Past, Present, Future: The Growing Sophistication of Online Shopping

Price advantage does not last forever   

Once price advantage is competed away, retailers have to differentiate if they hope to maintain share growth. If retailers do not, it is too easy for upstarts to challenge margins. Those with a more comprehensive strategy will have taken the time to build up their merchandising and service strategies in order to expand their customer base.

Shoppers and sellers are moving in tandem with product expansion       

Trust in the internet has developed sufficiently to incentivise shoppers to order different items, and retailers have responded to these advances by offering these products with the appropriate support. Cross-border demand indicates that the future will see many companies attempting to build on this trust internationally.

Personalising the path to purchase will help people get what they want               

The ever growing expanse that is the internet can be forbidding, but smart brands will figure out how to position themselves so that they are the solution to information overload. Following the successful selection of a product, payment and delivery will be counted upon also cater to the customer’s specific preferences.

Companies need to interact with shoppers on their terms           

The growing sophistication of the internet gives shoppers more points of entry into the online realm, and retailers would be wise to support as many of these as possible. Companies that cannot offer the appropriate options for engagement risk losing their fickle customers to competitors which can, and in e-commerce the creation of competition is an ever present threat.

As the internet evolves, retailers must match the sophistication of their customers        

The long-term presence of the internet in many people’s lives, and the omnipresence that smartphones have imbued it with are facts of life. Moving forward, users will expect the features and experience to improve. Retailers that are on the cutting edge of this wave of improvement stand to gain by attracting new customers, while giving long-time fans something to help champion.