Ecommerce is an exciting domain to study and interact with; both as business owners and customers; it has introduced many new dynamics into our lives, and to better utilize ecommerce we must understand them. One thing that is usually observed is that ecommerce is more successful and popular among some industries than others. Understanding the reason behind this can help us know ecommerce better and enhance our ecommerce business enabling us to handle objections faced by ecommerce businesses in some industries. In this blog, we’ll explore some seemingly possible reasons for the low popularity of ecommerce sales in some niches.
Some ecommerce stores benefit by catering to different age groups
It’s a well-known fact that there are more young people using the internet compared to older people. Younger people are also more tech-savvy and adaptive to technologies while the older age group comparatively preferred traditional methods of shopping over ecommerce. People tend to stick to their preferred mode of doing things if they’ve worked out successfully for a while which is the case for traditional shopping for the older generation. However, in the case of the younger population, online shopping has been around for the most part of their lives so the usability & exposure to both of these platforms for them is more balanced out comparatively. As a result, they're more likely to shop online. Therefore, those online stores experience more online traffic compared to others that offer products that are more popular among the younger age group that spend more online and are more tech-savvy.
Younger people also tend to be more impulse buyers which also increases the likelihood of ecommerce stores selling products to younger people of getting more revenue. Also, the new generation spends more time on social media platforms where product advertisements and the ability to buy those products instantly can motivate them to visit product pages and buy those products instantly. These factors, therefore, also contribute to the fact that products that interest younger people get attention much more easily and thus also sell easily. The role of influencers and setting trends that most young people adhere to also plays a significant role in promoting the sales of products that young people like. Hence, increasing their sales.
Looking at the above-mentioned discussion it’s possible that ecommerce stores that feature products that receive more attention from young people are likely to have greater revenue comparatively. However, it should also be realized that while these could be the factors that play some role in contributing to greater revenue for some webstores, there are many other factors acting as well that could outplay the dynamics discussed above.
Some stores sell more online-friendly products
What do you mean by something as “online-friendly”? Online-friendly refers to the range of products that are easier to sell and buy online compared to others. Well, you might ask that the whole purpose of ecommerce is to prevent the cons of traditional commerce and offer people a new platform to sell & buy products that overcome such objections by making products easier to sell & buy, then what are online-friendly products? You see while you can sell any product online some products are harder to sell compared to others; for example, an online game or subscription to an online movie platform is easier to sell online than bedroom furniture. Even for tangible products some products are easier to sell such as phone cases and headphones compared to luxury items such as jewelry and luxury watches. Therefore, there are many factors that make the products easier to sell online; these factors include but are not limited to price, niche, type, weight, level of interaction required with the product to come to a decision, and many more.
Another type of product that is suitable for ecommerce is customizable products. Digital technology enables customers to customize their products on online platforms and see their 3D model before confirming their order. This digital visualization of customized products for the customer makes ecommerce a great platform for customizable products. While it’s true that some products are more suited to ecommerce platforms, it’s also true that the type of products preferred for online transactions differ from society to society and it’s up to the business owner to consider how their online products match the preference of the society where they do business.
Better ecommerce management
Perhaps the fundamental reason why some ecommerce stores excel over others is simply that they manage their ecommerce store better. As simple as it seems there are many factors at role that can determine how well you manage your ecommerce store. Understanding these aspects better can also help us implement them and help us grow our ecommerce store. Let’s look at some of those factors
Marketing: Having an ecommerce site doesn’t benefit itself, you need to have a constant flow of customer base buying your products. This can be achieved by some good marketing which is one of the main factors that differentiate between a profit-generating webstore and one going in loss. Therefore, the ecommerce business owner should give important consideration to marketing their webstore; this can entail researching the kind of audience attracted most to their products and store to find the right platform to reach such audience. Marketing is a field of its own and should be considered as such when considering areas of investment that matter for your business.
SEO: Search engine optimization or SEO is also an important factor that decides the discoverability of your webstore on search engines. If your webstore is optimized properly for search engines then your site will rank higher on search results increasing visitors to your site by making it more discoverable.
User-friendly site: If you’re familiar with the world of the web, then one important metric that matters to many website owners, let alone webstore owner is the bounce rate and how much time an average site visitor spend on their website. This matters even more for ecommerce stores since the more time people spend on ecommerce stores more are they likely to buy. To ensure that user sticks to their webstore, online businesses should ensure the layout of their website is structured and it is easier to navigate, products are easily discoverable and the relevant information is easy to seek. These measures will ensure a more seamless journey for customers and make them prefer your site for future purchases.
Attractive offers and discounts: Another way you can attract more customers to your site is by offering great offers and discounts to keep them loyal to your business. In the competitive world of ecommerce business customers like comparing different offers and prices before buying and if your offer doesn’t match the satisfaction guaranteed by your competitors then you risk losing customers. Having an attractive return policy, customer support, and FAQ page are some areas that can make your offer more attractive to customers.
Conclusion
Ecommerce is a diverse world with many factors at play and many things to consider that contribute to its complex dynamics. Understanding these dynamics helps us better understand why some ecommerce stores are more successful than others and how some ecommerce businesses can implement these strategies to enhance their businesses. However, it should be noted that these factors alone are not definitive but are rather expressed as opinions; the result of how these factors affect the outcomes & profitability of your store is dependent on many other factors involved for any ecommerce business and the business owners should give careful considerations and take the advice of experts before implementing any strategy.
X2xecommerce being an expert in providing ecommerce solutions can implement an ecommerce store for you and can also integrate it with your existing business solutions to realize a unified business system. An example of an x2xecommerce product by x2xecommerce is the x2xecommerce RMH-BC integration solution. Reach out to the x2x team for any query or a free demo.