The pandemic has spared no industry, but its impact on retail was significant. Soaring eCommerce has opened up great opportunities for retailers to thrive and succeed in the online market.

While the eCommerce space has become very competitive as more and more retailers switch to online business, many myths and misconceptions are prevalent.. We decided to bust some myths about eCommerce. 

So, let's begin!

Myth 1: Email Marketing is Outdated

Everyone is carried away by the buzz of social media marketing today. Most people think that email is outdated and it's not a great idea for branding or marketing. Yes, email marketing doesn't work sometimes. But it's primarily because of the strategy, not the channel. 

Many times, eCommerce owners are  under the impression that too many emails can directly go to spam , or customers may ignore emails, adding little value to your campaigns. However, an appropriate email marketing strategy can have you rethinking that. 

Fact 

According to the Direct Marketing Association, Email marketing yields an average 4,300% return on investment. The significance of email marketing is that it gives scope for personalized and targeted emails, referred to as triggered emails. According to Clevos, personalized, triggered email has a 4x opening rate than general emails, resulting in better revenue and conversions. You just need to make sure that you don't send too many at close intervals.

58% of people check their email before going on social media, the news, or the internet. As the competition gets tougher, customers have become accustomed to avoiding emails; but you can catch their attention with fresh, unique content and the right email marketing strategy.

You can also adapt email marketing tools to send and track emails. eCommerce tools segment your lists, and combine all your marketing channels to turn the platform into a powerful solution to grow your business and earn more revenue. 

Myth 2: Personalization is not Relevant 

eCommerce marketers feel that personalization is unnecessary to reach potential customers, as certain concerns hold them back. They think that personalized experiences can only be leveraged if a considerable amount of data is collected from a customer regarding his/her attributes and past purchase history. Marketers also believe that personalization is too technical and implementation is complex. They perceive personalization  as too expensive and not worth the investment.

Fact  

eCommerce is a competitive industry. 90% of consumers in the US find the idea of personalization appealing. And understanding your customer intent and offering them a top-notch experience is crucial. With in-depth analysis and personalization, marketers can increase customer satisfaction, leading to higher sales and conversion rates.

Also, data collection is not an arduous task. First-timer interactions such as page views, clicks, mouse hovers, product selected, cart summary etc. can be tracked and are quite useful.

Around 88% of marketers in the US saw measurable results from their marketing personalization efforts, which hints to us that implementation is not that complicated. A personalization platform and customer onboarding are easy with the right personalization strategies.

Argoid's personalization AI could be your ideal choice for personalization assistance. This platform can help you convert, retain and acquire customers with Argoid's AI-driven eCommerce website personalization software.

Myth 3: Revenue is the Only Metric that You Should Care About

Tracking your business growth can help you understand your progress, failures, prospects, etc. Many eCommerce leaders believe that profit and revenue are the most critical parameters worth considering while analyzing your business. Marketers are sometimes so obsessed with profit that its relevance is considerable; it can overshadow the importance of other key performance indicators                        

Fact 

Revenue and profit are not the only metrics you should consider. Other important metrics to track are conversion rate, bounce rate, churn rate, retention rate, and inbound traffic. These metrics are essential to understand whether your marketing efforts are bringing you the expected results or not. These statistics can tell you a lot about which strategy is working and what needs improvement in your eCommerce store.

Myth 4: Shipping and Packaging are Secondary 

A bad delivery experience can break your business. Even if you have the best products in the market, inadequate packaging can cause a huge loss to your business. A late delivery, a damaged product, too much package waste, delivery to the wrong address, even a small error can cost you much.

 Fact  

According to a GEODIS report, 40% of companies use delivery performance as a key performance indicator when monitoring their eCommerce supply chain and logistics. Consumers are becoming more and more environmentally conscious. They don't want plastic packaging. Also, they don't prefer too much waste from packaging. eCommerce marketers should consider all these facts and provide customer-friendly eCommerce packaging. 

As the world of ecommerce expands so do the expectations of customers who buy online. But today people are looking for shipping, packaging and presentation as part of the ecommerce experience. 

Innovative packaging and presentation can be an effective way to set yourself apart. This increases the chances of the customer placing more orders, thus leading to increased ROI, conversion rate and business growth. Also, offering services like free shipping can fetch you more customers. 72% of Amazon Prime users cite unlimited free delivery as the most important benefit.
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Myth 5: eCommerce is an Easy Road to Success

Offline retailers may feel that an eCommerce store is pretty simple to operate. They assume that it requires minimum effort since you do not have to run a shop physically and regularly interact with customers. 

Fact 

According to research, 46% of American small businesses still don't have a website because managing a website is tiring. eCommerce stores have challenges like dealing with queries over calls and emails, handling returns, dealing with multiple stakeholders for shipping and processing delivery, etc. Starting an eCommerce store means consistent hard work and regular market research. 

Final Words

Even if you are a very successful eCommerce company, you could be tricked by the myths that hold you back from achieving success. Now that you've seen the reality hiding behind these myths, start looking at areas where you see limitations to your growth. This could also be the right time to rethink and make personalization your priority 

Want to know more about personalization? Talk to us!