Emerging Ecommerce trends and latest acquisitions of Ecommerce framework

E-commerce, a term that has taken charge of the world rapidly. It’s literal meaning is commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet. Today the globe is relying on the internet to make processes simpler and more accessible to them and e-commerce has been a main contributing factor to that.

Some of the major emerging trends in e-commerce that we are seeing can be as stated below:

1. Voice Assistants: It can be stated out of personal experience in the context with launch of voice assistants such as Alexa of Amazon & Google Assistant of Google as well as Siri of Apple that has been around for a while a person can go ahead and conduct transaction without surfing and clicking through several screens. These voice assistants do actually act as your personal assistant in this technological interface and complete several processes with certain voice instructions. That is certainly fascinating and incredible in today’s scenario. People are embracing this technology and certainly having fun playing around with it.
2. Machine Learning & AI : The above example of voice assistant is certainly a subset of AI, but when speaking about Machine learning and AI there is a lot more to it. Customers are provided with personalized shopping experiences through Artificial intelligence such as chatbots that will help customers in the e-commerce space.
3. Payment Gateways: There are more and more payment gateways emerging that make the entire e-commerce transaction, smooth & hassle free. The process is being worked upon by each payment gateway to make it the most user friendly, easy and delightful experience for shoppers and people carrying out online transactions. It removes the physical struggle and lets people carry out a number of day to day task by few or a single click sitting in their comfort zones.
4. Analytics: All e-commerce platforms run on business intelligence and data, the analytics of e-commerce contributes to the betterment of the functioning of the e-commerce websites and makes it a much more personalized and targeted experience for customers in terms of carrying out transactions. The analytics give an insight to the user behavior due to which customized and personalized results are provided to the individuals accessing e-commerce sites.
5. Content: Another major trend in e-commerce is the content that is being created, the high-quality videos that are being showcased to the customers contribute to a large extent that the customers consume the deliverables be it in terms of purchase of product or entertainment. In today’s scenario, when a huge importance is given to relevance and relatability, content is certainly becoming the King. As an old saying in business goes that Customer is King, so what needs to be served or delivered also needs to be fit for a king, hence content is going big and viral.

E-commerce is growing big and that too rapidly, there are acquisitions happening almost every week, some small ones and some big ones, to name a few will be Magento the marketing application being acquired by Adobe. In the retail space and in Indian context, Flipkart being acquired by Walmart, in the payment gateway, Ipayments acquired by Paysafe and Chillr acquired by Truecaller to name a few.

E-commerce is growing and will continue to do so, it is going to change the business landscape. These changes and advancements are to make lives simpler and smoother, with the growth of technology and advancement in it’s entirety contribute to the greater good of the world economy.

Parameters to consider when going in for Digital transformation

Businesses’ today, regardless of the target audience they cater to, market share or size of the organization, are in a race to set themselves apart in order to be acknowledged and identified. There is an urge to innovate, compete and make an impression in the business landscape.

The survival of the fittest is a questionable factor amongst businesses and in order to support the growth and prosperity of a business it is important to rely on technological advancements and aligning one’s business process to the same.

But creating a digital transformation process in an organization just for the sake of adopting new technologies will never be able to generate the enduring benefits that they are expected off. In fact, investing in digital transformation without having a strategy can cause the company to face inefficiencies and disruption.

Thus it is extremely important to identify certain factors or parameters that will be effective as well as crucial in building and implementing the entire digital transformation process.

Here are 4 mighty M’s that need to be considered when going in for a digital transformation process.

MODEL OF THE BUSINESS: The current ecosystem of an organization needs to be taken into consideration while carrying out a digital transformation, if there are any existing barriers or bottlenecks that the organization sees to overcome that need to be taken into account in order to be addressed and thereby prioritized in a manner that they can be resolved by carrying out the digital transformation process.

MASSES INCLUDING BOTH THE EMPLOYESS & CUSTOMERS: It is very essential to have the right kind of masses involved in the entire digital transformation process. In case of the employee side, it is important to have people with the right skill set and attitude to carry out the digital change, it would need people from the grass root level to the top management to be able to embrace the change and ripple the effect of digital transformation in the most constructive manner. Also this digital transformation that the organisations implement is for providing the most seamless and personalized customer experience to its target audience, hence the process needs to reach its customers in the most effective of ways that they embrace the organization and its delivery to the customers whole heartedly.

METHODOLOGY INVOLVED: So when a digital transformation process needs to take place it should be strategically designed and implemented in a whole new way rather than just adding certain fixtures to existing processes. In this terms the end product or experience to the customer needs to be taken to a whole new different level and deliver an altogether new output and not just give out something existing in a new packaging,

MEASURABILITY OF THE PROCESS: It is always good to move forward and adopt new processes, embrace change etc. but at the same time there needs to be a fact check, once a process is implemented, it is extremely necessary to measure the viability of the process or what has been the productive outcome of the same. In case the results are not positive or effective as desired it does not make much sense of carrying out the entire process. It is for the same reason that projects have their test cases and beta versions before the actual release. Hence any digital transformation needs to be worked upon and measured before being completely implemented from where there is no turning back, which may turn out to be a constraint to the organization rather than growth.

Carrying out a digital transformation process may not be a quick and comfortable task in a single go. It needs to be planned and processed by keeping the above factors into consideration. Most importantly it needs to contribute to the growth of the organization in terms of revenue, overcoming existing barriers, customer satisfaction, value add to the business and overall profitability. All digital transformations may not be completed in a single wave of action, but most of them are done in phases. If carried out strategically in a planned manner and quantifying the desired results then definitely digital transformations will lead the organisations to soar profitable heights and attain customer delight.

WHEN YOUR MIND IS MUDDLED AND ALL YOU WISH IS TO FLY

All of us have a lot of potential in us.

But do most of us think that we have not accomplished enough or we do not get that kind of fame as people who have got more recognition than us have?

Do you think it is a sense of relative thinking from person to person? Some are content where they are and some seek for more.

I have heard many a times that, you are at your best where you are or a time will come when you have your time and your share of recognition. Also heard that you are not here to compete with the world, it is a fight/competition with yourself, you need to better yourself each day, not in comparison with others but compared to what you were the previous day.

But does all these things really make sense, is this a pessimistic way of looking at the situation that one day I may have a time better than what is now. Or who knows, this is the best time you are ever going to have?

We seek these answers on a daily basis all around us, looking for a clarity of what is happening and what better can happen, not always, but do most us have this as a constant feeling or on regular intervals or may be once in a while as a brief thought process?

Great writers, philosophers have told that we need to look into ourselves for all these answers, but when we do so the mind is confused, muddled, lost and reaching out for help.

Then what do we do? Where do we look out or look in for?

Do you think that’s when we need to take off, a break to calm ourselves, let the thoughts settle down and then start looking for some answers? I guess that can be a decent start. But we should be careful that while taking a time off to get clarity we do not shut ourselves to our near and dear ones so that anytime that we are getting lost we have a guidance to  take a path, maybe later the path can take different directions, but then there is a path. Also while taking time off, can we find new things to do? But that may confuse us even further or, maybe that can lead us in a whole new dimension, what say? We can find ourselves a perspective to do things a different way, do life a different way, may be just basic things to start off with?

I’m not sure how much of this makes sense?

And while I’m writing this I read the quote on a magnet at my desk: “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think were supposed to be and embracing who we are.” – Brene Brown.

But that what is quoted above surely should make sense.

May the positive power (read: greater good) help us all embrace who we are and keep smiling :).

A 20 Somethings’ tip-off

Being somewhere in the late 20’s, is it difficult? Ofourse not! But it can be a bit tricky. You know: you will be able to sail through, but yes you have to maneuver your way through. And that my friend can involve a little bit of thinking, understanding, being composed and most essentially radiate that around you.

See, life is kind of simple but not easy.  As it has been long said, ignorance is bliss. But that doesn’t mean you can just be unaware of things that happen around you. You need to experience, learn and evolve. Does this make sense? Maybe yes, maybe not.

Each phase of your life you need to tell yourself that you have to up your game, that doesn’t mean you are competing against the world, it just means you need to move forward, progress to something new, different, in your own way. But in the meanwhile you have to be thankful to the folks who have travelled along with you all this time, like your parents, siblings, friends & family. Be mindful of trying to help anyone in need, try not to hurt people and be there to take care of people whom you love. But do not succumb to any kind of pressure, do what makes you happy, love yourself, spread that love. It would definitely payoff. Take your time to do things, you are where you are at your pace. And things will be best for you at the right place and at the right time.

Value things in life, the time that someone spends with you, your own quiet time, some soulful music, your taste of music may not be the same as others, feel free to express your tastes. Learn what others like, be it their taste for music, food or life, try something new, be open to new experiences, you can acquire new tastes, grow, grow in love. But along with all this be aware of what is happening around you, be empathetic, uplift your interests but don’t trample on others’ interest either. Be open to traditions, some of them bind people together, bring out the goodness in humanity. Be ready to make sacrifices, in today’s world a lot of things can be worked around, come to a middle ground which is beneficial for all. Try to be more patient, it’s a virtue developed with practice.

Take care yourself, eat good food, try new cuisines, be clean, don’t overload your body and mind, work towards being fit, mentally, physically and spiritually. Say a prayer maybe, not to a particular God but something/someone that you feel gives you a calm. Be thankful, for what you have and what is around you and for the ability that you have to do things, achieve new heights.

Maybe all this is what means striking a balance, a balance with one’s own self as well as surroundings.

The ‘About Me’ Tag

Hi everyone :). Welcome to my blog. I’m Sneha Stephen. To start with telling about myself, I was born in the city of filter coffee, yummy dosas and the beautiful marina beach…the then known Madras (read emotion) and now Chennai (read city).

Though born in Chennai my family has it’s roots in the state which is known as God’s own country so precisely a Malayali family. That justifies my love for appam & chicken stew, unniappam, kerala sadya, parotta and the one that should not be named (you know what it is, not Voldemort!, just trying not to be politically incorrect 😉 ).

From there 4 years down the lane I was transported to a place which still many people in the mainland of India are surprised to hear, the Islands….The Emerald Islands…Andaman & Nicobar Islands!                                                                                                                                      Yes, I was brought up in the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, i.e Port Blair. I often keep getting questions like : “ You grew up in Andaman & Nicobar Islands? Oh wow, your school life might have been a vacation altogether.” “Do you need a passport to go there?” etc, etc. Well, life during school days were more or less similar to any child in the 90’s who would have grown up in a town of India, I say town cause life was somewhat slow paced, calm and relaxed. We (since I have a younger brother and childhood is an experience that I have him along with) did have our share of homework, tutions, exams and board exams :D. But Beach ;)! we had regular access to beach. Also the answer to the question above: do we require a passport to go to Andamans, its No, as Andamans is very much a part of India and you do not require a passport to travel within your home country- India.

But thanks to the growing tourism industry of our country and Andamans itself, as well as the ever booming and thumping social media with its posts of Best Beaches in Asia (Yes, Radha Nagar beach in Havelock, Andaman & Nicobar Islands is one of the best beaches you can be at.) people know more about the place now. So that’s that of my schooling.

Cut to 12 years down the lane, I completed my 12^th standard, got into College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram or just as it is known, CET. Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum, the capital of God’s own country is a beautiful city. The city is a mix of intellect, tradition, history and humbleness and living there for 4 years during my engineering days was a delight and a great experience in its own. Studying in a government college (read one of the best and I take a lot of pride in it) in Kerala was very enriching, I can go on and on. But for now I would move forward. Completing engineering, I got a job and started working in Kochi, another city of Kerala. One of the fastest growing city in the country which has a popular slogan “Kochi parzhe Kochi alla” (my fellow malayalees will resonate with it) for all the good reasons.

One year later I was in Bangalore doing my MBA from Christ University. Definitely I thank Christ for me being in Christ University. It was yet another window for me to life and the world. Really amazing and fastest moving 2 years of mine were spent and in the blink of an eye MBA was done.

Today I’m working in an MNC in Bangalore and when I look back life has indeed been wonderful. Have had my fair shares of ups and downs, times when I have laughed & cried or still  laugh & cry, seen my loved ones laugh and cry, I say this because, yea quarter life’s up, so I feel I have seen a bit and a lot more to see. Still there is a constant quest to know more, learn more and think more. So long story cut short making an effort to run a blog.

Through this blog I would like to share my experiences, maybe about people I come across, things that happen around me, places that I go, food that I eat, products that appeal to me, ideas that pop in me. I really don’t know where this would go, but yes I have started.

I have always heard that in life a person should always do two things, one for the kitchen and one for the soul. And this is in venture for the soul…

First blog post

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