Data is a goldmine for any business, and it’s worth can only be treasured once it is utilised in the efficient manner that drives results. Today businesses are investing heavily into gaining insights from the data acquired and Ecommerce Industry is no exception to it. It has been noted that big data plays an instrumental role in the growth of the eCommerce sector due to the immense number of benefits it has to offer.
If you are wondering how big data can help eCommerce in different ways, then this blog is here for you. Let’s find out the most common use cases for big data in ecommerce.
Use Cases of Big Data in eCommerce
It’s estimated that the digital universe of data will grow 61% to 175 zettabytes by 2025.- IDC report
Below we have outlined how big data can fuel the eCommerce sector from 360 degree. Explore some of the key use cases of big data in e-commerce that are helping businesses make informed decisions about their operations.
1. Demand Forecasting
Big data has unbeknown capabilities enabling businesses to mark a difference in the way their services are being accessed and offered to consumers.
However, the role of data analytics is not limited to this only but rather expanded to create predictions and evaluations to make data-driven decision-making.
As the name suggests, the concept of predictive analytics is all about assessing something which is likely to happen in the future based on data driven insights.
This predictive analytics can be so useful in different industry verticals, and for eCommerce it becomes a platform to grow and thrive constantly.
2. Pricing Optimization
Ecommerce sector works differently when it comes to pricing. It is not always to gain ROI, but sometimes it is just to remove the available stock or draw consumers towards their business.
In such a fragmented division of pricing, big data brings a relief by enabling customers to get competitive prices. We all know that pricing is the lead factor that drives customers’ purchase decisions. Henceforth, paying attention to it is highly significant for the businesses.
Indeed, setting up a right price is not an easy task, as it depends on multiple factors that determine the right pricing, such factors are: market segmentation, competitor analysis, or targeting strategy.
However, to get the most out of these approaches requires data to play its role. Companies need to hit the nail at the correct point by gleaning information from the colossal amount of available data , and this can be a time and labour intensive task. But this is where big data comes forward and utilises its predictive capabilities to find pricing which is strategically driven from data.
Here, using big data analysis engines extract price-affecting data from a variety of consumer habits and calculate the price. As a result they offer best deals to customers by relying on real-time data which is based on algorithms and parameters.
3. Fraud Detection
In the world of eCommerce development services data plays a pivotal role in detecting & preventing fraud in transactions.
Here, big data technology comes forward and helps assessing data on customer behaviour and purchase patterns.
As a result, it becomes easier for the businesses to identify suspicious activity and flag transactions so it can be reviewed and addressed for any future issues, so customers can be prevented from any cyber fraud and potential loss.
It is very obvious that online customers expect eCommerce to be a secured platform, where they can make transactions without being bothered about the safety of their sensitive data.
Although eCommerce platforms are integrated with HTTPS protocols and SSL certificates, with big data there comes an additional security layer which detects any anomaly in real-time.
Using big data, it becomes easier to attain customer information and past purchases and at the same time proactively glean insights about potential threats and implement preventive strategies.
4. Product Recommendations
Have you ever wondered, when you switch on an online shopping app, it starts showing you products?
Well, this strategy is known as personalised product recommendation strategy, which leads to successful consumer purchasing behaviour.
This is attained by the analysts using big data to analyse consumers’ past purchases and behaviour. On the basis of this companies suggest products to customers that fit every their specific interests & preferences.
These personalised recommendations work in favour of an eCommerce company enabling them to increase customer engagement and loyalty, driving more sales and revenue.
5. Social Media Monitoring
If you think social media is merely a platform for entertainment then you are absolutely wrong and need to revisit your thought process.
Today social media is a significant lead generation strategy that has much to offer than meets the eyes.
For e-commerce companies, social media is nothing but a blessing that helps to engage with Millennials, GEN-Z and evoke their interests to buy.
Therefore, it is highly imperative for the business to check out social media through the right means and derive meaningful insights to improve their offerings.
Big data can be an efficient tool to monitor social media channels for customer feedback, brand mentions, and trending topics.
This helps businesses to gain valuable insights into customer sentiment and preferences and curtail their offering to match their tastes.
They can use innovative threads, hashtags and draw consumers attention towards their brand and get a loyal customer base, who talk about their services on different social media platforms.
For instance, businesses can sell men’s products using #Movember or use a #BlackFriday to sell for all.
6. Enhanced Customer Experience
Customers are real decision makers and anything that gives them a personalised experience brings their attention.
Ecommerce stores need to be in constant evolution mode to help their customers stay glued to their offerings.
This can only be possible when customers are given exclusive treatment while exceeding their expectations.
It has been observed that businesses that meet or exceed customer expectations, always remain higher on ROI with immense profit.
As we all know, the competition in the eCommerce sector is getting denser with time, hence it becomes necessary for the businesses to engage their customers diligently.
And this can only be achieved when there is a good customer service package given along with the services.
Here businesses must have a thorough knowledge of what customers are looking for and what are their preferences, which keep on changing with time.
Big data technology helps in achieving this task by gathering, analysing, and understanding relevant data.
Using this technology, businesses can easily remove the clutter of inefficiencies that fog down the efficient customer services, and enable e-commerce platforms to attain customer needs, feedback, and expectations competently and automatically.
7. Cross-Selling and Upselling
Cross-selling and upselling are two major parts of the eCommerce revenue generation plan and enable businesses to stay relevant in the market.
Big data can be used to improve cross-selling and upselling strategies in e-commerce. Using this technology it becomes easier for the businesses to analyse data on past purchases and customer behaviour.
As a result they can identify opportunities to suggest complementary products or premium versions of existing products to customers, for instance, if a customer has brought kitchen clawing products in the past, they can show him related products such as baskets, faucets, and so on.
This enhances consumers’ interests in buying products and they end up buying products that are useful for them.
For example, if a customer frequently purchases makeup products, an e-commerce company might suggest related products such as brushes, skincare products, or beauty tools.
By providing personalised recommendations, companies can increase the value of each transaction and boost revenue.
8. Supply Chain Management
Big data is a soul of efficient supply chain management, and improves different processes to increase product production with efficient process management.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!
This adage fits the eCommerce production cycle where planning and scheduling are not the choices but the most vital parts for an efficient delivery schedule.
By leveraging the big data solutions eCommerce owners can make data-driven smart decisions and support the ecosystem of supply chain operations and planning.
Big data technology offers robust statistical insights that help the production cycle to function based on the derived information and improve supply chain by evaluating the right number of production volumes.
On the other hand, the efficient usage of predictive analysis ensures that real-time telemetry data gets captured from smart sensors.
Further, this data is segregated across the production line which enables suppliers to prevent failures and minimise downtime.
Big data here ensures to identify the cause and prevent similar issues to occur in future.
Deliveries are also a serious concern for the eCommerce platforms as they have to deal with a lot on their tables.
However, using big data technology delays can be minimised, as it easily collects data points from weather, traffic, GPS position, fleet information, and driver performance, consequently, leading to suggesting an optimal route to the drivers to avoid traffic horrors.
9. Competitive Intelligence
Competition is your biggest teacher, and in the world of eCommerce services this is no exception.
Since every business looks forward to having a better and stronger foothold in the market, it is obvious to take a look at what their competitors are doing right and what is doing wrong.
This helps in tailoring the services based on required data and growing closer to consumers.
To achieve this goal, big data comes handy and can be used for competitive intelligence in e-commerce.
By analysing data on competitors’ pricing strategies, product offerings, and customer engagement, businesses have a better understanding of what their competition is doing and accordingly they can glean insights from the acquired data and make informed decisions to scale higher.
This further allows the e-commerce companies to set the prices and product recommendations based on competitors and start showing the alternatives to the customers at affordables prices and get a competitive edge.
10. Mobile Optimization
Today’s consumers are highly engaged with their day-to-day chores and do not have the time to sit specifically on their laptop and desktop and access online shopping.
They prefer to do online shopping while walking, drinking hot coffee, travelling in metros or while lying on couches.
In simpler words they want to do online shopping on the go, and nothing fits their needs than a mobile app, which offers on-the-wheel services through a mobile that fits onto their pockets.
However, when it comes to optimising eCommerce websites on a mobile, sometimes it causes troubles, as there is a huge difference between accessing a website and seeing it on a mobile.
Big data can be used to optimise e-commerce websites and mobile applications for mobile users.
It analyses users’ data on customer behaviour and device usage and accordingly identifies areas for improvement to make data-driven decisions.
This technology helps in assessing the data on page load times and mobile-specific issues and improve mobile optimization.
Consequently, businesses have a smooth mobile shopping experience with higher engagement and ROI rate.
11. Personalized Marketing
Well, we all know the power of marketing and how far it improves the relation between a customer and a business.
Although marketing has different facets, which fit different user demographics. It becomes challenging for the businesses to try their hand at the right and efficient marketing initiatives, and this is where big data steps in.
Indeed, one of the most significant benefits of big data for e-commerce companies is the ability to personalise marketing campaigns based on individual customer preferences.
This technology has the power to analyse data on customer behaviour, and understand their browsing and purchasing patterns.
In accordance with, it helps companies to tailor marketing messages and promotions to appeal to each customer’s unique interests and preferences.
This helps eCommerce website development to enhance their marketing efforts’ effectiveness with the right approach and improve customer loyalty.
Final Thoughts
eCommercerce world is experiencing a burgeoning demand from customers and this is not going to stop.
In this entire cycle, the role of data-centricity cannot be ignored, helping to understand what customers want and expect from your offerings.
Here, big data comes forward as a saviour and gives a unique curve to data analysis by handling the largest possible data available seamlessly and giving highly-reliant insights.
E Commerce companies can use these data insights and empower their core mechanism to improve the operations, and customer satisfaction to another level.
For better revenue generation and improved customer services hire eCommerce developers, as big data will continue to cater to the demands of the eCommerce sector with exceptional data-driven insights.
