First off, I’d like to reveal a few interesting facts to capture your attention.
- 77% of Consumers will visit a physical store to research a product, knowing they will purchase this product online at another time
- 30% of customers trust a company’s website, compared to 22% for newspaper ads, and 21% for TV ads
- 22% of consumers learned about the last product they purchased via the internet
- By the end of 2013, it is expected that mobile commerce will account for 15% of all eCommerce
- Global eCommerce sales are expected to reach close to $1 Trillion USD this year
These facts are about as convincing as it gets, in terms of
identifying a growing market, and forecasting a future trend. The risks and
costs involved are dwarfed by the potential growth and profitability at hand.
A global push towards the online world has been largely
driven by convenience, availability and price. Consumers can now shop
high-class, boutique fashion stores in Paris, from the comfort of their lounges
in their pyjamas whilst they watch Grey’s Anatomy. I don’t know about you, but
I’d much rather be shopping from the comfort of my own home, at whatever time
suits me, without having to worry about finding a parking spot, navigate my way
through crowds, only to find out they don’t have the right size or colour in
stock.
Not only do physical stores have to compete with the
availability and convenience of online, global stores, but they have to worry
about overheads such as rent, floor staff, utilities etc. From a marketing
point of view, the competitive advantages that physical stores once had, are
rapidly diminishing.
I also thought it was quite interesting to see how often people are buying online using their mobile devices, as well as tablets. It seems that responsive websites are becoming more and more important, allowing users to view websites in an easy-to-navigate layout no matter what device they are using to browse with. It’s quite clear to see, that it seems very dangerous to ignore the rise of eCommerce in the global market, because it could have enormous ramifications in the growth of your business.