Everything you wanted to know about the latest internet marketing trends but was afraid to ask says Peter DeCaprio.
As a result of the eCommerce sales volume of over 388 billion dollars in 2015 alone, there is a reason for concern if your business is not online yet. Especially as more and more people are shifting their behavior towards doing most of their shopping on the internet rather than going out into stores or malls standing by with their wallets open ready to spend money.
Here are just some quick figures that show how big impact e-commerce has on consumers:
- 3 billion products listed on Amazon at the time I am writing this article
- $100+ Billion revenue estimated for Alibaba’s Tmall during 2016
- 51.9% of all U.S. retail sales will be done online in 2020
I am not going to introduce you to the boring world of e-commerce but jump straight into the exciting stuff – things that can make a difference for your business, help you grow, and fight off competitors by using Ecommerce trends that matter today!
How to Use This Guide:
It is designed with simplicity in mind so that it gets right to the point and helps you get started on harnessing Ecommerce tools, apps, and tactics explain by Peter DeCaprio. These include how big data which has been influencing marketing decisions for years already, machine learning or AI (artificial intelligence), SEO or search engine optimization, and social media steps to take after the launch of your website and before you launch your first products and much, much more that I will present to you here.
I will show you how to take advantage of E-commerce trends in 2017 so that your business can continue growing even during slumps, downturns, or recessions as the eCommerce industry is relatively immune to those. In addition, it helps you acquire new customers from around the globe 24/7 with a button click – no matter where they are located geographically – which makes it a truly global marketplace – not just for physical products but also digital ones such as software applications or courses.
What Is Ecommerce?
Ecommerce (also known as electronic commerce), is an umbrella term for the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet and other computer networks. It first came to prominence during the 1990s. When business transactions shifted from brick and mortar retail stores to online retailers such as Amazon, eBay, and others.
Types of Ecommerce:
When most people think about eCommerce they mostly focus on purchasing physical goods like clothes, shoes, furniture, or even collectible items. Like Lego blocks or Pokémon cards. However, in recent years commerce, in general, has grown in leaps and bounds. With digital products gaining momentum rapidly in the past 10+ years alone. I will share some examples of this shortly along with how you can make your mark. By focusing on offering digital products for sale on your website too. As per Peter DeCaprio, we live in a global marketplace where not everything is purely physical anymore… Here are just some of the most popular types of eCommerce transactions online:
· Physical products – the definition I gave to Ecommerce at the beginning of this article. Pretty straightforward and it’s what you are probably thinking about right now.
· Digital goods like software applications, courses, or other information products can be delivered over the internet to customers who purchase them online. They are not physical items but still fall under this umbrella term for selling products (or services) via the web-facing pages which you create on your website. Peter DeCaprio says many entrepreneurs like Tim Ferriss, who wrote The Four-Hour Workweek. Sell digital products that take advantage of the fact that they don’t require manufacturing. Or storing large inventory waiting for orders. This is the one you should focus on if you are mainly interested in providing products. That don’t require much to no inventory or any physical storage space.
· Subscription-based eCommerce – this involves selling memberships, annual fees, monthly payments to regular customers who can then take advantage of certain benefits like early access to new product releases, newsletters with industry updates and insider tips, or other rewards that keep them paying for access year after year. A good example would be Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription service were photographers, graphic designers, web designers, video professionals, etc. Pay a recurring fee for updated software tools as they come out instead of having to purchase the previous version. As a business owner who offers a subscription-based service. You can charge your customers a higher price than just a one-time fee. And then continue to collect payments from them on a regular basis – a month after month or year after year.
Conclusion:
Digital products such as eBooks, software applications/programs, courses (online learning content) sell like hotcakes. Thanks to the low costs associated with manufacturing and storing them. The latter is especially important for entrepreneurs. Who don’t have a physical storefront or warehouse available but still want an online presence. Whether you are just starting out or have been involved in this industry for years now. You can benefit by focusing your energy on offering digital goods for sale. Instead of trying to build up huge inventories of physical products that require costly storage space.