How To Optimize An Ecommerce Business For Success in 2023

For the past decade, eCommerce has grown exponentially.

According to Oberlo, the global eCommerce growth rate for 2022 is forecast at 12.2 percent, bringing global eCommerce sales worldwide to $5.542 trillion.

For instance, eCommerce sales growth worldwide is expected at 11 percent in 2023, a 1.2 percentage point dip from 2022. This will fall to ten percent in 2024 and further to 9.2 percent in 2025.

Despite the falling growth rates, the ecommerce share of retail sales is expected to increase. In 2022, this figure is forecast at 20.3 percent and will increase to 23.6 percent by 2025.

Over the long term, the e-commerce market has plenty of room to grow and could increase from $3.3 trillion today to $5.4 trillion in 2026.

“We believe that the Covid-driven bump will not flatten future e-commerce growth,” says Brian Nowak, an equity analyst covering the U.S. internet industry. He sees e-commerce reaching 27% of retail sales by 2026. “Across the world, we have yet to see a ceiling for e-commerce penetration.” ~ Morgan Stanley

Trending eCommerce Growth Worldwide

According to Shopify, since COVID-19, eCommerce has boomed worldwide and has caused accelerated online business growth. More people are shopping online than ever before. People that have never shopped online are now discovering the ease of online shopping.

In 2021, retail e-commerce sales, including digital services, are projected to amount to almost 843.15 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 6.1 percent increase from the previous year. The slight decline in growth because of the coronavirus-related economic downturn in the United States. However, the growth of U.S. retail e-commerce revenues is projected to speed up to an annual rate of 12.3 percent in 2024.

Retail stores have been forced to either start an eCommerce store or actually optimize their eCommerce store to be part of the online explosion and create an omni-channel experience that customers can use whenever they want.

eCommerce growth worldwide by %

Image ~ Shopify

Table Of Contents:

1. Create omni-channel strategy

2. Increasing multiple touch points

3. Prioritize mobile shopping experiences

4. Faster and cheaper options

5. Sustainability and brands

6. Personalized Shopping Experience

7. Enhanced Content for more engaging experiences

8. Location-based marketing

9. Speech-enhanced search

10. Automate inventory management

11. Streamline your return process

12. Automate your shipping delivery messages

1. Create an omnichannel strategy for your business instead of a multichannel strategy.

What is an omnichannel strategy?

An omnichannel strategy is a method that helps you create a seamless experience for customers across all the channels through which you sell. It encompasses the online and offline touch points of your brand, from a point-of-sale system to an Instagram shoppable post, and it's not just for retailers anymore.

What is the difference between Omnichannel and Multichannel?

Omni-channel is a buzzword that has been around for over five years but is still often confused with multi-channel for retail.

Most retailers are now multichannel, selling their products across over one channel. Very few, however, are truly omnichannel.

Here is an excerpt from Shopify:

• Multichannel retail (i.e., “many” channels), revolves around your product and lets customers engage and purchase natively wherever they shop but often treats channels as silos independent from one another. Each channel in a multichannel strategy exists as a separate purchase opportunity.
• Omnichannel retail (meaning “all” channels) revolves around your customer and creates a single customer experience across your brand by unifying sales and marketing that accounts for the spillover between channels

Retail businesses have to optimize across channels like online marketplaces, social media, retail, and wholesale for a seamless shopping experience.

Your eCommerce and retail business will be on the same page, so to speak. If your customers are in your retail store, they can check the availability of your products online.

2. Increasing multiple touchpoints

The competition is fierce for both retail and eCommerce stores. It used to take only 5 - 8 exposures of a brand per conversion. With the increasing competition, brands have to increase consistent exposure.

This trend is part of the omnichannel experience for consumers. The demand for more relevant information is the impetus in this situation.

Increasing multiple touch points is important, but it also has to be consistent, relevant and entertaining.

3. Prioritize mobile shopping experiences

It is beyond a responsive site template and a readable display. Your shop must include fast page-load times—even on pages filled with product photos—as well as easy-to-navigate menus and the simplest possible secure payment options.

Shopping via mobile devices has become increasingly common among the online population. In 2020, U.S. mobile retail revenues are expected to amount to 339.03 billion U.S. dollars, up from 207.15 billion U.S. dollars in 2018. According to a February 2019 survey, 51 percent of mobile devices owners stated that they had used a mobile retail app to buy a product or service in the past month.

With mobile payments becoming increasingly popular among younger generations, however, and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic visibly impacting shopping behavior in the United States, the shift from physical to digital financial systems is being encouraged at an unprecedented pace.

Think AMAZON PAY in your store. Amazon pay gives your shopper the opportunity to pay with the credit card they have on file with Amazon, a trusted shopping platform. This includes PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payment app that boasted 441 million users worldwide in 2019.

4. Faster and cheaper options

Consumers need the choice between different shipping options, because shipping carriers, for instance, UPS or FedEx, might not deliver in remote areas.

Here are some facts for shipping:

64% of consumers want their orders shipped for free

67% of U.S. consumers expect either same-, next-, or two-day delivery

72% of global consumers want brands to use sustainable packaging

A full 65% of consumers check free-shipping thresholds before adding something to their cart

And free shipping is just the tip of the iceberg: 39% of U.S. shoppers expect two-day shipping to be free, while the same-day shipping market in the U.S. is forecast to top $9.6 billion in 2022.

5. Sustainability and brands

Today’s shopper wants shipping to be not only fast and free, but also environmentally conscious. Three-quarters of U.S. consumers are more likely to buy a product packaged sustainably. Many will also pay a premium.

The focus is on zero-waste packaging, where all materials are used, reused, or recycled. Minimalist packaging and smaller package sizes also help businesses reduce their carbon footprint and shipping costs.

But companies must also weigh consumers' desire for custom or branded packaging against their demand for environmentally friendly packaging.

Packaging can have a big impact on customer purchasing decisions, increase your customer's loyalty to your product, and inspire them to pass along their positive experience with your product.

Consumers globally report a greater propensity to buy from companies with a reputation for environmental responsibility.

6. Personalized Shopping Experience

Shopify surveyed buyers leading up to Black Friday and found that 59% said they welcomed personalized product recommendations. Brands targeting millennials have an even bigger potential—that number jumps to 78% within this segment.

Going to your local store, the shopkeeper knows you and what you want. This experience needs to be created in your online store.

Your customers need to feel special and valued, and a great way to do that is to give them an experience they can't get anywhere else.

7. Enhanced Content for more engaging experiences

There are over sixty billion messages shared on digital platforms each day, and the average person is exposed to between four thousand to ten thousand ads a day. This bombardment of stimuli has changed the way we communicate and market content both online and off. In fact, research shows that you have less than three seconds to capture a person’s attention. With such a short window of time, we need to hook audiences quickly, efficiently, and consistently if we want to successfully fuel brand awareness and growth.

8. Location-based marketing

Location-based marketing puts the possibility within reach in a way it never was before. You can push out an offer or CTA (call-to-action) to your audience when you know they’re within a close range of your store – right when it’s most convenient for them to take advantage of it.

So if you are local, include curb-pickup or local delivery, which you can make more of a brand experience and actually meet your customers personally! HUGE! 

9. Speech-enhanced search

Smart speakers have become a normal household item. Google, Alexa, and Siri have changed the world as we know it. Mobile shoppers are searching the internet via voice commands.

Top Voice Search Statistics for 2020

• Google reports. External Link. Opens in new window. that 27% of the online global population is using voice search on mobile.
• eMarketer predicted. External Link. Opens in new window. that over a third of the US population (111.8 million people) would use a voice assistant monthly in 2019, up 9.5% from 2018.
• ComScore reports. External Link. Opens in new window. that more than half of all smartphone users are engaging with voice search technology in 2020.
• A Gartner study. External Link. Opens in new window. predicts that 30% of all browsing sessions will include voice search by 2020.
• Voicebot.ai. External Link. Opens in new window. reports that over half of all adults have used voice search, with 33% using voice search monthly in early 2019, jumping up from 25% in 2018.
• A 2018 study from BrightLocal. External Link. Opens in new window. found that 58% of consumers used voice search to find a local business in 2017, and 46% of people using voice search daily are searching for local business.

10. Automate inventory management

Inventory management is key to building an efficient fulfillment network. Your inventory management system should accurately forecast demand so that inventory can be purchased, replenished, and managed effectively.

If you’re managing inventory in multiple locations, your inventory management system should also use automated, rule-based order routing to match orders with stock in warehouses closest to the customer. This saves time, expedites fulfillment, and reduces shipping costs.

11. Streamline your return process

The investment makes business sense when 96% of consumers will shop with a retailer again based on an “easy” or “very easy” return experience.

Instead of returns, consider incentivizing customers to exchange products or accept store credit. This saves on restocking fees, retains customers, and reduces shipping expenses where customers keep damaged or used items that can’t be resold.

12. Automate your shipping delivery messages

Automate order notification emails and SMS to let your customers know when their orders have been received, packaged, and sent out for delivery.

66% of shoppers already know of supply chain delays and are looking for greater transparency. 45% of shoppers are actively trying to find out about expected delivery times from businesses before making a purchase.

Create an automated system to inform your customer every step of the way about how long the processing is when the item is shipped, and delivery times. Customers want to be more informed, and more information is better than less.

I recently had a good experience with customers of an online store Moyocollection.com. When I informed them of the package's progress, I realized they appreciated it. I kept them updated by email, SMS, and phone calls.

I have since automated the process with our email services - Omnisend.

The Shopify Experience