Omni-channel is a multi-channel strategy to commerce that seeks to present customers with a seamless purchasing experience, whether they’re buying online from a desktop or mobile device or in a brick-and-mortar shop.

It is essential to develop an omnichannel supply chain strategy to remain at the top position in this era of immense competition. And for that, you have to facilitate both order fulfillment and returns through multiple places and means, such as in affiliate brick-and-mortar retail shops or through digital stores. Not only that it gives a better nearby experience for the customer, but also it generates additional revenue opportunities that otherwise you might fail to grab. If executed properly, this positive experience can build customer loyalty and create repeat purchases.

However, providing multiple channels to purchase, collect, and return products unavoidably adds complexity to your current methods and systems. According to Multichannel Merchant, although 91% of merchants of the US presently have an omnichannel plan of action in place and less than 10% of those brands or retailers claim to have mastered the omnichannel strategy and technology.

Let’s explore four key areas of focus to guarantee a robust implementation of your omnichannel strategy.

1. Simplify inventory management

warehouse

The tracking of the product and management of the inventory becomes more complicated since products are delivered and returned in different ways than before, affecting the demand planning. Thus, investing in a warehouse management system (WMS) for your operations can be an essential tool in enabling your omnichannel strategy. Implementing or remodeling your system will provide you the most detailed, up-to-date data to track the patterns of your product demand so that you can easily manage the placement of your inventory.

2. Increase order speed and accuracy

delivery

Along with the prevalence of the establishment of omnichannel, the needs of the consumers are also growing. While considering the changes you require to make in your services to meet the rising expectations of the consumer, you must not forget to consider how to enable speedy and punctual delivery. Over the past decade, eCommerce delivery times have reduced from 5 to 2 days, and now, next-day or same-day delivery has become an emerging delivery trend in the market. To survive in the competition and keep up the pace with consumer demands, your operation requires finesse. So you need to adopt new technologies like voice commands, pick-to-light, and automated transportation systems to set your business apart.

3. Optimize operations

optimize operations

Workforce optimization and warehouse design bring efficiency to your overall performance. Effective design means a reduction in picking time as products are arranged rationally throughout the facility. It can even avert you from unnecessarily extending your real estate footprint. Recruiting and employing a highly trained team is crucial while implementing new technologies. Prioritize forming your industrial engineering and human resource expertise within or through experienced 3rd parties with a verified track record for office optimization, workforce recruitment, and development programs.

4. Enable easy returns

easy returns

With the growth of eCommerce and a subsequent increase in returns, end consumers are asking for an easy return method. Merchants often struggle to create reverse logistics capabilities to meet the expectations of a consumer. Handling returns is complex and can be expensive due to additional shipping charges, integrated IT systems, repetitive processes, and credit-processing capacities, but the investment can pay off in the form of the loyalty of a customer. The analysis shows that around 89% of online shoppers determine where they would shop from based upon the return policies of a merchant, and 70% of the shoppers purchase something else while returning items in a store.

Conclusion

Working with a professional third-party logistics (3PL) firm can be the best and the safest way to implement and handle the intricacies of an omnichannel strategy. The right 3PL will help you to develop the best-fitted approach for your business and will leverage technology to assist your business requirements. The competence of a 3PL can accommodate you to get the maximum out of your warehouse space, maintain current and future inventory, bring quick and accurate completion of orders, and manage returns cost-effectively.

Are you considering to launch a new online store or switching the existing one to a new platform like Magento? Are you confused between Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce? If the answer is yes, then it’s incredibly essential to comprehend and estimate the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Some of you might be wondering what exactly does TCO mean. Then why not begin with a brief introduction about TCO.

The total cost of ownership is the financial estimate meant to assist buyers and purchasers to decide the direct cost and indirect cost of a system or product. TCO typically entails expenses like Hosting, Platform cost, 3rd party services, Apps or extensions, Support & maintenance, Future feature development, and Future platform upgrades.

With this blog, we aim to introduce you to the essentiality of TCO. Let’s compare the TCO of Magento Commerce and Magento Open Source and stroll you through some of the points to consider while choosing the right tool for your e-commerce business.

First is the cost, which is important for all businesses.

Cost is the immediate thing that sprouts in our mind while starting or purchasing anything. It is even more significant at the beginning of any business. According to the belief of many small-scale companies, open source solutions always offer the least TCO. And it’s accurate also, to a great extent. Opting for open source code is an excellent way to drop software and subscription charges. But TCO is much more than merely the price of your software like support, development, maintenance, merchant control, and a lot more. In various cases, the open source is actually costlier than a packaged solution with built-in flexibility. Especially in the case when comparing Magento Open Source with Magento Commerce.

Second, you need to know how much do you require to develop?

Developer-friendly Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce offer you versatility and access to code regardless of whichever version you’re using. However, Magento Open Source doesn’t give you out of the box solutions like Magento Commerce. For instance, it doesn’t have features like Business Intelligence, Page Builder, content staging, shipping, or B2B, implying that you will have to spend extra with Magento Open Source.

Third, are you considering shifting to the cloud?

The in house servers and networks that you manage are on-premises infrastructure. Most of the new and small businesses cannot bear to have on-premises infrastructure because it is quite expensive to mount and maintain. So, they are opting to use the Cloud to run their e-com platforms because-

In fact, many large companies are opting to function in the cloud for these specific reasons only. Although both Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce can operate in the cloud, only Magento Commerce Cloud offers built-in multiple cloud services like Fastly, Amazon, etc. i.e., there’s no need to research or manage service providers manually.

Fourth, do you own an IT team? Are they already overwhelmed?

Many flourishing industries have nominal IT departments where the owner often serve as de facto CIO. Beginning with Magento Open Source can be a huge role for such IT folks, requiring both development and IT competence. Keeping codes up to date and performing regular support jobs also requires development and IT expertise. In some cases, using Magento Open Source, you might have to appoint a contractor or expand your IT team. Whereas Magento Commerce offers rich and innovative functionality, making it easier, to begin with, the least resources. Also, you have to pay less on maintenance and upgrades over time if you use Magento Commerce.

Last, would you need any support?

You need support when you face any unexpected problem or are perplexed with questions. Although Magento Open Source provides you access to a community of developers, eventually you are liable for your own support working with an IT team or person. At times dealing with issues can be very time-consuming if your IT contact is occupied with other priorities. In that case, you could employ a team member or contractor who will be solely responsible for eCommerce support. Magento Commerce grants responsive support to quickly solve issues. By spending extra for the support, you will be able to resolve your issues even before they affect your business.

While taking a new present-day approach to eCommerce and thinking about replatforming, be sure to know the total cost of ownership in detail. And then, choose wisely according to your need.

Being aware of the fact that innovations in eCommerce are transforming the domain of online shopping, turning in-person businesses into a relic of bygone days. Corporations are looking forward to finding advanced ways to uplift their client experience and meet the ever-rising demand to grow.

The prominent technological enhancement changing eCommerce for the better is artificial intelligence (AI). This trend of automation enables retailers to use information, endorse products, and target the needs of the client more proficiently. Continue reading to delve into how the development of AI in eCommerce is developing online shopping as we probably are conscious of it.

The technology has unknowingly become an essential part of our daily life. From Google search results to Amazon’s products suggestion and Netflix’s movie recommendations to the bank’s VRU system, there are various tools powered by Artificial Intelligence, that even people who are non-technogeeks also use.

Due to the competence of technology, its use is estimated to grow immensely during the course of the next two years. According to research company Gartner, around 85% of the interactions between firms and customers would be handled by AI rather than humans by 2020.

AI is the prominent technological enhancement changing eCommerce for the better. The trend of automation enables retailers to use information, endorse products, and target the needs of the client more proficiently. Continue reading to delve into how the development of AI in eCommerce is developing online shopping as we probably are aware of it.

Personalized Recommendations

evolution

Has it ever appeared to you that your PC knows you better than you know yourself? It has become a common experience since AI technology has entered numerous mainstream sites. You can observe this on Amazon’s internet shopping place where your personalized orders are upfront. Using the information about your past shopping propensities, AI can form intelligent recommendations about similar items that you might be interested in.

Amazon expanded its deals by approximately 30% after introducing customized content to their webpage. We all have fallen for a recommended product, thus creating a dynamic shopping experience for customers and companies both.

In short, you can see the recommendation engine as an intelligent and sophisticated salesperson, who is well aware of the taste of the buyer, making the search engine more intelligent to make decisions and recommendations.

Some of the software like Barilliance, Optimizely, Maropost, Omniconvert, and Pure360 can help your eCommerce sites to boost sales and conversion rates by granting visitors with the personalized omnichannel shopping experience.

Chatbots

People typically depends upon an individual in client support to get answers to their inquiries concerning transportation, items, and requests, which at present even computers can do. Chatbots have evolved as a revolutionary AI technology that responds to questions, helps with requests, and even book reservations.

1-800-flowers, a bouquet specialist is one of the former companies to introduce chatbot making it easy for their clients to get help for their orders through Facebook messenger bot. Also, you can send flowers to your family or friend through it. It’s anything but difficult to use, an incredible option in contrast to the conventional internet shopping background.

As compared to bots, humans are more prone to make mistakes or errors. For instance, a human customer service executive might fail in recording information or browse disclaimers in accordance with laws and auditing requirements. While, on the other hand, chatbots automatically obey all the commands according to their programming. Plus, they also provide auditable tracks for the conversation.

AI and machine learning have transformed the programming of software solutions. Due to which bots can read every conversation and access the historical data of a customer. Thus, the possibilities of giving wrong answers due to the information gap become less. Boston Consulting Group’s research has shown that retailers who have enforced some of the ‘smart’ solutions have reported a 10% increase in their sales.

Some other advantages of chatbots:

You can employ various bot-building platforms like Chatfuel, Botsify, MobileMonkey, and Flow XO to create your own chatbot and interact with your customers, as we have taken the support of Tawk.to in building our chatbot.

Stronger Websites

website

AI tech serves the websites to perform at a higher level. Earlier, the companies could escape with a site that doesn’t operate properly but, today it’s a different story. The users are savvier than ever before, and they’re more inclined to turn back if they encounter an issue while seeing your online retail webpage.

Technical glitch, slow loading time, and interrupted connections result in losing a client towards your opponent. With such a limited threshold for errors, it’s really essential than ever before to come up with automated resolutions to manage web issues. Tools like WordPress, PHP, Joomla, Magento, ASP.NET, JavaServer Pages can ensure that your website is user ready.

Marketing Assistance

marketing assistance

AI technology can easily supervise complicated advertising campaigns. Amidst such a large amount of rivalry in the digital space, it’s not a surprise that organizations are searching for new ways to get an edge. AI Albert is a first of its kind software created for a full-funnel digital arrangement.

AI Albert can assist with a variety of things from testing and automation to media exchange mirroring the full scope of a marketing team.

While developing an online eCommerce store, you will have to direct your focus over high expenses of the market which can help you to grapple over customer assistance.

AI will amend the targets and profits with spending lower resources and try to get more income to the owners. It will impact the eCommerce business and render better services in the upcoming future, with marketing tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, Trello, Google Analytics, and many more.

The world of eCommerce has evolved into a much different place today than it existed five years back. Things are changing rapidly around here, where only the most flexible businesses will be able to keep up the pace. Visibly, AI has made its imprint in the industry stating that it’s here to stay and providing complex solutions to complex problems via intelligent data.

From chatbots to multiple business integrations, AI challenges the customs and ideas of eCommerce and proposes a new way of doing things. AI technology studies customer behavior and shows ways to connect with them before it’s too late. Whether you’re working towards enhancing your customer service or scuffle abandoned carts, there is an AI solution for any of your business queries.

Failure at customer security is the biggest hindrance in the way of the enhancement of smart e-retailers. Around 60% of consumers don’t rely on eCommerce merchants with their credit card data and personal information. Due to which many customers are hesitant to shop online. There are many cutting-edge eCommerce technologies readily available to offer a secure buying experience for its customers. Here are some of the tech trends that dealers can follow to enhance the safety of their websites.

1. MOBILE WALLETS

Most of the customers are using mobile commerce to shop online, considering which their wallets are also going mobile. Apps like Apple Pay and Android Pay, stores credit card information through which shoppers can effortlessly pay for shopping without actually displaying their credit cards.

The yearly spend through these two apps has risen up to $8 billion in 2018 from $540 million in 2016. Apart from user-friendly apps being the reason, the subsequent increase in this number is owing to the decreasing use of cash and increased comfort with the technology’s security featuring the encryption technology that secures EMV cards. Focusing on the usefulness and accessibility of eCommerce, mobile wallets provide a frictionless and secure purchasing experience that boosts long-term customer dealings.

2. BLOCKCHAIN

Digital Ledger Technology or Blockchains address the core concern of secure online transactions made in cryptocurrencies like bitcoins. These databases have a unique chain for every transaction, which can be analyzed but not changed. This feature of automated accountability holds a great promise for online business traders as it validates and secures value-based information.

The blockchain is capable of making fast and transparent currency transactions by reducing the exchange of personal information and eliminating the threat of fraud and chargebacks. Though it sounds like a far off technology, some payment processors have already commenced transactions via bitcoins while some of the other retailers are already accepting the digital currency.

3. PROTECTED SHOPPING CART SOFTWARE

Till the time bitcoins conquer eCommerce globally, credit cards are the most preferred payment method for most online transactions. Due to an increase in the risk of CNP fraud, merchants need to ensure the security of these online transactions which is attainable by the use of locked-down shopping cart software.

The traders must follow the PCI Security Standards governing account data protection while creating their shopping carts. Merchants can gain customers’ confidence and combat data compromise by enforcing shopping cart software that meets the standards of PCI comprising features like sensitive data encryption and numerous firewalls.

4. MULTIDIMENSIONAL FRAUD MANAGEMENT

Fraud has become a big menace for online retailers. The yearly estimate of loss due to CNP fraud is expected to reach up to $7.2 billion by the closure of 2020. But more than just monetary loss, the retailers risk losing their customer’s faith and future purchases.

The retailers need to apply a comprehensive approach to the risk management strategy to avert these losses. Manual surveys alone are wasteful and tedious and automated accounts are resolute with an unnecessary false decrease rate. But a multi-layered methodology takes the best parts of the two systems and streamlines the survey procedure by expanding endorsement rates and bringing down false decreases. The merchants must understand their fraud protection options while selecting the best solution that meets their requirements and leverages available eCommerce technology. The right choice will aid in improving data security and increasing the confidence of the customers.

In general, eCommerce has undoubtedly been developing in prominence in the era of millennials. Technology is an ordinary part of the life of the present age of youngsters or “digital natives”. This is an inflection stage where the inclination of clients and millennials towards ubiquitous technology will let eCommerce to reach the common people unlike ever before without any worries.

The arrival of Magento 2 has left many storekeepers and developers considering the effect of this new codebase on the performance of the site and implementation of custom utility. The chief advantage of using Magento is it’s out of the box eCommerce solutions that let you customize the site according to your needs. Magento has developed since 2008 as an answer to the eCommerce solution controlling the majority of market share in eCommerce software. The latest version has made an entrance addressing a few problems with the present version of Magento.

Load Time

The present version of the Magento Community is the free version without having a full page caching mechanism that does not work for the vast volume of transactions in a brief timeframe. Magento 2, has the most up to date 5.6 version of Mysql which allows improved query handling, caching and re-indexing (a procedure Magento uses to confirm product information), along with advanced inventory and URLs. The re-index system for Magento 2 is significantly more effective and will have less effect on the performance of the site. Magento 2 was made keeping performance in mind to offer its users the flexibility to work with other databases. For instance, Postgres, which a few developers prefer over Mysql.

Confusing Admin Interface

Although Magento 1 offers vigorous tools for a site holder to alter their site. Despite that numerous grievances were heard about the admin user interface. It has a confusing layout that does not work for mobile design. Magento 2 comprehends this and offers a responsive and easy to search format that gets you to where you need to go without consuming you with tons of alternatives to look over. The best part is unlike Magento 1 you are not constrained to tap 3-4 tabs to get a product built. Also, you can easily add pictures and videos to the brand page.

Customer User Interface Experience

Although Magento 1 allows one-page checkout, it includes 4-5 stages for a client to navigate through before reviewing and submitting their order. Magento 2 deals this through a 2 step checkout process, making it easy to view and navigate. Likewise, it is more adaptable in enabling visitors to sign in to their account and proceed with the checkout procedure.

Full Page Caching

The loading speed of the site has been a concern with the many users of Magento 1, clearly affecting the visitors’ stay on the site and influencing the sale conversion rates. Magento 1 Enterprise edition carried full-page caching permitting the quicker rendering of essential pages on your site. While Magento 2 takes care of this issue by merging it in Community. So that you can run streamlined pages loading faster for your clients.

Magento 2 is undoubtedly going to be a large podium for merchants and developers. With features like usability enhancements for Admin Panel, multi-warehouse support, new search capability, improved preview functionality, along with performance and scalability updates, Magento 2 stretches the boundaries to a faster development environment enabling its users to craft even better eCommerce sites.

Ujjwal Suri is a social media executive by profession. With over four years’ professional experience in social media space, he has fruitfully executed social media campaigns for numerous clients of Axtrics. On the role, he comprehensively makes media strategies to swarm audience, fetch engagement, and conduct business. The official part-time photographer and videographer of the company who finds solace in capturing different shades of moments of the company.

As a media executive, he manages all the social media channels for a versatile range of clients, such as UVT, Toycart & Revo America. The creation, curation, and management of all the content (images, video, and written) to be published is one of his key job responsibilities.

Being an artistic genius, he has excelled in the domain of social media to develop brand awareness and online reputation, applying his great thoughts and interactive skills. He has transformed the social media division with his constant fountain of ideas. He has a fabulous breadth and depth of social media dynamics and is fluent in traditional, new, and emerging media platforms.

Living his name, he believes in spreading “Brightness” with his beaming face. Ujjwal is a favorite among his colleagues for his jovial nature and belly laugh on the floor. And not to forget, his love affair with movies. When away from the screen you will either find him chitchatting with people or lost in his own fantasy world. Best when hunting for the next trailhead.

A true Cinephile to death who not just watch the characters of a movie but lives them. A counter of untold stories trying to put blocks in its places is what defines his multifaceted personality. In his downtime, Ujjwal loves to explore the road less traveled by and leave a mark of impact on the world.

Ujjwal’s unrivaled social media prowess paired with his infectious enthusiasm cemented him as an asset to the company. His mission as a Social Media Executive is to enhance the client’s online branding and generate new leads. And he is doing it by turning the internet into a slightly more fun place to visit.

Mr. Rohan Sharma, the Chilled-out Technical Officer (CTO) of Axtrics who believes in a practical approach to development. A left-handed and right-brained solution provider with an appetite for life. His vision and values that define him as a leader have propelled Axtrics to continuous and unswerving success. Today, the company is well-known for its depth and breadth of services, lively culture, enthusiastic mindset, and its dogged commitment to client service.
Rohan brings a plethora of knowledge, understanding, and business insight from his over a decade of diverse background in digital space. In 2013, he cut his e-commerce teeth and found a niche in it. From a Developer to a Product Manager to the Chief Technologist of the company, he has come a long way ascending the ladder of success.
He is in charge of crafting Axtrics as a market trailblazer in existing and next-generation technologies, escalating technical architecture competencies and know-how of the agency, supervising web development teams, and engaging with existing and potential clients. Establishing a working atmosphere entailing transparent communication, mutual trust, and respect, flat hierarchies is what he strives for as a CTO.
Master of juggling the delicate balance of his dual life as a mild-mannered professional and a loving family man. Rohan is a hands-on CTO, participating actively in the development of Axtrics. A man of few words. The chief supporter of the employees, always encouraging them to think out of the box and be creative.
Originally from Jammu, he loves going to the beaches and leaving his footmarks on the shore. His vacant time is occupied in upgrading his gadget collection and chronicling the adventures of his daughter. An avid gamer who never drop any chance to keep calm and put on the play station. His proficiency in the hidden language of the soul – “dance” can be perceived with eyes during office parties. A passionate gym enthusiast who follows his fitness regime religiously.
In a nutshell, he is a well-balanced, calm and composed man with the quality to adapt to any situation. Honest, Hardworking and Hard-nosed are the triple ‘H’ that befits his personality the best. Finds his strength in moving forward along with his team to achieve great things. Axtrics’ team and its clients have benefited well from his strong leadership and strategic insight, inspired by positive development and the warmth of the day-star.

Content, community, and commerce are the fundamental ingredients of a successful online business webpage. These 3 C’s of business make the snapshot of joy. The buyers’ path-to-purchase has emerged radically beyond the cart during the previous years. It’s insufficient to have a fine-looking site with a drop-down inventory and a bug-free checkout to keep the interest of the customers. The successful online businesses are not just selling a product, but they are selling the experience to stand out from the crowd and fulfill the requirements of their clients.

An experience-driven market is created by connecting with clients over different touchpoints in various ways and incorporating your item into their everyday routine. Although, it’s not tied in with being omnipresent as well as being helpful. It’s rather about being there when they need you and addressing their concerns in an individual and convenient way so that they don’t have to think twice before clicking ‘Buy’.

Commerce in content

content

Originally content was solely a ‘sales talk’ that supported commerce, which has evolved with time. Content creates a network that sets up reliability to make deals, making consumers dependent on these three parts when settling on making decisions. Engaging content on your website will fetch people to the site, enticing them to stay and visit back again. The main objective is to create content accommodating the idea of targeting the audience’s context.

Commerce in context

Earlier ‘location’ was the secret to success during the time of brick-and-mortar stores, but now in the period of eCommerce personalization, ‘timing’ has become an essential element of this secret to success. The top labels foresee what consumers want and at what time they want it.

Commerce in context lays stress on curating choices for folks. The technologies like machine learning, sensors, artificial intelligence, analytics, and GPS work together to understand the preferences of the customer and envision their intent. Commerce in context releases the busy, info-burdened buyer. Knowing its customer preferences these ‘Smart websites’ help them buy one thing that money can’t buy i.e. time.

Commerce in connection

connection

The first websites removed merchandise out of stores. Omnichannel understandings smashed the notion of ‘store’ entirely. Brands can nowadays associate with customers through in-store tablets, smart devices, social networks, chatbot, SMS, within a digital book or software. Today, brick-and-mortar stores are places where people can go to try out products or to interact with the brand in new ways. This lets stores to constrain their stock by storing just enough for individuals to try the items as they settle on their buy choices.

A prosperous online business can be built by blending 3C’s (content, community, and commerce) and altering the ways of connecting with the customers and creating a solid brand name. These touchpoints give power to the customers to get the product and service from anyplace at any time. Along with this, it enables brands to identify their customers’ preferred way of interaction.

In other words, now companies have to reach their clients wherever they are. Exact and proper use of Omnichannel gives customers one more reason to love your brand. Then there won’t be a reason for them to order from anywhere else.

The foundation of any company’s support plan is the Omnichannel consumer service. It is very crucial to have a strategy in place for assigning agents to these channels as its impractical for specialists to do everything. The shared agent model and dedicated agent model are the two techniques for channel assignment. In a shared model, the agents handle a few or all channels concurrently whereas the focus is set upon a single channel in a dedicated model.

Dedicated Model

There are advantages & disadvantages attached to both the methods of consumer chat support models. However, the company with more than ten operators is suggested to use the dedicated model. Operators concentrate on clients from one channel in this model. This model enables specialists to build up a strong understanding of the individual channels and locate the best techniques for helping clients, allowing the support group to ascend more successfully. Nonetheless, the drawback of this model is that the specialists frequently don’t get a profound understanding of a client’s issues and they end up heightening complex queries leading in underdevelopment or shallower development of a skillset.

Shared Model

In a shared model, specialists are expected to perform on the channels that demand the most consideration and switching over to different channels as they continue growing busier. For instance, a shared specialist may begin their day working on email assistance, changing over to serving chats coming in. The advantage of this model is that specialists expand their time and are constantly resolving customer queries. In any case, an operator would need to be remarkably qualified to have the capacity to switch between various channels with little notice.

No single factor will figure out the right model for you. Eventually, the particular realities of your business, support system, and objectives will perform a part in figuring out an ideal model for your business.