The next big disruption in online eCommerce is here

Get ready to up your game

We always had numbers screaming on top of their voice – Indian eCommerce will touch $200 billion by 2026 and it will overtake the U.S as the second largest eCommerce market in the world by 2034. 

However, it takes more than just numbers to wake up to realities. Isn’t it? 

Human beings tend to procrastinate. That’s even truer for the Indian retailers who are so used to selling offline in a touch and feel set up. Earning enough to feed five generations, they had no inch to try eCommerce. 

Covid-19 forced these businesses to go online. 

  • Amazon saw a sales surge as high as 26% garnering $75.5 billion in the first quarter itself.
  • Amazon India confirmed that they saw a 50% increase in seller registrations after the lockdown in India.
  • ‘Sell on Amazon’ was a trending keyword on search engines.
  • Not just Amazon, the eCommerce industry boomed across the globe.
Amazon Net Income and Revenue - Dresma

If you joined the bandwagon, welcome to the online eCommerce world.

Just one word of caution – there is no red carpet. You are directly stepping into a competitive market with swords drawn out.

So be sure, going online is only half the battle won. There is plenty of work to do.

Before we get to the disruption which will decide who wins and who loses, let us first confirm that you can tick mark all of these.

  • You are starting with a marketplace to test the waters first 
  • You are simultaneously creating your own turf with your very own eCommerce site 
  • You know you have to market, market, market. The products don’t sell themselves. 
  • You have set the backend on autopilot so inventory to shipping gets taken care of by machines

Oh good, you are the evolved retailer. Few years back these things were barriers in a way
a) Who is going to match the online inventory to the actuals?
b) Who will put the site together?
c) Who will manage the shipping?

And then boom! 

The questions have been put to an end. 

  • Logistics barriers are down – You don’t have to worry about shipping. If you go for drop shipping, the supplier sends products directly. If you go for marketplaces, they can warehouse your products and ship for you. If you ship directly, logistics partners will set up a workflow for you. Choose any method – it’s easy.

     

  • Payment barriers are down – All you need is a PayPal or any other provider’s business account linked to your backend. It will allow you to accept debit purchases, credit purchases, bank transfer – you name it. So you don’t have to tie-up within individual banks or credit card providers.

     

  • Technology barriers are down – Putting up a site is as simple as modifying a template and integrating with a platform like Shopify. The best UI/UX practices on your storefront are automatically applied. You get a fully integrated platform so your store goes live within hours. 

That is good news and bad news. Remember – the barriers are not down just for you. They are down for everyone. That straight away means more competition. 

The more generic your product, the higher you will feel the heat of competition. 

What are the next big questions waiting to be answered then? 

  • How do I make sure that the customer clicks on my product and not that of competition?
  • How do I woo the customer who has already clicked on my store? 
  • How do I minimize the bounce rate?
  • How do I ensure that the customer comes straight to my shop next time he has a need? 
  • How do I move from generic to being branded? 
  • How do I eliminate competition? 

What do you think is the answer? The verdict is out. 

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