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Digital-first commerce: Why it’s crucial for retail

For decades now, consumers have become increasingly fond of online shopping. The statistics speak to this: In 2000, Pew Research found that only 22% of Americans had ever bought a product online. Sixteen years later, that figure grew to 79% of consumers. And by 2026, the global eCommerce market is predicted to be worth more than 5.4 trillion USD.

Depending on who you ask, the growth of digital commerce might be due to factors like low prices, better selection, or pure convenience. However, this transformation was also highly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, many parts of the world were more or less “digital only” as consumers turned to the internet for everything from work to connecting with family — and of course, shopping.  

The telltale signs are all there: The customers of tomorrow are going to be even more receptive to online shopping. Every retailer must adopt a digital-first approach.

What is digital-first commerce?

Digital-first commerce refers to the need to put online experiences before physical experiences. In the past, retailers may have used digital to augment their larger marketing or fulfillment strategies. Digital-first flips that concept on its head. Now, digital-first retailers primarily engage with shoppers digitally.

While retailers don’t need to abandon their entire physical presence to be digital-first, they do need to focus on appealing to shoppers while those shoppers are online — and creating the most engaging and cohesive online experience possible, while connecting it to their offline presence, as well.

[ See how NOBULL used multichannel personalization to scale their community ]

Why is digital-first commerce important?

Even when shopping in person, shoppers still want to interact with the digital world. Research has found that 53.3% of consumers use their mobile devices to help them shop — often to look up product information, compare prices, look at reviews, or find discounts. 

Retailers need to keep pace with their shoppers, and as shopper behavior changes to elevate online shopping over visiting brick-and-mortar stores, it’s crucial to adapt your strategy accordingly. 

However, this massive shift in consumer behavior isn’t the only reason that retailers should consider a digital-first approach. Here are six additional benefits:

1. Expand your reach

While 93% of consumers wouldn’t travel more than 20 minutes to shop at a brick-and-mortar clothing store, eCommerce site can reach shoppers around the globe. If you focus on creating a best-in-class digital experience for your customers, you’ll be able to scale your business quickly without needing to invest in physical space.

2. Appeal to customers

Digital-enabled experiences are highly appealing to shoppers. For example, think of the success of mobile and online banking in the past ten years. Mobile banking took off because it was a more convenient experience for customers — and as of 2019, only 21% of consumers went to a teller as their primary way of banking. 

To follow suit, retailers should consider what customers value the most about their shopping experience, and work to create an even better experience online.

3. Continuous innovation

With each new year comes incredible new technological capabilities — and most of those technologies are built to help organizations capitalize on the potential of the digital world. By making the shift to digital-first commerce, you’ll be able to take advantage of new technology and innovate faster than your physical-first competitors.

4. Establish trust

In 2021, the FTC received fraud reports from more than 2.8 million consumers. Online shopping accounted for about $392 million in reported losses (up from $246 million in 2020). 

With online fraud continuing to grow, consumers are becoming savvier. This means businesses need to establish a strong digital presence, one that consumers can trust.

With a digital-first approach, you can engage with customers across various touchpoints, making them familiar with your brand and building authority. 

5. Increase engagement

When a customer walks into your store, they might browse the aisles and walk out without buying anything. That’s the end of the buyer journey. 

When a customer visits your website, they might browse a particular section and leave the site without buying anything. That’s just the start of the buying journey.

A digital-first presence lets you engage with shoppers beyond your website. Maybe you retarget them on social media, or they see your ad on Google. Perhaps they return to the site, and they’re instantly met with a personalized message about where they left off. 

Engagement is the name of the game, and creating a solid digital experience is of the utmost importance.

6. Improve ROI

For marketers, money is what matters. What goes out must come back. Digital gives marketers a true look at how their money is impacting sales and enables them to make faster decisions. 

Tools like multi-channel marketing platforms can also help ensure that spend is going to the right places and the right messages are being sent — key factors in improving ROI.

The challenges of shifting to digital-first commerce

Shifting to a digital-first strategy has it’s challenges. Not only do you need the right technology and personnel in place, but you need to shift your mindset. To truly succeed, silos need to be taken down to create a holistic omnichannel approach, and the old way of analyzing performance has to be adapted.

Additionally, there are a few other things that must be considered.

Know your tech blind spots

We don’t know what we don’t know, and that includes our technology shortcomings. When shifting to digital-first, you need to right technology in place. You need to ask yourself:

The answers to all of these questions must be yes. 

Stay on top of trends

Technology advances fast, and change is constant. Marketers must stay on top of trends and constantly evolve. Take for example new privacy regulations being rolled out across Europe and the United States. Marketers need to know how these regulations impact their business and ensure they have the right tools and technology in place. 

It’s not easy, but it is important.

Strive for omnichannel synchronization

Without the right partner and software, you might feel a little lost. Optimizing all your channels for the best customer experience takes time and a lot of effort. Your business needs to be able to sync channels and devices smoothly. 

Be aware of data security issues 

There is a huge increase in cybersecurity threats that put customer data at risk. Learning how to protect this information is extremely important. Learning how to use product data to power retail relevance can be trial-and-error sometimes.   

There may be challenges to a digital-first strategy, but we know the rewards far outweigh the costs.

COVID-19 increased the demand for digital

Although there are many timeless reasons to convert to a digital-first approach, the COVID-19 pandemic has put significant pressure on retailers to start their transformation as quickly as possible. This has made digital-first commerce a trending topic among retailers. When you look at recent statistics, it’s no wonder why.

Now, with more customers shopping online than ever, digital-first isn’t just a ripe opportunity to reach customers. It’s also an opportunity to make the most of your existing budget and reinvest costs related to running physical locations into online activities that drive revenue.

The future of digital first

Retailers need to make sure they invest where their customers are, and more customers are choosing to shop online. Study after study shows that many customers have no firm plans to fully return to pre-pandemic shopping habits. It’s time to ensure your retail marketing technology is here for the long haul.

Ready to take the first step toward digital-first? Request a demo of Bluecore’s multichannel personalization platform.