Electronic retailing of products and services directly to individual consumers
E-retail, also known as e-tail, internet retail or online retail, stands for electronic retail. In e-retail, a business or individual sells retail products and services through online stores. An e-retail company can be a purely digital presence, meaning there is no physical store for a customer to enter. Show
However, an e-retail business can also be a brick-and-mortar shop with an online presence. Brick-and-mortar retail stores are no longer the primary means for purchasing goods. Instead, they can act as one aspect of the customer’s journey with a retailer’s brand. Here are some of the latest stats that show why e-retail matters more today: image source The most famous example of an e-retail company is Amazon. As the largest online retailer globally, Amazon made over $120 billion in 2020. Key Takeaways:
e-retail vs. ecommerceE-retail is a subset of ecommerce, meaning that 100% of e-tailers can say that they are an ecommerce business, but an ecommerce business doesn’t necessarily do e-retail. Aside from e-retail, ecommerce sites deals with a more extensive range of activities including:
The above list is not definitive but illustrates the greater scope that is ecommerce. Subcategories of e-retailOnline retailers commonly fall into two categories. 1. Business-to-business (B2B)B2B retailers sell to other companies. An example is a wholesaler who sells their products in bulk from their manufacturing facility to businesses. These companies, in turn, sell those goods to consumers. 2. Business-to-consumer (B2C)B2C retailers sell products or services to consumers directly through their websites. The company can ship the product from its warehouse or the manufacturer. A successful B2C retailer must deliver excellent customer experiences. Pros of e-retailThe benefits of e-retail include:
To better understand the benefits of e-retail for you and your customers, take a look at the following top reasons people shop online: image source Cons of e-retailThere are a few disadvantages with internet retail:
Getting started in e-retailA common thread with e-retail companies is having an attractive product, an engaging website, a digital marketing strategy and customer data analytics. 1. Attractive productSince sight is the primary way an online retailer can showcase a product, the company should invest effort into making it appealing to consumers. Play with shape and color when designing the product. Try gathering a focus group and present different options to see which speaks to the most number of people. When shipping to the customer, you can even delight them with the packaging. 2. Engaging websiteRight from the homepage, provide beautiful, professionally made images. Can you add a 360-degree view or a video when displaying the product? Include chatbot technology on the site so customers can feel free to ask questions. Don’t feel that once you create a web design, you’ve completed that aspect of your e-retail business. Styles are constantly evolving, and the website should reflect that. If necessary, perform A/B testing to see if variations of your site can draw more customers. 3. Digital marketing strategySearch engine optimization, mobile apps, targeted emails and social media can be inexpensive omnichannel digital marketing strategies. Another effective method to promote your brand and products is influencer marketing partnerships. Influencer marketing leans into the concept of social proof, where buyers trust the recommendations of people they admire. You can request an influencer to test your product and promote it on their social media platform if they genuinely enjoy it. There are several options for compensating the influencer, including money payment, free products or special discounts. 4. Data analyticsData analytics is essential for creating personalized customer experiences. For example, you can use past purchases to make product recommendations on the homepage. You can use information from shopper behavior to create targeted emails. Properly analyzing data can help make business decisions, such as closing a store at a location that isn’t profitable or investing more in places that are. Services for online retailersToday’s consumers can interact with retailers through multiple channels simultaneously. E-retailers must deliver a seamless customer experience across all of these channels to stay ahead of the competition and gain loyal customers. Optimizely’s team of experts can help businesses enhance their website with A/B testing, provide analytics tools to understand customer expectations and more. Contact Optimizely today to see what we can do for your e-retail business. What is electronic retailing?E-retail, also known as e-tail, internet retail or online retail, stands for electronic retail. In e-retail, a business or individual sells retail products and services through online stores. An e-retail company can be a purely digital presence, meaning there is no physical store for a customer to enter.
Is retail B2B or B2C?Business-to-consumer refers to the process of businesses selling products and services directly to consumers, with no middle person. B2C typically refers to online retailers who sell products and services to consumers through the internet.
What is B2C in eB2C business-to-consumer ecommerce, also called retail ecommerce, is a business model that involves sales between online businesses and consumers. B2C ecommerce is one of four major ecommerce business models, the other three being B2B (business-to-business), C2B (consumer-to-business), and C2C (consumer-to-consumer).
What is C2C example?C2C business examples include Amazon, Alibaba, and the online sites of brick-and-mortar stores such as Target and Walmart. C2C – Consumer-to-Consumer. Consumers sell to other consumers with the aid of an online intermediary who takes a cut. C2C eCommerce examples include eBay, Amazon Marketplace, and Mercari.
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