Industry Solutions
E-commerce, from the cape to the world.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce refers to the business of buying and selling goods and services over the Internet. E-commerce customers can make purchases through computers and other touchpoints, including smartphones, smartwatches, digital assistants like the Amazon Echo, and more.
Currently, e-commerce is booming in the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) fields. B2C e-commerce refers to retailers or other businesses selling directly to end customers. B2B e-commerce refers to business-to-business sales. For most businesses in both fields, the ultimate goal is to enable customers to buy whatever they want, anytime, anywhere, using any digital device.
The business value of e-commerce
E-commerce sales are expected to grow at a staggering 265%. In 2022, global retail e-commerce sales totaled $4.3 trillion, and just four years later, in 2026, this revenue is expected to reach $7.8 trillion.
With the explosive growth of e-commerce business, e-commerce has become an increasingly valuable and even essential tool that enables businesses to
stand out from the competition
Reach more customers in more regions around the world
Reduce costs by selling directly to customers and reducing brick-and-mortar stores
Enabling customers to make purchases anytime, anywhere using their preferred device is critical to attracting millennials and other digital native customers
Gain valuable customer data through online metrics
Test sales of new products, services, brands and businesses with minimal upfront investment
Offer customers self-service options to serve more customers while streamlining your sales force
Scale quickly and cost-effectively
How e-commerce is changing the shopping experience
Today's customers expect more choice, easier access and faster delivery. To meet the rising needs of customers, businesses are finding ways to create a seamless multi-channel shopping experience by integrating brick-and-mortar and e-commerce so customers can:
Ability to research and explore products and services online before purchasing in an online or brick-and-mortar store
Be able to fully experience products through interactive kiosks, receptionists, and other means in brick-and-mortar stores before purchasing them online or in-store
Ability to make purchases anytime, anywhere using any device, including computers, smartphones, smartwatches, digital assistants, and more
Ability to receive personalized recommendations, coupons and other online offers from businesses based on customer information collected from online or brick-and-mortar stores
It usually only takes a day or two to receive your item at your desired location (home or local brick-and-mortar store)
Ability to order items online directly from in-store when the store lacks their preferred stock (style, size, color, etc.)
IMATRIX e-commerce platform
A flexible e-commerce platform should support both B2B and B2C sales through a single platform and support hybrid cloud environment deployments or other deployment models.
Cost-effective: Software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription models tend to be more cost-effective than on-premises platforms, which typically require ongoing, high infrastructure investments.
User-friendly: An e-commerce platform should provide a front-end that is easy for customers to navigate, and a back-end that is easy for businesses to manage. Its user interface should be simple and straightforward, making it easy for non-technical employees to add various pages and features.
Ease of Integration: E-commerce platforms should allow businesses to easily integrate their legacy technologies in order to reduce costs and leverage existing investments.
Support customization: E-commerce platforms should allow businesses to customize the front-end customer experience based on brand needs.
Fast: The e-commerce platform should be easy to implement and provide a self-service architecture and standardized framework to simplify deployment and allow businesses to easily add applications and functionality as needed.
Simplicity: An e-commerce platform should be easy to maintain and monitor, support automatic updates, give businesses instant access to the latest features, and gain real-time insight into performance metrics across the business.
Security: E-commerce platforms must provide up-to-date, comprehensive security measures while ensuring compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other applicable regulations.
Scalable: From the Black Friday shopping festival to the launch day, e-commerce platforms should be able to scale rapidly, allowing businesses to deliver exceptional experiences to customers around the world 24/7.