The ecommerce world has changed dramatically since 2020.
Customer acquisition costs keep climbing, inflation is squeezing margins, and shoppers are less loyal to brands than ever before. But there’s good news – you can still grow your business by staying smart and adaptable.
I recently chatted with Karlie Vanderpluym, Solutions Consultant at Convert Digital, who works hands-on with top Australian ecommerce brands. She shared some practical strategies that can help your store thrive even when market conditions get tough.
What are ecom merchants most focused on?
Vanderpluym says that her most successful clients are paying close attention to the ecommerce landscape—especially when it comes to these key trends:
Total cost of ownership (TCO)
Merchants aren’t just focusing on growth metrics—they’ve realised it’s important to factor in the total cost of ownership when it comes to business operations. That includes not only operational costs of doing business, but outgoing expenses that are often overlooked, such as the cost of reverse logistics and losses from returns.
Tech consolidation
Merchants are auditing their tech stacks to identify ways to do more with less. By finding solutions that incorporate more of the features they need, and using their full functionality, they can cut down on duplication and reduce their tech expenses. For instance, integrating one of the best Shopify SMS apps can streamline customer communication, enhance marketing efforts, and contribute to tech consolidation.. “With the current economic climate, as customers have reduced spending in some industries, most merchants are willing to test experiences but not add an excessive amount of different tools that do similar things,” says Vanderpluym. “Tech stack consolidation is front of mind.”
Streamlining of operations
Merchants are automating processes and implementing efficient workflows to improve productivity and reduce costs across the board, from marketing to customer service to returns management.
Monitoring customer behaviour
By collecting behavioral data to get a 360 view of their customers, brands can use those insights to solve problems for their customers, personalize their marketing messaging, and uncover trends in customer behavior.
How merchants are revamping their strategies
Vanderpluym says that with the rising cost of customer acquisition, it’s become increasingly important to boost order values from a core loyal audience. You can do this by offering bundled products for a discount, and promoting upsells and cross-sells. You can also leverage a returns management platform like Loop to optimise for exchanges, helping retain revenue from your returns and preserve valuable customer relationships.
Merchants are also prioritising mobile-first commerce, as some brands are seeing as much as 90% of their traffic from mobile devices, says Vanderpluym. It’s imperative that customers can engage with your sales, customer support, and returns channels easily whether they’re using desktop or mobile, or shifting between devices over the course of a single transaction. By streamlining the mobile sales process, you’ll be able to convert more customers and decrease cart abandonment rates.
And when it comes to selecting technologies to support them in delivering a best-in-class ecommerce experience, merchants want to see evidence of ROI. When choosing tech partners, look for proven brands that can showcase case studies that demonstrate their impact on merchants’ bottom lines. They should offer a range of valuable features, and integrate seamlessly with your existing tech stack so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
By staying on top of industry trends and choosing the right technology partners, your brand can streamline operations and drive efficiency while enhancing your customers’ experience. Learn more about how Loop can help you optimise your return management strategy for higher revenue retention.
