Democratizing E-commerce by enhancing customer experience

Technology has been shaping the world of e-commerce by creating unique customer experiences and providing lasting solutions to major problems the brands face

BRAND CONNECT | PAID POST

Published: Oct 14, 2022 11:30:15 AM IST

Updated: Oct 18, 2022 05:18:18 PM IST

Technology has been shaping the world of e-commerce by creating unique customer experiences and providing lasting solutions to major problems the brands face. As the e-commerce industry is expected to become a $400 billion industry in India by 2030, it is imperative to understand customers, provide them with the experiences they desire, and do it in a way that’s scalable, steady, and strong.

So, what steps are e-stores taking in this direction? How are they solving problems customers often face? How are they committing themselves to provide a superior customer experience?

Forbes India and GoKwik have organized a series of roundtable sessions involving industry executives to discuss this topic and others like it.

E-commerce players need to keep enhancing the D2C experience. They have taken several steps to democratize and deliver a seamless shopping experience. In a discussion moderated by Manu Balachandran, speakers like Mr Amitt Sharma, Chief Customer Officer at GoKwik, Mr Arihant Jain, VP of Marketing at Earth Rythym, Mr Rahul Dayama, Head of Marketing and E-commerce at Urbanic, Mr Kirti Varun, CTO at Meesho and Mr Arnav Kishore, Founder, and CEO at Fireboltt, they discuss how you can unlock the potential of e-commerce by providing a superior customer experience.

Mr Kishore shared his opinion on a delightful customer experience for e-commerce brands in India. He said, "E-commerce customer experience refers to a sum of every touchpoint, engagement, thought or feeling that occurs or is exchanged between the customer and your brand. The products you offer have a huge impact on the future success of your business, but you cannot rely on product quality alone to attract customers. By today's standards, it's important to deliver a valuable customer experience. There are three windows - pre-purchase, shopping experience, and retention."

Mr Dayama also shared his thoughts on the same. He said, "With the growing communication through digital media, being a digital-first brand, we've communicated to our customers through the app as well as acquisition took place through platforms on the Internet."

In the post-pandemic world, high competition customer acquisition costs have risen in the e-commerce space. Sharing the importance of customer experience to drive conversions, Mr Kirti said, “Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a reset in customer expectations. Even though the pandemic has gone, the structural shift has not gone back. The heterogeneity of the customer base has increased with new customers making repeat purchases. Focusing on the Bharat segment of customers, solving their issues around experience is critical. Customer experience truly is the sum total of all touchpoints.”

Discussing the same, Mr Jain said, "From an end-to-end journey, the experience must be delightful. After the purchase, offering the customer the experience through questions makes the difference."

Further highlighting this point, Mr Sharma said, "From the lens of GoKwik, merchant experience, partners we work with, as well as the end-user experience, matters a lot. We primarily focus on reducing RTO, ensuring checkout experience is best in class leading to a reduction in drop-offs and building solutions for complex e-commerce problems existing throughout the shopping funnel."

Customer experience plays a pivotal role in the growth and sales management of a D2C brand. During festive seasons, offering superior customer experience and capitalizing on the season is what helps democratize your e-commerce brand.

To hear the entire conversation, you can check this link: https://youtu.be/GG85TbQsAGQ.

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