The future of e-commerce lies in socialization and personalization?

Business has brought a lot of cheer to the world, but in fact, in the last 100 years, only a small fraction of it can really be a "big event", such as the industry pioneer Sears selling goods through the product order catalogue, the chain retailing giant Walmart, There is also the Internet E-commerce company Amazon. Although E-commerce has been more than 10 years of development, but in the United States, E-commerce accounted for only 8% of the total transaction, it is clear that online trading is a long way to repair.

But I believe that the next E-commerce revolution that some people call "social commerce" will use customer identities and data to provide more personalized service.

Both offline and online trade have historically been anonymous and not personalized. In the real world, when you go into the store to pick the right goods, the salesman will not know you thy name, goods, like the service process, even the final invoice is no difference, at most the amount is different. When shopping online, the search box and drop down menus replace pens and mail-order catalogs, and faithfully perform the purchase task. Amazon and other websites attract consumers at low prices. The success of these online sales platforms can also be summed up in several abbreviations, as is the subversive nature of on-line catalogs: LTV (lifetime value lifetime) and coca (cost of customer acquisition customers ' purchase costs).

But the shopping experience and even the whole process of consumption can not be measured with tools such as rulers. When a lady tries Shins in the shop, she hesitates because there is no matching dress in the closet. Accidentally aiming at a pair of the high heels of the heart, but also because there is no suitable size depressed unceasingly, or quality is not good. These shopping process obstacles, psychological hesitation, not to buy a satisfactory product frustration, in fact, more impact on the success of the transaction. The next E-commerce revolution is to sweep away these stumbling blocks, to create a more personalized shopping environment by collecting customers ' personal information and data about their preferences.

These data include not only the basic personal data of the customers, but also the shopping history of the relatives and friends, the style, type and brand of the customer preference. As a result, retailers can establish close and friendly relationships with their customers. When Sears company sold watches by mail-order catalogue, in order to win the trust of customers, the company promised that each watch would be accurate at least six years, otherwise it would provide customers with free repair services. Like the Sears company at the end of 19th century, the best online retailers are now committed to providing customers with personalized products (personalization), helping customers decide what to buy (tools), and one-stop service to ensure that the entire shopping process is easy and enjoyable, Even after the after-sales service also need not worry, for consumers to remove the worry (service).

In the real world, physical store retailers use a dazzling array of goods to attract consumers ' attention. And the Internet world, in the face of dazzling goods, successful companies must be good at helping consumers find the best suitable products. Some companies can even provide them with original or customized products according to their customers ' requirements. Custom Jewellery seller Gemvara is familiar with this way, it provides customers with advanced customized jewelry, unique design to conquer consumers critical heart.

There is an interesting trend that some companies are openly asking customers to fill out questionnaires that reflect shopping preferences and consumption choices. For example, ShoeDazzle in the relevant commodity style questionnaire up and down the Kungfu, for is to be full of innovative form to ascertain the personal style of consumers. Their management team built a showroom for different customers based on the results of the questionnaire. In this way, even if the first visit to the Shoedazzl homepage, the system can also be through the customer's purchase history, preferences, or the purchase history of friends to provide a fully personalized service.

In addition, sales of men's E-commerce company J. Hilburn also employs a style consultant system that helps companies find the right development direction by reviewing their customers ' various sizes and propensity to shop. Because J. Hilburn's shirts can be completely personalized, so understanding the customer's general direction of selection becomes a key factor in improving the product experience. But not every app has a designer to help customers choose a product. Birchbox is another type of application that helps consumers find new products and teach customers to choose between different skin tones and hairstyles.

Of course, a better service experience is also a way for social trade to work. In the after-sales service aspect, the ModCloth has done very well. When a customer needs a replacement, the company immediately sends a replacement, thus achieving a "quick replacement", and the customer will receive a new product in exchange for sending back the goods. Although it is only a trivial matter, but this has greatly enhanced the company's credibility.

The future direction of e-commerce is not only to reduce costs and enhance customer lifetime value, but should be more committed to building a good relationship between retailers and customers. Only by thinking about optimizing lifetime value rather than providing services from a personalized perspective will only succeed for a while, understand customer preferences and personality to success. And consumers are willing to share the shopping experience with businesses, since the internet let us break the traditional way of consumption, free from the shackles of physical stores, why not go further to customers, listen to customers, understand customers? Believe that if this is done, E-commerce accounted for the total trade share will be greatly increased, so that the embarrassing 8% no longer repeat.

Original English: TechCrunch

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