Tag: eCommerce business

How E-commerce Trends are Affecting Retail Business

How E-commerce Trends are Affecting Retail Business

Retailers are constantly looking for innovative ways to attract new customers, especially in this era when technology is evolving rapidly. Thanks to the fast-paced environment that we live in, brick-and-mortar shops are continuously being replaced with online shopping all across the globe. Earlier, the term shopping meant purchasing goods from physical stores, but with the advent of e-commerce, it no longer remains the same. 

The changing technology and new trends are to be held responsible for driving e-commerce and affecting the entire retail business. Sooner or later, retailers will have to mark an online presence and adopt these new trends in order to sustain and bring more customers to their stores. 

Benefits of E-commerce over Retail 
  • Faster buying process
  • Reduced Cost 
  • Cost-effective advertising and marketing
  • Flexibility for customers
  • 24/7 availability 
  • Product and cost comparison
  • Quickly adapts to buyer/market demands
  • Multiple payment options

Top 4 E-commerce Trends Affecting Retail Business 

While it may look like everything in the e-commerce industry is evolving for the better. we have listed down the top 4 trends that have and will continue to affect retail business in the years to come:

Improved Customer Engagement

Having an e-commerce store means having intimate and personalized conversations with customers. And who doesn’t like personalization? After all, we all love Starbucks for the same! Customized push notifications, messages, and emails add a touch of personalization which helps e-commerce stores increase engagement with their customers. 

Not only this, e-commerce owners get to attract more customers to buy their products by sending out offers and discount codes to buyers right in their mailboxes. Whereas you won’t come to know about offers in a physical store until you visit it.

And there’s no denying the fact that retail businesses will get affected in the long run if e-commerce continues to keep up with the new trends to enhance customer engagement.

Enhanced Shopping Experience

The only advantage retail stores had over e-commerce was that customers could actually feel and try the products. But that’s no longer retail exclusive. Augmented reality (AR) has completely changed the online shopping experience after stepping its foot into e-commerce. With this latest technology, online buyers can perceive how a product would look on them. Shoppers can see the products in 3D and right away try apparel, footwear, or say accessories virtually. Thus the latest trends in augmented reality are surely going to shake things up and affect the retail businesses.

Improved Customer Insights

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning have helped e-commerce businesses offer customers an automated shopping experience for a long time. But what some of you don’t know is that AI also helps in getting insights on how a customer shops, when they purchase the most, and factors influencing them to buy a product or a service. This is something that physical stores can never ever replicate. 

As an e-commerce owner, these customer data and insights are really crucial in shaping your business. You can identify the latest trends, understand customer behavior, their purchase patterns as well as analyze your marketing efforts. This data and insights will help you to make necessary changes to your inventory, advertising campaigns, and running offers that will be in the best interest of your business. 

Mobile shopping is fueling e-commerce

With mobile shopping, customers have the freedom to shop at any time and from anywhere around the world. Today, e-commerce businesses are focusing on building responsive websites as well as mobile apps so that they do miss out on any big opportunity that comes through smartphones. Shopping on mobile phones gives users that added convenience plus enhanced user experience because of advanced features available on smartphones. 

Today a majority of the customers search for any product or service online, visit websites, or download shopping apps right on their smartphones. This is because the Millenials and Gen Z consumers have grown up in a world that revolves around the Internet, computers, tablets, and smartphones. Thus it’s quite evident that these generations are more likely to shop online through their mobile phone as compared to their previous generations. 

Almost every e-commerce business today is making sure that its website is responsive and optimized for mobile devices. Just imagine its effect on physical stores? We cannot even begin to think! 

Conclusion

In the past few years, the e-commerce industry has absolutely escalated to the point that customers prefer to buy products and services online only. With the progress in technology as well as changing customer patterns and behavior, you need to constantly watch out for the latest trends in e-commerce. No matter which e-commerce trends you decide to implement, you need to make sure that your ultimate goal should be to give an enhanced shopping experience to your customers and build an everlasting loyal customer base. 

CiyaShop WooCommerce Theme: A Solutions For Multipurpose Ecommerce Business

CiyaShop WooCommerce Theme: A Solutions For Multipurpose Ecommerce Business

WordPress has made great progress in the past few years. Almost 40% of all websites are built on WordPress. This is enough to prove the versatility of this content management system. Initially, WordPress was more of a blogging platform. But now, this free CMS has amazing options for all kinds of websites, including corporates, portfolios, e-commerce, freelancers, and a lot more. 

This has been possible because of the massive WooCommerce theme collection WordPress has that can be used to customize your website’s different layouts and designs. Though you can find a WooCommerce theme for each kind of business, the multipurpose themes offer incredible flexibility. In simple words, one single theme can be used to create many different kinds of websites.  

When you search the marketplace, you will get tons of themes to choose from. But not all fall into the multipurpose category. In this post, we will talk about the CiyaShop theme, which is one of the best multipurpose WooCommerce themes with outstanding features and functionalities.

What is the CiyaShop WooCommerce theme?

CiyaShop is a multipurpose theme that came to the WordPress themes marketplace on 26th July 2018. At present, it is one of the best-rated themes for e-commerce by ThemeForest, which is a leading online marketplace globally. CiyaShop theme is develope by Potenza Global Solutions which develops themes and tools for WordPress websites with the best user experience in mind. 

CiyaShop theme is highly rated on ThemeForest with a 4.94 average star rating. This is enough to prove the quality and versatility this multipurpose theme offers to its users. 

Features of the CiyaShop Multipurpose WooCommerce theme:

CiyaShop WooCommerce theme comes with a list of surprising features. It gives you access to the documentation and video tutorials which you can use to learn how to install the theme. This means you can easily build and launch an attractive website by simply following the guide without prior coding knowledge. Now let’s move on further and see what other exciting features does the CiyaShop multipurpose WooCommerce theme offers: 

CiyaShop WooCommerce Theme Demos

The CiyaShop theme comes with aesthetically designed website demos that will help users build websites faster. There are about 90+ ready-to-use demo website templates with dummy data. The users can choose any template as per their requirement and replace the dummy content with their data to create a perfect website in just minutes.

CiyaShop multipurpose theme comes with ready to use website demos for e-commerce stores, including but not limited to:

  • Clothes store
  • Coffee shop
  • Watch store
  • Toys store
  • Jewellery shop
  • Medical store
  • Pet store
  • Electronics store
  • Furniture store
  • Kids store
  • Flower shop
  • Perfume store
  • Grocery store
  • Plumbing store
  • Bakery shop
  • Scuba Diving

Highly Customizable and Professional Design 

One of the best things about this theme is that it is completely customizable so that no two websites look the same. Every element of the e-commerce website can be customized, and you can easily style your website using the themes live customizer. The theme integrates more than 800 Google web fonts that offer you a wide variety of typefaces to choose from. This lets you customize the fonts on your website.

There are many additional features that will make your e-commerce website look professional, like the header builder, banner design, product request form, and much more. 

Responsive design and speed Optimized

People nowadays use their smartphones more than any other device to browse for products online. So, if you are creating an e-commerce website, it should load quickly and have a responsive design. Thankfully, the CiyaShop theme has a completely responsive design and is speed optimized for better performance.

From speed and responsiveness to browser compatibility and usability, this theme gives an exceptional experience to its users. The developer’s team has done an amazing job optimizing every theme element for better and faster performance.

Search Engine Optimized

The CiyaShop multipurpose theme is implementing the best SEO practices. The theme has been designed to ensure maximum SEO compatibility and saves users from complicated optimization tasks. CiyaShop uses the Yoast SEO plugin, which is one of the leading SEO plugins for WordPress.

Clean Codes

The e-commerce websites created using the CiyaShop theme load pretty quickly thanks to the shortcodes used in its design. 

The theme comes with 40+ shortcodes that let you create stunning elements in just no time. Thus adding design elements using custom code while improving user experience has never been that easy. 

Apart from the above-highlighted features, the CiyaShop multipurpose WooCommerce theme comes with many other features that include:

  • Multiple Header Options
  • WPML Support
  • RTL Support
  • MailChimp Support
  • Cross-Browser Compatibility
  • Child Theme Compatibility
  • Auto Update
  • Product Quick View
  • Mega Menu
  • Quick Add to Cart Button
  • Product Videos
  • Smart Product Filter
  • Wishlist

CiyaShop also provides fast and professional support to its customers. You can at any time reach out to the support team for help, and they will do their best to provide you with the solution.

What are The E-commerce business models?

What are The E-commerce business models

So you are planning to start your dream e-commerce business and are stuck on how to begin it? You have questions like what does a business model means and how to choose one for your business? Well, if these are the questions pondering in your mind, then don’t worry, you have come to the right place.

Business models are crucial for both startups as well as established businesses. Your journey to success starts with determining which model best fits your business niche, assets, and capabilities.

There is a simple way to determine what e-commerce business model would be the best to turn your business profitable.

First things first, you must decide what exactly you want to sell on your e-commerce website. Is it a physical or digital product or a service that you would like to offer? The next thing you have to determine is who you want to sell your products/services to.  To customers or other businesses? And, lastly, determine how you will be delivering the products- trust us, the options are limitless.

It is essential to choose an appropriate e-commerce business model that fits your business ambitions as it will eventually decide your survival. Keep on reading this post to know what are the different types of business models and what each means.

What are the different types of e-commerce business models?

There are four common types of business models in e-commerce that will help you determine your target audience.

The most common businesses  models well known by their acronyms are as below:

  • B2B (business-to-business)
  • B2C (business-to-consumer)
  • C2C (consumer-to-consumer)
  • C2B (consumer-to-business)

Let us understand in detail what each model means:

1. Business-to-business (B2B)

The Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce model means the selling of goods and services between two businesses. This business model is suitable for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors that sell their products in bulk to other businesses that then retail them to their customers.

A huge number of these transactions are typical in the supply chain that includes the exchange of raw materials. One business sources raw materials from another business to manufacture products to sell to customers through the business-to-customer model approach.

2. Business-to-consumer (B2C)

The B2C business model is quite prevalent in the e-commerce business that we are very well familiar with. In B2C, e-commerce businesses sell their products and services directly to customers. While B2B can be a bit intimidating, the B2C business model has a simple and straightforward approach. 

B2C deals with a large audience base; thus, it is crucial for businesses to have this model to prioritize sales and marketing tactics like SEO, social media, ad targeting, and email marketing.

3. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)

C2C business models include transactions between two or more customers. The C2C business model is controlled by a third-party business that allows individuals to buy, sell and exchange products or services on their platform. These platforms that connect customers gain profit by charging a minimal fee to customers for listing their goods. All the transactions and quality control are taken care of. 

4. Consumer-to-business (C2B)

C2B is a lesser-known model as compared to B2B and B2C. In the C2B model, customers sell products and services to other businesses.  C2B businesses typically include Freelancers and Gig workers; for example, Upwork has a C2B business model.

Wrap-UP

Technological advances like e-commerce have entirely transformed the way businesses and customers operate today. Understanding which e-commerce business model best fits your business ethics and approach will help you achieve your goals. Once you identify your e-commerce business model, you will already have a distinct advantage over your competitors and increase your chance to be on the top.

What are the benefits of building a no-code e-commerce application for your business?

What are the benefits of building a no-code e-commerce application for your business

The increasing growth in the e-commerce industry has led businesses into developing mobile solutions to satisfy the customer demands to sustain in the market. Today the customers demand flexibility while shopping to buy goods and services anytime and from anywhere. This is why people prefer shopping on mobile applications rather than an e-commerce website, as apps are fast, simple, and convenient.

Moreover, with mobile applications, businesses can attract more customers with features like push notifications and geofencing using GPS. This is why many big and small e-commerce companies all across the globe have started developing their e-commerce application for generating business through smartphones. 

Here are some of the main benefits of having a mobile application for your e-commerce business:

  • Time-saving – Mobile apps load faster than websites
  • Brand loyalty: Mobile apps give customers additional shopping advantages that help develop a strong bond with the brand. 
  • Better customer experience – through personalized pushed notifications, easy navigation and advanced technologies.
  • Improved conversion rates – leads to increased revenue generation. 
  • Easy to use – with mobile apps, users need to log in only once during registration.
  • Multiple payment options – different payment options for an easy checkout

Now that you know the benefits of developing a mobile application for your e-commerce business, you will be amazed to know that you can build one for your business with no coding at all. Yes, you heard it right. Not only is it easy, but it also has a lot of other benefits for your business. 

What are the benefits of building an e-commerce application without coding? 

E-commerce app development is fast.

Building an e-commerce application using a no-code platform is much faster as compared to developing it conventionally. A basic to extensive e-commerce app without coding can be built in just a few weeks. Whereas if you plan to hire developers to build it for you, it might take months before it finally goes live. 

E-commerce app development is easy

Developing an e-commerce app without coding is not only fast but also easy. Many app builders have easy-to-use features and drag and drop functionality that will help you develop an e-commerce mobile application without any knowledge of coding. This helps you develop an application just as you have imagined and modify it as and when required. 

Reduced app development cost

This is pretty obvious. Hiring a developer or an app Development company would cost you a lot. But with no-code app development, you will be saved from any such significant investment while building your e-commerce application. You can quickly develop an e-commerce application at an inexpensive rate as the cost of hiring developers is completely eliminated. 

Enhanced use of resources

As we just discussed, building an e-commerce application with the help of an external team is quite costly. Whereas building an application with no-code platforms helps you utilize your organization resources usefully. It is extremely easy to build an e-commerce application without coding, and anyone can learn it in just no time. This helps businesses efficiently use their existing resources, i.e. their internal team. 

Better ROI & lower risk

Building an e-commerce application without coding is inexpensive, which means you have the benefit of earning better ROI. Not only this, with a better return on investment, the risk involved is also shallow. This means if your e-commerce application doesn’t perform well, the risk of loss is low since your investment was not high.

To help e-commerce businesses meet the demands, Potenza Global Solutions brings to you CiyaShop, an app development solution that helps you build applications without any coding or technical skills.

With responsive design, retina display, multilingual support, push notifications, social media integration, geofencing, and more, CiyaShop helps businesses reduce more than half of the development cost while delivering a seamless experience to the users. 

Not only this, it is fully customizable so that businesses can build a native mobile application with advanced features and functionalities without compromising on performance. If you want to know more about how you can develop a robust e-commerce application without coding, you can get in touch with our team for assistance.