On August 31st, Mircea Stan, CEO @Postis, has been invited by Ziarul Financiar IT Generation to share his vision on the e-commerce in pandemics, challenges for retailers and tools to switch fast from offline to online.
Customer behaviors changed during the pandemic lockdown and people expect now, for any product category, simpler buying journeys, delivery anywhere and anytime, diversified payment methods and full transparency, starting when they place their order to the moment they get their product and even after that. Delivery now becomes integral part of brands’ customer experience strategies and influence significantly the sales success and the growth in brand affinity and loyalty.
The Romanian e-commerce market is still in early stages compared to Europe, where the e-commerce represents an average of 18% from the total retail. In Romania it is at 9% and by the end of the year it is expected to grow to 12% from the total retail market, with a value of EUR 5.5 Billion. The trend is confirmed by the growth in delivery volumes processed by the Postis Platform, with a growth of 80% during lockdown and an accelerated growth after that, with a 3-4 multiplication factor.
Adding to the existing product categories that had the e-commerce spotlight so far, two new categories are expected to grow fast on this sales channel. Food and non-food FMCG, also DYI and home&deco businesses are going to see a huge increase in the next period, as e-commerce amounts for only 1% of their total businesses and they need to answer to the new purchasing patterns. But their supply-chains need to be adjusted to be able to deliver in special conditions, fast, safely.
In order to adapt fast to quick market changes, retailers need to keep a close eye on stock velocity and availability (the right merchandise in the right amount in the right place at the right moment), the capability to scale up or down on certain lines of business according to market fluctuations, and transparency and predictability of their operations along the entire value chain.
In order to cope with changing times, logistics and transportation sectors need streamlined processes and aligned and integrated IT systems. Delivery and distribution need to grow in flexibility and agility and have to be optimized. Furthermore, supply-chain and delivery processes gain strategic weight in the overall sales and marketing approaches, as superior customer experiences, brand affinity and loyalty rely on operational excellency. All tools needed are embedded in the Postis Platform and are available with a single integration through our API.
Watch Mircea's view on how retailers can switch from off- to online fast and turn the pandemics into a growth opportunity, in his speech at the Ziarul Financiar IT Generation videoconference.
