Co-Founder Taliferro
Introduction
The world of e-commerce is changing. Once upon a time, it was all about creating the next-best-selling product, but today's e-commerce landscape is more complex. We're talking Digital Transformation and Customer Experience Engineering, which means making changes to your e-commerce architecture. In this post, I'll explore how to build an innovative and modern e-commerce architecture so you can stay ahead of the competition.
The new relationship between applications and security
As you've probably heard, cloud-native applications are built from the ground up to be secure, scalable, and highly available. security is baked into the application—not an afterthought, bolt-on, or compliance checkbox. From day one, applications are architected from a security perspective with design decisions that ensure data protection, privacy, and regulatory compliance. This is important because it means applications are set up for success from day one rather than trying to retrofit security into legacy systems that may not have been designed with these goals in mind.
Must-have features for modern e-Commerce
- Cloud: The cloud provides an excellent foundation for e-Commerce because it allows you to scale up or down quickly and easily. It also offers the ability to expand your business globally without additional hardware or software costs.
- Security: If customers trust you with their data and money, you need to offer them the best protection possible. Cloud providers invest heavily in making sure their infrastructure is state-of-the-art when it comes to protecting against cyberattacks.
- Tools: We know how important it is for e-commercecompanies to keep their customers happy while also growing sales. That's why a platform needs to come with tools like mobile checkout to help convert shoppers into buyers.
Cloud
Cloud solutions are the new normal. The cloud allows for fast deployment and eliminates the need to provision physical hardware or configure an on-premise network environment.
Cloud-based solutions offer speedier development times and lower costs than their on-premise counterparts.
Users benefit from increased security because all data resides in secure data centers instead of your local facility, where it could be easily stolen or compromised by hackers.
Cloud solutions also allow for scalability; because everything is hosted in one place. You only need enough capacity for your current volume of transactions rather than buying additional hardware when the business grows (or shrinks).
Security
Identity is about proving you are who you say you are and what access you have. Authentication is about proving who you are. For example, when logging in to your bank's website, the browser asks for your username and password but doesn't verify that you actually typed them in. The bank only knows that a user logged into their application with those credentials. The browser could ask for additional information like fingerprint or retina scans before granting access to personal data stored on the server. This would be considered an identity check rather than an authentication check since it verifies more than just one piece of information: who someone claims to be and what type of access they have by virtue of being that person (Passwordless is our option.)
Tools
Personalization is not just for customer service. It can also be used to increase sales and improve customer experience, loyalty, and retention. A personalized shopping experience promotes repeat visits, which builds trust with customers more likely to purchase again from an e-Commerce store that recognizes their preferences. Personalized recommendations help increase conversions and average order value (AOV).
In fact, according to a study by Google, shoppers who received personalized product recommendations were 8% more likely to buy than those who did not. The same study found that shoppers who got personalized offers were 10% more likely than other customers to make purchases. It would help if you personalized everything to create a more relevant experience for your customers.
Speed up the time to market for new ideas and services while creating new revenue opportunities. For example, online stores have seen a 15X increase in conversions when adding personalization to their sites.
It's no secret that speed is king in modern e-Commerce. The faster you can launch new ideas and services, the more opportunities there are to make money. By creating an architecture that allows teams to develop features quickly, you can create a culture where everyone feels empowered to innovate.
Personalize the shopping experience using data from previous interactions with your site; you should also personalize product recommendations and customer journey content. With the right technology and infrastructure in place, you can understand what products each customer is most likely to buy based on past purchases and their browsing history. This will help you suggest products they might be interested in purchasing next—which can increase revenue and sales by up to 15 percent. Offer personalized product recommendations based on customer preferences, such as customers who purchased this item also bought or recommended for you. You can also use these insights about what products are popular among customers at any time of day or week. When someone comes back later looking for something specific, like a birthday gift for their sister's birthday party, you'll have just what they're looking for right there waiting. The more relevant information we give them upfront means less time wasted on irrelevant searches later down the road."
It's been said before, but it's worth reminding you: people buy from people. Personalization is key to increasing your sales conversion rates. Personalization can take many forms, from machine learning algorithms to personalized content and delivery options. The most compelling examples include recommendation engines, customized pricing, or discounts for specific customers. Messaging based on past purchases or customer behavior is another alternative.
Conclusion
e-Commerce is no longer just about selling products. It's a way to engage with customers meaningfully, build their loyalty and increase sales.
Tyrone Showers