After 2020, our normal ways of living, interacting with the world and even buying drastically changed, we had to adapt our strategies and improve our digital presence over many channels. Statistics showed that nearly half of consumers shifted their spending towards online channels, across all categories ranging from grocery to apparel and electronics.  

There’s no way moving backward, this environment set on fire our imagination and tested our adaptive skills to fulfill worldwide needs. This situation caused a serious change in everyone’s behavior and now we’re finding silver linings in this new way of living, companies are finding potential and possibilities to grow. Now we need to study new buyers’ behavior to understand new dynamics and sketch our new strategy into an omnichannel experience for our customers.  

Before spending resources and have the skills required to upgrade your business, let’s analyze successful examples and understand what they did to thrive during uncertainty, this could be useful to understand how their mindset works and what led them to succeed.   

Here Are Some Successful Examples to Get Inspired!

Instagram Shopping  

Even though this feature has been there for a long time, it was completely developed the last year and companies sought the value after the e-commerce boom, we lived in 2020Thifeature enables the possibility of shopping through one of the most relevant social media channels. This is what creating a seamless experience looks like. You see a product that caught your interest, you tap the picture, they show you the price tag and you can continue your online shopping without leaving the platform.   

Nike  

We all feel empowered and ready to start running when Nike comes to our minds. This is not a random thought. This is something Nike has been working on for years and this company is a great example of how a company can level up to worldwide needs and develop wholesome experiences. They’re not only selling footwear, apparel, equipment, or accessories to do sports but also, they’re giving you a complete online-offline experience along with apps to support you…they sure know how to keep a brand top of mind.  

Coca-Cola 

Over the last months, they reshaped their commercial strategy and enhanced their customer portal accelerating their digital presence. In their platform, they’ve been working to provide a digital marketplace for the customers, removing intermediaries, proposing a better service, on-shelf availabilityand making it easier to buy their products.   

They’re also building digital partnerships and are focusing on activities to support their customers to gain market share and deliver an outstanding customer experience. They’ve seen the important role digital transformation is having, and they will continue to invest in digital solutions. 

Thinking ahead of time…  

DHL E-commerce Solutions  

Some companies were ahead of time and foresee the importance of e-commerce and worked to make it simple for companies to ship with a full range of shipping services. DHL e-commerce developed a consolidated option with portals to bring a centralized way so their customers can manage their shipment processes easily, to help them fulfill their transportation needs and grow sales channels. This is also proof of the many possibilities e-commerce is bringing to all players in the market.  

The Lesson: Be fast and Adapt.

We can have a glance at how companies adapted and executed fast not only to shift their strategies but also to support the community. This is something to learn and follow, sometimes life is not about protocols and processes, sometimes is about analyzing the environment, speed, and react according to current needs.  

What Can We Do to Embrace E-Commerce Transformation?

  • Don’t be afraid. We’re all experimenting and learning! Have an open mind to the future and test your way to the answer, there’s no right or wrong, this situation is completely new, and we are all innovating.

  • If you know about your customers, you’ll stand out. Before uploading services or products, you need to understand your customer’s behavior and journey. This race is not only about developing a digital presence, but also about creating a personalized experience for your customers.

  • Customer experience is key! Make sure to analyze and mitigate any possible friction points, don’t stand from your point of view or your employees’ view. Double-check communications, and make sure they’re aligned with your tone, with your mission, and that they’re human and empathic.

  • Are you approaching your customers through an omnichannel operation? If not, it is time to connect with them through multiple channels, it’s all about creating a seamless experience. If you’re not sure how it works, remember the last time you bought a product from a company that wasn’t on social media, that couldn’t be found in any browser, that wasn’t user friendly and that took you from one place to another making every step of the process harder than it used to be in offline experiences.

Lastly, we encourage you to stop being afraid to fail. We’re all experimenting and learning, don’t wait for protocols or processes to transform your business or you’ll be left behind. There’s no going back to normal, there’s only one way and it is moving forward. It is our time to re-think and re-shape our strategies to start playing a vital role in this new era. Are you ready for it?