5 critical requirements for surviving and thriving in ecommerce today

Posted on information-age.com, January 7, 2016, by Ben Rossi.

There has been an explosion in opportunities around the e-commerce space in recent years as buying habits have continued to migrate towards online and mobile platforms.

Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses have had to quickly adapt to the digital world through omnichannel strategies. Even native e-commerce players have struggled to keep up with the rapidly evolving expectations of online shoppers.  

When purchasing goods or services through mobile or online platforms, customers expect websites to be fast, engaging and responsive. They don’t tolerate downtime and will quickly take business elsewhere if a site is lagging or unavailable.

According to a study by TagMan, a one-second delay in web page load time can mean 11% fewer page views, a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction and a 7% loss in conversions.

The rise in mobility has added even more complexity to the challenge. A recent study by RetailMeNot found that the UK is the most mature mobile commerce market in Europe, with 28% of consumers using smartphones for shopping. This presents a wonderful opportunity for sales growth, but also creates more user expectations — and more obstacles.

Getting the necessary performance from a web-hosting environment for mobile devices is different from providing performance for desktop users. Mobile networks were originally designed for voice rather than web traffic. As a result, they can experience speed and reliability issues, impacting load times.

A widening range of mobile devices and usage contexts pose increasing performance issues. For example, slower processing speed due to lessened CPU power on mobile devices over their desktop counterparts.

In rapidly growing mobile and online environments; devices, networks, software, protocols and standards are continually in flux. This creates complexity and unpredictability that can make it difficult to ensure high performance and a consistent user experience.

Online sales are now central to the success of e-commerce firms and other organisations with a significant online presence. Therefore the smooth performance of websites is business-critical. To meet these expectations, businesses need to stay ahead of the challenges. This means maintaining a maniacal focus on the design and development of their web applications, mobile applications and infrastructures.

Reducing the complexity of delivering high-performing web experiences is paramount. Not only will this improve the user experience, but will provide a more cost effective model. Using proven technologies and trusted suppliers will help a business deliver an increased user experience. Such an approach will ultimately increase conversions and user engagement – a primary goal for any business with an online presence.