Albert Einstein was asked, "What would you do if you had only one hour to solve a problem on which your life depended?" Without hesitation, he replied, "I'd spend the first 55 minutes carefully defining the problem and then it would take less than 5 minutes to solve it." Every good analysis starts from the definition of the reference context. In the case of online business, the context is made up of encouraging numbers: in the first ten months of 2022, in Italy, e-commerce has (already) reached a value of over 48 billion euros.
The scenery
These data decisively show the potential of the digital market and the need for companies to take care of their online presence, in order to meet the needs of a new way of buying. To take advantage of these opportunities, it is important to act with awareness, starting from the e-commerce design phase.
This is the most important and complex moment, as demanding as it is useful, which begins with the choice of the technological platform. While most of the features of an online store seem similar, the issues, contexts and target audience are unique. E-commerce platforms are software that provide a series of tools for opening an online store, managing orders, marketing and all aspects relating to customer relations. Ideally they represent a "command center" from which to monitor and direct the entire commercial activity.
The platforms
There are various e-commerce platforms, which differ in purely technical factors, in the investment required in economic terms and in terms of skills, in the type of business and in the merchant's customization needs. Among the numerous alternatives offered by the market, some of the most used are: Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, WIX and Prestashop. Shopify offers extensive customization of the shop, which is very intuitive; Magento stands out for its flexibility, robustness and security and is particularly suitable for larger companies with important technical resources; WooCommerce is an extension of the Wordpress site, easy to use, fast and constantly updated; Wix is very popular with small businesses in the creative sector who need modern design and essential functionality; Prestashop is considered by some to be a cross between Magento and Shopify, because it mixes the extreme flexibility of the former with the ease of use of the latter. Choosing the most suitable platform depends on a combination of so many factors that it is not possible to suggest which one is best.
The role of the consumer
A rule that always helps in making choices is to let yourself be guided by your consumer instinct. People have learned to use digital in a different way and with increasing frequency, but they have also rediscovered the pleasure of seeing the products to buy up close. Today, the winners on the market are those companies that know how to offer memorable experiences, which encourage users to repeat them.
Frances Muscas
