Smart
technology and hyper connection means that we can manage all facets of our
lives which reshape the functioning of our society. The number of channels and platforms of communication is continuously
rising, all the information that is important for us is transmitted to us through
numerous media outlets. Therefore, companies have to revise their marketing
and sales strategies. Customized information and fast service is expected. It is important to publish the right
content in the right place at the right time, since we live in an information-driven
world.
Due to
technological development, consumption is being shifted towards online sites.
The development of the industry is happening simultaneously with the development
of technology. In e-commerce the only
permanent factor is change. Sales people have to be aware of the latest trends
in order to react to changes in time and to gain a competitive advantage.
A current trend of the market is that e-sales managers organize campaigns
in specific periods instead of sporadic times. This helps planning ahead. Fixed
campaigns are usually related to holidays. The Singly Day introduced by Alibaba
6 years ago generated a 9,3 billion turnover
last year, and this year, people spent 14,34 billion USD over a 24-hour
period.
Consumers continuously share information on social networks, and webshops
are present on these sites. The result
of this presence is that 50 % of online sales is generated with the help of social
media. An increasing number of people connect to the Internet via smart
phones, tablets and other mobile devices, and they are using the net not only
for surfing for information, but also for shopping. The estimated annual
increase rate of mobile trade is 42 % between 2013-2016.
There are webshops today using
customized avatars to dazzle the customers and help them buy clothing by
looking at the chosen pieces on an avatar, which - by copying the customer’s
body - creates a virtual model to try
the clothes on. Another alternative solution for e-shopping is when the
customers try on the clothes in front of a computer system with a touch screen
which reads the barcode of the dress the customer is trying on, checks the
available stock, and orders it, if necessary. Customers also receive information
about the availability of fitting rooms.
The in-store move of clothing, equipped with RFID chips, provides valuable information to companies. For example, which pieces are popular and which are not. This foreshadows the future direction of e-shopping. Members of younger generations use social media daily, share and like content, use their mobile phones to check Youtube videos, play on their tablets, read eBooks, so basically all new technological innovations are routinely used in daily activities.
From the companies' perspective, we are entering the era of Big Data. There is plenty of information circulating about customers. Based on the digital footprints of visitors, webshops obtain information about them such as: what type of devices they use to log on the webshop, what pages they have visited, etc. Therefore, companies have to store a huge amount of data. Data has become the main element of business, data sources help companies in decision-making and strategy planning to find the most effective and economical solutions.
