How modern ecommerce is reshaping the way people shop

In the past few decades, the eCommerce industry has gone through nothing short of a revolution. New developments in technology have lead to greater wants, greater demands and greater opportunities. All this and much more have given the word eCommerce a whole new meaning. No longer is eCommerce confined to a definite set of industries. It now has an even bigger global presence. These changes have been so drastic that we can look at this separately. We can look at this as a new facet called, modern eCommerce.

Does Modern eCommerce have a textbook definition?

There is no clear cut definition for what modern ECommerce actually is. There are no rules and pre-conditions predetermining what can be considered as modern and what is traditional. Traditional eCommerce’s transformation into modern ECommerce is just the story of how the ECommerce industry has taken itself to the 21st century. Let’s take an example. Ten years ago when your mother wanted groceries, what would she do? She might have gotten up early, specifically on a Sunday morning, to pick up the freshest ingredients from the street hawkers. Or maybe, every month, the family went to the super market and picked up provisions for the entire month. They might still do this but they don’t have to. They can now sit at home and purchase whatever it is that they want. Whether you want Indian sugar, jaggery, or some Thai red chilies, everything is now available at your fingertips.

What Cross-border eCommerce is about?

No brownie points for guessing what cross-border ECommerce is. With the growing presence combined with the constant growth of ECommerce businesses all around the world, consumers have begun to indulge with ECommerce businesses located in countries, other than the one they reside in.  That is what cross-border ECommerce is all about. In the year 2014, cross-border Ecommerce accounted for just $230 million. As per the projection, it will hit the $1 trillion mark in just 2020.

The trajectory of growth of cross-border Ecommerce seems quite unreal. But it is highly probable too. One of the most important things to back this claim is its growing popularity in multiple countries. Let’s take USA and China for example - two of the economically strongest nations in the world. 54% of the US shoppers already indulge in cross-border Ecommerce. And China’s cross-border Ecommerce is expected $85.76 billion this year.

Why is Cross-border eCommerce being popular day by day?

Nearly 67% of the consumers of Canada are following this trend because of cost benefits. It turns out that, a lot of items can be purchased for comparatively cheaper prices when you look at cross-border ECommerce as an option. Let’s have a look at the digital purchases of selected countries in the America.

The other common reason that was found out was the urge of consumers to obtain brands or specialty and unique products which otherwise aren’t offered by anyone within the boundaries of that particular country. For instance, brands like Under Armour, or, top end models of brands like Nike, aren’t available in India. But there are a number of eCommerce websites that take such orders of basketball shoes, football shoes and the like. The only way of owning such goods is either by asking some relative or friend of yours residing abroad to purchase and send it to you or ordering them online.

How Modern Ecommerce is reshaping the way people Shop?

• Convenience and ease has always been attractive to people! Modern eCommerce has made shopping a lot easier for people. A few clicks could now give them the very same effect of visiting 100 stores located worldwide. 
• Modern eCommerce has turned people into great researchers who think a lot before buying a particular product. ECommerce websites makes it easy for buyers to compare products, features, reviews and customer service. This wasn’t possible during traditional shopping as driving to each store on your own isn’t obviously the easiest thing to do. But, eCommerce has made this possible for customers in just a few clicks or swipes. Modern eCommerce has thus created consumers who are as well informed as the salespersons.
• Customers are also happy that they get to have personalized products now. Gone are the times when they were ready to settle for products that fulfill their needs partially. 
• The role of customer reviews has turned out to be significant and decision-influencing. Customers taking advantage of modern eCommerce rely on user reviews a lot before taking a final decision.  It has been seen that a few bad reviews could ruin a product’s market forever.
• As modern eCommerce took over, gone are the days when businesses used to verge out into the market and find customers. Now, customers find the eCommerce businesses that sell the products and services they want. Businesses need to do their best to be visible to the consumers.

Bottom Line

Everything is changing. From the way people shop to the way people make decisions. Even small things inflict a major influence on customers these days, as long as it eases the shopping process. The small, technologically advanced, little device that is in your pocket is a constant reminder of the power in your hands, as a customer in the world where modern eCommerce is ‘reshaping the way people shop’.