Category: Business Ideas

The mobile platform has not only changed the way humans communicate today but also redefined their buying patterns. Research shows that 96% of Americans own a smartphone, and considering 69% have shopped on mobile at least once in their lives shows that this technology is here to stay. Businesses must leverage that.

Interestingly, the monopoly of mobile apps was challenged several years ago with the advent of Progressive Web Apps. Short for PWAs, they are a powerful combination of the web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS and the feel and functionality similar to an actual native app. PWAs do not require any downloads and can be delivered through the web.

How PWAs Outperform Native Apps in eCommerce

Although the amount of revenue that mobile apps drove globally exceeded $580 billion in 2020, there are several ways in which PWAs outperform them:

1. Loading speed

Since PWAs use service workers to manage requests, caching, and storing shell data, they load quicker than a native app — even without the internet. However, the data would not refresh until the app is reconnected to the internet.

But that is a small price to pay when it comes to delivering excellent user experience. Since loading speeds have a tremendous impact on user retention and engagement, this is a critical benefit of a PWA.

2. Development cost

Building a PWA that runs on multiple operating costs and platforms is cheaper than developing a native app from scratch for both Android and iOS. In fact, it would dramatically reduce your workload as you would not have to invest time updating it and adding new features to it now and then. Managing PWAs is hassle-free.

3. Storage space

Native apps take up space on the mobile phone. The heavier the app, the more space it will take — which is not favorable in the long run. With PWAs, that is never a problem. The end users can access the PWA’s full functionality without having to worry about the storage space.

4. App visibility

Unlike native apps that can be downloaded from the app store, PWAs can be accessed on the browser. A PWA is basically an app-imitating website that needs to be search optimized, increasing the opportunities for organic growth and engagement.

Key Features Of Mobi PWA Solution

Our Progressive Web App Builder is everything you need to achieve success and consistent growth in your eCommerce business. It is compatible with Magento 2.3 version and enables you to create blazing fast and reliable customer experiences on mobile.

Mobi PWA delivers the convenience and utility of the mobile app combined with the reach and engagement of a website in a way that benefits both end customers and eCommerce business owners. Here are ten features of Mobi PWA to know about:

1. Lightning fast speed

Speed is everything online, and if you want to capture your audience’s attention for the long haul, you must deliver a storefront where it loads the pages fast. Mobi PWAs use service workers to do local caching and fetch data. This means the page content within milliseconds — even without the internet connection. Who does not want that?

2. More customer engagement

You want your customers to be receptive to your offerings. Your business success depends on it! Mobi PWA is engineered to bridge the gap between demand delivery with smooth checkout, simple UI, and fast speed. You can enjoy 50% higher customer engagement rates with our PWAs. That is a guarantee!

3. Native functionalities

Our mobile-first UX emphasizes making shopping easy for your customers. Besides, our PWA app builders are highly secure, multi-browser-responsive, and SEO-friendly. You can send push notifications and give access from the device’s home screen — without installing it!

4. Multi-platform solution

Your customers are everywhere, which is why developing an app for just one platform is a huge mistake. Mobi PWA is designed to deliver a unified experience across devices. Whether it is mobile or desktop, they will browse through and shop the same way.

5. Marketing compatibility

Knowing how your storefront is performing across platforms is imperative for business growth. Our Mobi PWA helps you analyze your marketing efforts by easily integrating with Facebook Pixel, SEMrush, and Google Analytics. Numbers speak volumes; listen.

6. Flawless user experience

Eliminate the distracting navigation menu on the top and the address bar at the bottom to enable your customers to see the big picture. Allow them to “add your app to home screen” without downloading the app from the app store.

7. Page builder functionality

MobiCommerce wants you to envision the PWA of your dreams, where our proprietary page builder comes in handy. Allow yourself to design the app interface however you like. Create the homepage and category pages using our advanced widgets. You do not need any technical expertise to do this.

8. Multiple integrations and add-ons possible

Our developers will ensure your PWA has all the necessary integrations in place. For instance, if you want smooth web browsing functionality, we would suggest PrestaShop. If security is a huge factor for you, we will go with WooCommerce. Similarly, we would integrate your app with other tools like SEMrush and GA.

9. Responsive and engaging UI

PWAs allow you to offer your end-users a unified experience on the browser and the app installed on their devices. As the interface would be the same on both platforms, the user would not have to learn browsing through more than one interface.

10. Most powerful tech stack

Build a high-performance PWA on Magento that has proven its mettle in the market for boosting user engagement, conversions, and the bottom line. Mobi PWA is exactly the eCommerce PWA solution you want — robust and timeless.

Combine the strength of Magento with the richness of React Native, which comes with a best-in-class JavaScript library for building user interfaces.

In a nutshell, if you aim to fetch maximum traffic to the app without compromising the user interface, Mobi PWA delivers that smoothly and cost-effectively.

Four PWA examples in eCommerce

There is no doubt that PWAs are reliable, incredibly fast, and highly engaging. They have found their worth in eCommerce and how. Here are a few examples:

1. India’s eCommerce poster boy, Flipkart, adopted the PWA technology and fetched 3X more user engagement and lower data usage and 40% higher re-engagement.

2. Alibaba’s PWA achieved around 76% higher conversions across browsers, 4X higher interaction due to the “Add To Homescreen” prompt, and 30% and 14% more monthly active users on Android and iOS.

3. The world’s leading hotel search engine, Trivago, increased its user engagement by 150% after launching a PWA.

4. Top African eCommerce site Jumia reduced its bounce rate by 50% and gained 12X more users after introducing a PWA for their online business. They also witnessed a 33% higher conversion rate.

Over to you

PWAs certainly offer a ton of benefits to the eCommerce landscape, enabling online shops to engage users for the long haul and enjoy higher conversions. If you have not given PWAs a thought until now, Mobi PWA is the right choice for you, and you know why! We are the best Progressive Web App builder. So, do not waste time. Just book your demo here to get started with MobiCommerce.

The common notion is that things are easy for B2C, while for B2B, it is all a rocky road. Well, it is nothing like that. It all depends upon how much one gets involved in it, put effort and take it seriously and do whatever is possible to keep the buyer hooked and keep coming and buying from you.

B2B or B2C, the main motto is to keep customers ordering from you. It is possible only when you are offering them such products and services that they cannot say no to or ignore and go to your rivals. Now, you may ask what offerings can make them stick to you? Well, there are quite a couple of tricks and tactics that can be applied to make buyers choose you for their B2B buying. What are they? What can be done? Let’s dig into the details of all.

Alright, but before getting into the vast data, let’s understand what a B2B buying process consists of? B2B buying is a simple 5 stage process that includes:

• Problem identification
• Information search
• Evaluation of alternatives
• Purchase decision
• Post-purchase decision

Now, as per the research conducted by Sapio Research, an independent research agency, who investigated the expectations of B2B buyers during each phase of the B2B buying process; the following statistics and insights were obtained in each stage.

Problem Identification

On average, the entire B2B buying process takes 28.2 days, in which the problem identification phase takes the least amount of time i.e., 4.5 days.

Information Search

Today no one simply sees and buys. A lot of information searches happens after the problem identification as people know they have several options and need not settle for anything less. Hence, the research showed that about 62% of buyers access information online before buying that drives the importance of having a good SEO if it has to be you on the top in Google search engine when buyers come looking for solutions and information to solve their problem.

Evaluation of Alternatives

The longest of all stages, evaluation of alternatives takes about 6.4 days, according to the study because; a buyer evaluates a minimum of 3-5 suppliers before making a purchase decision. Following are some of the factors a buyer considers for evaluation:

• Price comparisons (33%)
• Payment terms (29%)
• Inventory availability (28%)
• Delivery terms (28%)
• Product demonstration (25%)
• Product feature comparison (24%)

Purchase Decision

It is the most crucial phase of a buying process because the decision of buying can either proceed or get flunked at this stage. As s supplier, you must focus on the following things because they are what the buyers consider while making the final decision.

• Good service (selected by 39% of buyers as the most significant offering)
• Low price (selected by 37%)
• Favorable payment terms (selected by 31%)
• Product features (selected by 31%)
• Favorable delivery terms (selected by 30%)
• Product availability and inventory levels (selected by 29%)
• Ability to pay online (selected by 26%)

Post-purchase Decision

It is the phase where things go wrong in general because many buyers think that once the purchase is made, they become successful and no more need to pay any attention to the buyer. Whereas, post-purchase is the most important phase because it is what keeps your customers hooked or keep coming back to you for more. You have to continue taking good care of your customers post-purchase because your behavior after the purchase is the real impression customers will have about you.

Continue satisfying their wishes and preferences, update them about your offers and discounts, feed them relevant and timely information, as all such actions will build and strengthen the trust factor in you.

In short, easier and faster checkout, easy repeat ordering, quicker delivery, improved tracking, and greater choice of suppliers are some of the buying experience priorities for a B2B buyer that you as a B2B seller must give importance to if want your customers to stay in a long-term relationship with you.

Summary

It is true that your effort influences the buying process but, a well-developed eCommerce solution also plays a significant role in a buyer’s decision as the shopping experience that the buyer gets from it affects the decision a lot. Therefore, you must set the foundation in the best way possible to succeed as a B2B seller.

For that, you simply need to approach a top-notch eCommerce web development company like Mobicommerce and stay assured as their team of efficient mCommerce mobile app builders know how to make you stand out in the competitive market.

For any business to survive the competition, strategies are required to be applied timely, especially, when the time is turbulent like at present due to the COVID-19 situation. Strategies are a must and the sector of a multi-vendor eCommerce business that needs such strategies the most is – the supply chain management (SCM).

What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)? 

One of the most challenging divisions of a multi-vendor marketplace solution is its supply chain which is the handling of the entire production flow of a good or service — starting from the raw components, product development, sourcing, production, packaging and all the way to delivering the final product to the consumer and even collecting returns, including the information systems needed to coordinate these activities. It is a network of suppliers (“links” in the chain) created by the company to move the product along from the suppliers of raw materials to those organizations that deal directly with users in order to maximize customer value and achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Why is it important? 

Supply chain management is an effective way to minimize cost, waste and time in the production cycle. It helps you keep your inventory in check and meet the needs of the demand-driven customers. With supply chain management; you can identify potential problems like shortage of products before the buyer gets disappointed, adjust prices according to the season and demand, and improve your delivery promise.

Now let’s understand the eight supply-chain strategies that will help your eCommerce business thrive in the current environment.

1. Plan your business based on demand-driven customers

Online business has scaled up during the lockdown period due to COVID-19, and hence there is no pause in the demands of customers in online stores. In fact, during the lockdown i.e. from March to May, many online retailers experienced disruption in the supply chain due to sudden surge in demands. Therefore, you got to structure your supply chain accordingly. Make use of powerful digital tools like Artificial intelligence technologies and internet of things (IoT) networks to act quickly and get real-time insights to meet the demand as soon as possible.

2. A resilient and agile supply chain is the key

How faster and better can you deliver is the only point of focus in today’s competitive world. Adaptability, speed, risk reduction, and sustainability, these are the key points companies today are paying attention to more than anything as customers have various options, and they don’t have to wait for you. Your supply chain got to have greater operational speed and flexibility in order to thrive in this new reality.

Adopt emerging technologies like cloud-based platforms to link your financial and materials-planning tasks to business-execution activities such as procurement, manufacturing, and inventory management, or methods like adopting more flexible sourcing and distribution strategies, including shifting to suppliers that are closer to home, engaging with customers in new – often virtual – ways, omnichannel ordering and fulfilment, etc. will help you sail through amid an ever-changing market landscape.

3. Innovate to grow

Customers look for variety in everything be it products or services, and if they are getting the same monotonous experience from your end, they will move on to others, therefore it is important to keep experimenting and innovating new practices also as per the current market. For example, Swiggy started delivering groceries and other essentials other than food delivering. Therefore, you can consult ecommerce solution provider who can help you in simplifying supply chain activities right from product procurement to product delivery.

4. Expand your fulfilment centre to lower shipping costs & delivery time

Faster delivery and lower shipping costs are what you and your customers desire; therefore, in order to achieve this common goal, a multi-FC strategy is the best approach. Expanding your facilities, inventory, staffing, and management will help you deliver to more customers nearby that area; quickly as well as at low shipping rates.

5. Scale up the number of picked orders per day

One of the most laborious tasks is order picking and delivering it accurately, and timely are keys to a successful eCommerce and customer experience. Improve your order cycle time, reduce replenishment trips and reduce put-away and picking time by slotting your order effectively. A fully automated order slotting method can provide high ROI, but not everyone can afford that. Try improving your storage capacity, opting for locations that are easier to pick from, separating similar products or SKUs that could be mis-picked etc., to increase your number of picked orders.

6. Optimize product design and management for supply, manufacturing, and sustainability

Considering product development and supply-chain planning as separate functions can be one of the major roadblocks in your order fulfilment. Merge design teams with supply-chain planners on a single (usually cloud-based) platform to speed up the process. Moreover, this kind of collaboration, as well as smart procurement practices such as supplier prequalification will help product developers source the right components upfront, based on factors such as parts availability, quality, and cost and will help you gain faster time to market, greater product revenue, and reduced scrap and rework expenses.

7. Embed sustainability 

There are environmental and social consequences behind every supply chain management process like carbon emissions of transportation networks, industrial waste from factories, ethics practised by suppliers, etc. Therefore, a sustainable supply chain practice is important in today’s time from guiding decisions ranging from product design and factory floor configuration to sourcing and logistics.

Some of the strategies to optimize supply chains for sustainability are:

• Developing long-term targets to bring down the company’s carbon footprint, energy usage, and improving recycling efforts.
• Deploying new technologies to ensure responsible environmental practices such as altering truck routes to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
• Applying a shared data model to provide end-to-end visibility and real-time insights.

In a nutshell

The competition is getting fiercer every day, and with people switching to online shopping more after the lockdown and due to the scare of the COVID-19, strategies are a must if you want to survive and keep going. Apply the above-mentioned strategies, and you can see a significant difference in yourb2b ecommerce software solutionsfor sure.

eCommerce is all about buyers and sellers, what a manufacturer has to do with it? If you too are a manufacturer having the same thought then guess what, eCommerce is for you too, and you must invest in it.

eCommerce is like launching your business on the big screen, but whether investing in it will make it a blockbuster or a flop show, is the fear that stops many from getting into it. Ever since eCommerce made its entrance, online business has become a sensation, giving the brick and mortar retail owners a tough time. Everything is available online and which is why it is high time for physical store owners to open up their online presence. But, is it really all about online retailers and customers? No, eCommerce is today much more than just digital retail. Actually, manufactures can see an increase in their sales with a properly designed eCommerce model. So, let’s take a look at the reasons why manufacturers must think of eCommerce investment right now.

eCommerce for Manufacturers

Manufacturers have a wrong notion that eCommerce is beneficial only for B2C selling, while the point they are missing is that in B2B and B2C, one thing is common and i.e. buyer, therefore, engaging in an eCommerce model will give them the following benefits.

1. Direct selling

Manufacturers should not miss an excellent chance to connect directly with their buyers as it can give them a good and complete control over the customer relationship. Doing so will help you kill two birds with one stone – first, it will widen your customer base and second, you can enforce MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price — also known as “sticker” price) as you seem fit. By having direct access to customers, manufacturers can also gain faster and direct feedback from them and improve their product offerings and services accordingly.

2. Brand awareness

Nothing can beat the marketing you can get via an eCommerce platform. Half of the marketing of your business is done when you open up an online store as more and more customers will come to know about it. Thus, as your brand awareness increases, your visibility will increase too, taking your business higher in Google search ranking as well.

3. Lower operating costs

One of the best parts about getting started with an eCommerce store is great cost savings, how? Well, it takes half the expense required to set up a physical store and maintain it well than developing a fully-featured eCommerce solution. Moreover, manufacturers can customize their eCommerce solution such that their sales and inventory management between their online and bricks-and-mortar operations can be carried out effortlessly and systematically.

4. Improved and smooth business operations

Manufactures can make use of digital and innovative ways to meet the needs of customers than the traditional ways which take time. By all means, an eCommerce store can help them in becoming efficient in their customer service, marketing, and sales, in reaching out to a wide customer base, in managing sales and orders, in cost savings, in problem-solving etc.

Now, let us take a look at some tips and tactics that can help improve your eCommerce sales

1. Create an engaging online presence

Remember online shopping is on the rise and customers expect an online platform that loads fast, provides the great user experience, is secure and navigates smoothly, etc., therefore, instead of settling for something cheap, choose a professional to design and develop your eCommerce store.

Select an eCommerce platform that can work well for your manufacturing business. Get it developed from scratch or customize it with all important functionalities. Choose/ design a store theme that works for manufacturers. Add product listings and include product descriptions with images to create SEO value and help customers to make decisions.

Try to make your eCommerce site as attractive as possible but also don’t go overboard. Keep it well-balanced with high-quality photos, videos, blog posts, or articles to educate buyers about you, your products and services.

“Don’t miss: Grow your B2B sells by accommodating wholesale eCommerce Platform”

2. Invest in technology

Technologies keep changing hence it is necessary for you to change with time to keep up with the competition. Update your eCommerce site as and when needed, make use of software that can work wonders for your online business, conduct security check regularly and if you have enough budget and want to seek the attention of your customers just like that, try implementing latest technologies like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Chatbot etc.

Recommended blog: Voice Search trends in E-commerce – A next big thing in Industry

3. Include personalisation 

Personalization is what customers want today in everything and you can make use of it in many ways to keep them engaged. Provide personalized catalogs, content, notifications, etc. for the buyers to feel valued and make their shopping experience even more enjoyable so that they keep coming back to you.

4. Improve product search and product configuration 

As a manufacturer, the most important thing on your eCommerce site should be an easy product search feature. Your customers must be able to find spare or replacement parts, tools, or accessories to go with their purchases without any headache or confusing navigation. Related products recommendation or a list of parts or accessories must be visible to them while browsing a particular product. Also, include apps and customizations to allow your buyers to configure products online. If they can add or remove items based on their requirement, budget etc., they will love you more.

In a nutshell 

Online shopping is now a household thing. It is slowly becoming a habit and hence having an online presence has become a necessity if you want to survive the competition. It is not that eCommerce is only for retailers and customers, everyone can benefit from it and so as a manufacturer if you want to attract audiences and serve them well, its high time you get an eCommerce store developed for your business. Therefore, without wasting any furthermore time, get in touch with the now known to be the best eCommerce solution provider in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar – MobiCommerce for your one-stop solution.

“Necessity is the mother of all inventions”, goes the old saying and life post-COVID-19 pandemic will see the advent of various online businesses.

We have seen many financial recessions in the current and past centuries; however, few budding entrepreneurs took the tide on their side and emerged as great businessmen during those crises. HP was started soon after the recession of 1937-38, Fed-Ex overcame the challenges of promoting a new and unheard concept of that time and became the pioneers of courier services right after the recession of 1969-70, whereas Hyatt was launched during the recession of 1958 when travel was at its lowest due to tough economic times. These and many other companies across the globe are inspiring examples of entrepreneurship that started during acute crisis.

Similarly, COVID crisis appears to be staying for long and has also transformed the way we live our life, our habits, our thinking and so on. Hence, if you too have a business plan and are waiting for COVID to end or fear to take the step at all then you are simply wasting your time because online is today’s way and is going to be the future too.

The emergence of online businesses amidst pandemics

The current pandemic has also triggered a global recession but one cannot forget that while China was fighting the SARS Pandemic of 2002-04. Ali Baba group which was a small eCommerce store at that time emerged as the biggest retailer in Asia. Its growth was accelerated by the fear of human contact, quite similar to the situation we are facing today.

The world is expecting to see technology replacing the physical movement of people in the upcoming months or maybe years until the spread of the virus is contained fully. Therefore, companies that choose to capitalize on the inevitable changes post lockdown will be the ones climbing the ladder of success. Taking a shift from brick and mortar business system to online business will be the key factor of staying relevant in these changing times.

Why shift to the online business model?

A lot of IT and non-IT companies have started giving work from home guidelines to employees as they do not want to take risks with their lives. Many fun activities like playing board games and even visiting a bar have been developed as apps to minimize boredom in this isolation period. Shopping online for everything under the sun has also risen in the past decade. All these apps have been well received by people, especially the millennial. A reasonably good section of the older population also has started using social media and shopping apps. This trend will catch pace in the post lockdown phase as people prefer to stay at home as much as possible.

With most of the businesses trying to reach their customers amid this challenging situation, new ways of functioning will start. It may be possible that we see online appointments being made for almost every service so that crowding can be avoided or services being delivered at the customer’s homes itself. Either way, technology will play an integral role in the future of business. So, we have made a list of top business ideas that are most likely to catch up in the online market post lockdown phase.

Online grocery shopping app– Groceries is a part of our daily essentials. Most of us buy our groceries from super and hypermarkets which have the maximum number of people at any given point of time. It is where you are likely to get in touch with a lot of people, which is why; people are showing more interest in getting home delivery of groceries, veggies, dairy products and all other daily usage items.

With a supermarket app, you can turn out to be a life-saviour by providing them with features like doorstep contactless deliveries of groceries, digital payments etc. Therefore, grocery shopping app development for supermarket or even single shop owners is one and top-most business that you may see a boost very soon.

Recommended Blog: COVID-19 Effects: Time to Switch to Grocery eCommerce from Offline Grocery Business?

Online pharmacy app– With a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy food choices, health problems have increased amongst the people. Medicines, therefore, have become a necessity for all age groups, not just elderly people. If access to medicines is not made available to people on time, it could be life-threatening for many. Therefore, if you are a medical shop owner, online pharmacy app development can make you have a wider reach of customers. You will be able to deliver medicines and other essentials to your customers right at their doorstep or even take orders online so that they don’t have to stand for a long time with other customers in front of your shop.

Online automotive ecommerce solution- This is a great option adopted by the automotive industry for its customers. Features like finding parts of the vehicle, VIN search, wholesale order tracking and garage management have now become online services which can be accessed by customers without coming physically to the shop. A robust online automotive ecommerce solution will be the thing customers will be looking forward to and which can bring in more benefits for all as well.

On-demand professionals– Be it doctors, nurses, plumbers, electricians or even salon experts- getting their services at your home will be a common thing in the future to avoid unnecessary human contact. A common app can be built to book any of these professionals or for a particular industry like a beauty salon mobile app solution to provide the professional service safely at home.

Online food delivery– With restaurants being one of the hardest-hit sectors by the coronavirus pandemic, shifting to online food delivery will be the wisest way to sustain and gradually progress too. Even after upliftment of the lockdown, places, where major crowds gather like restaurants, will take time to start functioning fully. People might be not coming to your restaurant but they are definitely craving for that unique and favourite dish of your eatery. So why not start delivering your dishes to their homes by developing an on-demand food delivery app and satisfy their taste buds?

Wrapping up 

We all know how badly this global pandemic has taken a toll on our lives but, this doesn’t mean things won’t change and you have to give up on all hope. Getting an online business developed can be done easily while you are at home and hence; you make use of this time to prepare for the future. So, whether you are running a business already or have plans to invest for better tomorrow, the above-mentioned business ideas can work great for you in the future whose development you can leave at the hands of the experts like Mobicommerce.