According to data compiled by Statista, over 82% of retail sales take place in brick-and-mortar stores. Within that, more than 81% of customers have spent time researching products online before deciding. This demonstrates both online and offline business activities must be aligned for the optimized overall operation. That means you, as a business, need to consider implementing an O2O commerce strategy in line with your business goals and capabilities.

Define objectives

To establish objectives, it’s important to determine your vision for O2O commerce implementation. It represents the future look that you aim to achieve, and then you will set specific and measurable goals. You can also use SWOT to make sure you understand your strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats. 

Clear objectives will keep you focused on what is important, minimize risks, and achieve O2O commerce success.

Plan the strategy

Next is to work with your team to develop O2O strategies to achieve the established objectives. 

You can use performance analysis software to measure and analyze, identifying pain points and touchpoints throughout the purchasing journey. This way, you can determine which O2O model to implement and which channels are suited for the chosen model. 

After choosing your business model, you will select resources to facilitate O2O commerce. 

Here are 3 great ways to pool resources:

Number 1. Plan to build your in-house team for both online and offline sales channels

Pros: You can manage and shape your team to develop the business the way you want

Cons: It requires significant costs and time to recruit and train your in-house team, making your market entry to be slower than the competition. 

Number 2. Collaborate with an O2O-experienced developer

Pros: You can learn a lot from your partner

Cons: It’s not easy to find trustworthy and professional partners with expertise that suits your needs. 

Number 3. Facilitate the O2O commerce with an expert developer along with building the in-house team to maintain it.

Pros: You can quickly develop the O2O system and control it in the long run

Cons: It takes time to find a trustworthy vendor, as well as the costs to recruit and train your in-house team.

Those approaches can help you in effectively outlining your O2O commerce plan, encompassing aspects such as budget allocation and implementation timeline.

Optimize the offline commerce system

Typically, businesses that implement O2O strategies are those that already have an existing offline business system. However, to effectively fulfill O2O orders you must optimize your offline commerce capabilities. The optimized offline system will strengthen your O2O operations with some management software such as POS, CRM, ERP, and PIM instead of using manual management processes relying on paperwork or Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, OneNote, Access, etc).

POS (Point of Sale) is where the buying and selling transactions take place. A POS system combines hardware and software to create a complete transaction process. Some popular POS systems include Magestore, mPOS, VNPAY, and KiotViet. 

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is software that helps plan and manage all operations of a business. Some world-renowned ERPs include Odoo, Sage, TomERP, Oracle, and SAP. 

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a software that allows you to manage information and interaction of your existing and prospective customers. CRM helps you to collect, store, and analyze customer data to improve customer interactions and enhance sales capabilities. You can use CRM tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho, and Pipedrive. 

PIM (Product Information Management) is a system used to store and manage your business’s product information in a centralized manner. Product information includes technical specifications, descriptions, images, videos, size and color information, multilingual product descriptions, and other relevant information needed by marketers or sales staff. There are some popular PIM solutions including Pimworks, Salsify, Akeneo, and Inriver.  

Depending on the current level of digitization in your offline operations, you can consider upgrading existing systems, transitioning to different platforms, or implementing additional suitable software solutions. 

Develop the online commerce system

Select platforms

Typically, building the online commerce system including websites, and apps, you can choose between 2 types of platforms: SaaS and Open Source.

SaaS (Software as a Service) platform is a service delivery model where the website system is provided as software. In this model, data is stored on the provider’s server, and the platform is responsible for handling technical issues for the business.

Some popular SaaS platforms:  Haravan, Shopify, and BigCommerce.

• Pros: Easy to use, quick development time, high security, 24/7 customer support
• Cons: Increasing development costs over time, businesses have limited ownership of source code and data, limitations in functionality and customization, and scalability.

The SaaS platform is often a popular choice for startups or SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) due to its reasonable cost and implementation time. 

The Open Source platform refers to software with publicly available source code that can be used by anyone free of charge. Open-source platforms are the optimal choice for businesses to develop comprehensive websites and apps. 

Some notable Open-source platforms include Magento, WooCommerce (a plugin for WordPress), and OpenCart. 

• Pros: High customization and scalability, diverse critical features and utilities, you have ownership of source code and data. 
• Cons: Not user-friendly, high development costs, lengthy implementation time. 

The Open-source platform is the perfect choice for enterprise-level businesses requiring complex customization due to its high flexibility and scalability.

In addition, you can also build your store on popular eCommerce marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, and Amazon. Marketplaces give you a great opportunity to reach out to a wide pool of potential customers and increase sales. Moreover, using eCommerce marketplaces helps you save costs on ads, shipping, and customer relationship management (CRM).

To succeed on marketplaces, you will need optimized store pages and an effective strategy. It’s easier said than done, however, relying on eCommerce marketplaces in the long run may result in a loss of control over customers and their data. Marketplaces will have their own policies regarding customer data management and contact information making it difficult for you to directly access their customers and may lose these potential customers to your competition. 

Overall, to effectively implement O2O commerce, you can choose to develop an online system alongside your offline system or proceed with it after getting the offline system done. 

Create UI/UX design

After choosing the platform to build the O2O e-commerce website and app, you will create the UI/UX design that aligns with your brand’s characteristics. 

There are 3 recommended approaches:

• Using pre-built themes: This helps you save theme costs. Both SaaS and Open-source platforms offer a variety of themes ranging from $300 to $500.
• Customizing based on pre-built themes: This approach allows you to customize the theme to suit your development needs. 
• Create the UI/UX design from scratch: This helps you to develop your brand image uniquely and creatively compared to the majority of competitors. It may incur higher costs compared to using pre-built themes but the “tailored” design will meet the market needs and your business’s requirements. 

Develop critical functions for the digital system

After you’ve done with your design, it’s time to develop some critical functions for both eCommerce website and app implementation. Below are a few suggestions:

• Catalog Management: involves managing categories, functions, prices, and product images/videos to optimize your operations.
• Sales Management: focus on managing order information, and being aware of customer shopping behavior.
• Marketing Management: integrating features such as URLs, meta tags, and internal links to optimize SEO, and combine with other effective marketing campaigns to boost sales. 
• Content Management: All about generating and optimizing engaging content for CMS, including text, images, banners, widgets, templates as well as blogs, and branded content, v.v
• Customer Management: All about storing, managing, and analyzing customer data and segmentation to boost your marketing strategy and optimize the customer online experience.
• System Management: All about managing and assigning permissions to administrators to operate, secure, and maintain the eCommerce system. 
• Store Management: All about using inventory management tools at main stores, branches, and warehouses to ensure an efficient supply chain. 
• Cart and Checkout Management: All about the shopping cart and payment information.
• Analysis and Reporting: All about analyzing and measuring the performance of the eCommerce system to help you make decisions based on data. 

Testing

Testing serves as a vital undertaking to help you uncover any lurking bugs that may emerge within a website and app, all in the pursuit of aligning the entire system seamlessly with the precise demands of your business. By doing testing, you will not only grant a comprehensive overview of your project but also provide the means to evaluate targets and even proactively manage risks as you navigate the realm of eCommerce.

There are several testing methods:

• White-box testing: In white-box testing, the code and algorithms are examined. Testers access the source code to perform the tests. 
• Black-box testing: This method tests the system’s functionality based on specific requirements.
• Gray-box testing: It combines black-box and white-box testing. 

In general, conducting testing based on test scenarios is an important step that helps you ensure quality and provides a solid foundation for a smooth operation.

Legal Registration and Launch the app

Declare with the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade

The final step to developing the online capabilities is to complete the legal procedures to make sure your eCommerce operation is legit. You can follow the step-by-step guide in the eCommerce Management Portal. 

This is a mandatory requirement set by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade for individuals or organizations having online businesses to fulfill their obligation to register/notify within the specified timeframe. 

Publish the app on Google Play and App Store

To publish the applications on these platforms, you need to follow these steps:

1. Register a developer account on the App Store and Google Play
2. Create your developer profile and register the app
3. Create and submit the app, including necessary information such as name, description, images, videos, and other features. You must ensure the app complies with the regulations and requirements of these platforms.
4. Check and confirm the app registration. When the app is approved, you can start promoting and managing it on the platforms. 

By pushing the app to Google Play and the App Store, you take one closer step to mobile users.

Measure performance

After facilitating your O2O commerce system, it’s time to take a look at the collected data to measure its performance for further critical decisions. Several tools can be integrated into your business system such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, TikTok Tracking Pixel, and more.

Moreover, you can integrate BI (Business Intelligence) tools, which are intelligent management reporting systems, to gather large amounts of data from various sources and use them to make predictions. Some popular BI tools include Magento Business Intelligence, Tableau, Power BI, and Looker.

Optimize customer experience

Having the analysis and reports in place, you can now develop appropriate strategies to optimize customer experience. Some popular strategies include Loyalty Program and Omnichannel.

The Loyalty Program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop associated with the program. This enriches customer shopping experience and keeps them engaged with your brand. 

Omnichannel is a multichannel sales approach that focuses on providing a seamless shopping experience by marketing and selling on all channels where potential customers are present, from mobile devices, social media, and eCommerce websites to brick-and-mortar stores.

O2O Commerce Solution at SECOMM

Established in 2014, SECOMM is a company specializing in providing O2O commerce solutions. Over the years, SECOMM has accumulated a vast portfolio of O2O commerce projects with large domestic and international clients such as Annam Gourmet, Trentham Estate, and much more.

Regarding O2O commerce solutions, SECOMM offers a diverse range of services to help businesses enhance their competitive capabilities and dominate the retail market in the digital age. These services include Solution Consulting, Team Development, and O2O System Development including:

eCommerce System

Developing an O2O commerce system to provide a comprehensive experience for customers:

• Deploying eCommerce websites on platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento, etc
• Building eCommerce Apps using platforms, technologies, and frameworks such as Flutter, NodeJS, ReactJS, Ionic.
• Building and managing online stores on popular eCommerce marketplaces such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo, and Amazon.

Management system

Deploying and integrating management tools and software to efficiently operate business activities for the enterprise.

• ERP: Odoo, Sage, TomERP, Oracle, SAP, etc.
• CRM: Salesforce, Hubspot, Zendesk, Zoho, etc.
• POS: Magestore, mPOS, VNPAY, KiotViet, etc.
• PIM: Pimworks, Salsify, Akeneo, Inriver, etc.

Customer Experience System

Building and integrating platforms to support businesses in enhancing customer experience.

• Mobile Applications: Flutter, NodeJS, ReactJS, Ionic, etc.
• Loyalty Programs
• Omnichannel Commerce

Data System

Integrating tools to support the analysis and reporting for the business operations.

• Data analysis and reporting: Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Tiktok Tracking Pixel, etc.
• Business Intelligence: Magento Business Intelligence, Tableau, Power BI, Looker, etc.

To learn more about the O2O commerce model as well as the best solutions to conquer the retail market, please contact SECOMM today for a free consultation.

In 2021, The Vietnamese eCommerce market size reached 13.7 billion USD, which means the industry is growing rapidly and playing an important role in Vietnam’s economy. 

It forces business owners to find ways to make their businesses stand out and connect with customers.

One of the effective approaches is to implement an Omnichannel eCommerce strategy. This is a marketing method aimed at providing a consistent customer experience across multiple channels. It may be confused with Multichannel eCommerce, where brands sell on various channels but provide different customer experiences on each channel. Although customers can shop on social media, eCommerce websites, physical stores, etc, their experience across these channels could not be seamless. There is also the Single-channel eCommerce model, where a brand only uses one channel for sales. 

Retailers globally recognize the potential and impact of Omnichannel eCommerce on their business operations. According to Report Linker, the market for multi-channel retail platforms reached 5 billion USD in 2020 and is projected to reach 14.5 billion USD in 2027. Industry analysts and experts also emphasize that Omnichannel is the future of eCommerce and is a great way to attract customers and provide them with true value. 

Here are 6 tips to help you, as a business successfully build an Omnichannel eCommerce strategy.

Tip 1: Understand the target audience & their shopping behavior

Tip number 1, regardless of any business strategy, you have to know who your target customers are and their shopping behavior. You can start by gathering relevant data about demographic information, purchase history, etc from various sources, including eCommerce websites, social media platforms, physical stores, etc. Then, you will analyze how they interact with the brand across different channels and create detailed buyer personas. 

This helps identify effective approaches for each customer segment and tailor messages for each channel. For example, if a significant portion of your customers prefers shopping on mobile devices, you can optimize your suitable marketing campaigns alongside improving the website to attract more customers. Or, you can invest in developing mobile applications to enrich the customer shopping experience and drive conversions.

Tip 2: Map the customer journey

Tip number 2 is to map out the customer journey to visually understand the process that a potential customer goes through when interacting with your brand. It helps you clearly understand their needs, buying motivations, and so forth. When developing an Omnichannel eCommerce strategy, mapping the customer journey allows you to proactively provide personalized customer experiences across channels. It not only enhances cross-selling, and upselling but also improves customer intention and loyalty. 

There are typically 5 stages in the customer journey: Awareness, Interest, Purchase, Retention, and Advocacy. 

Here are the basic steps to create a customer journey map:

• Set clear goals for the map
• Identify buyer personas and define the target customers
• Determine the stages and objectives for each stage
• List out the touchpoints
• Collect data and feedback
• Identify areas that need to be improved

Tip 3: Develop a brand image & messaging

Another valuable tip is to develop a consistent brand message and image across channels. It requires you first to identify and understand the brand values, vision, and mission. For example, you can use consistent elements such as colors, fonts, etc, to help customers easily recognize your brand. Moreover, you need to train your staff on the brand message and image to ensure they understand and communicate the message properly across all channels. 

This tip not only helps increase brand recognition and customer loyalty but also creates a seamless customer experience.

Tip 4: Engage customers on social media

Next, you can incorporate social media into your Omnichannel eCommerce strategy and focus on engaging with customers on social media platforms alongside other effective marketing channels. With over 3.6 billion social media users globally, building your brand presence in these places is no longer an option but an imperative measure  to effectively connect your brand with customers.

Leveraging social media enables you to engage with customers by responding to inquiries and addressing concerns through messaging or interactions on the news feed in a friendly and approachable manner. In addition, social media provides you with great space to deliver brand messages and voices to customers in a quicker and more intimate way to enhance brand awareness. You can create your own ideas and content or collaborate with influencers. 

To tightly integrate social media with other channels in the Omnichannel eCommerce strategy, you can, for example, encourage users to like, comment, and share posts to receive attractive discount codes for purchases on websites or physical stores. 

Tip 5: Optimize the shopping experience

Tip number 5, for a seamless omnichannel experience, you need to ensure that customers can make purchases through any channel they interact with, such as eCommerce websites, marketplaces, social media platforms, and physical stores.

Additionally, to keep up with mobile commerce trends, you should optimize mobile-friendly and responsive websites as well as user-friendly mobile apps for easy navigation and usage.

Since Omnichannel eCommerce emphasizes consistent experiences across all channels, content and customer-related information such as login credentials, payment details, and shopping carts should be synchronized. This enables customers to move seamlessly between channels and devices while preserving the items in their shopping carts or without the need to spend time logging in or re-entering payment information. Moreover, you can leverage data analytics to personalize product recommendations for each customer, displaying relevant or complementary products based on their behavior and purchase history across channels to increase cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

Tip 6: Measure & analyze the outcome

Tip number 6 is measuring and analyzing the results of the strategy. During the implementation process, you can utilize data analysis tools such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Pixel, and others to check, track and analyze customers across all channels. It helps identify which channels generate the most traffic, level of engagement, and sales revenue, and identify areas for improvement. In addition, you can gather customer feedback to enhance and optimize your strategy. The work should be conducted to make appropriate adjustments and achieve desired results. 

Contact SECOMM now for a consultation on building an Omnichannel eCommerce strategy.

Loyal customers contribute significantly to the profitability and development of eCommerce businesses. Therefore, as a business, you need to focus on strengthening relationships with customers and encouraging repeat purchases. Among the methods available, building and convincing customers to participate in Loyalty Programs is an effective strategy.

Below is the ultimate guide to successfully build and implement an eCommerce Loyalty Program. 

Related Readings: Everything To Know About eCommerce Loyalty Programs

Set Objectives

The first step of the process is to establish the goals of the eCommerce Loyalty Program, which includes identifying the objectives (e.g. increasing customer retention rates, promoting repeat purchases, attracting new customers, increasing CLV). These objectives should align with the overall development strategy and business goals. 

In addition, as a business, you need to clearly define the target audience of the Loyalty Program by analyzing the demographic and psychographic characteristics of those audiences to design a suitable program that meets their expectations. 

You also can research the Loyalty Programs of competitors, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and then create your own program to differentiate your business and provide unique value to customers. 

Develop eCommerce Loyalty Program

Determine types of Loyalty Program

Currently, there are various types of eCommerce Loyalty Programs, but the most popular ones are point-based programs, tiered-based programs, and subscription-based programs. 

• Point-based Loyalty Programs

This allows customers to earn points for each purchase or specific action and redeem them for rewards once they have accumulated a certain number of points. You should pay attention to the value of the rewards customers will receive and the reasonable time to redeem them to make the programs attractive. 

• Tiered-based Loyalty Programs

This program encourages customers to strive for higher tiers to receive higher-value rewards and benefits. It will require customers to invest their time and money in shopping and engaging with your brand, meaning the more they spend, the more benefits they receive, and the higher their loyalty to your brand.

• Subscription-based Loyalty Programs

This Loyalty Program requires customers to register as members and pay a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee, depending on the terms of each program. Because of that, customers are more likely to commit to engaging with the brand, which is higher than other types of programs. Typically, these programs will have a trial period for customers to decide whether or not to join, and this is also an opportunity for you to convince them that the value they will receive is worth every cent. 

The choice of Loyalty Program type depends on the budget, resources, and overall strategy of your business. 

Choose rewards meaningful to customers

After choosing the right type of eCommerce Loyalty Program, you will want to select rewards that are suitable for that program. For point-based Loyalty Programs, common rewards include:

• Discounts on the next purchase;
• Free shipping;
• Free gifts;
• Priority support;
• The opportunity to join exclusive events 
• The latest product updates.

The SHEIN Bonus Point Program is a typical point-based Loyalty Program, where customers will earn 1 point for $1 spent. In addition, customers can also earn reward points by taking specific actions such as verifying their accounts, reviewing products, etc. When reaching the required number of points, customers can redeem them for discounts of up to 70%.

For the type of tiered Loyalty Program, the tiers will determine the equivalent benefits that customers will receive and require effort to maintain or upgrade. Therefore, rewards will be designed to reflect the brand’s characteristics and personalized for each customer at each specific tier. This makes the customer’s efforts worthwhile. 

For example, Aldo Crew is a tiered Loyalty Program from the famous fashion brand – Aldo, with 3 main tiers: Crew, Plus, and VIP. The program offers customers attractive and personalized benefits such as special pricing, free birthday gifts, birthday discounts, 20% off handbags when purchasing shoes, exclusive privileges and surprises, and account sharing with friends.

Most membership programs are applied by leading and well-known businesses worldwide due to their credibility, product value, and high-quality service that make customers trust them to spend their money to sign up. The rewards of this type of program tend to be exclusive, only available at the brand and for registered members. 

For example, customers who register for the Walmart+ membership program will receive benefits such as product discounts, shipping policies, gas service, and movie watching with Paramount+ that non-members cannot receive.

Depending on what Loyalty Program you choose, you will select rewards that are appropriate for both your customers and your business. However, you should consider the cost of each reward as well as the benefits it brings to the business before applying it to the program. Providing valuable rewards can not only increase customer retention and loyalty but also boost sales and increase the CLV. 

Choose Loyalty Program Software

Next, you will need software to develop,  and manage eCommerce Loyalty Programs, track customer activities, and distribute rewards. The choice will be based on some factors such as ease of use, integration with eCommerce websites, and the price of the software. There are some popular Loyalty Program software on the market today, including Smile.io, Loyalty Lion, Yotpo, S Loyalty, and so forth. These softwares can be easily integrated and work effectively with eCommerce platforms such as Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, etc. 

Design the program rules

The next step is to design the rules of the program. You need to ensure that the rules and conditions for participation are presented clearly, easy to understand, and easy to follow.

For example, the Sephora Beauty Insider program is based on a tiered system where customers earn one point for every dollar they spend, and the conditions for participation and advancement are clearly presented.

Again, with Walmart+ as an example, customers easily recognize the benefits they will receive for joining the program as a member, and the cost of $12.95/month after a 30-day trial as well. 

In addition, the registration process should be easy to execute. Typically, brands will require customers to create an account on their website or fill out a registration form, or even simpler, just log in with Facebook to participate. These actions are quick and easy to execute.

For example, in the Sephora Beauty Insider program, customers can click “join now”, fill out the form, and join the Insider tier. Or, if they already have an account, they need to log in to see their points balance and tier.

For the Aldo Crew program, customers need to fill out a registration form on the website or log in with their Facebook account to start.

In addition to ensuring the clarity and understandability of the program rules, you also want to ensure that the conditions set are appropriate for customers to quickly earn rewards and maintain the attractiveness of the program, while also bringing profits to the business.

For example, the Amazon Prime membership program offers customers a 30-day free trial and a range of pricing options. The most noteworthy are the monthly payment plan at $14.99/month and the annual payment plan at $139/year. The majority of customers are likely to choose the annual payment plan ($139) to save money, which is also Amazon’s intention as the profits they earn will be higher.

Implement eCommerce loyalty Program

Integrate the program to eCommerce website

To implement a Loyalty Program, you will need to integrate the program into your eCommerce website and display the point balance and rewards on the Shopping cart page.

Taking Sephora as an example again, the Profile page displays the customer’s current membership tier and current point balance.

Train the team

For the success of your eCommerce Loyalty Program, you have to educate your team about the program, including participation requirements, point accumulation methods, rewards, and more. 

Moreover, you want to ensure that your team knows how to answer customer questions about the program and handle any arising issues. This activity should be done regularly along with the changing of your Loyalty Program to fit market trends. 

By providing effective training, your team is able to promote and manage the program accordingly. This contributes to the success of your eCommerce Loyalty Program.

Launch & promote the program

When launching your Loyalty Program, you will want to make it popular so promotion is necessary. To do it effectively, you can prominently display the program on the Homepage and Navigation menu of your website. Also, you can promote the program on social media or use eye-catching graphics and compelling content for email marketing. 

An Influencer marketing campaign is an effective way to increase the program’s awareness and engagement. Referral Marketing is also a commonly used marketing strategy in Loyalty Programs today, encouraging customers to refer new members to the program to expand the customer base.

Popular Loyalty Programs such as Sephora Beauty Insider, Amazon Prime, Walmart+, Aldo Crew, and eBay Plus all have referral programs. When someone signs up for the Loyalty Program through a referral link, both the referrer and the referee will receive a small bonus of $1-$10 or a discount on their next purchase. 

Measure outcomes & keep customers engaged

You will need to track and measure the results of the Loyalty Program to ensure the objectives are achieved and make adjustments if necessary. 

You can use KPIs like customer retention rate, repeat purchase rate, or average order value of members compared to non-members. Moreover, you can collect and analyze customer feedback and reviews on their satisfaction with the program to identify what to improve.

You also need to keep your customers engaged by regularly improving, updating, and promoting the program. At the same time, you should provide personalized rewards and experiences based on their interests and behavior to increase customer satisfaction and interaction.

In addition, you can consider building a community of members by providing online and offline events and special offers exclusively for program members. Again, Sephora does this well, they offer exclusive events for all Insider, VIB, and Rouge members in addition to other incredible experiences. This gradually creates a community of loyal Sephora customers who love beauty.

Retention isn’t about convincing customers who were going to leave to stick around. Instead, retention is about providing so much value to your existing customers that they never go anywhere else and become your strongest benefit.

Therefore, enhancing your customer experience through attractive Loyalty Programs is an effective way to increase customer retention and loyalty.

Contact SECOMM now for a free consultation on developing a comprehensive eCommerce Loyalty Program.

Amidst the fierce competition in eCommerce, businesses of all sizes are striving to find breakthrough solutions to enhance customer experience and boost engagement. Among the numerous options available, PWA (Progress Web App) is considered a promising solution that can change the way users interact with an eCommerce website. Although PWA has been in the market for a while, its popularity has only recently surged in recent years. 

What is PWA?

A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a type of web application built using standard web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, but can provide users with a similar experience and features to a native app, including push notifications, offline availability, etc. 

Native apps, what do they actually mean? They are software applications built on a specific programming language for a particular platform or operating system such as iOS or Android.

Because of the differences between the two types of applications, businesses usually rely on their needs and resources to make a suitable choice.

Related Readings: Native App vs Hybrid App: Key Differences

Key Differences: PWA vs Native App

Native apps are typically built using a programming language specific to each particular operating system, such as Objective-C/Swift for iOS and Java/Kotlin for Android. Meaning that developers must have a certain level of experience and expertise to write and develop apps that are suitable for each operating system. Additionally, maintaining and updating app versions must be done regularly, which can be time-consuming and costly. 

On the other hand, when developing a progressive web app, developers can use a shared codebase to develop apps for all platforms, making development and maintenance faster and easier than with a native app.

To use Native apps, users need to access app stores such as the Apple’s App Store or Google Play to download and install them, while with progressive web app, users can install them directly from their web browser onto their device without going through an app store.

Although PWA can provide good performance and user experience, it is still generally not as good as native apps. Native apps offer a more seamless and richer user experience than progressive web app because they are designed specifically for a particular platform and can maximize the use of hardware and software features of the device. 

Summary:

Benefits of PWA

Currently, PWA is becoming very popular and is being chosen by many businesses everywhere in the world for the following benefits:

Cost-saving in development

This is the biggest advantage and the main reason why many businesses are turning to PWA. The cost to build and maintain PWA is relatively low compared to native apps because it doesn’t require developing separately for each platform. Moreover, after installation, PWA functions like a native app with no compromise on performance and user experience. Therefore, for businesses with budget constraints, PWA is a worthwhile option to consider in order to save costs and time to launch the product. 

Increase customer reach

Since PWA is designed to work efficiently on various devices and platforms such as smartphones, tablets, desktops, laptops, etc., users can access the app through a web browser and install it directly onto the home screen without downloading it from the app store. Therefore, PWA can reach a wider pool of potential customers, allowing businesses to expand their customer reach.  

Boost brand recognition and interaction

The “add-to-home-screen” feature of PWA enables customers to easily add the app to their device home screen directly from the web browser. In reality, customers only click on this feature when they browse and find the app interesting and useful for them. Once the app has been added to the home screen, users will easily see and remember the brand. This way, businesses can use targeted marketing methods to encourage customer interaction. 

Enhance user experience

Similar to native apps, PWA can also provide a quality user experience with fast page loading time, smooth navigation, and stable performance. In addition, it is capable of quickly responding and operating well on many devices with various screen sizes, helping users view content and products on any preferred device. PWA is developed based on web technologies, which means businesses can track and analyze user behavior in real-time and make data-driven decisions to enhance user experience.

PWA real-world example

Lancôme

Lancôme, the leading high-end cosmetics brand in the world, launched a PWA in 2017 to enhance user experience and improve mobile web interaction. The Lancôme PWA provides features such as an icon on the home screen, push notifications, offline mode, and more. This allows customers to quickly access Lancôme’s website with just one touch, and the company can use push notifications to inform customers about the latest products, promotions, and special offers. In addition, the offline mode allows customers to continue browsing Lancôme’s website even without an internet connection.

Spotify

The famous online music platform – Spotify, developed and launched their own PWA in 2018 to provide a fast, seamless, and engaging user experience for their customers. Similar to Lancôme, Spotify also offers prominent features including offline music and podcast playback, which helps to ensure an uninterrupted user experience. The Spotify PWA has received positive reviews and feedback from users for many years.

Tinder

Native app of Tinder has been very effective on many different operating systems and is particularly loved by users. However, with the desire to expand and conquer new markets as well as protect its position as a leading online dating platform, Tinder has built a PWA.

The page loading time of Tinder PWA has been reduced to 4.69 seconds compared to 11.9 seconds before, which significantly increases interaction and surpasses Tinder native app in terms of the number of swipes, profile edits, and time spent per user.

In addition, there are many famous companies in the world that have implemented PWA: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Uber, Pinterest, Starbucks, Aliexpress, etc.

With years of experience implementing eCommerce solutions for numerous clients in various countries, SECOMM understands the importance of developing PWA to cope with the competition in the billion-dollar technology industry as well as the challenges that each business faces when building and developing PWA. 

Contact SECOMM now for a free consultation!

Facing the boom of Mobile Commerce, businesses now have two choices: to build an eCommerce app to adapt to this boom or to ignore it and gradually fall behind. 

According to Insider Intelligence’s forecast, mobile commerce market sales will reach $534.18 billion in 2024, of which two devices contributing to this incredible number are smartphones and tablets. Smartphones alone account for 87.2% of mobile commerce sales. These figures are the most convincing answer to the above consideration: Yes, businesses need to build an eCommerce app.  

The Process of Creating An eCommerce App

Building an eCommerce app requires a lot of effort and serious work because it is a complex process with many stages and the involvement of many relevant. Below are 8 summarized implementation steps that will help businesses understand the building process of a mobile shopping app to make their business operation more effective. 

Identify Objectives

The first step of the process is to determine the objective of the mobile app, including deciding which products will be sold through the app and identifying the target audience. This way, businesses can build an app that meets their needs and quickly achieves the objective.

Businesses should do market research to understand their target audience’s needs, preferences, and behaviors in various ways, such as through surveys, interviews, etc. It helps them define the app’s features and the marketing strategies to promote it. Moreover, businesses should find the app’s unique selling points that differentiate it from its competitors, making it easy to attract potential customers and stand out. 

Define Must-Have Feature Set

After identifying the objectives, the business proceeds to the next step: identifying the vital features of the eCommerce app. Here are some recommendations:

• Product Catalog: The app should include a catalog of the business’s products, clear product images, detailed descriptions, and comments about products. 
• Search function: Not only websites, but eCommerce apps also need a search bar to help customers easily search for products they are interested in.
• Shopping cart: The shopping cart feature allows users to add products to their cart, view the list inside, and add or remove items from the cart.
• Payment integration: To help the payment process run smoothly, businesses can integrate multiple payment methods to provide customers with various options such as cash on delivery (COD), credit/debit cards, eWallets, etc.
• Social media integration: This integration not only helps customers log in quickly but also encourages them to connect with the business on social media platforms.
• Push notification: For eCommerce apps, push notifications play a crucial role as a communication channel with customers and support businesses in marketing campaigns.

Select Platform and App Type

• Select platform (iOS/Android)

The selection of a platform for building an eCommerce app depends on many factors, including target customers, budget, development stage, necessary features, expansion needs, etc. iOS and Android are two popular platforms in today’s market. In most cases, businesses will build eCommerce apps on both platforms. However, those with limited resources, start with one platform first and then expand to the other later. 

Additionally, if a business is targeting customers in the European and North American markets, iOS would be the right choice because iOS dominates these markets. However, because Android has a superior market share in Asia, businesses with plans to penetrate the Asian market should consider choosing Android.

• Select App Type (Native app/Hybrid app)

Any business looking to build an eCommerce app will have to choose between a Native app and a Hybrid app. Developing a Native app refers to building a specific app for a specific platform (iOS & Android), using the respective programming languages of the platform – Swift/Objective-C for iOS and Java/Kotlin for Android. Native apps can provide great performance and user experience as they are optimized for the specific platform the app is built on. However, building Native apps can be costly and time-consuming. 

Developing a Hybrid app involves building a single app that works on both iOS and Android platforms, using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Hybrid apps can speed up the development cycle and be less expensive in terms of budget and time compared to native apps. However, Hybrid apps cannot provide the same performance and user experience as Native apps.

Therefore, the choice between developing a Native app or a Hybrid app depends on the budget, development process, and the desired user experience. If the business has a surplus budget to invest in user experience, then developing a Native app is a good choice. However, if the business needs to bring its eCommerce app to the market quickly but has budget constraints, then it should focus on developing a Hybrid app.

Related Reading: Native App & Hybrid App: Key Differences, Pros & Cons

In-house or Outsourced App Development

In the next step, businesses decide whether to use an in-house team or collaborate with a specialized agency, which depends on the budget, experience, expertise, and resources. Below are some pros and cons of the two options: In-housing and Outsourcing. 

In-house development team

Pros:

• The team will control the entire development process.
• The in-house team can communicate and make decisions directly.
• The in-house team will deeply understand the project and the business goals.

Cons:

• It can be expensive in terms of budget and time to recruit, train, and maintain an in-house development team.
• If the in-house expertise and resources are insufficient, it may take a long time to build the app, affecting the product launch process.

Development partner (Outsourcing):

Pros:

• The business benefits from a partner with a lot of experience building eCommerce apps.
• The eCommerce app development process may be faster than an in-house team because the partner’s expertise is proven.
• Saves budget and time in recruiting, training, and maintaining an in-house team.

Cons:

• It takes a lot of time for the business analysis phase so that the partner can understand the business operations and goals to make decisions on the app development.
• The communication and decision-making process between both parties may be difficult due to geographic distance.
• If choosing the wrong partner, the final result may not meet the requirements of the business.

Create UI/UX Design 

The UI/UX design of an eCommerce app refers to creating a visually appealing and user-friendly interface to help users easily search for and purchase products. Here are some suggestions for businesses to consider when designing the UI/UX for eCommerce apps:

• The design should reflect the image and brand value.
• The design should be simple to enhance user experience and easy navigation.
• Use high-quality product images and keep file sizes small to minimize load times.
• Consistent design throughout the entire app, including colors, fonts, etc.
• Ensure the design is responsive and performs well on various screen sizes.
• Use clear and intuitive navigation systems to help customers find out what they need on the app.
• Collect user feedback and make necessary adjustments to improve UI/UX design.

Build the MVP

In eCommerce app development, MVP stands for  Minimum Viable Product, which is typically a condensed version of the app that is launched to the market before the official launch of the full app. Building an MVP for an eCommerce app usually focuses on developing the core features and ensuring those features work effectively before adding additional features.

As listed, the most crucial core features may include a product catalog, search bar, shopping cart, payment methods, etc. When releasing an MVP, the business must ensure that it is error-free and meets the needs of the target customers. The goal of an MVP is to understand the customer’s thoughts on the product, minimize risk, and allocate resources effectively before launching the full product to the market.

Gather Feedback

After building and releasing the MVP, businesses should collect feedback from users through various channels such as social media, surveys, or reviews on the App Store or Google Play to gather their opinions on the experience when using the eCommerce app. Moreover, businesses should carefully review the feedback and use it to make decisions about how to improve the app. In particular, they should prioritize the most important issues users are facing and resolve them quickly. 

Refine and Launch the app

After gathering and reviewing user feedback, businesses can will refine the app and conduct a second round of testing to ensure the app performs well and the improvements have enhanced the user experience. Once the refining and second round of testing is done, businesses can release the product to the market and run marketing campaigns to reach target customers. However, the business needs to closely monitor the performance of the eCommerce app and regularly collect feedback from customers while continuously improving to meet the ever-changing demand of users and maintain a competitive advantage in the market. 

3 Things To Keep In Mind 

Security

It is a top priority factor that businesses should put their minds to when building an eCommerce application. When users download, register an account, and start using the app, their private data such as login information, personal information, and payment information will be stored on the system. Therefore, businesses should comply with general regulations related to security issues and provide customer information as well as deploy secure payment gateways, and use SSL encryption or two-factor authentication to protect user data of the eCommerce app.

Stability

The stability and reliability of an eCommerce app are crucial for a business to provide an incredible user experience. Customers typically prefer apps that run smoothly without any bugs or errors. However, releasing a flawless eCommerce app without any bugs is unrealistic. Therefore, businesses need to conduct thorough testing to identify and fix any issues before launching, while also regularly maintaining and updating the app to improve its performance and prevent or correct any errors that may arise.

Scalability

This is the ability of an eCommerce app to handle increasing traffic, user volume, and shopping transactions without affecting the performance or functionality of the app. When getting started, businesses should predict the app’s future growth and place to build an app that is easily scalable when necessary. Moreover, businesses need to plan for the addition of advanced features to meet expansion needs.

In summary, security, stability, and scalability are three factors to consider when building an eCommerce app. By focusing on these three factors, businesses can provide customers with a safe, reliable, and scalable app that corresponds to the development of the business.

Above is the general process of 8 steps for building an eCommerce app with some important notes during the implementation. With years of experience implementing eCommerce for businesses from many countries, SECOMM understands the difficulties businesses will face when implementing eCommerce apps.

Contact us today for a free consultation.

According to Statista, by 2023, there will be approximately 6.9 billion smartphone users worldwide, which will lead to the emergence of mobile apps to enrich user experience. That is why many businesses find ways to build and develop mobile apps to interact with their customers. However, with many platforms and devices around, mobile app development can be a complex and costly process. There are two most popular types of mobile apps including Native Apps and Hybrid Apps.

Both apps have their own advantages and disadvantages, so businesses should consider their demand and resources to choose the right type of app.

Native App

What is Native app?

Native app is a type of mobile application that is developed specifically for a particular platform or operating system, such as iOS or Android. Native apps use different programming languages depending on the platform they are built on: Objective-C or Swift are the main programming languages for iOS, while Java or Kotlin are the main programming languages for Android. 

Advantages of Native App

• Performance: Native apps are designed to run directly on the device’s operating system, which means that they can fully leverage the device’s capabilities. Therefore, the app’s performance is faster and the user experience is smoother. 
• Access to device features: Native apps have full access to the hardware features of mobile devices such as the camera, GPS, contacts, microphone, etc. Developers can create mobile apps with advanced features and functionality that hybrid apps cannot help. 
• User experience: Because Native apps are optimized for specific platforms, they provide an intuitive and rich user experience. Users also can use native apps even when they are not connected to the Internet. 
• Security: The data security of Native apps is high because they are optimized for specific platforms, so developers must comply with certain principles for securing user data and information on each platform. 

Disadvantages of Native App

In addition to outstanding advantages, Native apps still have some limitations to be aware of:

• Separate codebase: This is a major disadvantage of Native apps because it requires a high level of skills and expertise in developing tools and programming languages for each platform. Moreover, the process of maintaining and updating the application version must be done separately for each codebase, leading to a lack of consistency on iOS but not on Android, or the app versions on Android are updated regularly while on iOS they are updated slower and vice versa. Because businesses have to create a separate version of the app for each platform, this can limit the app’s reach to many target customers. 
• Costly and time-consuming: Because native apps have a separate codebase for each platform, businesses will spend a lot of time and costs to develop, maintain, and update app versions. 

Native apps will be suitable for businesses that want to build mobile apps with high performance, diverse features, and a focus on user experience. However, this choice requires a lot of development and maintenance costs, as well as significant time and effort to be put in. 

Hybrid App

What is Hybrid app?

Hybrid app is a type of mobile application built using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and then packaged in a Native app container. This allows hybrid apps to run on multiple platforms or different operating systems, including iOS and Android. 

Frameworks for developing hybrid apps include React Native, Flutter, Xamarin, and Ionic. 

Advantages of Hybrid App

• Single Codebase: This is a major advantage of hybrid apps because developers can create an app that runs on multiple platforms with a single codebase instead of creating separate app versions for each platform like native apps. This helps businesses save a considerable amount of budget, for example, instead of finding developers specialized in both iOS and Android platforms to build a mobile app, they only need to find someone with expertise in hybrid apps. Additionally, since hybrid apps are built using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, developers can leverage existing web development skills and expertise to speed up the development process. 

• Time and cost savings: With a single codebase that runs on multiple platforms, businesses will develop hybrid apps faster and at a lower cost. Also, maintenance will be easier since update versions are made on a single codebase and applied simultaneously across all platforms.  

Disadvantages of Hybrid App

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, hybrid apps also have some drawbacks that businesses need to consider when building them. 

• Performance: Compared to native apps, hybrid apps have pooper performance and sometimes experience lag or stuttering during use. 
• Limited access to device features: Unlike native apps, hybrid apps have limited access to devise hardware features such as cameras, contacts, microphones, etc. This can significantly impact the user experience of the app. 
• User experience: Platforms such as iOS or Android have different rules and operating methods, so a design that is used across most hybrid apps may not be suitable for each platform’s operating rules. This can result in a poor and disjointed user experience. Additionally, users may not be able to use the apps without an Internet connection. 
• Security: Because hybrid apps are built using web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and are compatible with multiple platforms, they are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. 

Hybrid apps are a good choice for businesses that want to create a mobile app that works on multiple platforms and devices, with a faster development time and lower costs than native apps. However, hybrid apps still have many limitations in terms of performance, user experience, etc. Therefore, businesses should consider this before deciding to build a hybrid app.

Comparison Table

Facing the rapid development of mobile apps, quickly building a proprietary app is an urgent mission for every business. With the set of advantages and disadvantages summarized of the two most popular types of applications today: Native app and Hybrid app, the decision will depend on the purpose of each business. 

SECOMM has gained many years of experience implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, understanding the difficulties and challenges each business faces when deploying mobile applications. 

Contact us today to receive a free consultation.

According to data compiled by Forbes Advisor, global Mobile Commerce sales reached $415 billion in 2022 and are expected to reach $710 billion in 2025. 

In fact, Mobile Commerce dominates the eCommerce industry, accounting for about 73%, and the use of eCommerce app is growing faster than any other type of app on the market, with an annual growth rate of 54%. This shows that eCommerce app contribute significantly to sales on mobile devices and implementing mobile app is considered the right path for every business in the mobile commerce era. 

Boost Brand Awareness

Increasing brand awareness is one of the benefits that eCommerce app bring to businesses. Since most customers spend hours on mobile devices (e.g smartphones), it’s easier for brands to connect with them through eCommerce app. However, to fully leverage the other capabilities of mobile app, brands need to provide a rich and high-quality app experience. As Statista has noted, about 32%-34% of app users will uninstall if the app is difficult to use or has too many unwanted ads. 

Offer Personalized Shopping Experience

eCommerce websites help deliver personalized shopping experiences with algorithms and support tools but eCommerce apps enable businesses to offer personalized special incentives or promotional programs right in the app without having to access the websites via browsers on desktop or mobile. As a result, among various methods, business owners can combine push notifications, and instead of sending the same push notification to all app users, they can send personalized notifications based on user behavior. 

Increase Conversion Rates

As mentioned, customers tend to love and prioritize shopping on eCommerce mobile app instead of eCommerce mobile web. Therefore, the conversion rate of the mobile app will be higher than that of the mobile web. The graph below indicates the different conversion rates between the mobile app and mobile web. 

Mobile app users view products more than 286% and add items to the cart at a higher rate of 85% compared to mobile web users. Moreover, the graph shows that the conversion rate of mobile app is over 130% higher than that of the mobile web. Naturally, when the conversion rate increases, it will lead to an increase in sales revenue and profits.

Increase Average Order Value 

Building an eCommerce app not only boosts brand awareness, enhances customer experience, and improves conversion rate but also increases the average order value (AOV). This is the average dollar amount customers spend each time an order is placed on the app. 

Customers prefer shopping on eCommerce app because it’s convenient for them to browse through products and make purchases. Therefore, they have more opportunities to browse through a wider range of products. This enables businesses to apply cross-selling and upselling techniques, suggesting complementary products to encourage customers to make additional purchases. As a result, the increased AOV drives up revenue and profits. 

Reduce Cart Abandonment

Some data on cart abandonment has been reported by Ruby Garage:

One of the top reasons for that is the long and confusing checkout process. Mobile shopping app will help businesses reduce cart abandonment with the optimized checkout process. When customers buy products, relevant information will be stored in the app’s system, so they don’t have to re-enter their information but complete the purchase with a few taps. In addition, businesses can also shorten the checkout process to improve cart abandonment rates by integrating various payment methods into the shopping app. 

Improve Customer Retention and Loyalty

For every eCommerce business, increasing sales revenue is a valuable achievement. However, it’s crucial to point out how many regular customers contribute to this success. According to the Harvard Business Review, the cost of acquiring a new customer is more expensive than retaining and satisfying an existing one, ranging from 5-25 times higher. But, if the customer retention rate increases by just 5%, profits can increase from 5% to 95%. As a result, businesses need to put their minds to existing customers. 

There is a 50% chance that customers will return to a shopping app within 30 days of their last purchase. In other words, businesses can increase customer retention and loyalty with their mobile app in several ways, including

• Leveraging customer data to provide personalized shopping experiences;
• Using push notifications as a means of communicating with customers;
• Offering exclusive incentives to encourage users to download and use the app;
• Building a loyalty program to encourage people to return to the app, shop, and interact more to earn reward points.

With the incredible benefits of mobile app, businesses are increasingly motivated to quickly build their app to enrich the customer shopping experience while capturing the Mobile Commerce trend.

With years of experience in implementing eCommerce for many businesses in many countries, SECOMM understands the difficulties and obstacles in developing your mobile shopping app.

Contact us today for free advice.

The significant increase in the number of smartphone users has contributed to the rise of Mobile Commerce trends worldwide, including in Vietnam. It’s time for retailers to focus on supporting their customers in searching and shopping through mobile devices, in addition to eCommerce websites.

Many businesses across various sectors, from shopping, healthcare to food, have performed very well in this strategy by becoming pioneers in embracing Mobile Commerce trends in Vietnam. 

SHEIN

The SHEIN app is known as one of the most successful eCommerce apps in the world today, and now it has become the most downloaded mobile app in the shopping category in 2022 with 229 million downloads and installs from both Google Play and the App Store.

In the Vietnamese market, SHEIN is also highly rated by users for their shopping experience on the app. In the latest update, SHEIN added a discount program for some fashion items of up to 70%, as well as fixing some bugs and improving performance to provide users with a better experience. 

• Downloads: +100M
• Reviews: 4.5 ★ (Google Play), 4.4 ★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #4 in the Shopping category

Download the SHEIN app: Google Play | App Store

Uniqlo VN

When entering the Vietnamese market in 2019, Uniqlo quickly captured and responded to the local consumers’ fashion shopping trends, which made the brand very popular. The Uniqlo VN app stands out with many necessary functions for a consistent shopping experience between mobile devices and other channels. In order to attract more users, Uniqlo will offer a 150,000 VND discount voucher for anyone who downloads the app and signs up as a new member. 

Although the Uniqlo VN app is highly rated for user experience, the brand still keeps updating and improving its features. In the latest update, Uniqlo has improved the quality of product image display and adjusted the accurate display of the number of products available in-store.

• Downloads: +500K
• Reviews: 4.7 ★ (Google Play), 4.9 ★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #10 in the Shopping category

Download the Uniqlo VN app: Google Play | App Store

Hasaki

Hasaki not only has nationwide brick-and-mortar stores and an eCommerce website but also develops a mobile app to offer its customers enriched shopping experiences and attractive incentives. 

By using the Hasaki app, customers can conveniently search and purchase products anytime, anywhere, track their order status, and make appointments for spa and clinic services at the store. One thing that makes Hasaki special is the free delivery within 2 hours for all customers, whether shopping at the store, eCommerce website, or mobile app. Despite getting much critical feedback for usage quality, Hasaki is still very receptive, fixing bugs and optimizing performance in the recent updates.

• Downloads: +100K
• Reviews: 3.3 ★ (Google Play), 4.3 ★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #12 in the Shopping category

Download the Hasaki app: Google Play | App Store

Go! & Big C

After rebranding, the Big C supermarket chain has been renamed Go!. As a result, the mobile app of this business is now called Go! & Big C. Customers who shop on the app will enjoy many benefits, including:

• Free shipping for orders over 300,000 VND purchased on the mobile app;
• Daily promotions will be automatically updated;
• Create shopping lists directly on the app;
• Participate in weekly games to win coupons or vouchers;
• Track & accumulate points directly in the app.

The Go! & Big C app is regularly updated to improve the online shopping experience for customers. In the most recent update, the developer has improved the payment function, fixed bugs, optimized performance, and image display capabilities.

• Downloads: +1M
• Reviews: 2.8 ★ (Google Play), 2.4★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #13 in the Shopping category

Download the Go! & Big C: Google Play | App Store

Con Cung

Con Cung is one of the first childcare brands to develop its mobile app to provide customers with a consistent shopping experience across different channels, including physical stores, mobile apps, and eCommerce websites. 

The Con Cung app has received very positive reviews from users on both Google Play and App Store for user experience, product quality, and promotional programs. However, the brand still maintains the practice of testing and improving certain features such as displaying detailed driver’s information when customers place orders for the 1-hour delivery service and fixing bugs related to payment via eWallet.

• Downloads: +1M
• Reviews:  4.7 ★ (Google Play), 4.8 ★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #24 in the Shopping category

Download the Con Cung app: Google Play | App Store

Dien May Xanh

Dien May Xanh is a big player in the Vietnamese home appliance industry that has successfully captured the market trend and quickly developed a mobile app to reach the huge smartphone user base in Vietnam – approximately 69 million users. 

In addition to massive promotional programs on special occasions, Dien May Xanh also provides customers with discounted payment programs using various methods such as Buy Now Pay Later, QR Code, etc. All of these are carried out quickly and easily both on the website and the mobile app. 

• Download: +1M 
• Reviews: 4.0 ★ (Google Play), 2.3 ★ (App Store)
• Rankings: #31 in the Shopping category

Download the app: Google Play | App Store

LixiBox

The Vietnamese mobile commerce market has witnessed the entrance of another famous cosmetics retail brand, LixiBox. Similar to Hasaki, LixiBox also continuously updates its app to enhance the shopping experience of customers.

Moreover, the brand offers many special incentives to attract users such as a 20% discount for the first order placed on the app, a referral program where customers can receive 500,000 VND, a magazine section where users can update the latest beauty trends right on the app, and a LixiBox Feed section where customers can share their experiences on products and services.

• Downloads: +100K
• Reviews:  4.4 ★ (Google Play), 4.4 ★ (App Store)
• Ranking: #113 in the Shopping category

Download the LixiBox app: Google Play | App Store 

Long Chau

When the Long Chau mobile app was launched during the Covid epidemic, it quickly received support from customers everywhere because they could buy medicine and healthcare products online and have them delivered to their door, while also earning reward points for their next purchase. In addition, the app has a call and message feature that allows users to contact pharmacists online for free in-depth advice and support. Furthermore, Long Chau is the first pharmacy to pioneer the Buy Now Pay Later service with 0% interest, helping patients and customers find a new convenient way to make purchases. 

User experience is a particularly important factor that Long Chau focuses on, and the app regularly releases updates. These updates include optimizing the login function, improving the payment function, integrating payment via eWallet, synchronizing order status on the website and app, suggesting reordering, and more.

• Downloads: +1M 
• Reviews: 4.5 ★ (Google Play), 4.8 ★ (App Store)
• Ranking: #1 in the Medical category

Download the Long Chau app: Google Play | App Store

Pharmacity

Pharmacity is a mobile app developed by the convenient pharmacy chain – Pharmacity in 2018. Similar to Long Chau, the Pharmacity app was created to provide customers and patients with a convenient and fast shopping experience, along with online consultation services from a team of highly specialized pharmacists. 

In its latest update, Pharmacity has improved and added some features, including a gift program for first-time users who download the app and sign up as members.

• Downloads: +100K
• Reviews: 2.2 ★ (Google Play), 3.9 ★ (App Store)
• Ranking: #4 in the Medical category

Download the Pharmacity app: Google Play | App Store

The Coffee House

In 2021, the famous beverage brand The Coffee House officially launched its mobile app with the same name, aimed at providing customers with the experience of ordering drinks for delivery or picking up at the store, along with many reward point programs for attractive incentives.

After two years of development, the new version of The Coffee House app features a completely new interface and many special features designed to enhance the customer experience both on the app and at physical stores. 

• Downloads: +500K
• Reviews: 3.7 ★ (Google Play), 4.7 ★ (App Store)
• Ranking: #20 in the Cuisine category

Download the app: Google Play | App Store

​​Mobile eCommerce apps are one of the rising trends in mobile commerce. As a result, developing mobile shopping apps is the first smart move to achieve sustainable growth in the booming era of mobile commerce.

Contact SECOMM now for advice on how to implement and develop the best strategies to dominate the Mobile Commerce market.

The global pandemic has created an unprecedented boost for the eCommerce industry, forcing business leaders to go for digital transformation whether they want to or not. However, there are still many businesses that are hesitant and encounter difficulties while embracing it.

In addition to selecting an eCommerce platform and building a website, they can leverage incredible marketing channels to develop an eCommerce marketing strategy.

What is eCommerce Marketing?

eCommerce Marketing, also known as Electronic Commerce Marketing, is the practice of using various marketing channels such as social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, or email marketing to increase the efficiency of eCommerce operations. To be more specific, eCommerce Marketing does the following:

• Directs traffic to an eCommerce website;
• Helps a brand appear in front of the target audience;
• Makes it easy for people searching for products the company  sells and to discover the company’s website;
• Converts website visitors into new potential customers;
• Encourage existing customers to make repeat purchases;
• Enhances the post-purchase shopping experience to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. 
• Drive more frequent and larger orders at the eCommerce website.

The purpose of eCommerce Marketing is to enhance brand awareness and boost sales. Therefore, if a business doesn’t have an eCommerce Marketing strategy, then it’s really hard for their eCommerce website to generate conversion despite the beautiful interface and well-built functional system.

Most popular eCommerce Marketing Channels

Social Media Marketing

Currently, most brands and content creators take advantage of the popularity of social media as the first step for connecting and serving their target audience with content that interests them. eCommerce businesses can do the same by using engaging content and images to grab the audience’s attention and direct traffic to their website.

In this case, the eCommerce website interface must have a high level of visual appeal, especially showcasing prominent products to create inspirational shopping. Moreover, businesses can implement social commerce to directly sell products on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and so forth.

Content Marketing

This is an effective marketing channel that brings long-term results for eCommerce businesses as well as a sustainable branding tool for their brands. Currently, various types of content are widely used, including

• Blogs;
• Videos;
• Podcasts;
• Educational content;
• User-generated content, such as images, videos, forum discussions, testimonials, etc.

The goal of content marketing is to answer questions, provide information, promote the brand, suggest and guide customers in choosing products, and even entertain them. With optimized content, customers will quickly find out the website and the business can increase the conversion rate. Moreover, the business can leverage that content for the next eCommerce marketing campaigns.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM includes both Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and paid advertising. While SEO requires marketers to understand Google’s ranking algorithm to optimize their content to meet Google’s evaluation criteria, SEM relies on various campaigns such as pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, display campaigns, or product advertising campaigns like Google Shopping Ads. 

On Google, PPC campaigns ensure that potential customers will see the link leading to the brand’s website when they enter search terms that match the selected campaign keywords. That is the reason why eCommerce businesses frequently utilize Google Adwords and run PPC campaigns to advertise their product pages.

This way enhances the chances of searchers clicking on the link and making a purchase decision before leaving the eCommerce website, leading to a notable increase in conversion rates.

Influencer Marketing

A reliable influencer can be a brand’s ‘best friend’. The introduction or endorsement of an influencer can help businesses quickly increase sales, optimize marketing ROI, and raise brand awareness. In addition, Influencer Marketing leverages the trust in an individual’s persuasive abilities and self-confidence to influence and encourage their followers to make purchasing decisions.

Influencer marketing is a highly effective eCommerce marketing channel in that eCommerce brands are more likely to continually find ways to collaborate with influential individuals to drive recognition and emotional shopping for specific products or services

Email Marketing

This is one of the oldest categories of Digital Marketing. Today, in the eCommerce world, email marketing still plays a very special role that enables businesses to automate campaigns toward targeting subscribers from different segments or stages in the customer journey

However, businesses should be careful in selecting and categorizing the target groups in their email list, to send the right content to the right target audience. This way, businesses can maintain the trust of potential customers at a time when privacy and personal data security have become increasingly important to Internet users.

Therefore, they should be cautious in building their email list if email marketing is a part of their eCommerce marketing strategy.   

With all things considered, if there is no eCommerce Marketing, eCommerce websites are virtually unknown. The only way for a website to gain brand recognition, attract more online customers, and generate consistent and regular revenue is to effectively implement target marketing activities. 

With a wealth of experience successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in various countries in recent years, SECOMM understands the difficulties and obstacles businesses face when undertaking tasks related to eCommerce marketing strategy. 

Contact SECOMM today to receive free support and consultation.

According to the latest data compiled by Statista, as of January 2023, the number of global smartphone users is 6.92B people, increasing by 4.2% annually. In Vietnam alone, this number is around 69 million users, whereas, in the US, Pew Research Center estimates that about three-fourths of Americans own a smartphone. These data demonstrate that smartphones have become common devices, and the demand for owning and using smartphones is significantly increasing. 

In addition, the Internet has long ceased to be a high-end infrastructure for countries. Therefore, people today tend to prioritize using mobile devices like smartphones to browse the web. 

Typically, Brands tend to establish a strong presence in areas with a wide pool of potential customers, so the emergence of Mobile Commerce quickly gained acceptance and became one of the key business strategies of many enterprises. 

Moreover, the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 became a great boost for eCommerce in general and Mobile Commerce, in particular, to explode strongly.

During that period, the smartphone became the shopping companion of users as 79% of users used their smartphones or other mobile devices to shop online, as reported by OuterBox. Despite the eventual end of the pandemic, the Mobile Commerce growth trend is projected to continue as mCommerce retail sales hit $415 billion in 2022, and are predicted to reach $710 billion by 2025.

What is Mobile Commerce?

Mobile Commerce or Mobile eCommerce, abbreviated as m-commerce or mCommerce, is also known as Thương Mại Di Động in Vietnamese. This term was first coined and used by Kevin Duffey at the Global Mobile Commerce Forum in 1997, which means “providing direct eCommerce capabilities to consumers, anywhere, through wireless technology”. 

Simply put, it is a business model in which all online monetary transactions are conducted on mobile devices such as shopping, banking, eWallet transactions, ride-hailing, food delivery, hotel reservations, etc.

mCommerce vs eCommerce 

eCommerce or electronic commerce is a relatively broad concept that refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. Meanwhile, Mobile Commerce is a branch of eCommerce or the mobile version of eCommerce, specifically referring to electronic commerce transactions carried out on mobile devices.

Furthermore, the eCommerce shopping experience depends heavily on desktops and websites, making it less mobile-friendly and inconvenient for customers. On the other hand, with Mobile Commerce, customers can easily bring their devices with them anywhere, allowing businesses to provide personalized shopping experiences that help customers make quick purchasing decisions.

Top Mobile Commerce Trends Are On The Rise

Thanks to the popularity of smartphones in every consumer’s life, related trends are on the rise such as mobile shopping, mobile payment, and social commerce.

Mobile Shopping Apps

Mobile shopping apps are becoming more and more popular and are the most prominent trend in mobile commerce. Many retail brands across various industries are investing in building and developing their own eCommerce apps such as the fashion industry, the cosmetic industry, and so forth. This not only helps businesses increase their conversion rates and sales but also makes the shopping experience easier and more convenient for customers, as they will be able to search for products and complete purchases right on the app.

In addition, the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and the establishment of social distancing measures in 2020 marked the beginning of the boom of shopping apps. As stated by the Mobile Shopping Report 2021, global usage of shopping apps increased by 40% in Q1 2021. 

In the effort to develop sustainably amidst the pandemic crisis, the SHEIN app with nearly 15.5 million global users played a significant role in contributing to the company revenue of $9.81 billion in 2020.

As of 2021, SHEIN’s mobile app reached 43.7 million users and became the second most downloaded app in the world after Shopee. In 2022, SHEIN’s user base grew to 74.7 million and officially became the most downloaded mobile app globally in the shopping category with over 229 million downloads and installations from the App Store and Google Play

Mobile Payment Apps

The usefulness of smartphones not only lies in online shopping but also makes transactions and payments more convenient and easy during the peak period of the pandemic. In addition to Mobile Banking applications, users have a special preference for mobile wallet or eWallet applications.

In the Vietnamese market, when it comes to eWallets, people immediately think of MoMo. However, MoMo is not only known as a typical eWallet but also an incredible super application.

To date, MoMo has built a platform that provides about 400 different types of services in many fields such as consumer finance, insurance, money transfer, payment, entertainment, shopping, dining services, and charity donations, etc. The number of MoMo users has increased significantly in recent years, from 10 million users in 2019 to about 31 million users in 2022, and the company’s next target is at least 50 million users.

• Related Reading: Top 5 Prominent eCommerce Super Apps in The Vietnamese Market

Social Commerce

In addition to making their mobile shopping apps, selling on social media platforms is also one of the widely applied strategies. The popularity and large user base of social media are a solid foundation for the development of Social Commerce and a playground for merchants of all sizes. Social Commerce is a form of online selling through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

Selling on social media will help brands reach the existing large user base and utilize influencers for their marketing campaigns. 

For example, the vegan cosmetics brand Cocoon does this through TikTok Shop. Cocoon is known for its environmentally friendly and animal-testing-free products, and they opened a store on TikTok and collaborated with famous beauty vlogger Ha Linh, which brought them a lot of success. It not only boosted their sales but also reached nature-loving, animal-loving, and young customers on TikTok.

• Related Reading: Everything To Know About TikTok Shop
  

Benefits of Using Mobile Commerce

Convenience and Accessibility

As mentioned, the global number of smartphone users is estimated to reach around 6.9 billion by 2023, which is a driving force for the development of Mobile Commerce. Anyone who owns a smartphone has the potential to become a customer. As a result, implementing Mobile Commerce will help businesses reach this enormous user base, nurture and generate conversions. 

In addition, with the mobility of Mobile Commerce, smartphone users with internet access can shop anytime, anywhere, even on the go without being dependent on a fixed location. Especially when visiting a store to shop, instead of paying in cash or by card, customers can now pay through eWallets such as MoMo or VNPay, etc.

Offer Personalized Experience

Currently, businesses are very focused on personalized customer experience, which is particularly important in the Mobile Commerce world. A smartphone is a personal item that each person carries out personal activities throughout the day. Moreover, in the online shopping trend, customers highly value brands that provide them with a personalized experience because it demonstrates the brand’s concern for its customers. As a result, the more businesses focus on details and personalization in their messages and promotional programs, the better. 

For Mobile Commerce, push notifications are an effective solution. Mobile Commerce apps help businesses track and collect user data including personal information, social media accounts, interests, current location, purchase history, viewed products, etc. After that, they can combine and analyze the data to send appropriate messages to the right target audience through push notifications.

Recent studies have shown the effectiveness of push notifications in connecting with customers and notifying them about new products and special incentives. 

• The open rate of push notifications is 90%.
• This open rate is 50% higher than email marketing.
• Up to 55%-60% of mobile app users agree to receive push notifications.
• 70% of them find push notifications useful.
• 52% of users search for related information and promotional programs after receiving and reading push notifications.

Push notifications are one of the strategies implemented to provide personalized shopping experiences and bring satisfaction to customers. The more satisfied customers are with their shopping experiences, the higher the likelihood that businesses will increase customer retention rates and maintain their loyalty. 

Provide Omnichannel Shopping Experience

The demand for a personalized shopping experience is increasing among customers, as well as the need for a consistent shopping experience across multiple channels, from online to offline stores. According to a study by MasterCard, customers who have a multi-channel shopping experience with a specific retailer tend to spend 250% more than the average. The fashion brand Macy’s has stated that the value of multi-channel shoppers is 8 times higher than that of those who only shop on a single channel.

Moreover, smartphone users tend to use their devices while shopping in offline stores for various purposes, as Retail Dive‘s survey has listed in detail: 

• 58% search for product information;
• 54% compare prices;
• 40% collect vouchers or coupons;
• 33% access the mobile app of the business;
• 22% scan QR codes.

Therefore, by implementing Mobile Commerce, businesses can provide customers with a multi-channel shopping experience.

Mobile Commerce is exploding thanks to the boost from the Covid pandemic. Even though the pandemic has passed, the impact of Mobile Commerce on the development of eCommerce businesses is still significant. If businesses plan to approach Mobile Commerce in 2023, it is a wise decision.

Contact SECOMM today to learn more about Mobile Commerce and the best solutions to get started. 

Retails has miraculously recovered from the global pandemic and is expected to make a breakthrough in the years ahead. One of the ways to embrace eCommerce is the O2O model, which combines online and offline operations. 

The benefits of implementing O2O Commerce

Increase Brand Awareness

One of the big challenges of physical stores is how to raise brand awareness among potential customers who are far from the store location. Using online-to-offline marketing strategies can increase the public’s awareness of a business’s brand. That way, businesses will be able to reach an influx of customers and boost their awareness of the brand and its products which then lead to higher sales volume and massive revenue.

Boost Sales

Despite the rapid development of eCommerce, brick-and-mortar stores still maintain stable sales because many customers still prioritize visiting stores to shop. A recent study indicates 46% of responders said they preferred shopping at a brick-and-mortar store because they want to touch, feel and try the products physically before making purchases. Another interesting fact is customers are likely to spend more money while in the store.

For example, a man comes to a bookstore to buy a notebook, then he looks around and decides to buy some more pens. In case he buys the notebook online, he may only buy it. Thus, the O2O Commerce model is a good choice as businesses can not only use online channels to raise brand awareness but also overcome the limitations of offline channels to earn massive revenue.

Enhance Customer Experience

The incredible combination of online and offline channels makes the customer shopping experience more seamless and interesting. Online platforms enable consumers to contact brands easily and immediately. When they want to ask for a product’s details, they can send a message through Facebook Messenger or a chatbot on an eCommerce website and the supporting team will answer their questions instantly.

Based on the customer’s data, businesses can offer product recommendations via online channels or the next time customers visit physical stores. In another case, if businesses run ad campaigns, they can notify their customers via online channels, which will help them to reach a larger audience with their online ad campaigns instead of just informing customers when they walk into the store.

Common strategies in O2O Commerce

BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-Up In-Store)

BOPIS is not a brand-new way to shop but has been around for a while. Merchants that provide this service can attract online shoppers to visit their brick-and-mortar stores. This way, customers will browse the eCommerce website to search for products, buy them and get notifications when the products are ready to pick up in the physical store. It’s convenient for customers to select a specific time to come to check and get their orders at the store. Merchants gain benefits too with amazing cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

Home Delivery

Although BOPIS is great, it may not be every customer’s choice as not everyone likes to go to the store to pick up the products, instead people prefer home delivery rather than the in-store pick-up option. Sometimes, shopping at the store also causes many inconveniences, for example, finding a parking lot to go to the store in a densely populated area, picking up the goods, and returning to the car, seems time-consuming and annoying for busy people.

To solve this problem, merchants can self-deliver if the store location is close enough and convenient for the delivery process to be fast and efficient. Otherwise, collaborating with delivery companies like Giao Hang Nhanh, Giao Hang Tiet Kiem, and so forth, is a good choice when the business resources need to be increased.

In-store Returns

Suppose a customer bought a product online but when receiving it, he realized it didn’t fit his demand. There was a store nearby, so he decided to return the product he bought there. But when he arrived, the staff there didn’t accept his return request because they had no clues of that purchase in the store’s system.

Therefore, he had to return his order to the carrier and wait a long time before receiving his refund. That will make consumers wonder whether they should keep shopping with that merchant next time. Thus, in-store return has become a fantastic offerable solution for customers to avoid the hassle of returning goods. This method simplifies the return process for shoppers and merchants because returns and refunds are processed simultaneously, which means better customer service and a much faster return to stock.

Loyalty Program

Loyalty Program is another great way to encourage customers to engage with the O2O shopping experience. 

Reward Points

This is one of the popular types of loyalty programs. Every business can assign points to any items or user activities. While purchasing or joining any engaging program, customers will easily earn points afterward for later exchanging gift cards, vouchers, and even actual money which then encourages them to go back to spend more in order to get benefits from the gifts. As a result, reward points will boost sales and increase brand loyalty. 

Gift Cards/Gift Voucher

Gift cards can be used not just as gifting options but also as a powerful tool to get customers to spend in their outlet. Customers can use gift cards immediately or save for later purchases, or even give it to relatives and friends. As a result, relatives and friends are likely to become potential customers of the brand soon.

How to implement O2O Commerce in business

Identify Objectives

The first thing to do is identify the main objectives. If businesses haven’t built their online presence, they should do it immediately due to the rise of online shopping. If businesses already have their online presence (eCommerce website, mobile app, marketplace), it’s important to adjust their O2O Commerce strategy to increase sales online, offline, or both. They should also consider using some measurable metrics to ensure these objectives are appropriate and achievable.

Brainstorm Strategies

Next is working with a team to raise ideas for the O2O Commerce strategy. Here are a few suggestions:

• Use performance analysis software to find out customer challenges in the purchasing process.
• Use social media to connect the brand’s eCommerce store to its physical store.
• Implement the BOPIS process.
• Provide home delivery for some or all items for both online and in-store purchases.

Then use these data to decide which strategies to try.

Measure Outcomes

Once deciding on strategies to deploy O2O Commerce, businesses will use collected data to measure the success of those strategies and make the next business decisions. Looking back on the initial objectives when evaluating and adjusting the O2O marketing and business strategy, then considering the additional objectives if the original ones have been achieved.

O2O Commerce solution at SECOMM

Founded in 2014, SECOMM is specialized in providing O2O Commerce solutions. Over the years, SECOMM owns a massive fortune of O2O commercial projects with major domestic and international customers such as, Annam Gourmet, Trentham Estate, etc.

In particular, SECOMM provides a variety of services to support businesses to improve their competitiveness and dominate the retail market in the digital age including Solution Consulting, Core-team Building, and O2O System Development, including: 

Business System

• eCommerce system: websites, mobile apps
• POS system

Administration System

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Product Information Management (PIM)

Customer Experience Management System

• Mobile Apps
• Loyalty Program
• Omnichannel Commerce

Data system

• Analyzing and Tracking business data 
• Business Intelligence 

Want to learn more about O2O Commerce as well as the best solutions to win the retail industry? Contact SECOMM now for a free consultation.

Despite the significant impact of Covid-19, the fashion industry is still on a roll, with the potential to reach $1 trillion globally by 2025 (according to Statista) thanks to eCommerce.

According to the IDEA 2022 research, the fashion eCommerce business in Vietnam is a highly competitive area, with up to 69 consumers using the eCommerce channel for every 100 fashion shoppers.

With the high potential of this commerce business, developing an eCommerce website is a must for success, necessitating the search for a platform on which to build a specialised eCommerce website for the fashion industry.

Businesses can use the following platforms to deploy fashion websites: Big Cartel, Haravan, Shopify, Woocommerce, and Magento.

Characteristics of fashion eCommerce 

Eye-catching UI/UX design

UI/UX is a criterion that businesses frequently establish when creating an eCommerce website in order to develop a comfortable interface for a group of users who are passionate about fashion and maximise the capacity to engage with customers.

Comprehensive functional system

To meet the eCommerce business demands of fashion enterprises, organizations require a comprehensive functional system ranging from basic to complex, which includes:

• Catalog Management: Manage properties, pricing systems, inventory, photos, and videos to keep them running
• Content Management: Content development for CMS pages, image hosting, theme customization, and website design
• Customer Management: Control information, behavior, and consumption habits to build strategies for each specific customer group
• Sales Management: Set up and operate sales, order, payment, and shipping processes
• Marketing Management: Implement and optimize programs to attract potential customers with built-in support tools
• System Management: Seamless supply chain response with shipping navigation and automation management tools
• Store Management: Navigate and maintain your eCommerce business from online to offline
• Cart & Checkout: Manage shopping carts and process the next payment steps for customers
• Analytics and Reports: Monitor and measure eCommerce performance to give detailed reports to improve business efficiency

• Omnichannel sales allows business to follow customers across all channels, including eCommerce platforms, social networks, and social commerce websites.
• Multi-layer menu displaying a range of product categories
• Experiment using a variety of marketing strategies: Loyalty programmes, livestreaming, shopper entertainment, and affiliate marketing all assist to broaden methods of reaching out to potential consumers.
• Huge traffic to deal with enormous traffic volumes during “selling seasons”

Integration with a range of third-party services

To provide clients with a comprehensive shopping experience, fashion enterprises may frequently combine a number of payment options, shipping services, management software, and business analysis tools to enhance the e-commerce business system.

Numerous common payment options available today must be integrated into the website, including:

• Card payment: Domestic card, VISA, Mastercard, etc
  E-wallets: MOMO, Zalopay, etc
  Payment gateway: OnePay, VNPay, PayPal, etc
  COD (Cash on Delivery)

Possibility to expand in the future

Often, firms at the start of a fashion business will not focus on the capacity to develop eCommerce websites in the future since platforms that enable this function are typically scarce. But, in terms of strategy, investing in a platform that supports this function can help organisations gain a competitive advantage over competitors in the market.

Top 5 fashion eCommerce platforms to build website 

Haravan

Haravan is a well-known SaaS eCommerce platform in the Vietnamese industry, offering a variety of options for both enterprises and individuals. Haravan is used by a variety of websites, including Juno, Biti’s, Maison, and others.

Platform review

Pro:

• A repository of readily available and diversified interfaces for the fashion industry
• A diverse feature, ranging from basic to complex, for starting an e-commerce business

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system
• The system of specific functions for the fashion sector is still limited
• Only integrated with services/utilities located in Haravan’s ecosystem
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Haravan to expand the website in the future

→ Rating: 2/4

Haravan is suitable for start-up furniture businesses or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) with operations mainly in Vietnam.

Pricing

Haravan is considered to have a reasonably low and diverse eCommerce website implementation cost for various businesses:

• Standard: 200.000 VND/month for personal sellers
• Pro: 600.000 VND/month for businesses that want to deploy Omnichannel
• Grow: 1.500.000 VND/month with the advantage of automating programs to take care and resell customers
• Scale: 3.000.000 VND/month for building loyal customers

Tuy nhiên, doanh nghiệp nên suy xét khi sử dụng Haravan trong dài hạn vì chi phí giấy phép sử dụng và các tiện ích mở rộng sẽ ngày càng tăng theo thời gian sử dụng. 

Deployment time

However, businesses should consider when using Haravan in the long term because the cost of licenses and extensions will increase over time.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS ecommerce platform favored by the international ecommerce business community because of its fast implementation time and reasonable starting cost.

Platform review

Pro:

• Having a large selection of templates ideal for the fashion industry
• Functional system from basic to advanced, supporting eCommerce business

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the fashion sector is still limited.
• More third-party services than Haravan, although still only integrated with services available in Shopify’s app store.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Shopify to expand the website in the future

→ Rating: 2/4

Shopify is considered suitable for start-ups or SMEs with global operations.

Pricing

Starting an eCommerce business using Shopify is quite inexpensive at beginning, with several options:

• Basic Shopify: $29/month appropriate for start-ups with limited sales volume
• Shopify: $79/month suitable for growing internet companies
• Advanced Shopify: $299/month ideal for growing enterprises that require comprehensive reporting and analytical capabilities
• Shopify Lite: $9/month perfect for companies who wish to add sales and payment buttons to their current website or blog.
• Shopify Plus: $2000/month provides advanced eCommerce solutions for large businesses that need to process large volumes of orders

Nevertheless, the long-term cost of utilising Shopify will rise owing to rising costs for extensions, yearly usage fees, and % per transaction on the system.

Deployment time

The typical time to develop an e-commerce website is 1-7 days or more, depending on the system’s complexity.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel is a platform that assists in the creation of specialised eCommerce websites for the fashion industry or for art goods such as ceramics, paintings, and photographs. Big Cartel is used by several websites such as Atakontu, Indikidual, and others.

Platform review

Pro:

• Wide variety of themes for the arts, including the fashion industry
• Comprehensive functional system: basic, advanced, specific

Cons:

• Only services accessible in Big Cartel’s app store are incorporated.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, future expansion of the website will be tough to plan.

→ Rating: 2.5/4

Big Cartel will be appropriate for startups, SMEs, or new e-commerce participants that need to handle the complicated “issue” of fashion eCommerce.

Pricing

Website setup expenses are modest, with few possibilities for solution packages such as Haravan or Shopify:

• Package 1: Free for businesses that need to experience
• Package 2: $9.99/month suitable for businesses with a limit of 50 products
• Package 3: $19.99/month suitable for businesses with a limit of 500 products

Deployment time

Big Cartel allows you to develop a fashion e-commerce website in as little as 1-2 weeks, depending on the system’s complexity.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open source platform, as a WordPress plug-in introduced in 2011 and allows businesses to use completely free. Popular websites using WooCommerce in Vietnam include Hai Trieu, Orchard, etc.

Platform review

Pro:

• There are several free and paid themes for the fashion industry available from the WordPress and WooCommerce community that are simple to adapt or develop.
• eCommerce functional system ranging from basic to sophisticated
• Simple connection with a wide range of third-party services
• Businesses may plan to extend their website in the future because it is a source code platform

Cons:

• The functional system is still restricted in terms of fashion-specific elements.
• Scalability is not very great in comparison to other open source systems like as Open Cart, Magento, and others.

→ Rating: 3/4

WooCommerce is suitable for fashion businesses who are used to WordPress before and are in need of developing an eCommerce system.

Pricing

Because it is an open source platform, fashion firms can use it for free; nevertheless, businesses must pay development costs while utilising the platform, such as:

• Domain: $15/year
• Hosting: $120/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $1,000 – $3,000 depending on the complexity of the system
• Extensions: $10/utilities
• Website maintenance and upgrade costs: $200/year, depending on the cooperation unit

Deployment time

An eCommerce website will take longer to create than the previous three platforms since it must be constructed from the ground up, which will take at least 1-3 months.

Magento

Magento is an open source platform with 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free) and Magento Commerce (paid). Some websites are using Magento such as Canifa, Hoang Phuc International, OnOff, etc.

Platform review

Pro:

• Numerous fashion-specific themes are available from the worldwide developer community, marketplace, and Magento website developers, allowing businesses to use current themes or quickly alter them to meet their unique needs. Create your own user interface.
• Complete functional system: fundamental, advanced, and specific
• Simple connection with a wide range of third-party services
• Excellent scalability: multi-language, currency, and easy feature development in the future

Cons:

• There is no theme repository from Magento to support businesses

→ Rating: 4/4

Magento is appropriate for a wide range of fashion business types, including B2B, B2C, and B2B2C, as well as a wide range of business sizes, including startups, SMEs, and huge corporations. Nevertheless, because the cost of deploying Magento is sometimes very high, Magento is favoured by major organisations.

Pricing

Magento Open Source, like WooCommerce, is an open source platform, therefore it is free to use; nonetheless, businesses must consider the following costs:

• Domain: $15/year
• Hosting: $120/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $1.800 – $10.000 depending on the complexity of the system
• Extensions: $60 – $600/utilities
• Website maintenance and upgrade costs: $200/year, depending on the partner

Businesses will be working directly with Magento’s development team for Magento Commerce, thus they will have to pay licence fees as well as certain additional charges such as:

• Licenses: $22.000 – $125.000/year
• Domain: $15 – $400/year
• Hosting: $500 – $6.500/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $10.000+
• Extensions: $60 – $600/utilities

Deployment time

A complete Magento project typically requires 3 to 6 months of deployment time, with some projects requiring up to a year. The reason for this is the complicated functioning structure and the lack of Magento experts.

Summary

In the world of eCommerce, customer loyalty plays an important role in the success of businesses amidst fierce competition. There are many ways to build and maintain customer loyalty, but one of the most prominent is to enhance the customer experience through loyalty programs. 

The Importance of Customer Loyalty for eCommerce Businesses

Sometimes businesses focus too much on finding new customers and forget the value of their existing customers. The following statistics show how valuable it is to maintain customer loyalty:

• The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60%-70%, whereas, the probability of getting a prospective customer to buy products from you for the first time is only 5% to 20%. 
• 65% of sales come from existing customers.
• Compared to new and prospective customers, existing customers are 50% more likely to try out new products.
• 80% of future profits will come from just 20% of your existing customers. 
• Loyal customers spend an average of 31% more than new customers.
• 32% of executives worldwide said customer retention is their top priority.
• Increasing customer retention by even 2% has the same impact on profitability as cutting costs by 10%.
• 75% of loyal customers will recommend the brand to friends and family.

Existing customers are the best customers and the most valuable asset of an eCommerce business. These customers contribute greatly to the business profit and help businesses save time and money to acquire new customers.

What affects Customer Loyalty?

89% of eCommerce businesses around the world agree that the customer shopping experience affects customer retention. A high customer retention rate indicates that customers are happy and satisfied which leads to increased loyalty and repeated purchases.

Retaining customers plays an important role in eCommerce businesses because the cost of attracting new customers is five times higher than maintaining existing ones. Moreover, increasing customer retention by even 5% can increase business profits by up to 95%. This is because satisfied customers are likely to refer the brand to others.

Therefore, businesses need to focus their time, money, and energy on enriching the customer experience, persuading them to come back to shop more often, and recommending the brand to friends and family.

Among the various strategies for maintaining customer loyalty, Loyalty Program is one of the most effective factors for eCommerce success.

What is an eCommerce Loyalty Program?

A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the service of a business associated with the program. Simply put, eCommerce businesses build loyalty programs to reward customers for their purchases and engagement for a long time.

The reward can be any free product, discount code, or special offer to represent the appreciation of the business for its customers, who tend to spend more because of the benefits they receive when participating in loyalty programs.

According to Yotpo, nearly 68% of customers said they would be willing to join the loyalty program and special incentives motivates them to buy more products.

Loyalty programs not only enrich the shopping experience and keep customers engaged with the brand but also from a business perspective, the benefits they bring to eCommerce businesses exceed the initial expectation. 

The Benefits of Using eCommerce Loyalty Programs

Increase Customer Retention

The development of eCommerce helps customers shop more conveniently. That means their expectations for the shopping experience are higher. Today’s customers make their purchasing decisions not only based on price but also other factors such as service experience or emotional connection with the brand, etc.

According to HuffPost, 66% of customers tend to switch brands for shopping if the service is not good enough. Loyalty programs help enhance the shopping experience. The more shopping satisfaction, the more customer retention and loyalty. 

Increase Customer Lifetime Value

Customer Lifetime Value or CLV is a key metric that indicates the total revenue an eCommerce business can reasonably expect from a single customer account throughout the business relationship. Most business owners will always find ways to increase the CLV index in order to maximize their profit.

According to Harvard Business Review, the cost of acquiring a new customer is more expensive, ranging from 5 to 25 times, compared to retaining an existing customer. As a result, high lifetime value customers become priceless assets for a business, as their purchases will not require acquisition costs. In other words, a business doesn’t have to incur acquisition costs for loyal customers. 

On the other hand, the business has to spend acquisition costs to convince potential customers to buy its products. Thus, even if a new customer spends the same amount on a product as an existing customer, it may not bring in equivalent profits because of acquisition costs. 

Encourage Brand Advocates

In most cases, existing customers are also the most incredible advocates. When customers are satisfied with the shopping experience, they are more likely to share it with their family, friends, or colleagues, and the business will gain more potential customers naturally. 

Compared to brand messages, recommendations from existing customers are even more effective. According to Nielsen, 77% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know more than any other source. As a result, before making a purchase, they will seek advice from people they trust. Plus, 64% of marketing experts believe that word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing. 

With the development of the Internet and social media platforms, recommendations from existing customers come in various ways, including posts, comments on social media or review videos, etc. This helps reduce acquisition costs so that every eCommerce business needs to focus on enhancing their existing customer shopping experience and new customers will end up rolling in for free. 

Types of eCommerce Loyalty Programs

Point-based Loyalty Programs

This is one of the most popular eCommerce loyalty programs since it is easy to set up and manage. By joining this type of program, customers can earn reward points after each purchase. They can then redeem their accumulated points for rewards such as gifts, discount codes, and other special offers. They also can earn reward points in many other ways besides making purchases, such as sharing product pages on social media, writing product reviews, completing surveys, filling out personal profiles, and so forth. 

Although this type of program is relatively simple to implement, businesses still need to ensure that the points customers earn have enough value to encourage them to continue shopping. Plus,  the time it takes to redeem points for rewards should be short enough because if customers have to wait for several months or even years to redeem points for a valuable reward, the attractiveness of the points-based program will decrease.

SHEIN, a popular fashion brand founded in 2008, has created a great SHEIN Bonus Point Program reward system on its mobile app. This program allows customers to earn points by registering an account, making purchases, reviewing products, and participating in special online events held by the brand. 

Each activity equals a specific reward point. Then, customers can use their reward points to receive discounts ranging from 15% to 25%, and even up to 70% for their next purchase. Additionally, reward points can also be used to exchange vouchers or other special offers when customers participate in SHEIN events or play games on the mobile app.

Tier-based Loyalty Programs

Another popular loyalty program is the tiered-based one. It encourages customers to strive to move up higher tiers to receive more valuable benefits and rewards. The more customers spend on shopping, the more benefits they receive. 

This program helps to foster customer loyalty to the brand. To maintain or move up in rank, customers have invested a lot of time and money, and they will not easily give up the huge benefits they are receiving to participate in another brand’s loyalty program.

The famous shoe brand Aldo, with over 1,000 stores in 65 countries, focused on 3 main markets – the US, the UK, and Canada – when building their loyalty program. Known as Aldo Crew, the program offers customers three levels of membership: Crew, Plus, and VIP. All customers are initially enrolled as Crew level members. To advance to the Plus or VIP levels, customers must spend between $150-299/month for the Plus level and over $300/month for the VIP level. Depending on the level, each customer receives corresponding rewards, and VIP-level customers receive all the special perks offered by the Aldo Crew program.

Subscription-based Loyalty Programs

eCommerce loyalty programs are very attractive because, from the customer’s perspective, they get benefits for free. However, in reality, customers have to make a purchase or perform a specific action to earn those “free” benefits. 

Many world-renowned brands have created incentive programs based on subscriptions to provide incredible services and charge customers for participation. Amazon Prime, eBay Plus, and Walmart+ are some examples.

To participate and receive truly valuable benefits, customers are required to pay a fee. Since customers have to pay a fee, their commitment to engaging with the brand is also higher than in other loyalty programs. Also, because businesses charge customers when they register as members, this loyalty program type usually has a trial period for businesses to convince customers that the benefits they receive are worth the money they spend.

In 2020, the famous American retail chain Walmart launched a subscription-based loyalty program called Walmart+. The program is integrated into the Walmart app and offers many special benefits to customers both in-store and online, including:

• Free delivery and same-day pickup
• Free delivery with no minimum order value
• The same prices for products purchased online and in-store
• Scheduling delivery options
• 10-cent discount on gasoline at over 14,000 Walmart branches
• Scan-and-go checkout option
• Special member-only deals and promotions during holidays and events, etc.

To join the program and enjoy these benefits, customers have to sign up and pay a specific membership fee of $12.95/month or $98/year. Customers can try the program for 30 days before committing to a membership. 

The loyalty program strategy plays an important role in customer experience which leads to their loyalty to the brand. The success of SHEIN, Aldo, and Walmart has become an inspiration for other eCommerce businesses to jump into the game. 

To learn more and develop the best loyalty program strategy, contact SECOMM now for a free consultation.

Along with the development of technologies, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been around to satisfy the demand for online interaction for over two decades. However, the change in consumer behavior makes TikTok the new favorite. 

By the end of 2022, TikTok was reported to reach 1B users globally, becoming the fastest-growing social platform ever. Having a large user base amid the rise of online shopping is an advantage, which contributes to TikTok’s ongoing transition into a Social Commerce platform. 

Recently, the social media platform has added a new buying and selling feature called TikTok Shop. It is a new solution for businesses of all sizes to boost customer engagement, brand awareness, and sales. 

What makes TikTok special?

The content of TikTok consists of vertically arranged videos that are compatible with smartphones and users only need to swipe up to watch a series of videos that are only a few seconds to one minute long. Creating content on TikTok is also easy and simple, users only need to upload the original video and add a few effects, then they will have an interesting and fun short video. With over 1 billion videos viewed on TikTok every day, it has opened up marketing opportunities for many brands. 

The majority of TikTok users are Millennials and GenZ, and it now expands to even younger users. They are a driving force behind the increasing expectation of digital experiences. Over 55% of GenZ in Vietnam are using TikTok, in the US, 62% of people between the ages of 10 – 29 are using this social network. The attention span of Millennials is about 12 seconds and for GenZ it’s around 8 seconds. Therefore, TikTok’s short-length videos are particularly popular with these generations because of their easily consumable content.

When compared to Reels (a feature of Instagram) and Short (a feature of Youtube), TikTok even has the upper hand. As The Graygency has noted, the monthly user base of IG Reels is in the lead with 2 billion users, followed by Youtube Shorts with 1.5 billion, and finally TikTok with 1.2 billion. The Reels feature was launched in 2020 and immediately became popular due to Facebook and Instagram’s enormous existing user base. The same is true for Youtube Shorts.

Meanwhile, TikTok was launched in 2016 but has reached 1 billion users in just 5 years. For Instagram and Youtube, this number took 8 years. A new player like TikTok when compared to the 2 major social platforms with a not-so-significant difference in user base, makes TikTok incredibly special. Plus, when considering other criteria like Engagement Rate, Female Users, Male Users, etc, TikTok even has higher rates than IG Reels and Youtube Shorts.

Another thing that makes TikTok special lies in its algorithm. When opening the app, users will see the “For You” page where TikTok displays videos that users may be interested in and immediately capture their attention. However, these videos don’t come from creators or brands that the user is already following but from the users’ interactivities on the videos, which is completely different from other social media platforms. 

The “For You” page is the most successful feature of the app as it creates content every second specifically tailored to each user’s personal preferences. These successes have led to a new step for the social platform – TikTok Shop

What is TikTok Shop?

TikTok explained in its launch statement:

“TikTok Shopping is a suite of solutions, features, and advertising tools that give businesses the opportunity to capture the full power of TikTok’s influence on purchase decisions”

Simply put, TikTok Shop is a new feature that allows TikTok users to buy products right on the app. Also, it provides businesses a way to display, promote and sell their products to a huge user base on TikTok. 

After setting up the TikTok Shop feature, a dedicated shopping tab will appear on the brand’s profile. That way, customers can browse through and purchase within the TikTok app or be transferred to the brand’s eCommerce website for checkout.

TikTok Shop Live

Besides the TikTok Shop feature, TikTok Shop Live is also a great resource to take advantage of. Brands can integrate their products from TikTok Shop into their live stream to encourage customers to interact with the brand and whenever they see a product they like, they can buy it during the live shopping stream. 

Let’s see the key TikTok Live Shopping stats:

• 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok Live;
• Users on TikTok are 50% more interested in branded Live content than non-TikTok users;
• 1 in 5 users watch TikTok Live and of that group 62% watch it every day
• TikTok users are two times more likely (compared to non-TikTok users) to say the live stream is the most trustworthy to use when shopping.

Ha Linh, a female beauty vlogger in Vietnam, is widely recognized by everyone in the Vietnamese beauty community for her genuine product review videos. She fearlessly provides critical feedback on any brand, and her reputation precedes her. Recently, Ha Linh held her first live stream on TikTok, which incredibly got 11 million hearts and 80K views. To everyone’s surprise, within an hour, all the products from the three factories of the brands she collaborated with were sold out. This case highlights the effectiveness of influencer marketing campaigns in conjunction with TikTok Live Shopping for brands targeting young customer demographics.

Why brands need to embrace TikTok Shop?

Keep up with Social Commerce

According to research, 87% of customers make their purchasing decisions through information provided on social media, 90% discover brands through social media, and the average spent per day on social media is over 2 hours. This is a new great boost for Social Commerce globally. In 2022, global Social Commerce sales reached $992B and are estimated to exceed $3 trillion in 2026. 

With a massive user base of over 1 billion, TikTok has the potential to become the leading platform in global Social Commerce, and the TikTok Shop feature has been launched to achieve that goal. TikTok Shop is currently available in Europe, North America, and 7 Asian markets, including Vietnam.

The short videos on TikTok are already very appealing, and when combined with cleverly integrated advertising content, they can attract users’ attention. This not only entertains and engages users, but also motivates them to make purchases from the advertised shoppable content. According to data compiled by TikTok, 67% of users have purchased after watching a video even if they didn’t intend to do so beforehand. 

Thus, TikTok has created an infinite loop of shoppertainment that combines shopping and entertainment within the app. As TikTok prioritizes user-generated content and 83% of its users have created videos on the platform, after purchasing, they are more likely to share their experience with other people on the app. This ultimately creates an endless loop of shopping, discovery, consideration, purchasing, reviewing, and engaging that repeats itself.

Reach out to a large user base on TikTok

The majority of TikTok users are in the age range of 18-34. According to Statista, as of January 2023:

Bên cạnh đó, những danh mục nội dung phổ biến nhất trên TikTok bao gồm giải trí, thể thao/fitness, nấu ăn, mỹ phẩm, thời trang,…

Do đó, nếu các doanh nghiệp đang kinh doanh trong những lĩnh vực này và hướng đến phân khúc khách hàng trẻ tuổi thì xây dựng hiện diện nhanh chóng trên nền tảng TikTok và tận dụng tính năng TikTok Shop là điều cấp thiết phải triển khai, như cách mà Kylie Cosmetics đã làm.

Moreover, the most popular content categories on TikTok include entertainment, sports/fitness, cooking, cosmetics, fashion, etc. Therefore, for businesses operating in these fields and targeting younger customer segments, building a quick presence on TikTok and leveraging the TikTok Shop feature is crucial to implement, as Kylie Cosmetics has done. 

As soon as TikTok Shop was launched in the US market, Kylie Cosmetics was one of the first brands to get involved. To date, the brand’s TikTok account has over 3.5 million followers. Kylie Jenner once explained: “I built my business on social media; it’s where my fans go first to look for what’s new from Kylie Cosmetics. I have so much fun creating TikTok videos, and I love sharing posts of my fans using the products. That’s why I’m excited for Kylie Cosmetics to be one of the first to let customers shop directly on our TikTok!”.

Take advantage of TikTok Influencer Marketing

If Influencer Marketing plays a crucial role in the brand’s success on other social platforms, TikTok is no exception. This strategy is primarily used to increase brand awareness, run promotional campaigns, and boost sales. TikTok is a place for creative and engaging short videos, so TikTok users have a special love and interest in creators with their unique style and creativity that attracts users’ attention. 

TikTok Influencer Marketing is where business brands and personal brands are closely linked. Thus, some experts advise that in order to successfully implement TikTok Influencer Marketing, businesses should let their partners freely create promotional content as long as it meets ethical and cultural standards. This is because if TikTok videos are too focused on advertising, it will make users or potential customers “turn away”. 

Walmart, the American retail chain, recently sponsored a dance challenge called “SavingsShuffle”, which required players to show how to save money while shopping at Walmart with their creative fun dance moves, and then post the recorded video on TikTok. Six influencers were chosen to promote this campaign, including Trinity, AdamW, Sam Hurley, Bdash, Kidrl, and Ajani.

Selling on TikTok VS eCommerce Marketplace

• eCommerce marketplace: Brands and merchants have to rely heavily on the policies of eCommerce marketplaces, prices, products must be competitive, storefronts must be high-rated, etc.
• TikTok: This is a fair playing field for all brands and merchants. By creating attractive content and cleverly incorporating promotional elements, they can increase sales and their followers. However, participating in the high-level sales race on TikTok requires brands and merchants to invest more in creativity. 

With many years of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, SECOMM understands the difficulties and challenges of implementing eCommerce. Talk to our expert to get free advice on eCommerce implementation.

ChatGPT is a new popular AI-powered tool. With the ability to generate human-like text, ChatGPT has a variety of applications in healthcare, education, entertainment, and even in the eCommerce world.

In this article, we will share the top 5 use cases of ChatGPT that business owners can leverage to accelerate their eCommerce.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer) is a large-scale language generation model developed by an AI company called Open AI, which was formed in 2015. ChatGPT is regarded as one of the most advanced language models available today since it can produce human-like text. It can be used for a variety of tasks, including answering questions, creating essays, emails, poems, and even programming. 

You can simply use ChatGPT by visiting OpenAI’s website to create an account. Once you’ve logged into your OpenAI account, on the ChatGPT side of the website, you need to read through and accept ChatGPT terms. Then, you can start your conversation with it by asking questions. 

Because it is still in the research and feedback-collection stage, it is free to use. But as of February 1, 2023, the OpenAI company launched a new version of ChatGPT Plus in the US for $20/month, while keeping the free version.

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT runs in a language modeling architecture called Generative Pre-training Transformer (GPT), specifically GPT-3. This type of AI model is trained on vast amounts of information from the Internet, including websites, books, articles, and so forth. 

It is fine-tuned using reinforcement learning. Meaning that ChatGPT “learns” from information found on the Internet as well as the user input. Due to Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), ChatGPT is unique. 

RLHF enables human AI trainers to build conversation models in which humans act as both users and AI assistants, according to OpenAI. That helps ChatGPT learn new information rapidly and grow more intelligent. 

The key differences between ChatGPT and Search Engines

ChatGPT is a language model to generate conversation with the end users, whereas Search Engines index web pages on the Internet to help users find what they desire. ChatGPT can understand and respond to input information quickly. But, it does not search on the Internet for the information, instead, it uses the training data to generate a response. 

Another difference is that ChatGPT’s information update speed is still slower than that of search engines. Some search engines like Google can access the latest information but ChatGPT can only access data up to September 2021. Thus if you ask ChatGPT who is Miss Vietnam 2022, it would not be able to answer while Google could give you an immediate answer in just 0.6 seconds.

5 ways for using ChatGPT in eCommerce

Using ChatGPT helps increase revenue and enhance eCommerce business operational effectiveness. Here are 5 great ways to use ChatGPT in eCommerce.

Create product description

Because an eCommerce website has different product categories, writing a unique description for each product takes a lot of time and resources. ChatGPT can be used to automatically generate compelling product descriptions. This can save time and effort for business owners while still providing customers with high-quality information about the products. Moreover, this language model can create SEO-optimized descriptions that improve product visuality. 

For example, a fashion retail brand has launched a new sportswear collection. ChatGPT will generate descriptions focused on moisture-wicking, comfortable fit, and the full range of motion and flexibility. It not only informs customers about the technical aspect of the product but also encourages them to shop with compelling and persuasive words.

Create product recommendations

ChatGPT còn được các doanh nghiệp thương mại điện tử sử dụng trong việc đưa ra đề xuất cá nhân hoá sản phẩm. Bằng cách sử dụng dữ liệu khách hàng và lịch sử duyệt web, ChatGPT có thể đưa ra các đề xuất sản phẩm phù hợp cho từng khách hàng cụ thể. 

Ví dụ: Gần đây có một khách hàng tên Mỹ đã mua một chiếc áo thun thể thao tại cửa hàng, doanh nghiệp có thể sử dụng ChatGPT để đưa ra đề xuất sản phẩm tương tự mà khách hàng này có thể quan tâm. Từ việc gợi ý sản phẩm phù hợp và cá nhân hoá có thể giúp tăng mức độ tương tác và doanh số bán hàng.

Generate social media content

Another way to use ChatGPT is to generate engaging social media content. 

For example, a company can use ChatGPT to generate promotional posts on social media platforms to introduce features and benefits of products engagingly and excitingly. Posts can include a caption, image, or video to highlight the advantages of that product. By leveraging the power of ChatGPT, businesses can promote their products and reach new customers on social networking sites effectively.

 Generate email marketing campaigns

Running email marketing campaigns enables eCommerce businesses to build relationships with their customers, advertise their products and boost sales. By sending personalized ideal emails to customers and prospective customers, businesses can earn customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. 

ChatGPT can be used in your email marketing campaigns targeting specific customer segments to achieve the desired results.

Example: Jennifer is a regular customer of a sports fashion company. Now the company launches eco-friendly sneakers with a minimalist design. The company uses ChatGPT to compose content for email marketing campaigns to introduce Jennifer to new products and ideal incentives for loyal customers.

Enhance customer service

eCommerce business owners can use ChatGPT to handle customer requests in a personalized way. It could be responding to inquiries about order status, product availability, shipping fee, or return concerns. By providing ChatGPT demographic information such as age, gender, and interest, it will immediately generate text for a specific customer in a specific case. That helps increase customer engagement and conversion rate. Businesses will free up time and workload for the team to focus on more important tasks. 

For example, if a customer named Jennifer asks for a return process, ChatGPT can generate a response with detailed information including requirements and time for return. 

The downsides of using ChatGPTin eCommerce

Like every AI-powered tool, ChatGPT has its downsides when used in eCommerce. 

Firstly, although ChatGPT helps generate content for marketing campaigns quickly and automatically, it still can’t compete with the original writing by humans. If people depend too much on ChatGPT, their writing will become robotic and clunky which might affect their marketing campaigns the most. 

In addition, as mentioned above, ChatGPT is trained by reinforced learning. This leaves room for issues since the information ChatGPT “learned” might not be accurate, hence generating wrong answers for users.

Last but not least, businesses should use ChatGPT with caution. They might want to clarify the information given by ChatGPT carefully before using or publishing their content, which could harm the businesses’ reputation when incorrect or misleading information is used. 

Every business owner today can use the five most effective ways to use ChatGPT in eCommerce to stand out from the crowd. Yet, it’s not easy to use it properly and make it an important factor of eCommerce business without being dependent. 

Talk to SECOMM now to get started.