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Ensure online sales growth by monitoring product visibility, content, ratings, prices and availability on the digital shelf.

 

“Panta rei”: everything flows, especially if we talk about e-commerce. The demands and desires of consumers change rapidly, comments and reviews on products often follow one another at incalculable speeds, sometimes irremediably changing the general opinions on an object or service and, finally, the digital shelf runs out in times that are difficult to predict. . For profitable e-commerce, speed and timeliness in solving critical issues are crucial. This is why your own sites and those of resellers should be monitored, analysed and managed in real-time, with technologies ranging from digital shelf analytics (DSA) to artificial intelligence. Only with the use of pervasive and reactive technologies is it possible to increase the conversion rate and sales globally. Inaccuracies and errors pay dearly and immediately translate into lost sales.

Will e-commerce continue to grow?

Studies and analyses on how e-commerce numbers are increasing are flooding, but some data is more important to consider than others: for example, those concerning the future of online sales. One for all: in 2017, the Nasdaq estimated that 95% of purchases would be online by 2040. It goes without saying that this number should be revised, in consideration of the pandemic; Nonetheless, this percentage clearly shows the pace of shopping experience transformation and when companies will potentially invest in e-commerce technologies. According to the Digital Innovation Observatory in Retail, the increase in digital investments is already underway: retailers, in fact, have increased their incidence on turnover from 2% in 2020 to 2.5% in 2021.

Don't take the e-shopper for granted

With a potential target of over 7 billion people, knowing how consumers behave on the sites, what they consider relevant, what they read and what is the trigger that makes them click on the fateful "proceed with the purchase" button is essential. In a world where shopping is increasingly linked to when and not where, knowing how to influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers, who can choose from around 20 million active e-commerce sites around the world, it makes a difference. Information that may seem curious or not very relevant often proves to be of primary importance for the management of e-commerce. For example, knowing that 43% of Americans shop online while in bed and 25% while in the office (BusinessWire), can help define the busiest times on sites. Be aware that 40% of consumers do not proceed with online purchases when product information is insufficient or inaccurate (Inviqa.com), which serves to ensure that each product is properly presented.  Considering that this attention to content changes according to the sector becomes even more decisive: for example, according to an InRiver study in Consumer Electronics, having all the information on the product available counts for 44% of consumers, in household appliances for 27 %, 18% in cosmetics and 4% in the purchase of sporting goods. To this we must add that according to what emerged from an analysis by Invoca93% of Millennials base their purchases on reviews; therefore, monitoring them and answering any questions can be used to complete a purchase. Finally, we also need to reflect on the fact that, according to Shopify, 65% of e-shoppers prefer content written in their own language.

 

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What can a retailer who operates in a potentially saturated market do, where purchases take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week and must approach an extremely prepared and selective target?

The key is to ensure that wherever consumers shop, whether in front of a computer or using a mobile phone, they can find the products they need and the information they want. CPM and its partners have identified three, sometimes underestimated, assumptions as a starting point for increasing online sales

1. A product that is not visible cannot be sold
If in a physical store you go to a salesperson when you can't find a product, online you simply switch to another similar one. But behind the unavailability, there can be many reasons, from an-incorrect alphanumeric identification to incorrect classification up to an error in the URL.


2. An unknown or unqualified product is hardly purchased 
Consumers want to feel confident in what they buy - not surprisingly, most people regularly choose the same products. Unfortunately, it is easy to lose credibility online: inadequate descriptions, negative reviews and unanswered questions all contribute to undermining the trust of buyers.


3. A product that has long delivery times is often discarded
During the last year, in full lockdown, some delay was accepted, today consumers expect to be back to normal - or almost -. So, if the product is not shipped in an acceptable time, another one is often chosen.

In summary, to stand out from the competition it is necessary to have a digital shelf analytics tool that constantly monitors the sites of interest, but which not only checks the availability of products but also specifically analyzes the presence of images, videos, descriptions, details. technicians, prices, reviews and ratings, of its own brand and those of the competition.

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Intersport, the brand that has been operating in sportswear for almost 50 years, a customer of our partner InRiver, for example, needed to make products for online purchase more visible to help their customers find the right clothing quickly and easily. The solution was to implement digital shelf analytics technology in its e-commerce platform, in order to be able to manage products more easily and quickly identify any critical issues to be solved.


Addressing the problems related to textual and visual content for the products sold online, reducing the gap between the turnover obtained and the potentially achievable one. With the solutions that CPM and its partners make available, it is possible to monitor the visibility of its products on over 1000 sites in more than 80 countries and receive timely insights on each critical issue as well as detailed reports on the various monitored trends.

Ask us how CPM can help you track, analyse and grow online sales?

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