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7 Tips for E-Commerce Success

7 Tips for E-Commerce Success
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

7 Tips for E-Commerce Success

The 2016 Pitney and Bowes Global Online Shopping study estimated 66% of online consumers are international. This percentage is likely to grow in the coming years.

Having said that, before you jump the international e-commerce bandwagon, it is important that you focus on certain areas for long term success. As we provide you with the following tips, you would need to be mindful of the fact that the e-commerce race is a marathon and not a sprint!

  1. Don’t Hurry: Launching your e-commerce site shouldn’t be done in a hurried fashion. There is only one shot you have in launching your site. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all functionalities of the site are working properly. Do a thorough testing. You can purchase a domain name and create a pre-launch page on the lines of “Coming Soon”, but until you have done significant groundwork in terms of content, technology, functionalities, SEO, paid advertising planning, don’t launch!
  2. Consumer is the King: The user or the consumer should be the focus of your e-commerce venture. Notwithstanding the recent advances in augmented reality and artificial intelligence, the big shortcoming that you would have to deal with is the fact that the consumer cannot touch, feel and smell the products before buying. You can compensate this by offering better prices, free shipping and more importantly, simplified shopping carts and a hassle free checkout with a seamless payments solution.
  3. Testing: At every stage of your e-commerce business (pre-launch, launch and growth), you should test everything, right from functionalities to user experience and user interface. Hence, it is imperative to invest significantly in testing and analytics.
  4. Social Focus: Do not outsource social media marketing at the starting phase of your e-commerce venture. It is indeed the heartbeat of your business. Through social media you can gain valuable insights into prospective customers. As an entrepreneur, you would need to be hands on with your social media. You can employ a community manager but you need to keep a close watch on your social media marketing. Include social elements on your e-commerce website. Small elements like reviews, social login options and follow/sharing buttons help in conversion.
  5. Mobile: Way back in 2014, Goldman Sachs had predicted that global mobile commerce will account for nearly half of e-commerce by 2018 amounting to a figure in excess of $620 Billion*. If you aren’t building your e-commerce portal with a mobile first approach, then there’s no point in venturing at all.
  6. SEO: Over time, Search engines have evolved to be more valuable for e-commerce sites. In fact, most of your traffic will come from search engines as people are increasingly searching for products on Google, Yahoo or Bing. Therefore ensure that you stay on top of SEO to stand out among competition. You may need to hire an agency to help you out with SEO in the beginning.
  7. Information and Evolution: Make it a point to collect as much of customer information and build databases to aid future launches of different versions, categories or a new sister site. Lastly, evolution is a critical element because technology, trends and consumer tastes/preferences change over time.

For more insights on e-commerce and payment solutions, you can subscribe to our blog alerts.

Moreover, to understand our payment solutions and how we can help you grow your e-commerce business, click here.

*Source: Digicommerce 360

8 years ago
Payment Gateway Selection: 6 Factors to be Considered
Mohab Ecommerce 0

Payment Gateway Selection: 6 Factors to be Considered

If you take a step back and look at the entire e-commerce ecosystem, you would realize that one of the key elements of an e-commerce portal is the effectiveness and efficiency of your Payment Gateway. As you are in the process of choosing a payment gateway, we are here to give you a ready reckoner on the factors to evaluate while considering a payment gateway.

  1. Security: In a world where cyber security risk has been growing by the day, it is critical for you to check the security parameters of the gateway. Look for a PCI-DSS certification apart from elements such as anti-fraud protection, 3D secure authentication for cards.
  2. Ease of Integration: There are multiple platforms, on which your e-commerce portal might have been built, be it Magento, Shopify, OpenCart, Woo Commerce, PrestaShop, etc. The payment gateway should be easy to integrate onto any of these shopping cart platforms. Whether it is Mobile SDK, Direct API, iFrame or Express Checkout, the method of integrating with your shopping cart should be hassle free with minimum documentation.
  3. Mobile Optimization: The penetration of mobile onto or lives has been wide reaching an m-commerce is at the forefront of the mobile revolution. Customers are shopping through the mobile like never before. As per latest data, over 2 Billion mobile and tablet consumers will engage in some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017*. The gateway you select should provide a seamless shopping experience for the customer, irrespective of the type of device.
  4. Merchant Support: Payment Gateway technology support is critical to the success of your e-commerce portal in today’s day and age. 24×7 dedicated support is an imperative for you. It is basic but very critical for you.
  5. Currencies and Alternative Payment Methods: The world has indeed become a small place and the consumer can be located anywhere. It is therefore a necessity in today’s global marketplace that a payment gateway has provisions for payments in multiple currencies and a plethora of alternative payment methods to enhance customer experience.
  6. Fees: The operative word in the realm of fees is transparency. Set up fees, transaction fees, net banking transaction fees, different transaction fees on different cards, annual maintenance fees, etc…. The entire gambit of fees can be burdening for an e-commerce entrepreneur. They key is to select a gateway, which has no hidden fees. All their fees need to be disclosed, before you sign on the dotted lines.

For more insights, you can subscribe to our blog alerts.

Moreover, you can evaluate the features on PayTabs and should you be interested in a free demo, you can sign up here.

*Data Source: E-Marketer & E-Consultancy

8 years ago
The World Has Shrunk!
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

The World Has Shrunk!

Dilshan is a handicraft and handloom merchant based out of Mysore, India. He has an online store, where he sells his products to customers across the world. Akbar is a handicraft collector and he lives in Dubai. He regularly buys from Dilshan and pays him online, either through his store or remits the amount to his bank account.

The distance between Mysore and Dubai is 2600+ kilometres/1400+ nautical miles, separated by the huge stretch of the Indian Western Ghats and the vast Arabian Sea. Yet the distance is irrelevant in the context of global e-commerce and international payments.

Owing to the rapid penetration of cross border e-commerce in recent times, the world has witnessed a surge in the need for robust and seamless payments. In fact, that’s exactly what has been happening in the payments space, the business needs of the industry has led to effective and efficient payment processing systems.

“The 2016 Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Study reveals how consumers’ buying habits are changing with the continued growth of cross-border e-commerce. Moreover, the number of global online shoppers will grow 50% by 2018.”

There is a clear need for more alternative payment modes and more currencies being accepted in the payment processor, as customers from across the world visit and purchase through an e-commerce site. Whether the business is a pure-play e-commerce site or a marketplace or platforms, it is imperative for the entity to choose a processor that is adaptive enough to enable universal accessibility and create new opportunities.

However, sceptics would still argue that security of online payments remain a concern among customers and businesses alike. What they seem to forget is the rapid strides made in fraud preventions and internal security compliance by all payment processors and gateways means that the security risk has been mitigated to a great extent.

Lastly, one would have been really living in a cave to not witness the e-commerce revolution across the world, which has indeed shrunk the world.

For more insights on e-commerce and the online payments ecosystem, you can subscribe to our blog alerts.

We look forward to your comments and questions.

8 years ago
The Security Imperative for Payment Gateways
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

The Security Imperative for Payment Gateways

 

“There are risks and costs to a program of action—but they are far less than the long range cost of comfortable inaction.”

John F Kennedy

It would be perilous to be comfortably inactive in a dangerous world of hackers and data thieves.

In a world that’s becoming increasingly being accustomed to data breaches and cybersecurity risks. It is therefore imperative that necessary safeguards must be put in place to protect the consumer and the enterprise. Security invariably is an issue in the payment gateway space. Consumers won’t pay online if the system isn’t secured. It is a trust issue.

Security is a big factor in the e-commerce space, hence we as an industry have come up with a whole host of symbols to drive consumer confidence.

The Security Imperative for Payment Gateways

The Security Imperative for Payment Gateways

The payment processing industry has gone through a paradigm shift in recent times owing to significant growth in the e-commerce space, in emerging markets where e-commerce companies have sprouted in huge numbers and have been instrumental in driving consumption.

In such a scenario, the payments processing industry has been moving through with security measures which improves data protection yet retaining the efficiency of transactions. The trends that are driving the payments processing industry from a security standpoint are as follows:

  • Integrators are taking the QIR program seriously
  • More payment solutions are seeking P2PE validation
  • EMV certifications are faster and more robust
  • End users are willing to pay for security

The last point among the trends is particularly interesting and goes to show that the consumer cares for security while making a payment and does not really mind shelling out extra for having the peace of mind while transacting on the web.

In fact, we at PayTabs understand the critical nature of payments security, hence we have a robust security infrastructure to offer the highest level of security, for your transactions and your customers.

Given below are some of the salient features of our security Infrastructure:

  • 3D Secure Authentication through Mastercard SecureCode & Verified by Visa
  • Dual Layer Fraud Protection & Management
  • PCI-DSS Certified
  • Digicert-EV SSL Secure
  • 99% fraud free transactions

Visit our homepage to know more or leave a comment below, if you have any queries or insights. We would love to hear from you.

8 years ago
9 smart ways to boost your eCommerce business during Ramadan
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

9 smart ways to boost your eCommerce business during Ramadan

It has been observed that the sacred month of Ramadan is a time when the online spending by Muslims all over the world rises significantly. Throughout this month, devout Muslims fast, pray, donate to the needy, and exchange gifts with loved ones. This holy month culminates with Eid al-Fitr, a festival that marks the breaking of the month-long dawn to sunset fast. And it encourages all Muslims to purchase various household as well as personal and gift items. A study conducted by The Arabian Marketer also showed that a 15% growth in retail and a 35% growth in travel through online sales were noticed during Ramadan 2015. As a result, ecommerce companies have started offering whopping discounts and attractive promotions on fashion apparel, electronics, sportswear, automotive and more. But are such measures enough to attract Ramadan shoppers? Not really! Here are a few things to keep in mind if you wish your sales to peak during this sacred month:

  1. Make your ecommerce store mobile-friendly

    During Ramadan, most people are usually away from their desktops or laptops, but are active on their mobiles, which include smartphones and tablets. Google also shows that more people during this period watch more YouTube videos and search on the internet through mobile phones. Hence, a mobile-friendly and easy to navigate website is crucial to lure such shoppers.

  2. Focus on the right times

    Weekend, early morning hours, shortly before the sunset and right after the sunset when the faithful breaks his or her fast are the peak times for shopping. And you will have to be ready for that.

  3. Say yes to Arabic

    In a country where the majority speaks Arabic, it will do your website a lot of good if it has a version in that language. Ensure that your site supports local currencies and payment platforms like PayTabs. Such payment gateways assure easy and transparent fund transfer.

  4. A pre-Ramadan campaign can help

    To emotionally connect with potential shoppers, it is a good idea to go for a pre-Ramadan campaign. It shows that you appreciate the local culture and respect the sacred month.

  5. Track across devices

    Modern online shoppers often keep switching from their PC to mobile to tablet, during a single purchase. And this trend increases during Ramadan. So unless you can track customer behavior across different devices, you might approach a shopper with a product he or she no longer wants. And this way, you might lose out on a potential sale.

  6. Stand apart from competition

    Since most or all ecommerce companies will be vying for the customers’ attention, you need to build special digital marketing strategies to stand out from the crowd. Unique or rare offers might help.

  7. Find out what works best for you

    Not all industries are affected in the same way by Ramadan. For instance, fashion outlets usually benefit the most from the sale of kid’s clothing. Travel agents on the other hand benefit when they keep an eye on the best times for booking flights and hotels.

  8. Don’t ignore feast days

    The last 3 days of Ramadan might witness a sharp decline in sales, since everyone is feasting and celebrating. But you mustn’t give up hope because of that. Remember that though people are away from their laptops or computers, they will definitely carry around their mobiles. Reach out with a warm message on Eid, so that your engagement with the shoppers continues.

  9. Make the most of social media

    Interactions on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter increase by leaps and bounds during Ramadan. A study by Motion Point reveals that this hike can be as much as a third! Hence, strategic social media marketing will come in handy and drive more traffic towards your website.

So, gear up for Ramadan with the smart tips mentioned here. There is every possibility that you might end up reaping more benefits than ever before!

8 years ago