Tag Archives: eCommerce

28 October 2024
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AI’s Impact on eCommerce Success

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INTRODUCTION

“Have you ever wondered why some eCommerce stores seem to know exactly what you’re looking for? AI is the secret behind these personalized experiences. In fact, a study by McKinsey found that AI-driven pricing strategies can boost revenue by 2–5% and cut costs by 1–2%, a game-changer for the eCommerce industry. As a loyal Amazon customer, I’ve experienced first-hand the power of AI in action, from personalized recommendations to targeted ads, all designed to make shopping seamless and tailored to my preferences.

 As AI continues to dominate industries, staying informed about its impact on eCommerce is crucial for any online retailer. Let’s delve into knowing more about the impact AI has on eCommerce.

THE POWER OF PERSONALISATION

 In eCommerce, personalized experiences have become a crucial element for engaging customers. AI enables this by analyzing vast amounts of data, such as customer behavior, browsing history, and preferences. With these insights, AI delivers personalized product recommendations, enhancing the shopping experience by making it more relevant to everyone. This targeted approach can significantly increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and sales. For instance, companies like Amazon have leveraged AI-driven recommendations to boost their sales by up to 35%, highlighting the profound impact personalization has on business success. The use of personalized marketing is very useful and effective for individual customers.

AI DRIVEN PRICING STRATERGIES  

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pricing provides sophisticated algorithms to instantly modify prices in response to market trends, rival prices, and demand. AI helps firms to instantly improve prices, balancing profit and client satisfaction in contrast to traditional static pricing. These strategies help the E-commerce company to understand about the growing trends in the market. The prediction’s is often used by the E-commerce company to adjust prices based on market demand and customer behaviour

AI and machine learning go hand in hand, all these advanced algorithms help eCommerce platforms make data-driven decisions that improve efficiency, increase sales, and enhance customer satisfaction, all in real-time.

AI FOR CUSTOMER SATISTFACTION 

Often when you use online shopping sites now a days many of those apps have indulged in involving Ai for the betterment of the site or app, the use of Ai chatbots. These chatbots help to navigate the user throughout the site or app and is very useful for answering all the frequently asked questions. These Ai chatbots are not only a resourceful tool for E-commerce but also for online learning resources. During my final exams I was using this amazing website for my study purpose “BYJUS” and the virtual Ai teacher provided just on the screen was just so helpful. It made me realise how easy AI has made our lives. 

AI IN INVENTORY MANAGEMENT  

As said above machine learning with AI is a best combination for future predictions. Maintaining a inventory checking for the requirement of stocks. The most crucial part that the company has to face, knowing about the stock requirements. In the past people have been doing manual labour for the same which was of course time consuming this could mean continuous cycles of inventory checks that took several days each month to complete. The labour-intensive process not only limited efficiency but also increased the likelihood of errors, leading to overstock or stockouts. Now with the use of AI issues like these have been solved Automated tools can now track stock in real-time, predict demand with high accuracy, and reorder products autonomously. These improvements have not only reduced labour requirements but also cut down inventory costs, allowing warehouses to operate with a smaller human workforce and greatly improved accuracy.  

Imagine working in Amazon warehouse and not knowing which stuff is where, what is out of stock and not, is such a exhausting task to fulfil. But recently with the development in AI manual labour has been cut short to half, which is amazing.  

AI IN FRAUD DETCTION  

Would you ever want to buy things online knowing you’re at risk of fraud? This was a big concern for me when I started shopping online—I wondered if my transactions were safe or vulnerable. But now, with AI in fraud detection, online shopping has become far safer. 

 AI monitors for unusual patterns, like transactions from different locations or sudden, large purchases, quickly flagging any suspicious activity. It also adapts to evolving fraud tactics, keeping up with new scams in real-time. Platforms like PayPal and Shopify rely on AI to shield customer accounts, using advanced algorithms to stop fraud before it impacts users. With AI on guard, I feel much more confident in the security of my online purchases, knowing that advanced systems are protecting my transactions. 

AI IN AUGMENTED REALITY 

With AR, you can use your camera to see how products fit into your world. For instance, apps by IKEA let you visualize furniture in your space, and Sephora’s AR feature allows you to see makeup shades on your face—all from your phone. This is a game-changer for online shopping because it lets you feel confident about purchases, reducing the need for returns and making shopping from home almost like being in a store.For eCommerce businesses, AR and AI together create a unique customer experience that boosts satisfaction and can even increase sales, as people are more likely to buy when they know how the product will look in real life. 

CONCLUSION  

As I reflect on my online shopping journey, I realize how much AI has changed the game. It used to be nerve-wracking to purchase items online, unsure if they would meet my expectations or if my information was secure. But now, thanks to personalized recommendations, real-time inventory management, and fraud detection, shopping has become a breeze. I can visualize how furniture looks in my living room with AR or get instant answers from a chatbot when I have questions. It feels like I have a personal shopping assistant right at my fingertips! As technology continues to evolve, I can’t wait to see how AI will enhance our shopping experiences even more, making them safer, smarter, and incredibly enjoyable. 

SOURCES 

https://www.intuz.com/blog/ai-in-inventory-management 
https://www.bloomreach.com/en 
https://www.bloomreach.com/en/blog/why-ai-is-the-future-of-e-commerce 
https://www.sellerapp.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-ai-e-commerce/ 
https://www.bigcommerce.com/articles/ecommerce/ecommerce-ai/ 

https://chatgpt.com/

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11 December 2023
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Customers have more power than ever before. The impact of customer reviews.

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In today’s digital era a single comment can make or break a business, it is the new world of online customer reviews. This blog is intended to show how with just a few clicks, buyers can leave a review that can potentially influence the buying decisions of others.

Why are online reviews valuable?

Let’s face it, we’ve all been there – scrolling through pages of reviews before making a purchase, hoping to find the perfect product or service. That’s why as a business owner, it’s crucial to pay attention to what your customers are saying about you online. These reviews, posted by real customers, provide a window into the experiences and opinions of others who have tried a product or service. They have the power to:

  • shape perceptions
  • build trust
  • build a positive reputation
  • drive business growth
  • lead to loss of customers

Positive reviews can draw in new customers, essentially serving as digital endorsements. On the other hand, negative reviews can signal a warning to potential buyers, directing them towards alternative options.

Why negative reviews are essential for companies and consumers | Bazaarvoice

Reviews also play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO).

For instance, Google take into account the quantity and quality of reviews when determining search rankings, as you can see in the photo. A high volume of positive reviews can improve a business’s online visibility, making it more likely to be discovered by potential customers.

Moreover, online reviews provide valuable insights for businesses to understand customer preferences, identify areas for improvement, and optimize their offerings.

Impact of customer’s feedback on others’ purchasing decision

The question to think about- when was the last time you bought something without checking out the reviews first?

Online reviews provide valuable insights into the experiences of other customers. Positive reviews can create a sense of trust and confidence in potential buyers, while negative reviews can raise concerns and prevent customers’  purchase.

Negative deviation

This can be clarified through the rational behavior hypothesis, suggesting that consumers strive to minimize online shopping risks. Hence, when there is poor comment information presented, consumers tend to choose not to buy the product.

Furthermore, according to studies conducted by Ahluwalia, Mayzlin and Chevalier – consumers generally believe that negative information is more valuable than positive information when making a judgment. For example, a single-star rating tends to have a greater influence on consumers’ buying tendencies than that of a five-star rating, a phenomenon known as the negative deviation.

And here is the dilemma for businesses: negative reviews have more impact on customers behavior, but people are more likely to leave feedback when they are unsatisfied rather than satisfied.

Negative reviews are usually inspired by emotional responses. Because of the way our brain reacts, negative emotions are processed more thoroughly. This is why negative experiences last longer in our minds and appear more urgent than negative emotions. In comparison, those with a positive experience may have already forgotten and may skip creating positive reviews online. 

How businesses can avoid the situation when their ranking is based mainly on negative reviews, though, those are also the positive ones?

Apparently, encourage reviews – actively ask customers to leave reviews after purchasing your product or using your service. Provide clear instructions on where and how they can leave a review, such as on your website, social media, platforms like Google.

Additionally, the best way to leverage online reviews for business growth is by providing exceptional customer service. By exceeding customer expectations, you can generate positive reviews that attract new customers and cultivate loyalty.

In conclusion, businesses can effectively leverage online reviews to drive growth, build trust, and create a positive reputation in the virtual world.

 It is also valuable to remember that negative reviews can be an opportunity to show professionalism, responsiveness, and dedication to customer satisfaction. By effectively operating with negative reviews, businesses can turn a potential drawback into a positive opportunity for growth and improved customer relationships.

Sources used:

https://www.google.com/maps

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865702/full

https://www.quora.com/Why-unsatisfied-customers-are-more-likely-to-leave-bad-reviews-than-the-satisfied-customers-leaving-good-reviews

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/08/16/online-reviews-the-customer-reference-that-never-sleeps/?sh=7ad5d98e2921

https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/online-reviews/

Why People Are More Likely To Leave a Negative Review Than a Positive Review
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20 January 2023
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ChatGPT IS TAKING CONTROL OF US

Reading Time: 3 minutes

What is it about?

ChatGPT is an OpenAI-developed big language model that has a transformer-based architecture and is trained on a dataset of conversational text. It can generate human-like prose and can be customized for a range of natural language processing tasks such language translation, question answering, and text summarization. The model can comprehend a conversation’s context and provide appropriate responses depending on that context. ChatGPT has been pre-trained on huge amounts of conversational data and can be fine-tuned to respond to specific domains or jobs such as customer service, language translation, news summarization, and more. ChatGPT was first published in a research paper by OpenAI in 2019, titled “Better Language Models and Their Implications”. The paper describes the architecture and training of the model, as well as the results of several evaluations that were conducted to measure its performance.

Who is the user of ChatGPT?

Many organizations and individuals use hatGPT, including:

Research institutions: ChatGPT is used by many universities and research institutes to develop new language generation models and examine the ethical aspects of big language models.

Technology companies: Google, Microsoft, and Amazon employ ChatGPT and other natural language processing models to construct chatbots and improve search engines.

Media and entertainment: ChatGPT generates captions, subtitles, and scripts for these industries.

E-commerce and Marketing: ChatGPT generates product descriptions, customised product suggestions, and social media content for e-commerce and marketing organizations.

ChatGPT benefits include:

1.ChatGPT can generate human-like text for chatbot development and language translation and also text in many languages, making it helpful for global audiences.

2.Fine-tuning: ChatGPT can be trained on a smaller dataset for specialized tasks and industries, such as customer service or news summarization.

3.High accuracy: ChatGPT has been trained on a vast dataset of conversational text and can understand and respond to many themes.

4.High efficiency: ChatGPT can quickly produce many responses for real-time applications like chatbots.

5.Versatility: ChatGPT can translate, answer questions, and summarize content.

Ecommerce uses ChatGPT in numerous ways:

Customer service chatbot: ChatGPT can be trained to answer questions regarding product availability and shipment timeframes.

Product description generation: ChatGPT helps ecommerce enterprises list their products online by generating product descriptions

ChatGPT analyzes consumer preferences and browsing history to recommend products.

Email or SMS marketing: ChatGPT can send clients abandoned cart reminders or product recommendations via email or SMS.

Language translation: ChatGPT can translate product descriptions and customer support responses into several languages, helping firms develop internationally.

ChatGPT can classify and summarize client reviews and generate product reviews.

Ecommerce organizations can use ChatGPT to create compelling social media content like product captions.

Summary:

The unlimited possibilities of this tool are amazing, but we must be vigilant and scrupulously observe its development, introduce appropriate modifications and even regulations, and only then the chat will bring us the most desirable effects that make it easier for us to change reality in our lives.

Thanks for your attention.

Resources:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/ecommerce-chatbots/#:~:text=improve%20conversion%20rates.-,What%20is%20an%20Ecommerce%20chatbot%3F,gather%20feedback%2C%20and%20track%20engagement.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00056-7

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/technology/chatgpt-schools-teachers.html

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1 December 2019
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Have companies already packed your Christmas presents?

Reading Time: 3 minutesIf you do not know what to wrap your Christmas presents in, do not worry. You still have time. However, companies that have already had to think about gift madness in July, must say something different. The packaging is one of these elements that companies should plan well in advance. In the end, Christmas is the ultimate challenge for all eCommerce owners, retailers, and marketers alike. That is why you should know what Packhelp is.

 

Find the problem and solve it

A Polish company that specializes in low-cost, one-off printed boxes was founded in 2015. The founders, Wojciech Sadowski, Maciej Zając, Konrad Kwiatkowski, Maciej Woźniczko, Patryk Kabaj, and Arek Wasilonek, have all worked in advertising and IT. One of their clients asked them to order custom boxes for his product. After some research, it turned out that it is almost impossible to place an order for a small number of boxes. Why? Because normal printing houses require high minimum orders (>500 pieces) and a lot of technical knowledge, they offer a very long turn around (30-45 days) and very high personalization costs with poor quality. Not to mention even worse customer service. Packhelp founders decided to change that.

 

A unique business model

Packhelp developers have found a unique business model. They used modern technologies to enable everyone to order personalized packaging that was previously reserved only for large companies. Through its online marketplace and intuitive web app, anyone can design and order their own packaging in just a few clicks. Thanks to cutting-edge technologies personalized packaging is accessible for everyone, rather than just medium and big business. It is the technology, unique sales process, superior customer service and constant expansion of their range that helps them conquer new markets. This year the startup has just raised €8.8 million in one of the largest Series A rounds in the CEE region. Packhelp is on track to become one of the major players in the global packaging market.

 

How is this working?

The Packhelp mobile application currently uses modern ARKit. You can choose any flat surface in your surroundings. When you turn on the application, the virtual box model will appear at your fingertips. Users can slide their products into the virtual box model and see if they fit in. The online application is to be even more automated thanks to the use of technologies based on artificial intelligence.

Packhelp mobile application
Source: https://zapakuj.to/aplikacja-mobilna/

 

Sustainable packaging

McDonald’s announced its packaging will be 100% renewable and recycled by 2025. Millennials are pushing brands to be more socially and environmentally responsible. Packhelp has a responsibility to care for the environment and help their customers do the same. That is why every single cardboard product in its range is made from a minimum of 80% recycled cardboard. This means that when you order custom packaging from Packhelp, you are getting a material that was a school book, cereal box or a bank statement in another life. Even when you’re all about eco-friendliness, you can still make that thrilling unboxing moment last longer.

If you are interested in what environmentally friendly products Packhelp offers, watch the video.

 

Perhaps your presents will be packed in boxes designed thanks to Packhelp. In any case, opening gifts is always a nice experience, and it is less than a month when you will do it. It also remains to be hoped that the producers have decided on the most ecological solutions. And more importantly, they thought about ordering packages early enough.

 

References:

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/05/packhelp-raises-a-seed-round-to-spread-the-love-of-beautiful-boxes/

[2] https://www.eu-startups.com/2019/03/warsaw-based-packhelp-secures-e8-8-million-series-a-for-its-custom-designed-packaging-for-businesses/

[3] https://packhelp.com/18-ideas-for-designing-christmas-packaging/

[4] https://www.forbes.pl/biznes/packhelp-pozyskal-10-mln-dolarow-polskie-pudelka-rozpychaja-sie-w-europie/1j6jg8g

[5] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/packhelp#section-overview

[6] https://zapakuj.to/aplikacja-mobilna/

[7] https://www.pb.pl/packhelp-dostal-paczke-pieniedzy-956112

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3 December 2017
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Net neutrality breach

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We are living in the world, where the rights of a human are valued at highest level. Freedom has always been a very controversial issue and discrimination has been persecuted for ages. Such ideas had impacted the state of our modern life, where everybody is willing to have the equal rights and the people struggle to get it at most. Today, in the time of massive digitalization, such notion does not only come along with the real life, but also is expected to cover the virtual reality, hence, the Internet. Therefore, as the Internet grows and boundaries of it are unimaginable, certain restrictions had to be made in order to control the flow of the data. Nevertheless, the right to access the data is crucial and should stay untouched.

In fact, the notion of net neutrality had been introduced in early 2000th by Tim Wu, as the main principle of the Internet operations through which “Internet service providers treat all data transmitted and accessed on the Internet equally, regardless of its size, type or origin”, says Smithsonian.com. This means that any breach to the net neutrality concept is an issue, where your Internet Service Providers restrict certain content providers from getting the equal access to their data.

According to Fortune.com, in 2015, the USA Federal Communications Commission had signed the regulation upon which “the Internet providers cannot block or slow down your access to any (legal) online content”. For example, the service provider cannot slow down your connection, when you are visiting the competitor website or different business are not allowed to pay the service provider to speed up the transfer of data, when visiting their Internet page.

In fact, the notion of net neutrality, soon, might become the issue of the past. Recently, in USA the question of net neutrality has arose again, as the current chairman of US FCC Ajit Pai is going to review and, in fact, upend the decision of the equal access on December, 14.

The principle of work of the Internet is that it allows to create the content and provides an equal access to it (until the access is limited by the providers, itself). However, if the Internet service providers would have enough rights to control the data flow and Internet traffic, it might create the imbalance. In fact, it would influence the market, where the competition would not be open and not equal. According to Fortune.com, the major content providers (like CBS in USA) might win from such change, as the service providers would be more interested to get the content from the most reliable sources.  Though, the major Internet stores, like Amazon, Ebay might lose, due to slowing down the traffic while visiting their websites, as the additional fee to enter it might be introduced. As a result, the minor content providers – small online stores, minor Internet magazines, would suffer at most due to inability to pay enough to have the faster traffic transmission. This would create a situation, where the rights of various small and local businesses that operate on the Internet would be discriminated, because of their size and low power in the market.

Why it matters to us?

For now, this issue has arisen in USA. However, we have already witnessed various countries restricting the data flow on the Internet and most of them are actively implemented today. In result, this might mean that this subject might come along the European countries, where the net neutrality seems to be valued a lot right now. Therefore, as this issue impacts the businesses, as well, it might also become the first step to the breach of the individuals’ right for freedom of speech, as social media is having one of the largest traffic and data flow on the Internet. Internet Service Providers would hunt for them at most, which would lead to introduction of additional fees, while using the social media to express the voice of individual.

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22 October 2017
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Augmented Reality – new gateway for E-commerce

Reading Time: 3 minutesMany were exposed to augmented reality in 2016 with hit game Pokemon GO, which placed gaming animations within in the real world scenario through a smart camera lens. Augmented reality isn’t just for gaming. Over in the next few years, you will see it expand into other industries like healthcare, books, and of course augmented reality e-commerce.

With the launch of iPhone X and ARkit, Now apple can be involved in the world of augmented reality. Google has similarly been experimenting with smartphone AR  since it showed off Project TAngo in 2014.  After three years company has some great technology but very little in the way of actual users.Google is signaling a reactionary shift in its strategy by releasing a developer preview of ARCore. Google’s ARCore is the answer to   Apple’s ARKit.

So what does it mean? ARCore and ARKit are the ways independent programmers and companies can create an augmented reality for your smartphone. They are not “the apps,” but they are how one would “create the apps.”

Both Apple and Google are making AR central to their mobile experience. That means companies creating new digital customer experiences can start thinking about how to harness AR for e-commerce purposes. Brands can extend the interactive and transnational experience to customers wherever they are as long as they have a mobile device in hand.

Augmented reality eCommerce can personalize the shopping experience for your customers. AR is arranged in such a way that it will increase sales by allowing customers to try before buying and, in turn, reduce returns by removing the initial guesswork. Customers want to know what they’re purchasing and AR is helping customers become more confident in their buying decisions while providing quantifiable differences for online merchants.

Overtime there will be tools that will change fashion industry . Which will allow customers to see what clothes look like on them or that show the actual size of the furniture in your space. Instead of an online store showing models wearing clothing, Customers may even able too see themselves in all of the outfits to know which will look on them and this will bring out huge revolution in online retail industry.

 

So to sum up AR has the potential to deliver these personalizes services to masses. it will change the perspective of online stores that we see today by giving a personalized shopping experience , guided by a knowledgeable curator who knows an individual shoppers style ,sizes and preferences which paves way to a new world of eCommerce

Sources :

Augmented Reality for Ecommerce

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/best-augmented-reality-ecommerceexamples

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16 October 2017
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An Overview of the Ecommerce Market Globally

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What could we expect until 2021

Our markets have been transformed digitally in every sense. Life has become much easier, compared to a decade back. People prefer to buy a product online as it helps them save their time, avoid traffic and your product is there at your doorstep. So this is a very serious market, and everyone, be it a Major company or a startup has the access to reach across their targets with ease. Its more of an equal opportunity that makes the digital world a step ahead compared to offline sales or marketing.

The eccomerce market is in a state of expansion and consolidation. There are even more consumers who are going digitally, which means worldwide retail ecommerce is sales are rising. This also means that the big fishes, that are Amazon and Alibaba are expanding their kingdom to smaller and secondary markets by buying local companies.

 

   It is said that the retail ecommerce markets are shooting up in 2017, rising by 23.2 %, i.e  $2.290 trillion. It is estimated that by the end of 2021,  equating to 16.1% of their total sales.

On a global level, Amazon and Alibaba are leading the market, around the world. Accoridng to Deloitte, report in January 2017, the sales for Amazon reached $79.27 billion, which is nearly triple of the second  largest digital retailer, China based JD.com ($ 26.99 billion). This ranking is followed by Apple on the third with $24.37 billion and Wallmart ($ 13.70 billion).

 

              

 

Alibaba is not featured on Deloitte’s list, likely because the data excludes consumer-to-consumer (C2C) sales and sales from third-party sellers, both of which make up a large part of Alibaba’s business. When those are included, however, Alibaba is likely on par, if not ahead, of Amazon.

  • Retail ecommerce sales worldwide will increase at four times the rate of retail sales this year, jumping 23.2% to $2.290 trillion. Ecommerce sales growth will stay in the double digits throughout the forecast period.
  • China and the US will combine for $1.584 trillion in ecommerce sales this year, representing 69.1% of global ecommerce.
  • In 2017, mobile commerce will account for more than 70% of ecommerce sales in both China and India, and 59.0% in South Korea. In Germany, the UK and US, mcommerce will comprise at least one-third of total retail ecommerce sales.

   Our markets are growing at a high scale everyday, and in time, we realize that the development is so high that we can’t even imagine how better the digital market can come up with a better idea, that helps lead in the competition ladder. Our future is bright, its getting smarter and faster by day.

Sources:
https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-Estimates-20162021/2002090
https://retail.emarketer.com/article/brief-overview-of-global-ecommerce-market/59690010ebd40005284d5cc5

 

 

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10 January 2016
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A farewell to the Middleman

Reading Time: 2 minutesThe typical business model, supply chain used to be quite straight forward; There is a manufacturer that sources the materials and creates a product. A wholesaler would buy the product from the manufacturer and resell it for a small margin to the retailer, which the again sells the product to the end customer. On every step of the way, a little extra margin is added to the original price of the item so that everybody gets its share. The internet has changed that.

middlemanFrom TechCrunch, to New York Times or WSJ, everybody has proclaimed “The Death of The Middleman”. The internet has made it possible for manufacturers to reach customers directly via a website. Thus creating a better offer for both ends as the intermediary does not receive its share anymore. The supply chain is getting shorter, as manufacturers started to sell directly to costumer, at times even via their own mobile application, which even allows customers to personalize their purchased goods according to their needs.

The middleman is redefining itself and we see him again as concierge service and the like. Offering that extra service the modern customer of today is asking for. But how sustainable is that? In a highly technologized world, will it not be only a question of time until manufacturers than again are able to offer state of the art service by themselves via an App for example?

Amazon may be one of the most extreme examples. Not only does amazon.com offer the largest product range on the web for the end consumer, they increasingly start to offer own products. We see products like “amazon basics”, which are sold under the amazon brand and cover products all across the categories. Amazon knows its customers and it knows them well. How can any concierge service compete with amazon offering tailor made products?

Amazon does it, Netflix does it too. Increasingly becoming a competition to Hollywood, by offering their customers their own productions, often financed with gigantic budgets that make Hollywood productions seem small.

What’s the value of a middleman in modern eCommerce?

 

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16 December 2015
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No More Privacy. Thank you.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 

Healthcare, like so many other sectors of the economy, is being transformed by technology. 

TechCrunch

 

All eyes on the transformation of healthcare to one of the most personalized products we are able to purchase. No questions asked, eHealth, along other similar term creations are among the top buzzwords this year and in the near future. Finally, Startups and VC firms seem to realize the huge potentially big data, mobile and other technologies can have on our health. Consumers realize that, there are vast possibilities to track your own health and life a healthier lifestyle. While customers, producers and investors seem to feel the changes in technology based healthcare solutions knocking on our door, it is often an outdated and inflexible legal system that prevents the revolution in healthcare to finally gain momentum. In many cases, governments do not seem to be ready for this change to happen. Furthermore, often the basic data infrastructure required for these technologies are not developed enough.

Data privacy is a big issue in healthcare, as data about our health is probably one of the most private and sensitive pieces of data each and every one of us has to offer. Nevertheless, applications like SkinAnalytics, which helps in early Melanoma detection, points out how valuable large amount of data can be in order to early detect and prevent diseases from spreading. Clinical research would be one of the first to benefit from a lift in healthcare data protection and thus everyone could be benefiting from better-adjusted healthcare solutions.

From a business point of view, companies that are early able to position themselves on the market, despite the strict regulatory framework, will have a good competitive advantage toward the new entrants, that join the industry as a result of lifts in the law. Cracking the legal code is key to success here, as the technology is already available and well used in all kinds of different sectors.

An eCommerce example of an organization struggling with a tight regulatory framework and constant pressure from organizations that rather hold on to what exist now, instead of aiming for a better development, is 1001Pharmacies.com. The French startup set out to revolutionize the French Online-pharmacy landscape had his fair share of battling with the legal environment and parties that would rather keep everything as it is, instead of working towards better and more efficient solutions.

What is the point of all of this? A call to the liberation of data privacy and legal aspects of pharmaceutical and medical laws. The creation of an environment that triggers creative solutions in this sector. Solutions that we all would be benefiting of one day.

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1 December 2015
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eCommerce Certificates

Reading Time: 4 minutesFor years, decades we have been going online to purchase, music, electronics, books and literally anything you can imagine. We should be quite familiar with shopping online, however, in this so familiar environment, trust is still an issue, if not, the issue in the e-commerce sphere.

I will be looking at the German and Polish e-commerce market. One of the most developed e-commerce market in the EU and Poland, the fastest growing e-commerce market in the EU. Both markets full of opportunities. What can the Polish market learn from the more developed and established e-commerce market in Germany? A lot, but let’s look at the issue of trust that I mentioned earlier.

A representative study sponsored by the D21 Initiative and the “Federation of German E-commerce and Mail-Order-Companies” reveals that 96% of people questioned already ordered something online. Furthermore, customers prefer shops that have been rated by other users positively, the companies are based in Germany, they are certified shops and customers do not have to pay in advance. Another interesting fact, 47% of people that have never purchased online before or rarely said that the fear of misuse of their private data is the reason why they have not made purchases online.

All these facts point towards one issue – trust. Trust is the conversion rate booster and literally the only thing that stops your users from becoming loyal customers. Trust is a rather complex construction of the human mind, usually established over longer periods of time and repetitive interaction between the parties involved. However, this will not work for first time customers. Providing excellent service and constant communication with your existing customers will help to build a loyal customer base, users that have not been customers previously will need some extra convincing to make their initial purchase in your shop.

How do we convince these potential clients that we are a trustworthy shop with excellent customer service and an uncomplicated and well-designed customer experience? First things first, the e-shop itself should be clearly structured, transparent and the order process should be as easy and uncomplicated as possible. There is a variety of elements to look at, starting with product presentation, pricing, legal representation of the shop, contact center, customer data required and last but not least an FAQ and terms of service section. Interesting fact, only about 30% of German online buyers claim to not read the “AGB” or terms of service, which is usually a very long and boring document written in legal German. This shows once again, people want to be assured that in case things go south, they are safe and backed by a legal framework and they can deal with a “real” company, with an office, hopefully located in the same country.

Customers at this point are looking to build a trustworthy picture of a shop themselves; the shop has to just facilitate that process. Let the customer find what he is looking for, offer a world-class return policy and easy shipping. Certificates like “Trusted Shops” and SSL security can help to build the image of a safe shopping environment.

Certificates as trust builder

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Certificates like Trusted Shops try to offer a guarantee for the reliability and trustworthiness of shops. People do actually look for this kind of reference on a webpage in order to build trust. A trusted shop and SSL certificate are therefore highly recommended and relatively affordable in their implementation.
Even though trusted shops tries to provide a European certificate, I think there is still room for improvement. The European E-Commerce and Mail Order Trade Association (EMOTA) is working on an own certificate, however, personally, I see here a lot of room for improvement and a stronger image and reputation, as well as higher level of recognition are required to give these certificates the desired effect. Internationalization of e-commerce seems to be still developing, as customers are highly suspicious of foreign companies on the e-commerce market. Even though, we imagine the internet as borderless space. This is especially challenging for foreign E-commerce shops that would like to enter e.g. the German market.
This is also a call out to European law makers to facilitate the development in e-commerce and provide a truly international e-commerce marketplace with a common set of rules, regulations and customer protection acts.

What does this mean for the Polish Market?

 

The Polish e-commerce market is not mature yet, which provides a lot of opportunities for e-commerce, as well as supporting functions like Logistics to benefit of the developments in the fastest growing e-commerce market in Europe. Trust is in fact a major issue in Poland, since there is still a large amount of the population unfamiliar with e-shops or even the internet in general. The market will have to educate and build trust to the customer. Certificates are not as widely spread and do not have the recognition, even though trusted shops entered the Polish market a while ago. As a lot of people are not online yet, especially in the older demographics, it is crucial to use a combination of online and offline tools to give people a feeling of trust in companies that do not have a physical shop. E-commerce leaders are so far almost without exception a combination of online and brick-and-mortar stores. This will certainly be one of the biggest challenges for the Polish e-commerce market in the future.

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