Ways to Make Your E-commerce Startup Stand Out The country's e-commerce market is likely to touch USD 84 billion in 2021, which is 3.5 times more than USD 24 billion of 2017

Setting up an e-commerce business isn't some brainless Bollywood song of today that can go viral overnight making the present generation blindly falling for it. Rather, it is like an interesting and insightful movie that takes many years of production followed by multiple numbers of retakes and cuts, to eventually win audiences. And still, there is no guarantee for success!

Although an e-commerce startup is considered a cost-effective way of starting one's own business, it eventually calls for frequent funding in addition to a lot of time and undying efforts. After all, it is not just the idea behind a startup that paves its way towards success, but the investment made on these ideas in the form of finance, patience, and most importantly, accurate implementation.

The e-commerce ecosystem in India has grown by leaps and bounds, in the last couple of years. The country's e-commerce market is likely to touch USD 84 billion in 2021, which is 3.5 times more than USD 24 billion of 2017. The giants in this space have shown us that e-commerce is going to the drive future businesses as online presence – which is imperative at present– will, unfortunately, become a routine in the future. Innovation, however, will always remain constant, no matter how small or big the business is.

So what does it take for an e-commerce startup to continue innovating to meet customer's changing demands and shopping patterns?

Win Customer's Trust – Fast and affordable internet, smartphones, digital tools, all have given people exposure to knowledge and the power to turn their ideas into businesses. Zillions of people are, therefore, becoming entrepreneurs every now and then. This is resulting in the fierce competition in this emerging space of e-commerce. Winning a customer's trust has thus become very difficult for young entrepreneurs despite having innovative ideas. Therefore, it is vital for businesses to keep up even with the smallest changes and transitions. Here, a customer's feedback can play a key role in creating cognizance about when and what change needs to be incorporated.

Leverage Video Content – Today's generation prefers "watching videos' over "reading stuff'. Video content not only simplifies the product line of a business but also creates an immersive and long-lasting impact on the consumers' mind. Research says that video pulls more customers on the website, and is a far better way to increase customer engagement than any other marketing tactic. Thus, for an e-commerce startup, leveraging video content is one of the most effective techniques that have significant potential to level up website traffic, and thereby retain customers.

Create a Smartphone-Based Website – Gone are the days when a consumer used to turn on the computer or a laptop to visit websites. In this smartphone-dominated era, consumers directly access the internet through their smartphones and transact in snaps. It is, therefore, essential for an e-commerce startup to build a website that has an efficient and easy smartphone-friendly interface. It can be rightly said that to achieve success in e-commerce, getting hold of m-commerce is a prime requisite.

Innovative Offerings Through Technology – Customers, at present, don't eye for a regular-store offering, but something that sticks them to the brand. While being in an e-commerce business, it is important to realise that thousands of consumers will visit your website, there is no surety whether any purchases will take place. That is why it's necessary to leverage emerging technologies like Voice Command, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, AR/VR, among others to simplify a consumer's shopping journey and assist them to make the final purchase without hassles.

While these are some of the necessities to make your e-commerce startup unique among others, it is also important to keep a check on logistics. Poor servicing in this space often leads to delay in deliveries, which may worsen the overall online experience of the consumer. Therefore, keep a check on all the aforementioned pointers if you are committed to offering a truly satisfying shopping journey to your customers.