Are there any eCommerce development possibilities beyond the retail industry? According to Gartner report, the majority of non-retail industries have a potential to grow profit improve their business stance by offering digital services.
ECommerce is showing great growth stability with the medium growth of 17% per year. Indeed, the majority of people stereotype eCommerce as an extension of offline retail sales. But it has more to it as banking, publishing, travel, transportation and other industries have underdeveloped their eCommerce potential. In a chart below you can see the online growth potential of companies and industries.
The true depth of eCommerce is much wider than just retail. It actually scopes more or less across the majority of industries. The professional eCommerce community has discussed this issue numerous times, but non-retail industries still remain largely underrepresented in the digital commerce world. Those companies which have relevant experts in the field take advantage of this opportunity and understand that eCommerce industry can succeed far beyond retail.
So how can non-retail industries engage in eCommerce? What are the challenges and solutions?
One of OrbitLift’s customers, a global B2B shipping company, has recently taken proactive steps to identify itself as an eCommerce business and provide its services online and globally. We helped the company understand that advanced analysis and customer segmentation in non-retail eCommerce sites is much easier to perform and has significant advantages compared to retail.
This B2B eCommerce company is a great example. B2B shipping sites don’t work with large quantities of people and generally have a small but dedicated user base compared to retail sites. This customer base is much pickier and selective, and it is easier to characterize. Therefore your company has a specific customer niche you can develop. It allows for a much better personalization of marketing campaigns, as well as a clearer outlook on potential financial targets.
Such company’s eCommerce approach is different from those in retail. As a part of a service industry, these businesses are comprised of people who “make” and “provide” instead of just “sell”. This entails that the non-retail industry you work in has it harder in pricing its services which are more customizable.
Retail companies have it much easier, as they have packages of products sitting in physical warehouses and virtual shelves just waiting to be bought through a digital cart. And the non-retail industry services, for instance, that shipping or banking have to be thoroughly described and negotiated.
It is simpler to offer your services only offline, but with digital reach, you can connect with customers globally and instantly promote your brand and services to the larger public. To achieve this, the usual anonymous SEO techniques won’t work anymore. Non-retail eCommerce companies are going beyond their limits and try to create high-quality communities and blogs to further their digital marketing efforts.
