In digital market, the consumer is the king yet again

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year affected all of us, either directly or indirectly. It also brought a paradigm shift in the behavior of consumers, with safety being a top priority. This resulted in a massive growth of traffic online as consumers preferred to rely more on digital platforms to obtain services and purchase goods.

According to a recent UNCTAD report, e-commerce has grown exponentially as a result of movement restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the online share of total retail sales increasing from 16 to 19% in 2020. The current financial year holds promise as e-commerce worldwide reached $876 billion in the first quarter.

However, although the digital landscape offers enough space to every enterprise to create a market for itself, it equally poses a great challenge to keep the consumer base intact and growing. Experts say consumers are more likely to stick with companies not based on how good their products or services are, but how efficiently their growing demands are met and a great personal customer experience is provided.

Companies have thus been forced to upend their traditional business models and devise new strategies that put the consumer first to gain a foothold in the ever-expanding digital landscape. Their focus is now on providing a one-of-a-kind digital experience for their customers and offering only the best deals to fuel their e-commerce operations.

A recent study by professional services firm PwC also found speed, convenience, knowledgeable help, and friendly service to be the most important elements of a positive customer experience. Thus, investment in customer experience initiatives has the potential to grow the revenue manifold. In fact, companies that earn $1 billion per year can expect to earn an additional $700 million within three years of investing in customer experience.

Through advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), companies are beginning to better understand the changing dynamics of customer behavior and creating processes to offer highly personalized experiences. It is critical to establish a consistent line of communication across all platforms in order to receive regular feedback from customers. The data will provide new ideas for strategizing and improving the consumer experience.

Sweet Tips from Ally:

Customer behavior is constantly evolving and adapting to changing needs, making it critical for businesses to remain relevant. Customers must be valued and treated as an invaluable asset to a brand's success if a company wishes to see consistent market growth. A satisfied customer will result in retention and increased revenue since it is more likely that the customer will make future purchases from the same company.