Today’s technology allows ecommerce to be as flexible as possible and adjust to whatever the demand brings without overextending and blowing off budgets. You don’t need to rebuild your entire architecture to effectively sell online anymore.
The inheritance of a “plug-and-play” structure to online retail might have the potential to change the game.
It consists of 4 general principles that retailers can gradually implement to adjust their platforms for a more consistent and fresh retail experience.
#1 Technical dexterity
An adjustive ecommerce website rests on the technical diversity of its components. Back in the day, online stores used to strive for autonomy where having your custom ecommerce engine was a sign of a solid and trustworthy platform. Over time, this perception has changed due to the fact that tweaking massive ecommerce web applications was a painful process and affected a lot of its functionality.
The web of today is being accessed from a multitude of various devices. Same customers might be using 2 or more different device form factors to accomplish tasks on the same website. The experience they are getting has to be consistent across the entire array of media.
For us, this means using the same APIs that perform equally good through various resolutions while providing a consistent core functionality.
Modular ecommerce engines then, provide customizable options with consistent digital wallet experience without the need to readjust, robust analytics, and a dedicated team running their specific product. Here’s the list of top seven ecommerce engines for online retailers in 2018.
Image credit: Virgil Pana
#2 Aesthetic flexibility
If we can separate the core functionality of the ecommerce web application, which is marketing and presentation, we may reach a new level of experience design and user engagement. APIs allow deep customization of the supplied ecommerce engine while keeping the shopping mechanism intact.
New experiences make their way to the habitual ones in a heartbeat and it’s extremely difficult to compete with them if you are behind. We’re talking about Apple Pay and wireless credit card processing for store retail and single-click purchases and Touch-ID for web and mobile payments. These principles save a ton of time and are generally a delightful way to spend money.
With a strong API in place, you can upgrade the navigation patterns, response, and meaningful interactions with it through interface design.
Image credit: uixNinja
#3 Contextual relevance
In 2018 it’s not all about what you sell but rather, how you sell it. Marketing today means surfing the hype, going viral, and staying within the trends with by hook or by crook. There is a reason why popular websites tap into ecommerce right away after they reach a certain level of notoriety. They might start off with the merch, head on to signature products, and perhaps even own lines of products.
In that sense, online retailers have to pay attention to the type of content they produce. Having endorsers and influencers under your banner is a great chance to address a large number of customers. Social media is all about content. Let it be your beacon.
“Speak , So That I Can See You” — Socrates
Image credit: Ola Michalewska
#4 3D expandability
Every online store and digital retail looks to extend its niche and grow business in conformity with the momentum it generates. In order to maintain your customer following while providing them with new experiences, scalability potential has to be taken into account.
Modern ecommerce applications are not monolith but consist of microservices — a set of smaller operations that a complicated process is broken down into. For example, Amazon DevOps allow deep customization of scalable web services to lower their cost during nighttime and boost the resources at a peaking point. The same way, scaling your retail platform in a seasonal or any other logic gives you the flexibility needed.
Image credit: Julien Renvoye
How to evolve in online retail
Being adaptable to the changes in business environment and social expectations is a crucial ability of a retail platform and the indication of its management’s acumen. However, startup owners can also benefit from implementing the Adjustive Ecommerce strategy to their business even if it’s an aspiring monetizable project.
Strategize retail development
First off, there has to be a growth strategy and it has to be feasible. With all due respect, Mars colonization plans have little to no relevance to the perspectives of a convenient store development. Real goals help define the dynamics you are generating and the momentum your current efforts produce. Assessing where you stand and how to get where you want is the foundation of progress.
Keep tabs on your customer
Finding out what they are into, looking into your competition, analyzing the insights, and constantly iterating your own ideas to perfect the UX is what will keep you relevant and won’t let you fall out of the stream.
Make a checklist of your adjustive principles
Depending on the specifics of your retail, you can gradually improve it by introducing any of the 4 principles in the order that makes sense for you.
Find a competent team to implement your plan
This means hiring a team with the technical efficiency level capable of integrating a seamless API, a design team able to sustain consistency and engagement, a marketing specialist to take care of the content relevance, and a business analyst to lit the road to the future.
Once you develop a mindset for a constant user-oriented journey in your retail operation, you will be able to predict or even create the trends for them, respond to the market immediately and wisely, and build your brand’s reputation as a customer-facing business with a constantly fresh perspective.
