Digital commerce

Digital commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services using digital channels like the internet and mobile networks. It is widespread and crucial for setting pricing, customer acquisition, promotion, customer retention, and content development. The digital commerce landscape is transforming at a rapid rate, with changes occurring in consumer behavior. Most of the world’s business is carried out across digital channels.

Benefits of digital commerce

These days, it is essential to integrate digital commerce in the daily operations of a business. With the rising use of mobile devices, customers are looking for ways to make shopping more convenient for them. Given below are the benefits offered by digital commerce.

Expansion

If a business adopts digital commerce as opposed to using a brick-and-mortar store, its expansion will be comparatively easier. It does not have to hire staff for its physical location, which leads to saving time and money. For instance, someone who runs a business in the grooming industry and owns a salon, can open an online store to sell customized products used in the salon to consumers.

Elevated customer experience

With the onset of the pandemic, people prefer to make online purchases these days. In this respect, digital commerce can offer customers a better experience than brick-and-mortar commerce. Customers can make purchases from the comfort of their own homes, and need not communicate with salespeople. They can take their time to browse through products and order them. Returns and exchanges are also relatively convenient on ecommerce channels. Their problems can also be solved by live chats and chatbots.

Increased reach

The owner of a physical store can only reach a restricted number of buyers based on the physical location of the store. Digital commerce allows a business to reach customers all over the world at a relatively lower cost. It also allows a business to segment its audience.

Better targeting

With digital commerce, collecting customer data is quite easy. When customers browse a store, it is easy to keep track of their interactions and the frequency of their buying. Data on every purchase made and each item viewed helps  businesses gain insights into their consumer market. With more customer insights, a business becomes better at targeting.

Adjusting to changing consumer behavior can also prove to be a challenge for digital commerce. Given below are some challenges that are faced by practitioners of digital commerce.

Meeting expectations

Various types of digital marketing trends are prevalent. Since devices are upgraded to meet the expectations of consumers, digital commerce campaigns should also be regularly upgraded to serve them. This can be challenging. A business has to be aware of digital commerce trends to be able to provide a satisfactory experience to customers.

Retaining customers

Providing a seamless experience across channels to retain and convert customers can be hard work. To retain customers, it might be necessary to keep them engaged by using tools such as webinars and automation.