where is e-commerce headed in 2016
TRANSCRIPT
e-Commerce Innovation
To answer what changes to make today we have to …
Define what we want to be andMake some assumptions about the future
MissionOur Brand
Is your mission Brand awareness?
Our ProductIs your mission to sell product?
Merge the Two Create an affinity for the BrandUse technology to create disruptive selling channels
How has the Industry changed in the past 10 years
Online sales has enabled consumers to buy even when the physical store location was not close by (wide variety of product)Touch points before a sale have changed from single store only to multiple omni-channel touchesRace to the bottom pricing models – Amazon and Flash sales online Fast delivery and low shipping costs are an expected part of businessProduct comparison features and expanded content drive purchasesMobile has become the primary screenGrowth of intermediaries
Current Best PracticesAlways be testing / iterate constantlySearch bar prominenceUrgent deals / use images to communicateStore locatorsEducational content
About the productCustomer reviews
Design value Full concept of aspirational look – value addConvenience and mobile experience
Beginning of user segmentation
What is changing in the next 2- 5 years
Consumers want to be treated as individuals rather than aspire to an ideal persona
What is changing in the next 2- 5 yearsIOT (Internet of Things),(3-5years)
A new level of connectivity“Talk” to the internet / Two way dialogueEverything you interact with will be connected and Big Data will be used to predict needed personalization and contextualization
System Consolidation, Enterprise Structure and Multi-Channel explosion
Cloud Hosting
Cloud Hosted Central
Connectivity
CRM
CMS
Inventory OMS
What is changing in the next 2- 5 yearsAn Open Marketplace
Sell anything to anybody (Alibaba is B2C, B2B, B2B2C all in one site)
B2B online A shrinking % of deals will be made in person (traditional sales force)
Social replaces traditional advertising and we monetize the masses
Search also adds a social componentSocial becomes your advertising campaignUnderstanding of context and personalizing information
Product delivery UPS / Fedex / USPS meets disruption to lower costDrive to store pick-upLocalization of offer bringing customer into the physical storeUber / Drones deliver product at a lower cost several waves per day
What is changing in the next 2- 5 years
Website page personalization optimized for location and customer persona
Imagine Merchant Services (a repository of all your credit card purchases) and Facebook (a repository of everything you like / feel) provide a unified service telling the e-tailer who is on their site (by IP address). This will allow first time customers to get personalized offers based upon their likes and past purchases
Product personalizationEverything from apparel sizing to unique servicesThe consumer adds their personal touch to favorite brands
Dynamic PricingIntroductoryBased upon availability by locationFlash Sale events designed to drive trafficBeacon use and on-demand couponing
What is changing in the next 2- 5 years
M-Commerce (now)Contextually relevant shopping experience (one experience does not fit all)Convenience – Deliver it now or I can pick it up whereVideo CommerceBeacons Reminders (printer out of ink)
Security issues will change payment options
No longer a need to type in your credit card
What is changing in the next 2- 5 years
Long form contentData based content curated for relevancyReviews sorted by personaVideos (format availability)
How toProduct descriptionBrand presentation
Digital branded content UGC explosion - company and bloggersShift to digital media - go where the customer is
Key areas to focus onDesign to the future
Think ease, fast and seamlessThe internet should work for the customer
I am looking for X, tell me what variations are available and when there is a sale
Let other services evolve and implement them as they become available
Combined (integrated) services will be the path to the future but
They are more costlyFew companies are well connected across functionsNot all functionality is available today
Areas to focus on for 2016 - 2017
Social is changing from brand awareness to engagement and onto purchase intent.
Focus on ways to use social to generate revenues.
Use multi-format digital media - Content is changing from text to video and presentation format from company generated to UGC.
Create a plan to generate content in multiple formats from multiple sources.
Create an architecture roadmap of integrations for 2016 based upon what is in place today.
Create a transition plan from standalone to fully integrated cloud systems. Understand your technology stack.
Areas to focus on for 2016 - 2017
Mobile first As everyone has access and carries with them a smartphone, focus on creating a better mobile experience (decide if this is for brand awareness, selling or both)Drive a better message with less text, add imagery, use data to create a laser focus.
Metrics Get a great dashboard
Product Personalization Create new products every year. Create bundles from existing products. Leverage new technology to drive increased brand value
Areas to focus on for 2016 - 2017
Grow a B2B customer group in addition to B2C
Add functionality to support their needsDiscounting, tiered pricing, P.O.’s, Tax exempt, Customer service history, pre-orders
Use data to grow relationships with retailers for B2B and with customers for B2CUnderstand how both technology and online content / social can predict and drive impulse behavior and how best to apply attribution to maximize media spend
Areas to wait on TechnologyMerchant Services and Facebook are not announcing a partnership anytime soon to segment by IP address for first time customers page personalization, so…
Focus on how to deliver localized and personalized site experiences with immediate ROI.
Rising shipping costs are making it too expensive for orders under $30 to be processed on the web and shipped to your home.
Try alternative delivery methods / drive in-store pickup.Create web specific product offerings
Web fraud will drive changes to payment processing.
Wait for these changes. You won’t have to login with a password or input your credit card much longer.