Ways Big Data is Changing E-commerce
1. Elevated shopping experience
E-commerce companies have an unlimited source of data for predictive analysis that anticipate how customers will behave in the future. Retail websites track the number of clicks per page, different products people add to their shopping carts before checking out, and the average length of time between a homepage visit and a purchase. If customers are signed up for a rewards or subscription program, companies can analyze demographic, age, style, size, and socioeconomic information.
Predictive analytics helps companies to develop new strategies to prevent shopping cart abandonment, lessen the time to purchase, and cater to budding trends. Moreover, e-commerce companies use these data to accurately predict inventory needs with changes in seasonality or the economy.
2. Optimized pricing and increased sales
Who doesn’t appreciate a good deal, E-commerce companies are readily using big data analytics to pinpoint the fairest price for specific customers so it can increase sales from online purchases. Consumers with long-standing loyalty to a company are offered early access to sales as a special treatment, and customers may pay higher or lower prices depending on where they live and work.
3. Dynamic customer service
Customer satisfaction is a key factor for customer retention. Even companies with the most competitive prices and products suffer without exceptional customer service. Companies that are focused on providing the best customer services have more chances to increase their good referrals and sustain recurring revenue. Keeping customers happy and satisfied It should be a no.1 priority for every e-commerce company to keep their customers happy and satisfied. Big data can reveal problems in product delivery, customer satisfaction levels, and even brand perception in social media which helps a lot when comes to customer service. Big data analytics can identify the exact points in time when customer perception or satisfaction changes.
4. Generate increased sales
Big data helps e-retailers in customizing their recommendations and coupons to fit customer desires. Moreover, with the personalized customer experience, you can get high traffic to your business which results in higher profit. The Big data about consumers can also help e-commerce businesses run precise marketing campaigns, give appropriate coupons, and remind people that they still have something sitting in their cart.
5. Predict trends and forecast demand
In E-commerce, it is very important to manage the inventory for the future. Big data can help companies prepare for emerging trends, slow or potentially booming parts of the year, or plan marketing campaigns around large events. E-commerce companies accumulate huge datasets by analyzing data from previous years and from those data they can plan inventory accordingly, stock up to anticipate peak periods, streamline overall business operations, and forecast demand. For example, e-commerce sites can advertise large markdowns on social media during peak shopping times to get rid of excess products.
To optimize pricing decisions, e-commerce sites can also give extremely limited-time discounts. Understanding when to offer discounts, how long discounts should last, and what discounted price to offer is much more accurate and precise with big data analytics and machine learning.
