Digital Shelf Analytics

Importance of Genuine Reviews on E-commerce Portal

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How it affects your brand’s ROI and safeguards Brand Reputation and Safety A recent study by Reprise which was conducted across Asia-Pacific highlights the shift in the pattern of a consumer when it comes to online shopping, especially during the pandemic. It suggests that the shift from offline shopping to online shopping is set to become a permanent change in retail consumption. Covid19 has indeed accelerated online behavior in brands and consumers alike. The study reveals that the majority of the consumers look at online ads to discover new brands and products, while social media plays a key role in increasing the brand’s visibility. Not just this, product reviews top the list to influence a buyer’s decision. In India alone, 64% percent of online shoppers look at genuine customer reviews about a product before making a final decision. Product rating and consumer reviews add an extra layer of trust to secure the customer journey, thus enabling a customer to complete the checkout process. Why do reviews matter? UGC (User-generated Content) is a pool of valuable consumer insights. Brands can leverage these insights to improve, ideate, and innovate products and services for their consumers whereas reviews act as a bridge of loyalty between a consumer and a brand. Another study indicates that 92% of shoppers trust organic user-generated content over and above traditional advertising. This gives a brand an opportunity to increase brand credibility and also save time and money which otherwise are spent on other marketing channels. Consumers who are influencers enjoy reviewing products online for it allows them to gain social recognition, especially in today’s digitized era where eCommerce intelligence plays an important role and every individual wants to become the next go-to influencer. More often than not, brands also incentivize their genuine customers to share their reviews in exchange for a coupon or discount code. In short, people consume a plethora of content when they shop online and a brand has to establish its credibility among its buyers to scale its business, via genuine means. Fake reviews vs brand reputation vs Trust Research estimates that online reviews will influence $3.8 trillion of global-e-commerce spend in 2021 and the direct influence of fake online reviews on global online spending is $152 billion! Phew! Trust is the only factor that binds a brand and consumers together. While looking for a product, if consumers do not find a review or any bad review about a product, skepticism comes to play. That’s pure-play human psychology. Brands believe that by faking good reviews on the eCommerce pages they will attract consumers, they don’t realize the fact that today’s consumers are smart enough to differentiate between a verified review vis-à-vis the ones injected by bots. Using similar wordplay such as ‘excellent product’, ‘great product’, ‘worth buying’ and more such (fake) reviews injected by bots, it’s a clear indication to the customers that these are not-so-genuine reviews, thus customers end up alienating the brand and losing their trust in the brand FOREVER. This in turn hurts the brand reputation, credibility and ultimately affecting the ROI. Fake reviews are the final nail in the coffin for a brand. Once a shopper suspects the brand of having fake reviews, trust comes to question. In today’s era of eCommerce intelligence, it is of utmost importance that brands uphold consumer trust, provide them with adequate information and genuine reviews of their products which will ultimately translate into profit. And it’s not just a brand that may indulge in fake reviews, degrading content by competitors adds to the fake review menace to put the brand down. Automated submissions, bot programming, trolling activity, all such issues have infiltrated the e-commerce industry The Solution E-commerce is the viable channel for retailers in this new normal. Rising eCommerce transactions invite far potential fraudulent activities which affect the revenue and consumer trust. mScanIt e-com analytics tool by mfilterIt is packed with AI-driven technology which helps eliminate fake reviews and combat the scourge of fraud and deception. The tool leverages machine learning to identify fraudulent activities and protect the users and brand from fake reviews on eCommerce marketplaces. It is imperative to take necessary steps by investing in the right technology to minimize risks and ensure brand reputation to garner authentic users. Tools like mScanIt not only help to review the product page but also assist in the customer acquisition funnel and beyond! It’s to act now. Get in touch with us to understand the eCommerce intelligence solution and how can we ensure your brand’s safety and credibility and establish trust among your customers.

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Why Do You Need a Perfect Page Analysis for your Ecommerce Product Page?

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Avoid cart abandonment issues with mScanIt e-commerce competitive intelligence solutions. Covid19 has caused a major shift in shopping patterns – over 65% of people now prefer online shopping over a traditional brick-and-mortar store. With this shift in trends and preferences, it has become more important than ever to cater to your customers in a way that will lead to sales in an online environment. Sadly, brands and retailers are clouded by a plethora of assumptions about how their consumers shop for the products. There’s only a little (negligible) attention paid to the shopping experience, placement, product details, and many other elements which account for sales. This becomes a major concern for brands and retailers who face cart abandonment issues. An average cart abandonment rate for online retailers goes as high as 80%. One can only imagine the potential revenue loss faced by the platforms, sellers, and loss of trust for the brand from the consumers’ perspective. Cart abandonment not only means lower revenue but accounts for increased acquisition costs. Imagine walking into a physical store. You simply find your way to the product that you require, read the description, hold the package in your hand to understand the look and feel, and finally end up buying the product. Now, with a shift in shopping patterns, it is imperative to replicate the offline experience in an online environment. That’s where the concept of a perfect page analysis comes into the picture. Your product page on the e-commerce site has about 10 seconds to capture the attention of its potential buyer. And that can only happen (also to avoid cart abandonment issues) when you have a perfect page that appeals to the user. What is a Perfect Page Analysis? A perfect page analysis helps better the product experience in an online environment that directly helps boost sales, enhance product viewability, and increase product ranking, thus building a strong brand. Parameters of a Perfect Product Page The Mscanit eCommerce competitive intelligence tool helps you benchmark your product page on any eCommerce website across various parameters: 1. Perfect product description (number of words) Long gone are days of lengthy crafty descriptions. Studies indicate that page visitors read about 15-20% of the text on any page. Users simply scan for key information. The tool ranks the product description basis the words, context, and word count. 2.Desired number of product images and videos It becomes difficult to assess the product quality, size, content written on the product, and many other such information which can otherwise be easily understood in an offline store. mScanIt helps in assessing the desired number of images and videos you need to compensate for the physical feel of the product thus giving the customer better clarity and information about the product. 3. Placement of the content (‘The fold’) With the proliferation of different shapes and sizes of devices such as laptops, mobiles, desktops, etc, it is important to understand the placement of the texts on your product page. This is because the required product information shouldn’t flow down to the bottom of the page as the user scrolls down. The tool ranks your page in terms of content placement which contributes to the user shopping experience. 4. SEO friendly keywords Having SEO-friendly keywords is the nervous system of your product page. We can’t emphasize enough the SEO aspect to get that perfect page for your business. The tool ranks your page basis the keywords used in context to the product displayed thus giving a fair idea to where the page stands. The tool not only ranks the above-mentioned parameters for the product you cater to as a brand but also helps you assess your competitor’s ranking. All this information when compiled together, helps brands make data-driven decisions to succeed on e-commerce platforms and also aid in cart abandonment problems. Having the perfect page is the DNA of your e-commerce business. Book a trial with us today to get your perfect page analysis done.

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Your Go-To Guide for E-commerce Competitive Intelligence – Part 2

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Top 4 ways to succeed in your e-commerce business Businesses don’t build and succeed in a day. It takes sheer determination, persistency, and the right mix of tools to become relevant. Such tasks are often very challenging and time-consuming in nature but in order to grow, it is important to grab all the possible opportunities and stay ahead of the curve. mScanIt helps businesses uncover powerful insights for brands, sellers, retailers, and the marketplace. Take in charge of your business by automating vendor management, price listing stock availability, and much more. In order to succeed, every business should be able to track the following parameters: Discoverability Availability Visibility Search Analytics Execution Compliance & Brand Safety Performance To mark your presence in the e-com marketplace, monitoring and banking upon competitors’ weaknesses and strengths give added advantage of becoming the go-to brand. mScanIt gives an in-depth Ecommerce competitive intelligence and helps your business track all the above parameters, not just for your business but gives insights into your competition’s business. The dashboard translates data into actionable insights and reports to help you strategize your next move. Let us have a look at the ways in which mScanIt can become an effective tool to help your e-commerce business succeed. 1. Monitor Competitor Pricing in Real-time It all makes sense why successful entrepreneurs talk about having an eagle’s eye of the business ecosystem. The tool helps your business in keeping an ‘eye’ on how your competitors are pricing their products which will help you make informed decisions about your line of products. This intelligent tool helps in tracking, comparing, and analyzing the prices in real-time across numerous competitors. Business strategy can be formulated basis competitor’s pricing strategy so as to when should you lower or increase the prices. For instance, a certain product that is in high demand and no other competitors cater to the audience, your business can increase the product price to capitalize on the opportunity. 2. Product Availability Have you been observing that the retailer is re-stocking your competitor’s product more often than he stocks your product? Or is your direct competitor frequently re-stocking a product on specific days of the week? The tool will help you analyze the products which have gone out of stock on the retailer’s website, the days it’s been unavailable, and what’s the ongoing conversation between the retailer and your shoppers about the unavailable products. It will also help you analyze the reasons behind why your direct competitor is more preferred by the shoppers. 3. Customer Reviews Customer is king and they’re the ones driving fuel to your business. Product reviews offer tons of actionable insights. The tool help you monitor not just your product but what reviews are being given to your competitor’s products. Based on the feedback you can improve your product line and even target customers who’re unhappy with your competitor’s products. One can also gauge insight into the new entrants who’re faring well in terms of customer reviews which can then be worked upon in your business to improve the satisfaction score. 4. Offers, Promotions, and Ads Witnessing a dip in your loyal customer base? This could be because your competition is taking over your loyal customer base by offering them better rates or wooing them with different schemes and offers. The tool will keep track of any offers and promotions undertaken by your competitor to help you make informed decisions and also help you track your promotional campaign results in terms of output generated. To stay relevant and lead the race of success, it is important to know all about your competitors. Whether it’s about growth strategy or analyzing the products, automated tools similar to Ecommerce Competitive Intelligence help in bringing valuable insights which benefit in better positioning of your brand and add credibility among your customers. Book a trial with us today!

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Your Go-To Guide for E-commerce Competitive Intelligence – Part 1

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2 part series to succeed in e-commerce business “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” – Otto Von Bismarck Competition keeps a business on its toes. From bringing in new product line categories to scouting for consumers (and engaging old customers), the idea is to become the go-to choice for your customers. Online shoppers are merciless beings (no offense) as they’re spoiled with a plethora of choices and offers. While shopping for their requirement, if the competition’s business appears before your business does, you tend to become a history for them. In today’s world of free-market and internet accessibility, e-commerce has become a lucrative choice for shoppers and businesses alike. No matter what product you offer, there will always be 20 other websites to offer similar products that are trying to woo customers with varied schemes and offers. The competition is pervasive and if you do not keep a close eye on your competition, there’s a good chance that your business will no longer be in the competition in times to come. The E-commerce business is in cut throat competition. Every business must have its eyes and ears everywhere, all at once. Understanding Ecommerce Competitive Intelligence Understanding the competitor is not quite an easy task as it may sound. Although every query is a click away, however, the idea is to first understand the kind of competition you face. Direct competitors are those businesses in the competition who sell the same products and services as your business does. Indirect competitors are businesses that do not sell similar products as your business but satisfy the same customer need. The sweet spot is to determine how your business offerings fare in comparison to theirs and what are the differences stand out. Ecommerce competitive intelligence, therefore, is a strategic understanding of your business in the marketing related to our competition. What’s your business like, who’s your competition, what are they selling and at what price, product availability, discount, and offers; there’s a wide range of intelligence that is gathered and the same information is put to use to outshine your competitors. Gathering effective competition intelligence in today’s barrage of marketing and avalanche of digital marketing techniques requires a dedicated team that will monitor and report data in real-time. The difficulty arises when such processes are done manually which is cumbersome and time taking. By the time all such data is gathered and analyzed, your competition might have already wooed your loyal customers making your business redundant. Automation is the key Processing massive chunks of data manually is nearly impossible. As you start scaling your business, processes become more dreadful with repetitive tasks. Taking care of product availability, vendor inventory, order dispatches, packaging, every task has to be on point all the while staying on top of customer service and reviews. Apart from managing your own business, it is also important to keep a close check on the competition to better position your services. None of this is practically possible by employing manual processes. That is where automated tools such as mScanIt offer optimized analytical support for your e-commerce business to succeed. It is imperative to analyze your e-commerce business through the right mix of relevant insights, including, competitor price and discount comparisons, RoI on ad-spends in marketplaces, automated reports. Not just this, such tools also help businesses in finding USP (which might be different than what the business thought), analyze your competition’s weaknesses, and explore possibilities to tap into untouched market segments.

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PepsiCo’s D2c is a Big Sign of Digital Commerce Becoming Mainstream for Brands

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PepsiCo announced two new direct-to-consumer offerings to shop directly online. So far, the approach of brands that existed prior to the digital era has been lukewarm about digital platforms. It’s been more about feeling better to be there as well as feel the FOMO. However, the actual sales expectations have not been much. Typically, such businesses don’t sell more than 10% online and still depend heavily on brick-and-mortar retail. Well, they are not wrong in doing so. That is where the customer has been so far. For the online, the strategy has been to hook on some of the popular marketplaces with very soft objectives. It was more like just tick-marking one of the checklist items. The COVID-19 situation has made brands realize that irrespective of whatever penetration they have in the offline channel, online can bring a much-required and reliable direct connection with the customer. This has many advantages for a brand. The most important benefit at the moment is sales fulfillment. Brands come to know where the opportunities are in terms of demand and align everything at their disposal to fulfill that. Other advantages include building a direct connection with the customer, so learning a lot about them. Also, the supplies right up to the shelf level can be curated and connected with the demand. This way customers can be pampered more by exactly delivering what is being looked for. Whether the brand will continue to engage with aggregate marketplaces or not, is too early to debate. However, it appears they will continue to be present on these marketplaces and built upon a direct online presence as well. This is not the first journey for many brands. They have been digitally active primarily through social media platforms to engage directly with customers for their feedback, messaging, and communication. Now they are adding one more important layer of selling directly to the customer. This is going to disrupt the traditional channels where we have many layers of intermediaries. Disney, for example, has its Direct to Customer & International program which is redefining the business of entertainment content. Even if the production house would be the same, the content would always be location-driven and the libraries Disney would be having in the US are entirely different than what they have in India, as an example. Much of it is done with the distribution network in each country which pushes what they feel will sell rather than what consumers want. Going direct to the customer gives Disney the power to deliver content irrespective of any borders and actually sense the pulse of the customer, who is now a global citizen and wants no disparity between what could be consumed in India or the US. Brands will have to reach the right customers and know a lot about them and their preferences. These newcomers will have to take a lot more cautious approach while going directly online in terms of challenges like ad fraud and brand safety. The digital marketing learning curve has just begun for these traditional brands while the aggregate marketplaces are digital-only/digital-first organizations that have a much-evolved understanding of the complexities of the digital maze which is behind the application or service. PepsiCo and many other brands that will go Direct-to-Consumer in the next few weeks or at least months will have to proactively deal with ad fraud and brand safety. This is because their customer will come for a particular purpose on their platform, so discovering the right and genuine customer will hold the key to success. On aggregate marketplaces, the customer can still find many other products (reasons) to connect even if the primary hook did not meet the expectations. More so, the brands that are digitally evolved are losing anywhere between 25-35% on account of ad fraud, there are chances that newcomers will lose more.

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