Praveen Dhama

Why do brands need a Pricing Tracker and Pricing Analysis across e-commerce platforms

Why do brands need a Pricing Tracker and Pricing Analysis across e-commerce platforms?

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An Indian conglomerate with pricing analysis cracked the code to excel on the online marketplaces for its natural and healthy agro-products. What are you waiting for? ‘Price’ is probably the most important factor that influences the shopper’s decision. Setting the right price on different online marketplaces and geographies is the key to becoming the top pick of shoppers. Data-driven pricing and promotion strategies enable brands to identify new opportunities and maintain top-notch performance on online shopping platforms. It makes monitoring competition prices and discounts across online marketplaces, and geographies extremely crucial. Let’s explore how an efficient pricing tracker and pricing analysis can help your brand propel on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms. Stay alert on product pricing with the pricing tracker Setting the right price on e-commerce platforms is quite a challenge and the role of sellers on e-commerce platforms becomes critical to stay ahead in the discount war. Here is the case of the popular brand n for Beauty and healthcare products, which also ventured into agro-products in 2010, but now wants to expand their presence on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms and face some steep challenges in Pricing across platforms to stay ahead of the competition and build their brand presence. The brand has an extensive presence in physical marketplaces across tier-1 and tier-2 cities making it space in competitive digital marketplaces. The special focus is on healthy cooking oil versus competition across digital commerce platforms. Challenges in Price monitoring on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms Include: Need time-sensitive data and actionable insights on pricing and discount trends to stay ahead of the competition. The city-level monitoring across platforms weekly and hourly to capture fluctuations in prices and discounts. Detecting and flagging pricing and discount violations by sellers, along with accurately ensuring compliance with pricing policies. Identifying new geographies to target e-commerce and q-commerce landscapes, and competitor presence at a granular level. Maintaining performance and reliability is crucial to sustaining competitiveness in the long term. They started competitive pricing analysis along with optimizing discoverability and availability with quick commerce solution. The results were quite evident in a short time as they started monitoring the performance of their products across platforms and geographies. They identified gaps in pricing versus competition, kept track of trends, and identified MAP or Pricing Violations by sellers at pin-code level. Monitoring Pricing and Discount trends vs competition across platforms Keep track of pricing & discount violations by sellers Monitoring products across platforms at the City Level, weekly and hourly. Identify new geographies to target on the E-commerce and Q-commerce landscape   Fig. 01: A screen grab from mScanIt – Digital Commerce Intelligence – Pricing Tracker/Pricing Analysis | Category: Oils | Sub-category: Mustard Oil | Variant: KGMO (Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil) Mild | City: Delhi The impact of Price Tracking on e-commerce marketplaces One of the major impacts of in-depth product pricing monitoring is that it enables the brand to optimize the product performance of different product categories, sub-categories, and product variants at various levels. Data-driven decision-making with actionable insights on pricing and discount empowers brands to shape strategies considering competition’s moves on different platforms, and geographies. It also enables them to monitor sellers’ performance and keep track of pricing and discount violations. The competitive intelligence on multiple KPIs helps brands identify gaps in strategy at platform level and at the tier-wise city level and explore new opportunities. Final Thought on the Need for Pricing Analysis and Pricing Tracker The Pricing Analysis across platforms ensures that the brand stays consistent in pricing versus competition. The strategies on quick commerce and e-commerce platforms may vary based on the demand for products on certain platforms and pin codes. If the brand is selling products via/ sellers or resellers monitoring what price they are selling your product helps maintain your brand integrity and reputation. A comprehensive digital shelf monitoring solution empowers brands with intelligence that can drive their business growth. It could boost their monitoring capabilities and optimize performance with the multi-facet approach which includes perfect page analysis, product page content optimization, availability monitoring, delivery TAT optimization (for e-commerce), and a lot more with customizable solutions that cater needs of your brand. So, stay ahead of the curve with a competitive edge to score big on the digital commerce landscape. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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E-commerce Shelf Monitoring – A Competitive Advantage in the Digital Commerce Ecosystem

E-commerce Shelf Monitoring – A Competitive Advantage in the Digital Commerce Ecosystem

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The e-commerce landscape has expanded across India beyond anyone could have expected 5 years ago. New startups are challenging the big brands in the digital commerce ecosystem. Big names venturing in on digital marketplaces expanding revenues and catering to the need for convenience for their buyers. The digital native brands have carved their niche with an expanding customer base, targeting shoppers looking for a healthy and organic lifestyle and products driven by innovation. The Indian e-commerce landscape caters to the ever-expanding shopper base with an estimated 230-350 million online shoppers in 2023. (Source: Bain & Co.) Such expansion and multi-platform sales avenues generate the need for e-commerce shelf monitoring to stay ahead of the competition and optimize the customer journey. How can e-commerce Shelf Monitoring optimize brands’ performance across platforms? A Shelf Monitoring framework in place could simplify the process with seamless optimization across e-commerce platforms and geographies. Here are some steps that can help streamline e-commerce Shelf Monitoring. 1. Discover Performance Gaps Identify if you’re underperforming on key measures. Set a checklist to illustrate – How is it measured? Set targets and notification process on where you stand on core KPIs like availability, share of search, primary and secondary PDP content, rating and reviews, seller performance (authorized and unauthorized), price parity, and more. 2. Assess Performance After identifying the areas with performance gaps, assess and analyze to establish what has caused such performance gaps. Identify where you stand versus competition across categories, sub-categories, and product variants across geographies. 3. Chart a path to remediation with the Shelf Monitoring Report Disseminate the findings work towards a correction mechanism and define a detailed action plan with timelines and accountability assigned. 4. Set Reassessment timelines Do not just limit to a one-time shelf monitoring as the digital commerce ecosystem keeps on evolving. Identify key parameters and Shelf Monitoring your progress versus competition every 3 months at least. Tweak and correct the measuring standards where and when required to improve performance standards. 5. Comprehensive Lat-long Analysis Monitoring product performance at the pin-code level enables brands to scale up the performance versus competition at the granular level. Such detailed comprehensive digital shelf monitoring can upswing brand presence across the cities on multiple platforms. The digital shelf monitoring solution, mScanIt offers such unique detailed monitoring to boost your brand presence. Benefits of e-commerce Shelf Monitoring in the digital commerce ecosystem Knowing how your product performs on a platform versus competition sometimes may not be enough – The monitoring should have a wider perspective covering different needs of different platforms and what they need to excel on various quick-commerce, and e-commerce platforms. Here are some of the key perks of e-commerce shelf monitoring: 1. Performance Enhancement By Identifying performance gaps on key performance indicators (KPIs), such as availability, share of search, content quality, ratings, reviews, and seller performance, etc. brands can enhance their overall performance on e-commerce platforms and geographies. This requires continuous monitoring across platforms, setting and updating thresholds regularly. 2. Optimized Customer Journey Enhancing customer experience is the top priority for every brand in the competitive e-commerce landscape. A thorough Shelf Monitoring allows brands to identify areas of improvement in the customer journey. This includes analyzing product detail pages and tracking customer sentiments via feedback ratings and reviews. Every step of the customer journey from interest and awareness, discoverability to the purchase phase. Optimizing these aspects contributes to a seamless and satisfying customer experience. 3. Actionable Competitive Insights Do you know where you stand versus the competition? Tracking SKUs across categories, sub-categories, and product variants on multiple platforms and geographies helps in strategic decision-making. The insights help build an understanding of the root causes behind performance gaps. It enables brands to take targeted actions with data-driven insights and build strategies with a detailed action plan, timelines, and accountability. E-commerce Shelf Monitoring enables brands to capitalize on strengths, identify weaknesses, and stay competitive in the market. 4. Maximized Revenue Potential By optimizing various aspects of e-commerce operations, brands can maximize their revenue potential. This includes improving search visibility, pricing strategies, and overall customer satisfaction. It can help boost market share and sales. 5. Adaptability to Market Trends With the ever-changing e-commerce landscape, staying proactive is crucial. An e-commerce Shelf Monitoring enables brands to adapt quickly to market changes, ensuring they remain relevant and responsive to shifting consumer demands. 6. Enhanced Brand Reputation Addressing performance gaps positively impacts the brand’s reputation. Consistently delivering a high-quality experience builds trust among consumers, leading to increased loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. Final Thoughts E-commerce Shelf Monitoring can prove to be a solution to multi-faceted enabling performance optimization and upswing growth. In a competitive landscape, every quick commerce and e-commerce marketplace has a different set of challenges, with expanding business in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. For brands venturing on multiple platforms and multiple geographies tracking and monitoring competitive trends and positioning of own brands versus competition is to optimize brand performance. E-commerce Shelf Monitoring can prove to be your perfect companion for market growth, enabling competitive intelligence to drive monitor, and optimize your product performance vis-a-vis competition along with extensive E-commerce Shelf Monitoring for platform-level optimization. Take your e-commerce effort to the next level with data-driven decisions and in-depth analysis and intelligence with E-commerce Shelf Monitoring. Get in touch to learn more about shelf monitoring.

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Quick Commerce

Quick Commerce: Are You Aware of Your Product Availability?

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Product availability is the key issue for brands looking to expand their presence across face fast-paced Quick-commerce landscape. As more funding coming in Q-com platforms are getting over the issues that hindered their progress so far. With the expansion of new categories that cater to the last-minute needs of shoppers, quick commerce platforms are expanding their horizons.  As more and more brands are turning towards quick commerce platforms around the world, they also need to measure and monitor performance across platforms and geographies. Let’s dive deeper and assess the core issues that brands face on quick commerce platforms and how they can overcome such challenges and boost efficiency across platforms. Different Quick Commerce Platforms Pose Different Challenges Every platform on quick commerce or e-commerce platform has its own set of challenges with different requirements and regulations for brands to optimize product pages and boost their share of search. Here are some of the key challenges that are roadblocks to brands success. 1. Optimizing Product Page Across Quick Commerce Platforms On e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart perfect page analysis is key for brands to understand what’s working on one platform and not working on the other or vice-versa. eCommerce Competitive analysis at the platform level helps enhance performance on the platform. This means keeping up with the content optimization requirements in the title and description across platforms. However, this approach needs to vary based on the platform. On Quick Commerce platforms optimizing the title became critical along with product images with key ingredient details on them as most q-com platforms do not have detailed product pages. 2. Tracking Product Availability in Real-Time Across Quick Commerce Platforms When a product goes out-of-stock brands for sure lose out to competition as quick commerce users seek rapid fulfilment of their requirements. For example, if a shopper is looking for 5 kg Atta (Flour) and our brand is not available the brand the person generally uses or knows about, the person will simply switch to the next best option and maybe stick to that choice next time. So, the brand not only loses a loyal customer but also loses the shopper’s trust in their brand. This is a very common shopper behavior on quick commerce platforms. The purchase decisions are made really quickly based on the best available products along with product pricing and offers. Another such case is availability across platforms, a shopper looking for a specific product of the brand might search on multiple platforms as well. This means brands must monitor their presence across platforms at the pin-code level and on the platform’s dark stores. Case Study – How a Beverage Giant Optimized Product Availability Across Q-Com Platforms A global leader in the beverage industry, in optimizing their performance across platforms and geographies with the Digital Shelf tracker to monitor their products across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia (AMESA). In mainly focused on enhancing its market presence by monitoring availability which include Brand Availability Trends Availability share versus competition City-Wise Availability Trends – monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly Platform-wise & geography-wise analysis Heat map to identify new geography to target Tracking Bottlers (Sellers) performance Maintaining Out-of-Stock product lists & real-time alerts In October 2023 in the KSA region, product availability on platforms like Quick Market, Carrefour, and Nana stood at 28%, 57%, and 86%, respectively. However, after comprehensive real-time of monitoring stock availability, they were able to identify the gaps and by the end of November, it improved significantly across platforms, soaring to 51%, 100%, and 94% for Quick Market, Carrefour, and Nana, respectively which enhanced their presence across platforms and bolstered their brand reputation. This significant accomplishment was made possible through a data-driven strategic approach of identifying gaps, implementing real-time monitoring of in-stock and out-of-stock products across platforms, and meticulously tracking the performance of bottlers (sellers) across diverse regions. Final Thoughts When products go out of stock it puts every effort that the brand has made to mark their presence on the quick commerce platform to a standstill. The competition is fierce on quick commerce platforms, and the shoppers’ purchase decisions are swift. Brands need to be on their toes and identify new geographies where competition is available, and they are not and where competition is facing stock-outs to score on every opportunity to become the top choice of the shoppers. Get in touch with our experts for deeper insights. Reach out to learn more!

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Middle East eCommerce

Middle East eCommerce: The Expanding Market with Massive Purchase Potential

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The digital transformation of the region is nothing less than an Arabian knight tale. The expanding landscape and diverse eCommerce ecosystem are all set to lead the global eCommerce world. Countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain are the key markets that make up the core of the region.   But what does it take to be a hero in this expanding e-commerce landscape?   In simple terms – Know your competitor, stay on top of the market dynamics & trends, and tap the pulse of Middle Eastern shoppers.   As the story unfolds it requires a deeper understanding of the Middle East e-commerce landscape. So, let’s dive deeper to understand how business can drive brands in this digital ecosystem.   Middle East eCommerce – Explore, Identify and Don’t miss out on opportunities The Middle East region holds a special position in the global eCommerce ecosystem with rapid advancement in technology, the adoption rate of eCommerce, evolving and maturing consumer behavior, and internet penetration beyond tier-1 cities in the region leading market expansion and economic growth.   Digital Expansion Post-pandemic the global eCommerce market has experienced growth beyond traditional retail channels driven by an expanding number of digital shoppers. The global market is expected to touch USD 6.35 trillion by 2027*. The proliferation of smartphones, high-speed internet connectivity, and the convenience of online shopping are the key contributors to the global eCommerce upswing.   The region has risen above the challenges like the limited payment options with the adoption of swift payment options like direct carrier billing. The lack of trust in online retailers, and a preference for in-store shopping were also key challenges but the rise of online purchases and quality services by global brands has built brand trust across platforms in the Middle East digital ecosystem. Such improvement in infrastructure propels digital expansion.   According to the Mordor Intelligence report, the size of the MENA region’s ecommerce market will almost double by 2028 compared to 2023. The expected CAGR is 11.5%, and with the MENA countries’ combined GDP of US$3.9 trillion, the region shows potential for fast growth in the ecommerce market. Evolving Consumer Behavior   The Middle East has taken center stage in the global eCommerce market with massive room for expansion as several countries in the region and tier-2 cities of the most active countries are exploring the prospects of online shopping with higher access to technology and internet penetration. The support from the governments is helping the region overcome major challenges like lack of trust in online retailers, preference for in-store shopping, and limited payment options.   A notable shift in consumer has triggered post-pandemic as shoppers turned to e-commerce platforms for daily needs, electronics, and other essential goods. Convenience, product choices, and competitive marketplaces have opened new opportunities for shoppers. The market presents exciting opportunities for international brands venturing into the market along with opportunities to target expatriate populations with brands they are familiar with. The Middle Eastern young and tech-savvy population presents a vast consumer base for e-commerce expansion.  The young and tech-savvy shopping population with rising disposable income is making up a large consumer base and the market is expected to touch base with USD 50 billion by 2025. *  *Source: Deloitte | A Middle East Point of View – Summer 2023 Not just the Middle East but the entire MENA region is experiencing a massive surge in e-commerce across categories. The key drivers of this growth are rising internet penetration, rising consumer demand for value and convenience, and extensive reach of e-commerce and quick commerce intelligence platforms.  The region under the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and MENA countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and African countries has grown exponentially post-pandemic.   Platform Revenue Amazon.ae US$520.1m  Trendyol US$3,215.7m Ounass.ae US$15.3m  Noon US$251.7m  Amazon.sa US$126.1m  Souq.com US$82.4m  Basharacare.com US$6.6m Mumzworld US$67.5m  Fig 01: The top revenue-generating eCommerce platforms in the Middle East region |Source: Vitro Commerce (This will be illustrated as a chart)   Middle East eCommerce Trends Growth Across Categories The shopping patterns across eCommerce platforms are different across digital ecosystems same stands for the Middle East but the core difference is the purchase potential and inclination towards online shopping.   A Blend of local brands and global names Even the biggest name in the retail market sells their product with local packaging using local language and push variants that cater to the local Flavors and cultural preferences.   Adoption of Digital Payments Digital payments are one of the core challenges in the Middle East region. The rise of Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for swift transactions along with mobile wallets is building a payment ecosystem that encourages online hopping with integration on various marketplaces.   Focus on enhancing customer experience The need for convenience is the utmost need of the shoppers. With the rise of value-first shoppers across digital ecosystems, brands focus on providing seamless customer journeys.   Rise of Quick Commerce The expansion of the digital ecosystem demands swift delivery. The same-day delivery need has led to the rise of Quick commerce intelligence platforms in the Middle East region.   eCommerce Future in Middle East The future of e-commerce heavily relies on well-connected, digitally savvy audiences. And the MENA region has it all! Retail penetration in the region is now around 11–12% and keeps growing. Over 80% of buyers use mobile devices, and 70% of them use social media to reach the seller.   eCommerce in the Middle East statistics and trends show that Internet penetration is close to 100%, and 80% of users already buy through the internet. This is a great target audience of potential buyers for new sellers. In general, 85% of all buyers are tech-savvy and accept paying digitally.   The population’s growing buying capabilities and the building of new e-commerce initiatives by governments suggest the MENA region has a promising and thriving e-commerce future ahead of it. This makes it perfect for those who are looking for a place to start their e-commerce business.   Final thoughts The opportunities in the MENA region are unmatched. The wide variation in product categories and high purchase

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Quick Commerce

Woes in Quick Commerce: How to Optimize Your Product listings

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The rising wave of quick commerce is leading spoiling customers of choices – now the 15 minutes delivery needs are expanding across segments. The quick commerce ecosystem works differently than eCommerce marketplaces where customers spend more time in product consideration & evaluation. Here promos, availability, product bundling & combos, enticing offers on banners what attract shoppers. Here we are going to explore what makes tracking quick commerce performance for brand so essential. The challenges and what they need to catch the pace of quick commerce platform. Hot spot for Last-Minute Needs Quick commerce platforms target the daily needs of shoppers and entice shoppers to turn small ticket purchases into large volume with impulse purchases. It bundles products or categorizes them as per the needs of shoppers like party needs, puja or festive needs, daily groceries, or anything that you need at the last minute. It starts with adding just one item that you need to your cart but ends up adding more items in related categories into the cart.  This turns the low-ticket purchases into a larger shopping bag. It’s more like your neighbourhood grocery store but with product categories and products variants.  Quick Commerce platforms sell at micro level with dark stores. The demand from one region varies from the other that makes availability, product categorizing and product bundling key or brands to monitor. The quick commerce sector in India currently has a market size of $700 million and is likely to grow 8 times to reach a $5.5 billion market value by 2025. The addressable market of this industry is projected to be around $60 billion. | Source: ET Retail The challenges brands face on Quick Commerce platforms   Optimizing Quick commerce Product Listings: The listing on Quick commerce needs to be tagged into to specific categories where shoppers look for with accurate category tag- listings. As quick commerce products do not have extensive product description – brands need to comply with platform-specific guidelines to show the various images of the packet with ingredient details on it. Mastering Pricing Analysis in Quick Commerce: Another core challenge for brands is setting the price and promotional offers This requires apt bundling of the products under the same category. For example, a detergent power paired with 2 soap bars or stain remover liquid. But the catch here is the resellers bundle their product without brands being aware of and damaging brand reputation and product worth. Efficiency of Q-com Banner: Brand must be aware of what shoppers are looking for and ensure that is promoted on the brands ad banner theme for example during Raksha Bandhan a top chocolate brand offering celebration offer and offering high promotional offers during the peak hours of the festive season. Brands must be aware of ad traffic but also the performance and compliance of the banner ad with notification on if it is running on slotted time, visibility of banner, theme and keywords on the banners. How Digital commerce intelligence on quick commerce platforms will lead the way Quick commerce platforms have taken the retail industry by storm, revolutionizing the way consumers shop for everyday goods. Brands are realizing the immense potential in this space and are actively looking to optimize every step of the customer journey. Brands need to optimize very step of customer journey across quick commerce platforms to edge ahead. Real-Time Stock Availability Alerts One of the crucial aspects of quick commerce is ensuring that products are available when customers want them. Real-time stock availability alerts can help brands keep track of inventory levels across various outlets. When an item goes out of stock, the system can instantly trigger alerts to replenish the inventory. This ensures that customers are not disappointed due to stockouts, enhancing their overall shopping experience. Enhance Share of Search with Title Keywords In the digital realm, visibility is key. Brands must optimize their product listings with relevant title keywords to improve their share of search. When customers search for products, having the right keywords in product titles can boost your products’ chances of being discovered. Digital commerce intelligence tools can help identify the most relevant and high-impact keywords for your products, increasing your visibility on quick commerce platforms. Optimize Banner Performance Banners play a significant role in attracting and engaging customers on quick commerce platforms. Brands should continuously optimize banner performance by focusing on images, themes, and keywords. Digital commerce intelligence tools can provide insights into which banners are performing well and which need improvement. By analysing customer interactions and click-through rates, brands can fine-tune their banners to drive more conversions. Track Pricing & Promo Trends Pricing and promotions are crucial factors that influence customer buying decisions. Brands must closely monitor pricing and discount trends in the quick commerce space. Digital commerce intelligence can help track competitor pricing strategies and identify opportunities to offer competitive prices or attractive promotions. Staying ahead of pricing trends can give brands a significant advantage in the market. Opportunities in Quick commerce What seems like a turbulent time for Indian Quick commerce platforms turned upside down with hefty investment into Zepto and it became the first unicorn of 2023. Zepto, a grocery delivery company, secured a massive $200 million in fresh funds and were valued at a whopping $1.4 billion. On the other hand, Q1 FY24 of Zomato-owned Blink It made 384 crore revenue over 2140 Crore Gross Order Value with reduced EBITDA for the quarter. The platforms are looking to be innovative and investing in dark stores with more focus on swift delivery and a larger assortment. This is the perfect time for brands to focus on Quick commerce and overcome the optimization hurdles with digital commerce intelligence. Final Thoughts Quick commerce is reshaping the way consumers shop, and brands need to adapt to this evolving landscape. The competition across quick commerce platforms is growing with more choices for the shoppers across categories. The competitive landscape requires swift monitoring of product performances versus competition and data-driven decision strategies. By keeping track of stock availability, enhancing share of search, optimizing banner performance, and

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Indian E-commerce

Indian E-commerce Market Trends 2024

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The world of e-commerce saw some rapid changes post-pandemic lockdown but as the people started adjusting to the new normal new trends started to emerge. The shopper’s behavior has evolved, with marketplaces enhancing the shopping experience with augmented reality and a flurry of mega-sale seasons. During the festive season in 2023, brands promoted their product with extensive sponsored activity and launched new products aggressively. This festive season was coupled with mega events for advertising the Cricket World Cup in India 2023. But what’s next in the eCommerce arena? Let’s move beyond 2023 and dive deep into what this will lead to and what to expect in 2024. eCommerce Trends for 2024 1. Rise of Value-First Shoppers The shopper’s behavior is getting complex and challenging to predict day by that with multiple choices, platforms, and steep competition. Online shoppers buy different products at different prices for various reasons. Understanding their motivation and need is key to excel in 2024 & beyond. Among the most common types of shoppers are impulse buyers, casual shoppers, need-based, research-oriented, and those who follow the trends, value-first shoppers have carved their niche looking for products that offer value for money and are on par with their lifestyle needs. Brands need to tap the buying potential of such shoppers and use insights competition to become the top pick of these shoppers. Health & Wellness, Beauty & Personal Care categories are key target segments. The digital native brands (DNB) catering to such niche of shoppers also need to track competition strategies on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms. 2. Expansion Across Tier 2, 3 Cities & Beyond Brands need to understand the landscape of online shopping has moved beyond tier-1 cities with more influx of shoppers coming from tier-2 & 3 cities. The ease of payment and high-speed internet penetration across tier-2 cities and beyond has led to rise of mobile commerce and social commerce as platforms like Meesho earned 60% of its sale during festive season sale from tier-2 cities. The 2023 was the year of expansion and discovery where tier-2 & 3 cities experience rise in presence of quick commerce -dark store for swift delivery. Even Amazon is witnessing an influx of shoppers into the prime ecosystem from tier 2 and 3 consumers discovering new categories. In 2022, during the prime day sale, the e-commerce retailers saw 65 percent of the growth coming from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Brands need to identify opportunities in these geographies and explore new opportunities. Identify gaps in the market presence at pin-code level. 3. Personalized Experience with Global Localization The world is shrinking in terms of reach and information access. Shoppers are aware of what’s going on in the global market and what is in trend but personalized experience and connect with products is still a key point in making purchase decision. Brands selling in global e-commerce ecosystem across multiple countries must be in-tune with needs of the local market and competition activities as one marketing experience not necessarily works on other marketplaces. Big brands need to monitor multiple platforms and geographies like one of the largest global beverage brands does it with mScanIt global digital shelf monitoring dashboard in AMESA region. Brands need to provide personalized experience and keep track of what’s trending on in the marketplace in their categories to extend their market share. 4. More Convenience with Quick Commerce The quick Commerce platforms has led to new era of online sales with convenience and fulfilling last minute need. Brands in Food & beverage category are approaching the platforms more aggressively as its dominating over in-store sales which cost hefty margins. The key challenge for platforms and brands on quick commerce in 2024 is optimizing performance and expanding across geographies along with monitoring needs of shoppers at granular level within cities. The rate at which quick commerce platforms are expanding product categories and number of SKUs the signs are looking more positive with rise in order volume and cart value. The new trends of quick sale and product launches have been witnessed recently like Unicorn Info Solutions (Apple reseller) partnering with Blinkit to deliver the latest-generation iPhone models in minutes. 5. Rise of D2C Commerce The D2C Commerce has been a breath of fresh air in 2023 as more investment comping in the wide variety of D2C players in e-commerce 2024 is looking bright. Digital Native Brands expanding horizon beyond their e-commerce websites and venturing into the e-commerce marketplaces and quick commerce arena. With the extension of reach and new sales platforms D2C ecosystem is all set to achieve new milestones in coming years especially in Beauty & personal care, Fashion and Health & Wellness product categories. D2C brands do not need extensive inventory tracking but need to be aware of the competition in traditional e-commerce and in niche category. Digital commerce intelligence for them is more about identifying the gaps in the market and building data-driven strategies. 6. E-commerce Intelligence for Competitive Monitoring Data driven growth is the mantra for 2024. Business intelligence build with competitive analytics and real-time actionable insights can give brand much need edge in highly competitive e-commerce landscape. The e-commerce intelligence help brand boost their product discoverability, keyword share and monitor stock availability in real-time versus competition. The product page content can be optimized to extend brands share of search with adherence to different guidelines across e-commerce & quick commerce platforms. Rating & Reviews tracking help brands identify what working for them and what’s not by keeping track of what people are talking about and working on it to enhance customer experience. Data -driven e-commerce business decision are going to set the tone for future of brands in upcoming rat-race of brands in digital commerce ecosystem. What Brands should do to keep up with the emerging e-commerce trends of 2024 trends? The brands need to be well aware of rapidly evolving shopping behavior and trends across platforms and geographies. The customer preference for tier-2 cities is quite in contrast to the tier-1 cities. Brands need to map what’s their preference is and identify the geographies and platforms

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Customer Experience (CX) Digital Commerce En Route to Optimize the Customer Journey

Customer Experience (CX): Digital Commerce En Route to Optimize the Customer Journey

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Businesses that enhanced customer experience has improved cross-selling and up-selling (42%), enhanced customer retention (33%), and increased customer satisfaction (32%). The pathway to digital commerce’s success involves an enhanced customer experience. Brands must equip well to push the bar across customer touchpoints to make the journey from generating interest to the purchase & post-purchase phase. According to Forbes, Businesses that prioritize enhancing customer experience observe an 80% increase in revenue. Let’s dive deeper to understand what customer experience is and why it is so much important What is Customer Experience (CX)? Customer Experience (CX) is simply how your customer feels about your product and services. The key here is the touch point at which the brand interacts with the customer during the customer journey. The touchpoints, or moments of interaction, during the customer journey play a crucial role in shaping this experience. So how does it work? The idea is to make sure when a customer checks out your product there should be no doubt left as all his questions should be clearly answered in the product description itself, and the title should contain the keyword that attracts the shopper in the first place, quality images, and pricing to suit your targeted shopper. Once a purchase is made brands must keep track of delivery turnaround time and sellers’ performance to check up on customer satisfaction. The rating & reviews provide brands clear perspective into what customer thinks about their product and services. Brands need in-depth sentiment analysis of these reviews and ratings along to help their various department improve product quality and services. How does optimizing the customer Journey help enhance customer experience? The customer experience is subjective to how shoppers have come across your product, how the consideration phase went and how seamless was the purchase. Customer experience plays a role in converting initial attraction into consideration and consideration into purchase. Brands must be aware of what attracted shoppers to their products. Did the shopper get what he hoped for? Was the description of the product, and pricing satisfied the user? Was it good enough to convert a consideration into an instant buy? Did the delivery time suit the shopper’s needs? And how much impact does the rating and review have on the shopper? Brands must have insights into these factors to optimize the customer experience. A good customer experience not only boosts sales but also builds brand trust and loyalty leading to customer retention as brand advocacy. Here are some key touch points in the customer journey which impact customer experience Awareness Phase During the awareness phase, the challenge is to make sure your product is among the top search results. That makes bidding on the right keywords and understanding when to bid and when not to bid on keywords crucial loss as it not only. As it not only affects ROAS but also affects brand discoverability share. During this phase, brands must focus on Enhancing share of search on keywords Generating interest in your products Optimizing banners performance Monitoring competition on keywords bidding Optimizing customer experience during this phase requires brands to work on generating the interest of potential customers in the products. This can be done by making products discoverable through keyword searches, sponsored listings, and banners. Their interest in your products is piqued, making this phase critical for leaving a lasting impression. The customer experience here plays a vital role if you fail to impress the shoppers at first look with the title, and images then it leads to customers looking for other similar options among competition brands. Consideration & Evaluation Phase Once you attract shoppers to your product detail page, it is all about delivering an experience that converts that interest into a purchase. Shoppers evaluate product details if not satisfied ask questions, check out ratings & reviews, and ponder on pricing and delivery date to drive purchase decisions. Clicking on “add to cart” or proceeding to the purchase phase depends on a positive customer experience. Here are some key touch points in the consideration phase: Evaluating the product by going through the PDP description Ask questions while considering Compare pricing Check on delivery time Click on add to cart or click on the buy box Purchase & Post-Purchase Phase The final stage involves sales Tracking & reconciliation. A customer purchase experience builds brand loyalty and encourages word of mouth building brand reputation. According to PwC Survey, 73% of customers believe that customer experience significantly influences their purchasing decisions while a remarkable 86% of customers are willing to pay more if it results in a better customer experience. The customer experience is not just limited to how the purchase process went for the shopper, but it goes beyond that as it is the difference between creating a one-time customer or has built a recurring loyal customer satisfied with the experience, who gets inclined to leave a good review and advocate your brand. For example, says a customer bought some ‘baby care’ product and found that product quite effective for new parents. Leaves a review like ‘it’s a wonderful product that helps calm many my baby’. What does that do for new customers? Proves what the brand claims, assure them they are making the right buy even if the product seems a bit expensive but add value and feel good & satisfied when they make a purchase. That sort of positive impact customer experience can have on your brand even a negative review opens the opportunity for the brand to humbly acknowledge the gaps in the product and improve upon it. For example, a leading RO manufacturing brand replied to their unsatisfied customers, reached out to them, rectified to issue they were facing, and asked to update the review and rating. This kind of approach build a good repute among customers and propagate the good word. Opportunity for Brands Indian mass consumers, with an annual income ranging from ₹ 2.5-10 lakhs, are projected to be a driving force behind eCommerce growth. Enhancing customer experience can prove to

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Middle East eCommerce: The Evolving Consumer Dynamics in the FMCG Segment

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The eCommerce landscape is expanding as more brands are exploring the global market and local marketplaces cashing in on local sentiments. The Middle East is one of the largest global marketplaces. It caters to shoppers from various ethnicity with wide variations in demand and product choices. Thus, the marketplace is a good mix of products from various other regions, globally renowned brands, and local traditional known names. eCommerce segments like beauty & personal care, electronics, and FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) have moved up with rapid stride across middle eastern marketplaces. In recent years, the FMCG sector has stood out among the expanding Middle East eCommerce market. Factors such as population growth, rising disposable incomes, urbanization, and changing consumer preferences have created a favorable environment for FMCG companies. One of the biggest markets in the region is the UAE with predicted eCommerce revenue for 2023 estimated around US$11,782.3 million. The next is the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) with annual eCommerce revenue of approx. US$8.53 billion in 2022 which is expected to hit US$20.01 billion revenue mark by 2027. Source: Mordor Intelligence Report FMCG companies on eCommerce, Quick commerce, and D2C platforms in the Middle East are poised for continued growth and success if they stay attuned to changing consumer dynamics. Brands can thrive in this dynamic market and capitalize on the opportunities presented by the region’s evolving consumer landscape. Let’s take a deep dive to examine the current state of the FMCG industry in the Middle East and its future prospects with evolving consumer dynamics. Understand the Arabian Way Global FMCG companies in the Middle East need to adapt products, packaging, and marketing strategies to align with local tastes, preferences, and cultural considerations will help companies establish strong connections with consumers. The eCommerce market size of Middle East by 2025 is expected to reach US$27 billion, growing by US$10 billion from 2020. Source: Mordor Intelligence Report Brands on the eCommerce platforms need to continue focusing on diversification to stay relevant in the market. The Middle East’s young and digitally savvy population will continue to drive the adoption of e-commerce, making it imperative for FMCG companies to establish a strong online presence and optimize Delivery Turn-Around-Time (TAT) to cater to evolving consumer behavior that demands swift delivery. Market Trends: The Middle East has become a crucial market for FMCG products. The growing middle-class population, rapid urbanization, and expanding eCommerce retail infrastructure have driven the demand for consumer goods. Additionally, the region’s young and tech-savvy population has embraced e-commerce platforms for FMCG purchases, presenting opportunities for both local and global companies. To stay ahead in the fiercely competitive landscape brands must: Track global & local competitors’ products performance vs yours across eCommerce platforms Monitor Search of Search and Visibility Share across platforms & locations Identify new opportunities -demographics or geographies to target in your market segment Set market strategies based on insights & analytics Enhance content to suit the local shoppers’ needs by identifying high-performing keywords Shifting Consumer Demands: Consumer preferences in the Middle East are evolving rapidly. While traditional brands and products still hold significance, consumers are increasingly seeking healthier and more sustainable options. The value-first shoppers are leading the growing demand for organic, natural, and ethically sourced products. FMCG companies are responding to these changing preferences by introducing innovative offerings and expanding their customer base but need to track what going on in the segment to stay ahead with market and competitor insights. About 46% of the budget-conscious shoppers in the UAE consistently choose private label products whenever available, and they are playing a substantial role in driving notable growth rates, particularly in the food and beverage sectors. Source: Brain & Co. Report Digital Transformation: Post-pandemic consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of online shopping and are relying more on digital platforms for FMCG needs. This shift has compelled FMCG companies to invest in e-commerce capabilities, competitive analytics solutions, and omnichannel strategies to remain competitive. In the Middle East, consumers are utilizing multiple channels, especially smartphones, to access eCommerce platforms and purchase various products online. A significant number are now shopping online at least once a month, and a PwC survey found that 73% of buyers prefer buying groceries through online platforms. Localization and Diversification: The Middle East consists of diverse markets, each with its own cultural nuances and preferences. FMCG companies that have successfully localized their products and marketing strategies have gained a competitive advantage. Adapting to local tastes, preferences, and religious considerations is crucial for long-term success. Furthermore, diversification into adjacent sectors such as personal care, hygiene, and household products presents new growth opportunities. Around 69% of UAE consumers and 63% in Saudi Arabia are willing to pay more for quality products, especially those with health benefits. Since 2020, about 75% of UAE consumers have opted for healthier alternatives while shopping, with 33% choosing organic products and 23% preferring sugar-free options. Source: Brain & Co. Report Future Outlook: The future of the FMCG industry in the Middle East appears promising. FMCG companies that embrace digital transformation, invest in e-commerce capabilities, and the adoption of advanced technologies like AI-ML-driven data analytics, and automation will enhance operational efficiency and improve the customer experience. The future of eCommerce in the Middle Eastern region looks promising, thanks to its well-connected, digitally savvy audience. With retail penetration already at 11-12% and growing, over 80% of buyers use mobile devices and 70% use social media to reach sellers. Internet penetration is nearly 100%, with 80% of users already making purchases online. Around 85% of buyers are tech-savvy and comfortable with digital payments. The region’s growing buying power and government support for eCommerce initiatives make it an ideal place where the eCommerce market will expand further in the future. Final Thoughts The FMCG industry in the Middle East is undergoing significant growth and transformation. By adapting to changing consumer preferences, leveraging e-commerce, and focusing on sustainability, FMCG companies can capture market share and drive profitability. Doesn’t matter if you are a newbie to the middle

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eCommerce Intelligence – Precision Targeting To Extend Brand Reach

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Digital Commerce Intelligence also enables brands to provide a personalized shopping experience Data is turning out to be the driving force behind optimizing the customer experience. Brands guided by digital commerce intelligence move swiftly ahead of their competition and gain the competitive edge that drives sales and enriches the shopper’s experience. Let’s dive deep into how precision targeting helps extend the reach of the brand and enables enriched customer experience across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey. The Ball Is In Your Court! It’s up to the brands to explore new possibilities in the eCommerce arena and beyond. The sales channel is not limited to eCommerce platforms the omnichannel expansion across the digital commerce ecosystem has opened up new opportunities to expand and enhance customer experience. All brands need to do is identify these white spaces in business at the right moment and act quickly to score new customers. What do they need? The answer is quite obvious. Insights! Yes, Insights. The actionable insights on competition, marketplaces, changes trends, own SKUs performance, and a lot more. The rule of the game is simple – know every move of your opponent to take your game a notch ahead with a precise data-driven strategy. Leverage eCommerce intelligence for Precision Targeting Precision targeting involves focusing marketing efforts on specific customer segments that are most likely to be interested in a brand’s products. By identifying and understanding the unique characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of these target segments, businesses can tailor their marketing messages and experiences to resonate more effectively. Data-driven strategies: Businesses can utilize customer feedback analysis, market analytics, and competitive analytics to make strategies driven by action insights. By analyzing data, businesses can identify patterns, trends, and customer preferences, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding product offerings, pricing, promotions, and marketing campaigns. Personalization and Customization: eCommerce intelligence enables businesses to deliver personalized experiences to their customers. By understanding individual customer preferences and purchase history, businesses can tailor product recommendations, discounts, and promotions to enhance customer satisfaction and increase conversion rates. Customization goes beyond personalization by allowing customers to customize products according to their preferences. This level of personalization and customization fosters a stronger connection between the brand and its customers. Competitive Advantage: eCommerce intelligence provides businesses with a competitive edge by helping them stay ahead of market trends and competitor strategies. By monitoring competitor pricing, promotions, and customer reviews, businesses can identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to differentiate themselves in the market. eCommerce intelligence allows businesses to identify emerging market trends and consumer preferences, enabling them to adapt their offerings and stay relevant in a rapidly evolving landscape. Strike Hard – Strike First! Make a move, based on the insights you have against your opponents. Identify the weak spots of your opponents across platforms, geographies, and product categories in terms of discoverability, availability, pricing, etc. And strike to acquire new customers. Also, identify your weak areas and plug them in before they get exploited by the competition. Cater Your Products for Your Peeps Understand the dynamics of customer behavior with sentiment analysis to make your shopper feel valued across eCommerce platforms. Brands need to understand what their customers are looking for. Precisely fill up the gap to build an effective product detail page that answers all shoppers’ needs in its title, description, Q&A, etc. Find out what they say about your product: The Brands should be well aware of what & where are saying. We your customer make an effort to post good or bad reviews. Brands must promptly acknowledge their response and make sure the customers feel valued. Track ratings and reviews to enhance product performance. Brands must be aware of the sentiment expressed by customers about the product and how many customers are saying similar things. This information is vital for product quality management and measuring customer sentiment across platforms at brand, sub-brand, product categories, sub-categories, and variant levels. Make Your Products Discoverable for Your Consumers: Identifying if the customer of the segment can discover your products is the first and foremost thing for an eCommerce business. Brands need to make sure that they target the right set of keywords to reach the desired segment of shoppers. Insights on the share of search, discoverability trends, keyword performance, and bidding can help the brand cater to the right audience. Identify Patterns in the consideration process: Once shoppers discover your product, the next target is to identify what the segment of shoppers are looking for. In the consideration phase brands must set pricing and discounts to suit market trends and customer preferences. The brand must also be aware of stock availability to build customer brand trust cause one bad experience is bad enough to lose a customer. Optimize Delivery Turn Around Time (TAT): Same-day delivery or 1 day delivery is key to acquiring new shoppers. Delivery time plays a crucial role in purchase decisions it gives a substantial competitive edge to the brands in the eCommerce marketplace. The target customer precisely requires brands to deliver on time. This helps a brand to expand to an extensive new segment of shoppers who are looking for products that can be delivered quicker than the competition. Final Thoughts The core solution to brand problems is insights into customers, markets, and competition. They set up brands to target new shoppers by identifying data patterns that guide more effective business decisions. To achieve precision in targeting, brands need to be aware of customer needs and formulate strategies based on such insights. mScanIt, E-commerce Intelligence lets brands track brand sentiment and guide brands to identify gaps in the market. The geographies they could target and demographics they could extend their product reach. Get in Touch to learn more about e-commerce intelligence. 

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Purchase Phase: Push Your Sales to Boost Conversions

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The third phase of the customer journey is where the decision-making process leads to the purchase Did you know? Shopping cart abandonment rates for most market segments and brands across eCommerce platforms are still around 70%! There could be multiple reasons for that some controllable some uncontrollable. The task at hand is optimizing customer experience at the purchase phase of the customer journey. Turn Browsers Into Customers The Purchase Phase is known as the decision stage. The consumer has completed their decision-making process. Also, have evaluated your brand in comparison to others, and is now prepared to make a purchase. This is the phase where shoppers convert into your customers. “Conversion” or “purchase” are the magic words for eCommerce brands but this stage is not always a guaranteed sale. It is at this stage that you as a business have to begin delivering on any promises you may have made to get the customer to this point. This phase includes performance tracking, monitoring sales conversions, reconciliations, and reviewing overall market performance across product listings, sales platforms, and geographies. It points out areas to optimize, and monitor your sales performance across the digital ecosystem. Your brand needs to clear certain efficiency checkpoints to optimize the purchase phase of the customer journey in the digital commerce ecosystem. Checkpoint I: Sales Performance To effectively monitor sales performance, businesses need a comprehensive sales analysis. Map brand sales data across multiple platforms, products, and key variables to ensure the purchase process becomes seamless and transparent for shoppers. Shoppers have already considered your product on factors such as availability, pricing, discounts, and reviews. If at this point item added to the cart does not end up in purchase, you need to identify the parameters that impact sales conversion. – Mapping brand sales time trends across platforms for your brand: Understanding how your brand’s sales fluctuate over time across different platforms is important. This information allows you to identify patterns, follow up on seasonal trends, and the impact of marketing campaigns on your sales. – Providing in-depth weekly sales insights: Regular monitoring of sales data is essential to stay ahead of any changes. By analyzing weekly sales insights, you can track fluctuations in sales, availability, pricing, ratings, and organic and sponsored rankings. This helps you promptly identify any issues and make data-driven decisions to optimize performance. – Business Impact of Monitoring Sales: Monitoring sales performance has several key impacts on your business. It enables your brand to streamline your efforts by comparing your key performance indicators (KPIs) against total sales. By identifying strengths and weaknesses in your sales strategy, you can visualize solutions and make informed decisions based on precise sales data. Checkpoint II: Market Performance Understanding how your brand performs in the market is crucial for sustained success. Even if you map the entire customer journey on various touchpoints brands need to maintain a scorecard of market performance. Monitoring market performance involves tracking brand-specific markets, market trends, and sub-category performance. – Tracking brand performance on product sub-categories compared to the competition: Analyzing your brand’s performance in specific sub-categories allows you to gain insights into your market share, identify areas where you excel, and discover growth opportunities. By benchmarking against competitors, you can make strategic adjustments to gain a competitive edge. – Monitoring month-over-month positive and negative changes in brand performance: Keeping a close eye on changes in your brand score is essential for understanding market dynamics. By tracking fluctuations and identifying positive and negative trends, you can proactively address issues, capitalize on opportunities, and refine your marketing and sales strategies. – Insights into the brand and individual brand score trends at brand and sub-category levels: In-depth insights into brand and individual brand score trends provide a comprehensive understanding of your performance. This information allows you to assess the impact of your marketing efforts, pricing strategies, customer sentiment, media presence, product availability, and best-seller scores. It empowers you to make data-driven decisions to enhance your brand’s positioning. Business Impact of Monitoring Market Performance: Monitoring market performance covers a broad spectrum, including SKU performance at the brand and product sub-category levels. It offers valuable insights into how your brand is performing in targeted markets and sub-categories. By tracking market trends and benchmarking against the competition, you gain a competitive advantage, identify growth opportunities, and refine your strategies accordingly. Checkpoint III: Sales Reconciliation Reconciliation is also the key part of this phase as it brings in transparency and ensures there is no discrepancy causing friction in the customer journey. It includes monitoring the return status across sellers, platforms, geographies, etc., and checking up on store performances and SKU sales. Final Thoughts In the highly competitive eCommerce landscape, customer retention is vital for sustained success. Monitoring sales and market performance provides valuable insights into your brand’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. By leveraging precise sales data and market trends, businesses can optimize their strategies, boost sales, and deliver on customer expectations. By embracing these efficiency checkpoints and making informed decisions based on data-driven insights you can position your brand for long-term growth and profitability. mScanit, digital commerce solution can help you with end-to-end actionable insight and analysis vis-a-vis competition. It gives you that added edge that you need to stay ahead of your competition. Connect with us if you like to know how your brands can optimize the customer journey with digital commerce intelligence. The competitive digital commerce landscape means brands need to be on their toes on every phase of the customer journey – awareness, consideration, and purchase.

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