Today is the age of internet, with technology doing wonders every other day. Living things have been interacting with each other since ancient times, and now the internet has enabled even non-living things to interact with each other. We call this wonder the “Internet of Things”. Kudos to the internet age; devices are now interconnected with each other, sharing information every second and thus creating an ecosystem of their own. You can turn off the lights in your room with just a command, lock the door with your smartphone, and play music just by saying it to a device, each one of these is the internet of things.
But, have you ever wondered about using IoT in ecommerce business to deliver an even more advanced and seamless experience to the users? This article will be talking all about the application of internet of things in ecommerce business and how it can contribute to the performance of the business-
IoT Contribution in eCommerce and Retail
Let’s grab a better understanding of the role of IoT in the eCommerce industry with the support of some real-time facts and figures-
- According to Businesswire, the contribution of the Internet of Things in the retail market is expected to achieve a valuation of USD 182.04 billion by 2028.
- The same market has forecasted a CAGR of 26% between 2021-2028.
- Talking specifically about the IoT market size, the valuation has been registered to be $300.3 billion in 2021, which is expected to increase to 650.5 billion by 2026.
- IoT implementation is at its best due to cost efficiency. The sensor, which cost $1.3 in 2004, cost only $0.38 in 2020.
Use cases of IoT in eCommerce Business
The Internet of Things has enhanced the comfort among users as different and daily tasks can now be completed with just simple commands. However, IoT use cases are wider than daily and basic tasks. The significant interconnectivity between the devices has played a vital role in taking the ecommerce experience to the next level. Let’s talk about some of the use cases and how it helps in enhancing the ecommerce landscape-
1. Better Inventory Management
Dedicated devices like IoT sensors and Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) tags have increased inventory management efficiency. These sensors and tags read vital information about the product, such as the product’s availability, expiration date, type of product, and much more, without human support. This information is then communicated to the respective connected device.
So a customer can track the availability of the product. Similarly, the inventory owner can know about the quantity and state of the product to make the necessary decisions. Thus, inventory management becomes significantly more accessible with the assistance of the IoT.
2. Supply Chain Management
The supply chain is about tracking the product’s location and delivering the inventory at the right place at the right time. With IoT-based devices, one can access the real-time location of the product as well as a large inventory. The capabilities of these sensors and RFID devices even allow communication of the exact location and delivery time.
Not only the location but the IoT-based devices even communicate the product situation so that the parcel is not delivered damaged, spoiled, or broken.
3. Customized Service to Customers
Knowingly or unknowingly, IoT devices and the interconnection of devices have become a core part of the daily life of millions of people. Each command that you give to your IoT device doesn’t only perform a particular task for you but also stores some information. The more you interact with these devices, the more data you share.
The companies and businesses then use this data to provide relevant products and services. Delivering a personalized customer experience increases the chances of getting the sale. Hence, using the data collected via IoT devices enables businesses to provide better customer service and increase sales.
4. Decrease Waste
The unsold inventory hurts the profitability of a business. The major reason behind this waste is a lack of insight into the demand and consumption of inventory in the market. Here, IoT helps to study consumer behavior and thus perform the necessary calculation to know the demand for a particular product in the market. The manufacturers can use this insight efficiently for the manufacturing process and thus decrease waste.
The process enables no waste of raw materials, human resources, time, and monetary resources. Thus, the operational process of the firm becomes even more profitable.
5. Smart Marketing and Advertising
IoT knows all about what the customer is searching for on the ecommerce store or any search engine. Thus, the product or service companies can easily advertise relevant products or services using this insight. Showing the ads of commodities that the customers often surf increases the chances of purchase.
6. Better Customer Relationship
IoT can play a core role in strengthening the relationship between your business and customers. When selling a durable product, you can offer the best post-service support to your customer. If you sell a printer on your website, IoT support will help you directly provide printer cartridge replacements to the customers. Not only will this deliver a personalized experience to your customers, but it will also convert them into loyal customers.
7. Troubleshooting
IoT not only helps in smart targeting and using the data for a personalized customer experience but also helps troubleshoot various issues in eCommerce transactions. For example, issues like missing shipments, return rate, cart abandonment rate, low engagement, and much more can be addressed by analyzing the data, improving the customer experience, and strengthening supply chain management.
Benefits of IoT in eCommerce Landscape
There are several advantages that IoT delivers in the eCommerce landscape. Having become an integral part of millions of customers, the IoT now carries the capabilities to ensure competitive advantages for businesses operating in the online world. Some of the benefits are as follows-
- Forecasting the supply and demand of the products in the market assists in decreasing waste and encouraging smart manufacturing.
- IoT devices integrated into long-term machines and devices can help better maintenance by sending the signal of replacement and repair requirements.
- One can track the transactions, like the destination of each order, the time it takes to deliver the order, any issues or glitches in the process, and everything else.
- IoT instills automation in the process as one can manage and perform different operations. Here the functions can be receiving/reordering/shipping the goods, preparing the orders, charging the payment, and more.
- IoT provides data and insight into customer preferences and thus significantly helps in intelligent decision-making. The valuable information is used to understand consumer behavior, predict online shopping trends, optimize spending, and much more.
Challenges and Considerations to Implement IoT in eCommerce
Undoubtedly, IoT has been enhancing the customer and user experience for a long time. However, there are still some challenges that IoT is facing and that need to be addressed for better integration between IoT and eCommerce-
- When we say that IoT helps to deliver a personalized experience by giving insight into customer data, the threat of data theft and breaching, and data misuse.
- IoT-connected devices are at high risk of getting attacked by viruses and hacking elements. A smart television can easily share the email credentials of the owners.
- Software integration with the hardware is one of the crucial parts of getting advantages by the system. So, there are very few companies that make this integration happen at the in-house level with compatibility at the fullest.
- IoT is a tool that helps to solve particular problems in business. So, IoT can not be integrated into some scenarios.
- Undoubtedly, integrating big data and IoT into the process requires a specific investment. So, not all businesses can afford this investment at the early stages.
How can Emizentech be the helping hand?
Emizentech is one of the leading IoT development companies. We have exclusive experience developing software and tools for IoT integration in eCommerce, mobile apps, websites, and every other technology. Emizentech has a team of 250+ developers working continuously to deliver top-notch solutions to their clients.
Also, we have eCommerce experts helping businesses to mark their online presence with different technologies like Shopware, Shopify, Adobe commerce, and much more.
Thus, by integrating both concepts’ capabilities, Emizentech takes your business a step ahead of its competitors.
Being an advanced app and website development company, Emizentech also helps you develop IoT-based apps and tools to equip your devices.
If You Need Expert Advice on How to Improve Your eCommerce Business with IoT
Wrapping up
eCommerce is continuously unlocking its full potential by integrating the latest technological trends. As the user base graph of eCommerce has displayed a spike in recent years, the platform has been making significant improvements to deliver the best possible experience to its user base. Similarly, the IoT has been stitching substantial changes in the eCommerce landscape by injecting personalized experience and strengthening merchant and customer relationships.
IoT devices are being used widely by people in their day-to-day life. So, IoT devices and sensors hold plenty of information about the people that can be used to deliver better services to customers.
#23 Chase Tower, opp. Metro Pillar 31,
USA
UK
UK
