The B2B eCommerce Market will be the largest area for eCommerce growth in 2025. It is also expected to grow at a rate of 11.1% between 2018 and 2025, reaching a total value of $24,265.12 trillion. This segment is poised for big things.

The global eCommerce market has seen a meteoric rise in technology, connectivity and usage of mobile devices, as well as new eCommerce-oriented CRM solutions, thanks to technological advancements.

This has created unprecedented opportunities for profit generation and market capture for businesses in all domains.

Here are some tips to help your eCommerce business prepare for a digital revolution.

Defining digital transformation

What exactly is digital transformation? According to the analyst firm IDC digital transformation refers essentially to the process of changing decision-making using technology. IDC categorizes digital transformation in three ways, although they are simple definitions.

1. Transformation: This is the use of new innovations to improve experiences and financial performance rather than simply upgrading existing systems.

2. Decision-making: This is the use of information to establish an evidence-based culture. It also involves the application of information in a practical way to increase the productivity of knowledge workers within the company.

3. Technology: This includes the innovative use of technology such as cloud, mobile, Internet of Things (IoT), 3-D printing and robotics.

We live in a digital-first age, where consumers can search, share, buy, and communicate with each other via their smartphones. The digital revolution was already underway long before the pandemic, and it has only increased in the wake social distancing.

What is Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation today is all about engaging customers in new ways, both online and offline. It also allows businesses to adapt and keep pace with the changing pace.

What digital transformation will be needed in retail after the pandemic?

Consumer behavior has changed significantly as a result of the disruptions caused by the coronavirus epidemic. This will in turn drive continued disruption in the rapidly-changing retail sector.

Statista claims that by 2021, almost 72.9% eCommerce transactions will be made on mobile devices. This trend is being driven by emerging markets in mobile-first countries like Latin America and Africa.

Retailers need to assess their enterprise technology in order to make it more flexible. This applies both to the front end and back office. They will be able to deliver a superior customer experience and compete with their competitors.

Many retailers are responding by switching to an open and flexible IT architecture. This allows them to share new launches faster, maintain brand consistency across all touchpoints with customers, and use advanced data analytics for a 360-degree view to their customer base.

Digital transformation in retail: The technologies driving it

A digital strategy is more than just an online shopping platform. It also includes demand optimization and inventory management systems, which help retailers sell more quickly and provide the data they need to accurately forecast.

The concept of “buy online, pick up at store” (BOPIS), has grown to 24% over the previous 19%. This was for grocery shopping within a period of 30 days.

Groceries had to adapt to meet the needs of customers who couldn’t or wouldn’t shop in stores. Lidl, for example, used food trucks to transport groceries to senior citizens in retirement homes.

Panera offered its customers the ability to place orders from their pantry and purchase fresh products such as milk and fruits for pick-up.

Understanding customer journeys is key to retailers being able to bridge the gap between offline and online channels. Technology plays an important role in this.

After the pandemic, tools such as automated ordering platforms, contactless payment systems and mobile ordering apps are in high demand.

All of these systems need to be digitally connected in order to provide a seamless, quick, and intuitive customer experience. Customers will keep coming back to maximize operational efficiency.

What will the impact of digital transformation have on eCommerce’s future?

Digital transformation is not a finished product for eCommerce business owners. To ensure that your products and strategies meet the needs of your customers, you must constantly monitor and adapt to changing consumer behaviors and expectations.

It is important to keep up with your competitors and outperform them whenever possible. You should approach digital marketing positively and with no fear. You will reap the greatest rewards if you put in more effort now.

These are six ways digital transformation will transform eCommerce over the next few months and years.

Selling direct-to-consumer products (DTC), will increase.

Until recently, many brands, especially new brands, had established partnerships with brick-and-mortar retailers on a wholesale basis. Direct-to-consumer marketing strategies can help brands increase their revenue and better understand their customers.

Brands respond quickly to consumers’ inquiries and provide adequate support. more than 55% of shoppers desire the personal experience and exclusive products DTC brands offer. 

DTC brands will also likely to create a loyal brand evangelist generation that tells others about their favorite products, and so bring in new customers.

Personalization will be enhanced by big data.

Amazon and other ecommerce sites have used big data to offer customers highly personalized shopping experiences. Machine learning can alter site algorithms based upon previous customer activity to provide tailored recommendations.

However, it is important to remember that customers may view this activity tracking as an invasion to their privacy and may opt out of personalization.

For now, however, personal assistants in Internet of Things (IoT), still hold enough interest. You can add that touch to your brand by integrating product recommendation integrations onto your website.

Augmented reality removes the barriers to online shopping.

AR software allows customers to see the products they are interested in, rather than only looking at photos and reading descriptions. This software is revolutionary in an age where customers are less likely to shop in physical stores.

Burrow has made great strides in letting customers see the brand’s products in their living spaces.

Another brand allows eCommerce retailers to create 360-degree panoramic versions of physical stores that customers can “walk through”.

Walking through the 360-degree panoramic version in physical stores

Other payment methods will be widely accepted.

Credit cards still hold a century-old monopoly over consumer spending. However, there are other payment options available such as Bitcoin and blockchain platforms like Bitcoin.

In the wake of the pandemic, millennials are opting for buy now-pay-later services (BNPL), while contactless wallet payment options like RazorPay and Stripe are on the rise.

This is especially important for luxury goods that are often in the need-but-not-need category. This may be the tipping point for customers to buy from such brands, as they can receive a monthly interest-free payment.

Continuity of innovation is possible with API-driven eCommerce and headless eCommerce.

Most eCommerce websites store customer preferences behind the scenes. These are stored in a database that can be accessed later via an eCommerce system.

This system decouples the company’s eCommerce platform and its frontend. It allows backend data, via application programming interfaces, to flow seamlessly to various frontends.

Headless eCommerce is SEO-friendly and can be used on a variety of devices. This makes it easier to create multi-region platforms and allows for cross-device personalized buying.

Optimizing will be a key focus for businesses.

CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) is as important for your website’s success as SEO. CRO strategies, which convert visitors to customers, are just as important as SEO techniques.

CRO is about iterative optimization. Administrators make small website changes and then measure the results to determine if they are working.

Simpler checkout processes and page design adjustments can make the buying process easier and more enjoyable.

A good CRO almost always results in more profit for eCommerce retailers.

Five steps to digital transformation within the eCommerce industry

Your business goals should be defined

Digital transformation must be approached strategically. In other words, profit and results should always take center stage. These are the areas to focus on when redesigning your business model in order to digitally transform it.

• Improved end-user experience for customer retention and productivity

• Digital processes that are smart and digitally optimized to improve operations, reduce costs, and offer differentiated services

• Improved visibility and control of digital assets for easier business operations

• For greater flexibility, you need a more robust infrastructure and operation.

• Gain competitive advantage by controlling analytics

Give your customer experience strategy an overhaul

Customer experience is the result of your efforts to make customers happy. CX is about customer service, quality products, and customer feedback.

Customer Experience Management (CEM), tools allow you to track and organize all customer interactions. They can be integrated with other software solutions like A/B testing tools and content management systems.

These CEM tools are valuable:

• Gainsight is a SaaS-based app that gathers customer data from multiple sources, and transforms them into actionable insights.

• Qualtrics – Software that collects feedback from customers and analyzes it to recommend actions for companies that can be taken to improve their business.

• Genesys Engagement: A multi-cloud and omnichannel software solution for large-scale companies.

• Zendesk is a customer engagement software that’s easy to use and easily adaptable for changing business needs.

Use new technology solutions

Companies looking to transform their digital business should look beyond the tools they have and use new technologies.

These include AI to recommend products and buyer personas and machine learning for automation and human/machine collaboration.

For both customers and businesses, cybersecurity solutions are crucial to ensure data safety. The cloud is fast becoming the norm for data storage. Check out the cloud storage platform ranking from Yummy Software for more information.

These emerging technologies are now the foundation of a digital transformation ecosystem that offers on-demand services. They matter to all businesses.

With VR, you can update customer journeys

Virtual Reality (VR), allows customers to virtually experience all aspects of physical shopping. Virtual wardrobes are a key tool for eCommerce companies to offer a personalized shopping experience, no matter where they are located.

Virtual reality can also be used to provide faster customer service. Business leaders don’t have to reinvent their business models in order to implement digital transformation initiatives. All they need is the right VR/AR tools.

Embrace digital innovation

Digital transformation is a broad term that encompasses all aspects of business. Organizations need to choose the right emerging technologies according to their particular business needs.

A strong digital customer experience requires tools that can be used across multiple channels, customer experience management and data analytics.

The key attributes of an eCommerce business are critical to choosing the right tools.

This understanding will allow the company to make the best investments and plan for future innovation.

Wrap it up

These five steps are essential for eCommerce businesses to keep in mind when attempting digital transformation. Important to remember is that these steps do not stop at digital transformation. They are supportive of an ongoing process.

It is therefore crucial that you and your team continue to learn about and focus on these steps. This will allow you to leverage a digital transformation that is successful and will be a benefit for you both now as well as in the future.