The effects of Coronavirus are still vivid: in this case, we are not talking about health issues, but the impact that the lockdown had on the habits of Italians and, in particular, on digital commerce. During these months e-commerce has become a priority channel for securing essential products without leaving home.
According to the Consumer Panel GfK, almost 4 out of 10 Italian families have been shopping online for the first time since March: since the beginning of the year till today, 2 million new online consumers have been registered in Italy (out of a total of 29 million). On a comparison in the first six months of 2019, the total amount was 700,000. A dynamic that pushed the business of those who work in the e-commerce sector.
Moreover, according to analysts, the online commerce sector is the one that will grow the most in the world economy, in an increase calculated up to +55%.
Investments in digital technologies, in a historical period like this, will surely repay those who have focused on Digital Transformation in previous times to adapt their offers and services to the real needs of customers.
But what are the key points to be taken into consideration while selling in e-commerce?
The cornerstone of e-commerce is user satisfaction, which must be placed at the center of the sales strategy. Reliability, quality of service, and user-friendly interface are fundamental in the customer journey through a website. Upstream, the search for reliable suppliers, guarantors of quality products, is obviously essential.
Furthermore, it is essential to adapt all auxiliary sales activities to the local context, such as communication, marketing, SEO optimization, brand awareness, and brand authority.
Speaking of communication, this is the highest obstacle to overcome to achieve the global reach of e-commerce. Investments in professional translations, which are able to create a linguistic and cultural localization project, can position your brand on search engines, adapting it to the local market.
Only through the creation of a multichannel system it is possible to make a winning e-commerce abroad, creating an independent version for each area of interest in the portal.
Fundamental for the next developments in the sector are elements for a widespread diffusion of mobile shopping and the connection to advanced services: we are talking about chatbots, voice assistants, smart devices.
The COVID experience will push to rethink both the physical and virtual retail market, with disruptive effects that nobody until yesterday would have imagined and that will strongly change the economy and business organization of many companies. If until now it was normal to receive a pizza at home, from today on it will be normal to receive a screwdriver too.
