These are great days to be in e-commerce. In India and worldwide, e-commerce and online retail have been seeing some amazing progress, and it is no surprise that consumers have finally gotten used to this new way to shop. The Indian e-commerce market saw its biggest year in 2014, and if the predictions are correct, it will become a $100 billion market by 2016.
We bring you the biggest e-commerce trends that you can expect in 2015. This list will tell you what to expect and how to make the most of it as an online retail business owner.
The Biggest E-Commerce Trends of 2015
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Consumer is Always Right
The power has been shifting from the seller to the buyer in the past few years, with the advent of online retail. This year we might as well see it in its most impressive incarnation yet. The new statistics that will measure your success are consumer retention and interest levels. Customers will expect you to provide them not just with quality products but quality service and the power of choice. The more versatile you are at pleasing your customers, the better you will fare this year.
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M-Commerce is Now
Mobile commerce. This is the new land of opportunity for online sellers. Mobile commerce is not a fancy subsidiary to online sales anymore. Just look around you – literally everybody has a smartphone with a capability to buy stuff online. Last year more than 50% online sales were recorded through mobile devices. If you are not focusing on your ability to sell your products via mobiles, start now, because it will be a key factor in determining your profits this year.
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Be Ready for Big Sales Days
Last year truly saw the advent of this trend in India – with Flipkart’s Big Billion Day Sale, among others. But just for comparison, on China’s big buyer day, November 11th, Alibaba saw $2 Billion worth sales in the first two hours. By the time the sale was over, $9 billion worth products were sold. But along with the opportunity comes the danger – We all have heard the criticism to the Big Billion Day Sale. Retailers will have to run a very tight ship in terms of logistics and operation to make the most out of Big Sales.
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Focus on Returns
We have been stressing on this point for many of the past articles – returns are one of the most important aspects to gaining your customer’s trust. And now, with consumers really wielding the power, it is all the more important. Statistics still show that most customers have to pay for their returns. There is no other way to spell it – this is only bad for you. Please your customers by offering them true free returns.
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Merge the Offline and the Online
Offline shopping experience is actually evolving. While it is true that in the turn of events, online shopping ate up a lot of offline shopping, they don’t necessarily have to be enemies. The new trend is to provide a totally wholesome omni-channel shopping experience. By going exclusively offline or online, your customers are missing out a lot of things in each. Offline stores cannot provide the immense digital store space and informative power of online stores, and online stores are incapable of letting you touch and try the product before you purchase it. Think of ways in which you can merge the two to create a unique shopping experience and you will truly win this year.
All in all, this year is all about agility, transformation and adaptation. Survival of the fittest is the key. So get ready to make the most of this year, and good luck!
For any more information, get in touch with Browntape.
