Delivering innovation to customers via a digital-first focus
A renewed focus on the customer experience, driven by digital technologies sitting on a robust, fast and stable network will deliver market success........
There’s no more getting around e-commerce. But not all suppliers are benefitting equally; smaller retailers in particular face challenges.
When Amazon and eBay were founded in 1995, retail platforms with millions of products delivered immediately after they were ordered were almost inconceivable. By now, they’re part of everyday life. And even in areas that were previously dominated by offline transactions, e-commerce is now advancing into areas such as food sales, healthcare, and banking. One central reason for this development is that in brick-and-mortar retail alone, a comparable increase in efficiency with a simultaneous reduction in costs cannot be achieved.
There’s no end to e-commerce growth and dynamic market development in sight: In 2015, electronic commerce accounted for 7.4 percent of global trade turnover, and this figure is expected to rise to 17.5 percent by 2021. But it is the big players who dominate the market: 43 percent of sales are generated by the three largest online stores.
For small retailers, on the other hand, sales via their own online presences stagnate in many cases, while customer expectations continue to rise: E-commerce has to be individualized, fast, and accessible , or customers will switch to the next provider. In other words, the customer experience is a very good way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
The Integrated customer journey
"we take people places they want to go...."