Retail Analysis: eCommerce

eCommerce:

The click culture

Cas Paton, Founder and CEO of OnBuy.com talks to Michelle Winny, Editor of PCR about how shopping trends have evolved following the pandemic and the way we have embraced eCommerce as part of everyday life.

It’s almost impossible to ignore the importance of online shopping today - eCommerce has become a crucial part of retail. The pandemic encouraged so many consumers online, including those who’d never tried it before, and in many cases, it’s led them to develop new shopping habits. Here’s what OnBuy’s Cas Paton had to say.

Why is it now more important than ever for retailers to develop an eCommerce strategy?

The eCommerce industry has accelerated faster in the past 12 months since the pandemic, than it would have done over five years, had circumstances in the industry played out as ordinarily projected.

It’s clear that these shopping patterns created by the pandemic are here to stay, and customer expectations are high. There was a grace period at the start as customers appreciated the time businesses needed to adapt, but that’s a distant memory now. Buyers expect retailers to meet their needs, and to be at the top of the game when doing so, each and every time.

Retailers need to think about how they can evolve their business model to meet the needs of the modern consumer. Building your eCommerce strategy doesn’t need to be daunting, and marketplaces like OnBuy.com can help you take a step in the right direction. If you haven’t yet ventured into the world of eCommerce, marketplaces are a great way to get started.

Due to their large buyer audiences and prebuilt ecosystems, marketplaces provide you with a readyto-go online sales function that doesn’t involve complex development or huge investments. They’re low-cost, relatively risk free and give you the opportunity to refine your processes to learn what works and what doesn’t - all of which can inform your eCommerce strategy going forward.

How is OnBuy seeing the digital retail landscape evolve post-pandemic?

Buying habits have seen a fundamental shift as the 2020s have got into gear. The purchase of home goods, luxury items and pet-care products through online channels grew enormously during the pandemic.

Yet the items that were historically bought in a physical store have seen the biggest transformation, and are influencing the way the online retail landscape is evolving as we emerge from the pandemic. This includes groceries and household goods – bought online initially due to shortages in the earliest lockdown era, many customers are now opting to continue buying household goods online for simplicity. There are even subscription models based around this concept too.

Having a one-stop-shop hugely appeals to customers as well, which is a big reason why marketplaces remain popular. As an example, OnBuy has 17 departments and over 35 million items onsite, with each listing contributed by an independent business. A customer can buy a £30k engagement ring, their dog’s kibble and a new shelving unit for their home, all from one online destination, as a single transaction that eats very little into their time.

That convenience and variety is what customers are looking for, and that is what is driving the evolution of digital retail. As such, it’s not just about having a big and varied inventory, it’s also about meeting customers where they are - be that on their computers, on their mobile devices, in a physical store or, increasingly, via embedded purchasing options in social media apps.

This omnichannel approach is exciting, as it slices through the previous rhetoric that physical and digital retail ought to be at loggerheads. While it’s true that, classically, the advantages of one would be touted as a reason to outperform the other, today it’s increasingly recognised that there are numerous ways in which the convenience of online retail and the tactile browse-factor of brick-and-mortar stores can work in harmony.

What trends in buying patterns is OnBuy experiencing?

One pattern that stands out, looking at the first five months of 2021, is that the average order value has increased, with customers spending on average 24% more on their first purchases and 26% on repeat purchases in May 2021, when compared to January this year.

The crucial element here is transparency, together with trust and convenience. While there’s no denying that fraud and cybercrime have grown in lockstep with the rise of online shopping, customer caution has also grown in kind. Online shoppers today are smart, and with search engines at their fingertips it’s never been easier to find the best deal for the best product. Likewise, they can deduce if a website offering a standout deal or a hard-to-find product is legitimate or not in short order.

Notably, customer loyalty has taken a hit during this process, driven by the fact that customers who had their lifestyles disrupted by the onset of the global

“The biggest challenge is that online shopping has historically been quite faceless – lacking in the personal touches you get when shopping face to face. Altogether, things have been very product-focused, and the seller has often had very little visibility. Yet with the rising trend of supporting independent businesses very present in buyers’ minds today, it’s going to become even more critical for customers to get a sense of that personal shopping experience when buying online.”

health crisis have been forced to shop around. If a customer needs something and your platform never has it in stock, it’s only natural they’ll broaden their horizons – however loyal to your brand they otherwise have been.

The advantage there, of course, is that retailers have had the chance to put their best foot forward and win new and loyal customers by offering viable, efficient and satisfying alternatives to the ways a given customer may have shopped before. The floor is still open for retailers to showcase their trustworthiness, transparency and commitment to excellence in service today, meaning there’s everything to play for.

How has the online customer experience evolved?

The closure of non-essential retail during the pandemic has pushed eCommerce providers to ensure that their customer experience is as good as it can be. Customer retention and reducing basket abandonment have been two key areas of concern.

Expected delivery dates and delivery costs are highly influential in a customer’s buying decision, so making that information easily accessible to the shopper is critical - and living up to your promises in this regard even more so.

Remember, the goal today is to replicate the experience of physically seeing and handling an in-store product as much as possible when making an online listing - including ways to anticipate any questions a customer might have.

Without the ability to go into physical stores during the pandemic, customers have had to find other ways to determine the quality of a product before ordering online. That has been a huge driver in evolving the customer’s online shopping experience.

Verified reviews and clear product photography are the best ways for customers to get a feel for the product they want to buy, and so have become even more important than ever before. Descriptive, informative copy and online video overviews from third parties and influencers have also had an increasing stake in the buyer journey, and this will only grow as we all move forward into the new normal.

Where is eCommerce lacking most in terms of the buying experience?

The biggest challenge is that online shopping has historically been quite faceless – lacking in the personal touches you get when shopping face to face. Altogether, things have been very product-focused, and the seller has often had very little visibility. Yet with the rising trend of supporting independent businesses very present in buyers’ minds today, it’s going to become even more critical for customers to get a sense of that personal shopping experience when buying online. At OnBuy, we’re responding to this by developing ways that we can showcase our sellers even more - bringing a human touch to a digital experience. Because every seller on our marketplace is their own unique business, we give them the chance to create their own storefront profiles and let their brands shine on our marketplace, without harming the uniformity and ease of use of our website.

How is OnBuy supporting traditional high street vendors in making the transition to eCommerce platforms?

We’ve aimed to make selling with OnBuy as barrier-free as possible, because we recognise the growing use of eCommerce for business growth. OnBuy has fixed, transparent selling fees for all retailers, no matter their size or sales volume.

This element of trust is important, because just as customers have been wary when moving more of their shopping habits online, so too are businesses cautious when transitioning from physical to digital retail, or when joining a new marketplace to complement their existing network. The sheer size of the market alone is enough to intimidate even the most seasoned business minds.

Yet once a sense of ease and fluidic strategy is introduced, businesses gain a level of insight and understanding into eCommerce that lets them move into the market with confidence – and that’s a massively exciting part of why this is such a vibrant industry to be in today.

How has OnBuy achieved recent successes?

We’ve truly disrupted the market. Our traffic is at 2% of Amazon’s, 40% of John Lewis’, 50% of Very’s, 130% of Not On The Highstreet’s and 930% of Fruugo’s - all in under five years.

We’ve been able to do this by filling a gap - there was a clear demand for a marketplace like OnBuy, where independent sellers are supported unconditionally, all while customers still enjoy variety, convenience and trustworthiness.

OnBuy is the UK’s fourth biggest marketplace. Expanding into overseas territories, giving UK sellers the opportunity to expand their cross-border trade around the world and offering overseas retailers the chance to participate in our growth all means OnBuy will continue to expand. We’ve been growing our workforce to respond to increased demand, while remaining true to our values and mission.

This success reflects the discourse taking effect over much of eCommerce today. Throughout the value chain, everyone applauds the efficiency and convenience of eCommerce, but often raises concerns about its environmental impact, workers’ rights in fulfilling billions of orders worldwide, and the efficacy of the returns process. These are all crucial details we’ll continue to give our attention as we expand.

Where do you see the future of eCommerce headed?

I believe that we’ll see a shift in where customers spend their money. They’ll be looking for ways to support small, independent businesses when shopping online. The pandemic has influenced this mindset and I’ll think we’ll see that have a knock-on effect on where people spend for years to come.

In the coming years, hybrid retail will become the norm. This way of working will allow online sales to complement, rather than be at loggerheads with, a brick-and-mortar presence. This is something that many brands have already adopted and will be instrumental in the evolution of the high street.

Click-and-collect services help to drive footfall into brick-andmortar stores, and the more businesses can encourage the use of these systems the better. It really helps to support the entire retail ecosystem.

The ‘reCommerce’ market is one to watch in the coming 12 months too, and is something I see growing massively over the next 10-15 years. With an increasingly environmental-conscious society, and pressure mounting to change habits that harm the planet, the second-hand market is set for a boom.

We have thousands of refurbished electronics for sale on OnBuy, many of which are practically box-fresh. This type of shopping limits the impact that device disposal and e-waste has on the planet, which is a huge conversation in the world of technology today.

While other retailers destroy returned or outmoded stock in highly destructive at-scale ways, we believe this approach gives a new lease of life to perfectly functioning products – as well as giving a revenue stream to the independent businesses who specialise in them.

Similar conversations are happening in the fashion industry today too, with a growing repurpose, reuse and upcycle mindset taking hold.

Furthermore, this all offers customers a more cost-effective option compared to buying new, so I think we’ll see a surge in refurbished goods sales within the year, and huge thrifting trends in the UK over the next decade. This is an area that I think eCommerce can really own.

What further plans for evolution and growth does OnBuy have?

The future looks bright! OnBuy has created an eCommerce ecosystem that benefits the retailer and the customer equally. We have exciting plans to continue evolving.

One of our priorities is to maintain our position as the marketplace with the most compelling seller proposition – offering a transparent partnership, rather than competition. With simple, transparent fees and immediate payment on product dispatch, OnBuy is the marketplace of choice for a growing number of retailers.

On the flip side, we’re also focused on enhancing our offering for our customers. We’ll launch an app to make shopping on OnBuy even more convenient, alongside a new loyalty scheme and plenty of other exciting initiatives that we’ll reveal in time!

The international expansion of OnBuy is already underway, and that will see the marketplace in a wide range of countries – including the USA, France, Spain, and the UAE – by year-end 2023. We will have the widest reach of any online global marketplace - and this growth will be shared by businesses selling with us, as proactively or gradually as they choose.

What message can you offer to vendors to optimise their eCommerce sales?

One of the simplest but most effective things that retailers can do to improve and maximise their online sales is to ensure products are presented with high quality images and descriptions. A potential buyer will want to know exactly what they’re getting, and a series of detailed and clear images will help the customer get a feel for your product and its quality through their device.

Pricing is also important. Not only should you price your products competitively where possible, but think about strategically using charm pricing, a tactic which is proven to increase sales dramatically.

Explore what supporting functions your eCommerce platforms can offer too. OnBuy’s Boost ad service adds another layer of tailored product marketing for sellers, providing greater visibility of their products. With Boost, sellers only pay when they make a sale through the listing, making it a risk-free and cost-effective way to attract more customers.

Most of all, stay honest, trustworthy and transparent. This, beyond anything else, is what customers want – and the best way to cement loyalty and encourage repeat transactions.

News Body text Game on with CMS Distribution and BraZen Carbon Intelligence teams up with

CMS Distribution has joined forces with UK Gaming chair brand, BraZen to offer its full range of British Wireless Logic designed PC office and sound chairs. Wireless Logic was recently involved

The chairs are user centric and are designed to in developing an ambitious smart fit the gamers specific requirements be that mobile, buildings programme for Carbon console or PC user or whether they are eSports Intelligence, a sustainability data and professionals or hobbyists. consulting firm, that assists companies

Quality control experts independent of the manufacturer were enlisted to ensure that to move towards a zero-carbon the UK’s furniture rules and regulations are met. economy and connect sustainable

Jonpaul Warren, PC Components Product Sales Manager at CMS Distribution, said: practices with business value.

“BraZen is the first gaming chair brand we’ve signed, and we’re thrilled to be extending Liam Rock, Senior Energy our portfolio in this direction. Our main priority is our customers and exceeding their Performance Engineer at Carbon expectations. This partnership further strengthens our commitment to the progressive Intelligence, said: “Our goal was to

Gaming market.” design a full end-to-end monitoring

“We are excited to be working with CMS Distribution as we feel they are the stepping solution for building management stone BraZen need to grow. Our mission is to provide a great experience for our system (BMS) and using IoT sensors customers not only with our products but the service that is offered from our distribution to monitor and track large volumes partner too – this is a very important part of our business. We both share our passion for of data in a safe, secure manner. making our customers the primary importance in our business. I see a great future for However, if we were to stream large

BraZen and CMS Distribution as we enter a new chapter in the Gaming Chair market.” volumes of data from buildings, via adds Gary Beresford, Founder & CEO at BraZen Gaming Chairs. the cloud to our analytics platform, we realised that we’d need a ServiceNow to Acquire Indoor Mapping knowledgeable IoT connectivity specialist to help realise our vision, Disruptor Mapwize which is why we partnered with Wireless Logic.” ServiceNow is to acquire Mapwize, an indoor-mapping and wayfinding company based By combining IoT SIMs with a in Lille, France. With Mapwize, ServiceNow will provide indoor mapping capabilities fixed IP address and an overlay for employees as they reserve seats, conference rooms, workspaces and workplace virtual private network (VPN), resources, as well as navigate offices, from their desktop or mobile devices. Mapwize Wireless Logic was able to create capabilities will also help workplace teams manage and update floor maps based on an infrastructure that enabled usage trends and evolving real-estate needs. secure, smart, two-way connectivity,

“In the new world of hybrid work, the role of workplace services has never been more providing safe and secure data critical in creating great employee experiences,” said Blake McConnell, SVP of Employee management. Incidentally, one Workflows at ServiceNow. “With Mapwize, ServiceNow will power the future of employee of the first test buildings for the experiences by making it easier for people to navigate their work environment and access programme was the Wireless Logic the workspace information and workplace services they need to remain productive.” headquarters in Hurley, UK where

To support flexible and agile workplaces, ServiceNow intends to build Mapwize’s Carbon Intelligence were able to capabilities natively into the Now Platform and the Workplace Service Delivery Suite. reduce carbon by 25%.

Onfido establishes Benelux presence and partners with Lynk & Co

Onfido is teaming up with Lynk & Co in Benelux, adding to the list of customers Onfido already supports in the region, including challenger bank bunq and LeasePlan Bank. Onfido has also announced the establishment of its regional HQ in Amsterdam, to offer further support for European customers given the increased demand for trusted identity services, particularly from financial services and mobility sectors where identity verification is essential in verifying real identities remotely and combating identity fraud.

Lynk & Co, which offers a membership-based mobility solution to consumers, has integrated Onfido’s AI-powered document and biometric verification solution to verify users quickly and efficiently.

By integrating Onfido, Lynk & Co customers are able to sign up to the service by simply taking a photo of their ID (identity document) and also taking a selfie. Onfido first checks that the ID is genuine and not fraudulent, and then matches the ID to the user’s face, ensuring that the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present.

Mike Tuchen, Onfido CEO added: “Benelux is a growing hotbed of international fintech activity that requires robust identity verification for KYC. This has been an area of growth for Onfido and we’re committed to providing the best possible service to our existing customers, as well as growing our business in the region. The establishment of our Netherlands office reflects this, and the significant potential that comes with the rate of innovation across all the Benelux markets.”

APPOINTMENTS This month’s movers and shakers in the tech industry...

Exabeam

Exabeam has appointed former Forescout and McAfee executive Pedro Abreu as chief operating officer. In this role, Abreu will lead worldwide business operations, customer success, and customer support teams at Exabeam.

With more than 20 years of industryleading operational and management experience, Abreu is recognised as a thought leader among customer and partner communities and has a proven track record of scaling global organisations. Prior to Exabeam, Pedro served as chief product and strategy officer at Forescout, which included corporate strategy, business operations, R&D, and product functions.

Com Laude

Com Laude has appointed Martin Sutton to lead the Group’s dotBrand Services along with Christa Taylor, who will drive all its marketing initiatives for the next round.

Nick Wood, Exec Chair of Com Laude Group said: “Martin and Christa bring extensive knowledge and experience in the world of new gTLDs, having been involved with applicants in the last round and actively engaged in the domain industry, including the global policymaking body, ICANN, for many years.

N-able, Inc.

N-able, Inc. has named Kathleen Pai as its new chief people officer. Pai brings vast experience across all elements of human resources strategy and people development, and will help nurture, support, and grow the global N-able team.

Pai will be responsible for driving the global people strategy for N-able, along with overseeing people operations, business partners, total rewards, talent acquisition, talent development, internal communications and engagement programs to support the company’s growth. Prior to joining SolarWinds in January 2020, Kathleen served as vice president of people at Ultimate Software.

Sisense

Sisense has appointment Gilad Katz as Senior Vice President, Engineering. Gilad will lead the company’s global engineering and development department, which spans Kiev, the U.S.A. and Israel.

Gilad has more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale engineering, both in enterprise SaaS companies as well as in early-stage start-ups. In his most recent role, Gilad led the R&D and Product teams at AppsFlyer, where he grew the engineering department from 60 engineers to more than 300, developing one of the industry’s top Cloud 100 mission critical SaaS production systems that brought the company over $200 million in annual revenue, serving over 10,000 customers and over 6,000 technology partners.

Privitar

Privitar has expanded its executive leadership team with the appointments of Victoria Normark as Chief Technology Officer, Pat Walsh as Chief Marketing Officer, and Bill Ziske as Senior Vice President of Sales, North America.

Victoria Normark joins Privitar from Snow Software. As Privitar’s Chief Technology Officer, Normark will oversee the company’s global engineering and technology strategy and will play a vital role in leading the company’s development of the Privitar Data Provisioning Platform.

Chief Marketing Officer Pat Walsh will lead Privitar’s global Go-to-Market strategy and initiatives including branding, demand generation, product marketing, and strategic communications.

Rounding out Privitar’s Go-to-Market leadership team is Bill Ziske, SVP of Sales, North America. Based in Dallas, Texas, Ziske will partner with David Gray, SVP of Sales for EMEA & APAC, to oversee the company’s global sales, customer success, sales enablement, and partner ecosystem initiatives.

Egnyte

Egnyte has appointed Stan Hansen as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Hansen will be responsible for all sales functions globally.

“After just closing our largest quarter in history, growing 40% year over year, we are excited to welcome a leader of Stan’s caliber to help us capture the demand we are seeing in the market,” said Vineet Jain, CoFounder and Chief Executive Officer, Egnyte. “As we look ahead to the future, Stan’s experience in leadership roles at publicly traded companies will be a great addition to the executive suite during this exciting next phase of growth for Egnyte, and beyond.”