Some people might argue that e-commerce is a science, while others will stipulate that it’s more of an art. The truth is e-commerce is a blend of the two. On the one hand, it’s fluid, unpredictable and human, meaning that oftentimes a more artistic approach is required. On the other hand, it’s governed by basic economic principles that can be predicted by science.
That being said, e-commerce is always going to be more of a science than an art, and any business that wants to succeed in the world of e-commerce will want to turn to the facts to figure out how best to succeed.
For this reason, big data is extremely significant when it comes to e-commerce, and can help businesses to achieve even greater success over the coming years.
With that in mind, listed below are the top benefits of big data for e-commerce…
Price agility
When running any sort of e-commerce business, evidence suggests that pricing remains one of the most important elements. If consumers feel as if they are not getting a fair price, they will go to a competitor. On the other hand, if prices are too low then the company will end up losing money.
But if you manually follow how the competition adjusts their prices, you would be wasting your time, especially since, in the world of e-commerce, it has been proven that dynamic pricing is actually an extremely effective way to remain profitable. This is where big data analytics come into play: when tonnes of data is analysed, this gives companies greater clarity, thus enabling them to adjust their prices accordingly.
Improved inventory management
One delicate part of e-commerce is the continual balancing act of stocking enough products but not wasting storage space on products that don’t sell. If you get this wrong, your business will end up wasting precious resources. But if you don’t have the right products in stock, your customers will end up shopping elsewhere.
Thanks to big data and analytics, e-commerce companies can better predict how much of a given product they need to keep in stock, without wasting any of that stock.
Enhanced personalisation
As a consumer, you may be tricked into believing that the e-commerce experience is an impersonal, random and uncalculated one, but in truth, large e-commerce businesses spend a great deal of time, money and knowledge making the e-commerce experience as personal as possible.
For instance, by performing big data analysis, e-commerce companies can analyse their customers’ behaviour to determine who should receive which particular email marketing campaigns. This is a very targeted approach to marketing that is also incredibly effective.
Better conversions
Thanks to big data, it’s now easier than ever to track a visitor’s journey from their very first interaction with your brand, right through to the very end. Big data analysis enables you to compare the experiences of different people to determine why one person ultimately made a purchase and another didn’t. This then gives you the chance to alter patterns and information, improve conversion rates and help you to develop long-lasting relationships with your clients.
Interested in our services?
Whether you're a startup just getting started or have been in the industry for many years, it's never too late to seek help from the professionals. Here at 8 Ways Media we possess more than 20 years of experience in the industry delivering outstanding digital and marketing services to businesses of all shapes and sizes. So if you're ready to take the next step towards improving your business, contact us today to discover how we can help you to create an outstanding e-commerce business.
Other e-commerce articles in the series:
Is your e-commerce business losing money unnecessarily?
4 easy ways to promote your e-commerce business
Create an e-commerce store in 10 simple steps
Top reasons to start an e-commerce business in 2016
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