E-Commerce Platforms: Benefits and What The Fuss Is All About
The world is increasingly turning cashless and the geographical boundaries are slowly being confined to maps. Business is being done across the globe; with customers increasingly getting used to buying stuff from so far yet so near. All this is enabled by e-commerce websites that empower commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet as opposed to cash transactions at a store.
As e-commerce platforms started taking over the cumbersome brick and mortar industry in the West; Kenyans were quick to shop on eBay and Amazon. But, just like a website loading time, the oftentimes long wait for delivery became a matter of concern to those who itched to lay hands on their fancy gadgets. Jumia, Kilimall, Technuggets and others realized this, joined the then brave new world and revolutionized the country’s retail sector. Currently, it is safe to say that more than half of the people who will be lucky enough to read this post will do so on a device they bought online.
So, what is behind the domination of e-commerce platforms in Kenya? Or, bluntly put, what’s the fuss all about?
E-commerce Platforms Performance 2017
Benefits of e-Commerce Websites.
- Expanded Geographical Reach – Since customers do not have to visit a store, they can shop from a different geographic location and await delivery. This expands a business’ customer base, leading to more sales and profit.
- Increased Visibility through Search Engine Marketing – E-commerce-oriented businesses have their services and products well-articulated in their websites, which helps their search engine optimization and marketing.
- Variety of goods – E-commerce platforms provide a framework for inventory to be well monitored. Also, due to the time provided before delivery, a business can outsource for what they don’t have at that moment.
- Provision of valuable information about your business – A website that sells would have an “About Us” and “Contact Us” tab. And since customers need to visit an e-commerce website to buy, they can be directed to the aforementioned tabs where they can get relevant information about a business; which encourages them to buy.
- 24/7 availability – Unlike physical stores, websites don’t close at night, weekends or holidays. Legibra provides dedicated servers that guarantee 100% uptime so that customers (read kings) can buy impulsively any time.
- Customer Loyalty – The seamless shop-while-your-legs-are-on-the-couch experience makes a case for satisfied customers to remain loyal as they want to live through the online shopping luxury over and over again.
- Reduction of Costs – Now that everything is online, costs for rent, personal selling, staff and overheads can be saved.
- Collection of Customer Data – Since customers provide information about what they want to buy and when, a business can analyze the data in a way that it can be used for retargeting – that is advertising related products to the buyers. For example, a person who buys a phone can be targeted to buy a Bluetooth receiver.
Caution.
Due to cybersecurity issues currently facing web application, it is important to consider data privacy and security when building an e-commerce platform. Feel free to visit Legibra for consultation on this, since we are on a mission to build safe, secure and sustainable websites.