eCommerce Influencer Series: Jon Maury – ChannelAdvisor

To mark our first anniversary here at eSellerCafe we reached out to some of our friends and influencers in the eCommerce world to run this special Influencer series.

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We asked them some of the key questions we feel are important in today’s eCommerce world and share with you their answers.

Today we are joined by Jon Maury from ChannelAdvisor, over to you Jon.

Q. For anyone who doesn’t know you yet, who you are and what do you do?

A. I’m Jon Maury and I’m the managing director, EMEA for ChannelAdvisor. ChannelAdvisor is a leading e-commerce cloud platform that enables online retailers and brands to connect with customers, optimise operations and grow sales channels.

Q. Looking back over the past 3 years what do you think have been the biggest changes in eCommerce?

A. I would say the most remarkable changes have happened in mobile, marketplaces and logistics.  Consumer expectations and behaviours have transformed these three areas.

Firstly, consumers became increasingly mobile. Mobile’s share of e-commerce now accounts for 45.6% of sales, up 12.3% in the last three years. Mobile is now the dominant digital touchpoint on the web, so if you’re not optimising for mobile you’re missing out.

The second change driving e-commerce is the growth of marketplaces. Marketplace sales
account for 50% of global online retail sales, according to Internet Retailer.

Overall $1.47 trillion was spent globally on the top 75 marketplaces in 2017. With more consumers than ever going direct to marketplaces, retailers who aren’t taking advantage of these sites are losing out. Amazon is one of the top players, but there are many other big players and niche sites to consider too, so don’t limit yourself.

Finally, customer expectations around delivery times have disrupted the logistics space over the last three years. PWC found that 29% of UK shoppers say that fast and reliable delivery (same day, collect from store or designated place) and a 28% good returns policy (free or return to store) are reasons for shopping with a retailer. Amazon’s success in cheap, flexible delivery and returns has spurred on the area for other retailers. SMEs are now scrambling to offer these as options to lure customers and keep up with competitors.

Q. Amazon obviously cannot be ignored in eCommerce, do you believe they are largely friend or foe to SME’s and as Amazon continues to grow does this change?

A. Amazon presents a great opportunity for SMEs, so it really shouldn’t be overlooked as a
channel. Over half of product searches begin on Amazon – meaning you may be missing out on a massive audience by not listing on Amazon.

Amazon is not restricted to larger retailers or Amazon’s first party sales. According to Amazon, entrepreneurs and small business sell half the products that Amazon customers buy, and more than 140,000 small and medium-sized businesses surpassed $100,000 in sales on Amazon in 2017.

Q. What is the biggest opportunity that you see for SME’s in 2018 and beyond?

A. SME’s have a great opportunity to be visible across multiple channels and multiple markets. The world has become frictionless, and retailers are able to scale to unimaginable heights. If you aren’t already, 2018 is the year to consider expanding to new marketplaces and regions.

Q. What emerging technology do you see as the biggest game changer in eCommerce?

A. Voice commerce is an area we’re really expecting to grow. Today one in ten of UK households own a smart speaker, and this figure is projected to rise to 48 per cent by 2022 according to OC&C.

Through Amazon’s Echo, 17 per cent of users are already shopping through their device, (according to Amazon’s own statistics) with ComScore forecasts suggesting that 50 per cent of all searches will be voice-powered by 2020. Consumers have really found their voices, and it’s expected that voice shopping is expected to be worth around £3.5bn by 2022.

Q. Where can people find out more about you and what you do?

A. You can get in touch with ChannelAdvisor by visiting our website or calling us on 0203 014 2700. We also host an annual e-commerce event called Catalyst Europe, where retailers can hear from some of the big names in e-commerce, including eBay, Amazon, Google and more.

This year’s event will take place in the Intercontinental O2, London on 09 May 2018. If you want to hear more about the themes covered here, take a look at the Catalyst website and
register today.

Connect with Jon and ChannelAdvisor on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn