The transformation brought by the advent of digitalization is not unknown to anyone. Digitalization has completely changed the dynamics of our lives and what encompasses them – there’s hardly any domain that hasn’t seen a transformation with digitalization. One thing that while being so commonplace often misses our conscious mind is the fact that many digital things that we interact with were once tangible: emails were mails, ebooks were books and memorable pictures were stored in huge piles of physical albums – the list goes on. This article will focus on one component of digitalization ecommerce and its role in increasing the abstract nature of our society
How ecommerce has transformed the way we interact
What do you do when you’ve to watch your favorite movie or series; you go to a relevant video-on-demand or over-the-top media platform, pay for its subscription, and watch it. But in the earlier days, things were quickly different: you would have to go to the nearest video store and buy or rent the movie of your choice, insert it into your media player, and play it. Just by looking at this example, you realize how much the world has been transformed over the past few years, thanks to ecommerce – on a personal level we need to interact less with the world to access the same things as before. Whether it’s your favorite media or paying your bills you’ve got ecommerce to your service enabling you to be involved in these and other various transactions without the need to step outside your home.
Ecommerce has not only changed the way we buy things but also to much extent how we make a decision to purchase them. If you’re looking to buy a camera you can go online to different ecommerce stores and learn about features, and prices for different models as well as read their reviews to decide which ones suit you best; again much less interaction of physically going to different stores and markets to check out different models. The companies selling products have also picked up the prominent nature of digitalization and its effects on our lives marketing their product on popular online platforms with an option to buy them in a few clicks; thus, it won’t to wrong to say that the much of the exposure and products discoverability also occur online for us.
Even in cases where people still shop traditionally ecommerce has its impact offering greater flexibility and options. For e.g.: now many physical stores offer curb-side pickups allowing customers to order online and pick up at the convenient time of their choice and even check the availability of an item at the particular store before visiting it to purchase in person.
Introducing the above-mentioned and many other dynamics to our live ecommerce has made the interaction involved in the buying process much easier and much more intangible than before by making us less dependent on physical interactions.
Impact of ecommerce transformation
Whenever we talk about a transformation, then discussing the impact of that change becomes interesting. As an essential part of our lives and society, we should understand such impacts to maximize them and leverage them in the most beneficial way for society. And if you’re yourself into business, then this is even more important. Let’s see some of the impacts of ecommerce especially related to the aspect of how it has transformed the interactive steps associated with the buying process.
A sustainable way of life: One of the greatest benefits of ecommerce is the result of its digital interface which enables customers to see and buy products without visiting any physical location. Of course, the products still have to travel to customers, but the logistics involved are much more efficient and environmentally friendly: the delivery and warehouse network of e-commerce companies in collaboration with logistic partners has greatly reduced negative environmental consequences associated with shopping. To understand this from a clear perspective let's consider 10 people from the same neighborhood traveling to their local electronics store to buy something. Now compare this with the same people buying the same products from the store’s ecommerce site. The same delivery vehicle can deliver the respective product to each person instead of 10 vehicles traveling to the store to purchase the same products.
Digitalization of products & services: Another way that ecommerce has contributed toward greater sustainability is by digitalization of things that were once tangible and had to be physically acquired to be utilized; hence the need to travel. For example now instead of renting your favorite movie you can pay for a monthly subscription to a video-on-demand service and watch it online.
More diligent buying: The plethora of product information available online has changed the buying behavior of customers by making them more informed about the products. Everyone wants their money to be best spent when buying something; they want something that matches and produces the most desired outcome for the least amount spent. The easy access to different ecommerce stores and the web allows the customers to look and compare similar products and then make a better decision that matches their requirements. Access to more platforms also means that customers can compare prices, offers, or discounts. Another way ecommerce has influenced buying behavior is by providing access to reviews which allows the user to match their expectation about a product with the real experiences of other users and come to a better decision.
Whether it was the transportation of products from store to customers or the collection of product information by the customer before making a purchase decision these steps always have always proceeded before a customer gets their hands on the product. However, with the advent of ecommerce and the internet, these steps have not only become more enhanced and efficient but also reduced our interactions with the world in materialized form.
Conclusion
The transformation brought by ecommerce is significant and has changed the dynamics of our lives in many ways. It’s up to us to recognize this changing dynamics of life in a way that we can benefit from it most. As someone in the retail business ecommerce presents immense benefits by entering into the online world and reaching new potential clients. If you’re planning to go online then x2xecommerce can help you establish an online store and also integrate with your existing business solutions. An example of the x2xecommerce solution is the x2xecommerce RMH-Magento integration solution. Reach out to the x2x team for a free demo or any query.