Digital Mkting 4th ed ch 6 e-Commerce and the Retail Website

CHAPTER 6 E-COMMERCE AND THE RETAIL WEBSITE

The following links take you to content that supplements and updates this chapter of the book. Note that

I’ve included some articles that are a few years old ... don't let their publication date put you off - they are

still relevant now. The most recent posts are at end of each section.

6.1 INTRODUCTION

GO ONLINE *page 146* Retail sales online

Success in ecommerce requires a strong brand, not just a smooth experience includes some valid points. However - as with all aspects on marketing - they are not all relevant to all organizations. It's rather sad that the author's comment that 'customer experience ... is still comparatively new for many brands' is correct. E-commerce has been around for more than 25 years, why is it still new to these folks?

False Declines on credit card purchases is an unusual subject that is generally known only to serious e-commerce operators. According to ekata.com, the rise in sophisticated credit-card fraud requires new measures to reduce losses. But merchants often cast a broad net, declining any "suspicious" transaction. The result is dramatically more false declines than actual fraud. Minimizing false declines is the hidden way to boost e-commerce profits. In 2021, actual fraud worldwide is projected to be $6.4 billion. But false declines will reach a whopping $443 billion — 70 times higher. If you want to know more, there’s an eBook you can download.

Stats roundup: Online grocery retail in 2022 shows that stats from a number of sources reveal that the vast majority of groceries are purchased in real-life shops.

I reckon 3 Points About Millennials and E-Commerce is another one of those articles that present the research findings as being positive. I'm not so sure ... what do you think?

If you think that my Hill Street Motorist Shops case study isn't realistic, or is out-of-date, take a look at Primark expands online shopping offer as part of plan to ‘transform’ digital presence from September 2023.

[Note that this article is about the USA, but I think it can apply to the UK and Europe as well]. Is This How Amazon Ends? An open embrace of cheap foreign products has helped Amazon take over the world. It also might guarantee Amazon’s eventual obsolescence is a sound opinion piece which I like and agree with ... but perhaps it suggests this is a uniquely digital phenomenon? I would argue that we have seen similar before [if you're old enough]. Datsun cars for example.

6.2 MULTI- AND OMNI-CHANNEL RETAILING

A couple of stories of e-commerce in Asia Conversion Lessons from the Luggage Industry and The true cost of e-commerce in Asia

43% of Brits ditch online checkouts at the last minute in favour of Amazon

I have to say that I do not agree – or at times, understand – the premise of Decentralized commerce. However, that does not mean that I’m right and its author is wrong, so you should give it your time. I should point out something I didn’t realise straight away; the author is [I think] talking about high end products. Bear that in mind and it makes a little more sense. Perhaps it’s because I don’t buy high end products at all, let alone online.

The first sentence of Online Shopping Has Shifted to the Edge reads; ‘Shoppers increasingly use social media to discover products'. But new research shows that shoppers overwhelmingly prefer to check out on a brand site, not on social ... which sets the tone for the article.

Click and collect: What are the watchouts for retailers investing in omnichannel?

The sub-header to Boots Christmas campaign helps drive ‘strong’ festive period heralds that e-commerce drove 23% of sales. Which is great ... but it also means that 77% of sales were not online.

Livestream Ecommerce Supports Both Goal-Oriented and Impulsive Shoppers.

The Online Retail Swamp is an excellently researched and presented article showing how messy things can become.

6.3 COMPARISON SHOPPING ENGINES AND E-MARKETPLACES, THIRD-PARTY SHOPPING SITES AND SOCIAL SHOPPING

SNIPPET *page * Amazon is not everyone’s favourite ... Amazon; sellers beware?

Want to know how important post-purchase is to the modern retail experience? Just ask Trustpilot [clue? It's delivery].

It would be interesting to know if Porch Piracy Is Growing outside of the US. Not much retailers can do about it - but it is another problem for fulfillment.

How to improve customer experience when products are out of stock is another of those issues where experienced offline retailers already know the answers. It also includes interesting data that consumers who have shopped with a new brand, retailer, or website since the start of the COVID pandemic, 29% cite product availability as the reason they have done so.

Packaging - or the waste generated by it - is becoming an important issue for the Green movement ... and so reduced packaging may become a sales advantage in the near future, see Online shopping has boomed in the pandemic. But what about all the packaging?

The Best Navigation for Ecommerce Sites

‘We just need to see it as a retailer showroom selling stuff, not a social network to place ads.’ Tom Goodwin on Twitter May 2022.

In this section – and also in chapter 10 – I mention TikTok shopping ... well, no matter how successful it is in China TikTok has abandoned ecommerce expansion in Europe and US - and the same goes for Meta ... Instagram Announces Removal of Live Stream Shopping Elements.

Etsy accused of 'destroying' sellers by withholding money is an example of one of the problems of selling through an e-marketplace.

6.4 DIRECT TO CONSUMER (DTC)

Although the direct-to-consumer craze is slamming into reality raises some interesting points, it’s disappointing that the article starts with; ' ... pioneered a new form of retail, one that went “direct to consumer”'. By 'new' does the author mean 'within the last hundred years or so'?

GO ONLINE *page 159* More of the author’s personal views on DTC.

Social Commerce vs. Social Selling is a short video considering the pros and cons of this. Interesting, is that the the term 'selling' is used is a wider sense, as in informing or convincing the buyer and not the actual purchase [something I agree with].

A tale of caution which does not reflect well on Amazon - After Going All-In on Amazon, a Merchant Says He Lost Everything.

What, Exactly, Is Amazon Web Services? doesn't really belong in the book, but I find that a lot of students are not aware of AWS - and the role it plays in the Amazon organization.

How brands can harness the quick commerce boom seems very positive – but make sure you read the last paragraph. Basically, it goes with the ethos of this book; i.e. it works for some, but not for others.

In the book I mention that Nike was going DTC [Adidas followed suit after the book went to print] and I expressed my doubt as to how effective it might be ... well, before the book hit the shelves - Does Nike need Foot Locker back in the game? The brand downsized its relationship with the shoe retailer as it chased DTC sales. Now it faces an inventory glut of epic proportions.

The first few months of 2024 saw both Nike and Adidas pull back from their DTC strategies - this based on significant negative financial results. I can't be the only person with a 'told you so' smile on my face? More seriously; I'm baffled as to how these two giants of marketing could make a decision that was so obviously flawed

Beauty Pie founder Marcia Kilgore on loyalty, influencers and the lure of multichannel is a good story about real DTC.

Online-Only Startups Adopt a Bold New Strategy: Opening Actual Shops.

6.5 THE E-COMMERCE WEBSITE

The Myth Of The Great E-Commerce Acceleration

Design Guidelines for Selling Products with Multiple Variants

I have to say that I think that 85% of consumers worldwide rely on video when shopping online, but it has to be fast is a bit high … but hey ho, the comments on video download speed are interesting.

I find it both amazing and frustrating that in 2023 Here’s What Bothers Consumers Most When Shopping Online is still [pretty much] the same as it was over 25 years ago, and this list also covers [pretty much] the issues I cover in the book.

6.6 FULFILMENT AND RETURNS

Last-minute grocery businesses are a massive bag of dicks is an excellent commentary on the business aspects of fulfilment.

Amazon launches in-store pickup option for items from local businesses.

The Plague of Ecommerce Return Rates and How to Maintain Profitability

WH Smith on Deliveroo: how fast do shoppers really need a lever arch file?

I could have put Product returns are wasteful for companies and the planet in chapter 2.3 on ethics – but it is about returns, so I’ve put it here.

Christmas is a bad time for returns ... Retailers are already gearing up for a huge returns season and UK surge in post-Christmas returns reveals dark side of online shopping boom

The Nasty Logistics of Returning Your Too-Small Pants

If you’ve read the book, you’ll know why Boohoo starts charging shoppers £1.99 to return items doesn’t surprise me at all. The retailer joins other online clothes sellers including Zara, Sports Direct and Next in charging for returned online purchasers.

Charging for ecommerce returns: Can it be avoided? addresses the key issues.

Why you should avoid online returns, according to the experts.

How retailers are changing their approach to online returns.

Amazon Offers Customers $10 to Pick Up Orders at Stores.