Digital Shelf Analytics

Uncover New Opportunities: Fill the White Space in eCom Landscape

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

The cursor blinking on a blank page is the writer’s white space waiting for sweaty palms and dry throat to relax and get over the excruciating writer’s block. In business, things are not that different or as nerve-wracking yet very exciting. It is all about identifying the target and formulating strategies to acquire these white spaces on the eCom landscape and uncover new opportunities. Is it that easy? Certainly not. Brands need insights and comprehensive analysis of competition or lack of it in the geography or pin-code to target. The omnichannel shopping avenues and new demographics turning to online shopping have opened up white spaces for brands to target and make their brand presence felt in the untapped territory. For Example, global QSR giant, McDonald’s started with just two items on the menu. They surveyed competitors and found out that they need to hyper-focus on best-seller items instead of expanding the menu to propel customer satisfaction. These were the white spaces in their industry. The insights helped them focus on customer service which was lacking among the competition at that time. Just imagine what ecommerce competitive analysis can do now for business – identifying White spaces and beyond. Understanding what was missing from the market, identifying what customers were lacking, and turning that industry gap into a success. Let’s dig deep and find out what exactly are white space opportunities, and how can they be turned into an asset. Benefits Of Digital Commerce Analysis to Identify White Space Digital commerce intelligence across e-commerce platforms, geographies, product categories, sub-categories, and variants vis-à-vis competition provides actionable insights. These insights and analysis help uplift product performance in existing space along with displaying brand untapped potential. Analysis of white space could help improve the product sales process, strengthen customer relations, acquire new customers, grow business reach, and enhance potential. Here are some key benefits brands can achieve from analysis and identifying white spaces: Expanded customer base Increased opportunities for upselling and cross-selling Improved customer relations, acquisition, and retention Refined sales approach and strategy New opportunities for innovation The white spaces are filled when the unspoken and unmet needs of the customers are uncovered by brands holding on to new opportunities, leading innovation, and expanding product reach. How to Find White Space in the eCom Landscape? Map New Opportunities It’s time to map your white space opportunities. The mapping can be done in 3 ways – internally-focused, externally-focused, and future-focused. Internally focused white space mapping – identify your brand or company strengths, abilities, potential opportunities, and competitive threats. The comprehensive analysis of own product performances across the digital commerce ecosystem provides a clear picture. It helps businesses determine how effectively act upon the market barriers, opportunities, and competitive threats. Externally focused white space mapping – identify products and services in the existing market failing to meet needs – potential gaps in the system, lack of competition, non-consumers, or new market spaces. Future-focused mapping – strategic forecasting, based on insights, devise business strategies based on actionable insights. Analyze Your Findings The compiled data on KPIs and power SKUs help connect the dots. The data tells the story of your product performance vis-à-vis competition. Brands monitoring their own and competition across platforms and geographies keep them on their toes. Understanding customer needs, finding out and plugging gaps in brand performance, discovering new areas to focus on, and identifying existing region that needs a boost based on platform, geography, and product-specific data insights. The analysis will highlight the white space and illustrate where you can target customers with better solutions. Accelerate Revenue by Identifying White Space Smart businesses take advantage of customer data, sales performance metrics, and competitor information to formulate cutting-edge strategies. Full visibility into your sales, delivery TAT, and customer sentiments find the gaps in your offerings and fill them with suitable action. This leads to accelerate revenue generation from the existing system and venturing into new untapped markets and demographics opens new avenues for revenue generation and expands brand reach. Final Thoughts – Get the Competitive Advantage There are many different interpretations of ‘white space’ in business. Some consider it to be all about unchartered territories, while others feel it is a lack of competition. The key is finding the white space in your market segment and identifying market opportunities that your business is capable of capitalizing on. Map out new opportunities that your business has the capability, resources, and drive to meet. Evaluating the competition marketing strategies find a white space and define your target customer. Figure out What you do better than our competition. And What do they do better than you? Competitive advantage helps position the brand in the eCommerce market segment. Finding white space may sound straightforward – but it is not. Plug in mScanIt, a Digital Commerce Intelligence Solution, to get real-time actionable insights across the digital commerce ecosystem. Monitor and analyze your product performances vs competition at every touchpoint across the customer journey. Your ‘white space’ lies in Identifying key needs within the target market that are currently not being met by any other provider. This is where the brand focus for growth should be. Get in Touch for more information.

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Luxury eCommerce: Making Shopper Aspirations More Accessible

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

Days of dreaming to own a Prada bag or a pair of Chanel pumps & Slingbacks for years are gone. Now, no need to worry about the death stares from the sales executives when you inquire about the price. Those fears weren’t unfounded either. The luxury eCommerce has opened the door for such dreams to turn into reality. The digital commerce landscape is transforming. Luxury brands are also getting available online with exclusive offers to acquire a new range of customers, who are willing to get the taste of luxury items. India’s luxury eCom race is heating up with Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care product-specific eCommerce platforms. There is definitely a lot more to come, as the geographically widespread market is a perfect fit for online selling. Let’s take a closer look at the elite items & brands reaching out to online shoppers. Luxury eCom Segment The major benefactor of the growing online luxury segment is the Indian designers and global Luxury brands, who were exclusively available in stores only. The eCommerce marketplace variants exclusively selling luxury goods are penetrating the Indian market steadily and preparing their niche customer base. Names like Ajio Luxe, NNNOW.com, Darveys, Tata CliQ Luxury, and Nykaa.com are all opening the door of luxury brands and items to Shoppers who wish to add these to their luxurious lifestyles. India’s $6 Billion luxury goods market is finally going digital. According to the Euromonitor International report, the Beauty segment is moving at a faster pace as compared to fashion. The 12.1 percent of super-premium luxury items in the beauty and personal segment are now getting sold through the eCommerce distribution channel. The number might not look much, but in terms of order value, it is quite significant. The Luxury fashion segment on the other hand is moving slowly as only 5.5 percent of designer apparel and footwear are selling online. The pandemic shook the luxury industry hard but opened new avenues for selling beyond brick-and-mortar glamorous stores. The industry segments bank on the growing purchase capacity of millennials in tier-1 cities and fluttering expectations of new wealthy shoppers from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The convenience and availability meet the needs of these shoppers. Another factor that is driving luxury eCommerce is investment from conglomerates like Tata and Reliance. Tata owns Tata CliQ Luxury while Reliance sells Luxury products via Ajio Luxe. This appeals to Indian Luxury consumers and brands that feature on the eCommerce platform. New Opportunities for Luxury Brands India is on the verge of a Retail renaissance. As high-income individuals and consumer wealth is growing in India the Luxury segment is all set to expand its reach. Wealth spread across the cities reflect in the fact that according to Ajio Luxe – 60 percent of its orders are from outside the top 8 cities in India. The target audience is expanding as more and more people aspire to buy luxury items. They might start with high-end luxury handbags and push a little higher the next time buy Salvatore Ferragamo handbags. The Omnichannel approach to selling is also in place, offering personal service assistance recreating luxury brand store experience online. Loyalty programs, personalized service, luxury chauffeur delivery, exclusive guarantees, warranties, etc. are what enhance the customer experience. The brands need to respond to new Indian luxury consumers and optimize the brand performance, discoverability and track availability across luxury eCommerce platforms. As the kind of services is highly personalized brands there can’t be much saved on that but brands can save on physical store costs on the high street or shopping places in the city and operate from a warehouse in one-fourth of the cost. Optimizing Luxury eCom Retail A wide range of categories is focused on by Online Luxury marketplaces. Every Luxury brand in various market segments is an established name itself. To those shoppers who know the brands and products all they look for is what’s new is launched this season. The key area to focus on here is the availability of an exclusive product range based on the personalized preferences of the customers. For someone who is new to luxury products and brands, optimizing customer experience is key. As multiple brands of luxury items compete fiercely in the same space on the eCommerce platform, unlike a luxury store in an illustrious marketplace. Online Luxury stores like Darveys push aggressively with a massive range in online fashion presenting more than 380 authorized sellers worldwide to Indian luxury shoppers. Setting discounts and pricing becomes crucial in the online luxury landscape as well, catering to Indian customers middle class or ultra-rich, discounts are a must. In the Luxury segment, these margins are really fine to hold the brand value. Even Labels like Balenciaga and Burberry are also warming up with offers exclusive to discounts to Indian customers. Home Décor & Furnishings, Beauty & Personal Care, and Fashion & accessories eCommerce are the segments growing in the online Luxury shopping space, pumping a massive amount of order volume. Nykaa, in the past year, has witnessed sales rise by 300 – 400 percent and expects next year’s gross merchandise Volume to be approximately $250 million. Exclusively venturing into the fashion market with a range of luxury products. The Competitor Tata CliQ Luxury is not far behind. They venture into home goods, beauty, and fragrances, along with exclusive fashion Luxury items. The products are a mix of Indian luxury labels along with global brands distributed in India. They are trying to tap the emerging premium designers. Once the consumer moves into that price point, the glory days for Indian emerging labels will hit their stride. The Designer Label of Ritu Kumar can also be found on Tata CliQ Luxury’s ‘Indie Luxe’ vertical. Fashion eCom Category Expansion The most accessible category in the Luxury eCommerce is handbags & accessories featuring brands like Coach, Michael Kors, and Kate Spade, etc. These high-ticket pieces work like a bridge to the luxury category, bringing in more shoppers to other categories. Another growing category is a dedicated range of sneakers that attract a

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How to Boost Engagement with Content Recommendations & Analysis?

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Anukirti Jain

According to a survey, 87% of online customers said good product descriptions do influence purchase decisions. It often said visuals grab attention better than text. But what next? Once you get the shopper attention with a high-quality picture, product titles must clearly and quickly convey exactly what you’re selling, and then comes the description once your product gets discovered by the shopper. The hardest part of listing an item on e-marketplaces is setting the perfect product description to ensure visibility to the targeted customers. Finding the right words to define your product is quite a task. Let find out how brands and sellers ease this process with content recommendations and analysis and bring in more engagement and sales conversions. Product visibility on eCommerce platforms Brands need to be on their toes while listing products on digital commerce platforms. The competition is fierce, and shoppers have a shorter attention span. Brands and sellers must quickly engage shoppers with an attractive title and engaging description. High-quality A+ content with images and videos is critical to making a purchase decision. Brands can improve their organic search ranking by enhancing or let say refining the product description, with high-performing keywords and exponentially enriching the reach of their category page. 87% of online customers said good product descriptions influence their purchasing decisions Source: Salsify Survey Role of Content in the purchase decision – Content plays a vital role in shoppers making a purchase decision. Understanding the needs of the customers can help in putting up the right content recommendation. Brands and sellers need to focus on generating good content that connects with the audience. Influencing customers is a critical business goal that can be fulfilled via – Establish a lasting connection Providing relevant and useful information Building a sense of trust among customers Building a brand reputation as a market leader and an expert Being open to customer engagement Challenges in setting up the perfect Product Display Page (PDP) content There are several challenges in setting the right content for a product display page on an eCommerce platform. Some of these challenges include: – Balancing the amount of information: It’s important to provide enough information about the product to help the customer make an informed decision, but too much information can overwhelm them. Finding the right balance can be tricky. – Highlighting the most important and most relevant features: Customers want to know the key features of a product, but what’s important to one customer might not be important to another. It’s important to identify the most important features and highlight them prominently. – Providing accurate and up-to-date information in bullet form: Customers rely on the information provided on product pages to make purchasing decisions. Providing inaccurate or outdated information can lead to unhappy customers and a rise in product returns. Use bullet points to convey information. – Optimizing for search: Product pages need to be optimized for search engines to ensure they appear in relevant search results. This requires carefully choosing high-performance and relevant keywords and ensuring that the page complies with search guidelines. – Creating engaging content: Product pages that are engaging and visually appealing are more likely to hold a customer’s attention and lead to a purchase. This can be a challenge, particularly when dealing with products that are difficult to photograph or describe. – Consistency across product pages: It’s important to maintain a consistent look and feel across all product pages to ensure a seamless user experience. This can be a challenge when dealing with a large number of products or when different vendors are involved. It’s important to keep the customer’s needs in mind and to strive for consistency across all product pages. Why do brands need auto-generated content recommendation and analysis? The massive range of products listed across the eCommerce platform requires AI and ML to drive content that optimizes product performance by including SEO high-performing keywords and creating content that suits platform compliance. Brands need to move beyond manual content and switch to auto-generated content recommendations to optimize titles, descriptions, description bullets, images, and video scores. The Amazon Pi integration allows content recommendation analysis tools to fetch content and optimize overall content scores. Refines content to adhere to platform compliance guidelines. Save time in generating new content or correcting old content Identify gaps in the title & description text, and images & video content Include high-performance keywords to boost product Share of Voice across digital commerce platforms Final Thoughts – What should brands do? The manual process of refining Product display page content is neither cost-effective nor feasible for brands with a wide range of products under various categories and sub-categories across multiple eCommerce and Quick Commerce platforms. Brands need to move forward with advanced content recommendations analysis with ecommerce competitive analysis. Optimize PDP with Auto-generated content recommendations to set the right content theme that defines the product and boost product visibility with multiple content suggestions on PDPs. The brands should focus on achieving brand goals to push for more conversions with the perfect title and description and ensure your content suit every parameter defined across the eCommerce marketplaces. Comparing your product PDPs vs competition and understanding the gaps while ensuring all Government norms/ platform guidelines are met before publishing the PDP is critical to brand reputation and discoverability across the eCommerce and Quick Commerce platforms. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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Welcome to The World of Social Commerce

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

Has your brand joined the digital commerce revolution yet? No? You definitely should. Doesn’t matter how big or small a brand you are. Social Commerce is here to stay and grow at a rapid pace. New customers love making a purchase then and there. Impulse purchase drives a major chunk of social media sales. Typically, people google it or search for the item they seek on an online shopping platform. Once they discover what they want, they analyze the product and make a purchase. But social media empower them and triggers them to make a purchase instantly. Social Commerce in India The social commerce sector is rising high on the wave of new shoppers from tier 2 and tier 3 regions. Influencer-led commerce and recommendation-based or suggestion-based purchases are on the rise in smaller towns, and several large players in the space have scaled up quite rapidly in social commerce space such as Meesho. According to a report, the social commerce industry is expected to grow steadily, recording a CAGR of 62.4% during 2022-2028. India’s social commerce GMV will rise up to US$ 143,583.3 million by 2028 from US$ 8,258.8 million in 2022 There is a lot of traction in the apparel, and beauty & personal care space. Apart from that, another category that is receiving some traction is electronics. The change is in the air. Brands have now started tying up with influencers directly to promote their products. Gen Z and the millennial population who follows these influencers and brands on social media platforms are likely to contribute the most to the growth of the sector. The ecommerce market in India is poised to grow at a high speed due to the high adoption of social media platforms, and extensive smartphone penetration across the country. What Makes Social Commerce So Effective? Social commerce is a relatively new concept but has grown exponentially post-pandemic. A combination of social media and e-commerce uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to sell products and services directly to consumers. So, what makes social commerce so effective: – Purchase become part of social media experience – Social commerce empowers customers and enables them to make a purchase as part of the social media experience. It lures them in during micro-moments motivating them to make a purchase. – Target customers via their social media activity – Traditional digital commerce drives conversion via e-commerce advertising or search engine optimization (SEO) and optimization of customer journey while Social Commerce drives conversions via interactions, influencers, or sponsored content targeting potential customers based on their social media activity. – Doesn’t depend on traffic from searches – Social commerce across social media platforms is more effective as it’s not dependent on traffic coming from searches instead consumers are already engaged on the platform. The information known about the users is used for an algorithm to promote personalized suggestions. It makes it easier for the products or brands to feature directly on social feeds. – Ease of Making Purchase – Traditionally retailers share their products or services directly on their social media pages. They can use high-quality images or videos to showcase products and provide product details such as pricing and shipping information. But it needs users to move out of social media platforms and switch to online retail platforms and make a purchase. Things have become easier now as it takes users directly to the payment page. Users can make purchases directly from the social media platform, often using secure payment systems. Some social media platforms also offer their own payment processing services. – User-generated content and social sharing – Social commerce relies heavily on user-generated content and social sharing. Retailers can encourage their followers to share their products on their own social media pages, which can help to increase brand awareness and drive more sales. – Monitor and analyse performance – Brands can regularly monitor social commerce platforms to analyze performance, measure sales, and track user engagement vis-à-vis competition. This data can be used to optimize Social Commerce performance via ecommerce intelligence and will help formulate strategies and improve results. Overall, social commerce is a way for businesses to leverage the power of social media to reach a wider audience and drive sales. By creating engaging content, building a following, and making it easy for users to purchase products directly from social media, businesses can tap into a new revenue stream and increase their online presence. What’s Trending In The Social Commerce Segment 1. Small businesses are thriving: According to Harris Poll for Sprout Social survey, 70% of small businesses now are getting more visibility on social media and ensuring their presence on at least one social media platform. Many of their Small eCommerce businesses directly sell their products to consumers on social media. 2. It’s all about convenience: Making a purchase while scrolling through social media posts is trending. The ease of shopping and convenience of making a purchase is attracting more and more users. Products from their favorite brands and retailers can now be bought without ever leaving the platform. This makes the process quick and seamless. Personalized and targeted advertising, on social media, help consumers discover products relevant to them and suit their interests & needs. 3. Rise of mobile commerce: In the omni-channel retail ecosystem, businesses are focused on optimizing the customer journey and product performance across shopping platforms. Using tools to optimize not just on the eCommerce marketplace but also on their websites and social media for mobile. The high penetration of smartphones among widely distributed Indian demographics has led to a rise in mobile commerce. This pushes the popularity of social media as a shopping destination further with easier shopping on the go. 4. Influencer marketing on a rise: People Trust the words of the people they follow. Influencers or personalities with a large following on social media are now not just promoting brands on social media but also selling their product on social media to a highly targeted audience. Many consumers view

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Live Commerce – Buy it when you see it

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Anukirti Jain

Indian eCommerce players are swiftly moving towards Live Commerce to connect with new shoppers The rules of the game are changing! Online shopping is no longer limited to eCommerce marketplaces. The digital commerce landscape has expanded to new swift shopping avenues. Now shoppers can make a purchase while scrolling through their social media or just buy an item from a sponsored Live stream. The Omni Channel Shopping is the way forward for brands and sellers. Live Commerce is one such hot avenue attracting new shoppers and influencing brands to go Live with their products. Wondering what next for eCommerce Industry and brands? Let’s dig deep into Live commerce segments and Trends to find out the answers. Buy Live! Tune in to Live Commerce The first question comes that strikes the mind is – “How Live commerce is different from traditional eCommerce?” First, itLive. Second, itmore than just social commerce. It gives a Live view of the product to the shoppers. Live commerce involves the use of live-streaming videos to sell products in real time. Not like those teleshopping shows bugging you to call and buy again and again. Itthe influencer marketing and promoting the product Live with an option to buy now. This can be done through a variety of platforms, including social media, eCommerce websites, and dedicated live commerce platforms. The basic idea is to create an interactive shopping experience that allows consumers to engage with brands and products Live. The Rise of Shopatainment The immersive shopping experience provided by Live Commerce allows brands to engage at a deeper level with users. The charm of influencers and interactive shopping experiences makes it entertaining for digital natives and a new generation. According to a recent report by RedSeer, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of items sold on Live Commerce mediums via short videos is all set to rise up to $5 billion by 2025 in India. A new shopping avenue – The retailers are also moving swiftly towards Live eCommerce not expecting massive sales but to enhance user engagement and boost sponsored product visibility. The delivery style of the influencers connects with the user and makes it a more personal experience. It gives shoppers certainly more than the product description. All they need to do is trust what they see and click on the buy now button. Brands and retailers are coming together for such Live Commerce sessions. A prominent brand like SUGAR Cosmetics participated in Myntralive commerce session and did another one with Nykaa, the beauty product portal to boost their product visibility and sale by featuring in this growing shopping avenue. The results were promising. Fashion products are expected to contribute 60-70% in Live commerce growth in GMV followed by the Beauty & Personal Care segment and others making up 30-40%. Even the automotive giants are also not far behind. On Flipkart hosted Live commerce event, Automaker companies like Ampere, BGauss, Bounce, and Hero showcased their wide range of electric and petrol 2-wheelers. Hero MotoCorp’s Hero XTreme 160R Stealth 2.0 was launched via Live Commerce and witnessed a viewership of more than 2.6 lakh people. The adoption of Live commerce is significant as 65% of shoppers on these Live streams are from tier-2 cities and beyond. The new shoppers are making their presence felt in this growing segment of omnichannel digital commerce. Amazon India also launched its live commerce feature ‘Amazon Live’ with over 150 content creators to cash in on the festive season. The reason for such traction is quite simple Live commerce reduces the friction for the less digital savvy new users who find it easy this way to consume content and make shopping decisions. Key aspects of Live Commerce Ability to Build Trust with Customers – One of the key benefits of live commerce is the ability to build trust with customers. Live video allows consumers to see the products in action and get a better sense of what they are buying. This can help overcome some of the skepticism and uncertainty many people feel when shopping online. Create a Sense of Urgency – Another benefit of live commerce is the ability to create a sense of urgency. By broadcasting live, retailers can create a feeling of exclusivity and scarcity, which can encourage consumers to make a purchase on the spot. This can be particularly effective for limited-edition or time-sensitive products. Live Commerce trends are gaining traction as consumers look for more engaging and interactive ways to shop online. The Future of Live and Social Commerce The future of Live and social commerce is bright, as both trends continue to gain momentum in the eCommerce industry. In the coming years, we can expect to see more retailers embracing these new ways of selling products, and more consumers embracing the convenience and interactivity of live and social commerce. Augmented and Virtual Reality – One of the key areas of growth for live and social commerce is in the use of augmented and virtual reality. These technologies allow consumers to see and interact with products in a more immersive way, which can help to drive sales and create a more engaging shopping experience. For example, a customer could use an AR app to try on clothes or see how furniture would look in their home, before making a purchase. Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning – Another area of growth for live and social commerce is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies can help retailers to personalize the shopping experience, by providing tailored recommendations and offers based on a consumer browsing and purchasing history. This can help to increase engagement and drive sales, while also improving the overall customer experience. Final Thoughts Live and social commerce are two exciting trends that are changing the way we shop online. These new forms of eCommerce offer a more engaging, interactive, and personalized shopping experience, and are likely to continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. As retailers continue to innovate and experiment with new technologies, brands can expect to see even

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What the Future Holds for Retail Media And Marketplaces

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

let’s begin with the burning questions – Why there is so much buzz about retail media now and why retail media is so important? The answer is not that complex. Simply put– the rapid growth in online shopping and the need of personalized customer experience has directed more focus on optimizing retail media. More than 33.3% percent of the world’s close to 2.64 billion people shop online. This leads to more shopping and the need for more digital advertising. Retail media is the actual advertising placed on a retailer’s media network. The impending demise of 3rd party cookies has drawn marketeers’ interest toward first-party data with the retailers to place targeted ads and boost customer engagement. This is fuelling the rise of Retail Media Networks (MNOs) and a treasure trove of first-party shopper data. Giants like Amazon have their marketing services. But is this enough for brands? Let’s dive deep to know why Ecommerce Marketing Services and brands need optimization and what the future holds for retail media. Grab the customer’s attention at the right moment with Retail media In the new age of online retail media, when the average attention span of consumers is shrinking. Getting your product noticed among fierce competition becomes critical. Brands need to Strike the right moment and the right place to instantly grab customers’ attention. Retail media is a form of advertising that intend to capture consumers’ attention at the moment when they’re nearly ready to make a purchase or close to the point in the customer journey. The decision phase is where they pick the product among its competitors. Online, retail media is far more sophisticated than what we see at the grocery store. The insights on online retail media help brands understand consumer behavior, product segments, and trends in a better way. This will enable brands to deliver more impactful messages to the customers and optimize performance at multiple touchpoints across the customer journey. Retail media can be used for a variety of purposes, which include Product Promotion: Retail media allows brands to promote their products directly to customers while they are shopping online. This can include displaying product ads, providing product recommendations, and offering deals and discounts. Awareness: Retail media can be used to increase brand awareness by displaying ads to a retailer’s audience and customer base. Customer Acquisition: Retail media can help brands acquire new customers by targeting their ads to specific audiences, such as those who have recently shown interest in similar products. Customer Retargeting: Retail media can be used to retarget customers who have previously interacted with a brand’s products or website, reminding them of products they have shown interest in and encouraging them to make a purchase. Overall, the use of retail media can help brands increase sales, improve the customer experience, and gain valuable insights into their customers’ behavior and preferences. Retailers offer digital ads on their eCommerce websites, apps, and on retailers’ sites to boost product visibility to the relevant audience. Bain co report estimates that the retail media market will grow by 25% per year to over $100 billion in the next five years and will account for over 25% of total digital media spending by 2026 which implies how massive the retail media could be in near future. Perks of Retail Media For growing brands, digital retail media offers several potential benefits. Through targeted placements, brands can leverage the existing online presence of larger retailers to gain new visibility and connect with highly relevant consumers who are actively looking for products to purchase. There are several benefits of eCommerce retail media: Additional Revenue: Retail media allows retailers to generate additional revenue by selling advertising space to brands. Targeted Advertising: Retail media enables brands to reach highly targeted audiences, based on data such as browsing and purchase history. Improved Customer Experience: Retail media can enhance the customer experience by presenting relevant and personalized ads to customers, leading to higher engagement and conversions. Increased Brand Awareness: Retail media can help brands increase their visibility and reach new customers, as well as reinforce brand messaging to existing customers. Better Data Insights: Retail media provides valuable data insights to both retailers and brands, enabling them to better understand their customers and optimize their marketing strategies. But brands need more than that to edge ahead in the competitive digital commerce landscape. Plugging in digital commerce intelligence will provide deep insights into what your product needs to be more visible and what it needs to be more visible. The Retail Media Trends Shaping Digital Commerce First-Party Data is Gold In the Cookie less future, brands will reduce their reliance on third-party data. First-party data emerging as a vital tool for advertisers to provide personalized customer experiences. Retail media networks help brands access a huge volume of first-party data on customers’ search, browsing, and purchasing habits. But still, brands need a digital commerce intelligence solution to optimize the retail media based on valuable actionable insights. Machine Learning Powers Retail Media Success Artificial intelligence and machine learning ameliorate brand performance and guide advertisers/brands to optimize their campaigns for specific metrics and enhance retail media. The targeted click-through rate (CTR) or return on investment (ROI), can be achieved with data-backed decision-making and effective retail media advertising campaigns. Comprehensive competitive analysis and machine-learning capabilities will play a wider role in the growth of retail media networks in 2023 and beyond. Retail Media Strategies Will Focus on Diversification The diversification in retail media targets will help companies from being overly reliant on a single source to distribute their efforts across a variety of ad formats, audience segments, and target markets, depending on each provider’s specialty. Advertisers are expanding their retail media efforts into new technologies like connected TV (CTV). Video Will Take Over Retail Media Ad Placements As more online retail marketplaces are developing their own retail media Network platforms, placements like sponsored products and sponsored searches have become the norm. To edge out the competition in the competitive digital commerce landscape advertisers need to turn to more engaging formats like rich media and video ads. The dynamic nature

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The heart of the matter: Strategies to increase Valentine’s day sales!

Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Anukirti Jain

Wait Wait…. It’s not just another article on sale week and it’s not about flowers and teddys. So, what’s different about it? Here we are to give brands a peak into what they can do to make some serious sales on Valentine’s Day. It’s not just an occasion for chocolates and gifting brands to acquire new customers. It’s time for brands across industries to connect with the young generation. Let’s drown in the ocean of customer sentiments to find pearls to shine sales. Valentine’s Day Beyond Chocolates and Teddies No offense to the gifting eCom industry – It is indeed their time to peak sales, but we are here to look at how other products flourish during Valentine’s week. Spending close to Valentine’s Day bumps up as the week brings in new customers looking to buy beyond gift items, but the gift items are not just limited to chocolates and common gift items. On the world’s largest e-marketplace, Amazon bands are pushing to connect with the young generation. A connection that will benefit them in the long run establishing a brand for the youth. Offers like “sound of love” on Amazon featuring brands like JBL, Bose, etc. are what attract new customers who are not just looking for roses. Brands need to up their game in product categories that are more searched on this day but also push products that connect with the demographics. The day has quite a significant and revenue-driving force in all essential sectors. Be Available to Witness The Shower of Love on e-commerce Platforms Time to dress for the occasion with the insignia of Love. The Fashion eCom lit up in the season of love with special combos and clothing to help couples dress up for the occasion. Clothing and accessories flood the eCom market. But brands and sellers on eCom platforms need to boost their product discoverability first to boost sales among the cutthroat competition. Be it Valentine’s Day or any other sale week brands need to be on top of sale trends and competitors’ pricing and discount offers to become the top pick. Brands need to optimize their Product display page content, set banners at the right spot to boost visibility and know the right price to be the top pick. The biggest factor that can help brands boost revenue during Valentine’s week is being able to meet the demand on the day. Brands need to ensure their product availability across the eCommerce platform. Can’t Buy Love But Can Buy For Love You can groove to the Beatles ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ on the V-day but you should buy something for your Love to keep that intact. Americans plan to do exactly that as does the rest of the world. According to a report on Valentine’s Day 2023, the United States is all set to spend $25.9 billion. The National Retail Federation survey predicted sales to be around $2 billion higher than the previous year. Things To Do For Brands – Equip Well For V-day Sale and Beyond What can brands do? Simple just ride the sale wave – make your products stand out during this week and beyond. Yes, you read it right ‘beyond’ like love eCommerce game is not just T20 brands need to be an all-format player to edge ahead of your competition. Gear up with the right tools to go the extra mile and score big. Here are some things brands could do on a sale week across e-commerce platforms and even on Social Commerce space Refine your content to boost product visibility Know your customer sentiment Target the right demographics Target Tier 2, and 3 cities to acquire new customers Track competitors across product categories and sub-categories on eCommerce platforms Ensure product availability across geographies on eCommerce platforms Optimize delivery time Ensure sellers do not go overboard and violate the threshold price Brands need to optimize customer experience to acquire new customers and build on by tracking customer feedback. Final Thought – Pluck The Rose But Beware of Thorns Brands need to be careful when to target these sale events. Strategies need to be based on insight and comprehensive competitive analysis to shine through with a boost in revenue. Know your customers and competition to edge ahead. Gear up with mScanIt, an Ecommerce Intelligence to get deep actionable insights across KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Start tracking your competition and your product performance across platforms. The race is heating up to grab shoppers’ attention. Dress to impress and make shoppers fall in love with your products. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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MAP Violations: Roadmap to Prevent Pricing Violations

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

Summary According to a study, 50% of the time unauthorized sellers violate Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies. MAP violations hamper the brand reputation and dent the profit margin. Brands need to be aware of pricing on every product listing across the eCommerce marketplaces. Tracking MAP violations is the right way forward to build brand trust & loyalty. Why do brands need MAP policies? The pandemic has pushed the boundaries for digital commerce and accelerated its adoption. The wave of evolution in the digital ecosystem has opened doors to enormous growth opportunities. But with great opportunity comes great challenges. Brands need a set of ground rules or policies in place to maintain their brand reputation. The Indian digital ecosystem has been on the flyer with high demand for a convenient and seamless shopping experience. In a race to provide lucrative discounts, brands must ensure they do not lose out on brand reputation and value. Brands need to set a threshold value for Advertised Selling Price (ASP) and track any violations on the minimum advertised price (MAP). According to a study conducted by Harvard Business Review on manufacturers, unauthorized sellers violate Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies 50% of the time, while authorized sellers do that 20% of the time. Of course, this is in the US scenario, but the fact is quite relevant in the global digital ecosystem and the Indian eCommerce market as well. How can a brand prevent MAP violations? The growing demand has led to a rapid rise in the number of 3rd party marketplaces online. Now, products are being sold by multiple sellers and resellers across the digital commerce ecosystem. This makes it essential to formulate MAP policies. The Map violations not only hamper the brand reputation but also dent the profit margin. Brands need to be aware of pricing on every product listing across the eCommerce marketplaces. MAP Policy – A must For Brands in Today’s Digital Ecosystem. MAP or Minimum Advertised Pricing policies are set forth by the manufacturer or brand to set the lowest price point for sellers to advertise the product. Sellers can only advertise on the price set via an agreement between manufacturers and distributors. MAP policies safeguard brand interest and reputation creating a perfect price perception across the digital ecosystem. What are the Benefits of monitoring MAP violations? Brands need to show alacrity and turn towards technology to track pricing and discount violations. The key challenge is monitoring the massive range of products on multiple eCommerce marketplaces. The diversion from the set threshold could be monitored if every listing on the eCommerce marketplace is tracked. Tracking at what price sellers are advertising the product will help brands identify and act upon any pricing violation across their product listings. Switch to Digital commerce intelligence systems to analyze products on multiple KPIs and provide actionable insight to act upon brands to enhance product performance and optimize the customer experience. Track the performance of sellers across platforms and pin codes. The tracking pricing and discount violations will maintain the brand reputation in terms of pricing & discount offered across the digital commerce ecosystem. How to effectively enforce Minimum Advertised Price? Even the thought of monitoring MAP compliance manually is out of context in the ever-evolving digital ecosystem. Every brand with an extensive online presence needs comprehensive MAP policies and a data-driven system to enforce MAP violations. The ecommerce competitive analysis with price monitoring across listed product categories and sub-categories on eCommerce platforms can ease the burden of brands by tracking non-compliance and identifying authorized sellers. Brands enlist numerous sellers who advertise and sell their products online. The widely distributed scale of products means there is more need for monitoring MAP violations across all online channels. A comprehensive system deployed to prevent MAP violations will protect the brand Image and save the profit margin of loyal authorized sellers. The actionable insights on violators will protect the brand interest and allow them to act against non-compliant sellers. Final Thoughts Tracking MAP violations is of utmost importance to protect brand reputation. Brands need to stay a step ahead of their competitors in this cutthroat competitive digital ecosystem and be equipped with the right tools to optimize the customer journey at multiple touchpoints. mScanIt, an eCommerce intelligence solution via its pricing analysis tool tracks any pricing & discount violations across sellers and geographies along with conducting comprehensive pricing analysis across eCommerce platforms. It Identifies which seller is the outlier in the average price threshold. It also main the violator list for product Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) codes across brands, sub-categories, cities, and eCommerce marketplace. As someone rightly said there is no advertisement as powerful as a positive reputation – words travel fast. Plug MAP violations to build brand loyalty and maintain your brand value among retailers and customers. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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Fashion Industry – Setting new trends in India’s eCommerce Landscape

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Anukirti Jain

The fashion-conscious GenZs and millennials are leading the astronomical rise of Fashion eCom Fashion is like having a meal, you can’t stick to the same menu every time. Fashion eCommerce has revolutionized the segments. The new generation is the driving force behind the dynamic fast-paced industry. The fashion eCommerce Industry has grown beyond expectations with a 59.7% growth in order volume in FY’22 as compared to FY’21. The clothing & accessory brands need to capitalize on the immense growth potential of the fashion industry. In the words of Myntra’s CEO, the contribution of e-commerce to most of the fashion businesses is 10-12 percent. This is expected to grow to 30%, meaning almost a third of fashion in India will be sold online in the next five years. “Fashion e-commerce will become a $30 bn market in India in five years” – Myntra CEO Let’s take a deep dive into how fashion is cementing its position in the Indian eCommerce landscape. Growing from Strength to Strength The Indian Fashion ecommerce market segment was so far dominated by Myntra. It is one of the biggest players that revolutionized the fashion eCommerce space in India. But the rise of AJio and Cliq has spiced up the competition. The marketplaces are backed by mighty conglomerates like Reliance and Tata group respectively. Online Fashion Platforms like AJio and Cliq have made their presence felt and gradually their market share grew in the online space. The battle for consumer attention is getting fierce with sale seasons and regular lucrative offers. Every brand needs to deal their cards strategically. Take swift action on setting pricing and discount based on market trends. Staying on top of pricing and discount trends across platforms and geographies has become essential to slice through the cutthroat competition. Building brand loyalty reaps high reward and ensure customer retention. Indian fashion eCommerce has enough scope for multiple marketplaces to co-exist and continue to grow. The more competitive fashion eCom space will lead to massive growth opportunities. To capture these opportunities, brands need to gear up with the right digital commerce intelligence tool to stay ahead. The Changing Lifestyle with Fashion eCom The new generation lives and breathe Fashion Trends. Yes, you read that right. They not only shop just for occasions but also turn to online marketplaces for their daily clothing needs. The massive clothing and accessories range is available online to attract younger generations. The brands need to be aware of their sales across demographic and set the pricing and availability to match the needs of shoppers suiting their budget bracket. Digital commerce intelligence can help brands understand the need of their consumers and make data-driven decisions. Getting Smarter with Data-driven Digital Commerce Intelligence ‘One size fits all’ is not relevant anymore. Every individual now seeks what suits their own sense of style, occasion, and accessories accordingly. The industry is shaping toward providing a personalized experience and optimizing the customer journey is paramount. The frequently changing online shopping trends set new milestones every month. Digital commerce intelligence keeps brands in tune with what is going on in their domain across the product range, categories, and even sub-categories. Optimization has become essential be it – awareness, consideration & evaluation, or the purchase phase of the customer journey. Brands need to be on their toes to engage new customers across eCommerce platforms. Invest In Technology – Strengthen Your Supply Chain The post-purchase delivery experience of customers is also crucial in the digital ecosystem. As the brands pump huge volumes to meet the demands. Customer satisfaction in product delivery has become imperative. The reward of an enhanced post-delivery experience are good ratings & reviews. Positive customer sentiments result in customer retention, build brand trust, and attract new customers. Good reviews are the most organic way to boost product visibility on the eCommerce marketplace. Brands need to invest in technology to optimize the experience. A comprehensive monitoring system is a must for every brand to strengthen the supply chain. The solution to monitor sales & order tracking, the performance of sellers, and optimize delivery turn-around-time with comprehensive reconciliation is indispensable in such a competitive Fashion eCom segment. The tech-enabled process solutions ensure convenience and transparency in purchase and post-purchase. The reconciliation across multiple warehouses streamlines order processing and leads to operational efficiency in the system. Final Thoughts The fashion and accessories segment generates the maximum order volume share among e-commerce industries. The prospects seem bright for trendsetter fashion eCommerce, and it is expected to keep leading in the coming years with its continuous innovations and technology adoption. The brands need to step up and tap on every touchpoint on the customer journey. Be it setting the right prices, offering discounts, enhancing content to boost visibility, increasing the Share of Shelf, or ensuring availability or post-purchase convenience Brands should be updated on any market trend. mScanIt, the digital intelligence solution, could give brands an edge over the competition. The end-to-end digital commerce intelligence provides real-time actionable insights with a dynamic dashboard. It even takes a step further with tools like Content recommendation which auto-generates content for optimizing product display page (PDP). Technology is the key growth driver for the entire digital commerce ecosystem.

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eCommerce Challenges 2023: Demystifying the competitive eCom landscape

Leave a Comment / Blog, Digital Shelf Analytics / Praveen Dhama

Gear up to face the challenge with a refreshing approach driven by technology! The eCommerce landscape has hit a massive new high thanks to the pandemic-induced lockdowns years of change occurred in a matter of months – business transformation led to the rise in the digital ecosystem. The rapid rise of digital-first brands is now leading the immense competitive digital marketplaces. During the times when everything seems hunky dory, there are challenges that behest the brands and retailers in the digital ecosystem. Let’s dig a little deep and find out the eCommerce challenges posed in 2023 and ways to move past them. According to a study conducted, by 2040, it is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online. Thus, this is the perfect time for retailers to confront challenges and seek solutions to edge ahead. With the increasing dependence on online shopping, eCommerce is breaking the door open with enormous opportunities. As there is no rose without its thorns. Here are some challenges with the new opportunities. 1. Targeting the right customer The options for shoppers are immense with a flurry of offers. Pampered by options and impulse buys. It is imperative to target customers at the right place with the right product. So, how do you make sure they pick your product? And how will make sure your product is among the option. Solution: The solution is digital marketing with targeted customers and geographies paired with digital commerce intelligence to boost product discoverability and visibility. Optimize product display pages, and monitor pricing, availability, and other KPIs vis-à-vis competition to reach out to the right customer. 2. Optimizing Customer Experience User experiences or customer experience is one of the major challenges in the digital ecosystem. The shopper looks for a more convenient shopping experience and personalization based on their preferences. Solution: Brands are recognizing the need of optimizing the customer experience for 2023 and beyond. The data-driven business decision could optimize the customer journey at multiple touchpoints. This includes tracking customer sentiments – acknowledging their feedback and concerns. The practice to track positive and negative segments will enhance brand trust and loyalty. For example, let us consider a use case – of an Indian multination brand known for its products like water purifies tracked customer sentiment with mScanIt, Feedback analysis. The brand tracked genuine customers with negative reviews and connected with them to rectify their issues. Such positive initiatives bring a lot of positive value to the brand. 3. Build Brand Trust Loyalty The challenge of building brand trust loyalty is eminent for every brand. The cost of acquiring a new customer is multi-fold higher compared to retaining an existing one. Selling to a current customer is much easier with a 60-70% success rate as compared to a new customer with a 5-20% success rate. The above-stated facts are a testament to the importance of customer retention. So, how can Brands need to build trust and loyalty to retain customers? Solution: There could be multiple ways to customer retention. Providing quality services is of course paramount. The key is staying connected with your current customer and leverage their positive feedback to build trust. Make sure they know about your products, promotions and provide exciting offers to the existing customers. To build trust brands should ensure clarity, accuracy, and transparency in product display page content. 4. Convert visits to purchases! One of the biggest challenges is boosting conversions. Turing the visitors to paying customers. There could be multiple reasons for not converting like pricing, delivery time, and not enough information on the product page. How can a brand make sure once shoppers view the product, they could easily make a purchase? Solution: The answer is quite simple yet complicated – First and foremost understand why your shoppers aren’t converting. What do they seek? Turn to digital commerce intelligence to get actionable insights on multiple KPIs with customized tools to find out what needs to be done to boost product performance on eCommerce platforms. Optimize the shopper’s journey and target the right demographic sentiments. 5. Competition Competitor Analysis How do they stand out from the crowd with so many options available to the customers in your segment? What makes them buy a similar product from a competitor instead of buying from you? Do you know your competitive performance across the platform? Solution: Know your competition! The cut-throat eCommerce market needs brands and retailers to be a step ahead and updated on market changes. The key is to stand out – having a good product is not good enough – your need to tell why you are that good with refined product page content and set the right price and discount in line with trends. Brands need to gear up with solutions like mScanIt, a digital commerce intelligence to set the right content with auto-generated content recommendation, boost the brand share of the shelf based on keywords, optimize SKUs, and track product availability across platforms. Every phase of the customer journey needs to be optimized to stay ahead of competitors. Final Thoughts The growing smartphone penetration and new geographies opening up to online shopping have led to a massive influx of opportunities. To cash in on the opportunities the brands and retailers need to combat challenges at every touchpoint of the customer journey. eCommerce has propelled rapidly in the last few years and conducive conditions of 2023 will push it further. Do not get left behind switch to digital commerce and pave your way through challenges. It’s a year full of exciting and positive changes, but there are still multiple businesses going online or starting digital-first that struggle with the challenges that eCommerce brings. There is no quick fix, but tech-solution are fixes that can help any eCommerce business inch closer to its ideal customers and achieve target sales.

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