Online retail has progressively grown to represent a considerable share of the worldwide economy since the days of the dot-com boom.

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E-commerce will account for roughly 22% of global retail revenues by 2024. However, digital commerce entails far more than simply clicking a button or researching a product online before making a buy in a physical store.

What exactly is digital commerce?

The end-to-end process of selling goods and services using digital channels is known as digital commerce.The word incorporates not only online transactions but also everything that occurs before and after. This involves market research and customer acquisition, as well as data analytics and supply chain management.

E-commerce vs. digital commerce

E-commerce is the online sale of goods and services, typically through a website dedicated to those transactions a customer purchases a product on a website, and the website ships that thing.

E-commerce is only one component of the client purchasing journey, and thus only one component of the overall universe of digital commerce.

All of the procedures and technology that contribute to a customer's progression down the marketing funnel, from acquisition to retention, are included in digital commerce.

Consider SEO optimization to help an eCommerce site rank higher on Google, re targeted advertising to market products to users who have previously visited (and left) your ecommerce website, payment technologies, and logistical engineering to get a product from the warehouse to the customer's house faster and more efficiently.

What is the process of digital commerce?

The first time a customer discovers a brand or product online, digital commerce begins. They may come upon an advertisement on their social media feed, the brand's domain name in Google search results, or a product listing on a retail aggregator.

Consider a customer shopping on the commerce platform Amazon. Their website uses a complicated algorithm to provide users with personalised search pages for any particular item.

The order in which goods display may fluctuate greatly from one client to the next, depending on consumer behaviour records, geographic location, and a variety of other factors.

Analytics are used to better inform how things are sold, presented on a website, and even how help and customer concerns are handled.

In this sense, digital commerce is less about moving purchases from point A to point B and more about how customer data is collected and used to continuously improve the online buying experience.

Examples of digital commerce

Digital commerce refers to a broad range of internet business activity. Here are four digital commerce examples:

Online shopping:

This entails selling tangible objects online, such as clothing, electronics, or home furnishings.With digital commerce platforms such as typof, it is simple to set up an online store.

Digital items:

Intangible products include ebooks, software, mobile apps, online courses, and digital subscriptions (such as streaming services). Platforms such as Gumroad,Teachable, and Academy make it simple to sell digital things.

Online services:

Businesses that provide services can sell their knowledge online. Web design, graphic design, digital marketing, and consultancy are all options. Up work and Fiver are platforms that link service providers with clients.

Marketplaces on the internet:  

Marketplaces bring buyers and sellers together for an infinite number of things. Amazon, eBay, and Etsy sell real things, while Envato Market sells digital assets such as website designs.

Trends in digital commerce

The digital shopping experience, like the internet, is always evolving. Some industry trends include:

1. Personalization

Cookies small pieces of code that allow websites to "remember" their users and so customise material for them revolutionized the online customer experience. Customers today want personalised experience, and 88% believe they are more likely to buy from brands who give personalised experiences.

2. Products that are interactive

Augmented and virtual reality have begun to be used by digital businesses as additional touch points throughout the customer journey. For example, online clothing merchants may employ augmented reality to build digital fitting rooms where clients can virtually try on goods.

3. Inventory management

Inventory is still a significant expense for internet retailers, a problem that technology has worked hard to address.

Large retailers such as Target and Walmart now use sophisticated algorithms to locate product inventories in physical shops around the country, allowing them to leverage store stocks to fulfil l online consumer requests.

This reduces the need for separate in-store and warehouse inventories, which can be costly. Alternatively, large digital commerce sellers such as Alibaba Express cut out the middleman by linking consumers directly with suppliers, avoiding the need for extensive warehouses.

4.Marketing mix

With its numerous channels, digital commerce has fragmented the client experience. One possible antidote to this difficulty is integrated marketing: by unifying marketing creative across all customer touch points, brands may generate a unified digital experience that matches customer expectations in a dispersed digital world.

5. Automation

Retailers are increasingly turning to automation to streamline operations and cut expenses. By automating monotonous inventory, marketing, and support duties in eCommerce, firms can focus on more important areas such as growth and customer experience.

6. API-driven commerce

Headless commerce is a new approach to digital commerce in which the front-end user experience is separated from the back-end eCommerce infrastructure. This trend allows companies to create more tailored and flexible customer experiences across several channels and devices.

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