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live-commerce

Live Commerce – Buy it when you see it

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Indian eCommerce players are swiftly moving towards Live Commerce to connect with new shoppers The rules of the game are changing! Online shopping is no longer limited to eCommerce marketplaces. The digital commerce landscape has expanded to new swift shopping avenues. Now shoppers can make a purchase while scrolling through their social media or just buy an item from a sponsored Live stream. The Omni Channel Shopping is the way forward for brands and sellers. Live Commerce is one such hot avenue attracting new shoppers and influencing brands to go Live with their products. Wondering what next for eCommerce Industry and brands? Let’s dig deep into Live commerce segments and Trends to find out the answers. Buy Live! Tune in to Live Commerce The first question comes that strikes the mind is – “How Live commerce is different from traditional eCommerce?” First, itLive. Second, itmore than just social commerce. It gives a Live view of the product to the shoppers. Live commerce involves the use of live-streaming videos to sell products in real time. Not like those teleshopping shows bugging you to call and buy again and again. Itthe influencer marketing and promoting the product Live with an option to buy now. This can be done through a variety of platforms, including social media, eCommerce websites, and dedicated live commerce platforms. The basic idea is to create an interactive shopping experience that allows consumers to engage with brands and products Live. The Rise of Shopatainment The immersive shopping experience provided by Live Commerce allows brands to engage at a deeper level with users. The charm of influencers and interactive shopping experiences makes it entertaining for digital natives and a new generation. According to a recent report by RedSeer, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of items sold on Live Commerce mediums via short videos is all set to rise up to $5 billion by 2025 in India. A new shopping avenue – The retailers are also moving swiftly towards Live eCommerce not expecting massive sales but to enhance user engagement and boost sponsored product visibility. The delivery style of the influencers connects with the user and makes it a more personal experience. It gives shoppers certainly more than the product description. All they need to do is trust what they see and click on the buy now button. Brands and retailers are coming together for such Live Commerce sessions. A prominent brand like SUGAR Cosmetics participated in Myntralive commerce session and did another one with Nykaa, the beauty product portal to boost their product visibility and sale by featuring in this growing shopping avenue. The results were promising. Fashion products are expected to contribute 60-70% in Live commerce growth in GMV followed by the Beauty & Personal Care segment and others making up 30-40%. Even the automotive giants are also not far behind. On Flipkart hosted Live commerce event, Automaker companies like Ampere, BGauss, Bounce, and Hero showcased their wide range of electric and petrol 2-wheelers. Hero MotoCorp’s Hero XTreme 160R Stealth 2.0 was launched via Live Commerce and witnessed a viewership of more than 2.6 lakh people. The adoption of Live commerce is significant as 65% of shoppers on these Live streams are from tier-2 cities and beyond. The new shoppers are making their presence felt in this growing segment of omnichannel digital commerce. Amazon India also launched its live commerce feature ‘Amazon Live’ with over 150 content creators to cash in on the festive season. The reason for such traction is quite simple Live commerce reduces the friction for the less digital savvy new users who find it easy this way to consume content and make shopping decisions. Key aspects of Live Commerce Ability to Build Trust with Customers – One of the key benefits of live commerce is the ability to build trust with customers. Live video allows consumers to see the products in action and get a better sense of what they are buying. This can help overcome some of the skepticism and uncertainty many people feel when shopping online. Create a Sense of Urgency – Another benefit of live commerce is the ability to create a sense of urgency. By broadcasting live, retailers can create a feeling of exclusivity and scarcity, which can encourage consumers to make a purchase on the spot. This can be particularly effective for limited-edition or time-sensitive products. Live Commerce trends are gaining traction as consumers look for more engaging and interactive ways to shop online. The Future of Live and Social Commerce The future of Live and social commerce is bright, as both trends continue to gain momentum in the eCommerce industry. In the coming years, we can expect to see more retailers embracing these new ways of selling products, and more consumers embracing the convenience and interactivity of live and social commerce. Augmented and Virtual Reality – One of the key areas of growth for live and social commerce is in the use of augmented and virtual reality. These technologies allow consumers to see and interact with products in a more immersive way, which can help to drive sales and create a more engaging shopping experience. For example, a customer could use an AR app to try on clothes or see how furniture would look in their home, before making a purchase. Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning – Another area of growth for live and social commerce is the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These technologies can help retailers to personalize the shopping experience, by providing tailored recommendations and offers based on a consumer browsing and purchasing history. This can help to increase engagement and drive sales, while also improving the overall customer experience. Final Thoughts Live and social commerce are two exciting trends that are changing the way we shop online. These new forms of eCommerce offer a more engaging, interactive, and personalized shopping experience, and are likely to continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. As retailers continue to innovate and experiment with new technologies, brands can expect to see even

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marketplaces

What the Future Holds for Retail Media And Marketplaces

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let’s begin with the burning questions – Why there is so much buzz about retail media now and why retail media is so important? The answer is not that complex. Simply put– the rapid growth in online shopping and the need of personalized customer experience has directed more focus on optimizing retail media. More than 33.3% percent of the world’s close to 2.64 billion people shop online. This leads to more shopping and the need for more digital advertising. Retail media is the actual advertising placed on a retailer’s media network. The impending demise of 3rd party cookies has drawn marketeers’ interest toward first-party data with the retailers to place targeted ads and boost customer engagement. This is fuelling the rise of Retail Media Networks (MNOs) and a treasure trove of first-party shopper data. Giants like Amazon have their marketing services. But is this enough for brands? Let’s dive deep to know why Ecommerce Marketing Services and brands need optimization and what the future holds for retail media. Grab the customer’s attention at the right moment with Retail media In the new age of online retail media, when the average attention span of consumers is shrinking. Getting your product noticed among fierce competition becomes critical. Brands need to Strike the right moment and the right place to instantly grab customers’ attention. Retail media is a form of advertising that intend to capture consumers’ attention at the moment when they’re nearly ready to make a purchase or close to the point in the customer journey. The decision phase is where they pick the product among its competitors. Online, retail media is far more sophisticated than what we see at the grocery store. The insights on online retail media help brands understand consumer behavior, product segments, and trends in a better way. This will enable brands to deliver more impactful messages to the customers and optimize performance at multiple touchpoints across the customer journey. Retail media can be used for a variety of purposes, which include Product Promotion: Retail media allows brands to promote their products directly to customers while they are shopping online. This can include displaying product ads, providing product recommendations, and offering deals and discounts. Awareness: Retail media can be used to increase brand awareness by displaying ads to a retailer’s audience and customer base. Customer Acquisition: Retail media can help brands acquire new customers by targeting their ads to specific audiences, such as those who have recently shown interest in similar products. Customer Retargeting: Retail media can be used to retarget customers who have previously interacted with a brand’s products or website, reminding them of products they have shown interest in and encouraging them to make a purchase. Overall, the use of retail media can help brands increase sales, improve the customer experience, and gain valuable insights into their customers’ behavior and preferences. Retailers offer digital ads on their eCommerce websites, apps, and on retailers’ sites to boost product visibility to the relevant audience. Bain co report estimates that the retail media market will grow by 25% per year to over $100 billion in the next five years and will account for over 25% of total digital media spending by 2026 which implies how massive the retail media could be in near future. Perks of Retail Media For growing brands, digital retail media offers several potential benefits. Through targeted placements, brands can leverage the existing online presence of larger retailers to gain new visibility and connect with highly relevant consumers who are actively looking for products to purchase. There are several benefits of eCommerce retail media: Additional Revenue: Retail media allows retailers to generate additional revenue by selling advertising space to brands. Targeted Advertising: Retail media enables brands to reach highly targeted audiences, based on data such as browsing and purchase history. Improved Customer Experience: Retail media can enhance the customer experience by presenting relevant and personalized ads to customers, leading to higher engagement and conversions. Increased Brand Awareness: Retail media can help brands increase their visibility and reach new customers, as well as reinforce brand messaging to existing customers. Better Data Insights: Retail media provides valuable data insights to both retailers and brands, enabling them to better understand their customers and optimize their marketing strategies. But brands need more than that to edge ahead in the competitive digital commerce landscape. Plugging in digital commerce intelligence will provide deep insights into what your product needs to be more visible and what it needs to be more visible. The Retail Media Trends Shaping Digital Commerce First-Party Data is Gold In the Cookie less future, brands will reduce their reliance on third-party data. First-party data emerging as a vital tool for advertisers to provide personalized customer experiences. Retail media networks help brands access a huge volume of first-party data on customers’ search, browsing, and purchasing habits. But still, brands need a digital commerce intelligence solution to optimize the retail media based on valuable actionable insights. Machine Learning Powers Retail Media Success Artificial intelligence and machine learning ameliorate brand performance and guide advertisers/brands to optimize their campaigns for specific metrics and enhance retail media. The targeted click-through rate (CTR) or return on investment (ROI), can be achieved with data-backed decision-making and effective retail media advertising campaigns. Comprehensive competitive analysis and machine-learning capabilities will play a wider role in the growth of retail media networks in 2023 and beyond. Retail Media Strategies Will Focus on Diversification The diversification in retail media targets will help companies from being overly reliant on a single source to distribute their efforts across a variety of ad formats, audience segments, and target markets, depending on each provider’s specialty. Advertisers are expanding their retail media efforts into new technologies like connected TV (CTV). Video Will Take Over Retail Media Ad Placements As more online retail marketplaces are developing their own retail media Network platforms, placements like sponsored products and sponsored searches have become the norm. To edge out the competition in the competitive digital commerce landscape advertisers need to turn to more engaging formats like rich media and video ads. The dynamic nature

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Data Clean Rooms: The Key to Ethical and Efficient Advertising

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Third-party cookies have been the key for marketers to track individuals online and understand their preferences. This enabled the advertisers to run personalized ads and do accurate targeting. However, things are going to drastically change in the digital ecosystem by the end of 2023. Apple’s browser Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox have already done away with third-party cookies. Google has now announced its final decision to shut the doors for third-party cookies. Marketers are looking at alternatives to overcome this problem, and one of the prominent solutions that have emerged happens to be data clean rooms. What are Data Clean Rooms? Data clean rooms are software pieces that facilitate brands to run targeted digital advertising campaigns, cap the frequencies, measure campaign performances, and generate reports in a secure and user-friendly manner. This is done by uploading the brand’s first-party data and comparing it to the aggregated data in the data clean room. This includes data added by other companies. Users can access data in a data clean room, but none of the first-party or user-level information is shared with anyone outside the data clean room. Data clean rooms provide various services such as audience segmentation and overlap analysis, and they can facilitate measurement and attribution research of the campaigns without sharing any individually identifiable data. With data clean rooms, brands can access data for a wide range of tasks wherein the privacy rules are defined and implemented by the clean room provider. The data uploaded to a clean room is fully encrypted and anonymized throughout onboarding and audience building. With cookies going out, we are witnessing the rise of various data clean room providers. However, just like any other emerging technology, data clean rooms also have certain pros, cons, and risks associated with them. Let’s take a look: Pros of using data clean rooms Data clean rooms are privacy-friendly, and companies can use them to analyze their target audiences, ad targeting, and evaluation of campaign performance. Despite the user-level data being added to the data clean room, it is protected from exposure to other companies. Companies can get complete visibility of the campaign performance across different channels on some clean data rooms. The data that collaborating businesses add to a data clean room remains completely under their control, and not shared with any other users. Cons of using data clean rooms The data is not ID-based but aggregated. Hence it affects the precision of ad targeting. Before uploading the data to any data clean room, users need to standardize it in a single format to get visibility of the same. First-party and transactional data is gold for businesses and many enterprises might be reluctant to share it. Thus, it would adversely affect the outcomes and the functions that companies seek from a data clean room. There are data clean rooms specific to large platforms such as Google and Facebook. This would make advertisers manually compile and collate data from the different data clean rooms to get the complete picture. The data clean rooms don’t yet have any global standards or operational uniformity as they are only an evolving technology. Risks of using data clean rooms The first-party data is uploaded to the data clean rooms, and in the eventuality of a data breach, companies can face fines, loss of reputation, and clients. Manual management of data clean rooms can make them prone to errors, and accidentally granting access to people who are not authorized can’t be ruled out. There can also be incorrect queries and the exchange of data in an unsecured environment. There can be variations in the type and quality of data uploaded to a data clean room. For instance, one company might not share all of its customer data, and the other might share all of it. This would lead to unfair and inaccurate data exchange and analysis. Having looked at the pros, cons, and risks, we can still say that data clean rooms are one of the most promising solutions to the challenges faced by digital advertisers especially in a programmatic ad scenario in the absence of cookies. However, there are other safer and more convenient options as well. Alternatives to Conventional Data Clean rooms Contextual advertising is one of the most prominent alternatives to data clean rooms. Conventionally, cookies have been used to track and analyze user behavior and target advertising accordingly. However, with the GDPR and other privacy laws and concerns leading to a cookie-free digital world, contextual advertising can help marketers by working as a privacy-friendly source of data collection that is accurate, but non-invasive. It allows targeting of the audience through the context of a web page. For instance, a user visiting a fashion and lifestyle website would be shown products in those categories, and another browsing book will get ads related to books. This contextual approach to advertising ensures that the ad budget is spent more accurately as only the relevant people will be targeted. Unlike cookie-based behavioral targeting, businesses require fewer data and tools or technology for execution. AI systems can make trend and insights-based predictions that help in choosing the right channels and web platforms to advertise on. Contextual advertising also leads to greater personalization as consumers are likely to see ads relevant only to what they are currently looking for. 64% of the customers value the relevance of advertising, and it can lead to greater customer engagement and loyalty. Moreover, contextual advertising is more real-time as it is based on the current actions of a user, and not on the documented habits. For instance, someone might have been buying a lot of books and playing games during remote working or lockdowns, but with offices reopening the current preferences might be more about eating out or shopping from physical stores instead of online stores. Contextual advertising can help out with such information. Towards Transparency & Data Sanity Whether the advertisers go ahead with data clean room or contextual advertising, the key to digital growth in 2023 will be gaining efficiency with data

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valentine’s-day-sales!

The heart of the matter: Strategies to increase Valentine’s day sales!

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Wait Wait…. It’s not just another article on sale week and it’s not about flowers and teddys. So, what’s different about it? Here we are to give brands a peak into what they can do to make some serious sales on Valentine’s Day. It’s not just an occasion for chocolates and gifting brands to acquire new customers. It’s time for brands across industries to connect with the young generation. Let’s drown in the ocean of customer sentiments to find pearls to shine sales. Valentine’s Day Beyond Chocolates and Teddies No offense to the gifting eCom industry – It is indeed their time to peak sales, but we are here to look at how other products flourish during Valentine’s week. Spending close to Valentine’s Day bumps up as the week brings in new customers looking to buy beyond gift items, but the gift items are not just limited to chocolates and common gift items. On the world’s largest e-marketplace, Amazon bands are pushing to connect with the young generation. A connection that will benefit them in the long run establishing a brand for the youth. Offers like “sound of love” on Amazon featuring brands like JBL, Bose, etc. are what attract new customers who are not just looking for roses. Brands need to up their game in product categories that are more searched on this day but also push products that connect with the demographics. The day has quite a significant and revenue-driving force in all essential sectors. Be Available to Witness The Shower of Love on e-commerce Platforms Time to dress for the occasion with the insignia of Love. The Fashion eCom lit up in the season of love with special combos and clothing to help couples dress up for the occasion. Clothing and accessories flood the eCom market. But brands and sellers on eCom platforms need to boost their product discoverability first to boost sales among the cutthroat competition. Be it Valentine’s Day or any other sale week brands need to be on top of sale trends and competitors’ pricing and discount offers to become the top pick. Brands need to optimize their Product display page content, set banners at the right spot to boost visibility and know the right price to be the top pick. The biggest factor that can help brands boost revenue during Valentine’s week is being able to meet the demand on the day. Brands need to ensure their product availability across the eCommerce platform. Can’t Buy Love But Can Buy For Love You can groove to the Beatles ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ on the V-day but you should buy something for your Love to keep that intact. Americans plan to do exactly that as does the rest of the world. According to a report on Valentine’s Day 2023, the United States is all set to spend $25.9 billion. The National Retail Federation survey predicted sales to be around $2 billion higher than the previous year. Things To Do For Brands – Equip Well For V-day Sale and Beyond What can brands do? Simple just ride the sale wave – make your products stand out during this week and beyond. Yes, you read it right ‘beyond’ like love eCommerce game is not just T20 brands need to be an all-format player to edge ahead of your competition. Gear up with the right tools to go the extra mile and score big. Here are some things brands could do on a sale week across e-commerce platforms and even on Social Commerce space Refine your content to boost product visibility Know your customer sentiment Target the right demographics Target Tier 2, and 3 cities to acquire new customers Track competitors across product categories and sub-categories on eCommerce platforms Ensure product availability across geographies on eCommerce platforms Optimize delivery time Ensure sellers do not go overboard and violate the threshold price Brands need to optimize customer experience to acquire new customers and build on by tracking customer feedback. Final Thought – Pluck The Rose But Beware of Thorns Brands need to be careful when to target these sale events. Strategies need to be based on insight and comprehensive competitive analysis to shine through with a boost in revenue. Know your customers and competition to edge ahead. Gear up with mScanIt, an Ecommerce Intelligence to get deep actionable insights across KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Start tracking your competition and your product performance across platforms. The race is heating up to grab shoppers’ attention. Dress to impress and make shoppers fall in love with your products. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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MAP Violations: Roadmap to Prevent Pricing Violations

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Summary According to a study, 50% of the time unauthorized sellers violate Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies. MAP violations hamper the brand reputation and dent the profit margin. Brands need to be aware of pricing on every product listing across the eCommerce marketplaces. Tracking MAP violations is the right way forward to build brand trust & loyalty. Why do brands need MAP policies? The pandemic has pushed the boundaries for digital commerce and accelerated its adoption. The wave of evolution in the digital ecosystem has opened doors to enormous growth opportunities. But with great opportunity comes great challenges. Brands need a set of ground rules or policies in place to maintain their brand reputation. The Indian digital ecosystem has been on the flyer with high demand for a convenient and seamless shopping experience. In a race to provide lucrative discounts, brands must ensure they do not lose out on brand reputation and value. Brands need to set a threshold value for Advertised Selling Price (ASP) and track any violations on the minimum advertised price (MAP). According to a study conducted by Harvard Business Review on manufacturers, unauthorized sellers violate Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policies 50% of the time, while authorized sellers do that 20% of the time. Of course, this is in the US scenario, but the fact is quite relevant in the global digital ecosystem and the Indian eCommerce market as well. How can a brand prevent MAP violations? The growing demand has led to a rapid rise in the number of 3rd party marketplaces online. Now, products are being sold by multiple sellers and resellers across the digital commerce ecosystem. This makes it essential to formulate MAP policies. The Map violations not only hamper the brand reputation but also dent the profit margin. Brands need to be aware of pricing on every product listing across the eCommerce marketplaces. MAP Policy – A must For Brands in Today’s Digital Ecosystem. MAP or Minimum Advertised Pricing policies are set forth by the manufacturer or brand to set the lowest price point for sellers to advertise the product. Sellers can only advertise on the price set via an agreement between manufacturers and distributors. MAP policies safeguard brand interest and reputation creating a perfect price perception across the digital ecosystem. What are the Benefits of monitoring MAP violations? Brands need to show alacrity and turn towards technology to track pricing and discount violations. The key challenge is monitoring the massive range of products on multiple eCommerce marketplaces. The diversion from the set threshold could be monitored if every listing on the eCommerce marketplace is tracked. Tracking at what price sellers are advertising the product will help brands identify and act upon any pricing violation across their product listings. Switch to Digital commerce intelligence systems to analyze products on multiple KPIs and provide actionable insight to act upon brands to enhance product performance and optimize the customer experience. Track the performance of sellers across platforms and pin codes. The tracking pricing and discount violations will maintain the brand reputation in terms of pricing & discount offered across the digital commerce ecosystem. How to effectively enforce Minimum Advertised Price? Even the thought of monitoring MAP compliance manually is out of context in the ever-evolving digital ecosystem. Every brand with an extensive online presence needs comprehensive MAP policies and a data-driven system to enforce MAP violations. The ecommerce competitive analysis with price monitoring across listed product categories and sub-categories on eCommerce platforms can ease the burden of brands by tracking non-compliance and identifying authorized sellers. Brands enlist numerous sellers who advertise and sell their products online. The widely distributed scale of products means there is more need for monitoring MAP violations across all online channels. A comprehensive system deployed to prevent MAP violations will protect the brand Image and save the profit margin of loyal authorized sellers. The actionable insights on violators will protect the brand interest and allow them to act against non-compliant sellers. Final Thoughts Tracking MAP violations is of utmost importance to protect brand reputation. Brands need to stay a step ahead of their competitors in this cutthroat competitive digital ecosystem and be equipped with the right tools to optimize the customer journey at multiple touchpoints. mScanIt, an eCommerce intelligence solution via its pricing analysis tool tracks any pricing & discount violations across sellers and geographies along with conducting comprehensive pricing analysis across eCommerce platforms. It Identifies which seller is the outlier in the average price threshold. It also main the violator list for product Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) codes across brands, sub-categories, cities, and eCommerce marketplace. As someone rightly said there is no advertisement as powerful as a positive reputation – words travel fast. Plug MAP violations to build brand loyalty and maintain your brand value among retailers and customers. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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ecommerce-intelligence

Fashion Industry – Setting new trends in India’s eCommerce Landscape

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The fashion-conscious GenZs and millennials are leading the astronomical rise of Fashion eCom Fashion is like having a meal, you can’t stick to the same menu every time. Fashion eCommerce has revolutionized the segments. The new generation is the driving force behind the dynamic fast-paced industry. The fashion eCommerce Industry has grown beyond expectations with a 59.7% growth in order volume in FY’22 as compared to FY’21. The clothing & accessory brands need to capitalize on the immense growth potential of the fashion industry. In the words of Myntra’s CEO, the contribution of e-commerce to most of the fashion businesses is 10-12 percent. This is expected to grow to 30%, meaning almost a third of fashion in India will be sold online in the next five years. “Fashion e-commerce will become a $30 bn market in India in five years” – Myntra CEO Let’s take a deep dive into how fashion is cementing its position in the Indian eCommerce landscape. Growing from Strength to Strength The Indian Fashion ecommerce market segment was so far dominated by Myntra. It is one of the biggest players that revolutionized the fashion eCommerce space in India. But the rise of AJio and Cliq has spiced up the competition. The marketplaces are backed by mighty conglomerates like Reliance and Tata group respectively. Online Fashion Platforms like AJio and Cliq have made their presence felt and gradually their market share grew in the online space. The battle for consumer attention is getting fierce with sale seasons and regular lucrative offers. Every brand needs to deal their cards strategically. Take swift action on setting pricing and discount based on market trends. Staying on top of pricing and discount trends across platforms and geographies has become essential to slice through the cutthroat competition. Building brand loyalty reaps high reward and ensure customer retention. Indian fashion eCommerce has enough scope for multiple marketplaces to co-exist and continue to grow. The more competitive fashion eCom space will lead to massive growth opportunities. To capture these opportunities, brands need to gear up with the right digital commerce intelligence tool to stay ahead. The Changing Lifestyle with Fashion eCom The new generation lives and breathe Fashion Trends. Yes, you read that right. They not only shop just for occasions but also turn to online marketplaces for their daily clothing needs. The massive clothing and accessories range is available online to attract younger generations. The brands need to be aware of their sales across demographic and set the pricing and availability to match the needs of shoppers suiting their budget bracket. Digital commerce intelligence can help brands understand the need of their consumers and make data-driven decisions. Getting Smarter with Data-driven Digital Commerce Intelligence ‘One size fits all’ is not relevant anymore. Every individual now seeks what suits their own sense of style, occasion, and accessories accordingly. The industry is shaping toward providing a personalized experience and optimizing the customer journey is paramount. The frequently changing online shopping trends set new milestones every month. Digital commerce intelligence keeps brands in tune with what is going on in their domain across the product range, categories, and even sub-categories. Optimization has become essential be it – awareness, consideration & evaluation, or the purchase phase of the customer journey. Brands need to be on their toes to engage new customers across eCommerce platforms. Invest In Technology – Strengthen Your Supply Chain The post-purchase delivery experience of customers is also crucial in the digital ecosystem. As the brands pump huge volumes to meet the demands. Customer satisfaction in product delivery has become imperative. The reward of an enhanced post-delivery experience are good ratings & reviews. Positive customer sentiments result in customer retention, build brand trust, and attract new customers. Good reviews are the most organic way to boost product visibility on the eCommerce marketplace. Brands need to invest in technology to optimize the experience. A comprehensive monitoring system is a must for every brand to strengthen the supply chain. The solution to monitor sales & order tracking, the performance of sellers, and optimize delivery turn-around-time with comprehensive reconciliation is indispensable in such a competitive Fashion eCom segment. The tech-enabled process solutions ensure convenience and transparency in purchase and post-purchase. The reconciliation across multiple warehouses streamlines order processing and leads to operational efficiency in the system. Final Thoughts The fashion and accessories segment generates the maximum order volume share among e-commerce industries. The prospects seem bright for trendsetter fashion eCommerce, and it is expected to keep leading in the coming years with its continuous innovations and technology adoption. The brands need to step up and tap on every touchpoint on the customer journey. Be it setting the right prices, offering discounts, enhancing content to boost visibility, increasing the Share of Shelf, or ensuring availability or post-purchase convenience Brands should be updated on any market trend. mScanIt, the digital intelligence solution, could give brands an edge over the competition. The end-to-end digital commerce intelligence provides real-time actionable insights with a dynamic dashboard. It even takes a step further with tools like Content recommendation which auto-generates content for optimizing product display page (PDP). Technology is the key growth driver for the entire digital commerce ecosystem.

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ecommerce-intelligence

eCommerce Challenges 2023: Demystifying the competitive eCom landscape

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Gear up to face the challenge with a refreshing approach driven by technology! The eCommerce landscape has hit a massive new high thanks to the pandemic-induced lockdowns years of change occurred in a matter of months – business transformation led to the rise in the digital ecosystem. The rapid rise of digital-first brands is now leading the immense competitive digital marketplaces. During the times when everything seems hunky dory, there are challenges that behest the brands and retailers in the digital ecosystem. Let’s dig a little deep and find out the eCommerce challenges posed in 2023 and ways to move past them. According to a study conducted, by 2040, it is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online. Thus, this is the perfect time for retailers to confront challenges and seek solutions to edge ahead. With the increasing dependence on online shopping, eCommerce is breaking the door open with enormous opportunities. As there is no rose without its thorns. Here are some challenges with the new opportunities. 1. Targeting the right customer The options for shoppers are immense with a flurry of offers. Pampered by options and impulse buys. It is imperative to target customers at the right place with the right product. So, how do you make sure they pick your product? And how will make sure your product is among the option. Solution: The solution is digital marketing with targeted customers and geographies paired with digital commerce intelligence to boost product discoverability and visibility. Optimize product display pages, and monitor pricing, availability, and other KPIs vis-à-vis competition to reach out to the right customer. 2. Optimizing Customer Experience User experiences or customer experience is one of the major challenges in the digital ecosystem. The shopper looks for a more convenient shopping experience and personalization based on their preferences. Solution: Brands are recognizing the need of optimizing the customer experience for 2023 and beyond. The data-driven business decision could optimize the customer journey at multiple touchpoints. This includes tracking customer sentiments – acknowledging their feedback and concerns. The practice to track positive and negative segments will enhance brand trust and loyalty. For example, let us consider a use case – of an Indian multination brand known for its products like water purifies tracked customer sentiment with mScanIt, Feedback analysis. The brand tracked genuine customers with negative reviews and connected with them to rectify their issues. Such positive initiatives bring a lot of positive value to the brand. 3. Build Brand Trust Loyalty The challenge of building brand trust loyalty is eminent for every brand. The cost of acquiring a new customer is multi-fold higher compared to retaining an existing one. Selling to a current customer is much easier with a 60-70% success rate as compared to a new customer with a 5-20% success rate. The above-stated facts are a testament to the importance of customer retention. So, how can Brands need to build trust and loyalty to retain customers? Solution: There could be multiple ways to customer retention. Providing quality services is of course paramount. The key is staying connected with your current customer and leverage their positive feedback to build trust. Make sure they know about your products, promotions and provide exciting offers to the existing customers. To build trust brands should ensure clarity, accuracy, and transparency in product display page content. 4. Convert visits to purchases! One of the biggest challenges is boosting conversions. Turing the visitors to paying customers. There could be multiple reasons for not converting like pricing, delivery time, and not enough information on the product page. How can a brand make sure once shoppers view the product, they could easily make a purchase? Solution: The answer is quite simple yet complicated – First and foremost understand why your shoppers aren’t converting. What do they seek? Turn to digital commerce intelligence to get actionable insights on multiple KPIs with customized tools to find out what needs to be done to boost product performance on eCommerce platforms. Optimize the shopper’s journey and target the right demographic sentiments. 5. Competition Competitor Analysis How do they stand out from the crowd with so many options available to the customers in your segment? What makes them buy a similar product from a competitor instead of buying from you? Do you know your competitive performance across the platform? Solution: Know your competition! The cut-throat eCommerce market needs brands and retailers to be a step ahead and updated on market changes. The key is to stand out – having a good product is not good enough – your need to tell why you are that good with refined product page content and set the right price and discount in line with trends. Brands need to gear up with solutions like mScanIt, a digital commerce intelligence to set the right content with auto-generated content recommendation, boost the brand share of the shelf based on keywords, optimize SKUs, and track product availability across platforms. Every phase of the customer journey needs to be optimized to stay ahead of competitors. Final Thoughts The growing smartphone penetration and new geographies opening up to online shopping have led to a massive influx of opportunities. To cash in on the opportunities the brands and retailers need to combat challenges at every touchpoint of the customer journey. eCommerce has propelled rapidly in the last few years and conducive conditions of 2023 will push it further. Do not get left behind switch to digital commerce and pave your way through challenges. It’s a year full of exciting and positive changes, but there are still multiple businesses going online or starting digital-first that struggle with the challenges that eCommerce brings. There is no quick fix, but tech-solution are fixes that can help any eCommerce business inch closer to its ideal customers and achieve target sales.

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8 Things to Stop Believing In 2023: A Marketer’s Checklist

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2023 is coming with a storm of changes in the digital advertising world. Meanwhile, the bots are also ready to upgrade themselves to steal the advertiser’s money. According to the Statista report, the global cost of loss in ad budgets is going to reach $100 bn. in 2023. To ensure the advertisers are also ready with their armor to protect their ad campaigns next year, it is important to let go of a few beliefs that might have led to some mistakes in 2022. We are here with an exclusive marketer’s checklist to help digital advertising to stop believing in things that are pulling back their digital growth. By letting go of these thoughts’ advertisers can be prepared to “Advertise Fearlessly” in 2023. 1. Stop Believing That Programmatic Publisher’s Reports Are 100% One of the biggest disadvantages of programmatic ad is the lack of transparency. In this case, to give a clear picture the publishers provide a report including the ad placements and where the brand’s budget was spent. However, in most cases, the fraudulent publishers provide a skewed report to receive their payments. It is important to not trust the publisher’s report because they don’t know if the placement, they are claiming is true or not. For example, they claim that the ads are running on BBC. But there is still a glimmer of doubt about whether it actually running on BBC or not. Therefore, it is essential for advertisers to resort to validating their ad traffic and not trusting the publisher’s report. By understanding the amount of invalid traffic coming they can make payments based on the clean traffic and partner with confidence. 2. Stop Believing OEM Platforms Are Fraud Free OEM app stores are believed to provide high-quality users and significantly increase the visibility of an app. It also results in being an optimum platform to attract high installs. Due to fewer restrictions, these platforms can also be used by apps removed from Google Play Store to increase their market growth. The OEM app stores receive a security certification and clearance from the mobile manufacturer. However, it doesn’t have the required safety provided by Google Play store apps against potentially harmful apps. The publishers claim OEM traffic is fraud-free, however in reality they provide mixed traffic. When a person purchases a device, the OEM apps are pre-installed in them. In the pre-installed/pre-burned app case, the digital advertiser is paying the handset for those pre-burns. So they have incurred a cost here, and then when the affiliate/OEM partners get those apps opened, the advertiser again pays for the same install. This way, the digital advertising is under the impression that they are getting unique traffic. But the reality is that they are actually paying the customer acquisition cost for the same person twice. Therefore, it is essential for app advertisers to deploy third-party ad traffic validation solutions to safeguard their apps on third-party app stores. With an ad traffic validation suite, the digital advertising can verify the quality of installs and the devices from which it has been installed to ensure the traffic is genuine. 3. Stop Believing That Performance campaigns are fraud free One of the many misconceptions that digital advertising and agencies have is that no fraud happens on performance campaigns as they are targeted campaigns. It is believed that even though media campaigns are prone to ad fraud, performance campaigns cannot be skewed by publishers with invalid traffic. This is because they are paying for performance, and they are getting performance However, over time the bots have become sophisticated and can easily imitate human behavior. The advancement of the bots has reached a level where the events like filling a lead form, making a purchase and other events can also be spoofed. According to our findings, performance campaigns (CPC/CPV/CPL/CPS) attract up to 30-35% of invalid traffic across the industry. Therefore, it is important to do a full-funnel check of the performance campaigns to ensure they are not hampered by invalid traffic. 4. Stop Believing MMP Fraud Protection Is Enough There are a number of MMPs or attribution platforms that claim to detect invalid traffic on ad campaigns. However, this is a conflict of interest. MMPs revenue is generated from the number of attributions. And when the more numbers of fraud they detect on attributed sources, their revenue decreases. This causes a conflict of interest and therefore the real fraud is left undetected. According to mFilterIt findings, we have detected 50-60% fraud on the same ad traffic in which MMP has detected 20% fraud. In this case, the digital advertising is in the shadow that the fraud on their ad campaigns has been detected and prevented. But the reality is that they are still paying for the ad traffic coming from bots. On top of that, the MMPs have limitations in detecting invalid traffic at the impression level and have minimal checks that often miss out on sophisticated fraud patterns. Therefore, it is essential for marketers to partner with an ad traffic validation suite to ensure their ad campaigns are getting clean traffic. Moreover, the marketers must also ensure that their traffic verification partner’s solution is not limited to just detecting invalid sources at the impression level but also at the click stage, re-engagement and referral. 5. Stop Believing keyword blacklisting is enough for brand safety Brand safety is no more a choice, rather it has become a necessity for brands to stay protected in the digital landscape. One of the key reasons brands need a brand safety suite is to ensure their ads are not placed beside violence, hate speech, morbidity, and other derogatory content. Blacklisting certain keywords to ensure the ads are not displayed next to illicit content is one of the common ways to deal with such issues. However, it is not enough to ensure the safety of ads. One of the loopholes of keyword blacklisting is that it assumes that the platform knows the context of the content. It can be relevant for English-focused content,

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Beauty & Personal Care Industry: Trends accelerating BPC eCommerce growth in India

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The astounding rise in the eCommerce segment in Beauty Personal Care (BPC) segment could be credited to the changing lifestyle of the young Indian demographic. The products are not just exclusive segments but daily need products. The Indian beauty and personal care market stands 8th among the top countries in the world with an estimated value of USD 15 billion and growing at a steady rate of approximately 10%. (Based on Euromonitor International Study). The Market is all set to get double by 2030 with skincare products and cosmetics driving growth. The penetration outside metros into Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities has been a major advantage to the Indian BPC market. This provides the Indian BPC e-commerce market with significant headroom to grow and scale up. Lucrative Market with growth opportunities The online BPC market in India expanded significantly in the last few years driven by a steep increase in e-commerce adoption. Across the digital shopping platforms, the beauty personal care segment continues to show accelerated growth post-pandemic. The consistent year-on-year growth over the last 2 years has been the hallmark of the segment. As compared to other emerging segments beauty personal care reported maximum growth with a 143% rise in order volume compared to 2021 along with a rapid rise in order value as well up to 132% in FY22. The emergence of many digital-first brands in the last 2 years has helped the beauty personal Care segment outperform with robust growth. The rising number of “House of Brands” and the flurry of investors hogging on segment potential has been the key factor in its growth. Even the traditional players are leveraging the BPC eCommerce high. eCommerce segment-wise order volume – FY 2021 vs FY 2022 | Source: Unicommerce Report 2022 Technology adoption boosts the BPC e-commerce Segment The adoption of technology has been another factor that led to the rapid rise of the beauty personal Care segment.  The Brands switch to a more personalized customer-centric approach to optimize customer journey at every touch point. The move to improve supply chain and logistics with competitive intelligence has led to rapid strides with technology. Solutions like mScanit ensure that beauty and personal care brands optimize their discoverability, pricing analysis, and track availability across multiple touchpoints. The technology is not just limited to purchase experience monitoring sales and reconciliation but also makes the customer feel valued with a seamless post-purchase experience. Build on Brand Trust and Loyalty In changing eCommerce landscape brands across segments need to build a strong presence online. The goal is to connect with the customer. In the beauty personal care segment customers like to trust the brand they use and seek more of what their trusted brand has to offer building a bond. This ensures conducive customer retention. The Brands need to ensure an elevated shopping experience on their website and in the eCommerce marketplace to develop a connection with consumers. Gen Z and millennials stay quite aware of the options they have and offers available on various channels. This makes having digital commerce of paramount importance. Competitive analytics give brands an added edge over the cut-throat competition. The faith of customers reflects in year-on-year stronger growth on the top brand’s website purchases as compared to marketplaces. The stronger growth above 80% in FY22 on the brand websites is indicative of their potential. Brand Trust and loyalty across platforms leads to astonishing customer retention and positive feedback leads to potential new consumers. The competitive analysis of customer sentiment is key to elevating brand loyalty. eCommerce Watershed Moment Post-Pandemic High Demand in Tier-2 and Tier-3 Cities The hinterland of India is steadily getting attracted to convenient shopping. Beauty and personal care products have been the top pick among Tier-2 and Tier-3 new eCommerce shoppers. The remarkable progress and e-commerce penetration have led the shoppers from these cities to make up the major chunk of market share across e-commerce shopping avenues. Post-pandemic the year-on-year growth has been remarkable in Tier- 2 and Tier- 3 cities while the growth rate and slightly lost pace. E-commerce penetration across Indian cities in 2022 | Source: Unicommerce Report In the post-pandemic era, faster delivery and optimized shopping experience have been the driving factors for eCommerce growth. Internet penetration and rapid growth in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are the driving forces leading to this new demographic towards the e-commerce marketplaces. Final thoughts – Target the right consumer The beauty personal Care industry has a major challenge in terms of reaching out to the right customer. High demand in tier 2 and tier 3 cities has opened the door to a massive range of new customers with varied shopping potential and budget brackets. Brands need to tap into these new geographies with ecommerce competitive analysis paving ways to edge ahead. The end-to-end digital commerce intelligence at every touch point can enhance customer experience and boost sales across the digital ecosystem. mScanIt, a digital commerce intelligence solution provides actionable insights and analytics across multiple KPIs for the brand. Tools like content recommendation help brands go beyond analytics with auto-content generation for product display pages and optimize the content across platforms. In the last few years, new business models and multiple segments have emerged across the eCommerce ecosystem. Brands should keep track of new opportunities opening to target consumers across the digital commerce landscape. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more.

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Know The Unknown Cause Behind Your Abnormally High Installs

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The shift towards digital advertising brought many major changes in the way of advertising. In comparison to traditional advertising methods, digital intrusion introduced marketers to a transparent way of digital advertising with more control. Attribution platforms are also known to ease the task for app publishers and advertisers. They enable them to track every impression, click, install, and in-app event. The attribution platforms attribute each install to a corresponding click based on this acquired information. However, there is a catch. The advertisers cannot solely rely on the attribution data to take business decisions. With the evolution of digital media, fraudsters have also evolved with time and have been able to create a more advanced level of fraud which requires advanced techniques to detect mobile ad fraud. Types of Advanced Mobile Ad Frauds Fake Attribution While attribution platforms give a clear picture to the advertisers about the incoming traffic on their ad campaigns, there is still a loophole that cannot be ignored – Mobile Ad Fraud. This can lead to rendering inaccurate or misleading attribution data. Fraudsters have become very advanced to match the ever-evolving digital ecosystem. They can inject bots that have human-like behavior and are hard to detect. In the case of app campaigns, fraudulent affiliates are adept at manipulating the attribution process and can hack the last-click attribution and claim it to be provided by them. Whereas the reality is that they played no part in driving that app install or event. These “affiliate fraud are aware of the attribution mechanism and can easily fool the attribution platforms into crediting them with the install. SDK Spoofing This is another form of sophisticated fraud where legitimate-looking installs are created by the method of SDK spoofing. This is used to show a high number of installs using the data of real devices without any actual installs happening. Fraudsters compromise a legitimate device to punch installs that look real to drain the advertiser’s budget. This method is also called traffic spoofing and replay attacks. To commit fraud, fraudsters hack the SSL encryption that is placed between the tracking SDK and the backend servers. With the “man-in-the-middle-attack”, the fraudster creates a series of test installs for their targeted app. Once they identify the URL that controls specific actions within the app, they look for the dynamic URL to create fake installs. This can be done repeatedly and appear like a genuine activity to the advertiser. Why MMPs are not enough? Fraudulent techniques like fake attribution and SDK spoofing are advanced-level frauds that are hard to detect by average fraud detection methods. They require some advanced technology that can analyze the behavior of the traffic to differentiate between a bot and a human. The biggest drawback of MMP fraud detection is they have limited rule checks. And as their billing happens on the attributed data, they often claim less fraud to increase their revenue. Thus, it results in a conflict of interest. Therefore, marketers need a holistic ad traffic validation partner like mFilterIt to ensure that their app campaigns are protected from sophisticated fraud. We use AI, ML, and data science capabilities to detect invalid sources in real time across the funnel to ensure the sophisticated bots don’t penetrate further into the sales funnel and skew the data. To protect the app campaigns from advanced-level mobile fraud techniques like SDK spoofing, we implement our own SDK to fetch the data and validate the quality of the traffic. Real Case We have found a recent case of misattribution where affiliates have not given any purchase and passing the invalid order ID for all the orders placed. Given below is a pictorial view of the case which happened by spoofing the data from Affiliates. We detected anomalies by implementing our SDK and pointed out the discrepancies in the attributed data based on behavior and device checks. The Way Ahead The advertisers must be more vigilant, smart, and technologically armed to counter the attacks of sophisticated bots. Incorporating an ad fraud tool can help advertisers identify the traffic coming from non-humans and eliminate them in real-time and work confidently with media partners. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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