Competition in the eCommerce space is getting more fierce. It’s a saturated market, with thousands of stores offering the same products for about the same price. This makes differentiation tough, as features like free or flat rate shipping have become the standard.
Nearly all stores compete with Amazon, whether they want to or not. Amazon sells millions of products and seems to be entering a new space every month. Amazon Instant Video is a competitor to Netflix, Kindles are competing in the tablet market, and their wide array of online services is competing with hundreds of other businesses. It’s become difficult to find something that isn’t sold on “The Everything Store”.
The only area that stores can try to “Amazon proof” themselves are specialty stores that sell private label products. Stores like Everlane manufacture and sell their own products. These products can only be purchased through Everlane themselves. This allows them to control the entire process. From pre to post-purchase, Everlane controls it all.
But Everlane and other specialty stores can’t completely isolate themselves from Amazon. While their products aren’t sold on Amazon, they still compete with Amazon suppliers that offer similar products.
Specialty stores can further differentiate themselves if they emphasize product quality and exclusivity. “This product is only found on [name of store]” helps ensure exclusivity. Product quality can much more difficult to convey online. An entire store is a reflection of product quality. A poor quality site will lead many to believe the actual products are poor quality. If they don’t care about their website, do they care about their products?
An eCommerce store is analogous to a physical store. Be sure your store stands out and expresses uniqueness.
Today’s infographic shows how visitors find eCommerce stores, how they evaluate stores, what they do post purchase, and how businesses can optimize each stage of the funnel. Thanks to Baynote for providing us this infographic.
About the Author: Zach Bulygo (Twitter) likes marketing, finance, and learning about different businesses.
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