Amazon Vs Flipkart Sales During the Indian Festive Season: How Do They Stack Up in 2025?

The Indian eCommerce space is growing at a rapid pace and there are multiple eCommerce marketplaces that want a piece of the ever-expanding pie. While Flipkart had been around since 2007, the entry of Amazon into the Indian market in 2013 reshaped eCommerce operations in the country forever since homegrown companies had to adapt their services and offer premium facilities at reduced prices in order to compete and capture their own niche in the sector. Fast-forward to 202 and Amazon vs Flipkart is still the biggest rivalry in the eCommerce space in India, with both companies having largely comparable rates of success and a similar market share. The Indian festive season is viewed as significant means to accelerate growth and generate an increased number of sales. Join us as we take a more detailed look into the ins and outs of Amazon vs Flipkart including a brief look at each company, statistical comparisons, upcoming sales during the holiday season in 2024 and the key differences between each. About Amazon Amazon was one of the initial companies that emerged out of the internet boom in the 1990s. Originally pioneered by Jeff Bezos as an online book retailer in 1994, the company soon expanded its services to encompass a much broader range of products. It is often credited with spearheading various facilities and technologies that are used by most selling platforms today such as ultra-fast same-day and next-day delivery, the concept of premium membership through its Prime program and having multiple fulfillment centers from where orders can be dispatched. The company entered the Indian market and is now seen as a household name when it comes to eCommerce retail. [contactus_uth] About Flipkart Flipkart’s inception was in 2007 as a homegrown alternative to Amazon, which still wasn’t present in the Indian market during that period. The company instantly garnered a vast amount of success and many loyal patrons still prefer selling on Flipkart to any other selling platform, even today. Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart in 2018 injected newfound resources to enable it to compete on a more level playing field with big players such as Amazon. Flipkart’s success is indicated by its vast user base, positive reviews and market share relative to Amazon which is quite an impressive feat considering that it is more than a decade younger. The company was also one of the first Indian brands that entered the mainstream eCommerce space and took the likes of Amazon, eBay, and others head-on. Amazon Vs Flipkart: Statistical Comparison Amazon vs Flipkart in India is one of the largest rivalries in the eCommerce industry and with a potential user base in excess of 1 billion people for companies to tap into, the competition is fierce. While Flipkart’s revenue crossed ₹43k crores during FY 2024, Amazon’s is a lower but no less significant ₹31k crores. Let us look at some other statistics that set these companies apart in terms of their performance: Indian consumers spend roughly $70 a month on both platforms combined In previous years, Amazon’s Great Indian Festival run during the festive season consistently out-paces Flipkart’s festive season equivalent, the Big Billion Day Sale Only 20% of Amazon users have opted to upgrade to Amazon Prime compared to 50% of Flipkart’s customers that have upgraded to Flipkart Plus Amazon Prime members generally experience quicker delivery times than Flipkart Plus members Among non-premium regular users of both platforms, Amazon experienced a customer retention rate of 35% whereas Flipkart only managed a customer retention rate of 25% When comparing the retention rates of premium users, Amazon Prime was able to retain 74% of its customers compared to 80% for Flipkart Plus The number of registered sellers that use Amazon is 850,000 in contrast to Flipkart’s relatively lower figure of 375,000 Flipkart redeems itself with a user base of 350 million people compared to Amazon’s 100 million. There are also more unique products being sold on Flipkart at an estimated 150 million as opposed to Amazon’s 50 million Both companies have a roughly equal share of the market at 31.2% and 31.9% for Amazon and Flipkart respectively Amazon vs Flipkart: Upcoming Sales for the Indian Festive Season in 2024 Amazon Nine Days of Navaratri Date: 26th September to 4th October, 2022 (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: Navaratri is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in India and to commemorate the occasion and encourage customers to celebrate with their wallets, Amazon is running this Navaratri-inspired sale. Offers: Up to 75% off for various products 9 product categories will be eligible Great Indian Festival Dates: 6th October to 10th October, 2022 (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: The Amazon Great Indian Festival is one of the many flagship events for the company to capitalize on the Indian festive season. Almost every product category is included in the sale and subject to discounts of up to 80%. Offers: Multiple cashback and EMI offers for specified banks Up to 80% off on certain product categories Diwali Sale Date: 24th October to 25th October, 2022 Description: The Amazon Diwali sale is just one of the many Amazon sales that are run during October, the peak of the Indian festive season. The Diwali sale is one of the most popular sales for Amazon so customers are rewarded with a vast number of deals and offers. Offers: Up to 80% off on multiple product categories Additional offers can be availed through specified banks Christmas Sale Date: 21st to 25th December (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: Both Amazon and Flipkart have multiple clashing Indian festive season sales and the Christmas sale is one of them. Amazon puts more of a twist on the sale by offering discounts on winter products and other items that customers tend to use during Christmas and the winter season. Offers: Up to 80% on certain product categories Special offers on Christmas goodies, gifts and hampers Flipkart Budget Dhamaka Date: 14th September to 15th September, 2022 Description: This sale places emphasis on value-for-money deals and gives customers the opportunity to save big with discounts of up to 85% on certain product categories. Offers: Up to 85% off on specified products Discounts in many different categories Big Billion Day Sale Date: 3rd October to 10th October, 2022 (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: This is one of Flipkart’s flagship sales of the year and is in the midst of the Indian festive season. There are a large number of discounts and offers on almost every product category that is available. This sale is Flipkart’s answer to Amazon’s Great Indian Festival and its success of it dictates which company will come out on top during the festive season. Offers: Discounts on almost every product category Accessories and footwear are up to 70% Christmas Sale Date: 20th December to 25th December, 2022 (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: Flipkart’s goal is to make the happiest time of the year even happier for the Indian festive season. There are discounts of upwards of 70% in certain product categories in addition to plenty of other benefits. Offers: Up to 75% off on fashion, home decor and other categories Up to 70% off on electronics such as televisions and smartphones Year End Sale Date: 26th December to 31st December, 2022 (this year dates yet to be announced) Description: There is no way to spend the remainder of the year for customers than buying products they need at huge discounts. Many customers wait all year for this so they can take advantage of the reduced pricing. Offers: Up to 80% discounts on all orders Cashbacks, EMI schemes and other offers are available for certain banks Huge discounts on a variety of product categories Amazon vs Flipkart: Key Differences [table id=49 /] Conclusion: Fulfill Your Amazon and Flipkart Orders for the Indian Festive Season and Beyond With WareIQ Amazon vs Flipkart has emerged as an age-old rivalry in the Indian eCommerce space with both selling platforms trying to out-perform each other through the use of technology, discounts, benefits, facilities and more. This is further amplified during the holiday season with both companies going above and beyond to deliver the most attractive proposition to their users. Therefore, the winners of this particular fight are the consumers, who constantly have access to the best services at the lowest possible prices regardless of which platform they shop on and the retailers, who can make use of the advanced tools and technological advancements that their eCommerce marketplace equips them with because if a retailer does well and sells the maximum amount of products, so too does the particular platform. Thus, it is in the best interest of the beneficiaries of the Amazon vs Flipkart head-to-head to figure out which platform is better for them, as both offer a similar level of performance and will both provide exemplary opportunities to the retailers and customers that use them. If you are an online seller and need assistance to fulfill orders on either platform in addition to many others, WareIQ can be the solution. WareIQ is an Indian eCommerce fulfillment company that has emerged as one of the fastest-growing in the country. We offer a variety of fulfillment solutions across the entire range of eCommerce operations such as storage, order fulfillment, reverse logistics and more. Some of the facilities that we offer that make it a better option than Amazon FBA or Flipkart Fulfillment include: A nationwide network of fulfillment centers and dark stores A custom WMS that can integrate with most major eCommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, Meesho and more Real-time updates to changes in inventory levels across selling channels and fulfillment centers in a centralized dashboard A choice of more than 20 of the biggest shipping aggregators that always assigns the quickest and most cost-effective option Branded tracking facilities to deliver a personalized experience to customers An app store that contains a good number of productivity-enhancing apps Custom features such as an RTO Shield to protect your business from incurring returns-related expenses Ultra-fast and reliable same-day and next-day shipping Amazon vs Flipkart Frequently Asked Questions: FAQs

August 22, 2022

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What Are eCommerce Operations? A Detailed Guide for Operations Professionals on Functional Aspects & Best Strategies for eCommerce Operations Management in 2025

eCommerce Operations are the foundation of any organisation and the function that makes things happen. And a lot is going on in the background regarding eCommerce operations. An eCommerce operations manager must enhance eCommerce processes that directly increase gross margins. Managers can wisely allocate essential resources to deliver the most value to the business by prioritising profit-generating eCommerce operations. According to statistics, Global retail e-commerce sales were estimated to be around 4.9 trillion dollars in 2021. Over the next four years, this amount is predicted to increase by 50%, reaching roughly $7.4 trillion by 2025. eCommerce has contributed to more than 40% of the rise in retail sales in the US alone, and by 2040, experts predict that 95% of all purchases will be conducted online. The operations manager significantly influences the growth of an online brand. To ensure that your operations can fulfil customer expectations and keep expanding, you must maintain a constant watch on the market, your rivals, and the wants of your clients. This article provides a detailed analysis of eCommerce operations and how to enhance eCommerce operations for productivity and growth. What are eCommerce Operations? All components of online goods sales and shipping are referred to as eCommerce operations. Successful online retailers are defined by having a solid eCommerce operations plan. Your ability to address essential eCommerce operations and sales components, such as order logistics and fulfilment, domestic and international shipping, and inventory management, is crucial to developing an efficient eCommerce operations management plan. Making your eCommerce operations strategy as clear and thorough as possible is essential because it enhances the likelihood that purchases will be finished and delivered on time, keeping customers happy and ultimately improving your business. Source Significant Functional Aspects Involved In eCommerce Operations Management Since its start, the eCommerce sector has expanded incredibly quickly to reach its present status, defined by a solid market position. Due to this process, new difficulties have also evolved in the worldwide landscape of eCommerce operations. Merchants must change to remain competitive and gain an edge over their rivals. The problem that most eCommerce merchants now confront is simplifying their business operations seamlessly. Here is a list of business tasks retailers can use to create a successful and efficient eCommerce operational workflow. Order Management Online stores have replaced traditional physical businesses as the norm in eCommerce. As a result, the need for multichannel order management has grown due to this transition. It is getting more challenging to handle and execute your orders when there are hundreds of sales channels available, whether they are marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy or sales channels like Shopify, Magento 2.0, or Woo-commerce. Therefore, their most significant chance of remaining competitive is to have the capacity to manage orders across several digital channels. This helps eCommerce businesses both attract new clients and keep their current ones. Product listing, inventory management, order placement and processing, billing, payment collecting, fulfilment, shipment management, and communication are all included in the multichannel order management process. Import all your orders into one location: eCommerce shop owners with a fully integrated order management system can monitor and manage their orders from a single platform. As a result, they can stop logging into different portals to check on the status of their orders. Address verification: An automated address verification method is necessary to limit the number of failed deliveries, accounting for up to 10% of eCommerce package deliveries. Printing shipping labels and invoices in bulk: For anyone selling goods online, batch processing and mass printing shipping labels and invoices are essential. Thermographic printers make these processes simpler. [contactus_lilgoodness] Inventory Management A robust platform and successful inventory management system like Inventory LogIQ can help an eCommerce firm reach its highest potential. The two most essential factors in an eCommerce business are time and money. Companies can save both by using a centralised inventory management procedure. Furthermore, it provides companies with Accurate forecasting: An eCommerce business might profit from monitoring customer wants during a specific season and concentrating on marketing campaigns. Product Evaluation: Separating the products in high demand from those that aren't is just as important as anticipating. Long-term inventory storage of the latter can be dangerous for an eCommerce store's ability to sell. As a result, businesses can offer tempting discounts when buying such a product. Relationship between an eCommerce firm and its suppliers: A successful relationship between an eCommerce business and its suppliers is crucial. This guarantees the timely delivery of goods. Additionally, it is a good idea to have fallback plans. As a result, if the primary suppliers cannot ensure on-time delivery for some reason, the secondary suppliers can do it quickly, maintaining the positive perception of your brand among your target market. The ideal contingency plan should provide effective inventory management and serve as a conduit between eCommerce stores and their customers without jeopardising the interests of either. Including this information in the terms and conditions not only allays client concerns but also facilitates future business transactions by saving time, money, and hassle. Warehouse Management Warehouse management includes monitoring all aspects of eCommerce operations, from staffing to equipment and inventory management. Receiving, storing, and tracking inventory are only a few of the procedures involved in warehouse management. Other activities include keeping an eye on the flow of finished items into and out of the warehouse and managing their effectiveness. The flow of inventory and other activity across a warehouse (i.e., what is being received, stowed away, fulfilled, and sent and by whom) is frequently tracked using a warehouse management system (WMS). With a WMS, manual processes are eliminated, time is saved, and a more accurate picture of what is happening inside a facility is provided without needing ongoing warehouse audits. In addition, operations managers can track their success and find areas for improvement using the data collected from a WMS, which promotes supply chain optimization. Fulfilment and Shipping Logistics All these features are necessary for your system to fulfil your requests successfully. Serviceable Zip code management based on prepaid orders and cash-on-delivery Evaluating shipping costs across various carriers and the services they offer Real-time tracking number and allocation Expecting to complete this manually may cause delays and mistakes. Additionally, clients demand error-free communication from eCommerce businesses in this digital age. Further, the success of an eCommerce business determines its reputation. Choosing a Product, Packing it, and Shipping It Successfully processing customer orders is essential to the success of an eCommerce firm. This must be carried out without fail. An exemplary implementation creates a win-win scenario for an eCommerce company and its clients. While the latter can reduce the possibility of product returns, the former can prevent the potential for mistakes in monitoring its inventory inventories, and using equipment like a barcode scanner to automate order picking and packing up can be beneficial. Order Shipping, Schedule Pickups, Tracking & Delivery Ensuring prompt item delivery is one of the critical components of order fulfillment in eCommerce operations. It aids businesses in creating a favourable reputation and long-term customer retention. In addition, utilizing the advantages of shipping management software can help the company grow. Fulfilment automation has emerged as one of the current trends, with eCommerce businesses becoming increasingly reliant on them. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for eCommerce enterprises to use software and systems that do away with the laborious manual processes and facilitate the efficient completion of this activity. Returns Management Owners of physical stores encourage a "no return or no exchange" policy regarding purchases made there. They can avoid the inconveniences of product returns as a result. However, this is not true with online eCommerce retailers. Customers have the option to cancel their orders while they are in transit, as well as return things after delivery with eCommerce businesses. The former might occur for several causes, ranging from unsatisfied customers to the delivery of incorrect goods. Therefore, having a well-planned and recorded return management policy is necessary for eCommerce stores. To ensure that customers know what they can return and how it is ideal for making this remark under terms and conditions. Returning an ordered or delivered item must also be made clear in advance. One of the best methods for putting customers and business owners at ease is this. As a result, it leaves clients with a favourable impression of an eCommerce store. Commercial Accounting Keeping track of your brand's financial activities and ensuring your books are in order are crucial components of your eCommerce operations. This includes balance sheets and inventory write-offs. Inventory is the most critical (and frequently valuable) asset for eCommerce enterprises. Thus any anomalies in inventory counts can affect your bottom line. You may gain insights into your spending and earnings with accurate eCommerce book-keeping, making it possible for you to be ready for tax season. 6 Best Practices To Simplify and Streamline Your eCommerce Operations in 2025 With today's technology, we have many eCommerce automation choices to choose from to meet our business needs. The idea is very straightforward—using software to turn manual processes into automated workflows. Numerous tasks can be completed with technology without the involvement of humans. Examples include sending emails to many customers, creating support cases, and completing orders. eCommerce automation saves not only time but also money. Additionally, it means that eventually, the company team will have more time to concentrate on innovation, client satisfaction, and creativity. Let's look at six ways technology could make an eCommerce business function more efficiently. Multi-Channel Automated Centralized Inventory Management eCommerce Brands can optimise their supply chain and stop any losses during stock-out situations by using a cloud-based omnichannel inventory management system. Businesses can display their products on many eCommerce platforms and handle orders using a single dashboard that provides real-time access to stock movement with the help of an IMS. Eliminating the manual component from inventory management saves additional overhead costs that may be spent to grow the firm rather than risking human error. The following are the main benefits that an IMS offers: Reduce the amount of staff needed for daily operations Reduce overstocking and understocking Prevent misshipments Hasten order fulfillment Accurately estimate and plan inventory Detailed inventory and sales reports Automated Accounting With Least Effort and Sales Identification A small sales team is one of the main advantages of a digital business. Automated processes and evaluation tools like a CRM can improve operations even with a small sales crew. For instance, gathering contact details, planning calls, and allocating follow-ups may all be done quickly and openly when a new lead is added to the system. Additionally, it prevents situations where several people are pursuing the same information, which is almost certainly a dead end. The sales staff can also record call details and outcomes, which could be helpful for follow-ups in the future. Some of the most well-known CRMs are Zoho, Hubspot, and Salesforce. Sales and accounting should always work together since book-keeping is never fun. There are several ways to keep track of accounts on your own, but you can pick one that integrates effectively with your inventory management system. Read more about eCommerce accounting software. Building Brand Loyalty With An AI-enabled Customer Service Consumer service plays a crucial role in building brand recognition and customer loyalty. There are several options for handling customers and automating the time-consuming steps in the process. One of the most popular ways to handle this topic correctly continues to be chatbots. By responding to a set of predetermined circumstances, triggers, and events, chatbots help automate client interactions. As a result, companies are quickly using chatbots for their customer-facing products. According to a Facebook poll, more than half of customers believe they are more likely to shop with a firm that offers live chat. Customers anticipate being able to quickly and easily find the information they require. Chatbots are merely a tool to achieve that goal. Additionally, several tools can quickly and cheaply integrate chatbots into social media accounts and eCommerce websites. Since they have been around for a while, chatbots have established themselves as a crucial component of any company's customer care strategy. Innovative and Seamless Payment Methods Powered by Technology Customers desire personalization and frictionless eCommerce experiences. Global consumers are anticipated to make 1.1 trillion non-cash payments by 2024 as they buy goods and services using a combination of web, mobile, and connected devices, according to Business Insider. The experience is smooth when individuals can make purchases online fast, effortlessly, and safely. Passive authentication techniques like face and touch ID are becoming more and more common as technology advances since they may be used to complete transactions since the user's credentials are already stored in their wallet. This holds for applications such as GooglePay, AmazonPay, PayPal, PhonePe, Paytm, and others. Giving clients the option to use digital payment methods improves the customer experience because it is easier and takes less time. Nearly all eCommerce businesses provide a choice of digital payment alternatives nowadays to speed up checkouts and improve consumer convenience. Switch to An Omnichannel Customer Experience It's become less important to test a product before buying it. The ease of a single-click purchase on eCommerce sites, brand recognition, social media presence, and general lifestyle affinity are essential factors in deciding to buy. Social media, online markets, and web stores are part of omnichannel retailing. Making sure that marketing strategies enable customers to convert across any sales channel is the aim of multichannel selling. Your company may offer a smooth customer experience if you have efficient automation technology at your disposal and an omnichannel strategy in place. One of the best instances of how organisations can utilise technology using an omnichannel strategy is Walmart's "order-by-text and chat services." Walmart offered a service that guaranteed same-day delivery and allowed users to place orders by text message alone. Although the service is no longer in use, it opened the path for other eCommerce firms to provide their clients with something remarkable. You can use various tools and methods on your online store to collect data, monitor conversions, and target messaging when executing an omnichannel marketing plan. Make Social Commerce A Part Of Your eCommerce Strategy Many firms use social media platforms for advertising. The accessibility, ease and reach that come with social media aids consumers in purchasing. 2018 saw the launch of Facebook Marketplace, which aims to take on Google Shopping, Easy, and Amazon. In addition, Instagram started using product tags in 2016 to make it simpler for consumers to identify the goods and prices they see in advertisements, and in 2017 Shopify and BigCommerce were integrated, directing shoppers to a website where they could make an immediate purchase. Select brands were given buyable pins on Pinterest, which resembles Instagram in functionality, in 2015, and the number of brands increased in 2016. In addition, to make it simpler to make purchases from several merchants at once, a shopping cart was also developed. Conclusion In conclusion, operating in the eCommerce industry requires balancing many competitors with matching client needs and expectations. The technology at our disposal now has the potential to automate repetitive work and expedite processes that call for more attention to detail. You can start using parts of it immediately and take your time selecting others, like an IMS or a chatbot, to boost your company's overall productivity and operational effectiveness. How WareIQ as a 3PL Fulfillment Partner Helps in Your eCommerce Operations Management? WareIQ, as a tech-enabled fulfillment partner, uses a fulfillment network that returns information to our clients so they can monitor inventory levels and orders as they are chosen, packed, shipped and delivered in real-time. Orders are automatically delivered to our warehouses once your store is connected. The product is chosen, packed, and dispatched (and tracking info is pushed back to your store and shared with your customers). WareIQ's fulfilment services assist you in time and cost optimization as well as the utilisation of the delivery process to surpass customer expectations and take control of a more significant portion of the client relationship. With the aid of WareIQ's fulfilment facilities, you can strategically distribute your inventory among our locations to deliver your products more quickly and affordably. By keeping inventory close to your target market, you can cut down on the shipping zones and expenses involved in sending orders to distant locations. With WareIQ's 2-Day Express shipping model, you can provide 2-day shipping across the country whether you ship from one fulfilment centre location or several. WareIQ delivers data and analytics to assist you with everything from year-end reporting to better supply chain decision-making. We do this to give you visibility into our operations and performance and to hold ourselves accountable. For example, we provide information on the fulfilment centres you should stock, the number of days your inventory will last before it runs out, the effect of sales promotions on stock levels, the average cart value, shipping costs, and transit times for each shipping option, your fulfilment costs per order, your storage costs per unit, and much more. Ecommerce Operations FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

August 21, 2022

10 Effective Ways for Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns in 2025

The holiday season is a great opportunity for eCommerce retailers to boost sales, attract new customers, encourage repeat purchases from existing customers, and expand their eCommerce operations to meet their objectives. While the holiday season itself is largely responsible for increasing demand and consequently, sales, businesses need to take the onus on themselves to cast a wide enough net in their marketing efforts in order to capture a sizable portion of their target audience as opposed to their competitors. While most retailers spend a significant amount of time refining their products and researching their audience, they also need to focus on improving the visibility of their offerings, which will result in more attention and ultimately, more conversions, which is the primary goal for most eCommerce companies. This increased visibility can be achieved by running online ads and tailoring marketing efforts to fit the demand for specific products during certain festive seasons. Read further as we delve deeper into the necessity of running marketing campaigns during the holiday season, frequent mistakes that businesses make in their marketing campaigns, the most-used platforms for digital advertising, and 15 impactful methods to improve your online ads during Diwali sales and Christmas sales 2024. Why Should You Run Marketing Campaigns During Holiday Season? To Capitalize on the Increased Demand Holiday season is a natural catalyst that accelerates the capability, sentiment and willingness of customers to purchase products due to their perception of the ability to get better value for their money due to the vast amount of deals, discounts and offers on tap. Since the demand already exists and is bound to grow steadily, retailers need to position themselves to customers as the solution to their requirements and this can be done by running various ad campaigns during holiday season. To Redirect Customers Away From the Competition Since the eCommerce space is filled to the brim with various enterprising retailers whose interests often conflict and there is only a limited customer base for every product category, they are constantly squabbling to get the top spot when it comes to reeling in customers. Keeping this in mind, retailers need to employ the use of digital advertising and run online ads to try and convince customers to choose their brand instead of their nearest rivals and this can be done by highlighting their USPs, price advantages over other products, delivery timelines or any other factors that can play to their advantage. To Enhance Brand Recognition Online ads play a pivotal role in increasing brand recognition amongst existing and potential customers. Just like how many brand commercials are engrained in the memories of those that grew up watching them in their childhood, a well-run digital advertising campaign can increase the visibility of a brand and the ability of customers to recollect catchy slogans or entertaining images of videos and associate them with the relevant business. Suggested Read: Branded Shipping to Enhance your Brand Image. To Track Conversion Rates Running online ads can open the door to being able to track various important metrics and analyse them to identify which portions were successful and which weren’t. For instance, if a business runs a Facebook ad, they get access to statistics such as the number of people who saw the ad, the number of people of clicked on the prompt, the number of people that visited the site and the number of people that actually ended up buying the product. If a higher proportion of customers went on to perform the intended task which was to purchase a commodity or service, compared to the number of people that saw the ad, the campaign could be deemed a success. [contactus_lilgoodness] Key Components of Successful Holiday Marketing Campaigns 2025 Refine Your Target Audience Conduct research to determine your target audience so that you can learn more about their preferences, which income bracket they fall in, the price range of their previous purchases and more. This will help you tailor your digital advertising campaigns specifically for your customers so that you can spark more interest among them and avoid spending money on audiences that would have lower conversion rates. Analyse the Success of Previous Ad Campaigns By looking back at the digital advertising campaigns during the similar seasons of previous years, retailers can conclude which strategies or elements were more effective and others so they can spend more time and effort in refining those and avoid the ones that didn’t yield the anticipated results. This can lower costs associated with running online ads and streamline ad campaigns during holiday season. Determine Your Objectives After you have determined your target audience and analysed the success of prior digital advertising campaigns, you can shortlist the key objectives and targets that you want to achieve during the current year’s campaign. Having a predetermined set of goals provides guidelines on ways they can be achieved and can also motivate employees to work towards achieving them. Keep Track of Your KPIs Not all KPIs are created equal and some will be more relevant to a business than others, based on the industry, objectives, product types and more. Determining which KPIs need to be measured, tracked and analysed can provide valuable insights into important metrics such as customer behaviour, purchasing patterns and marketing trends, among others. It will also help you to identify which areas of your business are performing optimally and which areas require further improvement. Suggested Read: Mistakes you should avoid during the holiday season. 4 Most Popular Platforms for Running Online Ads During Festive Sales Google Ads Google Ads is one of the most comprehensive tools for digital advertising and can help you run ad campaigns during holiday season. Ads can be run on both mobile and desktop devices and can be specifically targeted toward people that use the devices you have selected such as smartphones or tablets. Since the platform is run by Google, the most popular search engine in the world, consistent results in relation to the amount of money spent are almost guaranteed. Ads can be run in many different formats such as text-based ads, static image ads and video ads. Facebook Ads Running online ads is Facebook’s forte. With a variety of tools to help filter your target audience based on a huge amount of aspects such as location, income, education, marriage status, most-used devices, preferred operating system and much more, in addition to being integrated with other Meta-based apps such as Whatsapp and Instagram, the Facebook business suite is extremely detailed and provides granular controls for just about any function that you can think of. Using this platform is a must if you want to garner success by running marketing campaigns during the holiday season. Source Instagram Ads In recent years, Instagram has overtaken Facebook in popularity, especially among younger generations such as Millenials and Gen Z. Instagram consistently provides a medium for brands to market their products, either through social media marketing or running ad campaigns. If your products are tailored towards a younger audience, you should definitely consider using this platform. Instagram’s engagement numbers are also a staggering 58% more than Facebook and an alarming 2000% more than Twitter. You have the choice of running online ads that can be linked to your website or landing page and also boosting posts and stories so they can gain more visibility. Source LinkedIn Ads With LinkedIn’s burgeoning reputation as the go-to app for working professionals, running ads on its platform can open the door to a vast number of users and is especially useful if your products are targeted toward corporates, people that work in a variety of other industries and the B2B segment of the market. Because of the nature of the audience that primarily uses LinkedIn, users tend to have significantly higher rates of disposable income compared to other platforms. There are 3 types of ads that can be run on LinkedIn - sponsored content which includes images and videos that are displayed in the newsfeed; sponsored messaging which is similar to other email marketing tools; and text and dynamic ads which are only visible to desktop users. 10 Effective Ways to Enhance Your Online Marketing Campaigns During Holiday Season 2025 Customise Your Website for the Holidays The sales that take place during holiday season generally comprise at least 30% of a company’s annual sales so capitalizing on the holiday sentiment of customers is a must. Giving your website a small makeover to capture the interest of customers and enhance the festive spirit can go a long way in improving their user experience and can be the difference between them choosing to purchase their products from your website or another company that makes them feel more special. Additionally, your website would be receiving significantly more traffic as a result of online ads so it pays to revamp it to fit the holiday mood. Offer Additional Benefits to Existing or Early Customers You can enhance the experience of customers that have patronised your business in the past and increase your chances of getting repeat purchases by offering them additional benefits such as free delivery or a specified discount. Additionally, you can mention that the first 50 or 100 customers that respond to the ad, fill out a form or purchase a product will be eligible for various benefits. This will help increase engagement and will result in more conversions. Promote Your Products and Festive Offers on Social Media Running ad campaigns during the holiday season is only one part of the puzzle as it generally targets people that may not have heard of your brand before. You can use social media marketing in tandem with your online ads to capture attention from customers in every corner that you can. Specify the offers and deals that customers can avail of on your social media to increase the possibility of directing them to your website or landing page and generating more sales. Focus Your Efforts on Mobile Devices We live in a mobile-centric society where everything is accessible at the click of a button on a device that we can carry around wherever we go. Most customers are more inclined to browse and purchase products on their phones or tablet because it is portable and convenient. Thus, you should run online ads that are specifically targeted at people who use smartphones as their primary communication and leisure devices while also tailoring your ads to work best with mobile screen sizes so they look more appealing. Use Dynamic Content In keeping with the theme of offering users a mobile-friendly experience when it comes to digital advertising, making sure that you run video ads or animated content in your online ads is a must. We live in a world where people are accustomed to looking at reels on Instagram, Shorts on Youtube and stories on Snapchat. Appealing to this already existing trend of short videos and gifs can massively increase the chances of your ads resonating with customers. Collaborate With Social Media Influencers Partnering with well-known social media influencers can be the gateway your business needs to appeal to a wide range of people. These influencers often have large followings on different apps and some focus on creating content and growing their audience on specific platforms, which can be helpful if you want to target a certain group of people on Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook or other social media apps. This can generate hype and create buzz around your product which is something that comes with the territory of being an internet personality. Offer Deals and Discounts Don’t just run ads for your company or products without giving people a reason to click on them in the first place. Highlighting offers and discounts in online ads is a sure-fire way to get customers interested and can lead them down the rabbit hole of clicking on it and eventually purchasing a product. Make sure not to give away too much information so that they will need to fill out a form or get redirected to your website or landing page to get all the details. Provide Incentives to Increase Clicks Customers are used to online ads as every app is filled to the brim with them. Unless something really catches their eye, customers will generally ignore ads and scroll through them. You can have app-specific offers so that customers who initially saw your ad on Youtube can be eligible for a discount or offer a 10% cashback if a customer completes the sales funnel in less than an hour. Make sure you get them interested enough to click on it because that is the first step towards a purchase. Utilise Up-Selling and Cross-Selling Upselling and cross-selling strategies enable retailers to sell more products to customers and increase the cart value of each order by recommending complementary products or substitutes in case customers are looking for a cheaper alternative or another option. You can have product suggestions on your website or landing page that your customer gets redirected to or even run parallel ads of other products you are offering simultaneously. Include Testimonials in Your Online Ads The reviews and customer feedback provided carry a lot of weightage when customers are contemplating making a purchase. Positive reviews can provide the extra jolt that is needed to propel customers to make a purchase while negative reviews can be the cause of customers leaving your site or product listing. By including testimonials from prior customers in your online ads, customers will become more willing to give your brand a chance. Conclusion: Why You Should Choose WareIQ as Your Fulfillment Partner During the Holiday Season? Running marketing campaigns during holiday season is one of the most profound ways that businesses can capitalize on the added demand and convert that demand into a sale. With the rise of the internet and social media, it is important for businesses to adapt their digital advertising strategy to bolster their short-term and long-term growth and success. If you are an eCommerce retailer that needs assistance in fulfillment and shipping due to the increased demand brought about by the holiday season, WareIQ can help. WareIQ is an eCommerce fulfillment company based in India that is experiencing rapid growth amongst eCommerce sellers due to our thoughtful and covenant offerings. We can help in a variety of different ways from storing your inventory to fulfilling your orders. Some of the services we provide are listed below: A pan-India network of fulfillment centers and dark stores Smart inventory placement technology that determines where your goods should be stored based on customer demand and proximity to them A custom WMS that can monitor and update inventory levels in real-time, across multiple eCommerce selling platforms and fulfillment centers An app store that consists of a large number of apps to enhance productivity in different facets of eCommerce Ultra-fast delivery through a choice of more than 20 shipping aggregators that automatically assigns the quickest and cheapest option for every order Holiday Marketing Campaigns: FAQs

August 21, 2022

Conversational Commerce 101 [2025]: A Comprehensive Guide for eCommerce Sellers on Definition, Types, Benefits, Use Cases and How to Provide a Positive Chat Commerce Experience

In the current day and age, social media has become part of our everyday lives. eCommerce companies have observed this and are increasingly using social media as a tool for marketing. The main reason for its popularity is that everything is updated in real-time and opens up communication capabilities with multiple people. Customers increasingly rely on messaging apps for many types of communication including personal, professional and commercial interactions. Consumers are progressively using social media apps to research, choose and finalize payments for goods and services without having to contact, email or even go to a company's website because the app is where all the required processes take place. Chris highlighted the growing practice of offering goods and services through chat applications in an essay for Medium and referred to it as conversational commerce, a term that is now used globally to describe this phenomenon. Let us take a broader look at what conversational commerce is and why it is important in 2025. What is Conversational Commerce? Conversational commerce, also called conversational marketing or chat commerce, is a way that eCommerce sellers use conversations between their customers and themselves to market their goods and services. Customer communication is effective as long as it is tailored to each individual and helps customers advance through the sales funnel more quickly. Conversational commerce can take place in a variety of ways including through messaging platforms, chatbots and voice assistants. This shift in favour of chat apps was sparked and continues to be fueled by the rise in their user base as more people get access to the internet. With more than 2 billion active users, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging service followed by Facebook Messenger. WeChat, a Chinese-owned app, Snapchat, Telegram, and numerous other smaller companies are examples of the different modes of conversational commerce. [contactus_gynoveda] 4 Types of Conversational Commerce Messaging Apps Messaging applications contribute to far more natural and individualized consumer connections, which result in improved conversion rates. Customers who are more emotionally connected with your business spend more time and money on purchasing products and recommending them to other customers. You can communicate with customers using a messaging program, such as Messenger or WhatsApp and send and receive instant messages. Because they allow for instant private conversations and online purchases, consumers are keen to use them, hence positively affecting consumer behaviour. These apps have surpassed social media apps in downloads because they receive 20% more users. Additionally, buyers can send emojis, GIFs, videos and memes on messaging platforms, which makes conversational commerce more relaxed and increases customer engagement. Chatbots A chatbot is a piece of software that assists people by texting them the answers to their questions in a separate popup or window. Multiple people can speak with chatbots simultaneously and they can answer questions quickly and continuously and they can be used on websites and messaging services. This makes it possible to provide an automated conversational commerce experience through channels that are appropriate for different stages of the customer journey. Because of all these features, chatbots are also a highly common type of chat commerce as it helps brands engage with consumers with little effort. Additionally, chatbots don't require a learning curve from users that conventional apps do. Within a few clicks, you can inquire about the progress of your most recent order, find out if a certain product is in stock, or find the location of the closest store. They are more well-liked by clients who are less tech-savvy as a result. Live Chats One of the most commonly used forms of conversational commerce is live chat. Through live chats, customers can instantly get responses from retailers regarding a variety of issues and it is simple to use. It has a significant edge over email and phone communication due to the convenience it offers. Additionally, an employee can converse with two or three consumers at once, which helps brands shorten wait times and increase customer satisfaction. Live chat applications are conversational commerce examples that have potential. You can use it to connect with bashful consumers who might not otherwise seek your assistance and to proactively engage website visitors. Once the ice has been broken, you can direct the buyer to your website and provide them with tailored recommendations to aid them in making a purchase. Voice Assistants A voice assistant is a sort of software that responds to user inquiries and is triggered by voice commands. Voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant are a function that is increasingly common in many modern gadgets. Customers adore them because they are practical, and entertaining and allow for hands-free multitasking. They are becoming more and more popular, which motivates businesses to incorporate them into their conversational commerce and marketing plans. Voice assistants can provide quick answers or point users to your website, both of which will help you build more brand awareness. Certain voice assistants can also identify a user's voice. When a gadget is used by several people, such as a family, this function is extremely helpful. Natural language processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning enable voice assistants to learn about a specific user's preferences and provide suggestions that fit those preferences. Marketers can take advantage of this feature to customise their advertising efforts and provide a personalised chat commerce experience to customers. Advantages of Conversational Commerce for eCommerce sellers in 2025 Offers a Personalized Touch eCommerce companies should try to make a strong first impression on potential customers. You can take advantage of the chance to lend a helping hand to a customer who is visiting your store for the first time, create significantly stronger customer relationships and increase customer trust by assisting clients through the remaining stages of their customer journey by providing them with a competent conversational commerce experience. 90% of customers are more inclined to make larger purchases from companies that have left them with a good first impression. Use a chatbot to provide discount vouchers. Customers enjoy receiving promotional coupons and interacting with brands that offer them better deals more frequently. Utilize a voice assistant to enable your clients to order your products or search for important information. Give it a charming name and a persona that embodies the principles of your company. You can win clients' hearts far more easily by creating memorable interactions that resonate with them. Collects Customer Feedback It is far more relevant to obtain customer feedback through chat commerce than it is to use standard web forms. Use the Facebook post reply feature. Every person who comments on your Facebook post can receive an automated chatbot message from you with contact details and more information. You may, for instance, write a post promoting your most recent offer and promise to give users who comment more information. Every commenter can receive a personalized message from the chatbot and it can even ask for feedback thereafter. You can also use a post-live chat survey. Once a customer has finished speaking with a customer support executive, you can gather their comments and reviews. Customers are more likely to provide feedback if you ask them for it upfront and you can learn more about their needs by doing so. Reduces Cart Abandonment Every online store wants to avoid dealing with cart abandonment. To overcome this issue, you must first identify its root cause. High shipping costs are one of the most frequent reasons that consumers decide not to complete their transactions. Customers are frequently turned off by having to register for an account or a convoluted checkout procedure. Investigate the reasons why your clients abandon their shopping carts. Additionally, buyers frequently use their shopping cart as a wish list. They fill their cart with several items to determine their prices, only to depart to compare similar lists on other websites. Customers who have gathered products in their carts but haven't yet made a purchase should receive proactive greetings via a live chat or chatbot. Offer to assist the buyer in completing their order. 2 methods that can significantly help with reducing cart abandonment through chat commerce are as follows: Use the Checkbox Plugin With Facebook Messenger: It recognizes ongoing Facebook sessions and enables you to communicate with users whose orders are still in progress. To encourage visitors to return to your website and make an order, you can give them a discount. Use the Marketing App With Facebook Messenger: You can use Messenger to send messages to customers that have abandoned their carts. The program also allows you to use a popup to collect consumer phone numbers so you can contact them through SMS or Whatsapp. Increases Upselling and Cross-selling Opportunities Upselling and cross-selling can double your profits by encouraging customers to buy more items that can enhance the experience of their initial purchase. By selling more to consumers who are already considering purchasing from you, upselling and cross-selling can help quadruple your income if your efforts succeed. Make proactive connections with customers who have previously placed orders from you using a Messenger chatbot. In order to cross-sell your products, a chatbot can inform the consumer that you are currently selling an item that pairs well with their prior purchase. This entire procedure can be automated using chatbots and live chats in succession with messing apps. 4 Steps Involved in Providing a Positive Chat Commerce Experience Conduct Research Investigate other businesses in your sector to see how they make use of the possibilities of conversational commerce and list down all of the available options you have. To learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each option, request demos and register for free trials. If you already have a solution or a channel in mind, find out what the most well-known and exceptional instances are that you can use as inspiration. Don't forget to consider the feedback from your clients. Find out what your consumers think of your services by reading their reviews. You can also conduct interviews with a few of them to learn more about their current requirements. Analyze Your Objectives Consider the issues your team and clients are encountering before implementing your chat commerce strategy. Set attainable objectives that you want to accomplish. Getting closer to it will be made easier by lowering cart abandonment. Perhaps you want to boost sales or provide quicker, more convenient client service to increase their loyalty to your brand. After you have created your dream list, organize and rank your objectives to determine which are the most important for your company. This is crucial because it's possible that you can't change all of your procedures at once. It's sometimes preferable to make changes to certain elements and see how they function. Choose a Conversational Commerce Type Half the difficulty is choosing a trustworthy conversational commerce solution that works well with your ecosystem. Effective implementation and management make up the second half. Without expert personnel, this could be difficult to achieve. If you choose to use live chat, for instance, you will need to train your staff to provide excellent live help via text. Remember that the typical live chat response time is slow and some clients become irritated if they are required to wait longer. Perhaps using a chatbot platform is preferable if you are unable to provide quick service. However, that would also call for some expertise in conversational design. Perhaps hiring a company to install your product and manage the dialogues would be simpler. Think about the resources you have and how you can use them accordingly. Calculate Your Success Rate Even after you have neatly wrapped up everything, you still need to keep an eye on how you are doing. At every point of the client journey, tracking effective, real-time metrics can help you assess your performance and enhance your conversational commerce operations. You can figure out which methods have higher or lower success rates than others and choose to make changes accordingly. 10 Best Conversational Commerce Examples and Use Cases Crew Clothing A UK-based clothing company known as Crew Clothing wanted to run an ad campaign that targeted its ideal audience of customers below the age of 34 to highlight itself as the ideal option for Christmas gifts. It decided to use Facebook messenger since it is the most popular all for age groups between 25 to 34. Users that engaged with the ad were redirected to an automated conversation that asked them questions relating to their ideal gift ideas so that they could figure out which products they wanted to buy for themselves, friends or family. The campaign yielded exceptional results with almost 50% of customers who saw the ad purchasing something from the site, resulting in a 5x profit over what was spent. Source REN Clean Skincare REN Clean Skincare sought to reduce their cart abandonment rate to increase their profit margins so the company sent an automated chat conversation to customers who had abandoned their cart on the site on previous occasions to figure what made them leave without completing their purchase. Their chat message included casual language and emojis to make customers feel like they were talking to a friend rather than a business. Source Maggi Maggi is a highly successful brand in the instant food, seasoning and cooking segment that originated in Switzerland. The company wanted to run a conversational commerce campaign in Germany, one of its most successful markets. The company primarily used Whatsapp and Facebook messenger to launch a virtual assistant called Kim that could help customers around the clock by answering queries, sending links to important information and videos on how to make certain items. The campaign was deemed a success owing to the 200,000 messages that were sent within the first 8 weeks of the campaign. Source American Leather American Leather is a company that specialises in leather products. In an effort to gain confidence from its customers, the company set up a chatbot on its website known as AskAI that users could chat with to find out details such as their order status, warranty, directions to the closest store and many other details that customers want an answer to. By having an assistant that is available at all times on the main website, customers know that they can simply get the information they need on the fly rather than going through the hassle of dealing with customer support which can take frustratingly long to come to a solution. Source Alpha Lion Alpha Lion is a fitness and supplement company. The company mainly uses conversational commerce to increase sales through up-selling and cross-selling strategies. When a customer purchases a product, they are instantly greeted with a message that suggests a complimentary product to make the most out of the existing product. The chatbot subtly suggests that the existing product cannot be used to its full potential without the use of an additional product. It also communicates with customers while they are fresh off a purchase which proves that they are capable and willing to buy an item again. Source Maev Maev is a company that sells canine food. Since it is a relatively niche product, the company cannot always use conversational commerce to promote their products and rather defaults to using it as a means to strike up a conversation with customers about simple, canine-related products to show their audience that they are genuinely passionate about dogs, which will encourage dog owners to think more highly about the brand. Source Muddy Bites Most brands use conventional email or social media marketing to create hype around a product. While it can yield positive results, it can also lead to a lot of one-way communication with sparse replies dispersed amongst a sea of ignored emails. This is where Muddy Bites, a food and baking company, used conversational commerce to drum up enthusiasm around its latest offerings. The company sends an automated chatbot message with an engaging question to customers which increases the hype and visibility of the brand and product. Source Amazon Alexa Moving over to mainstream brands and technology that has become mainstream, Alexa is a virtual assistant that is used by various Amazon Products and can give users access to a wide range of information on the device and the internet by mentioning a simple trigger phrase like “Hey, Alexa”. While this may not be used directly to sell more products or promote the brand, the ease of use that it brings along with the instant recognition that it inspires is all the marketing that Amazon needs. You May be Interested in Amazon's Great Indian Sale. Source Starbucks Starbucks has hopped on the technological train by introducing its own app that can be used to order items, check on the order status, browse menus, get directions to the closest shop and much more. This negates the need for customers who are craving a cup of coffee to stand in long lines or travel to a physical store. The company has also implemented a chatbot to make the process of ordering feel more personal. Source H&M H&M, a world-renowned clothing store, has implemented the use of a chatbot on the messaging app Kik, to do a whole range of tasks such as promoting new product releases, communicating with customers, suggesting personalised product options and more. The goal of the chatbot is to make customers feel like they have their own personal assistant to help them make certain decisions, provide answers to queries and suggest products in various colours and sizes. Source Conclusion Conversational commerce is a step closer to the attention customers could similarly receive from a sales representative in-store. Customers no longer need to switch between text conversations and websites to obtain information and make purchases. In order to make it easier for people to purchase from brands, chat businesses are increasingly being collaborated with. The largest mode of conversational commerce is WhatsApp which also comes in a business version and has options for payment settlements through UPI. If you need help with fulfilling the increased amount of orders brought about by conversational commerce, you can partner with WareIQ, India's leading 3PL fulfillment company. With WareIQ, online businesses have a lot of room to grow since they have access to a solid fulfillment infrastructure, a team of logistics experts and committed customer support. Utilizing our services allows you to instantly send online orders to the closest fulfillment center where they are picked, packed, and delivered as soon as they are placed, saving you time, money, and additional delivery modifications. Additionally, WareIQ’s high-end WMS integrates with various selling platforms and can help to monitor information in real-time. You can also provide details to your customers about their order placement, fulfillment status, ET, etc. We also offer many more services, such as order fulfillment, last-mile delivery, an app store, a nationwide network of fulfillment centers and a selection of various shipping partners, ultra-rapid delivery and much more. Conversational Commerce: FAQs

August 18, 2022

Omnichannel Fulfilment Guide: Definition, Challenges, Benefits, and 5 Best Practices To Optimize Your Omnichannel Order Fulfilment Strategy for eCommerce in 2025

One of the most critical parts of the eCommerce system is order fulfillment. Unfortunately, managing offline and online inventories is getting more complicated as more people operate in the hybrid paradigm. Because of this, e-commerce businesses have chosen to use the Omnichannel Fulfilment Approach to convert their stocks to a hybrid mode. With this strategy, firms may combine their inventory for physical and online channels and distribute it across them based on consumer demand. The companies also implemented a better industrial and warehouse management system thanks to the decentralised inventory, which increased delivery precision and speed. Brands can easily optimise their supply chain operations and order fulfillment process with the help of the omnichannel fulfillment strategy. Thanks to the integrated inventory tracking system, customers can identify the products they're looking for, which enables you to reallocate and redistribute inventory over various channels as needed. Additionally, the unified inventory enables businesses to experiment with additional sales channels without building a separate order fulfilment infrastructure. What is Omni-Channel Fulfillment? Omnichannel fulfilment completes orders across many sales channels using a coordinated manifestation procedure to improve supply chain operations. Adopting omnichannel fulfillment can be highly beneficial when improving the customer experience while lowering shipping costs and time. The method's ability to let companies utilise stores as fulfillment centers are one of its key benefits. This enables the companies to broaden their online reach by utilising the current physical infrastructure. However, using the Omni-channel strategy allows businesses to enter the e-commerce market without building an entirely new network of physical warehouses and fulfillment facilities. The idea of omnichannel fulfillment is highly well-liked in sectors like FMCG, where many perishable commodities are involved in the operations. They may expand their reach and manage the supply chain of these perishable commodities more effectively using local resources thanks to the fulfilling technique. Furthermore, while the idea of omnichannel fulfillment is very simple, it can be accomplished in several ways. For example, some of them are- Transportation from the Warehouse With this process, the goods are shipped straight to the consumer from a warehouse. Transportation from Manufacturer Retailers have a significant advantage when they collaborate closely with their retailers. They have the choice to send it instantly and directly to the customer. Using a 3PL or fulfillment center for shipping A lot of retailers collaborate with fulfillment facilities or 3PLs. In essence, this is drop shipping. Deliver from the Shop Sometimes a consumer will place an online order and pick it up in a store. Delivery to Third-Party Partner The newest omnichannel fulfilment technique is the last one. With this approach, the business either establishes separate pickup centres or brokers with others. This is typically only practical for smaller packages that can be kept in lockers. The consumer receives pickup information when the order is delivered to that locker. Is Omnichannel Fulfilment The Right Strategy For Your Organization? By 2027, the market for retail omnichannel commerce platforms will be worth $16.9 billion. Business owners are continuously looking for new strategies to boost sales and expand in the congested and cutthroat world of retail. The advent of omnichannel fulfillment services has completely changed how modern selling is done by enabling physical establishments to respond to the changing needs of their clientele. Since online buyers may do independent research and price comparisons to locate the items they desire, omnichannel shopping benefits companies of all sizes in satisfying customer demands. Omnichannel fulfillment can be the solution you're searching for if your company is having trouble improving the customer experience and ensuring brand loyalty. Your fulfillment operations will benefit from incorporating an omnichannel strategy so customers can easily switch across online channels to locate what they're looking for. And a rise in sales follows quickly when clients have a satisfying, memorable shopping experience with your brand. You'll also be one of the expanding retail stores if you switch to an omnichannel strategy from a multichannel or cross-channel model. Almost all retail companies use an omnichannel framework to manage their significant order volumes. How is omnichannel executed? Types Of Omnichannel Fulfilment The three primary forms of omnichannel fulfillment are as follows. Which are: Warehouse Fulfilment In this kind of omnichannel fulfillment, the online store owns or hires a warehouse to distribute goods to customers. When your firm starts to expand, this approach may provide problems with space and inventory control. Several fulfillment service providers let you connect with their warehouse, even though many eCommerce enterprises employ this strategy from their warehouses. You may rent out space in their warehouse for your products. Most frequently, there is a chance of more significant charges for processing and inventory storage, which can seriously hurt your organisation. On the other hand, fulfilment partners offer storage space in their warehouse and an end-to-end order fulfilment solution from when a seller collaborates. Retail Fulfilment Two forms of store fulfilment exist: Deliver from store Deliver to store Businesses distribute goods to clients directly from the shop in the first type of retail fulfilment. These businesses hold their inventory on hand until a shipment is required. This type of fulfilment converts a store into a warehouse or distribution centre for smaller companies with physical and mortar stores but limited financial resources. The second type of fulfilment is utilised by eCommerce companies that allow clients to pick up orders in-store. In this type of fulfillment, goods are delivered from the relevant warehouse or distribution centre to the physical shop of an eCommerce company. Brick and mortar stores lack the necessary systems to operate as a fully-functional fulfilment centre or have real-time visibility into stock levels and return handling capacity, a drawback of this type of fulfillment. Fulfillment by 3PL This is one of the most excellent omnichannel fulfillment methods because it covers practically all of them. Customers place orders on your website, social media accounts, or any other platform through which you offer your items, and the 3PL with which you have a partnership fulfils those orders. eCommerce enterprises can quickly and easily complete orders by outsourcing fulfillment to a 3PL, which serves as a conduit between the business and the end user. In addition, the administration of your inventory, shipping, and customers' experiences after delivery are handled by 3PL companies. [contactus_uth] Challenges To Overcome While Adopting Omnichannel Order Fulfillment Strategy The Omnichannel Approach has some challenges. The best approach to solving these challenges is to identify the common problems and find an ideal solution that addresses the organisation's needs. Challenges in Inventory Control Across Various Channels While using the Omnichannel fulfilment technique, it can be challenging to synchronise your inventory in real-time across several touchpoints, even though this is also a benefit. Since the same physical product may have many SKUs across various platforms, tracking the SKUs in real-time can be challenging. With many sales channels, updating the inventory in real-time is also necessary but is more challenging. To address this issue, a centralised fulfillment platform must be used to track the numerous SKUs across various channels. This will enable you to maintain track of your inventory and ensure no inconsistencies in your inventory levels. Order Tracking is Complicated The modern internet buying experience includes live order tracking, which is crucial. Businesses can lessen customers' post-purchase angst and buyer's remorse by providing live order tracking. This improves the user experience for customers on your platform and the rate of purchase cancellations. A substantial order tracking strategy must be implemented while integrating the fulfilment across several channels. This calls for establishing an open line of communication between buyers and sellers through the brands and marketplaces. Inventory Visibility Issues An omnichannel strategy needs you to be aware of the state of your inventory. The last thing that retailers want is to offer customers next-day delivery yet cannot deliver on that promise. Solving this requirement can be challenging, especially during the busy holiday shopping season. The need is to create an effective omnichannel order fulfillment process that utilises an enhanced warehouse management system. In addition, you may efficiently plan your supply chain activities by employing inventory visibility as an accurate forecaster of future demand. Retailers that implement omnichannel in the proper way—by setting up a metric for inventory visibility—will be better able to demonstrate a seamless customer experience while managing their supply chain. Challenging Procedures Unique To Channels The next difficulty for businesses is concentrating on channels separately. How can a store guarantee complete client pleasure if all of its supply chain operations aren't running smoothly? Unfortunately, the answer is that they cannot. Integrating your supply chain across your shop, retailers, and other online sales platforms is necessary. The order fulfilment procedures will move more quickly with the synchronisation of sales channels. Additionally, using omnichannel will allow you to use spaces in different ways. For example, showrooms can be found in warehouses. Ikea, for instance, employs this concept to create an incredibly economical supply chain. The speed of delivery is crucial in today's retail business when it comes to selling across channels. But ensuring the product is delivered on time to the final user is one of the most complex components. When customers make an online purchase, they anticipate receiving their goods within a few days at the latest. A retail company's inconsistent order fulfilment procedure may cause shipment delays, which may discourage customers from ever doing business with the retailer again. Speed of Delivery Using the right technology to predict upcoming service or shipping delays is an excellent method to ensure a smooth order fulfillment process. Customers and businesses save money and time when they can purchase online and pick up in-store. Additionally, customers might buy more things when picking up an order. Ease Of Returns Your omnichannel logistics system should be configured with handling order returns as a top priority. Can a consumer who purchases one of your products online easily take it back to the nearby retail location or ship it back? The likelihood of the consumer making additional purchases in the future is slim to none. Providing excellent customer service in omnichannel strategies requires a solid reverse logistics infrastructure. Omnichannel logistics aims to give customers the most seamless purchasing experience possible. But a retailer can only do this if they can combine their eCommerce talents with the demands of managing a network of brick-and-mortar stores and distribution centres. It's Challenging to Create and Maintain Your Fulfilment Infrastructure and Strategy If you lack the required infrastructure, implementing and launching an omnichannel strategy may be difficult. Although expensive and time-consuming, you can always invest in a fulfilment warehouse, tools, technology, and an omnichannel fulfilment team. In addition, many businesses seek to collaborate with an organisation that can handle order fulfillment on their behalf. An effective omnichannel strategy relies on synchronisation. Without the resources (like those that a fulfillment company has), it can be challenging to meet each channel's expectations while managing day-to-day fulfilment issues like staffing labor, ordering supplies, and maintaining order accuracy. Despite the size of these obstacles, your investment will more than compensate for them. Benefits of Choosing Omni-Channel Order Fulfilment Strategy in 2025 Companies must constantly improve the consumer experience while lowering operating expenses as eCommerce becomes more and more prevalent. In addition, managing the fulfilment of orders from several sources can be challenging as a business expands. Here, the Omnichannel Fulfilment strategy delivers the perfect answer to all of your supply chain issues. The following are some advantages of employing the method and why should you choose Omnichannel Fulfillment: Improved Inventory Control Inventory management is one of the most crucial facets of an e-commerce business. However, real-time inventory tracking can be challenging as operations increase, especially if several touchpoints require separate inventories. When employing the omnichannel fulfillment approach, you combine the complete fulfilment operations for all your touchpoints. This lowers the cost of inventory and warehouse management and improves the effectiveness of the entire fulfilment process. Utilization of Stocks For Selling Across Channels One of the most crucial elements of any e-commerce platform is the customer experience. A few elements that draw and keep a customer are quick-to-order fulfilment, real-time tracking options, and the availability of a range of products. Using the Omnichannel Order Fulfillment strategy, you may consolidate the inventory for offline and online sales channels and bring the entire manifestation process under a single roof. As a result, your shipping times are improved, and customers can access your product through all available channels. Save Operational Costs With Integrated Fulfillment Process Companies can enhance their supply chain management to save operational costs and optimise the entire process. The Omnichannel Fulfilment Strategy enables you to link your sales channel and establish a single fulfillment process. In addition, the real-time warehouse management system enhances operational effectiveness and enables effective inventory management. Streamlining your supply chain can also speed up deliveries and boost customer satisfaction. In addition, the integrated fulfilment process is made possible by the proliferation of alternative sales channels and cross-platform services like "buy online, return in store" services, which allow customers to customise their shopping experiences. Improved Order Efficiency Once their selling channels are streamlined into a single, synchronised platform, eCommerce businesses are frequently astounded at how much simpler omnichannel fulfillment becomes. A more efficient order fulfilment process, including more effective packing and precise deliveries, results from this system's simplification. Furthermore, improved order management maintains cross-channel fulfillment's consistency, reducing the requirement for continuing problem-solving. Better Reporting Accuracy Omnichannel fulfillment also has a lot to offer in terms of reporting accuracy. The success of your omnichannel approach will depend heavily on how well you manage the performance of your sales channels. However, you can quickly handle all your channels using real-time reporting provided by omnichannel software. In reality, software systems offer 24/7 reporting, allowing you to monitor KPIs and spot areas that need development immediately. Increased Sales and Revenue It may seem a bit apparent, but you'll experience a spike in online orders when you optimise your eCommerce Fulfilment channels and make it easier for clients to purchase your goods. In addition, customers are more likely to return to your store if they know you'll always have what they want in stock and available to ship (rather than give their money to a competitor). So, by selling your products over several sales channels, you can anticipate a significant increase in revenue. Better Brand Recognition Customers expect access to your products at any time and location, which may seem like a challenging task for a small business owner. However, selling on several websites and online marketplaces allows you the chance to reach a bigger audience of customers by promoting your brand (and your product listings). The better your brand is seen as a whole and the more likely it is to turn browsers into customers, the more visible your business is inside the eCommerce landscape. 5 Best Practices to Optimize Your Omni channel Fulfilment Strategy in 2025 You may improve the effectiveness of your omnichannel fulfillment strategy by using these strategies. Smart Inventory Placement and Real Time Insight Into Stock Levels Across FC Locations Inventory optimization tool for Omnichannel order fulfillment Being aware of the location of your products is essential for omnichannel distribution. To decide where to place inventory and where to fulfill particular orders, you need real-time insight into all of your SKUs, whether they are housed in a shop or a fulfillment center. If you're planning to work with a 3PL, try out their inventory management system (IMS) to ensure you have the necessary visibility. It's also crucial that your staff can easily use it. Understanding how frequently the IMS is updated is also vital. Choose a 3PL That Offers Scalability and Flexibility Some 3PLs manage consistent, predictable fulfilment volumes but struggle to handle unexpected volume surges without a significant time and expense penalty. They might not have a viable temporary labour alternative, or maybe their systems are incapable of handling these spikes. It would be best if you were prepared for these increases in omnichannel distribution, whether seasonal, brought on by special offers, or by more effective marketing of your items. Please discuss this vital necessity with your 3PL until you feel confident in their approach and ability to handle big volume swings effectively. Can your 3PL expand with you and offer more locations when demand necessitates expansion beyond the current footprint? This has grown in significance as businesses must fulfill two-day shipping commitments. Make Certain Your 3PL Offers Productive Picking Operation Source You want to reduce labour expenses, especially for pick-and-pack activities that need a lot of work. Not all fulfillment organizations have invested in a sophisticated warehouse management system (WMS), which is necessary for doing that. You should be able to do the following things with any WMS you consider: To cut down on journey time, analyse and bundle similar orders on the same pick cart. Excellent picker productivity is a significant profit driver because direct labor costs comprise about 35–40% of total operating expenses. Select the ideal carton size automatically to reduce shipping expenses. This reduces the time needed to choose the appropriate box. The technique also reduces dim weight charges from carriers that apply when transporting containers, which is more essential. To cut costs and increase accuracy, scan the items as they are picked up. Ensure your fulfillment partners are equipped with this capability; otherwise, you risk paying a more significant premium in picking error rates and picking error repair expenses. Pre-Kitting of Orders With Several SKUs Product Kitting in eCommerce The same SKUs are frequently requested at the same time for B2C fulfillment. With the help of an intelligent WMS system, you may efficiently pre-build most of these standing orders. For example, consider the scenario where two goods and another SKU are always ordered together. You can pre-select and box the two popular SKUs, so you must make one pick to fill an order rather than pick three products for every purchase. Pre-kitting is a volume-based procedure, so you choose complete pallets and pre-build orders as your employees have the time. Select the Best 3PL Partner A versatile 3PL is necessary for omnichannel order fulfillment since it must be able to handle pick-and-pack operations for B2C fulfillment and bulk distribution for B2B fulfillment. Direct-to-consumer and bulk manufacturing have vastly distinct production methods. Therefore, watch out for 3PLs that lack the B2C fulfilment experience you require. Before signing, visit the fulfillment facilities of each 3PL and ask to see how they operate concerning a client whose requirements and volume are comparable to your own. Then, you'll be able to see how your account might be run that way. Conclusion Since the focus of every retail organisation is the client experience, businesses must adjust to the hybrid selling model that customers have begun to favour. Brands have started implementing the Omnichannel Fulfilment strategy to achieve this. Brands must adapt their marketing strategies and channels to the latest trends because the digital world is continuously changing. For example, you can enter a new market without building a separate fulfilment infrastructure using the omnichannel order fulfillment strategy. As a result, firms can implement various marketing techniques without affecting the supply chain. Contrarily, customers receive a consistent experience over all platforms. Brands may connect their merchandise from numerous online and offline touchpoints with this strategy. Additionally, this enables businesses to provide speedier customer service by utilising nearby neighbourhood stores to increase delivery efficiency. Furthermore, the brands may simultaneously manage a real-time inventory for every channel, enabling them to optimise supply chain operations by replenishing unsold stock across numerous channels. As a result, the company can list itself on various channels with just one physical item. How WareIQ as a 3PL Partner Helps to Generate Revenue and Manage Omnichannel Selling? WareIQ, as a tech-driven fulfillment partner, assists brands of all sizes in providing top-notch customer service across channels. WareIQ centralises logistics operations to meet client expectations with integrated solutions for order and inventory management and quick shipping. WareIQ supports managing omnichannel order fulfillment thanks to a robust fulfilment network, technology solution, and dozens of interfaces with crucial e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, sales and social media channels, and even B2B fulfilling capabilities. Across all sales channels, handling products, orders, clients, and shipping is simple. WareIQ even provides Next-Day Express delivery, which lowers cart abandonment and boosts sales for purchases placed directly with customers. You may quickly sell your goods using a variety of platforms and methods, thanks to WareIQ. They integrate inventory management software with nationwide fulfilment to assist to get your products where they need to be in strategic locations. [signup] Omnichannel Order Fulfillment: FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

August 18, 2022

What is Distributed Warehousing and How is it Beneficial for eCommerce Sellers in 2025?

It is difficult to recall a time when online orders would only be delivered after multiple weeks. Today, multiple companies and selling platforms claim to deliver their products on the same day and some even in hours. Premium users are usually given priority in this regard. On the technical front, orders are placed, immediate confirmation messages/emails are sent automatically, and the in-house staff gets notified about the order and packs the product instantly so the package can be ready for delivery within an hour but after this, the product has to get delivered to the customer. It is can prove to be a challenging task to run. But there are sellers who, with the help of distributed warehousing, are providing same-day delivery and next-day delivery. In this blog, we will discuss distributed warehousing in detail, how it is helpful and how you can use it to lower your operating cost. What is Distributed Warehousing? Distributed warehousing is a novel kind of warehousing in which a company delivers and distributes products from a number of smaller, strategically-placed warehouses in major cities across the nation. The main objective of distributed warehousing is to take advantage of providing quick order fulfillment by storing inventory closer to customers. Additionally, this business model gives owners access to inventory and on-site requirements from virtually anywhere. Storage, fulfillment, cross-docking, retail distribution, on-site co-working, and other tasks are carried out in these warehouses. Distribution warehouses are connected to particular distributors for particular items. For example, a laptop manufacturer would think about working with a distributor who represents computers and their peripherals. The distributor would keep those computers in its warehouse and ship them to the stores that would eventually sell them. The distributor may provide training or support for those laptops in addition to storing and distributing the goods. But doing so raises the manufacturer's costs and lowers their profit margin. Unlike laptop manufacturers, a clothing manufacturer doesn't need the same kind of support and pays less compared to a specialist distribution warehouse. Because of this, a key factor in deciding what kind of warehouse to use is the product type. [contactus_uth] 3 Types of Warehousing Models for Online Business Single In-House Warehouse Most new eCommerce companies typically rent one or two large, strategically situated warehouses and run their business independently. Although this conventional model has short-term viability, it is neither adaptable nor scalable. Finding and establishing new storage facilities will take time and work each time you try to increase your footprint. The strategy also attracts large fixed operational costs and calls for a significant amount of cash to invest in properties and long-term leases. Additionally, because the warehouses are centralized, each shipment will have to travel a significant distance, delaying the completion of orders. On the other hand, you do have total control over warehouse operations with this arrangement. A big internal workforce will be needed to manage the warehousing procedures, but it helps to assure quality control. That's where warehousing companies come into the picture, read more. Decentralized Warehouses at Multiple Locations As the name suggests, decentralized distributed warehousing means several warehouses are placed at multiple strategically chosen locations for easy operations, low costs, and proximity to transport hubs and areas of high demand. Read our blog on decentralized inventory to know how it helps eCommerce businesses in 2024. It will be easier to understand the benefits of distributed warehousing if you compare the pros and cons of decentralized warehouses with the conventional warehousing technique of centralized storage systems. Here are a few pros and cons of Decentralized warehouses: Pros Lowers delivery costs Reduces delivery time Meets the high expectations of buyers Has higher successful delivery rates Is easy and cost-effective to return or exchange goods Eases distribution at batch level Cons Requires a big team to operate multiple warehouses Needs huge investment and operational cost Has reduced efficiency without technology It can be complicated to operate Needs highly trained personnel Outsourcing Storage to a 3PL Growing companies should outsource their warehousing needs to a tech-enabled 3PL service provider. This approach delivers the advantages of distributed warehousing without the majority of its problems, making it the greatest method for streamlining fulfillment in general. While you do have to pay for shipping, fulfillment, and storage costs, you gain access to a larger network of sites without having to make a financial commitment to renting or purchasing those locations. Additionally, 3PLs provide value-added services including digital warehousing tools that automate SKU distribution and management as well as order processing and fulfillment. Distributed Warehousing Vs Public Warehousing The public warehouse option usually has fewer amenities than distributed warehousing but it is lower in cost. Some public warehouses may not include features like temperature control, pick and pack or a state-of-the-art inventory management system while others will provide one or more of these auxiliary services. Requirements for public warehouses include flexibility, affordability, and short-term contracts that might not be possible with distributed warehousing. The best storage facility for your goods should be chosen after considering a number of aspects, such as price, time commitment, business model, product kind, and inbound and outgoing shipping requirements. Let us look at the differences in detail: [table id=47 /] Why is eCommerce Moving Towards Distributed Warehousing in 2025? Benefits of Distributed Warehousing in eCommerce There are several benefits of distributed warehousing such as easy deliveries, high rates of successful deliveries, easy returns, etc. but the below points are the most important ones: Cost-Effective Customers care about the delivery time but they care even more about delivery costs. In a study, it is found that a staggering 80% of buyers chose free shipping over speedy shipping when given the option. In most circumstances, the distance traveled and the cost of shipping is directly proportional where the more the distance traveled, the more expensive the shipping will be. Distributed warehousing allows you to move inventory closer to customers, reducing average shipment distance and consequently, average shipping expenses. Time-Saving Two-thirds of buyers expect 2-day delivery and again, more than 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when 2-day delivery is an option. As a result, providing quick shipment is crucial to retaining current clients as well as attracting new ones. Distributed warehousing, unlike shipping from a single warehouse, promotes speedier shipping by keeping goods in fulfillment facilities that are practically closer to common order destinations. As a result, delivery times are shortened because the average distance that orders must travel is decreased. Businesses can offer 2-day delivery in this way without having to invest in pricey, accelerated solutions like air shipment. Meets Customers Expectations Customers these days look for an easy and convenient delivery experience and distributed warehousing allows a seller to meet these expectations. In cases of returns or exchanges, it is a win-win situation for both parties as the distance from the location to the warehouse is reduced. Oftentimes, buyers require their orders to be delivered as soon as possible and this is made possible due to distributed warehousing. How WareIQ is the Best Option for Distributed Warehousing for eCommerce Sellers in India? WareIQ's distribution and storage services can handle all aspects of inventory distribution if you are ready to expand your geographic reach efficiently and affordably. Along with our expanding fulfilment distribution network that consists of multiple fulfilment centres and dark stores across the country, WareIQ uses its warehouse management system (WMS) and logistical know-how to help you scale your business more effectively and with less effort. As a 3PL distribution partner, WareIQ provides optimized recommendations for the warehouse where your products should be kept to increase supply chain effectiveness. The order is instantly forwarded to the nearest warehouse to the customer as soon as it is placed. Order processing, fulfilment and delivery are then handled by WareIQ, freeing up your team to concentrate on the more important objectives of your business. Through a single dashboard, you can even keep track of inventory levels in real-time across more than 12 eCommerce marketplaces and it offers complete visibility into warehousing costs, transit times, and other statistics. For brands that require assistance managing inventory in real-time, decrease picking, packaging, and shipping errors, and want to scale with ease, WareIQ has a best-in-class warehouse management system (WMS). [signup] Distributed Warehousing: FAQs

August 17, 2022

Online Store Vs Marketplace: Key Differences to Find Out Which is the Best Option in 2025

A marketplace is a business with a collection of people such as local stores, small enterprises and product owners. Conversely, an online store is the eCommerce website or product listing of a single seller. Selling online, regardless of whether you do it on an online shop vs marketplace, has a lot of advantages. Millions more people can be reached than in a typical store. However, choosing the best platform for your business can be difficult because there seem to be countless possibilities. Which would you prefer - a website-based online store vs marketplace with an online selling platform? Like you, many people question which platform is best because both can be used by any eCommerce seller. In this blog, we will learn more about the key differences between an online store vs marketplace. What is an Online Store? A platform or website where clients can place orders is known as an online store. Additionally, purchases can be made through a product listing, the website of the retailer or any other online platform they sell their goods on. The entity can therefore target any audience, whether it is B2C, B2B or D2C. Depending on the type of eCommerce operations an eCommerce company runs, its website is a location where customers can make direct product purchases. Additionally, eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce are used to create most of these websites. Related Article: How to Start an Online Store? [contactus_gynoveda] What is a Marketplace? Any physical or digital space that enables the exchange of goods between buyers and sellers is referred to as a marketplace. Because transactions take place in both directions rather than just one, a marketplace's business model is different from that of a retail establishment. Almost everything is possible to buy at a market, including party goods, toys for kids, sports equipment and car parts. Since it is now more affordable than ever to launch an eCommerce business, online marketplaces are growing in popularity. Several of the top online marketplaces for retailers include eCommerce websites such as Amazon, Etsy, Walmart and eBay. Some marketplaces establish restrictions on sellers to guarantee that only products of a certain calibre can be sold. If a market does implement this kind of restriction, it is typically only applicable to certain categories of goods or businesses. Online Store Vs Marketplace: Key Differences Both an online shop vs marketplace aims to offer goods to clients. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of an online store vs marketplace will help you choose which is best for your company. They are listed below: [table id=46 /] Source Online Shop Vs Marketplace: Pros & Cons Pros Gives you authority over your platform Offers personalization, both in terms of website design and the type of shopping experience you offer the user Improves the visual image of your company Enables the application of upselling and cross-selling tactics Provides control over sales and discount policies Offers personalized and direct customer service Maintains your customer database and access to personal information for marketing purposes Offers behaviour evaluation (visits, clicks, shopping cart abandonment, etc.) Helps gain devoted customers Cons Has a greater time and resource commitment Has higher costs for security certificates and software Requires staff with experience in launching, maintaining and integrating with eCommerce platforms Requires control and coordination of shipments, distribution network and stock Needs effort to increase the volume of website visitors Marketplace Pros Is simple to set up Is a platform that consumers trust more Enables the possibility of distinguishing yourself in categories from your immediate rivals Increases inbound traffic Saves on administrative procedures (the marketplace receives income for you) Has multiple delivery options (the marketplace can manage stock, shipping and returns on your behalf) Cons Increases rivalry (including with the market's own goods, which will always take precedence) Has less personalization Has higher fees for transactions (varies per listing, product category and sale, depending on the marketplace) Has specific time limits defined by the marketplace Has a limited number of promotions for each seller. Reduces prices to compete with other sellers Market forces determine customer service No control over recommendations for upsells and cross-sells Marketplace Vs Your Own eCommerce Website: Which Option is Best for You in 2025? Because it is tough to pick a winner in the online store vs marketplace battle, there may not be a clear victor. That's because both of them provide businesses with perks that are rather alluring. You will have to choose the best ascribes. An online store is the best option for individuals looking to sell their inventory but only have access to cash because there are additional fees associated with keeping and shipping the product whereas a marketplace is best for retailers that want all the benefits and exposure that come with selling on a marketplace like Amazon or Flipkart. If you need assistance to fulfill eCommerce orders regardless of whether you sell on an online store vs marketplace, WareIQ can be of assistance. WareIQ is a logistics and fulfillment platform that provides easy integrations with 20+ online marketplaces and D2C websites. WareIQ is an eCommerce fulfillment company that is based in India. We offer a bunch of eCommerce solutions such as inventory storage in a nationwide network of fulfillment centers, a custom WMS that can integrate with multiple eCommerce marketplaces, an app store that can enhance productivity in different areas, a choice of more than 20 shipping aggregators, ultra-fast same-day and next-day delivery, and much more. Online Store vs Marketplace: FAQs

August 16, 2022

5 Best Strategies for eCommerce Retailers to Make the Most of the Amazon Great Indian Festival 2025

Amazon was initially founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos as an online book retailer to capitalize on the burgeoning emergence of a brand new concept to the general public -the internet. Fast forward to 2024 and Amazon has transformed from a relatively unknown startup that was pioneered during the internet boom to one of the most successful and renowned online selling platforms in the world. In a similarly enterprising move to its initial founding, the company started operations in India in 2013 and has been largely responsible for the explosive growth of the eCommerce sector in the country and has introduced revolutionary new technologies that have since been adopted by the competition in an attempt to keep up. While Amazon sells millions of goods every year, it experiences a significant amount of success during its Amazon Great Indian Festival. In this blog, we will delve deeper into what the Amazon Great Indian Festival is, important statistics that showcase its success, 5 tips to make the most of it and important details about the upcoming Amazon Great Indian Sale in 2024. What is Amazon Great Indian Festival? The Amazon Great Indian Festival, also referred to as the Amazon Great Indian Sale, is an eCommerce sale that is run every year by Amazon.in. Being one of the largest flagship Amazon sales, it is usually conducted anytime between September and October and consists of lucrative Amazon deals on a whole spread of product categories ranging from electronics and furniture to sporting goods and household items. The company generates a large portion of its annual sales and revenue from this event and more than 78% of retailers suggest that they will gain more visibility because of the sale than in their conventional operations. The company expects to generate a gross merchandise value (GMV) of upwards of $9 billion, a more than 23% jump from the previous year. Additionally, the Amazon Great Indian Sale has historically been used to launch new products, owing to the immense popularity that it receives from customers. [contactus_lilgoodness] Impactful Statistics of the Amazon Great Indian Festival The Amazon Great Indian Festival has given multiple opportunities to Amazon as well as the large number of retailers that use Amazon sales to boost their brand visibility and generate as many sales as possible. The eCommerce business is a numbers game so the sheer success of the Amazon Great Indian Sale can be reflected by the performance and statistics of previous iterations of the event. We have taken the liberty of listing some of them below: During the Amazon Great Indian Festival in 2021, more than 30,000 retailers generated more than $100,000 in sales The Amazon Great Indian Festival was able to serve 99.7% of pin codes across the country Amazon’s net income increased to $14.3 billion, almost double in relation to Q4 of 2020 As a direct result of the Amazon Great Indian Sale, the company was able to attain a 9% growth rate to total revenue of $137.4 billion during Q4 in 2021 The Amazon Great Indian Festival saw the highest recorded sales numbers in 2021 since the inception of the event 79% of new customers during the Amazon Great Indian Festival came from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and cities In addition to global brands and large nationwide companies, an estimated 75,000 local retailers from 450 cities participated in the Amazon Great Indian Sale Last year’s Amazon Great Indian Festival featured more than 1000 product launches from reputed brands such as Samsung, OnePlus, Boat, Lenovo and more The Amazon Great Indian Festival in 2024 managed to create more than 110,000 provisional jobs The company expanded its storage capacity by more than 40% during last year’s Amazon Great Indian Festival 5 Tips to Have a Successful Amazon Great Indian Festival in 2025 as an eCommerce Retailer Enhance the Attractiveness of Your Products In a similar vein to how products are displayed in the most strategic and attractive way by brick and mortar stores, eCommerce retailers that take part in Amazon sales such as the Amazon Great Indian Festival, need to make their product listings stand out from the rest by making them as visually appealing as possible. This includes the use of high-resolution photos and videos of the product in multiple use case scenarios, well-written product descriptions, and any other element that will add to the appeal of their products. Amazon offers various services such as professional photoshoots and workshops on product listing guidelines to follow so retailers can opt to take part in them to get better results. Improve the Visibility of Your Commodities Amazon is filled to the brim with products in multiple categories so the impetus is on retailers to make sure that their products are as visible as possible to their target audience, especially during Amazon sales where competition is fierce, such as the Amazon Great Indian Festival. Improving product visibility is mostly done through strategically placed keywords and ensuring that all the keywords that pertain to a retailer’s products are covered in the listing so it will rank higher on search engines such as Google and within Amazon itself. Again, Amazon offers courses on SEO listings so be sure to take part. Offer Deals and Discounts The entire reason for running the Amazon Great Indian Festival is to offer goods to customers at reduced prices or better deals than conventional, off-season pricing plans. Retailers need to do their part by running various discounts on offers on various products, either to increase the sales of their latest offerings to get rid of outdated or slow-moving stock. Amazon provides personal account managers on request and for an additional fee to help determine what the optimum pricing would be depending on the nature of the business, competition in the sector and type of products so retailers can take advantage of that. Streamline Your eCommerce Operations Retailers need to be aware of the fact that they are sure to get a much larger number of orders than they are used to so they need to make sure that their operations can handle the extra traffic. Tasks such as inventory management, stock replenishment, storage, picking and packing services, transportation and more will all be under more stress in addition to suppliers having to produce more goods in a shorter period of time in order to meet demand. If all these processes are not equipped to handle the extra influx of orders, it might result in delays and poor customer satisfaction, leading the company to be penalised by Amazon. Get Assistance Directly From Amazon Since Amazon has extremely strict guidelines, low tolerances for mistakes and seeks to standardise the customer experience as much as possible, they make many customer support services available to retailers to assist with many different types of queries, especially during periods of high demand and sales such as the Amazon Great Indian Festival. From online workshops, direct communication, in-person training and more, the company ensures that no sellers are left lacking in the information they need to be successful during Amazon sales. You May Also Like: Amazon Festive Sale vs Flipkart Indian Festival Sale Important Details of the Amazon Great Indian Festival in 2025 Dates The last sale commenced on 6th of October, 2022 and ended on the 10 of October, 2022. Users will have an opportunity to purchase finished goods at significantly discounted prices for the 5-day period. Offers and Discounts Amazon offers discounts of up to 90% on certain categories with free gifts also available during the purchase of eligible items. Additionally, the various categories are subject to the following discount rates: Mobiles and Accessories: Up to 40% off Home and Kitchen Products: Up to 70% off Electronics: Up to 75% off Fashion Items: Up to 80% off Televisions and Household Appliances: Up to 50% off Everyday Essentials: Up to 60% off Benefits for Amazon Prime Members Amazon Prime members will get an additional 24 hours to explore and shop compared to regular users. They are also eligible for additional discounts and offers in certain categories in addition to the usual benefits such as same-day shipping. Benefits for Various Banks and Payment Options SBI Credit Cards: 10% Discounts up to ₹2,000 Amazon Pay / ICICI Credit Cards: 3% cashback and a reward worth ₹1,800 Bajaj Finserv Credit Cards / Debit Cards: No-cost EMIs on up to ₹2 lakhs Conclusion: Fulfill Your Amazon Orders With WareIQ The Amazon Great Indian Sale is one of the biggest eCommerce sales in the country and is a chance for the company and retailers alike to make the most of the increased demand and sell as many products as possible in addition to being able to launch new products, get exposure to a larger audience, enhance their brand image and much more. Amazon also offers plenty of helpful tools to enable sellers to reach their goals as their success and reputation are also in the best interests of Amazon. An Amazon sale such as the Great Indian Festival can also be the nudge that many retailers need in order to achieve long-term, sustainable growth and success. If you are a retailer that sells on Amazon and requires assistance to fulfill their orders during the festival and otherwise, you can consider partnering with WareIQ. WareIQ is an up-and-coming, homegrown eCommerce fulfillment company that provides a wide swathe of services that encompasses every aspect of eCommerce. Some of the facilities we offer that would be beneficial to you if you plan to expand your services for the Amazon Great Indian Sale and operate on multiple eCommerce marketplaces are: A nationwide network of warehouses and fulfillment centers A custom WMS that can integrate with multiple online selling platforms including Amazon and can consolidate order data, manage inventory across multiple fulfillment centers and more. An ultra-fast shipping service that provides same-day and next-day shipping A choice of more than 20 of the biggest shipping aggregators in the country that automatically assigns the fastest and cheapest option for every order A custom app store with multiple applications to enhance productivity in different areas of your eCommerce business Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale: FAQs

August 15, 2022

15 Important Strategies for Checkout Page Optimization to Reduce Cart Abandonment & Improve Conversions in eCommerce in 2025

There are many eCommerce retailers that receive a good amount of website traffic every month but cannot find a way to convert that traffic into sales. Checkout page optimization is frequently the first action they can take because it can boost sales right away by reducing cart abandonment. The checkout page is one of the most crucial component of an eCommerce website. It is the page that generates conversions for you and where potential customers become actual customers. Your website may have a user-friendly interface and a beautiful layout. Even if you have a big selection of goods, this will only serve to draw more people to your website. Yes, everything is significant but none of it counts if a significant portion of website traffic leaves the checkout page without buying anything. It means that shoppers are adding items to their carts but then choosing not to make a purchase once they get to the checkout step. Read further to know ways for checkout page optimization. What is Checkout Page Optimization? The method a retailer employs to raise the conversion rate of their online store by making certain modifications in the checkout page or payment page is known as checkout page optimization. Optimising your checkout page is intended to reduce distractions and strengthen trust, leading each customer to a purchase confirmation email and away from situations of an abandoned cart. [contactus_gynoveda] Importance of eCommerce Checkout Page Optimization The primary importance of optimising your checkout page is to prevent cart abandonment. Owners of internet stores worry about these two words at night. If you're not familiar with the phrase, it refers to when a website user leaves with things in their shopping basket and chooses not to purchase them. According to research, the average cart abandonment rate is around 70%, costing eCommerce companies $18 billion in annual revenue. You must optimize your payment page if you want to decrease these abandonment concerns. 15 Strategies to Optimize Checkout Page in eCommerce to Reduce Cart Abandonment and Improve Buyer Conversions in 2025 Making purchasing from your eCommerce store as simple and quick as possible is the essence of checkout page optimization. This entails getting rid of any roadblocks, including superfluous processes, doubts about the sequence, eye-catching design features, and more. Here is a list of the best checkout page strategies: Reduce the Checkout Duration Your clients are more likely to get sidetracked, interrupted or lose interest in finishing a purchase if the checkout process is difficult. Because of this, it is crucial to keep your checkout procedure as quick as possible while still capturing the data you require. Cut back on the steps. Only the customer's contact information, delivery preferences,and payment details are required. Everything else is superfluous and needs to be removed. About 15 form fields make up the typical checkout which is twice as much as is required to collect the client information necessary to process and dispatch an order. Utilizing a "Full name" field in place of "First name" and "Last name" fields, compressing "Address Line 2" and "Company name" fields behind a link, enabling users to use their shipping address as the billing address and other techniques can reduce the number of form fields. Prompt Customers to Signup With Your Website In the same line, giving new customers the option to "Checkout as Guest" helps speed up the checkout process. However, you can also encourage customers to register so you can send them emails, customize product recommendations and simplify future transactions. But don't let that take your attention away from the current purchase. For instance, Sweet Defeat, a business that sells organic lozenges to reduce sugar cravings, encourages customers to register for an account while also giving them the choice to checkout as guests. Additionally, you can enable a customer to register an account after they have made their first purchase and then auto-fill it with all the data you have already collected. Publish Product Ratings and Reviews Customers are less likely to purchase from independent online businesses if they typically only shop on large eCommerce websites. Enabling and promoting user feedback and showing star ratings for products at the checkout are two ways to tackle this. Online reviews, according to 55% of consumers, affect their purchasing decisions. Customers who may be on the fence about placing an order may get the extra push they need if you display positive reviews to optimise your checkout page. Make the Checkout Procedure More Visible Most people learn best visually. Give customers a progress indicator to follow during the checkout process so they can know what they need to do. They'll be less likely to quit if they can see the goal in sight. Keep in mind that you should only request information throughout the checkout process that is strictly necessary for processing the order. The remainder can wait. Provide Ultra-Fast Shipping A cart was abandoned by 45% of clients due to unsatisfactory delivery alternatives. Meeting client expectations and guiding them through by optimising your checkout page can be accomplished by providing both inexpensive and quick shipping alternatives. You can offer 2-day shipping to your consumers without going broke by working with a 3PL provider like WareIQ. By distributing your product around the country to be nearer to your clients, a 3PL can help you reduce transportation costs and times. Additionally, you can ensure that your shipping choices remain lucrative by limiting the availability of free 2-day delivery to purchases that exceed a specific amount. By providing free 2-day shipping and employing checkout page strategies, WareIQ customers noticed a 97% increase in average order volume. Include Taxes and Shipping in the Mentioned Price Of course, free shipping isn't always an option. There is also the sales tax. Customers who were shocked by an order amount they were unable to predict in advance account for 23% of shopping cart abandonments. Due to variables including cart amount, shipment location, and others, shipping rates could vary depending on the customer. Inform customers of your delivery alternatives and whether you offer free shipping over a particular cart size or expedited shipping for an additional fee. Customers can avoid being taken by surprise if it is made clear that shipping and taxes are included in the price. Mention Your Return Policy A consumer Report found that 49% of internet buyers research the return policy before making a purchase. People are fully aware that ordering anything online may result in them receiving goods that fall short of their expectations. Because of this, it is crucial to develop an excellent return policy for checkout page optimisation and make sure that it is visible to your customers. During the checkout process, reminding the buyer of your return policy helps relieve last-minute concerns and reduces any perceived risk of purchase. Provide a Variety of Funding Options If there is the opportunity to pay in numerous installments, a product that initially seems out of reach frequently becomes cheap. Customers should have the option to divide their purchases into four interest-free, automated installments. To achieve checkout page optimization through funding options, you can pay upfront while the client immediately receives the product. Offering finance options for online purchases is still a relatively new trend for small eCommerce businesses but as it continues to make higher-end products more accessible, it is likely to become ubiquitous. Offer a Variety of Payment Methods Speaking of payments, various payment methods are preferred by various people. Of course, you should allow clients to pay with a credit card or debit card, but it would also be a good idea to include additional payment methods like Venmo, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and even cryptocurrency. By enabling customers to forgo entering their credit card information, trusted one-click payment solutions like PayPal or Apple Pay can also assist in boosting perceived security and optimise your checkout page. Optimize Your Checkout Page Security In addition to the aforementioned secure payment options, using "trust signals" can help demonstrate the security of your website and checkout process. Over 75% of customers stated they didn't buy because they didn't identify the trust logos utilized, while 61% said they didn't buy because trust logos were missing. These include easily identifiable security seals from McAfee, GeoTrust, or Norton, all of which work to protect user data. By using an SSL certificate, you can also increase client confidence. This certification indicates that a website is secure and encrypted, ensuring that payment information and customer data will be protected and it causes your browser to display that small green padlock in the address bar when you visit specific sites. Give Customers a Tracking Number and ETA eCommerce sites make us all impatient, especially now that Amazon is setting the bar for quick, trackable deliveries. Customers want to know when they can anticipate receiving their orders. Thus, to optimise your checkout page, give them an anticipated delivery date. After paying, provide them with a tracking number so they can follow their order. For customers who choose to use real-time tracking, you can even provide text notifications. Allow Clients to Reserve Their Carts for Later Customers who aren't quite ready to make a purchase can save the products in their cart for a later time by using the “save for later" button that many online retailers have introduced. Making the procedure as simple as possible for customers when they are ready to buy ensures that they will go through with the purchase, despite the fact that it may seem paradoxical to urge customers to delay checking out. Use Automated Pre-Filled Fields To maximize efficiencies and utilize checkout page optimization, include the “use billing address” option for the shipping field to reduce extra input. Use data validation and autocomplete to speed up the checkout process and reduce input errors. Provide All the Important Details Checkout page optimization entails providing all the necessary information that a customer requires in relation to their product, order, ETA, payment options, receipts, etc. This ensures that they are aware of all the details and will not be apprehensive about purchasing from your business again. Conclusion You're presumably reading this because you're worried about your conversion rate. The good news is that this article should assist you in resolving that. We constantly suggest paying greater attention to your consumers' issues and making adjustments to improve things for them by using checkout page strategies to achieve checkout page optimisation. Prospective clients dislike drawn-out checkout procedures, so only request the information that is absolutely necessary. If you need assistance with fulfilling eCommerce orders, you can opt to partner with WareIQ. WareIQ is a fast-growing eCommerce fulfillment company that handles a wide range of eCommerce services from inventory storage to order fulfillment. We provide facilities such as a custom WMS that can integrate with multiple eCommerce platforms, a nationwide network of fulfillment centers, a choice of more than 20 shipping companies, and much more. Checkout Page Optimization: FAQS

August 13, 2022

10 Best Tips to Write Better Product Descriptions and Increase Online Conversions in 2025

A deal, advertisement, or marketing can only be successful when your customers understand the message. You need to write product descriptions in a simple and attractive way so that when a customer comes to your product page, the message will resonate with them and they will consider buying it. Thus, you need eCommerce product descriptions that will communicate with visitors and answer frequently asked questions related to your product. Providing good product descriptions should be just as important as the quality of your website or the quality of your product's images. Not only does it enhance the online consumer experience, but it also adds credibility to your business, raises the ranking of your online store, and increases the number of people that convert to your website. Let us look at the best strategies to attract customers to your online business with persuasive product descriptions. What are Product Descriptions? A product description is a marketing paragraph that describes a product's features and benefits and emphasizes its unique selling proposition (USP). A product description's main goal is to persuade people to buy the product by giving them all the important details about its qualities and advantages of it. However, creating product descriptions that merely explain your products as a supplement to product pictures is a common mistake that occurs frequently. This mistake can be made by business owners, marketers, and even expert copywriters. A solid product description not only sells your products to actual customers but also provides additional optimization for search engines. [contactus_gynoveda] Benefits of Product Descriptions for Online Buyers Are you aware that your SEO could be impacted by your product reviews? Your product reviews may wind up showing up in Google searches, particularly in Google Shopping, if you use review services. They can significantly boost website visitors. Effective product descriptions can increase conversions, establish your brand image, increase credibility and enhance the SEO capabilities of your website. To understand this point, imagine how absurd it would look if a product listing has no product description examples. A buyer will have doubts about the authenticity of the product as well as the availability. Product details help buyers in the following ways: They will be redirected to the exact product they are searching for They will get to know the available size, colours, fittings, etc. It lists down all the features in an easy-to-view way They can understand the use cases for the product and tips for better decision making They can use this information to compare it with other products It works as a user guide It enhances the available insight about the product Sample Product Description Suggested Article: How to Effectively Start an Online Business? 10 Tips to Write Better eCommerce Product Descriptions to Sell More and Sell Faster in 2025 Highlight the Features and Benefits We become passionate about certain product features and specs when we market our own products. We are completely devoted to our business, website and offerings. The issue is that our prospective customers are not as interested in unimportant features and specifications. They want to know how it will satisfy their demands and what benefits they can expect. You must therefore emphasize the advantages of each feature. Sell an experience rather than a product. Understand Your Ideal Buyers When you write eCommerce product descriptions with a large number of potential customers in mind, your descriptions end up being vague and addressing no one in particular. The finest product descriptions speak immediately and personally to your target market. You converse with them by posing questions and providing answers in this way. Address them directly with words like “you”. Start by picturing your ideal customer while creating your own product descriptions. What sort of trend do they find enjoyable? What phrases do they use? What phrases irritate them? Do they accept phrases like "sucky" and "crappy"? What inquiries do they make that you ought to respond to? Think about how you would communicate with your ideal customer if you were selling your goods in person in a store. Try incorporating that language into your eCommerce site so you can have a more meaningful dialogue of that nature there. Use Common and Relatable Words In general, lengthy product descriptions are not required. The product description examples that you can use depend on the type of product you are describing and the list of features that it has. However, you should generally try to keep product descriptions concise and simple to read. This is where bullet points can be quite helpful. The facts about the material, available colours and size options are some of the significant features that can be noted in bullet points. Keep in mind that users may occasionally only read the bullet points and ignore the rest of the description. It is crucial to draw attention to the most significant qualities and advantages in your product descriptions. Appeal to the Imagination of Buyers According to scientific studies, holding a product in your hands makes you want to buy it more. Since you're selling online, your customers can't physically see or hold your goods. Additionally, there is a copywriting technique to increase desire - have your reader visualize what it would be like to own your goods. This can be done by using large, clear photographs or exciting language. Start your paragraph with the word “imagine” to use this copywriting strategy and then describe how you imagine the reader would feel after purchasing and using your product. Use Small Storytelling Techniques Think about if there is any relatable backstory of your product that holds any special meaning for you before writing your product descriptions. There's a good chance that your audience will find it to be especially unique, lovable, and memorable. Use that tale in your eCommerce product descriptions to give it more personality, draw customers in and win them over. Use Superlatives of Powerful Words You can convincingly demonstrate why your product is the best, simplest or most sophisticated by using superlatives and powerful words. As Amazon explains, “the Kindle Paperwhite is the most sophisticated, patented e-reader in the world”. The reader gets the impression that this is something remarkable because of the phrase "patented." Going along with product description examples like this, Amazon claims that “Paperwhite boasts higher contrast and spectacular resolution” and Amazon goes on to provide various percentages to support this claim, as well as one crucial benefit: “Paperwhite provides glare-free, clear, crisp text and images even in direct sunshine.” Add Facts and Figures Never boast about your product or give wrong information. It may skyrocket your product sales for a while but it will never work in the long term and can ruin your brand reputation and generate negative feedback from unhappy customers. Always try to give facts and figures to support what is mentioned in the product description examples. Numbers in bullet points always appear immediately on the first look and make a mark on the viewer. Utilize a Specific Format When the product description has a clean, scannable design, your product descriptions will be easier to read and be more appealing to potential customers. When creating your product description, consider the following areas: Use headlines to draw website visitors in Utilize scannable bullet points Provide lots of white space Enlarge your font to improve readability. Use SEO to Make it More Visible Online It is crucial to keep your keywords in mind, even though this will probably happen naturally if you create a decent product description. Using the appropriate keywords will assist your sites to move up in the search results from the perspective of search engine optimization (SEO). In addition to enhancing trustworthiness, gathering and showing customer feedback has SEO advantages for your product pages. Consider that easily searchable keywords from an SEO standpoint will have a huge positive impact on your page. The main advantages are: Includes pertinent keyword phrases on your product pages Provides regular "new content" updates to your product pages Use Good Quality Images & Videos The greatest approach to describe your goods isn't usually through text. Consider how you can simplify your writing if it starts to grow overly wordy. Customers are more likely to retain information when it comes to visual representations. If at all feasible, showcase your product in a visual way that demonstrates how it works. Even though they typically lack words, images do provide answers to customer questions. Include as many details about the many applications and perspectives of your product as you can in the pictures. Keeping this in mind, take care that the quality of the image of the video is good otherwise it will reflect poorly on your business. Conclusion The above advice will help you create eCommerce product descriptions that encourage customers to buy from your eCommerce company. Connecting with customers through language and imagery when they are unable to physically connect with your products can make the difference between them just browsing online and actually completing a purchase. If you need assistance with fulfilling orders that are the result of enhancing your product descriptions, consider partnering with WareIQ. WareIQ integrates with multiple selling applications through our custom WMS Software such as Amazon, Flipkart, eBay and more, and also has facilities such as a nationwide network of fulfillment centers, a custom app store, partnerships with more than 20 shipping carriers, and more. Your customers can keep up to date with their orders through our branded tracking pages and you can check on your inventory through real-time updates. [signup] Product Descriptions: FAQs

August 13, 2022

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