Online sellers will look back on 2017 as a make-or-break year for their business, following Walmart’s massive $3 billion entry into the world of e-commerce.
Last September, Walmart acquired Jet.com, an online shopping site that offers a growing selection of products, including electronics, sporting goods, baby clothes, home décor, fresh groceries, and everything in between.
By the end of its first year, the site had attracted 2,400 retail and brand partners and added 400,000 new shoppers monthly. It also processed 25,000 daily orders.
More recently, the retail giant acquired Moosejaw, which products and gear from 400 brands in the outdoor/active sector.
The company has been operating for over 20 years and includes many brick-and-mortar sites.
If you are a small or medium-sized online seller, you are already facing intense pressure and competition from Amazon.
Now that Walmart is on the scene, you may wonder how you can compete with these two giants. Fortunately, the digital retail landscape has not quite grown from its ‘start-up’ phase.
Trends and technologies are still rapidly changing, allowing you to adapt your services to meet customer needs.
But don’t be fooled—this huge market growth means customers will be harder to win, fussier on price, and more demanding regarding user experience.
They will also be easier to lose to your competitors.
How to Keep Up with the Competition
Here are three steps you can take right now to keep pace with the competition:
Get Serious About Making a Plan
Gone are the days when you could play it by ear when operating the e-commerce side of your business.
A recent survey found that 77% of marketing professionals agreed that the only way to stay relevant in today’s market is to create a focused, detailed, analytics-driven plan to take their business to the next level.
Almost none of the respondents felt that simply reacting to the marketplace would work any longer. Instead, companies need to anticipate trends.
This includes streamlining back-end logistics operations, such as those offered by Sellercloud and its team of experts.
Create an Ongoing Subscription-Based Following
The move from one-off purchases to ongoing subscription-based buying is another significant trend in e-commerce.
Until recently, online purchases were divided into two distinct categories: single purchases of goods—like clothing or electronics—and ongoing subscriptions, which were primarily for software products or entertainment.
In the next few years, we will see a major shift toward subscription-based product purchases. The Dollar Shave Club is a prime example of this new development.
Founded in 2011, the company offers subscriptions to razors and other shaving products, which used to be purchased almost exclusively at the drug store.
As of 2016, Dollar Shave Club was worth over $600 million.
Find a niche where you can create ongoing subscriptions, and you will create your market that does an end-run around Walmart or Amazon.
Some examples include beer, meat packs, veg packs, snack boxes, beauty products, and meal kits. But the world is still open if you put your mind to it.
One caveat: focus on retention by providing superior customer service. A 2.5% change in your churn rate can mean a 30% increase in recurring revenue.
Invest in Chatbots
You may already have noticed that the technology behind chatbots is improving every day. Very soon, online purchasers will expect this service to be offered on the website.
For this tool to be effective, you must conduct thorough market research to discover your customers’ pain points in their buying journey.
If chatbots can help customers through these bumps in the buying road, they will be well worth the investment.
Several years ago, businesses understood they would lose customers in droves if they did not add videos to their websites.
The same scenario will apply to chatbots. People will expect them to offer rapid information and assistance with their buying inquiries.
Walmart’s entry into e-commerce proves that e-commerce has passed through its infancy and is rapidly maturing in the digital marketplace.
To be sure, there will be many areas where it is simply impossible to beat Amazon or Walmart for customers.
However, by staying on top of trends and adapting your business and customer service, you can still build a successful niche business, no matter what product you offer.
Schedule a free Sellercloud demo today.
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