Five simple ways SMMEs can become competitive in e-commerce
A FEW YEARS ago, most South Africans had never made a purchase online.
Today, the e-commerce market has experienced a massive boom as lockdown restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19 made online shopping feel like the safer and sometimes the only option for consumers.
According to a 2018 report from shopping centre and property research company Urban Studies, retail sales in the country reached a new high of R1 trillion in 2017, and yet, online shopping merely accounted for 1.8% retail spend that year.
For larger businesses, the foray into e-commerce is easier than it is for SMMEs, either because they have more money to invest or because they have the infrastructure or digital capabilities they can piggyback off of to build or expand their e-commerce offering.
Digital technologies can help to level the playing field for SMMEs. By leveraging innovation-enabling technology, the more agile and speedy SMME can become a force to be reckoned with.
Improve your catalogue and product discovery
Many SMMEs battle to understand which places are the best to list their product and to get the most traffic.
Making sure that a business is using an e-commerce platform that has the knowledge, skills and experience to do this is the first step.
Create easily shoppable catalogues or storefronts
To compete with the e-commerce giants, SMMEs must create a seamless and easy shopping experience. Is a site easy to navigate? If a customer searches for something specific, will they be able to find it?
Make payments easier
Once a customer has found a product, they’re looking for simple and safe ways to pay for it. Providing easy, contactless payment options ranging from credit cards, instant EFTs, and even QR codes ensure that customers don’t abandon their cart and go where it’s easier to pay.
Meet delivery expectations
Consumers want orders fulfilled quickly, reliably and in a way that fits into their lifestyles.
Many small businesses operating in the e-commerce space are reliant on courier companies who can let the brand down through late deliveries and poor communication, which leaves the customer disappointed.
SMMEs should strive to ensure delivery is fast and efficient and that the customer is kept informed of the progress from order fulfilment through to delivery.
Provide support in less manual and time-consuming ways
By providing digital support tools, which enable fast, reliable and automated after-sales and customer support, an SMME will set itself apart from the competition.
A business can no longer compete on price, product or service quality alone, as changing consumer behaviour continues to shape the retail industry. This is particularly true for SMMEs who will probably find themselves driving in the slow lane of the digital revolution if they don’t get on board.