First of all, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to interview you says Peter DeCaprio.
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I am really excited and looking forward to sharing my views with your audience about eCommerce trends that can change the retail market.
Can we start by knowing a little bit more about yourself and how did it all begin? NT: Sure! My name is Nirmal Tulsyan; I am 44 years old tech writer based in New Delhi, India. I started out my career as an IT professional back in 1996 after completing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Applications (BCA) from the University of Delhi (DU).
The eCommerce industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. The Internet, along with mobile devices, is shaping the way everyone shops. People are spending more time on social networks than ever before, only adding to their online presence says Peter DeCaprio.
Although there seems to be no end in sight for this growth period, many e-commerce experts feel that it’s just about over explains Peter DeCaprio. Soon after reaching 18% of total retail sales in 2015 (that’s $252 billion out of $1.4 trillion), eCommerce will flatten out. This trend could mean that either online shopping becomes too expensive or targets other niches for expansion; whatever the reason may be, the following secret can help you make money where others fail.
There are two types of trends that will continue to affect the ecommerce world: social media and mobile devices.
The Social media market is still growing at an astonishing rate – which means that there’s a lot of room for new e-commerce sites. Facebook alone has around 2 billion monthly users, meaning that if just 1% decides to open an online store, you’re looking at 20 million potential customers. With so much value in front of us, we can’t afford to take advantage of it, especially considering how cheap advertising on social media sites has become lately.
On top of all this excitement about social media, we have the Internet of Things (IoT). According to Statista, there were 8.4 billion connected devices in the world as of 2015, and that number is expected to grow exponentially this year says Peter DeCaprio. Quite a few companies we’re already working on integrating IoT into their e-commerce business model and they’re doing pretty well. We all know how Amazon Echo changed the game for voice assistants and smart homes. It’s not hard to imagine automated checkouts – or even automated warehouses – controlled by some company like Google Home.
The question you should be asking yourself:
How can I take advantage of these e-commerce trends? The answer: social media marketing and investing in automation.
Social Media Marketing:
Here are three ways that you can put social media at your disposal:
1- Advertise using ads on your target audience’s favorite social platform. Remember that you need to advertise on the right social media platform, so do your research beforehand. For instance, Instagram might be better for fashion brands while Pinterest may work better for food products.
2- Collaborate with influencers in your niche. These are people who have built a loyal following by creating content related to your product – speak with them about sharing or promoting some of their product highlights while featuring yours.
3- Offer discounts during certain hours to get shoppers interested in your products. This tactic can sometimes backfire considering how other businesses could also take advantage of this idea, but it’s definitely worth trying out since it’s relatively cheap.
Automation:
1- Automated checkouts are something very few eCommerce stores are taking advantage of. However, if you do decide to implement this feature on your site, it will save a lot of time and allow customers to buy products more quickly.
2- Automated warehouses can also help ease the load on human employees by getting packages ready for shipment much faster than they could. This is great for online stores selling bulky or heavy items like furniture or electronics. Is this even possible? Yes – Amazon is already doing it with the Kiva Systems robots (now Amazon Robotics).
3- Use chatbots to handle customer service queries; these are AI programs designed specifically to provide information about specific products, answer questions, etc. They’re great because they cut down on wait times and let you focus on other projects that need attention. They’re also more cost-effective than human customer service reps.
Remember: the key to staying ahead in this ever-changing industry is to be constantly aware of new opportunities available says Peter DeCaprio. If you know what’s going on and how it can benefit your business, you’ll start seeing an increase in revenue and a decrease in costs. The future of e-commerce and retail looks very bright and we’re excited to be part of it!
Conclusion:
Social media and automation are two of the newest eCommerce trends that you need to watch out for because they’ll only grow larger in scope as time goes by.