Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
eCommerce Trends for 2010: How many are you embracing?
There’s a pretty interesting report out this week from FFP Global, entitled 10 eCommerce Trends for 2010.
The report says that online shopping is moving from a transaction mentality to one that also embodies discovery, entertainment and social bonding experiences. Something that I’ve witnessed first-hand in the 2 years I’ve been here at eBay.
Five of the report’s key ecommerce trends for 2010 include:
1. A Smarter Mobility:
Smartphone growth with its wider screens and compelling applications will continue to accelerate in 2010. Just as ecommerce sites have contributed to sales in physical stores, we will see more aggressive pushes by mobile applications to drive ecommerce sales. One emerging way will be through Augmented Reality (AR), where information is overlaid on images or video.
We’ve seen this already in 2009, let alone 2010. eBay says that shoppers will spend $400 million on eBay using its iPhone app by the end of this year.
2. Fulfillment Rules:
More retailers will consider regional fulfillment centers because of the volatility of fuel costs and marketplace demand for accelerated delivery times. To minimize inventory, drop shipping from manufacturers will gain traction. Reverse logistics will also be a point of emphasis as recapturing the value of goods not only fits into heightened environmental concerns, but for businesses represents an opportunity to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and increase marketing opportunities by offering refurbished products.3. Customer Service is Everywhere:
As consumers utilize an increasing number of communication channels – from texting to responding to YouTube videos, their expectations to access information, express themselves, and receive feedback in an immediate time frame, poses a complex challenge that e-retailers are beginning to take very seriously. As a result, Call Centers are being replaced with Customer Experience Centers that deliver consistent superior touchpoints with consumers over a wide spectrum of communication channels.4. Being Relevant is Virally Important:
Whether they like it or not, e-retailers are expected and valued as more than suppliers of goods and services. Accordingly, they must proactively take on personalities that their market segments feel comfortable with. This relevancy requires e-retailers actively listen, converse and engage in a variety of areas such as online destinations and social responsibility forums,
I see this every day when I’m on Twitter, Facebook, the blog, YouTube, Flickr, etc. – you name it. I’m communicating directly with individual business owners; people making a living online through sales, and supplementing that online business with online communication; having an open dialogue with their existing and potential buyers. The actual transaction has become only a part of a much larger, relationship-building process.
5. Business Intelligence Meets Business Process:
While companies retain a wealth of data, they often lack the capture tools, analytical processes and personnel bandwidth to turn this information into actionable activities. In 2010, there will be a greater commitment to unleash the intelligence residing in data banks to create sophisticated marketing and sales business processes that provide competitive advantages.
My personal belief is that consumers have evolved to the point where they want the best of both worlds when it comes to shopping online. Not only do they want exceptional service, great value and an overall smooth transaction from beginning to end, they also benefit from having what is perceived to be a direct relationship with the individual or business from whom they are making the purchase. As an online consumer myself, I would like the relatively hiccup-free shopping experience I’d expect to get from a large, faceless big-box retailer all while getting the personal relationship and attention that I get from shopping at my local Mom & Pop store.
I realize I’m just one person though. So, having read the “eCommerce trends for 2010″, what do you think? How many of them are in line with your business plans for the year ahead? Were there any surprises? Anything glaring there that you hadn’t thought of? Also, where does eBay sit in all of this? We know the company is doing well with regard to mobile ecommerce (or “m-commerce”) but what about the other trends? Maintaining relevancy for example?
Would really love to hear your thoughts on this one.
Cheers,
RBH
Tagged: blog, buyers, corporate blog, ebay, ebay auctions, ebay inc, eBay Ink, ebay ink blog, ebay marketplace, ebay platform, ebay portfolio, ebay roadmap, ebay.com, ebayink, ecommerce, Marketplace, News, online marketplace, twitter
Bruno MOn October 28, 2009 at 4:08 pm Said:
Thanks for an interesting post. I am excited to see all these ideas take shape and it’s not a stretch to say they’re probably ‘right on’. Although I’m particularly interested in ramifications of #5 I understand it’s also coming about in part because of greater forces. I’m seeing the ideas around #5 becoming more ‘mainstream’ as more and more analysts/bloggers are talking about predictive analytics and the skill sets that a new analytics will bring. For example see Eric Peterson’s recent whitepaper sponsored by SAS called “The Coming Revolution in Web Analytics”. I’m not saying Eric is ‘mainstream’, but I think it’s telling that those 2 have come together to do a whitepaper on this topic at this time (given the major changes we’re seeing out there). I imagine Ebay will continue to be a leader in this area? Can you talk more about what Ebay is doing in respect to #5?
Best,
Bruno
HenriettaOn October 30, 2009 at 10:42 pm Said:
#2 I don’t think you will see an increase in drop-shipping among lower than diamond level sellers on eBay. Without exceptional volume the risk factor is too high to gamble (ultimately) your ability to sell on the platform at all, on your manufacturers diligence.
#3 & 4: Smaller sellers on the whole have always excelled in personalized and superior customer service. This is an ingredient that has been discounted and all but lost in the new Marketplace. Not, I believe intentionally, but incidentally due to lack of practical knowledge. It is possible to service high volume sales with a personal touch, Zappos is an example, but it does require a certain mindset and flexibility which does not meld with current management policies on the eBay platform.
#5 This is something that is simply not attainable for eBay sellers. Too much of the data is considered proprietary for any kind of meaningful analytic process to be available to sellers. An example in point, the DSRs. Without better metrics no real improvement is possible because isolation of individual factors within and at the transaction level is all but impossible. The shotgun approach only takes you so far. Fine tuning is more a matter of luck than judgment. I am not criticizing, this is just the way it is.
Interesting and thought provoking post Richard, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
MelindaOn November 2, 2009 at 1:07 pm Said:
“Thank you for giving us some hope for 2010. It was nice meeting you in ATL”
PaulOn November 2, 2009 at 3:21 pm Said:
@Henrietta I’m curious how you define meaningful analytics? For the most part, I agree with you; though, what we’ve found at Outright is that there is a big delta between what is available now and what eBay sellers want and need.
There are acquisition related analytics with which the industry has just scratched the surface of what is possible and should be available. Then too though, there area still fundamentals missing for many; data points that one needs to just know how they’re doing.
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