How can online retailers strike the right chord for reaching more shoppers

India is expected to become the third-largest consumer market in the world by 2025, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. Some of the other positive trends in the retail/e-commerce industry include enhancement of shopper experience through AI and machine learning, hyper-personalization for boosting sales, and inventory optimization for delivery management.

When it comes to small- and mid-size retailers, they have many advantages to succeed. They are agile, creative, and eager to adapt to changes, such as providing unique experiences to shoppers. They also don’t refrain from taking bold moves, turning themselves into a lab for innovation.

But even with the most progressive thinking, the key will be finding ways to improve shopper reach to fuel revenues and profits. The good news is that with the ubiquity of affordable new technologies, there are tremendous opportunities for scale.

Embracing data collaboration

Data collaboration is very important in the present retail landscape. Retailers must know their prospects in order to make a relevant, compelling product recommendation. Unfortunately, individual retailers are not empowered to build an effective personalization platform. One proven workaround is to form data collaboration alliances, that allow for greater reach and returns. Finally, a strong omnichannel marketing strategy in place ensures that the data is used effectively across all shopper touch points.

Focus on current shoppers

The strongest applications of data result in acquisition strategies which are in a constant state of change and improvement. Retailers have to experiment and experience some new obstacles, which can be unnerving. However, a willingness to change and adapt is certainly worth the effort. Pinpointing how to influence the consumers with the highest propensity to convert once will likely yield a core target with the intent to buy again.

Re-activating your inactive shoppers

This can be a great strategy for reaching out to shoppers cost-effectively. In this specific case, retailers already understand shopper needs. The shoppers, on the other hand, also understand the product and may have even shown a certain level of interest. If the shopper is keeping the buying process incomplete, due to issues such as pricing, then discount or competitive incentive could be provided. Brands with new or improved offerings can reactivate an inactive shopper as a way to reintroduce their offerings altogether.

Some of the brands in India such as Snapdeal, Pepperfry, Melorra, StalkBuyLove, and Freshmenu are reaching out to new customers using the available online marketing solutions. This enables them to boost the brand exposure, increase audience reach, and drive an increase in impression.

There is quite a bit of noise in the digital marketplace. As a result, it can be easy to get sidetracked, spending resources on less impactful initiatives. To win in the omnichannel ecosystem, taking the long view is the best approach – and will provide retailers with the greatest payoff for sustainable growth.

Siddharth Dabhade is currently the General Manager, India at Criteo.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)