Andrey Anders is an innovator and entrepreneur, founder of the Philippe Anders Milano brand. He has proved that you can create a sucessfull global shoe brand by completely giving himself up to your hobby and making it the life’s work. He has developed his small enterprise to the company which can now sell the best shoes of the highest quality all over the world at affordable prices.
Omni-channel sales to increase audience reach and increase conversions
Omnichannel selling is expected to gain momentum among e-commerce companies, no matter how hard they try to avoid it. This reluctance is primarily because managing multi-channel sales is quite difficult. But regardless of the size of your business, omnichannel sales will give you a competitive advantage and, if done right, will lead to increased profitability. Sales channels to look out for include:
- Retail and wholesale online sales through an online store;
- Selling through social networks;
- Online sales through marketplaces.
Contact with a person through different channels increases conversion and increases brand awareness. The more channels and audience touchpoints you use, the higher your business conversion rate will be.
Some statistics:
- 46.7% of all internet searches start from marketplaces such as Etsy, Amazon, and eBay.
- 37% of users use social media to research products and brands.
Steps to take
- Optimize your site for mobile devices. If the budget allows, create a mobile application.
- Work on increasing the number of traffic sources.
- Personalize your customer experience at every step.
- Consider the possibility and profitability of entering marketplaces.
Visual commerce is the new “minimum plan” for online platforms
The main difficulty of online sales is to encourage the buyer to purchase a product without physically interacting with it. It is for this reason that businesses should turn to Visual Commerce (VC) to take marketing to the next level.
Visual commerce refers to the use of images not only on product pages but throughout the store to motivate users to interact and increase sales conversions. Instead of photos, it is recommended to use other VC options: interactive content, videos, augmented reality elements, and user-generated content.
Large retailers are already using visual commerce, posting high-quality images and videos coupled with VR elements on as many of the platform’s pages as possible.
What am I supposed to do?
- Change photo formats from JPG to JPEG2000 or WebP to improve quality and download speed.
- Create panoramic images or videos of your top-selling products.
- Connect visual search tools that allow customers to search for products by images.
- Add user-generated content to your pages to increase interest and trust in your product.
- Actively publish the author’s photos and videos of your products, and launch advertising campaigns on social networks with creatives of various formats.
Ecology and green consumption shape consumer preferences
The concern for the environment has long outgrown the prerogative of “Greenpeace” and has become a common trend. Environmental friendliness permeates all spheres of life including trade. People are excited about caring for nature and more often choose products made from environmentally friendly and biodegradable materials that keep the environment clean.
One of the reasons for the increased popularity of “green” consumption is that the new generation of millennials is becoming a more solvent category of buyers. It is important for Generation Z to be proactive in protecting the environment and to use “clean” products.
To stay relevant and competitive, brands need to adapt to the new trend. Major eCommerce brands are incorporating more sustainable production and sales practices into their businesses. For example, Amazon has committed to zero carbon emissions by 2040, as well as to switch to renewable and alternative energy sources.
Some useful tips
- Formulate your position on the environment and start broadcasting it on social networks and the store website. Tell your audience about the environmental practices you use and the values you promote.
- Start the transition to the sustainable product packaging (paper and fabric, if possible).
- This may increase the cost of the product, but the client will definitely appreciate this approach. In any case, the cost of materials can be included in the price of the goods in advance.
Summarizing
In Andrey Anders opinion, it becomes clear that eCommerce will continue to gain momentum. If you want to be in the flow of changes, then you will have to accept the trends, adapt to them and continue to grow extensively.
2022 will continue to strategically change the sphere, introducing its adjustments. Companies will continue to rethink their policies and values, begin to actively declare their presence on social networks, voice their position on the environment, optimize the interface, and continue to work on logistics issues.