Evolution and advancement have a proportional relationship – at least for digital technology. Few technologies have seen such a rapid transformation as the digital age, ecommerce being one of its elements. These transformations in the ecommerce industry have brought significant changes, both for the customers and business owners, translating into the dynamics shift in the ecommerce business. Thanks to such digital evolution, more customers are now shopping online, and more companies are entering the online domain, driven by ease and convenience. Therefore, businesses should understand the changes digital commerce has witnessed.
Shipping time
As an instinct, humans crave instant gratification, especially when they’re paying for something. However, unlike traditional shopping, in the ecommerce world, you don’t get products right away. This phenomenon has significantly contributed to online buying resistance. However, with advancing logistic methods & facilities, we have witnessed faster shipping by the online stores. Previously, it was not uncommon for packages to take 5 or 6 days to get delivered, but as time progressed, online stores offered faster shipment options such as next-day or even same-day shipping.
The availability of faster shipping options has boosted the economy of the ecommerce world, driving more people to shop online from the comfort of their homes and get it delivered in desired time.
Payment methods
The payment stage offers the most friction in the buying journey; while there are other contributing factors, the absence of preferred & feasible payment options plays a significant role. In the earlier days of ecommerce, basic payment options like credit cards, wire transfers, or money orders were available, that are slow and risky. In contrast, although the credit card option is still available, they’re more secure. Besides, other newer options are now available, e.g., digital wallets, pay-on delivery, and buy-now-pay-later options.
Facilities for business
Customers are not the only direct beneficiary of advancement in the ecommerce field, but businesses have benefited equally, if not more. The rapid progress of ecommerce has sprouted many ecommerce platforms and tools to enhance ecommerce development & management, providing tremendous help to ecommerce businesses. Previously, ecommerce sites had to be developed from scratch requiring hardcore knowledge and expert skills. However, today, ecommerce platforms like Shopify offer a great framework, providing facilities and tools tailored for customized webstore creation & management. Moreover, modern ecommerce platforms, known as Content Management Software or CMS, are intelligible and can be used with little learning. Furthermore, many of these CMS provide servers & hosting services, meaning businesses don’t have to worry about server maintenance and hosting.
Access to such facilities has made it convenient to set up and start an ecommerce business, thereby reducing the friction associated with starting an ecommerce business. Consequently, we have witnessed many ecommerce businesses arising in recent years, contributing to the growth of the ecommerce industry.
Operational models
The growing popularity and demand of ecommerce have also given birth to different ecommerce models that allow businesses greater flexibility in operating their ecommerce business, depending on their portfolio. Earlier, most businesses were limited to a direct-to-consumer model, requiring businesses to handle every aspect of business themselves, from hosting the website to order fulfillment. However, setting up such a model demands significant investments and expertise making the business difficult to thrive.
However, as the ecommerce advanced, options for more operational models opened up for businesses, requiring less capital and expertise; now, companies can use third-party logistic services that store and fulfill orders for businesses, sell on marketplaces without the need to own & host website or do drop shipping without owing a single piece of stock themselves – a business model where supplier directly ships the product to customers after an order is received. These advanced models have significantly supported ecommerce growth by making the ecommerce business more flexible and feasible.
Conclusion
Ecommerce has seen tremendous changes in a comparatively short time, benefiting customers and businesses. These changes have transformed the ecommerce experience, making it comprehensive, flexible, swift, seamless & convenient. Consequently, such a change has attracted more people to it, whether businesses or customers.
If you’re looking to open an ecommerce store, then the x2xecommerce can help, particularly by integrating your existing business solutions with the ecommerce platforms. Reach out to the x2xecommerce team for any query or a free demo.