5 Ways Ecommerce Has Revamped The Way We Market!

With the advent of the internet, ecommerce saw a rise in its popularity. Over the years, ecommerce has grown exponentially and has gotten wider in its scope in terms of what products and services it includes. Statista has revealed that the number of online shoppers is likely to increase to 2.14 billion globally by the end of 2021. And with a growing number of businesses joining the ecommerce industry, a great emphasis has been laid on the way of buying and selling goods online.

Marketing is an essential business strategy that is used to promote these products and services and there is no doubt that it contributes immensely to the increase in sales and revenue of businesses in the ecommerce world. Marketing strategies are directly affected by the rise and advancement in information technologies. That paired with ecommerce has changed the way businesses market their goods online. The fastest growing niches in the ecommerce world in 2020 were disposable gloves and bread machines, according to statistics revealed by Statista and reports by Sleeknote.

There are several ways in which ecommerce has transformed the way a business markets themselves and its goods to help increase the sales and revenues. With the goal to reach out to the right customers at the right time and with the right services, over the past few years, ecommerce has notably revamped the marketing strategies for businesses. This article focuses on 5 such ways ecommerce transformed the marketing industry.

5 Ways In Which Ecommerce Has Changed The Marketing Of Products

Reports by Statista have revealed that an average number of monthly visits to global retail ecommerce websites are as much as 21.96 billion. Following are 5 ways in which the ecommerce world has contributed to the way businesses market their services and products:-

1.    Inclusion of Mobile Marketing

With a rise in the number of mobile users, ecommerce recognizes the use of integrating mobiles in marketing efforts of businesses. Therefore, the inclusion of mobile marketing has been one of the most appreciated and successful ways of changing the way businesses market their products. An article published by Emil claimed that about 61% of online retail traffic comes through smartphones and mobile devices. The first step towards successful mobile marketing is developing your website in such a way that it is mobile-friendly.

Websites need to be mobile-responsive to create a good user experience to the visitors as the majority of people now use their smartphones to access businesses, review products and make online purchases. What’s even better is that online retailers are now developing business apps specifically for mobile use which has evidently improved the way a product is promoted and given more positive results of mobile marketing.

2.    Introduction of New Marketing Channels

Before the takeover of the ecommerce industry, major parts of the marketing budgets were allocated to outbound methods such as billboards, TV and radio promotions, print media and more. However, the current trends are not the same and while some part of the budget is still used for the above mentioned channels, more than half of the marketing budget is allocated to digital channels.

This is because of the introduction of new marketing channels such as social advertising, email marketing, social media marketing, retargeting, paid search ads, search engine optimization, and more. Inclusion of these channels has evidently boosted the ecommerce sales and is now part of almost all businesses’ marketing strategies. ClickZ has revealed that customer retention and brand loyalty rates are about 90% higher for omni-channel campaigns as compared to the single-channel campaigns.

3.    Integration of Content Marketing

The integration of content marketing has been another way of transforming the marketing of products. One of the main aims of content marketing is helping customers looking for answers with the right information related to any product or service the business is selling or solving other business related queries. Reports by Marketing Profs revealed that 72% of marketers across the world agree that relevant content creation is the most effective SEO strategy.

One of the most common content marketing practices is blogging. Not only does it help solve customer’s problems, it can contribute extensively in creating brand awareness for your business and at the same time build trust in your brand and in turn create loyal customers. In fact, content marketing has an overall impact on your other marketing strategies such as improving your SEO, improving customer experience, providing valuable content for your business’s social media platforms, improving email marketing, reaching larger audiences, and more.

4.    Cheaper Ways Of Promotion and Marketing

With the increased presence of ecommerce, retail marketing has become cheaper and more readily available. While marketers continue to allocate a decent amount of their financial resources to digital marketing, ecommerce has provided several pocket-friendly options for promoting goods and services and getting better marketing results.

eMarketer revealed that by the end of 2021, the spending on digital ads globally is likely to reach $389 billion. This benefit seems to have impacted businesses of all sizes and nature. Remolding marketing efforts to make them more affordable has helped several small businesses market their products more easily and to a much larger audience through online platforms.

5.    Increased Availability of Data

Another change is in the availability of data related to customers, purchases, brands, and other marketing-related affairs. Unlike the traditional marketing methods, the new online methods of marketing have made more data available to business owners and marketers. This is because all the activities are tracked online and results are made available in forms of analytics, reports, etc. Reports published by Signal have claimed that 82% of marketers want to increase their use of first-party data.

Be it the number of visitors on your website, or the number of clicks on your ads, or the number of sales made in a particular month as compared to the previous month, all things can be tracked to help refine your marketing strategies and efforts. Furthermore, you can also get an idea about the way your customers feel and react to certain products/services and the buying behaviours of your customers. According to reports by Instapage, 80% of consumers have admitted to carry forward business and purchases if the company offers a personalised experience.

Some Benefits of Ecommerce on Marketing

There is no doubt that ecommerce has proved largely beneficial for the marketing industries and the changes are set to have long-time benefits for those using ecommerce regularly. A statistical report published by Oberlo revealed that 48% of online shoppers directly access a large ecommerce marketplace for purchasing the desired product or service. However, the benefits are not restricted to only marketers. Ecommerce’s way of transforming marketing has had benefits for both marketers as well as customers. Some such pros of ecommerce on marketing are:-

• Customers now get to choose from a wide variety of sellers and vendors when looking for a product or service, considerably increasing their options.
• Customers have the benefit of ordering the desired goods from anywhere and at any given time as per their convenience. Sellers also benefit from this as their sales increase due to being open for business 24/7 and having no time and geographical restriction.
• Ecommerce has increased competition which can significantly reduce prices of goods in high demand.
• Marketers and customers both get to participate in virtual auctions carried out digitally.
• Ecommerce has facilitated ‘pull’ type supply chain management which has reduced overheads and inventories.
• It has enhanced the promotion of goods and services by facilitating more information-based and direct contact of businesses with their customers.
• The enhanced novel marketing efforts help in improving the brand image rapidly and at affordable rates.
• It has helped in understanding customer needs and behaviours and trends to customize products and make them more personalised to suit the needs of buyers.
• Collecting processing orders has become more easy, time-saving and cost effective to allow sellers and marketers to focus more on selling the products and services.
• It has broadened the market and increased its scope to include domestic as well foreign customers and businesses now find more clients, customers, and suppliers from anywhere in the world.

Here’s some interesting information for you: Oberlo’s statistical reports have revealed that as many as 81% consumers conduct online research before purchasing any product online.

The ways in which the ecommerce industry has transformed the marketing sector has been huge and is likely to have impacts well into the future. However, it does not stop here. With the introduction of more techniques, ideas, and technologies, the marketing industry is likely to see more such welcomed changes and the ecommerce world is set to flourish and progress further.