By Orla Power, marketing director Luzern eCommerce
Selling online in today’s ‘always on’ society is a world away from simply setting up a website and enabling people to buy from it. eCommerce has developed into a vast global industry worth $trillions. According to recent figures, eCommerce sales are estimated to reach $6 trillion by 2024.
We are witnessing a permanent shift in how consumers shop as consumers seek greater convenience in their purchasing habits.
The continued growth of the mobile communications market and the inexorable rise of social media use means there are many channels and access points via which consumers can find or be presented with online offerings. We’re living in the Total Commerce age – and brands need to adapt to this omnichannel landscape, or risk being left behind.
Marketplaces dominate the eCommerce space – and selling on multiple marketplaces gives brands a wider reach and a broader range of opportunities to present differentiated products and services to their target audiences. Marketplaces enable brands to launch into new markets quickly, to sell across borders through international expansion, and to increase both brand awareness and exposure to more buyers.
A Luzern eCommerce survey of key decision-makers showed that more than 75 per cent agreed that adopting a more global approach to selling is an important shift in their strategy for the long term and over 80% agreed that eCommerce is an important part of digital transformation. However, like many other sectors, the eCommerce world is facing a shortage of talent, and companies are struggling to find qualified personnel to handle current demand, let alone plan and support digital strategies for growth.
The massive unexpected and more or less overnight shift to online sales due to the pandemic caught brands and retailers by surprise, and many quickly discovered that the infrastructure they had set up for ‘normal’ trading conditions was not robust enough to handle the sudden deluge of online business. On the one hand, it’s a good problem to have. On the other, it puts that brand at a potentially devastating disadvantage if recovery is not quick. Consumers have a choice. If you let them down once, their trust can be difficult to regain.
Many eCommerce brands are still playing catch-up, trying and failing to recruit the right people to take them forward when it comes to eCommerce execution. Those losing the fight for talent can be tempted to turn to technology, but the latest platforms and technology alone cannot fill the gap. Technology needs the right expertise behind its integration, and this is where outsourcing can bring huge benefits. Specialist expert teams can be brought in to complement existing resources, help to close the skills gap and enhance overall business performance.
The ‘digital native’ generation who are the foundation of today’s technical workforce have grown up with the online world – they inherently understand the workings of eCommerce. They approach programming and process development with a natural ease and are completely at home with social media and mobile channels, how to integrate and manipulate them, and how to leverage them to best marketing effect.
Using outsourced expertise will also bring new ideas into a business – a different point of view can often be the catalyst for a new approach, or to solving a challenge or an issue. And of course, outsourcing is not a commitment to permanent employment. Specialist teams can be brought in on a project basis, with timescales and costs clearly defined and service level agreements put in place.
Luzern eCommerce has delivered notable results for our clients, working in partnership with in-house teams to help them achieve their goals. In one example, we were brought in by world-leading stationery brand BIC as they were suffering from a low average selling price, competing in a crowded category, and at risk of being delisted by Amazon. We curated and introduced innovative product bundles and new marketing strategies, resulting in BIC increasing profits by 25 per cent, among other benefits.
In another example, global brand Nestlé Health Science needed marketplace expansion expertise. We created a pan-European strategy to achieve the brand’s growth aims for its consumer health, medical nutrition and supplement brands. A resulting surge in sales of new ranges of up to 60 per cent, and a 300 per cent increase in return on advertising spend were just two of the results – of which we are justifiably proud.
With the eCommerce market promising ongoing growth, it must not be a lack of talent or a shortage of skills that holds brands back. Brands need the right strategy, technology and resources if they want to compete successfully in lucrative international markets – but most importantly, they need the right people.
The Luzern report can be downloaded here: https://www.luzern.co/reports-whitepapers/marketplaces-market-expansion
Orla Power
Orla Power leads global marketing for Luzern eCommerce, the leading European managed eCommerce platform provider. With 20 years of experience, Orla is a seasoned business and marketing leader with a focus on creating strategies to help eCommerce Brands grow profitably and sustainably online. Orla is well versed in the disciplines of eCommerce Brand Management, CX and go to market strategies using real world insights.
00 353 1 811 90 80, hello@luzern.co
www.luzern.co
