Wholesalers that fail to upgrade their ecommerce platforms to meet omnichannel demands risk jeopardising their brand and falling behind their competitors. Migrating to a digital-first ecommerce platform means you will have access to the most advanced tools and functionality to maintain a competitive edge. Below we’ve outlined 5 essential reasons to upgrade your ecommerce system to Oporteo.
Sales – Anytime, anywhere!
The rise of the smartphones and tablets means buyers are no longer tied to a desk going through product catalogues. They can conveniently buy products anywhere with an internet connection. However, the burden of maintaining an App can be costly in the long-term which is why Progressive Web Apps (PWA) were developed.
PWAs are revolutionising mobile commerce because they’re accessed through a website URL, but users still get an app-like feel, including home screen icons, app-like use interactions and push notifications. The best thing is that a digital-first ecommerce platform uses PWA technology as standard so there are no additional development costs required.
Actionable insights into online trends and behaviours
When you log into your store’s backend, what’s the first thing you see? Is it a plain navigation menu leading to other pages, or is it a robust dashboard with graphs and other useful information to give you a snapshot of store performance?
While most ecommerce platforms of any age include reporting, a digital-first ecommerce platform makes it much more accessible. If your store suffers from a sudden drop in sales or traffic, having a reporting dashboard could help you notice the day it happens, instead of a week later.
Better connection to customers through personalisation
Personalising the customer experience by promoting complementary products, promotions or cross-selling relevant products can increase spending. According to research by Kingsley, 61% of customers are more likely to buy from businesses that offer personalised content. This is made easier with better reporting because you can gain insight into what matters to your customers at each touchpoint, and then use what you find to provide personalised and relevant information. However, personalisation requires complex order management capabilities which legacy ecommerce platforms struggle with.
To master personalisation for maximum revenue, you need a digital-first ecommerce platform that supports cross-channel ordering, dynamic pricing, collaboration with third-party partners and system integration. However, companies that can pull this off benefit from higher market share and more engaged and loyal customers.
Omnichannel experiences that blow your competitors out of the water
B2B customers typically know exactly what they want, right down to the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). Therefore, it’s vital to have a modern ecommerce platform that makes it as quick and easy for customers to place orders. For example, Oporteo comes with Quick Ordering functionality which is designed to be used one handed for busy customers. It also has Elasticsearch technology so that you never miss a sale opportunity through misspelling. In addition, Oporteo is designed with wholesale-specific functionality so that you can display dynamic pricing for cases and splits. It also enables you to easily display customer-specific pricing, discounts and promotions that your customers have negotiated with you.
Defence against market disruption
Most legacy ecommerce systems are not agile enough to meet changing business needs and require time-consuming and costly developments to create changes. This inflexibility hinders business growth because new ideas, services, or products cannot be implemented without significant tech development. However, migrating to a digital-first ecommerce system means you will have the power to respond to market disruptions faster and easier. Whether that is integrating to a new sales channel, publishing vital product information, or updating the layout and content of your site.
To find out how a digital-first ecommerce platform like Oporteo will benefit your business, please contact us.
