It’s hard to believe, but eHouse turns 18 this year. It’s eye-opening to look back through time and see how eHouse has changed and evolved over the years. It certainly hasn’t been a straightforward trajectory. But our varied journey has shaped us, giving us broad experience and building our resilience to find opportunity and face challenges as they come.
eCommerce growth is nothing new to retail, but with the coronavirus pandemic, brands are having to quickly evolve to meet the needs of consumers. Many reports are showing eCommerce growth for essentials and even sales comparable to BFCM but other industries are going to need to help customers shop in a new way as we all learn to adapt to our new way of life.
Since 2016, we’ve seen increased use of AR by retailers. If you haven’t checked out AR in the last few years, you may be surprised by how much it has improved (in large part thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and mobile device technology). There has been a large improvement with how brands are using it to create engaging user experiences, and how much shoppers want AR. For example, an Accenture survey found that 61% of consumers said they were interested in using augmented reality to help them better determine how clothes would fit when shopping online.
These are tough times for retail. While eCommerce sales might be up, many omnichannel brands and specific categories are taking a hit. There’s also a lot of anxiety, both personal and financial, due to Covid-19 and an impending recession. We feel it too.
We’re also having a moment of information overload from all of the articles, tips and reports being produced. To help you weed through and find information you can use to determine what modified strategies are right for your business, we thought it would be helpful to provide a roundup of and key takeaways from what we’ve found insightful. As we come across new articles and resources, we’ll continue to update this blog, so be sure to check back.
Companies like Netflix and Amazon have set a high bar for retailers when it comes to personalizing online shopping experiences. In fact, more than half of consumers say they expect that companies will anticipate their needs and make recommendations before they even make contact. While this may sound daunting, it doesn’t have to be.
Increasing average order value (AOV) is a tried-and-true strategy for maximizing revenue from existing customers. You’ve been there, done that. However, now that the subscription eCommerce market is growing by leaps and bounds, you may want to consider how you can apply this strategy to your subscription customers.
Despite the increasing use of messaging apps and social media, good old email continues to outperform them all when it comes to customer acquisition, retention and revenue. And when you create personalized emails that deliver relevant messages and offers to specific audiences – like your most profitable or engaged customers – the power of email really becomes apparent. One survey concluded that segmented email campaigns (vs. one-size-fits-all campaigns) could increase email revenue as much as 760%! Another survey reported that targeted emails generate 58% of companies’ overall revenue. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
We know you’re running a business. You need to optimize conversion rates and grow your revenue. This requires an eCommerce site that provides a seamless shopping experience. However, to stay competitive in the long term, this also requires you to build your brand. What does this mean? Brand building is about more than increasing brand recognition. Successful brands are those that elicit an emotional connection (e.g., by creating a desired culture/lifestyle, promoting the brand story and purpose), making consumers care so much so that it entices them to purchase the eCommerce brand’s products.
Use of SMS, aka “texting,” for eCommerce is on the upswing, but still widely underutilized, creating major opportunities – particularly with subscriptions and customer service, in our opinion – for brands that are quick to the punch.
If you don’t offer your customers a subscription rental option, maybe you should. The last five to six years have seen a continued shift in consumption patterns from traditional purchasing and ownership to an increase in subscription-based services of the future. According to McKinsey, the subscription eCommerce market has been growing by more than 100% year over year. Although this includes subscription boxes, like razors, food and cosmetics, there also is a growing trend for subscriptions that enable access over ownership, such as rentals for designer clothing, high-end luggage or sporting equipment. In fact, a study by UPS showed that Millennials are nearly five times more likely to rent online than other demographics.
If you can make a subscription model work for your eCommerce business, what’s not to like? Subscriptions can deliver more predictable revenue, more opportunities to upsell or cross-sell, and higher customer lifetime value (LTV). We work with many brands that ask us about subscriptions and how to integrate a subscription platform like ReCharge into their Shopify or Shopify Plus stores. We think subscriptions can be an exciting way to grow an eCommerce business, and have seen the most success with replenishment goods, like razors and vitamins, and curated items, like fashion and beauty boxes.