Trading on the Internet

So what can we expect e-Commerce to 2021 year and beyond? Explorer Shopify Herbert Louis has formulated ten key trends that can answer this question.

Which of these trends are peculiar only to the American market, and which are very important in Russia? Let us consider , in order.

1. The volume of electronic Commerce is growing, but still accounts for only 9.1% of the total consumer sales.

According to the census Bureau United States, the proliferation of the electronic Commerce market amounted for the last quarter of 2018 only 9.1% of the total volume of consumer sales. 10 years ago the proportion was only 3.5%. Growth, of course, rather big, but, however, traditional trade still dominates.

How to do it?

First, pay attention to the relatively newly emerging online companies trend: they began to buy and open shops offline. О2О-Commerce (online to offline) is able to breathe new life into the now-familiar digital technology.

For its part retail giants are also starting to come online, aiming to provide customers in the digital space experience similar to the familiar in traditional stores. Those and other processes can be defined in one word: omnichannel.

What is happening in Russia:

Fedor Virin (Data Insight): "the Market has doubled in three years. In 2018 sales in the industry amounted to 960 billion rubles excluding delivery of ready meals, crossborder and digital content. The overall growth in online sales was 21%. It is seen that in the past two years, prices gradually stabiliziruemost. The increase in average check compared to the previous year was 2%.

Now we can see a gradual slowdown in the growth of the average check and number of orders. At the current penetration ECOM growth rate should be 5-20% higher. However, such slowing is due to overall stagnation in the retail and service economy, not the fact that the online market has reached maturity"

Maxim Naumkin (Compo): "Russia now in terms of penetration of electronic Commerce is at about the U.S. level of 2009 year. Apart from the fact that we have the whole e-Commerce market of $ 20 billion, and in America 340 billion dollars. In addition, we have a project similar to the American Amazon, not on the scale of trade, nor on the model sales and attract partners."

Vladislav Shirobokov (EcomWeek): "In 2010-2012 in the Russian eCommerce is came a lot of money. However, they disappeared, were distributed by the marketing tools, they are consumed in the best case, "Yandex", Google and service providers. Now the Internet realized a long time doing a product that needs only to them, not the customers and the entire ecosystem.

2. B2C vs B2B: midget vs giant

The online marketplace comes V2V, a real giant in the background, the traditional B2C.

If you are a wholesaler, and still not implemented wholesale in the digital space, you probably already thought about it. The numbers speak for themselves: in 2017 (according to Statista), the total volume of transactions in the B2B sector of e-Commerce reached $7,66 trillion and more than three times exceeded the volume in the B2C sector ($2,143 tln). For comparison: in 2013, the volume of B2B transactions amounted to $5,83 trillion.

Moreover, according to the survey, the average conversion rate in B2B e-Commerce accounted for 20%. For B2C, the figure is about 3%. Feel the difference?

Of course, in this industry has its pitfalls. Each buyer B2B sector is at the same time by the seller in the B2C-sector. Once having made a purchase on Amazon in "real life", entrepreneurs admire the convenience of this experience. And come to the conclusion that they want all of their business acquisitions to have such easy ways to buy: a quick, straight-optimized operation without delay between product selection and payment.

Therefore, businessmen prefer to purchase items via the website and not through a sales representative. Experimenting with B2B online sales is necessary. For example, the company Laird Superfoodby going to wholesale supply through the Internet channel, increased sales by 550%!

What is happening in Russia:

Yefim Alduchov (E-commerce Fitness): "E-Commerce for B2B companies, on the one hand, has been actively developing in Russia. On the other hand, these projects appeared more as a part of CRM or other internal processes, and therefore has your "professional deformation".

Now all market participants during the crisis and falling margins begin to think about reducing costs associated with customer service or increase in income due to removal from the market of dealers, sub-dealers and other partners, which can be easily automated through the Internet. On the horizon next year we can expect a boom in B2B-projects. The desire to retail margins and control of sales to end consumers overdue. A key factor constraining the market is the low level of competence on the part of developers and customers. However, now it is actively changing."

Vladimir Davydov ("Completo"): "On the B2B market we are waiting for huge growth. From leading manufacturers to date, there is no practice of working through their own online stores. Industry - the last place on the index of "digitalization".

In our experience, in some companies automation has led to a reduction of managers up to 90%, so this is not some distant future, and what is happening right now in Russia."

Armen Manukyan (REC): "it is not clear how to count the net B2B sales. Before reading, you need to write the Glossary to tell what we mean by B2B sales come. Let's say the buyer found the seller through the site Alibaba.com well, and then start negotiating for 2 months on the phone, after it was decided to pay through Bank letter of credit, etc.- this is an Internet sale or not? In this case actually only marketing was carried out on the Internet, and everything else - no."

3. Automation of e-Commerce is an affordable reality (necessity) today's business

If you have the secret of how to save time and money while increasing sales, whether you are with someone sharing such know-how? Ten years ago, a trade secret was marketing automation. Giants like Amazon, Walmart and Costco have the resources for large-scale research and development, built on the secret of their Empire.

Now the main secret of e-Commerce the future is automation of all processes. It is not surprising that entrepreneurs are in no hurry to talk about it. Search in Google Trends demonstrates how limited information on this topic.

However, a few tools Shopify Plus much closer to the ideal.

1. Shopify Flow

Shopify Flow is three – stage visual designer, which allows you to automate any process of interaction with clients both on the website and in the app.

2. Shopify Scripts

Shopify Scripts allows you to add automatic discounts, various payment methods and specialized delivery options that provides an individual approach to each client. Scripts offer precise control over the shopping cart and allow you to practice in optimization directly in the transfer of money.

Together, these three functions not only save time, reduce costs and sell more, but make the process simple and straightforward.

The comments of Russian experts:

Vladimir Davydov ("Completo"): "in order to make a network of wholesale online stores for one of our client, we had to synchronize heterogeneous price lists over 200 suppliers (each filed in your file and its format in the mail managers) and more than 20,000 products in a single database, then synchronize it with 1C. Without this automation suppliers and prices, no e-Commerce would be impossible in principle. After writing the 12 managers who worked with suppliers, was dismissed and the basis was to do 1 specialist.

In addition to saving Payroll managers are now in the system there is automatic monitoring of price changes, control of availability of goods and distribution of this single base on many online stores."

Angelina Aronova ("Bonus adviser"): "In my opinion, the Russian market is highly undervalued service Mercaux, which in e-fashion is actively used by such companies as Benetton, Loriblue, Kiko Milano. This subscription service, some people call an electronic mannequin that allows you to maintain sales of the brand in offline and online. Thanks to the mobile app sellers and offline shops, designers, fashion houses and fashion publications have at hand the necessary information about assortment, there are specific things in the store, and, most importantly, the most sought-after today in the fashion collection fashion lookов. At the same time, the application performs some crm-role in helping managers to control sales, stock and consumer trends. Again, another decision aimed at B2B players."

For full automation it is necessary to use the maximum amount of data: purchase history, behavior in retail (shopping, length of stay, which was trying on some shelves was delayed), all activity on the Internet (likes, reviews, shares, photos, etc.), in addition to the usual age/sex are added the most common locations (home, work), interests, income, and all that is involved in the recommendations.

4. Opportunity international e-Commerce remain largely unimplemented

According to the company McKinsey, by 2020, the middle class worldwide will join the 1.4 billion people, and 85% of them in the Asia-Pacific region. Companies selling consumer goods are required to be able to occupy a niche in the market.

For example, William Wrigley Jr., a popular manufacturer of chewing gum, has captured 40% market in China. In fact, electronic Commerce in General, shifting priorities from West to East:

However, many of the leading Internet companies encounter problems when trying to implement the potential of cross-border e-Commerce.

That in Russia?

Leonid Goldbergian (digital agency): "the Problem is not the legislative limitations of the home markets, the problem is that Russian companies have expertise in delivering goods abroad. They have no marketing and no major - no traffic, i.e. no possibility to attract traffic abroad to their product. Accordingly, there is no possibility normally to trade abroad. You need to use aggregators commodity venues such as Amazon, Alibaba, or be uploaded to the same Amazon and Alibaba directly to use their marketing infrastructure to market their goods. Also need to connect the foreign accounts and foreign companies that need to open for this Russian legal entities.

Ekaterina Dyachenko (B2B-Export.com): "by reducing the prospects and sales inside the country, export helps to find and address new markets. However, not every small and medium manufacturer can afford to start opening offices and hiring employees in offices in other countries.

And here it becomes particularly attractive, because having high quality and price competitive product, the manufacturer gets the opportunity to invest in digital marketing and start to sell, no matter what the markets and the country, because e-trade a long time knows no boundaries.

The limiting factor may be poor knowledge of foreign languages and the lack of skills in international marketing, but professionally to position yourself and your product you can learn. In addition, for example, on the online platform of export sales b2b-export.com many processes, including translation, and logistics calculation, automated, and in fact all that is required to start trading is to download your product and correctly to describe it in Russian".

If there are multiple marketplace/online stores, which are popular and allow for international sales, then the international trading system works, because this problem not only applies to Russian products."

Aleksey Komrakov (Compo): "the Russian B2B export is developing and gaining new markets. But in Russia there is no United platform where you can meet Russian suppliers are ready to ship products for export and potential buyers interested in building a relationship. The first stage of such a platform would be the ability to create "showcase" their products. Further growth potential is unlimited, and Alibaba is a vivid example."

Vladislav Shirobokov (EcomWeek): "There are other problems. For example, Russian companies that try to sell goods for export, are faced with the inability to recover VAT. In addition, our players have no experience with international buyers. Finally, Russia is simply not a particularly developed the production of products of interest to foreign partners."

Anna Kirillova (Institute of research of merchandising and conjuncture of the wholesale market):"the Ability to sell products through an international site already. Problem: costs for content localization, organization of service support in multiple languages. However, around the major platforms (e.g., Alibaba) there are already a number of consulting firms that provide needed services. Here, the question of competitiveness of products in the tax and customs regime, as well as the requirements of international trading platform.

In Russia there are successful cases when the Russian company entered the international markets when they rebuilt the business under this direction."

5. The use of mobile devices becomes the norm, but adds complications when you purchase

In 2016 the volume of mobile traffic came close to the amount of traffic from desktop computers. According to Shopify, in 2017 at the site only in "Black Friday" and "cyber Monday" mobile sales was 69.6% and 64%, respectively, which is 20% more than the year before.

Interestingly, according to Adobe, average mobile traffic in the period of big sales had 46% and purchases from smartphones accounted for 30% of the total.

Perhaps the main advantage of the portal for smartphone users is its payment system. Shopify Pay allows you to pay for purchases with mobile devices much faster. During the big sales of 400 thousand buyers spent more than $30 million three times faster than on other sites.

Director of marketing Alan Peel, Ambassador Cassinelli, seeing as during the big sales doubles conversion on Shopify Plus, said: "Rapid calculation of customer is really using the advantages of new technologies, and we have to buy them. It makes no sense again and again to enter the same information all over the Internet".

He compared the purchases using Shopify Pay a visit to a favorite cafe, where everybody knows your name, and without a reservation, bring a Cup of your favorite coffee. This experience makes shopping more personalized: the user does not feel like an abstract entity – he is a person that is recognized in the store. This store will want to return, and we all know that this type of relationship with customers is one of the main drivers of growth in e-Commerce.

Despite the increasing prevalence of mobile devices, retailers still haven't come to understanding what it could mean for their business. The most important thing is that consumers are not just browsing products from their smartphones they make a purchase. Only in the UK in the first half of 2017 the volume of mobile transactions tripled.

That in Russia?

Artem Wheat (Compo): "In 2017, about every fourth purchase was paid for through a smartphone or tablet. And according to the forecasts of research firms and our own observations, by 2020 this figure could triple.

The main limitations for making mobile purchases associated with a small screen size and the attendant inconveniences: it is difficult to see detailed information, compare products, etc. But with the development of devices, web platforms, applications and users to addictive processes, these problems will recede".

Fedor Virin (Data Insight): "In 2020 in Russia mobile sales in most categories will be more than desktop. Interestingly, mobile, basically, not cannibalize desktop sales, and appended to them. Thus, it is possible to say that this channel now is growing the market"

Alina Kisina (eSolutions): "According to our preliminary estimates, in 2017 compared with 2016, the share of purchases via desktop from our customers decreased by

13.6 percentage points and is 57.4%. The share of purchases via smartphones has increased by 16.2 percentage points and amounts to 37.2%, the rest of the purchase with tablets".

Andrew Christmas (kari): "For Russia, it is characteristic that in the regions first and only device to access the Internet is a personal phone, desktop/laptop just yet – this last century.

On their data, we see the share of mobile traffic "ate" share desktops, tablets every day lose, and so small, share. Is simple – look at the evolution of the screen size of a smartphone, every year it get bigger, now China is 5.5-6 inches is the norm, and for someone and is not enough, then why are the tablet and especially the desktop, if all you can do with a few taps on your smartphone.

The share of purchases is not yet equal to the share of the traffic, but the trend is visible and it is foolish to neglect this.

We know that a number of companies now designing primarily mobile and residual desktop, if you do not take this into account, it remains on the side of evolution."

Doomnova Oksana (goods.ru): "At that time, as the vanguard of eCommerce expressed support for the paradigm "From Mobile First to the AI First", the other participants of the market say that they focus on simplifying the shopping experience with mobile. It seems to me that mobile optimized Commerce is not a trend for next years, and must have, a minimum of hygiene in order to maintain its business in the medium term".

Although it would seem obvious that the challenges and problems faced by the buyer, sitting on the couch with the tablet, are very different from the tasks and problems of the buyer with a smartphone in hand, standing in front of a window or riding in vehicles. In fairness, some progress in creating solutions that are relevant to a certain user scenarios already, and I want to believe that they will develop into a full-fledged trend."

6. It's time natural sales through social media

Despite the experimental nature of sales through social networks, the results exceed all expectations. Why? Judge for yourself.

To date, Instagram has over a billion monthly active users. According to research by Flurry, the average adult spends on the Internet about 5 hours a day, from them half – in social networks, messengers and entertainment channels. According to the September 2018, or 18.2% of these users have made direct purchases in social media. This is only the first signs: in the future the number of such sales will grow, and positive user experiences – to accumulate.

Similarly, sales in Instagram proved successful for the store 'ORO LA. Since the launch of the monthly growth has averaged 29.3 per cent.

What is happening in Russia:

Maria Zaikina ("Conscience"): "Many were disappointed in the ability of social networking to sell because I wanted to see instant leads from investments in, say, Facebook - and they didn't happen. In the result of someone finally "wrote off" the social network into a category of image channels. Social media thus is an important part of the system of content marketing.

At the end of December 2017 in the "Conscience" began to use a new tool "Vkontakte" - mailing with app community. Just 3 weeks to receive signed up more than 4 thousand people (more than 20% of the subscribers of the group). Open rate for such mailings is above 90%. Is not a good addition to email marketing? And with each mailing a few dozen people comes a personal message to ask clarifying questions - and it is also a tool of influence. Since the connection of this tool has grown significantly and transitions from community Vkontakte on the order form cards.

Speaking about social.networks, it is impossible to lose sight of the messengers. Little telegram-channel "of the Campaign of Conscience" - (no cost except time posting, subscribers come from Vkontakte and Facebook) - for example, only 3 small c communications generated a few hundred clicks to your website".

Sergei Egorushkin (B2Basket.ru): "so far the social network is merely a channel for the hand piece sales, which is difficult to scale in a big operating business."

Maxim Samoilenko ("Rialveb"): "In my opinion, everything comes down to three simple points. First, of course, social networks have a huge audience of potential buyers everything. Second, advertising technologies and formats at the moment are extremely varied and can solve almost any tactical problem. Thirdly, the right to use them in the industry is not able to practically nobody. The intersection of these three theses ecome the future in social networking and relies on. Who will be able to organize work systematically, and get a good result."

Yefim Alduchov (E-commerce Fitness): "so far no one has learned to work systematically with social networks that produces a large volume of sales. Best cases talking about revenues of several million rubles. However, for most retailers is a few % of the turnover for online sales".

Kirill Gotovtsev ("RA Maniaco"): "In Russia this channel is, overall, not particularly successful for sales. However, it all depends on the product. In particular, it is good for sales training, and Yes, physical goods it should not be used. The same applies to the promotion of products. In General, if the social network fits into the company's strategy, its worth using. For example, in the case that it is possible to use the social network in sales, for example, give part of the lecture".

Timothy of Shikolenko ("Audiomaniya"): "Social networking is one of the two primary sources of traffic on the Network and, as a consequence, potential customers. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs are puzzled by attracting customers solely on the lowest stages of the sales funnel, while the rest of the funnel in terms of advertising is practically free.

Yes, it's harder, but a different way of development, except as a dialogue with the consumer, does not exist. Social networks provide a huge opportunity to deliver information to the right audience, this unique tools, but few people know how to use them.

Egor Pchelintsev (Wildberries.ru): "Sales in social media are more suitable for the format of the c2c or small niche stores with a unique limited range of products. Of course, the perspective of the messengers - especially in regard to the possibilities of generating recommendations for a particular user".

Mikhail Kulakov (REES46 Technologies): "According to surveys ROCIT, about half of social network users make purchases there regularly or occasionally. While 40% of purchases made within social networks in Russia is illegal (that is, the seller does not issue a receipt and does not host public offer). In social networks there appear new opportunities for e-Commerce, people see how people sell clothes or jewelry via Instagram and I also want to try. What is called a "natural sales through social media" is not regulated".

7. Micromoments Google is a new battleground for optimization

Marketing is becoming more localized. Disposable advertising messages do not work in ecommerce as before. Now the competitive advantages of the companies come from optimizing micromoments.

What is it? According to Think with Google, they include:

• Instant decision on the purchase

• The decision instantly to get rid of problems

• The desire to avoid delays

• The decision to try something new

In addition to adding content, promotional offers and targeted ads in social networks, online sellers must optimize each of these parts, including transactional emails such as receipts, confirmations and status updates.

Based on customer behavior, such messages will help generate repeat sales and improve customer engagement. According to research company Experian, the income from transactional emails far exceeds revenue from bulk mail. The level of interest and transactions also increased because buyers want to know the status and delivery time of the order.

• Offer related products depending on the season, or a purchase made;

• Show the video or give a step by step description of how to make a purchase on your website;

• Give a link to your mobile app;

• Offer a special discount to a regular customer.

As example, the message in the letter to the user at what stage the delivery is ordering, the company also recalled the events, content, news community.

Don't miss any single moment of your interaction with customers to gain their attention is not so simple.

What is happening in Russia:

Artem Ragozin ("DEMIS GROUP digital agency"): "In Russia there are not enough specialists. To build a full-fledged messendzh marketing need, this is discussed over and over again at many conferences. But realize unity.

Often the reasons lie in the reluctance to tear down a working (albeit with low efficiency) system based on the call centers. Full postal activity building, usually large ekomi who know how to count money, but also small companies who can not count money, but generating the loyalty of your customer."

Yefim Alduchov (E-commerce Fitness): "I'm sure "shots from a gun on sparrows" (TV-commercials, Medica on the Internet, etc.) is often much more effective tool than personalization, targeting, etc., and combining these approaches and purchasing power on a variety of services + the opportunity to buy the best experts in the market makes it almost invulnerable to competitors, unless the business owners are actively listening to what is happening".

Artem Wheat (Compo): "Individual transactional email according to statistics open far more often than mass messages. This is understandable - they are the result of the actions of the visitor and trust them more. Competent execution and submission of such information it would seem that in fact the letters, leads to a 3-5 times more revenue than commercial distribution. This is a good marketing tool, which is used in our country, not all companies".

Anton Shamanaev (Kokoc Group): "Modern email marketing is 70% of the automated communication of trigger messages that are tied to specific user actions. Unlike mass mailings, to trigger the emails in the first place stands the personalization and timeliness of communication, not the content - bright banners and reports of huge discounts. Simple trigger letters, for example, reminders about the abandoned shopping cart, can generate significant revenue and improve the conversion rate of all advertising channels.

After the introduction of the simple triggers, you should use very specific mechanics. It is possible to identify statistical patterns of consumption, for example, the dependence of customers from buying specific items or spending a certain amount of money in the store.

Under this law creates a separate trigger chain, stimulating subscribers to certain actions. For example, if statistics show that the consumer becomes loyal to the company after the acquisition of blankets and pillows, you can configure the automatic triggers, offering buyers to purchase blankets pillows. As a result you can achieve loyalty through personal communication at the right time. This approach works best mailings in your entire database of subscribers with a proposal of accumulation points".

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