The year 2017 was yet another sign of how e-commerce has been outpacing brick-and-mortar stores in growth rate. The sector brought in R$21 billion in the first half of 2017 and posted nominal growth of 7.5% compared with the same period in 2016, when R$19.6 billion was recorded. The number of orders also increased, from 48.5 million to 50.3 million, as did the average order value, which rose from R$403 to R$418. Order volume grew 3.9% compared with the previous two years, according to the Webshoppers e-Bit survey.
The data is surprising, and trends point toward paths such as: mobile commerce, omnichannel communication, personalized relationships, shipping alternatives, new payment methods, and a focus on niche e-commerce. Promising, right? Maybe not. Working in digital marketing for e-commerce businesses, especially the large share of small and mid-sized stores, what you still see is more of the same. People are buying more online, yes. However, Brazilian stores are not taking enough advantage of this market strength to bet on real strategies in line with the main trends and constant innovation. Even though this sector has been going against the tide of the crisis, all anyone talks about is reducing risk, cutting costs, freezing budgets. When it comes to platforms, let’s use the cheapest one, not the one that offers us the most advantages. When it comes to partnerships, let’s talk to the small players, the ones we can offer “exposure” as payment. When it comes to conversions, let’s make a landing page offering that mediocre material produced by the digital marketing intern.
Even when ideas outside the usual perspective are proposed, the managers of the vast majority of e-commerce businesses I have known and worked with, like marketing professionals in general, remain tight-fisted, still not taking advantage of the online boom, not considering that this is the best moment to make themselves known to the world, and that only then will they be noticed among the countless stores offering more of the same.
Sometimes it is more important to have a smaller audience that appreciates what you do: a loyal, engaged audience that will generate more repeat purchases. Selling to people who have already bought from you is much easier. This is one of the main reasons niche e-commerce businesses have been joining forces in recent years. Talking to a few people at a time, in the right way, in other words, segmenting, is still the most effective way to build trust and credibility and to be a brand people love. What is missing to put e-commerce marketing and other types of marketing on the track of change, toward the new, is the courage to do things differently. And to really do them, not just for appearances.
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