As we wrap up 2021, we have compiled the world’s largest collection of eCommerce experts and leaders to share their 2022 eCommerce predictions. Whilst it is impossible to truly predict what the next year will have in store, with this amount of industry expertise we are confident there is something that every eCommerce business can take away and implement in the New Year.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
The definition of the prefix omni – is all, whereas the definition of multi – is many. So, how do you enhance your eCommerce business, marketing, sales and fulfillment to encompass everything, not just a lot of things? Since this is the future of eCommerce retail, it’s imperative that you and your organization figure it out.
Moving from a multichannel approach to omnichannel hinges primarily on how you think about your customers and their buying journey. Instead of selling and marketing to your customers via different channels – online, in-store, mobile – you’ll have to start thinking more globally. Let’s examine how this works.
Customers expect a unified customer experience. This means that if they visit one of your brick-and-mortar locations, they want it to look and feel like visiting your website, scrolling through your social media accounts or using your mobile app. It’s about making the experience as seamless as possible. This also ties back to buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS), curbside pick-up and DTC.
Target and Kohl’s are great examples of how to make omnichannel work. Both retailers have mobile apps that allow consumers to search for products in their local store or across all their stores; order directly from the app; order and pickup in store; and use their app-based wallet to keep track of all specials, coupons and payment methods. Additionally, both of these retailers leverage their in-store inventory to fulfill orders if the product is not available in the warehouse.
To the customer, this is a seamless and integrated experience. Now, you may not have the footprint of a store like Target, but your warehouses and stores can still be leveraged together to offer the consumer the best experience and make the buying journey more enjoyable.
To enhance the effectiveness of your omnichannel-centered tech, you also want to be sure you’re addressing each of the four essential keys to Omnichannel eCommerce: sales channels, marketing and advertising, operations and shipping and fulfillment.
Your operations and fulfillment processes will fall flat without a strong sales funnel powered by the right marketing and advertising plan. These are the “first four” aspects of your business that must work together to get the kind of omnichannel eCommerce results you want.
Now, to complete all of these tasks as outlined above, there is one particular tool you need – technology. And instead of just one or two pieces of tech, you’re going to need to make sure that your entire platform and its infrastructure are built to handle omnichannel eCommerce and enhance your success.
In all of the instances above, having a flexible and well-appointed infrastructure will make it much easier for you and your team to manage an omnichannel approach.
The best news about omnichannel eCommerce is that it’s not a road you have to navigate alone. Warehouse management systems, shipping and fulfillment providers, as well as customer data platforms all work together to help you build the best omnichannel strategy for your business. Find the right omnichannel partner and you’ve already taken a step further than many of your competitors.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our warehouse management software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
By: Aaron Rubin, CEO and Founder of ShipHero
It can seem that managing a warehouse is a full-time job for at least 100 people. For many smaller eCommerce businesses, devoting that type of people power and resources to one aspect of their operation just isn’t feasible. That’s why it’s so important to implement a strong, robust and fully functional Warehouse Management System (WMS). And it will also save you money, time and frustration.
First, let’s talk about what a WMS can do. Primarily, it manages every aspect of your warehouse operation. This includes receiving inventory, counting and storing inventory, laying out the warehouse and picking and packing. It manages everything that happens from the time a customer places an order to the time the order is placed on a truck for shipping.
That is a big lift, which means the software needs to not only work flawlessly, but people in the warehouse must be willing to learn the system and capitalize on all that functionality.
Managing so many things also means that having WMS will close the gaps in your processes. Gaps where errors, revenue or wasted effort might escape. And this is the real beauty of WMS – it saves you time and money and makes the entire customer experience just that much better.
So, what is that magic that WMS performs? How is it possible for a software system to address physical and logistical problems, like mis-picks and inventory errors? Let’s find out.
It’s true that Warehouse Management Software can do everything listed above, but there is some responsibility on you. Adopting and implementing WMS takes time and patience, and requires that you and your employees buy into all the benefits this new technology will afford you. In many cases, this may mean ditching the old “tried and true” methods that so many long-time warehouse employees rely on. There could be some resistance to a paperless picking process or hesitancy about how to use the new technology.
Make sure you’ve set aside the time and patience to handle the challenges that will come with transition. While the benefits far outweigh the obstacles, it’s still important to set everyone’s expectations.
However, based on past experience, ShipHero is confident that you won’t regret making the change.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our WMS software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
As much as you might wish to hold off discussing the holiday shopping season until the Halloween candy bowl is empty, as eCommerce retailers, you just don’t have that luxury. As evidenced by the sometimes crazy, always unpredictable season of holiday 2020, 2021 doesn’t appear to be any less wacky than its older sibling.
As an eCommerce retailer, you’ve probably struggled with this new post-pandemic norm, especially as it has seesawed between optimism (economically and otherwise) and despair. With the Delta variant inspiring statewide lockdowns once more, entering this high-volume season has come with additional questions, many that appear to already be answered.
Anxiety is only diminished by being prepared, so, let’s get prepared. Below are some of the key lessons eCommerce retailers, warehouse managers and fulfillment teams learned during 2020 and how ShipHero imagines they’ll be applied in 2021.
The proliferation of online shopping 2020 made the novelty of historical mainstays, like Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday promotions, less enticing. Last year, many shoppers couldn’t even go to a store if they wanted to; in 2021, while that option may exist, all evidence suggests that online eCommerce, across categories and industries will remain strong.
In 2020, eCommerce grew by over 32% year over year, and was up by 31% in Q1 2021, according to reporting by Digital Commerce 360. There is no evidence these numbers will be on the downswing anytime soon.
However, there is an indication that a trend that gained steam in 2020 will continue to expand in 2021, click and collect, otherwise known as buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS). The prevailing wisdom is that this allows shoppers to enjoy the instant gratification of shopping in-store without incurring the risk of contracting COVID (or standing in line, or fighting traffic or juggling a toddler, a stroller and a handful of shopping bags).
While it was hoped that the delivery delays and empty shelves that were seen in 2020 (and 2021 if we’re being honest), would be a thing of the past, facts are that these types of disruptions will continue to affect the supply chain from manufacturing to distribution to retail for quite a while. Manufacturers have been unable to increase their output back to pre-pandemic levels and even if materials are ready to ship, there have been issues finding truck drivers (a chronic issue to be sure, but put into starker relief by the rise in demand for shipped goods).
What does this really mean for eCommerce? It means that consumers will continue to push buy online pickup in store options to ensure that they can physically get the product they want in time for gift-giving or holiday entertaining.
There is no doubt that the one key takeaway from Holiday Season 2020 is that consumers will continue to consume, even if they can’t leave their homes. While the rise of eCommerce isn’t new, recent behavior indicates that a variety of shoppers, even those not typically known to shop online (i.e. older adults), have adopted the switch to eCommerce. While the most recent information shows growth for in-store sales, there is uncertainty regarding the Delta variant and how that might impact in-person sales going forward.
The moral of this story is retailers shouldn’t scrap their direct-to-consumer (DTC) fulfillment or eCommerce operations that were brought online throughout 2020. The EY Future Consumer Index released in May 2021, showed that 80% of consumers are changing the way they shop – including 43% who stated they now shop online more frequently for items they had previously purchased in-store.
As Holiday season 2021 truly takes shape we will no doubt see even more changes to how consumers shop, how eCommerce retailers meet their needs and how businesses are staying agile in order to better understand and satisfy their consumer base.
ShipHero is excited to see what this holiday season brings and how we can better help our clients weather these sometimes disruptive, oftentimes invigorating situations. We look forward to working with our current partners and clients to help make Holiday 2021 better than ever, whether through solutions, support or superpowers. We will be posting helpful tips throughout peak season HERE, so be sure to check back frequently!
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our WMS software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
By: Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO of ShipHero
The changes to the world economy have been many and varied since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. However, perhaps the largest change has been seen in eCommerce, where 2020 projections were blown away by a population of shoppers trapped in their homes, with little else to do except shop online.
While this surge in eCommerce has been a good thing for most businesses, perhaps the largest concern moving through the 4th quarter of 2021 is how to maintain the increase in eCommerce sales without overreacting – growth is wonderful, but with the resurgence of the Delta variant, things are a bit more uncertain than they were two months ago, and it appears that eCommerce may be due for another uptick in revenue. Which means a downturn could be on the horizon.
But how can you meet the challenge of ongoing revenue growth without expanding your business to the point that you cannot sustain it when the eventual lull comes? While this has always been a concern for retailers, virtual or not, maybe there’s a better way to manage these ebbs and flows. Let’s examine five ways you can grow your online business and revenue through efficiency and optimization, instead of expansion that often hits your bottom line.
More than likely, your current advertising platforms allow you to remarket without too much additional effort. Google and Facebook make it surprisingly easy to use these features and it can greatly impact your revenue stream. Also, never underestimate the allure of an abandoned cart. Remarketing to folks who have taken the extra step to “add to cart” is an easy way to make some sales.
By implementing some or all of the steps above, you’ll have a better chance of maintaining balance throughout this unprecedented time. And you’ll be poised for future success. It is predicted that eCommerce sales will account for 1 out of every 4 retails sales by 2025. At the height of the pandemic, it was estimated that 3 out of every 10 sales were transacted online.
While experts are not predicting that we will return to such a high number in the next year or so, it is important to realize that higher eCommerce volumes are here to stay and learning how to manage the highs and lows now will better prepare you for success in the future.
ShipHero’s Warehouse Management Software is a complete system that allows you to manage inventory, connect directly to all of your third-party selling channels and provides you with better pick and pack capabilities to reduce errors. ShipHero also has:
If you’re looking for the easiest and most efficient way to grow your eCommerce business, even in uncertain times, we invite you to take advantage of all ShipHero has to offer. You can find a way to stay steady even as the business landscape changes, and often the easiest way to do that is to lean on your partners with superpowers.
Schedule a meeting today with our experts to learn more about our WMS software built for ecommerce brands & 3PLs looking to run their best warehouse and how ShipHero works to ensure that organizations invest in the solutions that match their needs, to improve productivity, revenue, and success.
Click HERE to Schedule a Meeting Today
Aaron Rubin, Founder & CEO
ShipHero
About the author: Aaron Rubin is the Founder & CEO of ShipHero. He is responsible for planning and executing the overall vision and strategy of the organization. Rubin’s greatest strengths are leadership, change management, strategic planning and a passion for progression. He is known for having his finger on the pulse of ShipHero’s major initiatives, his entrepreneurial spirit, and keen business acumen. His leadership of ShipHero is grounded in providing excellent customer service that drives improved business operations. His passion for ShipHero comes from the culture and his ability to have an impact on the lives of employees, customers, partners, and investors.
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