From Selling Drugs to Delivering Panties by Drone: How to Hack E-Commerce in 2022

In his book ‘What the Dormouse Said’, John Markoff mentioned ARPANET as the seminal act of e-commerce.

However, it’s undeniable that the platform to arrange cannabis between students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is still known as the first online selling platform. Yes, the e-commerce we see today started as a drug-dealing platform in 1971-72.

Fast-forward to 1995, Amazon was launched, followed by eBay in the same year. This was the year that started a completely new journey in the e-commerce industry.

In the coming years, numerous platforms like Alibaba, Flipkart, etc., came into existence. It was then that we started noticing the modern day of doing business.

It’s irrefutable that since its advent, the online commerce industry has changed drastically. That includes the purpose it started for. Just to add to your knowledge, a recent report released by Builderfly, shared the most profitable products in 2022, and guess what, drugs aren’t part of it.

This can be well proved with the fact that in 2020, the global e-commerce market touched USD $4.28 trillion, and it’s expected that in the year 2021, it’ll touch USD $5.4 trillion.

Alluring!! Isn’t it??

The extravagant figures didn’t come overnight. The journey had been exorbitant. While numerous tech enthusiasts didn’t leave any stone unturned, user penetration and buyer participation inspired them at each step.

Understanding Forms of E-commerce

Over time, online commerce has evolved and established itself into various branches and sections. While terms like eCommerce (coined around 2013) and ecommerce have also become prevalent, e-commerce can be well-bifurcated in two segments. They are:

1- Based on what you sell: The segment includes everything from digital to physical products and meta-services that facilitate various forms of e-commerce.

2-Based on whom you sell to: The participants have diversified with the time. This includes B2B, B2C, C2B, and C2C.

Though initially B2B and B2C were widespread, with the increase in participants and products, the forms further expanded.

What’s Still Common in E-commerce?

Despite numerous changes that transformed the entire e-commerce industry, few factors have always remained common.

These factors will give you a clear idea of not just buyer and seller expectations, also the factors that assured growth of the e-commerce industry. Let’s have a look at these factors and have in-depth knowledge.

1 - Experience

When I say experience, I intend to highlight every little thing that starts from a buyer entering an e-commerce store to leaving after making a purchase.

Not just this, it can be further extended to factors like after-sale support, delivery time, return policies, etc. It has been often noticed that buyers return a product for some reason, but they come back and make another purchase upon receiving a good experience.

Talking about the e-commerce industry, since your store is your first impression and they can’t meet you in person, you must leave no stone unturned to deliver a seamless experience to your buyers.

2 - Beyond the Traditional Ways

E-commerce provides a wider audience and better scope for making a sale. Also, buyers can purchase from anywhere across the globe while being in the comfort of their homes. Not just this, traditional brick-and-mortar stores require a huge cost of establishment and maintenance. On the contrary, starting an online store is highly cost-effective and can be started with as low as zero investment.

Underlining these factors, experts believe that each of them played a pivotal role in the growth and acceptance of the e-commerce industry over the years.

3 - Data Security

During the initial years, buyers and sellers had a concern related to data security. However, with the evolution in technology and over a period of time, both buyers and sellers eventually began trusting, and today there’s an inevitable bond shared between the two.

Tech advancements have ensured the security of crucial data like contact details, revenue generated by a store, passwords, credit card details, etc.

While data security has been a major challenge in the web world, technocrats have consistently ensured to release updates to avoid any security breach in data. Perhaps, it is the successful implementation of the same that ensured the growth of the e-commerce industry.

4 - Mobility

From the moment we started talking about e-commerce, the first thing that comes to mind is the ease of buying and selling across the globe. It is the same mobility, which has made the e-commerce industry globally recognized and flourish with time. While the journey started with web stores, today's e-commerce mobile apps and mobile-friendly web stores have become a need. These innovations have further adorned the e-commerce industry with enhanced mobility and ease.

Though the same advancements haven’t been since the advent of e-commerce but based on the need of time, required introductions were made. Perhaps this is what kept the buyers and sellers engaged and maintained their trust.

What to Expect From E-Commerce in 2022 and the Days to Come?

Let’s take this duration as a post covid era. The reason behind doing so is that the industry has significantly transformed in the last year. While developed nations like the United States have largely accepted online commerce, developing countries like India and others in the APAC and MENA region were yet to join wholeheartedly.

However, post covid, a sudden inclination has been noticed in these countries. Talking about India in particular, the e-commerce industry generated revenue of around USD $84 billion in 2021. This is close to a 200% hike compared to USD $30 billion in 2020.  

The chart reflects the growth rate and expectations from the e-commerce industry in the coming years. These figures are based on numerous surveys and close analyses of the market.

But did you know the factors that drive these numbers and factors that will be influencing the growth or fall of the e-commerce industry in the future? If not, let’s have a look at some of them.

1 - Preparing for Uncertain Times

Irrespective of the country or its growth rate, the recent pandemic hit hard in every corner of the world. This created a sense of fear primarily among the businessmen.

That’s because brick-and-mortar stores were closed for a long duration and this resulted in not just decreased sales, but also loss of inventory.

During and post-pandemic, an upward surge has been noticed in several SMBs, brands, and independent sellers opting for e-commerce over or parallel to physical outlets.

Market analysts believe that the same trend will follow in 2022 and more participants will join the race. The increased participation will surely raise the standards and ‘all things good’ can be noticed by at least the buyers.  

2 - Low Maintenance

I have mentioned earlier in this post that an e-commerce store can be started with as low as zero investment. Not just this, even maintaining an online store is cost-effective compared to a physical outlet. You do not require additional staff to serve the customers or manage day-to-day hassle. Depending on your business size and the products you are catering to, you can define the number of resources required.

Besides, since you do not require a physical outlet as big as in a physical presence, you save a fortune over years. This saved amount can be further used to market and promote your products. Remember, the key to growth in this ultra-competitive market is delivering the best products, creating engaging marketing strategies, and providing seamless support.

3 - Enhanced Reach

Covid made it impossible/difficult for sellers to reach buyers even in their locality. Pertaining to government guidelines, opening the physical store and making a sale felt impossible to numerous buyers.

This is why most of them made their first switch to taking their business online. This helped them run their business even during the tough times. Now that people relished the ease of selling online, not only will they continue, but others are making a shift looking at the success rate.

In the coming year, this will be one factor to drive the growth of the online market. Experts believe that in the year 2022, more and more businesses will adopt web over physical outlets. This doesn’t mean that physical outlets will vanish in the near future. It is believed that they’ll go parallel with online selling and establish a balance, which might eventually fall in favor of the e-commerce industry.

4 - Better Growth Opportunities

Since buyers have shown immense trust in online shopping and even the governments portrayed support, it is believed that in the coming year, there will be more growth opportunities. In the last couple of years, investors have shown immense trust in online businesses. Now, looking at the current inclination, it is believed that more e-commerce startups will be funded and supported.

Also, it has been noticed that most buyers today don’t rely on a particular marketplace or store. They are comfortable buying from a new store. This trust will further add to the growth opportunities for e-commerce startups and independent sellers.

5 - Same Platform

Looking at the e-commerce growth chart and list of participants in the year 2021, it is evident that the following year will bring startups and brands on the same platform. While on one hand, it’ll increase competition, on the other, it’ll give a better stage for fresh businesses to grab the attention of their target audience.

This might seem difficult initially, but with a profound marketing strategy and flawless service, you too can ensure relishing extravagant growth rates.

How to Surpass eCommerce Hurdles in 2022

The section we just discussed could have possibly raised your brows considering the competition. To help you with the same, I decided to share with you a quick sneak into ways that can help you surpass e-commerce hurdles in 2022. Let’s have a look:

1 - Generate Urgency

“Buy today and get 30% off”, sounds enticing, right?

That’s what I mean when I say create urgency. This is just one example, there are numerous ways you can do this. Don’t forget, your buyers know that they have to buy a certain product. It’s your responsibility to make them do it at the earliest.

2 - Gamification

Marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, etc have been using this for quite some time now. However, in the last few months, numerous startups have also started experimenting with this strategy.

Grab attention and engage your target audience through compelling gamification strategies and have yielded irrevocably good results.

3 - Prompt Delivery and Free Shipping

Don’t you agree that products that get delivered in a day or as early as possible are the preferred purchase?

I understand that we can’t change the product, but shifting sellers or online stores can help us make not just prompt purchases, but also fast delivery. Another thing that matters is free shipping. You just need to figure out the way to offer it without impacting your revenue.

4 - Cross-Selling and Upselling

This one’s a highly adopted technique. While cross-selling is suggesting related or complimentary products, upselling involves suggesting comparable higher-end products.

Having this feature in your store will allow you to enhance the chances of increasing your sales and customer LTV or SPV. The Operandi is largely used by numerous brands and startups.

5 - Dynamic Pricing

You may also call it flexible pricing, demand pricing, or surge pricing. Under this, you mold the price of your products based on various factors. Some of the common examples of this can be noticed in cab booking services, tickets for professional sports, flight and hotel booking, Google Ads, electricity companies, etc.

6 - Being Omnipresent

Be it joining a marketplace or selling on your online store, you inevitably ensure being present across the globe.

To top it off, you must also consider selling on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, etc. You can also leverage WhatsApp and Google to further get noticed and increase your chances of making a sale.

7 - Being User-Centric

Last but not least. Irrespective of what you sell or to who you sell, don’t pitch or interact with your potential buyers like a seller.

One of the reasons e-commerce is flourishing is that people don’t like bugging salesmen or boring sales pitches. Acknowledging this, be it your marketing strategy or user journey, define it all in favor of your buyers. This will help you gain their loyalty.

Before Signing Off

The e-commerce industry has huge potential in times to come. If you still haven’t joined it, it’ll be wise you do it at the earliest if possible. The earlier you hop in, the more are the chances of getting success sooner. All you need to do is remember the points mentioned above. Selling online won’t be rocket science if you plan your marketing strategy and customer engagement, keeping your audience in a mind.

I hope the write-up helped you learn a little extra about the e-commerce industry. I’d be happy to guide you further.