E-commerce Platform: How Does it Accelerate Sales in the Traditional Channel?

The way traditional retail stores operate has changed little in recent years. The relationship they have with the sales force of CPG companies is informal, making it difficult for processes such as order tracking and access to catalogs by the merchant, and for communication of promotions and monitoring of sold products, on the part of the companies.

However, digital transformation has solutions to offer that lead to optimal management of business processes.

For example, having a 24/7 e-commerce platform available streamlines the work of the sales force and gives the traditional channel the ability to make purchases quickly and easily. Why does its incorporation come to facilitate the life of the merchant? What benefits does it present for the companies’ salespeople?

A Better Shopping Experience for Stores

Having a digital platform that allows points of sale to place orders directly has great advantages. What happens if after a long day’s work, the merchant notices the lack of an essential product late at night? Waiting for the next visit from a sales representative can extend the replenishment time and lead to the loss of a customer who cannot find the required product.

This common setback for any store can be solved thanks to digital transformation, leaving behind the informality in the process of replenishment and sale of merchandise: it is about having an e-commerce platform available that works from any phone or browser, and with a complete display of brochures and catalogs to place orders in just seconds, in a simple and effective way.

Software of this type makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) to make personalized recommendations to each store, according to their needs.

39% of shoppers are more likely to engage with brands that provide personalized recommendations..

Source: CTA Tech

Specifically, an e-commerce platform has three key functionalities:

• Online business information available to customers: such as order tracking, invoices, credit notes, dispatch days and other relevant indicators.
• An intelligent catalog: artificial intelligence allows creating personalized catalogs of offers and products for each customer, with multi-pricing integrated from the company’s systems. It also segments and groups customers and uses easy-to-use search tools.
• Marketing and promotions: thanks to AI, product launches and efficient campaigns can also be carried out for each customer, supported by banners and promotional brands, as well as push notifications directly to mobile devices.

73% of B2B buyers say they want a personalized customer experience, similar to B2C.

Source: SiteCore

Accessing all this information immediately and updated on what each merchant needs, facilitates the process of replenishing products quickly to ensure the supply of the stores, while also ensuring that the items have their effective rotation, display and sale.

An Ally that Enhances the Work of the Sales Force

The e-commerce platform does not seek to replace the work of the salesperson or compete with it, but rather for both to complement each other, providing omnichannel and saving and facilitating a series of processes. For example, when the merchant places an order, it is directly received by the salesperson, who immediately becomes aware of the detailed order. From that information, the salesperson has the task of consulting, advising and validating the order.

In short, the visibility of the entire product catalog with the e-commerce platform allows the merchant to self-manage, and the sales force to fulfill a more enriching task: making recommendations and offering promotions or discounts, taking advantage of sales opportunities that will surely be beneficial for the company and the store.

In this way, the relationship with customers is strengthened, guiding them in their purchases and providing financial and accounting support without the need to make calls to the call center or to the sales executives.

Smoother Transactions for Better Sales

Technological advances are an essential tool to improve commercial performance. With an AI-powered e-commerce platform, which allows visualizing the entire product portfolio, the sales force and the merchant can establish more fluid communication, see images, know details of all items and place orders online 24/7.

In this way, sales channels are expanded and the shopping experience of customers is improved at any time and place, accelerating the digitalization of neighborhood stores and extending their benefits.