Brand value increases across categories

Thought Leadership
E-COMMERCE
BECOMES
EVERYwhERE
COMMERCE
Brands face stark choice: adapt or die
Sue Pratt
Head of Marketing
spratt@salmon.com
78 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013
YESTERDAY’S DEFINITION of e-commerce is dead.
The rough definition—buying and selling over the
Internet—is inadequate for today’s commerce companies.
Today’s shoppers expect to shop anytime/anywhere, to
buy every kind of product, to use whichever device or
channel suits them at that moment and to be recognized
and valued for their custom. Today’s business leaders
(whether brands, retailers or B2B businesses) are
grappling with increased shopper expectations, rapidly
evolving technology and new sources of competition.
So, should we now drop the “e” and call this form of
transaction just “commerce?” Since all commerce today
involves electronic systems and the lines between the
online and offline worlds are blurred, the “electronic”
in e-commerce may be redundant. Another approach
would be to redefine it as “everywhere commerce” so that
we can focus on the big opportunities and challenges in
e-commerce today.
To assess whether a company is adequately recognizing
this shift in commerce and taking the necessary steps
to be present everywhere, business leaders need to ask
themselves these key questions:
Every country
Are we offering international shoppers a seamless
experience? Are we reaching potential shoppers in fast
growing markets? Are we personalizing the shopper’s
experience based on his/her location?
Every device
Does our e-commerce platform support the wide (and
increasing) variety of devices and browsers? How are
shoppers using their devices? Are they using a smartphone
and laptop at the same time and in complementary ways
or at different times and then keeping them in sync?
Every channel
Are we supporting every possible route into an
e-commerce transaction? These include: social
networks, brand marketing, physical stores or branches,
wholesalers, Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces,
aggregators and choice engines that simplify options to
help consumers make better decisions.
Every shopper
Are we personalizing the shopper’s experience based
on the current context plus his/her past and predicted
behavior? And are we catering to both B2C and
B2B shoppers?
Every interaction
Are we delighting our shoppers every time they interact
with our brand (whether on our own web properties
or elsewhere)? Are we delivering excellent service right
through the customer experience: from brand awareness,
to product awareness and purchase, as well as the
delivery, returns and customer service processes?
Every product
How effectively are we managing product information,
pricing, inventory and returns across our own, third
party and drop ship supplier locations?
Every piece of data
Are we gaining enough insight from the mass of data
available on our shoppers’ interactions? What new
opportunities are offered by the exponential growth in
data from smartphones and social media (big data) and
from information disclosure?
Every business model
Have we just taken our pre-Internet business model
online or have we really exploited the new opportunities
offered by the Internet? Which aspects of our old business
model can be blended with digital to offer a differentiated
proposition? Can we integrate with our legacy systems?
How do we keep up to date with new developments like
Google Shopping Express?
Every delivery option
Are we meeting the needs of those shoppers who want
the product in the next hour or the next day as well as
those who are willing to wait until next week? And what
about those shoppers who want a one-hour delivery
slot or want to pick up from a nearby location at their
convenience, not ours?
Based on the answers to these questions, business leaders
need to decide on priorities and start making changes to
adapt to this new environment. The name change from
electronic commerce is important, not just because the
term too narrowly defines the today’s reality, but also
because it confines thinking. The term focuses thinking
on the wrong problem.
E-Commerce Becomes Everywhere Commerce
Retailers need to think about how strategic use of
technology, mobile location-based services and big
data can improve life for the customer, unify the
brand experience across all venues and provide a
competitive advantage.
“Everywhere commerce” is here already and the choice
for today’s commerce companies is stark: adapt or die.
The 6 E’s of Everywhere
Commerce for retailers,
brands and B2B businesses
1. Execution
Now that everyone agrees that e-commerce is
strategic, executing at speed is the major challenge
for large businesses. An agile approach will help
deliver business benefits quickly, while remaining
open to future change.
2. Easiness
Make it easy for all shoppers to shop with you,
anytime, anywhere, any device.
3. Excellence
Customer experience of excellence is highly
correlated with improved customer loyalty and better
financial performance. Structure the business to
deliver this efficiently and consistently.
4. Experience
Bringing the in-store experience online can help
retailers offer a differentiated proposition. Brand
owners can use digital channels to create emotionally
engaging experiences for their end consumers
(and collect valuable data) even when the purchase
transaction is completed elsewhere.
5. Emergence
An emergent approach to strategy will help keep you
aware of evolving trends and technologies. Innovative
ideas can come from anywhere inside or outside the
company and an emergent approach allows these to
be incorporated in the company strategy.
6. Exploitation
Be careful not to introduce new technology for its own
sake. Focus first on understanding customer behavior
and then how technology can enhance this. Exploit
existing technology before buying new.
Salmon is a highly innovative e-commerce digital agency
helping leading retail, wholesale and manufacturing
brands define, deliver and exploit enterprise-scale
e-commerce and multichannel operations.
www.salmon.com
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