E-tailers Capitalize On Web 2.0 Era

Despite the economic downturn, there is at least one group that’s flourishing – e-tailers. I read an interesting article the other day in Forbes.com about all the things e-tailers are doing right. The article discusses how online retailers have been able to increase revenue, while traditional retailers are struggling in the down economy. While thousands of traditional stores closed their doors last year, and notable chains such as Circuit City declared bankruptcy, forward-thinking online merchants enjoy continued growth. In her piece for Forbes, Patricia Nakache outlines how different tools have helped online merchants attract more customers than their traditional retail counterparts.

It did not surprise me that over the past 10 years online sales have grown. Since 2001, Plimus has experienced the phenomenal growth of e-Commerce first hand; however I was shocked to read exactly how much online sales currently outpace traditional sales! By targeting technically savvy consumers, e-Commerce sales have grown 19 percent per year, a rate much higher than offline sales. So how are these online merchants doing it and what can traditional retailers learn from these successful online vendors? E-tailers are capitalizing and cashing in on the Web 2.0 era, that’s how.

Social media is a tool that has become pivotal in driving viral traffic to retail websites. The rise of the social Web has created communities that are changing the online buying process, shifting focus away from brand-owned properties toward peer-to-peer recommendations on social networks. With more than 500 million active worldwide users, 56 percent of which shop online, Facebook allows consumers to advertise their purchases and encourage friends to participate in group discounts. Similarly, sites like Groupon encourage consumers to publicize deals with their friends by only offering subscribers a deal if they get enough people to sign up for the daily newsletters. Platforms such as these have already led 11 percent of retailers to report social media as their most effective acquisition tactic, and this percent will undoubtedly  continue to grow.

The success of e-Commerce seems to be a light at the end of a dark economic tunnel. Plimus’ e-Commerce platform will continue to help e-tailers smooth out the online buying process and make the experience enjoyable for consumers and benefical for vendors. As Web 2.0 and traditional e-commerce continue to mesh making way for the rise e-Commerce 3.0, Plimus will be here to help e-tailers “flourish.”

Charles Born,

Head of Marketing