Why is e-commerce making new demands?

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Already more than 70% of adult Poles say they shop online. Some of them even satisfy most of their needs there. This is the most popular way to buy cosmetics, groceries, clothing, books and stationery, sports accessories, household and consumer electronics, and pet products. People looking for insurance services, investment properties, cars and auto parts are also showing increasing interest in online shopping. It can be said that the confidence to purchase goods that we see only in the form of pictures or drawings on our computer monitors is spilling over into more and more industries.

As e-commerce grows, so do customer expectations, and thus the need to develop more user-friendly and competitive solutions for them. What will we face in the coming years?

Increasingly shorter purchase lead times

Customers want to make their selections, order, pay and receive their goods in the shortest possible time. This is a huge challenge for suppliers, both on the sales and inventory management side and on the delivery logistics side. The result is investment in efficient and user-friendly online stores, functional product configurators and the development of a range of delivery options. Over the past several months, the number of parcel machines has increased by about 60% in Poland. They are already offered not only by InPost, but also by Allegro, AliExpress and others. The market for quick deliveries (the same day or the day after an order), often made via bicycle courier companies, is also growing strongly.

Supporting sales through social media

Customers are spending more and more time browsing numerous social media outlets. Giving these sites a sales function empowers the seller. An Internet user looking at an interesting room arrangement on Pinterest or Instagram should be able to immediately - when he likes a piece of furniture - go to the online store, configure the best solution for him and complete the purchase.

The head of a company reading on LinkedIn about ventilation or air-conditioning systems for the office will be eager to quickly configure and pre-calculate the option that is right for him. If he's told to leave the social media profile beforehand and find the online store on the vendor's website, he may lose his enthusiasm and abandon his intention. It should also be taken into account that more and more people are viewing social media using smartphones and will want to make a purchase from them as well. Content rhetoric should be developed and online sales solutions should be configured to take full advantage of this form of communication, such as implementing voice search or connection to the payment system.

Already more than 70% of adult Poles say they shop online. Some of them even satisfy most of their needs there.

Marketplace focus

Manufacturers want customers to be able to find their products not only in their own online store, but also from other suppliers. It's a convenience for customers when they can order and buy several different products in one place. It's also an opportunity for more sales, as a customer who hadn't previously considered buying a particular product may come across it, but is eager to reach for it "by the way." Shopping platforms such as Zalando and Allegro are developing in response to this trend. One can expect to see more and more of them on the market. The big challenge for sellers will be to follow this market and invest their money in cooperation with the best-suited platforms.

What's next?

In 2020, the winner was the one who already had or was quickly able to move his trade to the Internet. We wrote about this in an earlier article. Today, customer expectations are much higher. While more and more people are still being persuaded to buy via phone or computer, the choice of suppliers is also getting wider. The advantages of digitalization of sales have already been recognized even by small, family-owned businesses, hitherto completely uninterested in e-commerce. This is followed by increased competition, especially for purchase and delivery times, more attractive forms of payment and friendly return policies. Vendors will also be looking for innovative solutions to capture customer attention and add value to the shopping process. These challenges apply to vendors in the B2C market, as well as those offering their solutions to business and institutional customers.