What I Am Looking For at ShopTalk 2023:
I am excited for ShopTalk 2023 and look forward to connecting with founders and CEOs who share a passion for e-commerce. In anticipation of the conference, I wanted to share three different themes I will be watching closely.
- Data & Analytics
For the past couple of years, we at Volition have been big believers in the continued growth of e-commerce and how analytics can positively impact companies’ sales processes and results. We feel that there is a unique opportunity for a software solutions company to emerge who can provide a unified analytics platform that allows sellers to aggregate their data in a single dashboard. Further visibility into high-value customer segments, monthly performance tracking, as well as marketing tracking for KPIs such as ROAS, CPA, and CPO, is a true differentiator.
While there are a number of active players in the space like Daasity, Glew, Peel, and Polar Analytics to name a few, we believe that the opportunity is vast and there is space for many winners to create meaningful value.
- Loyalty and Rewards
One of the key challenges with e-commerce companies is to consistently get customers to return to their stores – specifically, when their products are not required on a consistent or recurring basis. That is why companies that can successfully launch loyalty and reward programs have a fundamental advantage in the long run.
Loyalty Lion recently released data exemplifying the power of loyalty and retention. The company shared that customers on their program have a 47% higher chance of repeat purchases and a 40% higher annual spend. Companies that can effectively create differentiated loyalty programs that can connect with consumers will not only see great success from customers, but interest from investors too.
- AI-Enabled Recommendations
Everywhere you go these days, you hear more and more about AI. While in some areas, AI will inevitably be overhyped, the excitement for AI in the e-commerce space is warranted. We specifically are excited by companies that are utilizing AI to analyze consumer activity while they are shopping/surfing on websites.
Why are consumers leaving products in carts and not finalizing purchases? What messages can we display to nudge them further down the sales funnel? Companies that can effectively use AI to create these solutions have a bright future ahead of them.
I look forward to seeing you all soon.
-Aaron
