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5 biggest hurdles in eCommerce and their solutions

Tag: ecommerce

5 biggest hurdles in eCommerce and their solutions
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

5 biggest hurdles in eCommerce and their solutionsAccording to eMarketer, global B2C eCommerce is set to hit 2.3 trillion by 2018. It has made it easier for sellers anywhere in the world to sell their wares and get a fair chance to compete with the biggies in the business. It is fairly easy to set up an eCommerce website with little or no coding knowledge. Some even set up their website before they procure products to sell.

While selling within the city, state or country is common for eCommerce platforms, the true game of harnessing its power lies in catering to an international audience. In reality, your website can be accessed by anyone anywhere around the world. Shouldn’t you be able to sell to them too? From language barriers to tech issues, to fulfillment, there are quite a few things that are acting as hindrances preventing businesses from going global.

Here is a look at the top 5 reasons plaguing the eCommerce industry and solutions you can use to overcome these for your own business.

1. Speaking your customer’s language

Did you know that 60% of global consumers spend time on sites of their own native language than they do on English sites? If the site isn’t available in the local version, they might just boycott the site altogether. Language has a big implication for eCommerce websites. Not only do you need to provide an option for customers to view your site in local language, you need to run a site wide check to see none of your products or services have an offensive meaning in the local language.

Solution: Translation softwares are easily available in the market. Get your developer to embed that into your website so that the content can get easily viewed in the preferred regional language. What’s more important is that you hire a local language expert to run a content audit on the website to ensure things mean what they should and there isn’t any important message lost in translation. Nothing, however, beats humans doing the translation.

2. Tech infrastructure:

Does going international mean that you’ll need local hosting to speed things up? Having local servers for load balancing can tip the costs quite high and isn’t sometimes possible due to infrastructure limitations. Some markets require that you use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and geo-based load balancing servers to improve domestic site speed and reliability. So what’s the right solution?

Solution: The best solution will come from hiring a reliable turn-key vendor who provides dedicated IT resources and geo-load balancing as per what the situation demands. A client request from a particular geography can be directed either to a service node that is geographically closest to the client or to a node that has the most capacity. This allows us to optimize performance proactively.

3. Logistics and Fulfillment:

You may be all ready to ship your order overseas and even have potential clients waiting on you. In fact, according to a provider of international dispatch services, companies that ship overseas can increase their revenue by an average of 17% Fulfillment agencies are available too, more easily than before. Then what’s stopping companies from shipping internationally? A lot of times local government regulations are a problem. While some items are prohibited others need to abide by local expert laws. It is difficult for a company to keep track of each item for each country.

Solution: First, you’ll have to do the difficult task of picking out risky items and keep them out of being available in all countries. Second, you’ll have to choose the right fulfillment partner who is aware of local regulations and can even guide you to ensure you don’t violate any terms.

4. Local customer support:

So you have built a website in the local language for more sales. But is that enough? What happens when your customer reaches out to you via email or the ‘Contact us’ form on your website with a query or concern or help? Most of the time, websites are not equipped to handle this even though they have taken the effort to translate the content of the website into the local language. Most of the times, customers get back an auto-generated response, which of course does not make them happy. The risk here: Lose a hot lead or a loyal customer.

Solution: Start by having a vetted FAQ page in local language which is as detailed as possible to handle customer questions. Next, you’ll need to provide a local phone number where customers can reach you with local voice support. You’ll also need a real person replying to emails in real time.  These are people who are paying you money. So it’s best you don’t lose out because you fail to understand them clearly.

5. Preferred payment methods:

When eCommerce first launched in India, many people were apprehensive about shopping online because they didn’t think of credit cards as a secure way to transact online. Besides, digital penetration was low and not everyone had a credit card.

Solution: Though Cash on Delivery option was present earlier, it was popularized by Flipkart and soon other major eCommerce players followed suit tipping the entire eCommerce game in India. Five years after Flipkart launched this payment option, it contributed to 80% of its sales. It is important for eCommerce companies to understand nuances of the local market and provide payment options preferable to locals.

 Take away

International expansion is bound to bring whole new opportunities to eCommerce players by tapping new grounds for their products. With the right local partners who have understanding of local culture, politics, and customer expectations, it’ll be a sure shot way to build a global brand.

8 years ago
6 Factors Driving Indian E-Commerce
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

6 Factors Driving Indian E-Commerce

The Indian E-commerce scene has exploded in recent times, with many different segments being created by niche players, with the most nascent being Foodtech. India has come a long way with respect to e-commerce and the evolution has been really rapid, befitting the world’s fastest growing large economy.

The growth of e-commerce is tremendous in Indian context, considering that traditionally India has been a cash oriented economy with offline retail stores driving purchases by the consumer. Currently, India adds 6 million new consumers* to the e-commerce industry, every month. This scale of growth is unprecedented in any other market and goes to show the potential of the Indian e-commerce market.

The following key drivers of Indian e-commerce are almost unique to India, as some of these points are intrinsic to Indian consumer behavior:

  • Convenience & Trust: It took some time for e-commerce players to gain the trust of the consumer and shed the initial belief that products available at some of the largest online marketplaces were used products. This is because for a long time, the Indian e-commerce space was dominated by e-bay which used to sell used products in India, operating in a marketplace environment. However, as prominent players entered the market backed by a solid supply chain and great marketing & communications, the quintessential Indian consumer realized the convenience of e-commerce and developed a trust with the portal.

 

  • Price: A typical Indian buyer is very price conscious and bargains heavily. They are always looking out for deals. This perception is widely regarded as being true. Price has always been the trump card for Indian e-commerce players as most of the products that are available online are cheaper than the same products available offline.

 

  • Payment Options: With the advent of digital wallets and UPI (Unified Payments Interface), the payment options have grown over the years. Earlier on, most e-commerce players grew because of the success of the Cash on Delivery (COD) model, which was rather prevalent in India, due to a large amount of Cash being circulated in the economy. It is only in recent times, due to the demonetization drive, Indians have jumped on to the electronic payments bandwagon.

 

  • Digital India: The government of India’s Digital India initiative has been a key factor in enhancing internet penetration across the country, which has led to a whole host of services being digitally delivered. The invariable result of increase in internet penetration has been the fact that apart from accessing essential services digitally, the consumer has taken to online shopping and online payments, big time.

 

  • Domestic Consumption: Any world renowned economist will tell you that the India growth story has been driven by domestic demand and the high consumption of the ever aspirational Indian consumer. The obvious macroeconomic scenario had to play out in the e-commerce space as well.

 

  • Language: Most e-commerce portals in India are in English and that has played a big role in the growth of the industry, as India has the largest English speaking middle class population. Moreover, the regional language versions of popular sites have nonetheless played a critical role in the growth of large scale e-commerce portals.

Despite the growth of Indian e-commerce, much remains to be tapped in terms of SMEs (Small & Medium Enterprises) hopping onto the online space and selling internationally, as in exporters. PayTabs can help you make the online shift and help your business go global. Now, it is easy to receive online global payments. Explore now and Sign up for a free demo!

*Data Source: Wikipedia

8 years ago
Evolution of The Indian Consumer
Mohab Customer Experience 0

Evolution of The Indian Consumer

In one of our previous post, we touched upon the fact that Indian e-commerce has grown tremendously in recent years and digital payments form the core of the Digital India ecosystem. The growth in payments has been driven by the push for online payments at the institutional level, be it government, corporate or banks.

Having said that, the paradigm shift from offline to online has been driven by the Indian Consumer, who has accepted the digital medium. Specifically, in the space of digital payments, the consumer has been forced to reduce his dependency on cash, given the government’s huge demonetization drive last November. Therefore, it would be fair to say that some of the digital adoption in the Indian context has been due to demonetization, especially in the payments space.

Until a year ago, the penetration of Digital Payments in India was rather low. However, owing to the government’s efforts, there has been an explosion in the digital payments space in India. Post demonetization, the number of debit card transactions swore to 1 Billion*. Well, most of these transactions have been PoS(Point of Sale) transactions in physical stores. But a significant number of those transactions have been done online as well and payments have been made in online rather than Cash on Delivery.

As per Industry body, ASSOCHAM, the Indian e-commerce consumer size will most likely cross 100 Million in 2017 and will ride on a 65% growth rate(y-o-y) in 2018. The evolution of the Indian Consumer has been pretty rapid in terms of consumption patterns. The shift from offline to online and from COD (Cash on Delivery) to Online Payment has been rather rapid.

Talking of shifts in preferred mode of payment from Cash on Delivery to Online has been rather ironical, because the growth of Indian e-commerce has been because of the Cash on Delivery model. But, owing to demonetization, the rise in online payments is driving e-commerce growth and will continue to do so, in coming years. This goes to show a significant change in attitude and purchasing habit of the Indian Consumer.

For more such insights, you can subscribe to our blog alerts and if you are a small and medium scale merchant, we can help you go global through our international payments solution. Sign up for a demo, to learn more.

*Source: The Economic Times

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
5 Simple Steps to Launching a Successful Ecommerce Business
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

5 Simple Steps to Launching a Successful Ecommerce Business

There are stories all around about people with limited expertise and background turning rich because of the eCommerce boom. From packaged snow to jewellery made from sustainably sourced nuts, almost all types have businesses are exploring the online channel to leverage a worldwide audience. It is only logical that if you have been toying with an eCommerce business idea, you want to launch it quickly and smoothly. As a key stakeholder, you will have your hands full with operational aspects, of your business. Hence the best thing you can do is get all the basic aspects of your ecommerce set up right before you launch.

  1. Choose a proper platform to build your business

Some sellers choose to sell only via third party e-tailers. This will involve taking the time out to understand the platform’s guidelines and optimizing your listings while you showcase your products right next to your competitors. Others choose to create their own store website and sell through it. Each option has its pros and cons. While you save on commission in your own platform, you’ll have to invest significant time and effort to drive traffic. Also, having your own store front will involve working with platforms like Open Cart or shopify or independent developers and additional plugins for customization. Some do a hybrid of both which ensures idea validation and sales from third party websites while your own traffic builds. We’ve seen the hybrid model work wonders for small businesses.

  1. Create an impeccable UI

Design plays a huge role in telling your customers that you are a serious seller. When you develop a store front, pay extra attention to user experience, colours, font, logo and design. You can’t tell much when you are just launching but most people who have done superior designs later have found it to be a big factor in aiding conversion. This is also one major area where most newcomers try to cut corners to hasten the launch. In fact, the first version of many websites are a very poor version of their current version. But that shouldn’t stop you from making your first version a good one. It is when you customers, competitors and investors will want to explore what you sell.

  1. Choose a reliable payment gateway provider

Imagine your customer wanting to buy something and isn’t able to complete the transaction because of a sloppy payment gateway! Seeing people drop away from the final level of your funnel is heartbreaking. Also, with some gateways charging both static fees and per transaction commission, it can just make a dent in your hard-earned money.

So how do you choose a good payment gateway provider?

These days, the easiest way to to set up your payment process is via a “modern” payment gateway that doesn’t require a merchant account. The actual transaction happens on their website ensuring that they are responsible for both security and compliance.

Integrated payment gateways are complex and generally used by bigger stores who want the edge of customers not leaving their site to complete the payment.

Things to consider

  • Price: Payment gateways usually charge per transaction or for monthly usage. Some have both and an initial set up fee. 2% may not seem much but it can pinch if you are selling high end goods.
  • Actual process: Check out the demo for the payment gateway on their site. See how many leaps your customers will have to make to finish their transaction.
  • Support: Once in a while, you will get a rotten egg that’ll need hand-holding. For such cases, it is best to know how your payment gateway deals with things like returns, refunds and complaints.

For example, PayTabs not only offers a very small fee that fits most startups, it also offers hand holding and ongoing support.

  1. High level knowledge on driving traffic to your site

As an online business, it is imperative that you know the basics of search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click advertising (PPC), Social media marketing (SMM) and influencer marketing. SEO for your own store, for your app store (aSEO) and even for third-party listings plays a key role in how your product reaches consumers. PPC advertising can be a great tool for idea validation. Social is something that you simply can’t do without and you need to hold your influencers closer than your friends. Even if you choose to hire an agency to do this, take an initial course online to ensure that you understand when your agency shares metrics with you.

  1. Test and launch

Keep a set of 50 – 100 people friend list who can be your guinea pigs during the initial days. Ask them to independently evaluate your site performance and give you feedback from time to time. From small bugs to dummy content to blurry images, these extra eyes can do a world of good before your actual customers see your site.

Last but not the least, be agile and ready to shift gears quickly. Learning from experiments is a great way to grow your ecommerce business.

 

 

8 years ago