Ecommerce automation
Time is the most costly resource in every organization, especially while running an ecommerce business. Taking your business online requires dedicated time for data entry, data analysis, marketing, sales, inventory management, shipping… and the list goes on and on.
Unfortunately, much of the time spent completing these tasks goes toward tedious work. Did you know employees spend 50% of their work hours searching for files? That means 45 minutes to 3 hours of the 8-hour work day is used on mundane processes.
Don’t let such monotonous activities keep you from reaching your business goals. Find out how ecommerce automation can help.
What is ecommerce automation?
Running an ecommerce business involves a plethora of processes and tasks – availing your products and services online, marketing them, answering queries, and managing sales. Ecommerce automation is the process of streamlining and automating these various tasks to improve efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.
Let’s consider a common business blunder. How many times have we apologized to a customer because we forgot to send them a follow-up email? Quite a lot! In the midst of handling many small details all at once, it’s typical for ecommerce professionals to miss the big picture of the business – boosting profits and improving the customer experience. Statistics reveal that 40% of our productivity is lost as we switch between tasks.
However, staying on top of all of these tasks without errors is nearly impossible when relying on manual processes. Instead, automating tasks helps you prioritize while managing your workflow. It can also provide insights into customer behavior and market trends.
How does ecommerce automation help your business?
Today, almost 51% of businesses have reported switching to ecommerce automation. Here is why:
- Saves time
Research reveals that almost 69% of your daily mundane business tasks can be automated. With ecommerce automation, you can streamline data entry and product data handling. You can feed your product information, make changes, and perform timely updates without errors. While humans handle 58% of the tasks, technology takes care of the remaining 42%. Hence you have more time to focus on critical business needs and growth opportunities.
You can also interact with your customers and answer their queries faster, such as with chatbots and automated emails. This not only saves time, but it also provides value to your customers by helping them find exactly what they are looking for without spending hours searching on their own.
- Improves customer engagement
Ecommerce automation tools enable you to analyze market trends, understand your customers’ search patterns, and study their purchase behavior. This way you know what products are in demand among your audience and what is not performing well and why. In turn, you can manage your product inventory based on the demand.
Further, these automation tools enable you to optimize your product feed according to your customer search history, helping you to appear first when they browse for products or businesses similar to yours. You attract more traffic to your brand and increase conversions. Studies prove that almost 80% of businesses have witnessed an increase in leads through automation software.
- Enhances customer experience
Online shopping is expected to be a smooth experience, without having to wait in long queues for checkout. It is important to be available to your customers wherever they’re looking for you and at any time. Ecommerce automation improves your online presence by integrating your products across the internet making it easy for your buyers to find you.
Creating a smooth customer experience includes maintaining the credibility and accuracy of your brand across the web. That is ensuring a consistent brand and product image. Manually entering data might lead to inconsistencies and chaos. But with automation, your uniformity is streamlined, helping your customers make the right purchase without confusion. You can boost your customers' trust in your business, helping you retain them long-term.
Overstated yet true, it’s always better to work smarter than harder. Ecommerce automation is the smartest way to grow a business. Confused about where to start? Begin with a process that takes most of your time and is significant for your operations. For more guidance on ecommerce automation, explore Productsup’s P2C platform.