After last year, the chances of finding someone who doesn’t routinely shop online are slim to none. And because the volume of eCommerce sales increased exponentially, so did expectations, making the commerce experience all the more important.
If you missed out on the 2021 Adobe Summit and want actionable advice for how to improve your company’s commerce offerings, here are our top takeaways:
Headless Commerce
As Adobe Summit revealed, 85% of B2B companies shifted their digital strategy to focus on eCommerce offerings. While it may not be a new concept, headless commerce has improved dramatically over the past few years. With consumer habits evolving to allow shopping anywhere at any time, headless commerce is the solution.
Headless commerce breaks up the frontend presentation of an ecommerce platform from the backend commerce functionality. This allows products to be offered through different digital touchpoints, which allows for more flexibility and faster time to market.
To keep up with the competition, leverage headless commerce to create an eCommerce experience that is easily accessible and user-friendly. Regardless of if you’ve already launched an online portal or are looking to optimize your current storefront, ensure your commerce solution is agile, allows you to create new journeys, and can reach new channels and markets.
Multi-Channel B2B Commerce
In response to the rapid evolution of B2C online experiences, B2B buyers are also demanding more from their B2B commerce portals. And while it may seem difficult to keep up with these fast-changing expectations, B2B businesses with effective commerce solutions are positioned to reap the rewards. For example, providing a self-service portal for online orders frees your sales team to focus on strategically nurturing the customer relationship – leading to long term loyalty and recurring revenue
If you’ve already launched a storefront, don’t set it and forget it. Instead, make iterative improvements over time to ensure both internal teams and external buyers are getting the most out of your platform. B2B businesses should leverage order approval workflows and buyer tools, deliver improved buyer experiences across all sites and storefronts, and focus on B2B seller experience improvements.
Frictionless Platform and Infrastructure
The customer experience has never been more important both in B2B and B2C commerce. In fact, 81% of B2B buyers said they would turn to a competitor with excellent eCommerce capabilities, even if the product was moderately higher priced.
To meet customer demand, your eCommerce platform needs to be well-organized, seamless, fast, and secure. Companies who lack product information or who don’t have it easily accessible lose customers to competitors who offer a better experience. Likewise, customers expect a flawless online experience from start to finish. Investing in technology updates, integrations, and analyzing data will help to mitigate any areas that aren’t meeting expectations.
Another growing trend is the concern for user privacy. Building customer relationships starts with building brand trust and assuring users that their information will be secure is the first stepping stone. If your internal teams are struggling to keep up with security updates or platform enhancements, Avionos Operate can help.
Need help implementing these changes or building out a solid commerce strategy? Our team of experts can help you build a new storefront or improve your pre-existing platform. Check out our commerce and managed services offerings.
