The Digital Commerce Advantage: Integrating Savings Platforms

The competition in today’s online world has intensified to give people more opportunity to find bargains and buy what they desire on the internet than ever before. For that reason, virtually every e-commerce brand has entered into the search for smarter methods of attracting customers, increasing the conversion rate of sales, and establishing ongoing customer loyalty than ever before. Integrating savings platforms into an e-commerce business’s digital commerce operations has already shown an incredible ability to perform all of these services.

Not only do savings platforms deliver discounted items to consumers, but they also completely change how they interact with brands, evaluate products, and determine where they will make their purchases. For today’s business owners, savings platforms have become a very powerful growth engine for their businesses instead of just being a marketing tool.

The Evolution of Value-Driven Shopping

Over the last 10 years, the expectation of consumers has changed tremendously. They are now looking for not only the right product that they are searching for but also the best possible deal when they purchase. With all the great tools available today, including price comparison sites, coupon aggregators, and coupon alerts (i.e., the ability for consumers to create an alert, i.e., coupon alert, for any store they want), evaluating value (price) is one of the major determinants when determining where to buy their products. E-commerce businesses must employ pricing practices that are aligned with these behaviors of price-conscious consumers in order to continue to be competitive in the e-commerce marketplace.

Implementing savings platforms into a retail business’s overall strategy allows a consumer to have their expectations met through the retailer without having to search out the retailer’s discount offer. By providing verified offers from within the retailer’s premise (business site/website) rather than having to perform a search to find the retailer’s discount offer on a couponing site, there is less friction in the purchase decision process for consumers, which allows them to engage with the retailer longer and, as a result, reduce the likelihood that they will be “lost” to a competing retailer.

Increasing Visibility and Customer Reach

Integrating savings platforms can give you an immediate benefit of being able to reach a wider audience. Savings platforms process a large number of shoppers looking for ways to save money on the items they will purchase. Retailers using these channels to showcase their goods can access high-intention shoppers who are prepared to make a purchase.

This increased visibility is a cost-effective way of advertising. When it comes to digital media, most of the time, there is no guarantee that you will receive a return on your investment for the amount of money you spend. Conversely, savings platforms are able to connect stores with motivated shoppers and provide retailers with an efficient way to acquire customers through performance-based marketing strategies. User conversion rates from savings platforms are also likely to be higher than that of generic website visitors, due to the fact that these customers actively seek out the best deals.

Enhancing Conversion Rates Through Incentives

Shopping cart abandonment also continues to be one of the most considerable challenges for ecommerce. Most of the time, customers create a shopping cart and then hesitate to click on pay now. Reasons for this include having second thoughts about the price, comparing other stores for a better price, or waiting for a better deal before making a final purchase.

Savings platforms help alleviate this problem in that they provide incentivized rewards to shoppers as soon as they enter the store. The reduction of doubt when a shopper sees an immediate discount encourages them to move quickly toward completing their purchase. For instance, offers such as a Farfetch promo code demonstrate how a timely incentive can turn browsing into buying. When customers perceive that they are saving money through their purchases, a psychological reward conditions them to make faster purchase decisions which ultimately increases conversion rate. 

Strengthening Brand Trust and Credibility

Trust is one of the key performance indicators (KPI) that leads to revenue generation in the online retail sector. When customers believe they are doing business with an organization that is honest, trustworthy, and provides an exemplary customer experience, they are more likely to buy from the respective brands. Using savings platforms strengthens these attributes. When a shopper visits a retailer and sees that they are able to verify discounts and the price they see on the shelf is an actual discount, they believe that the retailer has provided them legitimate value. 

Furthermore, when retailers consistently provide access to deals and discounts, it builds positive brand associations. Customers start to view a retailer as a “smart shopping destination” as opposed to simply as another store to purchase items from. This view encourages the customer to return to the retailer repeatedly and therefore creates long term loyalty, which is critical in sustaining growth in a highly competitive digital marketplace.

Supporting Strategic Pricing and Inventory Management

In addition to being a marketing tool, savings integrators can also be considered a method of managing pricing and inventory for retail businesses. Retailers often experience difficulties managing excess inventory, seasonal fluctuations, and new products that need promotion. Through savings integration, retailers can distribute targeted promotions to help them sell off their inventory without having to compromise the positioning of their brand.

For example, a retailer can use a time-limited promotion to help increase the demand for an underperforming product or create excitement around a new product line with an introductory offer. Because these types of promotions can be timed and targeted, retailers are able to keep control over their pricing strategy while maximizing their sales opportunities.

Leveraging Data and Technology

Modern savings integrators utilize modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to analyze the behavior, browsing patterns, and purchasing history of users in order to provide customized offers. By providing customized offers to customers, retailers are able to engage customers more effectively, resulting in increased engagement and redemption rates.

Retailers can also use the data generated by savings integrators to gain insights into consumer preferences, pricing sensitivities, and the types of promotions that perform the best. This valuable consumer insight allows brands to refine their marketing strategies, optimize their pricing, and improve their overall performance.

Building a Competitive Edge in Digital Commerce

Today there are many more options available in terms of online retail than ever before, with endless stores fighting for customers’ attention. By incorporating savings platforms into their offerings, retailers can gain an edge over the competition by setting themselves apart from competitors through value. Now retailers have the ability to create a competitive advantage based on tangible monetary value, rather than just through advertising budgets or name brand recognition.

This is especially true for smaller / start-up e-commerce retailers where using savings platform integrations gives smaller e-commerce retailers access to the same deal-hunting audiences as larger traditional retailers that they would otherwise not be able to access. A well-designed promotion gives smaller businesses momentum quickly and can give them a foothold in the marketplace.

The Future of Integrated Savings in E-Commerce

As technology continues to evolve, the integration of savings platforms to digital commerce will continue to become more seamless. Along with these savings platforms comes an automated coupon model, real-time price optimization, and AI-powered recommendations will revolutionize the way people shop. In the future, people may not need to search for discounts anymore because the best available price will be applied automatically at checkout.

As this progression occurs, it will continue to raise the expectations for retail consumers and integrated savings programs will become standard in retail rather than an added feature to retailers that offer them. Retailers that adopt these systems now will be best positioned to attract today’s consumers and keep their business relevant as more and more consumers place a higher value on cost to purchase items.

Conclusion

E-commerce can now no longer treat adding savings platform options into their offerings as merely a growth tactic but should view this as a strategic necessity. Savings platforms provide greater visibility into your products and services, help improve conversion rates, build customer trust, and provide real-time analytics data that helps businesses optimize their operations. In a digital environment where consumers value price as much as product quality, retailers that leverage savings platform integration will enjoy a competitive advantage. Retailers who do not will be left behind as intelligent shopping becomes the new standard.