E-Commerce rising - Business Models and Strategies for Success

More and more stores are going online with their businesses, from your local grocer to multi-national retail giants. With people having less time to spend wandering through aisles of merchandise-commerce is going to see a lot of new players in the coming years. So what is driving this growth? How can new entrants and prospective entrants make an impact?

E-commerce is mostly consumer driven, and as the consumer is empowered by innovations in various fields, the businesses catering to them need to evolve. Some of the factors that drive this growth are: 

Mobile devices enhance convenience

Choice of products make customers happy

Product information is easily available

Businesses and customers save money

Sellers availability from e-commerce platforms

However, not everything about e-commerce is growing. With customer loyalty getting more and more fickle by the year, online businesses have to stay on their toes to make a difference in the customer's perception of their store. Businesses are complementing their pricing strategies with coupons, discounts, sales, offers and more. They are modifying shipping by reducing the time, or by offering delivery time slots. All of this is going a long way in making customers more open and willing to participate in the e-commerce wave.

E-commerce has diversified over the past few years and it has created markets that cater to many needs. Some of the business models of e-commerce that are in practice today include:

B2C

B2B

C2C

While other business models are common place, C2B is one that is relatively new and unique. In C2B the customers, i.e. individuals, offer their services or expertise to businesses in exchange for payment.  There are other models that are gaining popularity, such as the G2C (Government-to-Citizen) model where the local or national government offers its services through an online portal.

Individuals and businesses looking to enter the e-commerce industry are going to have to choose the right business model and strategy to be successful. They will also need to make sure that the path they choose is one that complements their product with an appropriate pricing strategy, a friendly shipping policy and a responsive website.

Like every good business, entrants to and stalwarts of the e-commerce industry must ensure a constant review of their business model and strategy, to ensure its suitability for their organization's objectives and goals. They must be willing to change or adapt as the situation may demand.