Increasingly, e-commerce has consolidated itself as an essential form of consumption for the population. In a survey carried out by NZN Intelligence in 2019, around 80% of Brazilian consumers have already made an online purchase and prefer this modality to purchases in physical stores. In addition, 148 million online purchases were registered in 2019, generating a turnover of 61,9 billion reais, with a forecast of growth to 85 billion reais by 2021, according to a Google search.
Figure – E-commerce challenges include ensuring a good shopping experience for consumers. Photo: Pixabay
If the numbers were already favorable to this practice, the advent of the new coronavirus pandemic brought a greater boost to this type of trade. With social isolation practices and the closing of physical stores, many companies saw e-commerce as a way to survive, and consumers as the only way to consume. According to a survey carried out by the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce (ABComm), 107 new establishments were created on the internet in just over two months, and the sector's revenue increased by around 56,8% in the first five months of 2020.
In view of this digitalization of business, one of the first challenges of e-commerce is the consumer's shopping experience, which, if not met, can result in loss of revenue and market share. A survey conducted by Salesforce with 6.700 consumers from 15 countries shows that 57% of customers would stop hiring a service or buying a product from a brand because they had a better experience with a competitor. In another survey, done by Accenture, 47% of people said they would avoid buying from the retailer or brand in the future after a bad experience. In addition, as revenues and companies' virtual presence on the internet increase, so do customer complaints, posing another challenge. In the period from January to June 2020, twice as many complaints related to e-commerce were registered when compared to the same period in 2019, as raised by PROCONs (Program for Consumer Protection and Defense). Among the main complaints are products that are not delivered, late on the stipulated dates, and difficulty reversing canceled purchases.
This is due to the lack of preparation for the significant increase in online sales, in addition to the lack of experience and structure for companies considered as new entrants in the sector. All of a sudden, consolidated companies had to revisit their supply chains, both in terms of service capacity in cases where demand increased to higher levels of consumption than before the pandemic, and for inventory management in cases of increases in specific products and drops in others. In addition, companies that started their online operations needed to set up a delivery structure and publicize their brands, combined with the drop in revenue due to the closure of their physical stores. It is worth mentioning that some large companies in the sector are helping small and medium-sized companies with online platforms for inventory registration to get in touch with a larger customer base.
In this way, the challenges of e-commerce in the new times of pandemic are established. Some measures can be taken, as adjustments in demand planning, review of inventory policy parameters, hiring start-ups for routing and selection of carriers, use of loans by larger companies, and hiring consultants to review the logistics plan. However, there is not a template for all challenges, as each company needs a certain solution due to its level of maturity. However, there is one certainty: it is necessary to invest more and more in flexibility, visibility and automation to improve capacity, productivity and service level.
E-commerce and New Retail will be one of the four main themes of the 26th International Supply Chain Forum, which will take place from October 13th to 15th and will be 100% digital.
