Maria Thomas

Mobile: The importance of mobile platforms to the future of e-commerce cannot be overstated. Consumers are shifting from desktop/web-driven experiences to mobile/app-driven experiences.  Smartphone ownership in the U.S., and elsewhere, hit a tipping point in 2012. More people now own a smartphone in the U.S. — 45% of adults — than own a traditional cellphone, according to a survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Though the PC remains the dominant device directing traffic to e-commerce sites, a few major players provide metrics showing significant traction coming from mobile devices.

·         Fab: 33% of sales on mobile; on Christmas Day 56% of sales on mobile

·         One in four users are visiting Etsy from a mobile phone

·         ~5-8% of Amazon.com 2012 sales expected to be from mobile

To take full advantage of the mobile revolution, retailers and sellers should better understand how customers shop with their mobile devices.  Today, mobile experiences tend to fill small gaps of time while people wait in line, ride the bus or subway, or wait for an appointment.  Speed matters.  Mobile experiences must be fast and designs should accommodate smaller screen sizes.

Retailers/sellers should also keep in mind that customers will find inspiration everywhere and act on mobile devices. From brick and mortar stores to online stores to just about anywhere: the popularity and penetration of smart phones makes selling stuff anywhere a reality. Walmart Canada and Mattel recently created a virtual toy store in Toronto’s underground walkway.  The virtual toy store enabled shoppers to scan a QR code – essentially from a poster — with their smartphones to purchase the hottest Mattel holiday toys from Walmart Canada.   Tesco (UK) did something similar last year with its HomePlus retail subsidiary in South Korea. Peapod is testing virtual grocery shopping in the U.S.

2.  Same Day Delivery: Amazon has offered same-day service in select locations since 2009.  Partially in response to Amazon’s growing e-commerce dominance, eBay, Google, WalMart, and USPS announced  in the last few months efforts to move to same day delivery in selected markets. Amazon and WalMart are especially well-positioned in this arena via their extensive warehousing operations (in Amazon’s case, their growing warehouse footprint) and increasing use of lockers at central locations.

3.  Lowering Barriers of Entry Creates More Opportunities: In 2013, sellers and individual service providers looking to build online storefronts can expect more choice, more ease, more features and—  in general — lower barriers of entry to establishing an online presence.  Beyond the well-known marketplaces (Amazon, eBay and Etsy), some noteworthy companies focused on helping SMBs set up shops include: Shopify, StoreEnvy, SpreeCommerce, and WooCommerce (e-commerce plug-in for WordPress).  For individual service providers —  especially for those selling their time and unique skills —  some companies leading the way include TaskRabbit, Content.ly, ODesk and  SideTour (full disclosure: I am a minor investor in SideTour)

A discussion of platforms must also include Facebook. Many businesses, particularly larger businesses, have mixed experiences setting up storefronts on Facebook.  Facebook doesn’t have a coherent strategy in this area and it doesn’t promote “shops”. Still, many small businesses are experimenting and some are seeing positive results.  A few examples are: Voltaire Diamonds, LollyWallyDoodle, Spring Wools, and Got What It Cakes.  Payvment, a Facebook commerce enabler, offers tools to help businesses create a Facebook storefront with a shopping cart and promotions like discounts and coupons.

To the extent sellers are using multiple platforms, they will need reliable systems to manage inventory across many sites and to market goods through many channels.  In 2013, I wouldn’t be surprised to see new services emerge that help sellers seamlessly manage inventory, marketing, and accounting across these multiple points of presence. Already, SellSimple is offering an app to help sellers list items simultaneously across Ebay, Etsy, and Craig’s List.

4.  Increasing Integration of E-commerce Models Under One Brand

Amazon is, of course, the poster child for this approach: it’s a classic 1.0 e-tailer (controls customer experience by holding and distributing inventory), a marketplace, local deals provider and distributor, and – via MyHabit.com — a private/flash sales retailer.  There are other examples too:  Asos in the U.K. is a traditional e-tailer but it recently added a  marketplace serving both boutiques and individuals who want to sell new or used items. One King’s Lane: in 2012, introduced Vintage and Market Finds,a dedicated part of the site where verified third parties can sell product. Now, about 25% of the products on OKL are third party products–that is, sold not by OKL but direct from third parties.Men’s street ware site, KarmaLoop’s, also operates a marketplace called Kazbah.  West Elm extended its business models to include the West Elm Market and Collaborators.   In general, the idea is to diversify revenues and add higher margin businesses to the mix by leveraging existing traffic and presenting more items from different sellers.

Almost heaven, WV.