UNBLOCKED THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE O2O COMMERCE MODEL

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.

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.

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.