As the speed of growth in online retailing across Australia and New Zealand eases after the Covid-driven boom, and as economic pressures take their toll on consumers, retailers are embracing new priorities when evolving their e-commerce offerings.
Digital commerce expert Stephanie Byrne says to be successful in today’s market, retailers need to make sound investments in their e-commerce solutions to deliver innovation, accelerate growth, and lower costs. The pressure is on retailers to deliver more with less, all without compromising the end customer experience. Creating a unified, personalised, unique shopping experience that sets retailers apart from their rivals will give customers a reason to be loyal to a brand.
Byrne is the CEO of digital commerce consultancy Amblique, which works with some of Australia and New Zealand’s largest multi-brand, multi-region retail groups. Amblique has recently partnered with Shopify, allowing it to implement Shopify’s e-commerce platform for enterprise retailers, a departure from Shopify’s historical focus on small and medium businesses. Amblique has tracked the rise of Shopify, and with its relentless investment in innovation, backed by its singular focus on commerce, its ability to meet the needs of large-scale retailers is no longer in question.
“We saw massive disruption during Covid, where investment in e-commerce was higher than ever before,” Byrne says. “But now there is more scrutiny around the innovation offered by the technology used and the total cost of ownership and return on investment it provides.
“Partnering with a platform like Shopify that offers a lot of functionality out of the box, is flexible, and has an ongoing stream of innovation that you can leverage, helps ensure retailers get the most out of their investment, which is crucial.”
She identifies three key areas retailers should focus on to secure market share in these increasingly competitive times.
- Prioritise innovation to achieve growth
Competing on price alone is no longer a winning strategy for retailers or brand owners to acquire or retain customers. “The challenge is how you continue to surprise and delight that end customer so they are motivated to shop with you rather than someone else. Are you making that experience seamless, frictionless and compelling?” asks Byrne.
“Many of the conversations I’m having at the moment are around how retailers can personalise their omnichannel experiences to create a point of difference so that consumers want to shop with them over other options. To do this, it makes sense for retailers to select an e-commerce platform that is dedicated to both removing operational headaches whilst delivering innovation so that retailers can differentiate their brand, personalise the customer experience and ensure it is consistent and seamless, no matter when or how the customer chooses to shop.”
- Speed to market
Time to market is at the top of retailers’ minds as they decide which initiatives to focus on first. Launching sites and features faster equals realising a return on investment sooner, which is key in the current competitive retail landscape, says Byrne.
“The slowdown has naturally put more pressure on retailers to really think about where they are investing and how they are spending their money. Retailers are now highly focused on how they can effectively invest in a way that results in a better customer experience, access to ongoing innovation, and a prompt return on investment – all of which ultimately benefit the retailer.”
- Lower costs without compromising the end customer experience
Operating lean and mean is a critical challenge to retailers to enable them to maintain margins while minimising price rises in a market that has become very price-sensitive. “Finding ways to make smart technology investments that support strong customer experiences is key,” says Byrne.
“Beyond reducing costs, which is a key focus for retailers currently, retail leadership teams are asking us where they should invest to ensure their business performs. Moving to flexible, innovative and cost-efficient solutions is key to achieving this.”
Why partnerships are critical
Byrne says partnering with agencies that deeply understand the technology they are implementing and optimising is essential for retailers to ensure they extract maximum value. “Not just in terms of the e-commerce platform they choose, but the entire ecosystem, including any integrations and third parties they are using – it is essential to understand the full technology stack and how to optimise it when you look at the return on investment,” she continues.
Over 20 years, Amblique has built a proven track record of delivering enterprise digital commerce solutions that address complex requirements within large, omnichannel businesses on time and on budget. The new partnership with Shopify provides an exciting opportunity for enterprise retailers to scale cost-effectively, faster and with less risk.
“Shopify’s total cost of ownership is, on average, 33 per cent better than its competitors, making it the industry’s most cost-effective commerce platform. This paired with Amblique’s enterprise expertise, means retailers can focus on investing their dollars to differentiate their brand rather than on just keeping the lights on.”
In a retail landscape that is evolving at today’s fast pace, retailers need a flexible, innovative platform like Shopify to keep up, she explains. “We’ve been keeping track of Shopify for several years now, and what’s most impressive is its relentless focus on innovation. The company invested $1.7 billion in research and development last year alone. This consistent stream of innovation means that with every release, it has provided more functionality out-of-the-box, allowing retailers to launch initiatives faster and iterate sooner.”
This approach helps retailers manage the total cost of ownership, rationalising costs, ensuring compatibility and composability when building an organisational tech stack, and optimising performance. “We know that site speed and availability impact conversion significantly, so ensuring carrier level uptime and that the sites are running as optimally as possible is critical,” said Byrne.
“It’s all about looking at the e-commerce solution as a whole, she explains, from omnichannel, multi-brand, multi-regional standpoints to identifying different growth levers, then working out how to simplify and optimise from a cost perspective: What does the tech you have do, where are the double ups in capability, what tech are you paying for that you don’t need? How can we develop a solution that delivers the most value based on what you need to succeed?”
For example, Amblique can add value by looking at a retailer’s overall strategy from a digital commerce standpoint and then identifying simplification and growth opportunities. That might be specific optimisations on a website like implementing new payment types, re-designing key pages to reduce the number of clicks or shedding seconds off page load time, or more comprehensive strategies like preparing for international expansion.
The partnership between Amblique and Shopify is new. “Given the kind of consistent investment Shopify has made in enterprise capabilities over the past few years, we feel like now is the right time for us to work together to multiply the value we can deliver to enterprise retailers. Shopify now offers innovation, flexibility, and scalability, which enterprise retailers need to stay competitive,” Byrne says.
“E-commerce has come a long way over the past 15 years, and when you’re looking for a partner in that space, you want someone who really understands your business and the solutions you have chosen to ensure your ability for future growth and innovation. Thinking through what the end customer really needs and expects, how you can offer an experience that surpasses their expectations and how you can be prepared for what’s next is imperative in this ever-changing environment,” says Byrne.
Amblique offers retailers a no-commitment digital retail strategy workshop to help identify growth and cost optimisation opportunities. The outcome of this workshop will be a clear view of what priorities will allow the retailer to innovate, accelerate and lower costs, putting them in the strongest position to face the economic headwinds ahead.
“Implementing technology is one part of the puzzle, but if we don’t have a fundamental understanding of the business, its drivers and its goals, then we’re not in a true partnership.
“That’s the unique way that we help retailers. We have the project methodology, corporate rigour and a proven track record of delivering large, complex projects for enterprise retailers. What makes our partnership with Shopify unique is that hundreds of agencies are partnering with Shopify, but few focus exclusively on it, and they don’t have extensive experience with the enterprise segment of the market like Amblique does.
- For an obligation-free workshop to see what Amblique and Shopify can do for your enterprise business, contact Amblique today.