Scope of e-commerce : exploring the opportunities

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WHAT IS E-COMMERCE?

The basic meaning of e-commerce is the purchasing and selling of goods or services via networks like the Internet. The fact that all trades, contacts, and transactions take place online sets it apart from normal trading.

With e-commerce, clients may make purchases online or use services from the convenience of their homes, eliminating the need for face-to-face interaction or shop visits. They only need to choose the items they want and pay using debit or credit cards, net banking, or any other online payment, and the goods or services will be readily available for them to use immediately.

As the e-commerce industry grows, more and more features are being incorporated into the websites that serve as the exchange platform for online transactions, increasing client confidence and reducing the risk of fraud or scams.

 

DIFFERENT WAYS TO CONDUCT E-COMMERCE

Different ways or types of e-commerce are emerging with time, some of which are-

B2B (BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS) COMMERCE: As the name implies, this form of e-commerce entails one enterprise providing its goods and services to other enterprises. For instance, companies that deal with the production and sale of clothing online obtain their raw materials, such as fabric, from other online textile companies.

B2C (business-to-consumer): e-commerce, in which the customer deals directly with the provider of the item or service, is the most widely used type currently accessible. For instance, online stores like Amazon, eBay, JustDial, and others list and sell goods and services to customers directly.

C2B (CONSUMER-TO-BUSINESS): Consumers submit their specifications for a particular good or service, and businesses respond by matching the needs and providing a price. The customer accepts the finest offer offered to them.

IndiaMart, Upwork, and other websites of similar sort are examples.

C2C (CONSUMER-TO-CONSUMER) COMMERCE: Consumers who are currently using or possessing a product offer it for sale on an online marketplace and other consumers who require it accept the price and pay them directly through that platform without the need for a middleman. 

For instance, OLX, CarDekho, etc.

 

CHARACTERISTICS AND ADVANTAGES

Convenient and Time-Saving: E-Commerce allows customers to shop from the online store from the convenience of their homes providing the ease of shopping from anywhere and at any time, saving their time and cost of conveyance.

Wider Reach: Since e-commerce allows shopping for products and services from anywhere. It offers a wider reach as audiences around the world can access the online store.

Cost-Saving: Since an online store does not need any physical outlet, the cost of overheads and running is eliminated. This results in the company’s expenses being reduced, customers paying less, and profits increasing.

Personalized Buying Experience: Businesses recommend products fitting the needs of the customer based on the data collected from their activities on the internet, like search and browsing history. Tracking a consumer’s activity helps in a personalized shopping experience leading to more satisfaction.

Rapid Transactions: Transactions happen at a speedy rate on an online platform, as compared to visiting the store physically and making payments.

 

GROWTH OF E-COMMERCE IN THE RECENT YEARS: STATISTICS

  • In 2021, it is anticipated that global e-commerce revenues would total $4.9 trillion. Source: eMarketer)
  • E-commerce made up 19% of all retail sales globally in 2021, and by 2024, it is predicted that this percentage would rise to 21.8%. (Source: Statista)
  • E-commerce sales in the US increased by 44% in 2020 to $861 billion. (Source: Digital Commerce 360)
  • By 2021, it is anticipated that 72.9% of all e-commerce sales will be made on mobile devices, demonstrating the fast growth of mobile commerce. (Source: Statista)
  • With projected net sales of $386 billion in 2020, Amazon will be the largest e-commerce store in the world. (Source: Statista)
  • The top three e-commerce product categories in 2020 were electronics, apparel, and health and beauty items. (Source: Digital Commerce 360)
  • E-commerce sales are anticipated to exceed $3.5 trillion in the Asia-Pacific area in 2021, with China accounting for the greatest portion. (Source: Aarki)

 

THREATS AND CHALLENGES

Cyber Threats: E-Commerce websites are prone to cyber attacks resulting in data breaches of many customers including their names, phone numbers, credit card info, etc. which makes them less safe for online transactions.

Shipping Time and Costs: Although online stores do not require one to run a brick-and-mortar outlet of products, however, the shipping of products in time requires a proper shipping system, which may present itself as a challenge, especially when the business is operating on a global level.

Establishing Trust: The e-commerce business runs on the trust of the customer which takes time to be established. Customers may be skeptical towards making purchasing products online and performing online transactions.

Returns and Refund Policies: Effective policies for returns and refunds must be present for the customer so that will be assured of assistance in case of any fraudulent activity which may take a large portion of time.

 

FUTURE TRENDS AND POSSIBILITIES

Increased use of mobile for e-commerce: Day by day, the number of consumers preferring shopping through their mobile phones has been increasing. Hence, businesses need to optimize their websites to a mobile-friendly version, with a UI as intuitive and easy to navigate as their web store.

Emerging Marketplaces: Besides establishing a store on their own website, many businesses are moving towards selling of their products and services through marketplaces that are already established and trusted by customers. This results in more people being aware of your products and hence more sales without excess marketing costs.

More Personalization: AI and analytics are helping businesses gain more information about their customers, through their behaviors, patterns, and interests, resulting in more personalized recommendations driving more sales.

Importance of sustainability: Customers nowadays prefer businesses that along with providing quality products are working towards saving the environment through ethical practices such as reducing the use of plastic for packaging.

Use of Social Media: Social Media is widely used for marketing purposes with strategies for algorithms to reach a wider section of the audience.

 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, e-commerce is likely to be shaped by new technologies, changing consumer behaviors, and increasing globalization. By staying up-to-date with emerging trends and adapting their strategies accordingly, you can position yourself for long-term success in the e-commerce industry.

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How to Develop a Grocery App like Instacart, Bigbasket & Grofers

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This Global pandemic has affected all industries throughout the world. The government is urging people to stay at home and maintain social-distancing till the situation is overcome. People are stepping out of their homes only to buy daily essentials. Nowadays there is a demand for grocery delivery app in the market. People prefer to shop online rather than visiting the stores. Every industry is trying to move from offline to online marketplace. If you also want to shift your business online, then go through this article to know, how to create a grocery delivery app.

    • During this lockdown, we have seen the usage of grocery delivery apps has increased and there is a huge competition out there. If you don’t follow the trend and do not act smart then it’s quite difficult to run the business and stand out from the crowd in this lockdown. Do you wish a grocery app or mobile app that suits your business? Invest in On-demand Grocery App Development Company India and get your grocery delivery app at affordable prices

    • Firstly we will look at the types of grocery delivery apps
    • Single Stores: This type of apps is usually managed by the single stores itself and will have higher development costs.
    • Grocery Chains:
      One single app that can be used by multiple stores situated in different cities means one dedicated app for all their customers.
    • Aggregators: Acts like a mall where your nearby store will be listed and allow you to purchase the products from any of these stores listed on the app.

Must-have features of Grocery Mobile Apps

    • Here we have discussed 3 must-have features for On-demand grocery delivery apps. If you want to develop an on-demand grocery delivery app, you should hire the best Android app development company that delivers you a highly functional and feature-rich grocery mobile app.
    • Admin Panel
    • Store Management: Manage all stores from a single dashboard and can track orders also.
    • Product Management: Admin will manage the products by updating/adding/ deleting the menu, sub-menu, and products.
    • Order Management: Admin will be responsible for handling the order placed by the customers.
    • Transaction History: Admin can access and manage the payment transaction history.
    • Customer Management: Admin can manage the customer activities and will have access to block the customers if they do spam.
    • Report: Can analyze the report generated at a regular interval to monitor performances. Admin can use data and business intelligence to make better targets and performances.
    • Notifications: Admin can send emails, alert messages, push notifications to reach out to the customers and staff to provide the status of their grocery services.

Customer Panel

  • Registration: Customers or app users need to log in with some details like name, contact number, address to purchase the products.
  • Schedule Delivery: Customers can schedule the delivery time and date as per their convenience.
  • Real-Time Order Tracking: User can track their order or nearby stores with Geo-location technology.
  • Quick & Easy Search: It allows users or customers to search the products easily by the filter options.
  • Multiple Payment: Customers can make payments via a wide variety of payment options including Paytm, Google Pay, Net banking, Paypal, etc.
  • Order History: Customers can check their order history and can re-order the same order with just a few clicks.
  • Feedback & Rating: Users can give ratings and reviews on the various products they’ve purchased and can give ratings to store’s services also.
  • Offers & Discounts: Users are able to know and use the offers, deals, rewards & price drops for the next time purchase.
  • Delivery Boy Panel
  • Create Profile: Delivery boy can create a profile on the grocery app with some details and it will be verified by Admin.
  • Order Status: Delivery boy should be able to check the orders he has accepted, delivered, or rejected.
  • Track Location: With the help of GPS tracking features, delivery can track the destination.
  • Contact: Delivery boy can contact to the users or customers via chat or call feature.

May Why Demand For Grocery Delivery Apps During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The whole world is severely affected by the Covid-19 or Coronavirus pandemic. People are urged to stay home and practice social distancing to stop the rapid spread of COVID-19. Many businesses have been hit by this coronavirus, but the grocery store business is on demand. With the help of a grocery apps, you can drive more customers by delivering services or essential items at their doorstep.With mobile apps, you can show your business existence to your potential customers. Grocery app allows visitors to explore the product category list in digital format and purchase products by paying online and get their products at their doorstep. If you’re running a grocery store and due to this corona outbreak, your business is facing challenges. Then launch your own grocery app today. Now you must be wondering how to create a grocery store app?? No need to worry. Hire Grocery app development company and get the complete guidance related to how grocery app will be developed, how much time it will take, what will be the development cost and so on.

People in many countries are going online for shopping groceries items to fulfill their daily food supply. In the U.S., daily downloads of the grocery delivery app have hit new records. Instacart, and Walmart Grocery Apps daily download has increased by 218%, and 160% respectively. As per reports, in the U.S., it is expected that grocery app sales will grow $25 billion by the end of 2020.

This pandemic has pushed many people to download the grocery apps and order their kitchen essentials online. In India, before the lockout announcement in the country, grocery app such as Grofers saw an 80% surge in the number of orders on its app in mid-March. After 2 weeks of the lockdown, Grofers app’s active users increased by 5times more than the last month active users.

How Do Grocery Apps Make Profits?

Convenience: Customers don’t need not to go to the supermarket or local grocery store to buy any products. They can get their kitchen essentials at their doorstep with a few taps. In this way, the online shopping for groceries becomes easier and convenient. It also allows users or visitors to explore the product based on their category-list and buy by making payment online.

Multiple Payments: Buying groceries become easy with multiple online payment options along with cash-on delivery and e-wallet. Customers can make the payment the way they want. Multiple payment features help drive more customers with a better user-experience.

Coupons, Discounts: You can make your customers happy by notifying them about the coupons, discounts, special deals, offers, sales, & price drops.

Live Tracking: Customers can know the exact status of their order with the live tracking feature in the app and can estimate the delivery date, day & time.

Schedule Delivery: Customers can choose or schedule delivery time & day as what time they want to receive the order.

People are increasingly relying on an online shopping app to save their time and to add convenience to their life. To ensure that your grocery store business survives in this coronavirus pandemic, you should take help of mobile app or websites. If you’re already thinking of making your grocery business shop an online presence, then you should invest in the e-commerce development company.

How Grocery App Can be Profitable for Your Grocery Store?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

As per the reports, more than half of the world’s population is using smartphones, so it’s not surprising that mobile apps have been targeting the huge segment of the market If you run your grocery store through the grocery delivery app, it will be easier for you to reach out to maximum customers and grow your sales. With unnecessary, time-consuming trips to the supermarket, you can get your preferred groceries at your doorstep with just a few clicks.

In this tough time, when the whole world is under lockdown, we have seen a significant increase in people ordering groceries or kitchen essentials online. Many small, large & medium grocery chains are offering at-home delivery services and providing their customers with a better shopping experience. Even they are following preventive measures to maintain the social distancing, and avoid close contact; they are delivering the orders at your doorstep with zero contactless. According to some reports, online grocery app usage has increased by 50%, expected to grow with an annual rate of 20%, and also expected to cross $25 billion by 2020.

If you have a store and you’re selling A-Z of grocery products. Your customers’ line up for checkout and payment during rush hours then this waiting time spoils customer experience and they leave without a purchase and look for other options, that result in your business loss. So with the seamless, highly customizable Grocery app you can offer your customers a hassle-free experience and make a profit in your business. Are you looking to build an online grocery application to earn money? You should invest in the best Grocery app development company to get the on-demand grocery delivery app.

During the outbreak of this COVID-19, the number of daily downloads of the grocery delivery app has increased. Walmart Grocery app ranked No. 1 among shopping apps in the U.S. as of April 7, 2020, and the average daily downloads have increased 460% as of April 5 compared to January of this year.

    • Benefits of Grocery Delivery App

The business on the mobile app has a huge benefit. Almost every single person has a mobile device these days. It helps you to advertise your business, and the results are miraculous. Customers can view your ideas and framework easily and without going through the pain of travelling to your office and acquire knowledge on various problems. Now your business is reachable with the help of mobile app in few clicks and swipes from your mobile.

Get to Know Your Customers: Customers can rate you and give you feedback based on your services, which helps in improving your app services.

Attractive Deals & Offers: You can attract your customers by notifying them about the special deals, discounts, or price drops, and in this way you can increase the volume of your customers and even can make new customers.

Multiple payment options: You can offer your customers with many payment options along with e-wallet and cash on delivery, so that they can pay the amount the way they want. This feature makes your customer’s shopping experience easier and they would love to shop at your grocery site.

How to Develop a Successful Ecommerce Mobile Application in 6 Steps

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Mobile apps have been growing very rapidly over the past few years. According to the research, approx 10000 apps are added daily on App store & Play Store. It is a great way to reach the maximum customers globally. As we all know that nowadays everyone has become lazy and consider mobile apps as a convenient platform to buy and sell products online with just a few taps. So we need to keep mobile application as updated with the latest trends. With the rise in mobile apps in the year 2020, many top mobile app development companies are adopting new trends & technologies to deliver quality with maximum revenue to their customers.

    • You may have an excellent app idea but you need to know how to make your app successful to stand out in the competitive world. So here you go and follow how to build a successful e-commerce mobile applications in 6 Steps.

    • 1. Market Research

When you are thinking of developing an mobile app, market research is important for the success of your app. Mobile app development company should know the need of developing mobile app, demand of target audience, risk, and other factors while developing an mobile application.

Companies should also check out Google play store and app store for similar apps, the number of users of that similar apps, their features, reviews and so on. This will help to find out which features need to be added to your application.

    • 2. Choosing Right Technology

The second most important thing is to find out that, which technology or framework is right for building an e-commerce mobile app? For an e-commerce mobile app, you can build app on either of these 2 options:-

–Progressive Web Apps (PWA): Progressive Web application is a website works like a native mobile app. With the help of PWA, you can run your app in the browser without downloading it from the App store. PWAs are faster, cheaper, and easier to develop than Native apps.

–Native Apps: Native Apps is a software application built in a specific programming language for different platform either iOS or Android). In this you need to download the app in app store. It gives the faster, optimized experience to users.

You need a platform or framework that follows latest market trends to met the objective of mobile app development. So hire reliable mobile app development company to guide you which technology or platform suits to your business needs.

    • 3. Security

Mobile App Security is crucial to your ecommerce business as you need to submit a lot of information such as bank account details, address, contact number, etc. Mobile app developers need to build a completely secure e-commerce mobile app to protect the personal data like contacts, bank details, etc. from external threats. iOS App development companies provide app with highly-securable to the end users to prevent it from possible malware and viruses.


    • 4. Easy Checkout Process

Customers always want simple checkout process. Developers should provide seamless, easy and user-friendly checkout process in the mobile app for growth of the business. Maximum number of customers would like to use your app if you provide option to checkout as a Guest.

    • 5. Quality Testing

Testing is the final but most important phase of mobile app development process. Developers are required to perform various types of testing such as functional testing, unit testing, performance testing, security testing, etc at every stage of the app development process as it will be more difficult to fix the bugs after app development. E-commerce mobile app should be bug free to deliver a better experience to the end user.

    • 6. Marketing

To make mobile app successful, it required proper marketing. Social Media is the best platform to advertise or promote the mobile app. Post and Share the app links on Social Media Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest , etc with quality content or videos. This will raise the curiosity level of the audience to learn more about the app and user will definitely give a click on the link.

If you do not have a mobile app for your business then you are losing opportunity to target the audience globally. Want to expand your business?? you should have mobile app for your online store. So without wasting your time, hire android app development company India that delivers you an e-commerce mobile app with cutting-edge technologies to achieve maximum RoI.

10 Effective Tips for Designing Excellent Software Mobile Apps UI in 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Almost every company is trying to win against one another these days by introducing the latest technology trends. One such trend is mobile apps with better UI, and this definitely cannot be ignored. Many countries are coming up with excellent trends for catchy mobile UI, and India is one of them. Contacting a mobile app development company in India that could bring your brand to life is the best thing you can do for your business.

    • Mobile software applications are gaining immense traction in today’s technologically driven world. As the majority of the users, both individuals and professionals are inclined towards using the apps that are available on just one click in a smartphone, the demand for user interface has dramatically increased. Therefore, if you have plans to launch a mobile app for your business, your software Development Company or team needs to make sure that it sits well with the targeted audience. Below is a list of 10 useful tips that can help you design an excellent software mobile app UI in 2020:

    • 1. Versatile in terms of platforms

Due to technological advancements, there are many devices on which applications may be accessed. Unless you are targeting a specific platform, for example, IOS or android, make an application that allows an excellent user experience in all of the platforms. This is also helpful because platforms experience a constant shift in user dynamics, so no matter the user device preference at a particular time, your app will remain relevant.

    • 2. Be smart with the colors

Colors of a mobile software application instantly leave an impression on the user. It can affect the user’s mood and perception; therefore, remember to be smart with choosing the right colors. The color palette you select should match your company’s official colors. Avoid unnecessary textures and compositions as they are not visually appealing. In India, many medium and large scale businesses are launching mobile apps that have excellent UI to grab the attention of users. Get services of a reliable android app development company in India to up your business game.

    • 3. Choose a suitable picture format

If your application allows downloading of graphic content, especially pictures, make sure that everything is in the right format for downloading. It is not the size of the file that causes an application to crash while downloading is in the process; instead, it is the inappropriate file formats. It is indeed a critical job to be done by a software development company, but if you have invested in the right one, the process will be smooth and user-friendly.

    • 4. Sharp button edges are not a must

Since all devices have rectangular screens, software development companies tend to create in-app buttons that have square corners so that they may be able to fit in nicely. However, this is not necessary. If you feel like curving or softening the edges might improve the overall look of the app, go for it. Also, with the advancements in technology, we can expect mobile companies to launch curvy screens devices soon, so these icons would also go with them well.

    • 5. Don’t overcomplicate

Remember that your application should be accessible by all, regardless of the prior app experience and technological literacy. There is no need to go extremely minimalistic or over the top while pursuing this. Just keep all actions straightforward and accessible in the minimum possible number of steps. If you can’t have an in-house app development team, hire a reliable mobile app development company in India, where you can get excellent services at affordable rates.

    • 6. Pay attention to the logo

An app logo is like salt in food – if appropriate, then isn’t noticeable; however, if inappropriate, it leaves one unsettled. A lousy logo for your application is a sign of a lack of professionalism and leaves a bad impression. This is specifically for those companies who are relying entirely on a mobile app for their business. Keep the logo catchy and conceptual so that it can attract the audience.

    • 7. The text should be readable

Do not go overboard with styling the text in your application. A little bit of stylizing where required does not harm. However, if you overdo the text by using a complicated font style, size, and color, the text would be less legible and negatively affect user impression. You are going to make an app only once, so make sure it is noticeable, and for this purpose, appointing any good mobile app development company could be useful.

    • 8. Iconography can make applications intuitive

Some icons have gained mainstream recognition, such that users don’t have to read what they represent now, for example, messenger apps, social apps, and photo editing apps. These mobile apps feel intuitive. Using such popular iconography in your app can improve accessibility and add to user experience. Also, users will remember your brand for long.

    • 9. High-quality images do magic

Visual cues are crucial in app design. High-resolution images are high-quality images and give a professional look to your application. They have also been shown to increase user engagement. Make sure to add high-quality images to your app for better user experience.

    • 10. Always beta test

Before introducing a new app feature to users, software and mobile app development companies should go for beta testing with a selected few random users. Get feedback from them and see what significant changes and updates you can make to your new features.