May 6, 2020 
Data and the derived insights always play a vital role in decision-making, framing, and executing strategic initiatives as well as optimizing daily operations. Data is of even utmost significance in current times as businesses are constantly striving to gain a competitive edge over their counterparts.
Simply put, data stand to reshape the entire business landscape. Despite its criticality, several businesses fail to make the most of the data as they still lack the efficiency to appropriately analyze it.
Data is critical for businesses of any size, scale, expertise, and the industry they belong to. However, data is crucial for eCommerce businesses. You might wonder why?
eCommerce businesses have a sizeable amount of customers’ information in the CRM systems, in-app analytics, and customer-related conversations with chatbots among other tools. Though several businesses have succeeded at structurally collecting data, data interpretation, and analysis are yet to have the front seat.
Here are a few ways that illustrate how data can accelerate growth for businesses, eCommerce, or otherwise.
A comprehensive approach through data lakes
To improve demand forecasting
Demand forecasting is one of the crucial aspects that take precedence in deciding an eCommerce business’s success. It enables eCommerce businesses and the stakeholders across the ecosystem to appropriately planning the inventory, replenishing inventory as per the anticipated demand, etc.
If the inventory stock is ample compared to the actual demand from the customer segment, the eCommerce business might have to bear the additional costs that can be attributed to the storage of extra stocks, obsolete inventory, etc.
Demand forecasting is nothing but leveraging data-driven insights to carry out customer behavior analysis. It helps in segmenting customers into an array of personas based on their preferences, purchase trends, past interactions, etc.
By having such actionable insights at their disposal, retailers and eCommerce giants have the opportunity to deliver a value-added, seamless, and personalized experience to their target customers. Data and derived insights can also be leveraged to identify, reach out, and entice potential customer segments.
Eliminate the need for data hierarchies
Collecting data without any restrictions and without creating any demarcating hierarchies is one of the prominent features of data lakes.
However, some critics find it pointless to collect raw, unstructured data and store them in the form of data lakes, till the time that it is utilized.
Craft customer-centric marketing efforts
At large, businesses are rapidly realizing the significance of customer behavior insights and making substantial attempts to optimize their business model accordingly. Data lakes are essential in offering businesses flexibility. Data lakes assist businesses in customizing and crafting highly targeted marketing campaigns.
Data lakes leverage a comprehensive approach by allowing customization of analytical models, instead of restricting the data into pre-defined models. This indeed encourages businesses to opt for data lakes as the most effective and cost-effective solution to their business needs.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Studies reinstate the fact that artificial intelligence in e-commerce is growing at a healthy pace, and worldwide revenues are anticipated to touch $36.8 billion by 2025. One of the best examples for this growth is the global e-commerce giant Amazon, whose annual revenue is measured at $100 billion.
Many must be keen to unravel the secret behind such massive success. Well, it goes beyond simply analyzing data. Detecting the underlying problems, gaps, and demands in the market essentially requires a superior algorithm. Existing processes need to be accentuated with machine learning and systems that can provide feedback that in turn can be applied on a business level.
Meeting customer expectations is no longer enough. Instead, businesses must strive to exceed them. Artificial intelligence enables eCommerce giants to keep a tab on customers’ buying patterns and presents the anticipated buying preference or volume predictions. With such insights at hand, eCommerce players have the avenue for up-selling and cross-selling.
Today’s customers are tech-savvy and thus their purchase journey is even more complicated than ever. Artificial intelligence enables eCommerce businesses to predict customers’ next move and offer product recommendations. This is a great way of encouraging purchases and at times digital word-of-mouth marketing.
Product Information Management Systems
When we are talking about data in the eCommerce ecosystem, product content claims a rather massive share. The efficient management of product data is essential for an eCommerce business’s ultimate success. Herein, a product information management emerges as the ultimate solution.
So, what a Product Information Management system is? It is essentially a software that serves as a one-stop platform to create, manage, store, and distribute product-related information seamlessly across the various eCommerce sales, and marketing outlets.
Enabled with the requisite technologies and tools to assort and edit product content in real-time, PIM systems build product catalog structures and enable cross-platform and multi-device sharing of product data.
Automation is the key
Today’s customers are growing immune to the monotonous brand promotions. With the dwindling customer attention span, the product purchase lifecycle is getting shorter and complicated.
Customer expectations have evolved, and they demand a holistic view of a product at one place before making the purchase decision. Businesses might lose out on a potential customer base if their eCommerce platform fails to offer complete, accurate, and consistent product information on-the-go. And, this has been backed up by studies!
Several research and studies highlight the fact that eCommerce platforms offering a holistic and consistent view of product data stand a chance in boosting their conversions multifold. Easier said than done! Streamlining product-related content gathering, creating, and enriching processes are rather daunting.
A PIM system will be pivotal in automating and streamlining these processes that in turn will reduce the time-to-market efforts at the eCommerce business’s end.
Some of the key features and benefits of PIM systems include:
- Real-time, accurate and consistent product data are made available across multiple sales/marketing channels
- Improved omnichannel customer experience pertaining to product-related information
- Inter-functional and integration capabilities to improve the coordination among various stakeholders in the eCommerce ecosystem
- Reduced time-to-market that will,in turn,boost the sales ROI
For further insights, do reach out to the experts at Vinculum, today!
