This article is a transcript of a presentation that I made to the Arab Ecommerce Summit in Dubai this week. It is a wake up call to merchants who are still making excuses for not selling online.
CHALLENGES – to Arab Ecommerce
Ecommerce in the GCC is not without challenges, but it doesn’t mean that the rewards aren’t worth it. It’s also a mistake to assume that these challenges weren’t faced by online retailers in other markets. In fact some of these challenges face even the largest and most successful businesses.
TRUST
There is a generational difference in the way people shop and online shops, especially start-ups take a long time to earn the trust of consumers.
However, I would have thought that in this region, trust is something that could be achieved relatively easily – customers are used to loyalty schemes that leverage the trust of family company groups like Al Tayer or Alshaya – in fact these companies have an advantage over a new online brand with no physical presence.
It is fair for consumers to ask questions like:
- Who am I giving my money to?
- Will I get my products?
- Will it be in good condition?
- What level of customer service will I get if something goes wrong.
But some of these questions can be countered simply by having a properly designed contact page on your website or good ‘Social reputation’. Use reviews for your product, but also for your brand. Invest in customer service and make sure that even when things go wrong, that customers are impressed with the way you handled the situation.
TALENT
It is hard to get good people, but this isn’t a problem that is unique to the region.
There is a global shortage of data scientists. There are not enough front end specialists.
Unfortunately these people are global and mobile. They can pick up and move continents for the right opportunity. You are not competing against other retailers. These coders and designers can be incentivised by how ‘cool’ a project is, and let’s face it, sometimes Ecommerce isn’t very cool.
There are some companies here that understand this, however there are many others who skimp on compensation, sacrificing short term gains for long term failure.
However…. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide some relief in this area. Modern Ecommerce systems are getting easier and easier to use. Platforms like Shopify reduce the requirement for technical people and allow your merchandisers and product experts to do what you do best.
PERFECTION
The ‘Fail early, fail often’ mentality that has been the mantra of many Silicon valley startups is not as prevalent here.
There are cultural norms that see anything less than perfection as failure.
This attitude can be crippling in a space where innovation is constant and rapid. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be the best, but the long term costs of not being in the market need to be weighed against negative perception of the offer. Customers might not even notice!
Investing in customer service to understand customer feedback and rectify issues can pay back more than investing in fixing minor imperfections.
Part 4 – Building on Strengths.
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