Chloe is joined by a host of eCommerce experts to answer the question What is the most important thing we learnt in eCommerce in 2020? And there’s a lot! Covering everything from customer behaviour changes, the surge into online ordering, how that fits with offline retail, marketing lessons, risk mitigation, backup plans and whole lot more. The answers will help you work out your plans for 2021.
There’s so much in this episode you’re going to listen more than once!
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Jessica Totillo from eCommerce Badassery
- The eCommerce industry is still in its infancy with plenty of room to grow
- eCommerce still represents only a small fraction of shopping
- Shopping in person will probably not go away completely but there will be a fundamental shift towards more comfort with online shopping
- Growth will continue to accelerate.
- eCommerce is going to get more competitive. Not only is the barrier to entry low, but a lot of large retailers are ditching square footage and going to invest more in their eCommerce growth
- New technologies mean the internet is going to get even faster and more powerful
Ian Hammersly from Smartebusiness
- There were huge opportunities to recruit new customers in 2020
- It represented game changing growth opportunities for eCommerce businesses
- 2020 was an unrivaled year, like having Black Friday every day
- Very strong return on outspend and conversion
- There was a sense of scarcity and urgency that drove huge sales
Rand Fishkin from Sparktoro
- Offline behavior is strongly influential over online behavior.
- It’s powerful to see how culture, society and our everyday lives impact our online behavior.
- Pandemics, elections, politics, social connections and changing behaviors will impact the online space
Kunle Campbell from 2x eCommerce
- We can’t talk about the Year 2020 without talking about the Pandemic. Not only did it change our lives, but it reshaped our shopping behavior.
- Repositioned the role of eCommerce in our lives
- Changed consumer habits
- Opened up the range of products and services that people feel comfortable buying online
- Rapid Digital Transformation in consumers behavior and business adoption
Corinne Watson from Postscript.io
- Empathetic Branding matters more than ever
- Human focused marketing (humanizing) should be applied to every aspect of your brand. Apply human centered thinking in your product, engaging with your customer and communications. This includes asking for feedback and getting more UGC
- Retailers and brands are really hardy and resilient—even brands who aren’t digitally native
Derric Haynie from eCommerce Tech
- Retail businesses learned that they weren’t taking advantage of translating their real life experiences online
- Brands who did things like gathering customer information at the POS in a brick and mortar store had a huge advantage
- Invest in everything simultaneously to mitigate risk
- Retailers missed opportunities worth billions of dollars in 2020
Sue Monhait from Gift Biz Unwrapped Podcast
- For very small businesses who get most of their sales from face to face transactions, 2020 was really different
- Small businesses need have to have ALL the different foundational elements in place first
- Need a social media presence
- Need an online presence with a shopping cart that works
- Need to have a way to collect emails
- Need to have a general communication strategy
- Having all these levers in place will allow small businesses to be flexible and nimble
Rytis Lauris from Omnisend
- You can’t ignore industry trends
- Those retailers who deprioritized having an online presence are in a much worse position than competitors who prioritized their online and digital spaces
- 2020 accelerated the trend toward omni channel commerce
Lucy Bloomfield from 10,000 Customers
- Having meaningful conversations with your customers is not wrong—it’s sales
- You must risk mitigate your supply chain
Ben Woodward from SmartFreight
- Integration is the key
- 2020 taught us that people are going to be buying online which means that businesses must integrate shipping and delivery with their platform to be effective
- Remove the manual effort in your business
Chris Dawson from Tamebay
- You can’t rely on anyone. And not in a bad way…even the mighty Amazon flailed in the FBA support at the beginning of the pandemic
- The courier system is struggling
- Everyone struggled, including big businesses
- You literally have to be prepared for everything
- Have a back up plan for your back up plan
Matt Edmundson from Matt Edmundson
- eCommerce is bulletproof and 2020 showed us how it can serve everyone
- eComemrce became accessible to everybody
- Shown us how to grow, pivot and evolve their businesses
Kurt Elster from Unofficial Shopify Podcast
- eCommerce is phenomenally resilient and adaptive
- eCommerce was a lifeline for many people
- Biggest online Black Friday in history—eCommerce is a bell that can’t be unrung
Related Episodes
- Marketing Foundations: The Right Tech Stack with eCommerce Tech’s Derric Haynie
- Influencer marketing, Pinterest Ads, and Lead Gen Quizzes with Simon Driscoll from UXB Skincare
- How the pandemic has impacted delivery. With Ben Woodward and Tash Jones from SmartFreight
- What is your top tip for growing an eCommerce business in 2021? Our eCommerce Experts discuss
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