Ecommerce is nothing new. Amazon has amassed billions of dollars since setting up shop back in 1994. The richest man in China runs a large ecommerce empire called Alibaba. Everyone has accepted the prevalence and ongoing success of ecommerce. We consume content and digital data on a daily basis, and that has grown to encompass consumer goods as well. It has developed naturally but due to the current pandemic, ecommerce has taken a forefront seat and is now playing a much larger role in our lives. From filling our homes with groceries and daily essentials, to facilitating our hobbies, lifestyles and livelihoods, ecommerce will continue to reshape our lives in the face of a social-distancing society.
Whether a cure or vaccine for Covid-19 is found soon or not, life will not return back to normal immediately. Various industries have been hit hard by the pandemic and billions have been lost. It has been predicted that many brick and mortar shops and businesses will close down. More than ever, companies and businesses will go online in search of a more sustainable structure. One that does not require foot traffic, but rather, online marketing and advertising. Established corporations which allows sellers to market and list their wares such as Amazon and Shopify will continue to see an increase in users.
Another industry which has been riding on the waves of ecommerce’s rise is content creating and influencer marketing (which has slowly been rebranded into Key Opinion Leaders or KOLs as the term “influencer” has been rejected as unprofessional). Ecommerce and entertainment is slowly becoming intertwined, with a new word on the horizon for this new phenomenon: shoppertainment. Live Streaming, product reviews, lengthy blog posts, are all the new norm for advertising. Instead of spending thousands on a commercial, businesses would rather now consider a package for SEO price in Dubai and sending products to relevant personalities that can help them push their product to their targeted audience. They are also using these KOLs to help them create products that their clientele actually wants. For instance, a livestreamer can ask his or her audiences what colors they would like a particular product in and customize accordingly to the audience’s wishes. This guarantees that their products will not flop.
However, there is one last obstacle that stands in the way of a seamless experience: security. People generally get rather fearful of using their cards or financial institutions over the internet – especially the older generation who believe in good old fashioned over-the-counter banking. However, technology has given us more control and security over our finances with our mobile devices. There are two-step authentication for online transactions, there are also other forms of authenticating one’s identity which is tied into one’s biodata and you can easily read about biometric authentication and learn how it works. There is also the most common, digital identity in the form of passwords. These safety measures allow us to shop online without fear of being robbed of our identity or have our bank accounts compromised.
Purchasing online actually puts you in complete power of your finances because you can see exactly when and where you spent your money on your phone, likely through an app. Purchasing through third party platforms such as eBay or Amazon also adds another layer of protection. Paying with PayPal also gives you better security than if you were to pay by card through a machine. The security measures that internet vendors are taking is a promising sign of a financially secure future, especially when it comes to purchasing online. Furthermore, bitcoin and other e-wallets allow us to trace our financial spendings easily. If there is any suspicious activity, you’ll be able to freeze your account at the tap of a button and most likely get all your funds back as everything is interconnected on the internet. Nothing happens without a trail of information, leading back to the culprit and the like. It is far safer to transact over the internet than purchasing something in real life. Oftentimes, if our identity is stolen and our credit cards used to make small purchases, we wouldn’t even notice it and neither would it be flagged by your financial institutions because it isn’t suspicious enough to alert the fraud alert algorithms. However, on the internet, you’ll be checking and be notified of your purchases at every turn. Reputable ecommerce platforms will make it a point to be as trustworthy as your banker so that you will continue to shop with them.
The truth is that e-commerce was always going to be a part of our future as it has been so intertwined in our shopping culture. This situation with the coronavirus only sped up the inevitable and will be the push needed to reinforce procedures, develop better interfaces and processes and create a more unified experience all around the world.
