What does Agility mean for E-commerce?

Author: Vikram Morey, Programme Manager, Isobar Commerce India

What does Agility mean for E-commerce?

E-commerce has emerged as the major driver for increased sales, growth and profitability across every industry. In just a few short years, e-commerce has changed the competitive landscape of many industries. It has not only redefined customer relationships and business processes, but also provided new distribution channels, payment and delivery methods, and another mode for communication. E-commerce “agility” means how proactively brands can adapt to the changing practices and technologies of e-commerce business.

There are three critical strategies for E-commerce success:

1. Dynamic Content Creation: The frequency with which a brand can change site content to keep consumers engaged, impressed and returning on a regular basis. This could be measured through the number of landing page changes manifested through featured items, promotions and marketing campaigns.

2. Integrating new technologies: Valuation of how well a site has been kept current and innovative across four pillars of customer experience capabilities — Content and Commerce, Search and Navigation, Customer Experience and Omni-Channel.

3. Penetration into new market: Turnaround speed for a brand’s rollout of store locations and country-specific sites.

Agility means being able to create advancements, generate and deploy digital content, react to seasonal changes, etc. in rapid fashion — to provide immediate digital fulfilment. This is also key to unlock profits, and drive business growth & scalability.

Typically, marketers are challenged by time. There are extended execution steps where it’s not rare for even simple content updates to take weeks, even months, from ideation to publishing as marketers work back and forth. These updates are business critical and must keep the shopper attentive in pouring their prized time and limited attention into the retail products that keep the online tills ringing. Time is of the essence and brands have just moments to attract customers and engross them in a transactional experience.

Agility in E-Commerce

Below are five ways brands can deliver an elevated shopping experience by being agile in their e-commerce approach.

1. Incorporate Quick Views Across All Content: With one click, customers can activate an ecommerce-enabled lightbox to add an item to their shopping cart, without leaving the digital experience and the shopping mindset. This means they can continue exploring your content, and ultimately continue buying. Without them, shoppers are left to their own devices and might lose interest if forced to search through product grids on their own. You’ve spent time and resources to make your content engaging, so why not make them significant revenue generators as well?

2. Create Personalized Collections that Inspire: Personalized collections should be a one-stop shopping destination for online customers, with easy shop ability and practical inspiration. Ultimately, a well-curated collection gives shoppers a compelling reason to buy. They add context to the products — whether for a holiday, a season, or even a vacation destination — and make it easy for shoppers to not only connect to the products, but to the brand. Shoppers who are exploring this experience are likely planning a trip abroad themselves, and within this look book they can find everything they need for their travel wardrobe. And because the collection is curated so well, shoppers won’t feel overwhelmed by choices — their favourite brand has already narrowed it down for them.

3. Regularly Deliver Fresh Content: Delivering fresh content on a consistent basis can be difficult for retailers who face production challenges, but the results are infinitely valuable. In the age of Twitter and Amazon Prime, consumers expect new and fresh content at a moment’s notice and reward the brands who deliver new and entertaining content with their dollars and their loyalty. When shoppers discover your brand, website is a consistent source of fresh content, they’ll plan to return regularly.

4. Design Content for All Devices: More than ever, consumers are choosing to do their online shopping on their mobile devices, but a mobile shopping experience is keenly different than a desktop experience. Because of the small size of a smartphone screen, mobile content must be just as engaging as the desktop content and at the same time, effortless to navigate. Also, the purchase process should require as few clicks as possible.

5. Provide Guided Selling Experiences: A strong guided selling experience should be fun and inspirational and take the guesswork out of shopping. Guided selling can come in the form of quizzes, step-by-step tutorials, or buying guides, but the ones that truly stand above the noise show customers what they need before they even realize it themselves. Nature’s Bounty Regimen Builder quiz gently guides shoppers to the perfect supplements through fun questions and when customers reach the end of the quiz, they can feel confident in the result as well as making the purchase.

Online shopping is not just for large companies — with the latest ecommerce platforms and features, retailers big and small can easily set up an ecommerce channel. But with more and more options for shoppers every day, it can be difficult for brands to stand out and get their piece of the ecommerce pie. The way to meet this challenge is through compelling and shoppable digital experiences that provide value to shoppers. Content and product information need to go beyond the standard product grid — they need to inspire and create a rich customer journey.

If you’re looking to build agility in your E-commerce business, email us at HelloIsobarUK@isobar.com to speak with one of our consultants.

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