The scenario in which we are living in recent weeks is now sadly known to everyone. In essence, the situation is an emergency. The coronavirus pandemic is bending the country and chain all the activities involved in the productive sectors that support our economy.
Among the measures to be taken now and more than ever in a hurry to buffer the turnover losses that affect all companies of all sizes and types, there is a need to rethink market demand approaches completely. If consumer habits are changing suddenly once again, to avoid losing their customers permanently, there is only one crucial mission that every entrepreneur can accomplish right now: adapt to the evolution underway and transfer his business to the online sales segment like the Shopify store.
The fundamental reasons for starting a Shopify Store in this moment of global emergency are manifold, but they all point in the same direction: to save one’s business from further economic losses and optimize all the resources available to succeed.
Opening e-commerce in the time of the coronavirus is the only eCommerce marketing solution that, at this moment, can help small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to get out of the crisis to recover turnover and customers in the shortest possible time.
Let’s find out why!
Towards the drive-to-online-store: the opportunities to sell online with e-commerce
In the last period, in parallel with the forced closure of many companies and commercial activities imposed by government decrees, the predictable and consequent organic explosion of online traffic to all sales platforms has occurred. In this sense, e-commerce has become even more. In no time, a valid alternative strategy – the only one currently – to accommodate changes in consumer purchasing behavior during the coronavirus emergency.
Of these, many have entered the world of online shopping for the first time and driven by a particular need: albeit temporarily, having had to give up traditional physical channels to buy products or services in an emergency, has also pushed users less accustomed to online to approach and discover the advantages offered by e-commerce.
I am waiting to be able to return to normal. However, aware that the concept of ‘normal’ itself will also undergo a definite change after the coronavirus experience, taking advantage of multichannel openness is now an opportunity to be seized.
Open an online eCommerce store in no time: What to watch out for
If starting e-commerce in times of crisis like the current one is the right move to save one’s business, it is equally valid that some risks should not be underestimated, especially in the initial project management phase. More than ever, there is a need to reduce all possible margins of error and weigh the actions to be taken.
Let’s see what brands, professionals, and companies must do to take advantage of their online store’s opening.
Plan an eCommerce marketing strategy
Even before setting up e-commerce, it is necessary to think of a sales strategy that can encourage customers’ online purchase, new or current, and be “converted” to online. In this sense, to generate and push traffic to the online store, it is necessary to plan a series of useful actions to hijack future sales and future purchases on the web.
Invest without saving costs
Opening an online store is an activity that can be managed independently or by relying on a supplier. In both cases, although it is right and appropriate to be careful in spending, it is not advisable to try to save and be tempted by secure investments, especially when it comes to buying hosting services. The risk is soon to find oneself with an ineffective and inadequate platform to withstand the extent of current web traffic.
Customize the user experience
Focusing on users’ knowledge and their customer journey is essential to offer personalization of content while browsing the online shop and to intervene promptly with any improvements to be made, such as in the presence of abandoned carts. It is even more so when the user to be involved comes from traditional purchasing methods.
Create customer loyalty with the right channels
Turning users into regular customers of their online store requires targeted intervention on the most suitable channels for every type of consumer: newsletters or SMS campaigns, rather than social platforms, will in some cases be the free tools to keep in touch with their targets both in the acquisition and retention phases, especially for customers who until recently were purchasing offline.
Sound the shopping experience
Considering that a large part of the web traffic, from now on, will see more and more protagonists also the customers who, until yesterday, used to buy exclusively in physical stores, it will be necessary to worry about asking and receiving feedback after each possible purchase. This is to understand the degree of satisfaction of the experience and intervene where necessary, just as it would happen outside the virtual world.
eCommerce trends for 2020
To understand how important it is now to plan and organize to invest in e-commerce since the traditional distribution channels are eliminated, it is useful to refer to some example numerical data.
In our country, at present, only 4 out of 10 entrepreneurs have a website. Online consumers are about 62% of the population or about 38 million people that, according to forecasts Statesman by 2023, the most likely share will reach 41 million.
In 2018 alone, the value of turnover for e-commerce was estimated at 41.5 billion euros.
Expanding a bit ‘look, according to Oberlo, will be 2.05 billion people who purchase online in 2020 and 2.14 billion those that will do so in 2021. According to the longer-term forecasts conducted by Nasdaq, however, by 2040, global e-commerce will collect up to 95% of purchases.
These data are antecedent to the single-phase we are going through but still recent and indicate an irrefutable trend that affects the future of all the “digital entrepreneurs” of today and tomorrow. In essence, there is no more time to wait or postpone; a point on e-commerce is now the only keystone to not remain still and save yourself from the crisis. Here’s what you can do for your business while you wait for the world to start again
Author Bio: My name is Dave Wilson, and I am the Marketing Head at Debutify. At Debutify, we help you build a high-converting Shopify store in minutes, not hours, without any technical knowledge at all.
