eCommerce is the greatest market-leveling tool for SMBs. Through eCommerce, the location and size of a small business no longer matters mimosa hostilis root bark powder dye.
Essentially, the Internet has established a jumbo-sized virtual shopping mall where any and every conceivable retailer can be a tenant.
Yet, cyber mall occupancy alone does not guarantee long-term commercial success. Rather, nextgeneration site functionality and ultra-reliable, highly responsive site performance are crucial ingredients for increasing eCommerce revenues. Retailers with the deepest pockets gain a decided market advantage since they have the amount of money both to produce next-generation site functionality, and to build and maintain an eCommerce platform capable of delivering the entire impact with this functionality to each and every site visitor.
In fact, options today offer small business more choices that aid in leveling the competitive playing field. With today's web hosting environments -- optimized for next-generation eCommerce -- platform investments are reduced to a portion of the expense of individually owning and operating an eCommerce site. With this process, small retailers gain an important market equalizer that allows them to compete effectively against their larger rivals.
In this short article, we shall describe the direction of next-generation eCommerce sites and also highlight how web hosting can dramatically reduce the IT costs required to effectively support next-generation eCommerce. Consequently, SMBs can increase eCommerce sites and simultaneously decrease their IT costs.
1. Functionality that replicates the in-store shopping experience, and
2. Functionality that creates a unique online shopping experience.
o 360° product views - One of the eCommerce drawbacks could be the physical separation between shoppers and products. Products such as for example books and DVDs - which is why physical touch is not a decision variable -- are two products which have sold well through an eCommerce channel. Other products, such as for example apparel, do benefit by physical touch. And even though apparel comes online, having less physical touch plays a part in instances of shopping online but buying instore.
Next-generation eCommerce sites will do more to transform the web shopping experience into online buying by presenting the product in user-controlled 360° views. In this manner, the shopper gains a richer perspective on the product's appearance, like the instore buyer behavior of supporting and turning the product for closer examination.
o Layered informational mini-screens - In current-generation eCommerce sites, shoppers commonly click through several full screens to gain a greater knowledge of the product being considered. This web site design dictates back and forth navigation by the shopper to re-visit information. Consequently, the entire breadth of information sought for a purchase decision seldom resides about the same screen. Next-generation eCommerce sites will offer mini-screens overlaid on the first product screen, which allows shoppers to zoom in and out of relevant product details and, in the process, never lose connection with the product being evaluated.
o Upfront alerts on product availability - A solid advantage of eCommerce is the ability to present the entire selection of products and product features. Inventory costs and space limitations of brick and mortar stores are challenged to equal this capability. At the same time, product presentation in an eCommerce site without availability status is frustrating for shoppers, particularly those people who have expended time loading their shopping carts only to be informed that accessibility to a number of products or a specially designed product will be delayed. This scenario is less common with in-store shopping since the range of inventory is directly visible to the shopper. In next-generation eCommerce sites, product availability status could be wanted to the shopper throughout the shopping and selection process. By presenting product alternatives when you can find availability delays - which can be built as an option into the website design -- allows shoppers to balance their desire for product immediacy and selection range.
o Streaming video - Brick and mortar stores are naturally restrained in the contextual presentation of the products, with actual product benefits restricted to a shopper's knowledge of the product and imagination, and perhaps the creativity of in-store displays and external advertising (print, audio, and video). In next-generation eCommerce sites, streaming video propels contextual presentation to a completely new level, with streaming video mini-clips that spotlight beneficial product features in multiple real-world contexts. Not only will streaming video stimulate a shopper's imagination and strengthen intent to get, it may also be effective in cross-selling other products and optional features, which provide an invaluable means to increasing sale size and revenue growth.
o Live chat - An eCommerce site enabled with live chat can address a shopper's questions or site use issues on the spot. Consequently, these sessions contribute to impromptu purchases and a lowering of abandoned shopping carts in addition to repeat visits. Live chat offers two specific benefits:
(1) the on-demand accessibility to sales representatives enables quicker and more efficient customer communications than serving customers in many brick and mortar settings;
and (2) sales reps have fingertip usage of a wide variety of product information and are typically better product knowledge experts. With the advent of VoIP (Voice over IP) in a nextgeneration eCommerce site, live chat expands from text exchanges to more personal voice conversations. Text and voice communication may also deepen loyalty and spending by premium customers and can transform intermittent customers into regular customers if both text and voice communications are strategically employed and supported mimosa hostilis root bark powder dye.
o Personalized sales assistance - In addition to being product experts, online sales reps may also become dedicated customer aides. Electronically armed with real-time knowledge of customer identity, profile, and past online and in-store purchases, these sales reps can personalize and improve the customer's shopping experience. While similar personalization is achievable in brick and mortar settings, location and in-person relationships are limiting factors on the amount of customers that will receive this personalization. eCommerce does not suffer from these same limitations mimosa hostilis root bark powder dye.
This next-generation eCommerce functionality is not free. Clearly, you can find costs to produce, test, and deploy. These costs, we believe, are unavoidable for retailers who are seriously interested in increasing their eCommerce revenues.
Equally important, but not always fully considered, are the costs of an eCommerce platform capable of delivering the entire impact with this functionality to each and every site visitor. In our view, scrimping on the platform could have serious eCommerce revenue implications. Among the most notable to avoid is creating a platform that results in an uninspired shopper. For example, if the functionality does not perform to its potential - through slow responsiveness, jerky video, or voice quality inconsistency - the web result is that shoppers leave the eCommerce site and never return.
In order to avoid this scenario, companies today must have world-class Internet-connected data center and web servers. To attain world-class, multiple components must be in place. Lacking any one of these brilliant jeopardizes eCommerce potential.
o Redundant and highly scalable Web servers - Accommodates all instances of peak visitations and minimizes the chance of server downtime.
o Physical and cyber security - Protects the eCommerce platform and customers' personal information (e.g., charge card numbers) from disruption and theft, respectively.
o Wideband and redundant access between the data center and the Internet - Access congestion directly correlates to slow response times and an undesirable shopping experience. Furthermore, as richer media is added to the website, higher bandwidth levels are essential.
o Data center utilities - Ac, heating and electrical energy are as essential as the internet servers themselves. Failures in these systems are catastrophic to the health of any business.
o Around-the-clock administration - Without flawless operations and expert insight, none of the preceding points are meaningful. This flawless execution could be the benchmark of nextgeneration eCommerce and anything less will degrade eCommerce potential and waste the investments in next-generation eCommerce functionality.
The good news is that the expense of these platform components does not have to be a barrier to nextgeneration eCommerce and the advantages it could deliver to the retailer: more revenue and improved customer loyalty. From our analysis, SMBs can reduce their IT costs associated with eCommerce by up to 75% by using a high quality Web Hoster versus a do-it-yourself approach of owning and operating these platform components mimosa hostilis root bark powder dye.
eCommerce has demonstrated to be a successful sales and customer relationship channel for most businesses. However, insufficient innovation in site functionality and a world-class platform that to supply this functionality will return disappointing eCommerce results. For several businesses, the combined price for functionality and platform could be overwhelming. To meet the aim of increasing eCommerce
Conclusion
Web Hosting Delivers IT Cost Savings in eCommerce
How SMB's Can Develop a Distinctive Online Shopping Experience
This functionality also reduces the instances of shoppers leaving without a purchase.
How SMB's Can Replicate the In-store Shopping Experience
The direction of next-generation eCommerce functionality fits into two categories:
Next-generation eCommerce Sites To Increase SMB revenue
The top web hoster out there currently supports over 22,000 customers and hosts a lot more than 1.4 million eCommerce sites. It's demonstrated to be the very best at reducing the IT costs. The company is named The BayNet, and is well suited to be SMB's platform partner for next-generation eCommerce. You can check their site out here:mimosa hostilis root bark powder dye