According to a survey by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the size of the BtoC-EC (consumer electronic commerce) market in the product sales field in 2021 will be 13,286.5 billion yen, a year-on-year growth of 8.61%. While the impact of stay-at-home consumption due to the corona crisis that has occurred since 2020 continues, customers' new purchasing experiences in the post-corona era are beginning to take root.
In such a market environment, not only for retailers and manufacturers that have been operating EC sites since before the corona virus, but also for companies that have not operated EC sites through sales channels centered on roadside stores, EC sites are a big deal. While it is likely to be a growth opportunity, competition may intensify due to an increase in the entry of competitors regardless of size.
In this article, as part of the [EC business growth x AI] series, we will introduce points for steady growth in EC site management, as well as solutions and examples using AI.
Author profile
CEO of Colabofact/ CDO of BsidefunnyCo., Ltd.
Mr. Yusuke Komatsu Yusuke Komatsu
Joined Members Co., Ltd. after graduating from Hosei University. Six and a half years of experience in website construction/operation direction and project management for major domestic financial institutions and manufacturers ・Management of the companyEngaged in char. Joined Amazon Japan GK from 2015. After two years of experience as a site merchandiser in digital marketing, from strategy to execution and analysis, as a buyer, experienced business strategy, P/L management, demand forecasting, and product planning in the category in charge. From March 2019 PrincipleCo., Ltd.Participated in. Launched a dedicated sales department, and since October 2020, has been in charge of launching the company's DX business department and responsible for business operations. May 2021BsidefunnyParticipated in a corporation as a partner and CDO. Independent as a sole proprietor from June 2021.
[EC Business Growth x AI] Series 1st INDEX
- What is the key to achieving continuous growth on an EC site?
- Should we specialize only in hot-selling products?
- Running an EC site is a physical strength game?
- Can AI replace human resources?
1. What is the key to achieving continuous growth on EC sites?
What do you need to do in order to continue growing on your EC site? There are a wide variety of measures to be taken, such as attracting customers through advertising, SNS, and SEO measures, and nurturing through CRM measures such as email marketing. However, no matter how much you take measures to attract customers and navigate customers to the site, if the product cannot be purchased or is difficult to buy, it will not lead to business results, and in the worst case, it may lead to damage to the impression and branding of the site.
For example, if you visit the site with the product you want, but it is out of stock, not only will you not be able to meet the customer's expectations, but you will also be asked to stop coming to this site because it is out of stock. You may end up thinking, “Yeah.
In this way, in order not to disappoint the expectations of customers who visit the site, it is important to be aware of the following three points and minimize opportunity loss.
- Inventory: Keep all products in stock at all times, minimize the time between ordering and shipping
- Pricing: Maintain prices that are not higher than competitors for all products on sale
- Product information: Ensure that all products on sale have the necessary and sufficient information accurately posted for customers to purchase.
2. Should we specialize only in hot-selling products?
Three points to minimize opportunity loss are not only the main selling products but also the siteandIt is necessary to maintain and manage all products that we handle.I will. This is to make the most of the strengths of the EC site when comparing the EC site and the street store.vinegar. Compared to street stores, EC sites have no physical shelf restrictions, so they can handle a large selection.I will. Handle many selectionsthat means, so-called“tail goods”easy to handlewill be. tailquotientUnlike top-selling products, there is a high possibility that users will visit the site with a strong desire to buy, and if there are few factors that lead to opportunity loss, it is possible to directly lead to sales without special advertising or other measures to attract customers.can be said.
3. Running an EC site requires physical strength?
Operational resources arean issue when continuously implementing measures to minimize opportunity loss for all products handled. If the number of products handled is dozens, human operation may still be possible, but if the number of productshandledexceeds millions or tens of millions, human operation will require enormous costs or is impossible. islikely tobe Especially in recent years, the shortage of digital human resources has been cited as a problem for Japan as a whole, and if the number of personnel increases in proportion to the expansion of the selection, it may not be possible to acquire thenecessarypersonnel, which may become a major bottleneck in business growth.
4. AIは人的リソースの代替となりうるのか？
Utilization of AI/machine learning can be cited as a means of solving such issues.. AI/machine learning can be used to improve and automate business processes.But will the introduction of AI solve all these problems? According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, only 12.4% of companies have introduced systems and services such as IoT and AI. Compared with foreign companies, JapanAIThe percentage of companies that are able to use it is low, and even if they are able to use it, there are few companies that realize the effect. It is assumed that this is caused by a complex intertwining of various issues, but one of the major factors is that business processes are not fixed and do not change once decided, but are flexible to various internal and external changes. It is conceivable that it is a variable thing that corresponds.
How can we use AI to respond to changes in various business processes and build an operation system with a sense of scale? The key is hybrid operation of AI and human resources. Successful implementation of this hybrid operation"ASKUL Corporation』The following white paper introduces detailed contents including your case study..Please download and take a look.
▼Click here to download the white paper (free)
The second is the EC siteImportant for continuous growth and customer trustone of the pointsAbout management and optimization of "product information"ofWe are planning.
looking forward to!
============================
▼ Product management support AI CrowdANALYTIX for EC to support expansion of EC site product lineup
Click here for details
Latest Information
Case Study
Blog
Document List