usiness Intelligence for E-commerce KeyPoint For Your Business

True luxury is IRL

E-commerce is great for a lot of things — snagging sales, stocking up on staples, buying stupid stuff we really do not need. But people’s voracious appetite for online shopping does appear to have its limits, specifically when it comes to luxury.

The expectation has long been that e-commerce would revolutionize luxury, just as it has so much of retail. It killed many malls and bookstores; it made Walmart go digital; it transformed shipment and logistics operations across the globe. So why wouldn’t it disrupt such an expensive, lucrative space?

It turns out we still like to buy the nicest, most expensive items in real life, in large part because we want a luxury experience when we spend the big bucks. We like to feel fancy when we shop fancy, and dropping stuff into a virtual cart on a random website in between meetings is far from most people’s definition of fancy.

A recent survey from Morning Consult, a business intelligence company, explored how consumers look at luxury. It found that people generally have a strong preference for a brick-and-mortar experience when buying luxury items. Of those surveyed, 49% said they would consider buying luxury clothing or shoes from a brick-and-mortar store and 48% said the same of jewelry and watches. Thirty-nine percent said they would consider buying handbags and 40% said they would consider buying cosmetics and fragrances in a store. In every category, under 20% of consumers said they would consider making those purchases online. Gen Z was slightly more open to e-commerce and less interested in the brick-and-mortar experience, but not always by a meaningful margin. Less than 10% of all consumers said they’d buy luxury products through social media, though that number got up to the high teens for Gen Z.

Consumers also said customer service was the second-most-important attribute in defining luxury shopping, right behind the quality of the product. In other words, they don’t just want to buy something special — they want to be treated special while they do it.

“The No. 1 reason people like to shop in stores is because they want that experience of browsing and touching things and playing with things,” Claire Tassin, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, said. “Customer service, especially in a luxury environment, is such a big part of how you justify the additional expense.”

Online luxury sales picked up during the pandemic but have since come back down to earth. Some important names in the fashion e-commerce space, such as Matches Fashion and Farfetch, have cratered. The German-based platform Mytheresa is doing OK — its net sales grew by 18% in the quarter ending in March — but its stock is still down by more than 80% from its IPO price in January 2021. The private companies Moda Operandi and Ssense seem to be selling merchandise and retaining customers, experts say, but the sites have a niche appeal, so that’s hardly made a dent. The overarching theme is that many consumers haven’t warmed up to shopping luxury — namely, ultra-luxe items and brands — online.

We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work.

Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe, a global marketing firm, said the jury is still out on whether e-commerce will ever take over luxury retail, but for now, there aren’t great examples of “runaway successes” in the space. There’s no single answer as to why. One reasonable hypothesis could be that people simply prefer to get high-consideration and high-priced items in store, he said. What they get out of a luxury in-store experience hasn’t been translated online.

“We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work,” Goldberg said. “In general, online, we have gotten very, very good at needs-fulfillment buying, but we are sucky at discovery. Nobody goes to Amazon because they go, ‘I’m just in the mood to treat myself.’”

When unplanned purchases happen online, they tend to happen through social discovery. You see something on Instagram or TikTok and then you buy it. Those types of impulse purchases are fine to make with a few clicks, but when people spend the big bucks, they want to feel a little pampered.

“It is fair to say that going to a luxury store is part of the pleasure of buying a luxury product,” said Luca Solca, a senior analyst covering global luxury goods at Bernstein. “Buying online is convenient and fast. But buying in store is a pleasure.”

An analysis from Bain & Company found that the share of luxury goods sold online fell to 20% in 2023, after hitting 22% in 2020 and 2021. Solca believes 20% is on the high side and said that on average, the percentage of online sales in the luxury market hovers around the mid-teens, and sometimes even lower, noting that Burberry recently told him they were at 9%.

For the most part, luxury brands prefer that customers would rather shop in-store. Sure, they all have some kind of online presence — it is 2024 after all — but not all of their products are always available online, and the internet is far from the primary area of focus. For the most high-end products, there can even be waiting lists. The general aversion to e-commerce makes sense: One way to convince people you’re selling a luxury item, and price it accordingly, is to make it scarce and elusive, on top of providing the in-store luxury experience. It helps companies create and keep an aura around their brands.

“Luxury brands historically have actually stayed away from being very strong in the online channel, largely to do with the fact that they didn’t want to be a cheap marketplace,” said Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, a partner in the consumer and retail practice at Kearney, a strategy and management-consulting firm. “For them, it’s about the storytelling.”

Business Intelligence for E-commerce KeyPoint For Your Business

That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last.

There are some exceptions here. The online diamond dealer Blue Nile is a giant in the engagement-ring space, and consumers are increasingly comfortable with buying their cars online. High-end beauty products can do well in e-commerce — once you know what shade of foundation or eye shadow you like, you don’t need to keep going into the store. The online marketplace The RealReal sells a fair amount of secondhand designer and luxury merchandise, though it has long struggled with profitability. But outside these niche exceptions, high-end, luxury e-commerce isn’t really a big thing yet. There’s no super-prosperous Amazon for Gucci and Prada out there.

So much of the fun of buying a luxury item is sensory — seeing the packaging, experiencing the store, chatting with associates whose attention is focused on you. It’s a personal, rarefied experience.

“That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last,” Tassin said.

It’s tough to translate to e-commerce. Clicking around a website to buy something and a week later grabbing a box on your doorstep next to your monthly delivery of cat litter does not provide the same rush.

While brands want to sell to consumers however they can, including online, brick-and-mortar matters for their cultural and economic cache. When people have a premium experience in a Chanel or a Louis Vuitton store, it reinforces the brand’s premium image. It’s part of their top-funnel brand building. And, hey, it helps if you snap a picture in the store and post it online, whether or not any purchase ever happens there.

“They’re not just having a premium experience to trick you into buying a handbag. They’re having a premium experience to make sure that you continue to associate Louis Vuitton with this extreme luxury premium that makes you feel better about spending that money on their goods now and in the future,” Goldberg said. “Part of the luxury experience is less about conversion and more about long-term brand equity.”

Ultra-luxe brands don’t want their products to be ubiquitous in the way the internet can deliver. Companies know their high-end clients want one-of-a-kind items and personalized recommendations. These customers expect a salesperson to shoot them a text or give them a call to let them know a new shoe came in that they’ll love, and they’ve only got one pair available in their size.

“Unless you have those relationships and connections with your reps, you actually will not get access to these products,” Kleinewillinghoefer said. “It’s that personalized touch that makes it truly unique.”

With their highest-net-worth clients, the in-person buying experience often doesn’t feel transactional, she added — people’s cards are kept on file, so no one has to think of the whole business relationship thing. And even with more aspirational consumers — people who’d be more likely to do some poking around online — brands are careful to craft their images. Companies want people to come in and feel like they’re living the dream and making what they see as an investment in a high-end piece. Companies don’t want to “water down” their value proposition by serving too many products to those consumers, which is what the open nature of the internet risks.

“The level of luxury and the type of consumer are critical factors that intersect to define a brand’s approach to its consumers, shaping both engagement strategies and the practices to avoid,” Kleinewillinghoefer said.

While it might not feel like it, e-commerce is still in its early days. Amazon has only been around for 30 years and the iPhone for 17 years. Retailers have figured out how to make a digital version of a Target, but they haven’t yet cracked the code for a digital Prada. It doesn’t mean they never will. And, hey, if you want to buy your next designer watch online, go for it! But let’s be honest here … you probably don’t. Part of the whole schtick is going to the store and feeling fancy about it.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics
Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

An Insight into Business Intelligence in eCommerce

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics
Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

True luxury is IRL

E-commerce is great for a lot of things — snagging sales, stocking up on staples, buying stupid stuff we really do not need. But people’s voracious appetite for online shopping does appear to have its limits, specifically when it comes to luxury.

The expectation has long been that e-commerce would revolutionize luxury, just as it has so much of retail. It killed many malls and bookstores; it made Walmart go digital; it transformed shipment and logistics operations across the globe. So why wouldn’t it disrupt such an expensive, lucrative space?

It turns out we still like to buy the nicest, most expensive items in real life, in large part because we want a luxury experience when we spend the big bucks. We like to feel fancy when we shop fancy, and dropping stuff into a virtual cart on a random website in between meetings is far from most people’s definition of fancy.

A recent survey from Morning Consult, a business intelligence company, explored how consumers look at luxury. It found that people generally have a strong preference for a brick-and-mortar experience when buying luxury items. Of those surveyed, 49% said they would consider buying luxury clothing or shoes from a brick-and-mortar store and 48% said the same of jewelry and watches. Thirty-nine percent said they would consider buying handbags and 40% said they would consider buying cosmetics and fragrances in a store. In every category, under 20% of consumers said they would consider making those purchases online. Gen Z was slightly more open to e-commerce and less interested in the brick-and-mortar experience, but not always by a meaningful margin. Less than 10% of all consumers said they’d buy luxury products through social media, though that number got up to the high teens for Gen Z.

Consumers also said customer service was the second-most-important attribute in defining luxury shopping, right behind the quality of the product. In other words, they don’t just want to buy something special — they want to be treated special while they do it.

“The No. 1 reason people like to shop in stores is because they want that experience of browsing and touching things and playing with things,” Claire Tassin, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, said. “Customer service, especially in a luxury environment, is such a big part of how you justify the additional expense.”

Online luxury sales picked up during the pandemic but have since come back down to earth. Some important names in the fashion e-commerce space, such as Matches Fashion and Farfetch, have cratered. The German-based platform Mytheresa is doing OK — its net sales grew by 18% in the quarter ending in March — but its stock is still down by more than 80% from its IPO price in January 2021. The private companies Moda Operandi and Ssense seem to be selling merchandise and retaining customers, experts say, but the sites have a niche appeal, so that’s hardly made a dent. The overarching theme is that many consumers haven’t warmed up to shopping luxury — namely, ultra-luxe items and brands — online.

We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work.

Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe, a global marketing firm, said the jury is still out on whether e-commerce will ever take over luxury retail, but for now, there aren’t great examples of “runaway successes” in the space. There’s no single answer as to why. One reasonable hypothesis could be that people simply prefer to get high-consideration and high-priced items in store, he said. What they get out of a luxury in-store experience hasn’t been translated online.

“We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work,” Goldberg said. “In general, online, we have gotten very, very good at needs-fulfillment buying, but we are sucky at discovery. Nobody goes to Amazon because they go, ‘I’m just in the mood to treat myself.’”

When unplanned purchases happen online, they tend to happen through social discovery. You see something on Instagram or TikTok and then you buy it. Those types of impulse purchases are fine to make with a few clicks, but when people spend the big bucks, they want to feel a little pampered.

“It is fair to say that going to a luxury store is part of the pleasure of buying a luxury product,” said Luca Solca, a senior analyst covering global luxury goods at Bernstein. “Buying online is convenient and fast. But buying in store is a pleasure.”

An analysis from Bain & Company found that the share of luxury goods sold online fell to 20% in 2023, after hitting 22% in 2020 and 2021. Solca believes 20% is on the high side and said that on average, the percentage of online sales in the luxury market hovers around the mid-teens, and sometimes even lower, noting that Burberry recently told him they were at 9%.

For the most part, luxury brands prefer that customers would rather shop in-store. Sure, they all have some kind of online presence — it is 2024 after all — but not all of their products are always available online, and the internet is far from the primary area of focus. For the most high-end products, there can even be waiting lists. The general aversion to e-commerce makes sense: One way to convince people you’re selling a luxury item, and price it accordingly, is to make it scarce and elusive, on top of providing the in-store luxury experience. It helps companies create and keep an aura around their brands.

“Luxury brands historically have actually stayed away from being very strong in the online channel, largely to do with the fact that they didn’t want to be a cheap marketplace,” said Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, a partner in the consumer and retail practice at Kearney, a strategy and management-consulting firm. “For them, it’s about the storytelling.”

That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last.

There are some exceptions here. The online diamond dealer Blue Nile is a giant in the engagement-ring space, and consumers are increasingly comfortable with buying their cars online. High-end beauty products can do well in e-commerce — once you know what shade of foundation or eye shadow you like, you don’t need to keep going into the store. The online marketplace The RealReal sells a fair amount of secondhand designer and luxury merchandise, though it has long struggled with profitability. But outside these niche exceptions, high-end, luxury e-commerce isn’t really a big thing yet. There’s no super-prosperous Amazon for Gucci and Prada out there.

So much of the fun of buying a luxury item is sensory — seeing the packaging, experiencing the store, chatting with associates whose attention is focused on you. It’s a personal, rarefied experience.

“That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last,” Tassin said.

It’s tough to translate to e-commerce. Clicking around a website to buy something and a week later grabbing a box on your doorstep next to your monthly delivery of cat litter does not provide the same rush.

While brands want to sell to consumers however they can, including online, brick-and-mortar matters for their cultural and economic cache. When people have a premium experience in a Chanel or a Louis Vuitton store, it reinforces the brand’s premium image. It’s part of their top-funnel brand building. And, hey, it helps if you snap a picture in the store and post it online, whether or not any purchase ever happens there.

“They’re not just having a premium experience to trick you into buying a handbag. They’re having a premium experience to make sure that you continue to associate Louis Vuitton with this extreme luxury premium that makes you feel better about spending that money on their goods now and in the future,” Goldberg said. “Part of the luxury experience is less about conversion and more about long-term brand equity.”

Ultra-luxe brands don’t want their products to be ubiquitous in the way the internet can deliver. Companies know their high-end clients want one-of-a-kind items and personalized recommendations. These customers expect a salesperson to shoot them a text or give them a call to let them know a new shoe came in that they’ll love, and they’ve only got one pair available in their size.

“Unless you have those relationships and connections with your reps, you actually will not get access to these products,” Kleinewillinghoefer said. “It’s that personalized touch that makes it truly unique.”

With their highest-net-worth clients, the in-person buying experience often doesn’t feel transactional, she added — people’s cards are kept on file, so no one has to think of the whole business relationship thing. And even with more aspirational consumers — people who’d be more likely to do some poking around online — brands are careful to craft their images. Companies want people to come in and feel like they’re living the dream and making what they see as an investment in a high-end piece. Companies don’t want to “water down” their value proposition by serving too many products to those consumers, which is what the open nature of the internet risks.

“The level of luxury and the type of consumer are critical factors that intersect to define a brand’s approach to its consumers, shaping both engagement strategies and the practices to avoid,” Kleinewillinghoefer said.

While it might not feel like it, e-commerce is still in its early days. Amazon has only been around for 30 years and the iPhone for 17 years. Retailers have figured out how to make a digital version of a Target, but they haven’t yet cracked the code for a digital Prada. It doesn’t mean they never will. And, hey, if you want to buy your next designer watch online, go for it! But let’s be honest here … you probably don’t. Part of the whole schtick is going to the store and feeling fancy about it.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

The big players in grocery ecommerce

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe.

What does it take to be great at grocery ecommerce? While big guns like Walmart and Target lead the way in delivery and curbside pickup, other retailers, including Albertsons, Food Lion, and H-E-B, are also performing well in certain areas of online grocery, according to a report from Ipsos. Albertsons, for instance, was named as a “Brand to Watch” in a recent Ipsos ecommerce report, which cited improvements for the retailer in both delivery and curbside pickup. Albertsons was also among the top performers in multiple areas of the report, with the most critical performance piece being customers’ indication that they would use the retailer’s service again.

In other online grocery news, Instacart unveiled a semi-surprising partnership with Uber Eats in May. “In general, the arrangement creates a new source of revenue, with high margins, for Instacart while it exposes Uber Eats in theory to a larger customer pool,” David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, told Supermarket News. So what does the partnership mean for grocers? Well, it could lead more food retailers to consider working with existing restaurant delivery networks.

Uber Eats first started offering grocery delivery in July 2020, when demand for grocery ecommerce was at its height during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has continued to promote the service even though it faces strong competition, not only from companies like Instacart and Shipt, but also DoorDash, which recently said its grocery-delivery business has doubled in the past year. Food for thought.

AI Army Launches Groundbreaking Global AI in eCommerce Survey

Melbourne, Australia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 8, 2024) – AI Army, a early stage startup in innovative AI Digital Workforce Solutions, today announced the launch of its inagural Global State of Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce Survey 2024. This comprehensive study aims to revolutionize the understanding of AI’s impact on the rapidly evolving eCommerce landscape.

The survey, set to be one of the most extensive of its kind, will delve into crucial aspects of AI adoption, including current usage trends, operational impacts, and stakeholder perceptions. By gathering data from a diverse range of eCommerce businesses worldwide, AI Army seeks to provide unparalleled insights into the transformative power of AI in online retail.

“Our goal is to equip eCommerce leaders with the knowledge they need to harness AI’s full potential,” said Joshua Haines, Co-Founder at AI Army. “This survey will be an invaluable tool for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.”

Key objectives of the research include:

Benchmarking current AI adoption rates across different eCommerce segments Evaluating AI’s impact on operational efficiency and business performance Identifying barriers to AI implementation and areas for future innovation Assessing market readiness for advanced AI solutions

The survey’s findings are expected to have far-reaching implications for various stakeholders, including eCommerce businesses, AI solution providers, and investors. Results will inform strategic decision-making, guide product development, and highlight emerging opportunities in the AI-eCommerce nexus.

AI Army plans to release the survey results in a comprehensive report, providing actionable insights that will shape the future of AI in eCommerce. This initiative underscores the startup’s commitment to driving innovation and fostering growth in the digital retail space.

Those interested in participating in this groundbreaking study are encouraged to visit https://globalsurvey.aiarmy.ai/PR to complete the survey and contribute to this pivotal research.

About AI Army: AI Army is a pioneering company dedicated to creating a digital workforce platform that integrates seamlessly with eCommerce operations. Founded by industry experts with extensive experience in AI, eCommerce, Technology and Marketing, our team is passionate about innovation and excellence. We understand the unique challenges faced by eCommerce businesses and are committed to providing solutions that address these needs effectively.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/219088

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

The big players in grocery ecommerce

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe.

What does it take to be great at grocery ecommerce? While big guns like Walmart and Target lead the way in delivery and curbside pickup, other retailers, including Albertsons, Food Lion, and H-E-B, are also performing well in certain areas of online grocery, according to a report from Ipsos. Albertsons, for instance, was named as a “Brand to Watch” in a recent Ipsos ecommerce report, which cited improvements for the retailer in both delivery and curbside pickup. Albertsons was also among the top performers in multiple areas of the report, with the most critical performance piece being customers’ indication that they would use the retailer’s service again.

In other online grocery news, Instacart unveiled a semi-surprising partnership with Uber Eats in May. “In general, the arrangement creates a new source of revenue, with high margins, for Instacart while it exposes Uber Eats in theory to a larger customer pool,” David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, told Supermarket News. So what does the partnership mean for grocers? Well, it could lead more food retailers to consider working with existing restaurant delivery networks.

Uber Eats first started offering grocery delivery in July 2020, when demand for grocery ecommerce was at its height during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has continued to promote the service even though it faces strong competition, not only from companies like Instacart and Shipt, but also DoorDash, which recently said its grocery-delivery business has doubled in the past year. Food for thought.

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usiness Intelligence for E-commerce KeyPoint For Your Business

True luxury is IRL

E-commerce is great for a lot of things — snagging sales, stocking up on staples, buying stupid stuff we really do not need. But people’s voracious appetite for online shopping does appear to have its limits, specifically when it comes to luxury.

The expectation has long been that e-commerce would revolutionize luxury, just as it has so much of retail. It killed many malls and bookstores; it made Walmart go digital; it transformed shipment and logistics operations across the globe. So why wouldn’t it disrupt such an expensive, lucrative space?

It turns out we still like to buy the nicest, most expensive items in real life, in large part because we want a luxury experience when we spend the big bucks. We like to feel fancy when we shop fancy, and dropping stuff into a virtual cart on a random website in between meetings is far from most people’s definition of fancy.

A recent survey from Morning Consult, a business intelligence company, explored how consumers look at luxury. It found that people generally have a strong preference for a brick-and-mortar experience when buying luxury items. Of those surveyed, 49% said they would consider buying luxury clothing or shoes from a brick-and-mortar store and 48% said the same of jewelry and watches. Thirty-nine percent said they would consider buying handbags and 40% said they would consider buying cosmetics and fragrances in a store. In every category, under 20% of consumers said they would consider making those purchases online. Gen Z was slightly more open to e-commerce and less interested in the brick-and-mortar experience, but not always by a meaningful margin. Less than 10% of all consumers said they’d buy luxury products through social media, though that number got up to the high teens for Gen Z.

Consumers also said customer service was the second-most-important attribute in defining luxury shopping, right behind the quality of the product. In other words, they don’t just want to buy something special — they want to be treated special while they do it.

“The No. 1 reason people like to shop in stores is because they want that experience of browsing and touching things and playing with things,” Claire Tassin, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, said. “Customer service, especially in a luxury environment, is such a big part of how you justify the additional expense.”

Online luxury sales picked up during the pandemic but have since come back down to earth. Some important names in the fashion e-commerce space, such as Matches Fashion and Farfetch, have cratered. The German-based platform Mytheresa is doing OK — its net sales grew by 18% in the quarter ending in March — but its stock is still down by more than 80% from its IPO price in January 2021. The private companies Moda Operandi and Ssense seem to be selling merchandise and retaining customers, experts say, but the sites have a niche appeal, so that’s hardly made a dent. The overarching theme is that many consumers haven’t warmed up to shopping luxury — namely, ultra-luxe items and brands — online.

We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work.

Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe, a global marketing firm, said the jury is still out on whether e-commerce will ever take over luxury retail, but for now, there aren’t great examples of “runaway successes” in the space. There’s no single answer as to why. One reasonable hypothesis could be that people simply prefer to get high-consideration and high-priced items in store, he said. What they get out of a luxury in-store experience hasn’t been translated online.

“We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work,” Goldberg said. “In general, online, we have gotten very, very good at needs-fulfillment buying, but we are sucky at discovery. Nobody goes to Amazon because they go, ‘I’m just in the mood to treat myself.’”

When unplanned purchases happen online, they tend to happen through social discovery. You see something on Instagram or TikTok and then you buy it. Those types of impulse purchases are fine to make with a few clicks, but when people spend the big bucks, they want to feel a little pampered.

“It is fair to say that going to a luxury store is part of the pleasure of buying a luxury product,” said Luca Solca, a senior analyst covering global luxury goods at Bernstein. “Buying online is convenient and fast. But buying in store is a pleasure.”

An analysis from Bain & Company found that the share of luxury goods sold online fell to 20% in 2023, after hitting 22% in 2020 and 2021. Solca believes 20% is on the high side and said that on average, the percentage of online sales in the luxury market hovers around the mid-teens, and sometimes even lower, noting that Burberry recently told him they were at 9%.

For the most part, luxury brands prefer that customers would rather shop in-store. Sure, they all have some kind of online presence — it is 2024 after all — but not all of their products are always available online, and the internet is far from the primary area of focus. For the most high-end products, there can even be waiting lists. The general aversion to e-commerce makes sense: One way to convince people you’re selling a luxury item, and price it accordingly, is to make it scarce and elusive, on top of providing the in-store luxury experience. It helps companies create and keep an aura around their brands.

“Luxury brands historically have actually stayed away from being very strong in the online channel, largely to do with the fact that they didn’t want to be a cheap marketplace,” said Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, a partner in the consumer and retail practice at Kearney, a strategy and management-consulting firm. “For them, it’s about the storytelling.”

Business Intelligence for E-commerce KeyPoint For Your Business

That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last.

There are some exceptions here. The online diamond dealer Blue Nile is a giant in the engagement-ring space, and consumers are increasingly comfortable with buying their cars online. High-end beauty products can do well in e-commerce — once you know what shade of foundation or eye shadow you like, you don’t need to keep going into the store. The online marketplace The RealReal sells a fair amount of secondhand designer and luxury merchandise, though it has long struggled with profitability. But outside these niche exceptions, high-end, luxury e-commerce isn’t really a big thing yet. There’s no super-prosperous Amazon for Gucci and Prada out there.

So much of the fun of buying a luxury item is sensory — seeing the packaging, experiencing the store, chatting with associates whose attention is focused on you. It’s a personal, rarefied experience.

“That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last,” Tassin said.

It’s tough to translate to e-commerce. Clicking around a website to buy something and a week later grabbing a box on your doorstep next to your monthly delivery of cat litter does not provide the same rush.

While brands want to sell to consumers however they can, including online, brick-and-mortar matters for their cultural and economic cache. When people have a premium experience in a Chanel or a Louis Vuitton store, it reinforces the brand’s premium image. It’s part of their top-funnel brand building. And, hey, it helps if you snap a picture in the store and post it online, whether or not any purchase ever happens there.

“They’re not just having a premium experience to trick you into buying a handbag. They’re having a premium experience to make sure that you continue to associate Louis Vuitton with this extreme luxury premium that makes you feel better about spending that money on their goods now and in the future,” Goldberg said. “Part of the luxury experience is less about conversion and more about long-term brand equity.”

Ultra-luxe brands don’t want their products to be ubiquitous in the way the internet can deliver. Companies know their high-end clients want one-of-a-kind items and personalized recommendations. These customers expect a salesperson to shoot them a text or give them a call to let them know a new shoe came in that they’ll love, and they’ve only got one pair available in their size.

“Unless you have those relationships and connections with your reps, you actually will not get access to these products,” Kleinewillinghoefer said. “It’s that personalized touch that makes it truly unique.”

With their highest-net-worth clients, the in-person buying experience often doesn’t feel transactional, she added — people’s cards are kept on file, so no one has to think of the whole business relationship thing. And even with more aspirational consumers — people who’d be more likely to do some poking around online — brands are careful to craft their images. Companies want people to come in and feel like they’re living the dream and making what they see as an investment in a high-end piece. Companies don’t want to “water down” their value proposition by serving too many products to those consumers, which is what the open nature of the internet risks.

“The level of luxury and the type of consumer are critical factors that intersect to define a brand’s approach to its consumers, shaping both engagement strategies and the practices to avoid,” Kleinewillinghoefer said.

While it might not feel like it, e-commerce is still in its early days. Amazon has only been around for 30 years and the iPhone for 17 years. Retailers have figured out how to make a digital version of a Target, but they haven’t yet cracked the code for a digital Prada. It doesn’t mean they never will. And, hey, if you want to buy your next designer watch online, go for it! But let’s be honest here … you probably don’t. Part of the whole schtick is going to the store and feeling fancy about it.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics
Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

An Insight into Business Intelligence in eCommerce

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics
Ecommerce Business Intelligence vs Ecommerce Analytics

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

True luxury is IRL

E-commerce is great for a lot of things — snagging sales, stocking up on staples, buying stupid stuff we really do not need. But people’s voracious appetite for online shopping does appear to have its limits, specifically when it comes to luxury.

The expectation has long been that e-commerce would revolutionize luxury, just as it has so much of retail. It killed many malls and bookstores; it made Walmart go digital; it transformed shipment and logistics operations across the globe. So why wouldn’t it disrupt such an expensive, lucrative space?

It turns out we still like to buy the nicest, most expensive items in real life, in large part because we want a luxury experience when we spend the big bucks. We like to feel fancy when we shop fancy, and dropping stuff into a virtual cart on a random website in between meetings is far from most people’s definition of fancy.

A recent survey from Morning Consult, a business intelligence company, explored how consumers look at luxury. It found that people generally have a strong preference for a brick-and-mortar experience when buying luxury items. Of those surveyed, 49% said they would consider buying luxury clothing or shoes from a brick-and-mortar store and 48% said the same of jewelry and watches. Thirty-nine percent said they would consider buying handbags and 40% said they would consider buying cosmetics and fragrances in a store. In every category, under 20% of consumers said they would consider making those purchases online. Gen Z was slightly more open to e-commerce and less interested in the brick-and-mortar experience, but not always by a meaningful margin. Less than 10% of all consumers said they’d buy luxury products through social media, though that number got up to the high teens for Gen Z.

Consumers also said customer service was the second-most-important attribute in defining luxury shopping, right behind the quality of the product. In other words, they don’t just want to buy something special — they want to be treated special while they do it.

“The No. 1 reason people like to shop in stores is because they want that experience of browsing and touching things and playing with things,” Claire Tassin, a retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, said. “Customer service, especially in a luxury environment, is such a big part of how you justify the additional expense.”

Online luxury sales picked up during the pandemic but have since come back down to earth. Some important names in the fashion e-commerce space, such as Matches Fashion and Farfetch, have cratered. The German-based platform Mytheresa is doing OK — its net sales grew by 18% in the quarter ending in March — but its stock is still down by more than 80% from its IPO price in January 2021. The private companies Moda Operandi and Ssense seem to be selling merchandise and retaining customers, experts say, but the sites have a niche appeal, so that’s hardly made a dent. The overarching theme is that many consumers haven’t warmed up to shopping luxury — namely, ultra-luxe items and brands — online.

We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work.

Jason Goldberg, the chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Groupe, a global marketing firm, said the jury is still out on whether e-commerce will ever take over luxury retail, but for now, there aren’t great examples of “runaway successes” in the space. There’s no single answer as to why. One reasonable hypothesis could be that people simply prefer to get high-consideration and high-priced items in store, he said. What they get out of a luxury in-store experience hasn’t been translated online.

“We try to treat luxury with the same e-commerce experience we use for paper towels, and that just doesn’t work,” Goldberg said. “In general, online, we have gotten very, very good at needs-fulfillment buying, but we are sucky at discovery. Nobody goes to Amazon because they go, ‘I’m just in the mood to treat myself.’”

When unplanned purchases happen online, they tend to happen through social discovery. You see something on Instagram or TikTok and then you buy it. Those types of impulse purchases are fine to make with a few clicks, but when people spend the big bucks, they want to feel a little pampered.

“It is fair to say that going to a luxury store is part of the pleasure of buying a luxury product,” said Luca Solca, a senior analyst covering global luxury goods at Bernstein. “Buying online is convenient and fast. But buying in store is a pleasure.”

An analysis from Bain & Company found that the share of luxury goods sold online fell to 20% in 2023, after hitting 22% in 2020 and 2021. Solca believes 20% is on the high side and said that on average, the percentage of online sales in the luxury market hovers around the mid-teens, and sometimes even lower, noting that Burberry recently told him they were at 9%.

For the most part, luxury brands prefer that customers would rather shop in-store. Sure, they all have some kind of online presence — it is 2024 after all — but not all of their products are always available online, and the internet is far from the primary area of focus. For the most high-end products, there can even be waiting lists. The general aversion to e-commerce makes sense: One way to convince people you’re selling a luxury item, and price it accordingly, is to make it scarce and elusive, on top of providing the in-store luxury experience. It helps companies create and keep an aura around their brands.

“Luxury brands historically have actually stayed away from being very strong in the online channel, largely to do with the fact that they didn’t want to be a cheap marketplace,” said Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, a partner in the consumer and retail practice at Kearney, a strategy and management-consulting firm. “For them, it’s about the storytelling.”

That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last.

There are some exceptions here. The online diamond dealer Blue Nile is a giant in the engagement-ring space, and consumers are increasingly comfortable with buying their cars online. High-end beauty products can do well in e-commerce — once you know what shade of foundation or eye shadow you like, you don’t need to keep going into the store. The online marketplace The RealReal sells a fair amount of secondhand designer and luxury merchandise, though it has long struggled with profitability. But outside these niche exceptions, high-end, luxury e-commerce isn’t really a big thing yet. There’s no super-prosperous Amazon for Gucci and Prada out there.

So much of the fun of buying a luxury item is sensory — seeing the packaging, experiencing the store, chatting with associates whose attention is focused on you. It’s a personal, rarefied experience.

“That dopamine rush you get from buying something fun and fancy and special is meaningful, even if it doesn’t last,” Tassin said.

It’s tough to translate to e-commerce. Clicking around a website to buy something and a week later grabbing a box on your doorstep next to your monthly delivery of cat litter does not provide the same rush.

While brands want to sell to consumers however they can, including online, brick-and-mortar matters for their cultural and economic cache. When people have a premium experience in a Chanel or a Louis Vuitton store, it reinforces the brand’s premium image. It’s part of their top-funnel brand building. And, hey, it helps if you snap a picture in the store and post it online, whether or not any purchase ever happens there.

“They’re not just having a premium experience to trick you into buying a handbag. They’re having a premium experience to make sure that you continue to associate Louis Vuitton with this extreme luxury premium that makes you feel better about spending that money on their goods now and in the future,” Goldberg said. “Part of the luxury experience is less about conversion and more about long-term brand equity.”

Ultra-luxe brands don’t want their products to be ubiquitous in the way the internet can deliver. Companies know their high-end clients want one-of-a-kind items and personalized recommendations. These customers expect a salesperson to shoot them a text or give them a call to let them know a new shoe came in that they’ll love, and they’ve only got one pair available in their size.

“Unless you have those relationships and connections with your reps, you actually will not get access to these products,” Kleinewillinghoefer said. “It’s that personalized touch that makes it truly unique.”

With their highest-net-worth clients, the in-person buying experience often doesn’t feel transactional, she added — people’s cards are kept on file, so no one has to think of the whole business relationship thing. And even with more aspirational consumers — people who’d be more likely to do some poking around online — brands are careful to craft their images. Companies want people to come in and feel like they’re living the dream and making what they see as an investment in a high-end piece. Companies don’t want to “water down” their value proposition by serving too many products to those consumers, which is what the open nature of the internet risks.

“The level of luxury and the type of consumer are critical factors that intersect to define a brand’s approach to its consumers, shaping both engagement strategies and the practices to avoid,” Kleinewillinghoefer said.

While it might not feel like it, e-commerce is still in its early days. Amazon has only been around for 30 years and the iPhone for 17 years. Retailers have figured out how to make a digital version of a Target, but they haven’t yet cracked the code for a digital Prada. It doesn’t mean they never will. And, hey, if you want to buy your next designer watch online, go for it! But let’s be honest here … you probably don’t. Part of the whole schtick is going to the store and feeling fancy about it.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

The big players in grocery ecommerce

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe.

What does it take to be great at grocery ecommerce? While big guns like Walmart and Target lead the way in delivery and curbside pickup, other retailers, including Albertsons, Food Lion, and H-E-B, are also performing well in certain areas of online grocery, according to a report from Ipsos. Albertsons, for instance, was named as a “Brand to Watch” in a recent Ipsos ecommerce report, which cited improvements for the retailer in both delivery and curbside pickup. Albertsons was also among the top performers in multiple areas of the report, with the most critical performance piece being customers’ indication that they would use the retailer’s service again.

In other online grocery news, Instacart unveiled a semi-surprising partnership with Uber Eats in May. “In general, the arrangement creates a new source of revenue, with high margins, for Instacart while it exposes Uber Eats in theory to a larger customer pool,” David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, told Supermarket News. So what does the partnership mean for grocers? Well, it could lead more food retailers to consider working with existing restaurant delivery networks.

Uber Eats first started offering grocery delivery in July 2020, when demand for grocery ecommerce was at its height during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has continued to promote the service even though it faces strong competition, not only from companies like Instacart and Shipt, but also DoorDash, which recently said its grocery-delivery business has doubled in the past year. Food for thought.

AI Army Launches Groundbreaking Global AI in eCommerce Survey

Melbourne, Australia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 8, 2024) – AI Army, a early stage startup in innovative AI Digital Workforce Solutions, today announced the launch of its inagural Global State of Artificial Intelligence in eCommerce Survey 2024. This comprehensive study aims to revolutionize the understanding of AI’s impact on the rapidly evolving eCommerce landscape.

The survey, set to be one of the most extensive of its kind, will delve into crucial aspects of AI adoption, including current usage trends, operational impacts, and stakeholder perceptions. By gathering data from a diverse range of eCommerce businesses worldwide, AI Army seeks to provide unparalleled insights into the transformative power of AI in online retail.

“Our goal is to equip eCommerce leaders with the knowledge they need to harness AI’s full potential,” said Joshua Haines, Co-Founder at AI Army. “This survey will be an invaluable tool for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.”

Key objectives of the research include:

Benchmarking current AI adoption rates across different eCommerce segments Evaluating AI’s impact on operational efficiency and business performance Identifying barriers to AI implementation and areas for future innovation Assessing market readiness for advanced AI solutions

The survey’s findings are expected to have far-reaching implications for various stakeholders, including eCommerce businesses, AI solution providers, and investors. Results will inform strategic decision-making, guide product development, and highlight emerging opportunities in the AI-eCommerce nexus.

AI Army plans to release the survey results in a comprehensive report, providing actionable insights that will shape the future of AI in eCommerce. This initiative underscores the startup’s commitment to driving innovation and fostering growth in the digital retail space.

Those interested in participating in this groundbreaking study are encouraged to visit https://globalsurvey.aiarmy.ai/PR to complete the survey and contribute to this pivotal research.

About AI Army: AI Army is a pioneering company dedicated to creating a digital workforce platform that integrates seamlessly with eCommerce operations. Founded by industry experts with extensive experience in AI, eCommerce, Technology and Marketing, our team is passionate about innovation and excellence. We understand the unique challenges faced by eCommerce businesses and are committed to providing solutions that address these needs effectively.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/219088

SELF – NEXT BASKET’s innovative business model with artificial intelligence

What is NEXT BASKET?

This is a software platform that allows quick and easy creation of online stores for the sale of goods

NEXT BASKET partners have the opportunity to independently manage their online store through the innovative SELF solution.

What is SELF?

SELF is a business relationship model that allows users of the platform to rent the software for a monthly subscription and gain full control over their online store.

The monthly subscription includes various MINI, MIDI, and MAX price plans, which differ in the number of included free services provided by NEXT BASKET’s expert team.

Thus, merchants can make choices tailored to their specific needs while keeping their costs manageable and predictable.

In addition, NEXT BASKET offers a selection of 125+ expert services for online business development

The NEXT BASKET platform is the embodiment of the idea of creating a successful and profitable business in a digital environment.

To help its business partners succeed in the dynamic online market, the Platform team provides expert consultation and a full range of services in the field of e-trading, including:

digital marketing call center development of a commercial and marketing strategy SEO services for search engine optimization management of promotions and thematic campaigns;

NEXT BASKET is the first platform to offer built-in artificial intelligence at no additional cost.

End customers shopping from the e-store can use a smart search engine as well as a smart chatbot, that answers all questions like a human.

They provide the unique opportunity for customers to receive answers to questions such as: “Where is my order”, “When will I receive the shipment”, “What quantity of this product do I have in stock”, etc. related to delivery, courier services, and warehouse.

Security and speed

Every online store built by NEXT BASKET comes with a full security guarantee for the data and the transactions carried out. This is achieved with the help of ultramodern software solutions and 24/7 technical support for fixing bugs and malfunctions.

The software platform is tested and certified for transaction security and hacker protection monthly

And every online store loads in less than 1 second, which Google likes and it ranks the site in the top positions when searching for products by customers.

Online store creation in 72 hours

Based on a fully functional software and ready-to-customize design themes, the ecommerce platform makes it possible to create an e-store within 72 hours. The merchant is only required to have ready-made photos and descriptions of the products they will offer for sale.

To ease the process of creating a working online store, as well as to facilitate its business partners, the NEXT BASKET team has made sure that each of them has a personal consultant. Their role is to be available for questions and to provide individual assistance and strategic guidance tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

Combining innovative technologies, expert services and comprehensive strategic support, NEXT BASKET is charting the future of e-trading.

NEXT BASKET – success is a good idea!

ADVT.

This article is brought to you by Next Basket.

The big players in grocery ecommerce

Chloe Riley is the Executive Editor of Supermarket News, which delivers the ultimate in competitive business intelligence, news and information for executives in the food retail and grocery industry. A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago, Chloe previously served as a Digital Strategist at SEO firm Profound Strategy, Associate Editor at B2B hospitality mag HOTELS Magazine, as well as CEO of her own digital strategy company, Chlowe.

What does it take to be great at grocery ecommerce? While big guns like Walmart and Target lead the way in delivery and curbside pickup, other retailers, including Albertsons, Food Lion, and H-E-B, are also performing well in certain areas of online grocery, according to a report from Ipsos. Albertsons, for instance, was named as a “Brand to Watch” in a recent Ipsos ecommerce report, which cited improvements for the retailer in both delivery and curbside pickup. Albertsons was also among the top performers in multiple areas of the report, with the most critical performance piece being customers’ indication that they would use the retailer’s service again.

In other online grocery news, Instacart unveiled a semi-surprising partnership with Uber Eats in May. “In general, the arrangement creates a new source of revenue, with high margins, for Instacart while it exposes Uber Eats in theory to a larger customer pool,” David Bishop, partner at Brick Meets Click, told Supermarket News. So what does the partnership mean for grocers? Well, it could lead more food retailers to consider working with existing restaurant delivery networks.

Uber Eats first started offering grocery delivery in July 2020, when demand for grocery ecommerce was at its height during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has continued to promote the service even though it faces strong competition, not only from companies like Instacart and Shipt, but also DoorDash, which recently said its grocery-delivery business has doubled in the past year. Food for thought.

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