How E-commerce Platforms Are Facilitating Brands to Sell Online

The pandemic outbreak brought about major disruptions across industries. However, on the contrary, it stepped in as a blessing in disguise and accelerated the pace of digital transformation across sectors. Even the consumer psyche underwent a huge shift and they resorted to the online space to fulfill their purchasing needs. Owing to the pandemic-induced social distancing norms as well as the convenience and comfort offered by the digital medium, customers have actively opted for online shopping. The internet and smartphone penetration further aided in boosting this concept. Consequently, businesses had to adopt the virtual route to ensure the continuance of their operations.

E-commerce route: A viable solution for brands to sell online

While treading the path of digital disruption, e-commerce emerged as the viable and feasible solution. What was an option eventually became the need of the hour! Both businesses and brands embraced the e-commerce path in order to survive and thrive in the market. Analyzing the industry dynamics, brands realized that having their e-commerce presence would help them sell their offerings efficiently and seamlessly in the online space. With this, the brands also understood that taking this step was essential in order to have a competitive edge in the market.

Owing to its plethora of benefits, e-commerce has become an important part of organizational strategies. Selling online via e-commerce is a manageable and affordable process. While vendors are helping in quick doorstep deliveries, third-party payment gateways are helping in smooth online payment processes.

E-commerce platforms enable brands to expand their footprints and reach even the untapped, unexplored markets. Businesses can offer their products or services even to the remotest of locations, be it tier 2 or 3 cities and towns surpassing all geographical barriers. Your offerings are available round the clock even if your physical store is closed. This implies that you would have a 24/7 presence amongst your customers. This further helps in increased customer engagement and greater sales.

An e-commerce system also provides you with relevant data and insights about your customer’s purchasing behavior and preferences. It provides you real-time data about how they interact with your business, what offerings interest them, which product or service is not preferred by them, the average expenditure of purchases, average time spent on your platform, etc. These metrics further can help you in customizing and personalizing your offerings as well as customer experiences on your e-commerce platform. This will help attract more customers, retain the existing ones as well as build a loyal customer base for your brand.

It is a cost-effective and time-consuming solution for both the buyers as well as the sellers. Setting up an e-commerce system comes at a considerable investment. For the customers, online shopping via e-commerce platforms relieves them from the hassles of physically visiting the store and limited operational and variety availability. E-commerce platforms offer customers convenience, flexibility as well as ease while shopping online. They also have the access to discounts, promotional offers as well as a wide variety of offerings, something which is amiss in traditional store shopping!

The road ahead for the Indian e-commerce market for brands

India’s online market quickly recovered and adapted to the unstable times. Indeed, now the future of Indian E-commerce market too seems to be promising considering the evolving consumer preference as well as brands’ inclination to have their e-commerce presence. IBEF’s report points out a similar trend and states that the Indian e-commerce market is estimated to hit the $99 billion mark by 2024 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 27%. It further shares that online grocery, e-pharmacy as well as social commerce are expected to pick up pace by the end of 2021. The spike in digital literacy has pushed increased investments in the e-commerce market. This factor has been the major contributor for brands to leave behind their traditional methodologies and bring about innovations in their operations. The outcome being that they have been keen to expand their presence and set up their e-commerce platforms.

The study also highlights that during the Coronavirus spread last year, India’s e-commerce order volume witnessed an increase of 36% in the last quarter of 2020. Furthermore, personal care, beauty, and wellness segments were the markets that were benefited the most and exhibited significant growth in the e-commerce market.

Summing Up!

The Indian e-commerce industry has had an upward growth trajectory. Considering the evolutions in the e-commerce space, it is projected that the country will soon be the second-largest e-commerce market after the US by the end of 2024. New-age tech solutions such as digital payments, hyperlocal logistics, and analytics-driven customer engagement will play a pivotal role in pushing the growth of the sector in India. The exponential growth in the e-commerce market would carve the path for greater employment opportunities and increased revenues from imports. It would also help offer enhanced quality as well as quick delivery of products and services to the customers. The e-commerce route helped brands in adapting technologies in their operations in the truest and most effective manner! It enabled them to sustain their presence in the market and continue to boom despite the global pandemic crisis. Growing exponentially in the present times, the sector will indeed progress in the times ahead!

Authored by:- Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Founder & CEO, StoreHippo

(The views expressed in this article are by – Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Founder & CEO, StoreHippo. Technuter.com doesn’t own any responsibility for it.)