payment options, and not being able to make payment via their regular payment methods can encourage them to discontinue their purchases. What you can do? Authorize.Net, Stripe, PayPal are some of the popular payment options offered by many eCommerce brands to consumers. Therefore, allowing methods that are already being used by online shoppers help you eliminate shopping cart abandonment rates for your online brand. For instance: You brand may allow access to some of the popular payment options, however, unable to spot them on-the-go, will automatically encourage consumers to opt for cash on delivery. 7- Updates to the latest trends You may deal with some of the best-selling categories; however, educating consumers with additional information about using your products can automatically increase engagement and sale opportunities, both. Why? Being able to shop for the latest fashion is one factor that is surely influencing online shoppers, however, an ability to gain innovative ideas about using the products can help them make informed purchases, always. What you can do? Apart from keeping consumers updated with the latest products, increasing their knowledge about your product offering can make them feel you care for their purchases. For instance: Infusing a blog page, or, even video tutorials relevant to your product offerings, can make potential consumers visit your online brand on a regular basis. 8- Multi-language tool Increasing your online brand presence across the globe can be a profit-making idea, however, if consumers are not familiar with the language you offer may exit your site even if your brand had the products and information they were looking for. Why? English considered to be a universal language spoken across the globe, is offered by many online sellers to consumers for promoting their brand and products. However, with many expats settled across the globe can hamper potential opportunities, just because they were unable to understand content that you brand offers. What you can do? Integrating translator tool in your online selling website will help consumers an ability to gain access to machine-translation service to know about your products and brand in the language they are comfortable. For instance: You may be selling your products across the globe, however, not all consumers may be familiar with the same language, therefore, having an access to a translating tool can eliminate Non-English speaking consumers access your brand in the language they want. 9- Shipping charges/Benefits Shipping details is another crucial factor that online shoppers will look-up when making purchase decisions. Why? Consumers who shop online would not like to spend more, especially additional shipping charges, as many online consumers still think it’s a liability to sellers. What you can do? Charging consumers for shipping is an obvious thing as per the delivery location and its requirements; however, not offering clear shipping details can make consumers feel they are being charged extra, who in turn, may discontinue their purchases. For instance: If you are offering free shipping on certain products and mentioning about it on the product detail or checkout page can make consumers feel the benefit and ensure they won’t be charged extra on delivery. 10- Instant communication ability Many consumers who land on your site may not get what they are looking for. And, unable to gain access to information on-the-go will automatically encourage many to leave your site, who in turn, may not return in future. Why? Consumers who shop online try and seek as much as information they can, for the products they wish to purchase. What you can do? Allowing an immediate chat/call support or, even a self-assisted knowledge base can help those lost consumers gain access to information that can allow them to complete their online purchases. For instance: A consumer who has added one of your product to their shopping cart, may be further interested in additional purchases. Unable to find a right match or relevant products, such consumers may drop out the plan of purchasing from your site. This is where instant communication software can be of great help for them and you, both!! Wrapping up Since you are into an online selling business that does not allow consumers to feel or touch the product while making purchases from your brand, offering a unique trust and an excellent shopping experience will not make them feel insecure shopping from your brand in years to come. Godspeed! Content has always been the key for any selling business, for quite a while now. What more surprising, despite the advancement of technology, yet content is the king for an eCommerce business owner. Role of content for ecommerce Rewind a decade; the assortment of products offered to customers would determine the success of your eCommerce business. Today, with multiple sellers selling identical products online, content allows eCommerce owners to attract the audience as well as keep them engaged with the brand. In 2016 and beyond machine generated content may be a hot topic, however, only sticking to the old practices like “email marketing” may hamper sales opportunities for our eCommerce business. Today, content can be offered through multiple sources that include videos, reviews, newsletters, eBooks, and social media. If you have yet not adapted, or, your software limits you from offering content in the most trending ways, then you are losing money on the table. This is where eCommerce bloggers/consultants are helping sellers to not only present their brand content in the most innovative ways but also, allows them to achieve the most important factors of a marketing campaign. How can an eCommerce blogger help sellers in their content marketing campaigns? 1. Fulfil SEO parameters The way you offer content will determine the engagement level for your brand and products. And, the more engagement, the better visibility you’ll get. Blogger’s contribution Either running their own consulting service or work as a freelancer for multiple online brands- bloggers constantly keep themselves updated to the latest keywords. How does it help? Having an ability to adapt the most trending keywords in your blog posts and articles will automatically help you improve your brand rankings in Google and other search engines too. 2. Create a buzz for your latest updates Personalization is the key to a successful marketing campaign, and not having a complete authority in your content marketing campaigns will automatically lose you potential opportunities. Blogger’s contribution Such experts are not stuck to the blog page, instead, focus on the ever-changing demand of content sources that are being adopted by online shoppers. How does it help? Bloggers allow sellers opportunities to offer their latest updates through videos, images, podcasts, and infographics to ensure brand updates are offered in the most engaging ways accepted by the target audience. 3. Start a discussion on social media platforms If eCommerce is the King, then social media is its Queen! With so many social media sites available over the web, it becomes important how well you distribute content and on which platforms. Blogger’s contribution Regularly updating content or running social media marketing campaigns for multiple clients, bloggers find it easy to spot correct platforms to engage the audience. How does it help? Popular social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn allow eCommerce sellers to start discussions, and with the help of a blogger; sellers can ensure increased brand awareness among social media shoppers too. 4. Address to readers concerns Running an online selling business, apart from content promotional activity, it’s important you assist their concerns on-the-go. Unable to resolve any of your customer’s queries in time can lose potential opportunities for your eCommerce business. Blogger’s contribution Being updated to the latest ecommerce trends and updates, such bloggers are the best source for connecting and offering insights to ensure customer always gets the right solution. How does it help? With an ability to offer quick solutions, bloggers can ensure all reader’s queries are solved, helping you increase loyalty and trust for the eCommerce brand. 5. Support product category management team It’s always helpful to have your content generator and category management team in direct coordination with each other for adapting quick solutions. Unable to address any of your customer’s concern can create a bad impression in their mind and hamper sales opportunities for your eCommerce business. Blogger’s contribution Representing as a solution provider in person, bloggers can have an immediate access to the in-house team and quickly provide them with resources and recommendations. How does it help? Content allows customers an opportunity to gain quick insights on products they wish to purchase, and by integrating a blogger for your eCommerce business can allow you offer them an access to trending solutions and improve customer experience each time. To know more about enhancing your customer's experience, click here. Ghost blogging an optional for eCommerce sellers The word “ghost” may sound funny, however, the writer who isn’t given credit for their work are known as ghost writers/bloggers. This does not mean it is an illegal activity, but bliss for all those sellers who don’t have the time or the skills needed to generate content marketing strategies for their eCommerce business. Major benefits of working with a Ghost writer a- Cost-effective Eliminating the hassle of full-time writer, ghost bloggers can save monthly fees by only paying them for the work they perform. b- Flexible Full-time writers may work according to a content calendar; however, in a case of sudden promotion and site updates, they may not be flexible. Ghost bloggers only bother about the output for they get paid for. c- Result oriented Unlike the full-time or in-house writer, ghost bloggers are capable of pushing their turnaround time offering better results in less time. Closing note So, content! It helps get more customers and easily sell your online products. You may still be struggling to attract customers; however, with the help of an eCommerce bloggers, the benefits of their content can get you thousands of views over the lifetime. Keep Blogging :) Considering the global economy as of June 2016, The World Bank has announced the global growth forecast which has been degraded by 2.4% from the 2.9% pace projected in January. Effect on E-commerce industry The impact of the global economy may be a challenge to many industries; and among those most affected ones, is Ecommerce. In order to ensure a profitable business, online sellers need to ensure that they are making the best optimization of cost, especially in the growing stage. There are many areas where sellers end-up incurring more costs, and, with the advancement of technology, it is always helpful to be updated with the latest solution to streamline cost spending of the business. Major areas that eCommerce sellers should keep a track of: I- Cost spent behind hosting and maintenance of server
With the advancement of technology, there are multiple options for sellers to start an online site. However, considering the most common ones: Free Web Hosting Services are surely making it easy for any start-ups and small business owners to start selling on-the-go. However, with limited server speed sellers may often face a site downtime that can hamper sales opportunities and growth of their eCommerce business. Share Web Hosting Services is allowing growing sellers a dedicated portion of the server at a nominal price. Such services allow multiple sellers to host their websites on one server. The cost of hosting and server maintenance is shared among multiple people, but with the increase in a number of users, sellers may end up facing slow site performance. Dedicated Web Hosting Services helps sellers with high-level of security by allowing them a dedicated server in whole. However, sellers are liable for the operation and maintenance costs as they will own it. Unable to take care any of that in time can stop sellers from performing their daily activities. You can replace these with: Online eCommerce marketplaces are allowing sellers an opportunity to eliminate the hassle of worrying about website hosting and maintenance, as those activities will be managed by the platform itself. Amazon and eBay are among leading marketplaces that allow sellers quickly expand their business across the globe. Without having to worry about the server space capacity, many online marketplaces are helping sellers avoid costly hosting situations and confidently grow their eCommerce business. II- Cost spent behind software used Gone are the days when online sellers depended only on a single store, today, in order to gain a competitive advantage many are spreading their product visibility across multiple platforms. However, performing tasks to manage multi-channel store can multiple your expenses, depending on the software used. The most common technology used among online sellers is: Traditional software, allows sellers with multiple alternatives as per the budget. However, such software available out there may have its own unique features that may, or may not, offer flexibility as per your eCommerce growth needs. In such situations, sellers are either forced to switch the software or, add another one to continue their daily eCommerce business activities. Cloud-based software, as it eliminates the hassle of dealing with physical software. Such software solution providers allow a virtual software account access to sellers from where they can perform their business tasks. However, most of the software being designed as per standard business requirements, chances of spending more than usage, increases. You can replace these with: Customized solution will allow sellers an opportunity to request for fully-managed process automation software. This solution will allow sellers a flexibility of requesting customization within their budget and growth needs. Apart from offering a dedicated server space, sellers get a chance to work with experts from the same field who will take care of the maintenance too. III- Cost spent behind supply chain process Technology has advanced the way online sellers deal with their daily business activities. However, the success of startups and small sellers depend on the way they manage their supply chain process tasks. Managing inventory tasks for small sellers may sound easy with less flow of orders, hence, many perform them manually. However, this process is labour-intensive, which means each product in-and-out has to be accounted for and maintained at appropriate stock levels to avoid delay in fulfilment. Fulfilling customer’s orders involve many steps. From procuring inventory from the warehouse, printing labels, packing the products, and connecting with the right shipping services to ensure customer’s orders are delivered in time. Manually performing such tasks repeatedly can automatically increase fulfilment costs at the end of each year. You can replace these with: Automating the supply chain process will eliminate sellers from the hassle performing the same tasks over and over. Cloud Technology is making it easy for sellers to perform time-taking and repetitive tasks in the simplest ways. For instance, allowing them to print multiple labels and quickly integrate with an assortment of carriers from any place, anywhere. IV- Cost spent behind managing daily operations Sellers who run an online business will need to interact with multiple people for procuring stock and performing daily business tasks. Delay in communication automatically hampers order fulfilment tasks. So, who are the major players? Suppliers are the ones that sellers would have to communicate regularly for stock requirements. Unable to procure products in time automatically encourages small sellers to depend on other costly suppliers who could actually provide them with the product and ensure a quick fulfilment. Staff dealing with the stock/warehouse requirement needs to be provided with customer’s orders details in time, to ensure products are out for shipment at the earliest. Communicating over the phone or messages can lead to miscommunication and longer delays. You can replace these with: Centralized system management software is making it easy for sellers to sync their suppliers and employees at one place. Sellers can easily add multiple contacts as per business requirement and ensure accurate communications with any of them, in real-time. V –Cost spent behind promotion Last, but can be the most highly- investment area by many small sellers in order to gain increased visibility in a short span of time. Website marketing is an important aspect for small sellers to encourage visitors to engage with their sites. Therefore, many sellers try and perform different promotional tactics across their website, investing a huge amount of money. Social media marketing is the buzzword among small sellers as it is helping them reach a wider audience from one place. Also, with sites like Facebook and Pinterest offering a “Buy Button,” many sellers usually takes time to see returns on their investments. You can replace these with: Social media analytic tool is helping small sellers market only in those areas that can churn more results in less time. Instead of blindly spending hundreds of dollars, why not gain access to insightful performance reports and make decisions smartly. End note Cost-waste is all around us in our personal lives too, however, considering a business in such economic crisis it is better to get rid of the trash! Happy Savings :) Ecommerce has proven be an effective source for many people who have always dreamt to have a business of their own. However, being one-of-the fastest growing industry- it becomes very difficult for many to cope up with their daily business activities. Of course, technology has made tasks easier, yet many are seen outsourcing their front-end and back-end business tasks to ensure they have more time to focus on high level business tasks. The most commonly Ecommerce services that are outsourced, includes:
Ecommerce business owners who have already outsourced their services, are no doubt enjoying it’s benefits, however, they also aware of the challenges. If you are one of them who is thinking to outsource major Ecommerce services, then below are it’s drawbacks that you need know before making a final decision. 1. Miscommunication and delays The company that you plan to outsource your Ecommerce services may be located in a different city, town, or even, country. This limits your control, and chances of errors and miscommunication arises. For instance, by outsourcing your order fulfillment process, you’ll have notify the service provider with order details, whenever a sale hits your store. And, the common mode of communication is either through phone, email, or chat. In such cases, there might chances when your order details or information does not reach the service provider in time, or is incomplete. This will automatically lead to delays, and takes time to overcome the problem. 2. Lack of monitoring Another drawback, is not being able to keep a proper track on your service provider. And, it becomes way difficult to get them back on the right part. For instance, if one you have to make some immediate changes in your marketing campaigns that you have outsourced, there are more chances- that the service provider does not receive or access the information in time. This will then lead to wastage of time and results are not up to your expectations. 3. Lack of attention Lastly, it is not only you who has outsourced your Ecommerce tasks with the provider, they will working on multiple projects with different priorities for each. There are chances, when your tasks may not be given the same priority, resulting to low performance for your Ecommerce business. For instance, you have outsourced your customer support service, and every company subscribed with the provider will have a large customer base to handle. In such situations, many Ecommerce providers will either find it difficult to cope up with each of your customer’s query, or may delay in offering a solution. And, bad customer service directly impacts the bottom line of any business, leading to an unsuccessful one. Conclusion The major benefit of this practice, it can save you from the hassle of performing major Ecommerce tasks. On the flipside, the above cons may end up eating your capital! So, consider the above points if you whenever you think of hiring an Ecommerce service for your brand. All the best :) |
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