Posted on 13/06/202312/10/2023 in BUSINESS, Digital business, e-commercce

YouTube Analytics Basics: How to Analyze Your Data (2023)

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, after Google. So if video is part of your marketing strategy, you’ve probably already invested time, effort, and creativity into videos for your own YouTube channel.

But to make the most of YouTube as a platform to engage your customers, you can also mine YouTube Analytics for a treasure trove of insights to improve the performance of your videos.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify

What is YouTube analytics?

YouTube Analytics is a powerful tool that provides insights into how viewers interact with your YouTube videos and channel. It’s built into every YouTube account, so you can monitor the performance of their videos and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Benefits of using YouTube analytics

Here are a few reasons to use YouTube analytics for your business:

Understand audience behavior: Metrics like watch time, audience retention, and playback locations help you understand what types of content keep your viewers engaged and where they are watching from. That way, you can tailor future content to meet the preferences of your audience.
Identify successful content: Analytics highlight which videos are performing best in terms of video views, likes, comments, and shares. This helps you understand what types of content resonate most with your audience.
Optimize for growth: By monitoring metrics like traffic sources and device reports, you can understand how viewers find your videos and what devices they watch on. You can use this information to optimize your content for discoverability and accessibility, and to improve viewership.
Target the right demographics: YouTube Analytics provides demographic data that is crucial for targeting your content effectively. Knowing the age, gender, and geographical location of your viewers helps you create content that is more relevant and appealing to your core audience.
Monetize your content: If you’re part of the YouTube Partner Program, YouTube Analytics gives you crucial information about your revenue. By understanding which videos are driving the most ad revenue, or which are encouraging channel memberships or merchandise purchases, you can strategize to maximize your earnings.

Start selling your products on YouTube from Shopify

Shopify comes with powerful tools that help you promote and sell products on YouTube. Sync your product catalog, tag or pin products in live streams, and manage all your sales from Shopify.

YouTube analytics metrics explained

For your YouTube marketing and social media marketing campaigns to succeed, it’s important to know how to navigate YouTube analytics.

General

As you can see from the Optimist YouTube channel analytics above, the General or Overview tab provides a basic summary of how your YouTube channel and videos are doing. Here you can view the following metrics:

Views: How many views your channel has
Watch time: How much time have people spent time watching videos on your channel
Subscribers: The number of subscribers you have
Revenue earned: Your estimated revenue earned (if you’re part of the YouTube Partner Program)
Comparison: A performance comparison of your recent videos and channels against past data
Top ranked: Which of your videos was top ranked in the past 28 days
Stories: How your most recent stories have performed in the past seven days
Latest content: How your most recent uploads have been performing in the past 24 hours

You can also use the Audience Retention feature to see how well each of your videos retains viewers compared to other videos. This is a great tool for influencers and YouTube creators to improve their video marketing techniques constantly.

Content

The Content tab shows how people find your content, what content they’re watching, and how they interact with your videos.

On this tab you’ll find:

Views: The number of views your content (videos, shorts, livestreams) has had.
Impressions: How often a thumbnail of your content was shown to YouTube users and how often that resulted in card clicks on that thumbnail and viewers watching your content.
Average view duration: The average time a viewer watches your videos.
How viewers find your videos: Was it through the Shorts feed, suggested videos, a YouTube search, an external Google search, etc.
Top videos: The videos that have the most views and are top ranked amongst your content.
Key moments for audience retention: What parts of your videos kept your audience’s interest. You can even compare the retention of your last 10 videos of similar length.
Remixed: Your total remix views and how they rank.
Post impressions: How many times has one of your posts been shown to YouTube users.

Audience

The Audience tab tells you information about your audience. Things like how many subscribers you have, how many viewers are returning and how many are new, and how many unique viewers you have.

You’ll also find metrics on:

The videos growing your audience: This metric keeps track of all the new viewers you received across all devices in the past 90 days and tracks your audience’s activity throughout your channel.
When your viewers are on YouTube: This is based on how your audience has been interacting with your channel, as well as all of YouTube. This data is tracked across all devices for the past 28 days.
Subscriber bell notifications: Keeps track of how many of your subscribers actually get notifications from your channel (instead of having them blocked because of YouTube or device settings).
Watch time from subscribers: This metric separates out the watch time of your non-subscribers and subscribers.
Age and gender: Shows you what demographic your videos appeal to. It tracks the age and gender of all signed-in viewers across all devices.
Other channels your audience watches: This metric tracks what other channels your audience has interacted with in the past 28 days.
Other videos your audience watched: Similarly, this metric tracks what other videos your audience has watched in the past seven days.
Top geographies: Tells you where in the world your videos are getting the most play.
Top subtitle/CC languages: Shows you what part of your audience uses subtitles or CC.

Research

The Research tab gives you insight into your audience’s search on YouTube—kind of like a peek into the psyche of your viewers.

You’ll find data like:

Searches across YouTube: Shows what the top search topics were across all YouTube users within the past 28 days.
Your viewer’s searches: Shows what words and topics your audience (and users who frequent similar channels) were searching for on YouTube within the past 28 days.

How to use YouTube analytics

YouTube analytics allows you to analyze data about your target audience, your posts, and your channel’s performance overall. Using these engagement metrics you can create a content strategy that will encourage channel growth.

Here’s how to access YouTube analytics data from desktop and mobile.

Desktop

On your desktop, sign in to your YouTube account.
Click on your profile icon in the upper right-hand corner, then select YouTube Studio.
This will take you to your YouTube channel’s analytics dashboard. From there, either select Analytics on the left menu or GO TO CHANNEL ANALYTICS, located under the video thumbnails of your top videos.
On your channel’s analytics page, you can toggle between the Overview tab, Content tab, Audience tab, and Research tabs to find the information you want.
You can also find more details on individual video analytics and your channel if you select Advanced Mode in the top right corner of your channel’s analytics page.
If you want to download a report, select the aspects you want to track in Advanced Mode, then select the download icon in the top right corner. You can download your report as a Google Sheet or a .csv file.

Mobile

Download the YouTube Studio app for your Android device or iPhone (if you don’t already have it).
Open the YouTube Studio app and sign in to your account.
This will take you to the app’s dashboard. Here, you’ll be able to see an overview of data like the number of subscribers you have, the number of times your channel has been viewed, and even the number of hours people have spent watching your videos. If you’d like to look at more in-depth data, select View More.

How to analyze YouTube videos

1. Understand watch time

There’s no denying that Views are an important metric for determining the success of a YouTube video.

But while they’re one indicator of performance, Views alone won’t give you enough information to make significant improvements to your YouTube videos, nor does YouTube put a lot of stock in them, given the prevalence of clickbait tactics that often inflate view count.

Instead, views should be analyzed alongside a more important metric that’s key to getting on the good side of YouTube’s algorithm: watch time.

From YouTube’s perspective, watch time, or the estimated total minutes spent viewing your content, is more important than a raw view. The updated Analytics dashboard makes this clear by dedicating an entire section to this new, more telling metric of video performance.

If you find that your watch time is low, consider going back to the drawing board and creating more engaging videos for your audience, or you might need to invest in better video editing software or a good video editing app for your phone to add some extra polish.

However, watch time and views are really only useful indicators when analyzed alongside other data that can help you improve the discoverability and quality of your content, as we’ll explore further down in this post.

2. Keep an eye on your real-time report

YouTube verifies view count to remove spammy and low-quality views from the total. There’s often a two-day lag in the number of views that YouTube publicly displays and in your dashboard.

That’s why the real-time report for your channel is essential for measuring the reach of your videos early on. This report gives you the estimated number of views from the past 48 hours and the past 60 minutes, across your channel or for specific videos.

YouTube’s real-time report isn’t just exciting to watch when you upload a new video or promote it through one of your owned or paid channels.

Keeping an eye on this tab in the Analytics dashboard can also help you discover spikes in views that suggest someone has shared your video with a new audience on Reddit or another social network.

These moments present good opportunities to stoke the fire and garner more traction for your video by engaging with the poster, thread, or publication before things go cold.

3. Identify your traffic sources

When analyzing your video’s reach, it’s important to figure out precisely where your viewers are coming from.

In your YouTube Analytics panel, you’re presented with another graph displaying various traffic sources and the total amount per source on the Traffic Sources page. This reveals how your viewers are finding your videos.

This report allows you to determine which traffic source most benefits you across your entire channel and for each individual video you create.

Don’t just look at the number of views they’re generating—not all sources will give you the same quality of traffic.

For example, if your video is attracting high-quality views via YouTube search, you can begin to implement ways to optimize your video or future content further to show up for the keywords people might use to discover your content.

Use this view to determine which traffic sources are important to your video promotion strategy and which sources need to be worked on.

4. Determine your audience demographics

To better understand your audience, head over to the Audience page of your YouTube analytics. These interactive graphs allow you to visualize who is consuming your videos, using dimensions like age, gender, geography, device, and more.

Ecommerce product videos will almost certainly reach a portion of customers who were unreachable to you via conventional search engines. Reviewing the age and gender of your video audience may offer new information to build your future product videos upon.

Many industries are not particularly bothered by the geographical variations in their video audience. A viewer is a viewer.

However, as an ecommerce business, the location of your potential customers could be of great interest to you if you plan to reach them with targeted ads or content.

To delve further into the geographic statistics, you can select each individual country, displaying a new age and gender graph for that particular country. Using this information, you can create location-specific videos in the future if you notice any geographic trends.

5. Track your subscriber rate

YouTube subscribers in an ecommerce context can be potential or existing customers interested in your products or niche of content.

So it is also important to monitor the fluctuations of your subscriber base. This will allow you to understand the overall reach of your YouTube content as a whole, as opposed to a single video, and how each video contributes to gaining or losing subscribers.

This one’s pretty obvious: The more subscribers you have, the more people there are to potentially see your channel’s video content through the Subscriptions stream on the YouTube homepage. Thus, the more exposure your products and brand will get.

Using calls to action in the form of YouTube cards or a pitch that you record as part of your video can go a long way toward gaining subscribers.

Aside from your subscriber rate, you can also calculate your subscriber ratio for a video by dividing the number of views by the net subscriber gain. If you’ve got a video that performs particularly well in terms of generating subscribers, consider investing more time (or money) in promoting it.

6. Monitor comments

Comments are a key component of audience engagement. Keeping tabs on who is commenting and what they’re saying can help you convert viewers into customers, or at the very least increase engagement for that video or other content.

By clicking on the Comments tab of the YouTube Analytics section, you’ll see the frequency and dates of your comments and a section dedicated to displaying your total amount of comments on each video.

While these numbers are interesting, the Community section is also useful for acting on opportunities to engage with your audience and get qualitative feedback.

Look for chances to:

Delight your viewers with insight or an amusing remark
Highlight any products or services you sell
Direct viewers to other related content or resources you’ve created

It’s important to portray your brand as an approachable and engaging one. Try to respond to comments on your video in a helpful fashion. This will also help increase your total comments, a good indicator to viewers that a video is engaging.

You can even pin one of your comments to the top to direct your audience to relevant parts of your website.

Best YouTube analytics tools

Of course, your built-in YouTube Analytics dashboard isn’t the only source of data you have at your disposal.

Other third-party websites and tools can help you understand YouTube:

Social Blade: If you’ve ever wondered about your competitors, potential partners, or role models on YouTube, you can use Social Blade to gain some insight into how other channels are performing and compare them to your own.
VidIQ: This Chrome extension displays a score card next to the video you’re watching on YouTube, offering in-depth insights at a glance to help you understand what works in YouTube as you go about using the platform.
Google Analytics: This is a powerful analytics tool that provides a wealth of information about your audience. It monitors and analyzes the traffic to your channel and websites with your other YouTube videos embedded in them. Google Analytics gives you more detailed information on how users find you and how engaging users find your content within YouTube and your other websites.

Measure channel performance, grow your YouTube presence

As a creator or a marketer, data is a gift you shouldn’t ignore. Otherwise, you’re shooting in the dark every time, unaware of whether you’re getting closer to or further away from your target. Use your YouTube analytics to improve your video strategy and turn your own channel into a success.

Wrapping Up:

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Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses! If you would like to know more details about us, please contact us: blog.shopshipshake.com. If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://shop.shopshipshake.com/shop/register/business

The article refers to: https://www.shopify.com/blog/6763696-youtube-analytics-10-ways-to-track-video-performance

Posted on 09/06/2023 in e-commercce

6 Types of Ecommerce Models You Need to Know in 2023

Key Points

Ecommerce encompasses a variety of business models and delivery methods.
Types of ecommerce include business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C).
Learning about the different types of ecommerce can help you determine the right model for your business.

When most people think of ecommerce, they might imagine going to a website and purchasing products. In reality, ecommerce can encompass so much more. The ecommerce industry has grown to include a vast array of business models and delivery methods. One ecommerce business might look totally different from another.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify

Learning about the types of ecommerce can help you determine what model is right for your business.

Types of ecommerce

Fundamentally, ecommerce means a company selling products online. Just like in the non-digital world, there are many ways an item can get sold on the internet:

Business to Consumer (B2C). In B2C businesses, the visitors of the online store are individual people and the business sells or curates its own products. Brands like Allbirds and Kylie Cosmetics are classic examples of B2C businesses. Often, B2C and Direct to Consumer (DTC) are used interchangeably in ecommerce. But DTC is just one type of B2C ecommerce.
Business to Business (B2B). When one business sells to another business online, it’s known as B2B ecommerce. B2B sites usually cater their shopping experience to much higher order volumes from the customer (think: 1000+ items instead of 1 or 10). Often, they also often come with a higher level of “white glove” customer service and more options for custom orders.
Consumer to Consumer (C2C). This is an old idea becoming new again. C2C businesses are online marketplaces that allow consumers to sell their own goods directly to other consumers. eBay is the most famous example of this. For a long time, there haven’t been many C2C businesses due to the popularity of the biggest sites (such as eBay and Etsy) and free alternatives such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. However, a new generation of businesses have shown the value in a more bespoke C2C experience, including Poshmark and Grailed.

Types of B2C ecommerce business models

The world of B2C has multiple business models to choose from. The consumer may not even always know which type they are buying from, but as a store owner, choosing the right B2C business model is crucial to your success.

Direct to Consumer (DTC)

A DTC model is one in which your business manufactures its own products and sells them directly to the consumer. Examples include Gymshark and DU/ER.

Advantages: Since they own their production process,DTC businesses typically have strong margins, good product quality control, and a competitive price point.
Disadvantages: Owning your manufacturing can be a huge undertaking. This means setting up a production line, factory, or kitchen to make your products.

Subscription DTC

Subscription ecommerce businesses are similar to typical DTC ones, with a twist: you can only purchase their products by signing up for a subscription service. This is different from a DTC business that has a “Subscribe & Save ” feature.To be a true subscription business, you need to require your customer to opt in to a recurring purchase. Subscription businesses are popular in consumable product categories, such as supplements (BIOHME) or food (Sakara).

Advantages: By having recurring charges, subscription businesses can have a high customer lifetime value (CLTV)—if they are successful at retaining customers.
Disadvantages: Subscription businesses aren’t a fit for many product categories that are reusable.

White label and private label

Some businesses prefer not to do their own manufacturing, but still want to create a unique product. They turn to a white label/private label model. In this model, the ecommerce business contracts a supplier to create a product that meets their needs. The supplier manufactures it, then the ecommerce business adds their own branding and sells as their own. This is common in highly specialized categories where the manufacturing takes niche expertise and the product requires strong branding focus. For example, many skincare brands are white label businesses. If a supplier makes a product exclusively for your business, it is ‘private labeling’, and if it’s not exclusive, it’s ‘white labeling’.

Advantages: Since a supplier takes care of the manufacturing, the ecommerce business itself is much simpler to operate, and the business owner is able to focus primarily on branding.
Disadvantages: When the ecommerce business doesn’t own the supplier, they typically have less margin and less quality control than they would if they manufactured it themselves. They also have to make an upfront investment in having the supplier design and sample the products.

E-retail

E-retailers are trusted curators and intermediaries of other brand’s products—the digital equivalent of physical grocery stores or shopping malls. In this business model, the ecommerce business purchases its products from other brands at a wholesale price and then sells them to customers. The value they add is in the bespoke curation of products and in the shopping experience itself. Much like their brick and mortar counterparts, this works best in categories where taste and selection is key, such as food and fashion. Modern examples of these types of businesses are Goop, Culture Kings, and The Breakfast Pantry.

Advantages: The business has the opportunity to offer a wide product selection without developing every product.
Disadvantages: No product of your own makes it harder to distinguish your brand. Managing inventory of wholesale products purchased can also be challenging.

Dropshipping

What if you didn’t have to deal with managing inventory or the risk of purchasing it upfront at all? That’s the promise of dropshipping. In this business model, you don’t produce your goods or even store inventory. A third-party partner handles all the storage and fulfillment, you just tell them when orders come in. Technically, dropshipping is a modified type of either white label or e-retail ecommerce businesses. A “traditional” white label or marketplace ecommerce business still holds its own inventory, whereas a “dropshipping” white label or marketplace ecommerce business does not.

Dropshipping typically happens behind the scenes—the customer doesn’t usually know that a product was dropshipped. For example, a large department store with a robust ecommerce site may not hold all of its inventory directly, preferring to dropship items from smaller vendors. In this instance, the department store forwards the order and customer information to the vendor directly, who fulfills it from their own warehouse stock.

Advantages: Since inventory doesn’t have to be purchased up front, this is the most logistically light and least capital-intensive business model. This makes it attractive for many first-time business owners.
Disadvantages: Dropshippers typically have low margins, and are reliant on their supply partners for ensuring their operations run smoothly.

B2C wholesale

“B2C wholesale” might sound like an oxymoron, but that’s not totally the case. There are many businesses that traditionally only served other businesses, but realized that with ecommerce, they could open up their products to the general consumer. These sites often have the features of a B2B site (large selection, large volumes, highly customizable orders, detail-focused product pages), but are open for customers to make smaller-sized orders. Examples include ULINE, Alibaba, and Swish.

Advantages: These businesses benefit from the operational efficiencies that come with large order sizes. This model can also provide diversification for existing, offline-oriented B2B businesses.
Disadvantages: Customers of B2C wholesale sites are highly price-sensitive, so the businesses that win usually have a cost advantage (such as massive scale).

How to choose an ecommerce business model

If you’re planning your own ecommerce business, the number of models might seem overwhelming. But choosing the right model comes down to a few simple questions.

What does your audience want?

Great businesses start with an audience and their frustrations or desiresin mind, and let that dictate the products. For example, if you’re passionate about helping new mothers stay healthy through organic meals, find a group of them, and ask them questions like:

Do they love shopping for food or do they just want to tick it off their list?
Do they value variety in their food or consistency?
Do they prefer to buy in bulk?
Do they buy the same types of things over and over, or does it always change?
Are they willing to pay extra for a more premium product?

All these questions will help inform whether you need one product or many, whether you can do a subscription model, and whether you’ll be able to afford a lower-margin option such as a marketplace or dropshipping.

What resources do you have?

New business owners might default to an optimistic outlook. But when determining your business model, it helps to be highly pragmatic and even skeptical. Some business models, such as DTC and private label, require more cash up front and more time to operate. Other business models, like marketplace and dropshipping, benefit from great supplier contacts. By taking stock of your supplier relationships and the cash you have available to invest, you can make a clear-eyed decision about the business model that’s right for you.

What are you best at?

This ultimately may be the most important factor. Great businesses are built on a competitive advantage, and that starts with the owner. Your greatest skills can be your competitive advantage, which can inform your model:

If you know product development for your industry, DTC may be the best fit.
If you are a branding or social media expert, white/private label may be the best fit.
If you are best at the customer experience (from ecommerce website to unboxing), dropshipping or marketplace may be best for you.
If you have a sustainable cost advantage, B2C wholesale may be best for you.

The ecommerce industry is now a fairly mature one with many differentiated approaches. That means there are plenty of existing companies to learn from. By studying existing businesses, as well as your audience and your own capabilities, you can identify the business model that’s best for you.

Wrapping Up:

The article refers to: https://www.shopify.com/blog/types-of-ecommerce

Posted on 26/04/202313/10/2023 in Business, e-commercce, Online-store

How To Take Perfect Product Photos With Your Smartphone (2023)

So you’ve decided to start an online store and you’ve got at least one product you’re excited to start selling. Your product might look great sitting in your bedroom or home office, but how can you make sure it really stands out in the era of Instagram filters?

Don’t sweat it. You don’t have to become a professional photographer to take attention-grabbing photos of your products.

In this article, you’ll learn, step-by-step, how to take beautiful product photography using only YOUR PHONE+SOME NATURAL LIGHT+ A GOOD PRODUCT PHOTO APP.

How to take professional photos at home with your smartphone?

Most ecommerce store owners know the basics of taking product photos with a smartphone: find a white background and some natural light, choose the highest quality setting and resolution possible on your phone—and click! You have a product photo. This is a great start.

But there are a few extra tools and accessories that can greatly enhance your photos and demonstrate the value of your product to let shoppers envision it in their lives.

If you want to become a professional photographer with your smartphone and take amazing product shots, here’s how to build your set up.

1. Use a room with good lighting

First, find a room in your home with a well-lit window. The bigger the window, the more natural light you’ll have for bringing your product to life.

Product photoshoot by window — Image source: Pixc

Taking product photos closer to the window creates a softer light with darker shadows. Being farther away from the light source will give you lighter, shaper shadows.

2. Choose your smartphone

Most smartphone cameras these days make great DSLR alternatives for product photography. The higher the megapixel count, the better your product photos will come out.

You can use any smartphone with a good camera, but aim to get your hands on a newer model with a 12 megapixel camera or more, such as:

Apple iPhone 8 or newer
Samsung Galaxy S8 or newer
Huawei P20 Pro or newer
Google Pixel 2 or newer

3. Get a mini tripod

Mini tripods can range from inexpensive to pricey, but the good news is, no matter your budget, they’re a good investment with high payoff. A mini tripod will reduce camera shake and help standardize photo angles and style for your product line.

If you want a simple mini tripod, consider the Manfrotto PIXI mini tripod kit.

The Manfrotto PIXI is great for beginners. You can manage smartphones up to 3.3 inches wide, securely held in place by the tripod’s gripping clamp. And it can be placed right on your sweep to easily grab nice, high-quality photos of your products. The Manfrotto PIXI mini tripod kit is available on Amazon for a little over $20.

4. Set up your backdrop

Place your white backdrop behind your product to give your photographs a clean and consistent look and to eliminate distractions.

You could use a white paper sweep, or buy poster board from your local drug store or art shop for cheap. You’ll also need a table to place your backdrop on.

You can use Scotch tape to hold your backdrop down or stick your product to the backdrop. Sticky tack is also a great workaround if you don’t have Scotch tape.

Always keep your backdrop white. A white backdrop reflects natural light onto the product and gives you an evenly lit photo. It also makes the editing process easier if you need to remove the background. A cream or off-white color will make editing and lighting difficult. Also, try to position your backdrop not only behind your product but underneath it as well.

White backdrop for product photoshoot with smartphone

5. Use white bounce boards

Controlling the lighting is key when learning how to take product photos with an iPhone or Android. Bounce boards help minimize strong shadows and create a more balanced lighting environment to bring out the finest details of your product. You can buy a white bounce board made of foam on Amazon.

6. Set up a diffuser sheet if the sun is too bright

When the lighting is too harsh, these sheets will soften the light. You can find diffuser sheets on Amazon or DIY one at home with parchment paper, a frosted shower curtain, or printer paper.

Now that you’ve got your setup ready, let’s talk about how to use natural light when taking product photos with an iPhone or other smartphone.

Best camera angles for product photography

When it comes to taking product photos for your ecommerce website, there are some angles that work better than others. Offering different perspectives of your product to a shopper can also help answer any questions they have that your product descriptions don’t explain.

Give as many different viewpoints as possible to highlight key features of your product. An all-around view is more engaging and can help shoppers envision themselves wearing or using your product, which can lead to more sales in your store.

It’s also important to include close-up shots of your products as well. Close-ups let you capture features that showcase the quality of your product, including print detail, fabric, texture, or product usage, and highlight specific elements of your product that shoppers would want to inspect in a retail store.

Whether you’re shooting clothing photography or footwear, there are the five camera angles you should test in your photo shoot:

Eye level. This view shows the product as you’d see it looking straight on.
High angle.This view shows the product as if you’re looking down at it from an angle.
Low angle. This view shows the product as if you’re looking up at it from the floor.
Bird’s eye. This view shows the product as if you’re standing over it.
Slanted. This view shows the product from one side.

Different camera angles for product images

If you’re new to product photography, it’s recommended you keep your smartphone and tripod in the same spot during the shoot and rotate your product to change the angle you want for your image. When you rotate the product versus the camera, your final shots will all be framed the same, plus, you’ll ensure consistency and reduce image editing after the shoot.

How to shoot photography with a mobile phone

Now that you have all your gear set up and understand the different camera angles and lighting, it’s time to shoot some photos.

Before you start, use the following checklist to make sure your Android or iPhone camera is ready to shoot.

Prepare your phone. Make sure your phone is charged and you have backup storage for your images.
Set up your white balance. To set the white balance according to the light temperature in your setup, touch the WB button, then touch the white background.
Check your exposure. Tap the circular Exposure button, then touch your product so that the camera knows to expose it.
Keep everything in focus. Touch the circular Focus button, then touch your product so that the camera knows to properly focus on the product.
Make sure you lock your camera settings. After you’re done adjusting these settings, tap each one again to lock the settings in place. This will stop the camera from automatically adjusting the settings while you are taking shots.

Once you lock your settings, you’re ready to start shooting!

After your first shot, take a look at your image and see if you think it needs to be brightened or darkened in order to achieve a proper exposure. If you think the exposure needs tweaking, touch the +/- button below the circular Focus button and pull the slider up or down to change the exposure.

Remember to avoid the following three things in order to get the best product shots:

Zoom feature, as this will reduce image quality
Selfie camera, which isn’t as good as the back camera
Flash, as this will overexpose the photo and mess up the colors

After you have your shots, it’s time to get to photo editing on your phone!

5 best apps for product photography

Choosing the right editing apps is an important part of mastering product photography with a smartphone. Many come with an in-app editor, but there are plenty of third-party apps that give you everything you need to make your product stand out.

Some of the top-rated product photo app options are:

1. Lightroom

Available for: iOS and Android

Price: Free

Some would say Adobe Lightroom is the best app for product photography on the market. It features easy-to-use tools like sliders and presets to create photos that look exactly how you want them. Lightroom is also a good option if you plan to edit photos on your computer. You can start on mobile, web, or desktop, and when you make edits, they will be automatically applied across devices.

If you want to get the most out of Lightroom, you can sign up for the Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan, which includes the photo editing app for desktop, mobile, and web, plus the latest version of Photoshop for $9.99 per month.

2. Adobe Photoshop Express

Available for: iOS, Android, and Windows

Price: Free

You’ve probably heard of Adobe Photoshop and what it can do. With Photoshop Express, you get all of its great photo editing features right on your smartphone. You can take product photos from your phone or take them inside the app. Then easily adjust the hue, brightness, exposure, and contrast to create amazing photos for your store.

3. Snapseed

Available for: iOS and Android

Price: Free

Snapseed is a free photography editing software owned by Google. The app brings the power of a professional computer editor to your phone, with many features to edit images in ways you’ll usually only find in expensive software. Beginner photographers also have more utility with Snapseed using Stacks, which lets you revert your edits to an earlier version and makes it easy to save settings and apply them.

4. VSCO

Available for: iOS and Android

Price: Free

VSCO has all the basic editing tools such as exposure, contract, color balance, and more, letting you create incredible photos on the go. It’s a great product photo app to enhance images rather than overdo them and doubles as an effective Instagram tool with its huge library of filters and endless options to customize your photos.

If you want to share your product photos on social media, you can use VSCO Grid. VSCO Grid is a publishing platform integrated into the app that lets you share your images on social media and email.

5. Camera+

Available for: iOS

Price: $2.99

Camera+ is a great option for both experienced and beginner smartphone photographers. You can use Camera+ not only as an editor but also as a camera for your product shoots. The product photography app lets you set exposure and focus and includes a stabilizer, timer, and more so it feels like you’re shooting with a high-quality DSLR camera lens.

If you’re someone who prefers to edit photos on your computer, you can use Camera+ to capture product photos in RAW. This makes sure no information or data gets compressed and you can produce higher quality product images.

Wrapping Up:

The article reference: https://www.shopify.com/blog/15163633-how-to-capture-high-quality-product-photos-with-your-smartphone

Posted on 24/04/2023 in e-commercce, payment

Bet on These 6 Ecommerce Payment Trends (2023)

Even as consumers have returned to in-person shopping, they aren’t ready to give up the convenience of digital payments. Instead of returning to previous ways of paying, consumers are sticking with behaviors they picked up during the pandemic. They’re opting for digital payments over traditional cash and credit card options—trends you can expect to hold strong.

The checkout process is now one of the most important parts of the sales journey, but what does that mean for businesses? And, what payment trends can brands expect to see over the next 12 months?

Ahead, explore the ever-changing landscape of the payments industry, top payment apps and digital wallets, and ways to increase revenue and improve conversion by tapping into the latest digital payment trends.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify

6 payment trends to watch in 2023

1. Online and offline payment methods blend

Even as shoppers return to brick-and-mortar stores, they’ve changed the way they pay for goods and services.

Rather than going back to physical credit cards that require paper receipts, there’s now a preference for frictionless payment methods. These methods reduce the steps in the buying process and include mobile and digital wallets, one-click payments, auto-renewing subscriptions, and in-app payments.

Shoppers can now order ahead in-app and pick up curbside. This payment trend of browsing online and purchasing something you can pick up and wear within the hour, allows consumers to pay how they want and still enjoy the immediacy of the brick-and-mortar experience.

Merging online and offline payment methods so customers can shop where they want, when they want, will continue to be prevalent in 2023. Businesses processed $3.9 trillion in frictionless payments in 2020, a number that’s expected to increase to $8 trillion by 2024.

2. Creators can receive in-app tips from followers

The rise of digital payments as a payment trend has made it considerably easier for creators to get paid online. Instead of relying on product sales, affiliate marketing, and brand sponsorships, social media creators will be able to get paid directly through their chosen app by their followers. TikTok has a tipping feature for accounts with over 100,000 followers. As a Twitch affiliate you can receive donations on your streams via Twitch Bits, a form of virtual currency.

These types of digital payments allow consumers to continue the in-feed experience while creators, influencers, and small businesses can generate revenue. Influencers can receive tips without losing a cut of their money to a third party.

3. Digital wallets are the norm

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, and other digital wallet options are now a common fixture alongside other traditional payment options at the checkout counter. If you don’t give customers the option to use a digital wallet, you’re limiting the ways they can pay you.

Paying by phone using digital payments has become a convenient way for shoppers to make purchases in an instant, whether they’re in-store or buying online. More than four billion global consumers will shop using their digital wallets by 2023. Digital wallet customers will exceed 1.6 billion at point of sale (POS) in 2023, accounting for 30% of all POS payments and making it one of the big payment trends to watch.

4. Payment apps are the new lifestyle apps

Consumers now rely on their phones for pretty much everything, from ordering an Uber to booking dinner reservations to monitoring their blood glucose levels. As a result, expect to see a wave of “super apps” popping up. These apps act as a portal to a number of different virtual products and services.

BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis was the first to use the “super app” term, defining it as “a closed ecosystem of many apps that people would use every day because they offer such a seamless, integrated, contextualized, and efficient experience.”

China’s popular WeChat app is a prime example. It started off as a simple messaging app, but now offers a collection of services including taxi rides, virtual wallets, hotel reservations, games, and even medical consultations.

In 2023, expect to see more of these super apps emerging with key digital payment features like buy now, pay later (BNPL) programs, which let consumers pay off purchases in monthly installments, and flexible payment methods.

5. More buy now, pay later (BNPL) companies

Buy now, pay later companies (also referred to as BNPL) have exploded over the past couple of years in the payments industry. Financial uncertainty during the pandemic led to an influx of apps that let consumers spread payments out across monthly installments—and it was a win for both brands and shoppers. Brands are able to convert more customers by promising lower initial payments and shoppers can invest in higher-priced products without breaking the bank.

BNPL payments are expected to account for roughly 24% of ecommerce transactions by 2026, and 65% of merchants added BNPL as a payment method in 2022. It’s clear to see how popular this payment method is through the sheer number of options on the market. These include Shopify’s Shop Pay Installments, Affirm, and digital payments pioneer PayPal.

The BNPL benefit to brands is undeniable, too. According to the brand’s director of business development, Will Beck, Shop Pay Installments accounts for 6.5% of Pillow Cube’s gross merchandise value (GMV). “We’ve also seen a consistent increase in our average order value rate,” he says.

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6. QR codes are commonplace

QR codes seemed to die out years before the pandemic, only to come back with a vengeance when brands and venues were trying to limit the amount of cross-contamination through money, tickets, and receipts.

Now, QR codes are prevalent in a number of settings, including restaurants, where diners can scan a code to view the menu, place an order, and pay for their meal without waiting for a server, and physical stores, where shoppers can unlock discounts and extra product lines by simply scanning a QR code. Decathlon’s “Scan & Go” app allows shoppers to skip long queues by scanning a QR code in-store, opting for digital payments, and getting products delivered directly to their door.

QR code payment users are expected to exceed 2.2 billion by 2025, equating to 29% of all mobile phone users globally.

These trends in the payments industry are here to stay

The digital payments industry is undergoing a significant shift, offering payment services and products in demand by consumers. More and more, payment trends are moving toward digital payments, as consumers see them as an easy way to buy. Buyers who never considered using a digital app to pay for their lunch are now using smartphones and digital wallets to pay without a second thought.

In 2023, consumers will expect businesses to give them options when they pay. From digital wallet options to buy now, pay later loans, frictionless payment methods mean better conversion and increased customer satisfaction with your brand. To stay ahead of the curve, follow the continued growth in the payments industry and adopt emerging payment trends to let customers pay the way they want to pay.

Wrapping Up:

The article reference: https://www.shopify.com/blog/payment-trends

Posted on 06/04/202313/10/2023 in e-commercce, retail

New rules for plastics and packaging in South Africa

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is introducing new certification regulations for plastics in South Africa, as it moves to clamp down on packaging that makes vague claims of being “environmentally safe”.

Dr Sadhvir Bissoon, the acting CEO of the Bureau, said that the new regulations expressly caution against vague environment claims such as ‘environmentally safe’, ‘environmentally friendly, ‘earth friendly’, ‘non-polluting’, ‘green’, ‘ozone friendly, ‘plastic free’ etc.

“Manufacturers that wish to claim their plastic packaging are degradable need to subject the packaging to the relevant testing and certification requirements,” Bissoon said.

The newly published standard is listed as the South African National Standard (SANS) 1728. Under the new standard, packaging and plastics will have to bear new labels identifying the type of plastic they’re composed of, and whether or not they are degradable.

“Degradable plastics include but are not limited to biodegradable, compostable, oxo-biodegradable and water-soluble plastics,” said Bissoon.

SABS said that consumers will need to learn to recognise the correct markings and to be aware that any product that claims to have biodegradable plastic packaging needs to be verified according to the standard, which is aligned with global requirements, said the CEO.

SANS 1728 further requires that the plastic material used in the packaging must be presented on the packaging, using a material identification code from 1-7, and contained in a triangle.

1 = PET (polyethene terephthalate)

2 = PEHD (High-density polyethene)

3 = PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)

4 = PELD (Low-density polyethene)

5 = PP (Polypropylene)

6 = PS (Polystyrene)

7 = all other materials (e.g. ABS, PLA, SAN, etc.)

The new standard brings South Africa more in line with international practices, the SABS said.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), South Africa generates 2.4 million tons of plastic waste every year.

“This means that every South African contributes about 41kgs of plastic waste per year, and about 14% is recycled,” said Bissoon.

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), together with other national standards bodies and standardisation forums, continue to work to provide standards and guidelines for environmentally friendly production and processing of plastics and plastic products.

Recycling signs on products are important as they inform consumers about how to properly dispose of the product, reducing waste and promoting sustainability.

Should the plastic packaging be of a degradable nature, it will be indicated below the triangle, as illustrated below (extract from SANS 1728):

Wrapping Up:

Reference : https://www.supermarket.co.za/news-article.asp?ID=13799&CatTags=8-Going%20green

Posted on 24/03/202312/10/2023 in Business, Digital business, e-commercce, Tech

SIX Ways to Use ChatGPT for an eCommerce Store Business

1. Product Recommendations:

ChatGPT can help suggest products based on a customer’s browsing and purchase history, as well as their preferences and needs. By analyzing a customer’s behavior on the eCommerce store, ChatGPT can understand their interests, and suggest products that are relevant to them. For example, if a customer frequently buys running shoes, ChatGPT can suggest new models or brands of running shoes that may interest them.

2. Customer Support:

ChatGPT can be trained to handle customer queries and provide support 24/7. With ChatGPT, customers can get help with their orders, track their deliveries, get refund updates, and more. ChatGPT can also provide support on social media channels, ensuring that customers receive timely assistance and reducing the burden on the customer support team.

3. Personalized Shopping Experience:

ChatGPT can ask customers about their preferences, style, and budget to suggest products that match their individual needs. This makes the shopping experience more enjoyable and convenient for customers, as they can quickly find products that they are interested in. ChatGPT can also offer personalized discounts and promotions based on the customer’s purchase history.

4. Automated Upselling:

ChatGPT can suggest complementary products or accessories to customers based on their purchase history, increasing the chances of upselling. For example, if a customer buys a camera, ChatGPT can suggest additional lenses, tripods, and camera bags that would complement the purchase.

5. Order Status Updates:

ChatGPT can provide real-time updates on the status of a customer’s order, including shipping and delivery information. This helps customers track their orders and stay informed about any delays or changes. ChatGPT can also provide estimated delivery times and suggest ways to expedite delivery.

6. Abandoned Cart Recovery:

ChatGPT can remind customers about items left in their cart and suggest ways to complete the purchase. By sending personalized reminders and incentives, ChatGPT can encourage customers to return to the eCommerce store and complete their purchase.

Wrapping Up:

Posted on 14/03/202313/10/2023 in e-commercce

Township e-commerce startup Yebo Fresh secures R78m to fuel expansion

South African township-focused food and grocery delivery service Yebo Fresh has secured R78m with a pre-series A equity investment and a Jobs Fund grant. The funding will allow the company – which started in Hout Bay’s Imizamo Yethu three years ago and now delivers to more than 25 townships in the greater Cape Town and Johannesburg areas – to expand its service further.

While the South African upper market is well-served by quick commerce delivery services such as Checkers Sixty60 and PicknPay ASAP, Yebo Fresh is among the few players exclusively focused on the township market and successfully working with a rapidly growing network of spaza shops, prepared food outlets and other township businesses.

Growing access to township market

According to Yebo Fresh, its service offers investors, suppliers and partners a unique opportunity to tap into the multi-billion South African township market. The company aims to make it easier for independent businesses to purchase groceries and other essential items. Orders are placed via WhatsApp or through the Yebo Fresh team of field sales agents, resulting in a streamlined purchasing process.

Using a dark store-based fulfilment model, Yebo Fresh is able to deliver orders within 24 hours, eliminating the cost and hassle of shopping trips to wholesalers. Additionally, Yebo Fresh offers a buy-now-pay-later option. This process is guided by customer insights and algorithms and opens the door to informal businesses that do not currently have access to formal loans.

Investment partners

Throughout 2021 and 2022, Yebo Fresh successfully secured two rounds of bridge funding from current and new investors, including AckerX, the investment vehicle of fast-fashion retailer Ackermans. These rounds are now converting during the current round of investment.

The R78m in new capital will allow Yebo Fresh to expand further, significantly build on its physical and systems infrastructure and attract new talent. “We are incredibly proud of our progress to service this under-served market. The funding will allow us to take our efforts to the next level,” says Lerato Ramollo, commercial director at Yebo Fresh.

The pre-series A investment was led by Enza Capital. It was secured with participation from Swiss Impact investors Elea Foundation, and Harvest, the local investment fund of the international Endeavor entrepreneurs. Additional re-investments have also been secured from current investors including E4EAFrica, Yebo Fresh’s largest investor. Private investment vehicle Simple.Capital was the lead advisor on the deal.

John Lazar, general partner at Enza Capital, says they “are thrilled to back the exceptional Yebo Fresh team. They are fundamentally changing the way essential goods are provided to the township market, an underserved but vibrant and growing segment of the South African economy”.

The Jobs Fund grant specifically will be used to provide technology, coaching, and physical resources to thousands of South African-owned businesses in townships to help them grow and remain competitive. This includes investing in digital infrastructure, providing a range of resources and free training to small business owners to improve their operations, decrease their costs and increase their sales.

Growing categories, infrastructure and partnerships

“The township market is growing rapidly, and we are proud to be at the forefront of its digital revolution,” said Jessica Boonstra, Yebo Fresh CEO. “This funding will allow us to grow into new product categories and market segments, expand our systems and warehousing infrastructure, and explore further partnership opportunities with strategic players in the market. It will also assist us in gathering even more data insights, further strengthening our unique position in this massive market segment.”

Yebo Fresh states that its mission is to empower township entrepreneurs through technology and employment creation. The newly secured funding will help the company achieve this and allow it to help small businesses to not merely survive but thrive in the significant township marketplace worth more than R160bn.

Wrapping Up:

Source: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/394/235530.html

Posted on 07/03/202312/10/2023 in e-commercce

E-commerce Is Becoming A Main Driver For SA’s Small Sized Businesses

While the majority of South Africans remain drawn to physical retail and the tactility and engagement it provides, investments in e-commerce are essential for future business growth.

According to the Online Retail in South Africa 2022 study by World Wide Worx and Mastercard, online retail in South Africa passed the R50bn milestone in 2022. While online sales still comprise under 5% of total retail sales, there’s been close to 40% annual growth in total online retail spend over the past two years and a similar growth rate in the total number of people shopping.

As a dynamic industry on the precipice of explosive growth, “staying relevant in the e-commerce world requires keeping up with the constantly shifting landscape – be it through the rise of sales through TikTok, and how businesses can adapt to the potential impact of artificial intelligence, or learning about selling to the Gen Z market,” said David Adams, chief commercial officer at online payment gateway Payfast.

The payments company is once again the headline sponsor of the annual PayFast eCommerce Virtual Summit taking place this month on 14 and 15 March. Hosted by Insaka eCommerce Academy, the summit gathers representatives from global e-commerce players including Meta, Google, Amazon Web Services, WooCommerce, Shopify and more to share valuable insight and guide entrepreneurs and businesses at any stage of their e-commerce journey to leverage trends and grow online sales.

Speaking during a virtual roundtable this week ahead of the summit, Adams commented on some of the evolving challenges and opportunities in the e-commerce space that PayFast is witnessing.

“We’ve seen significant change in what we’re being asked from consumers and what we are being asked from merchants; the dialogue has shifted a bit. Previously, conversations revolved around ‘how do you give me safety, security, stability?’ Now, conversations have moved on to ‘how can you deliver more of an immersive experience for me?’”

Adams also noted that for merchants wanting to capture the attention and spend of Gen Z shoppers, the challenge is less about migrating consumers from the physical channel to online, but satisfying digital-native buyers who have grown up online. Gen Z shoppers have significantly higher expectations when it comes to experiencing a convenient, frictionless journey, he said.

Mobile optimisation

Marko Stavrou, an 18-year-old entrepreneur, Gen Z marketing consultant and founder of HustlersGlobal and Stavrou Consulting, was also present and expanded on the importance of Gen Z consumers particularly in the African context. “Africa has the fastest-growing population, and over 60% of Africans below the age of 25,” he noted.

He stressed the importance of customer segmentation for the purposes of personalisation, and the critical mobile-first approach required to engage with younger consumers. “Mobile converts 137% better than the web, and yet for most of the SMEs in Africa, mobile isn’t optimised. You go onto their landing pages and the text is diverted and the images distorted. How can you expect someone who’s grown up online, who expects it to just work, to buy your product or service? They won’t.”

Stavrou said that since Gen Z spends large amounts of time interacting on social media and mobile messaging apps, platforms such as WhatsApp and iMessage are far more effective at engaging with this generation than email is. “When looking at customer acquisition strategies with clients, we don’t focus on email. If we do, we make sure that it’s optimised for video.”

Quick commerce

Donald Valoyi, founder and CEO of on-demand grocery delivery service Zulzi, unpacked the growing importance of convenience and quick commerce in boosting the growth of e-commerce.

Zulzi was the first retailer in South Africa to offer one-hour deliveries, and this delivery window has since been whittled down to just 15 minutes. “Speed is so critical in driving growth for e-commerce. People don’t want to wait for too long. If you look at South Africa in terms of convenience stores, they are everywhere. The moment you are not able to offer services that are quick enough, then people ask themselves, ‘why can’t I just drive to the store?’”

The Zulzi team also had a hand in building the popular Checkers Sixty60 app. “After Sixty60, people recognised the importance of speed.

Today Shoprite Checkers has got almost 75% market share, and that market share has to do with speed. In the areas that we operate, Zulzi comes second after Shoprite Checkers in terms of volumes, and that tells you that speed is critical,” Valoyi said.

New era of the internet

David Lockie, the Web3 lead at Automaticc, the company behind WooCommerce and WordPress, expanded on the meaningful impact the internet has in modern society and its evolving role as Web3 presents the next era of the world wide web.

“The internet is now fundamental for people to make a living, which is what people care about. They care about putting food on the table. The internet is the way that people are increasingly relying on doing that. I think that’s a trend that’s going to continue as we see the encroachment of more immersive experiences, more ‘softwarerisation’ of societies that we live in, and more connections between the real world and the digital world, such that those lines become increasingly blurred.”

Lockie spoke of the number of brands that wanted to leave Twitter when Elon Musk bought the platform. “They realised that they couldn’t because their content and their social graph were stuck on Twitter. I don’t think that’s the most anti-fragile or creative way that humans can connect and create value together.

“Web3 offers us a chance to do that, a chance for us to all own our own identities if we choose to do so, or to trust another organisation to manage them on our behalf, to tie those identities to our content, to our social graph, and to transact freely. For me, Web3 is about the freedom to transact so that I can choose to sell anything to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and that anyone else can interact with that transaction in interesting ways.”

Wrapping Up:

The article partly sources from: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/394/236479.html

Posted on 02/03/2023 in e-commercce, Entrepreneur

5 Traits Needed To Be An Entrepreneur in SA

Amidst record-high unemployment, especially amongst our country’s youth, entrepreneurship has never been more important. Yet as a 2020 study by the University of Stellenbosch Business School (UBS) revealed an alarming 49.8% of South Africans continue to fear failure, deterring them from taking the leap, becoming an entrepreneur and launching their own businesses.

This same study noted that only 60.4% of respondents believed that there were opportunities out there, and that they had the skills necessary to start and successfully run their own business.

To the contrary, however, after years of observing the enormous talent and untapped potential of South Africans for innovation, it is not a lack of opportunity but rather flawed mindsets that are preventing more individuals from realising their entrepreneurial potential.

As a country, we urgently need to address these mistaken attitudes, and work to instil more confidence in our youth if we are to achieve a thriving, job-creating economy.

In keeping with this, here are the five traits needed for an aspiring entrepreneur to achieve success:

1.Courage

You do not need thousands of rands to launch a business. Some of the world’s most successful businesses were founded on shoestring budgets in people’s garages, including the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. “In 2011, I founded my Human Capital and Facilities Management subcontracting company, with R500 in my pocket, and today the company employs over 36,000 staff across various industries,” says Arnoux Mare, CEO of Innovative Solutions Group.

Successful entrepreneurs do not wait until they have perfected their business ideas or product. Acting quickly to seize opportunities is more important, and you can improve your product or service offering as you go along.

2. Focus

One of the largest stumbling blocks for start-ups is losing focus on your core service and purpose. Financial graveyards are littered with businesses who tried to be everything to everyone, and instead failed to satisfy anyone. Define who your target market is, what unique need your business is fulfilling, and play to your strengths.

3. Agility

In today’s highly competitive environment, it is important to remain agile to any market trends and opportunities to stay ahead of the pack. Encourage innovation, and invite new ideas and suggestions for improvement from staff and clients. Simultaneously, don’t be afraid to adapt your strategy in response to learnings and developments. Be stubborn about achieving your goals, but flexible enough to adapt when things don’t work out as planned.

4. Willingness to listen

Great people make a great business, and a smart entrepreneur not only surround themselves with the best talent but are willing to listen to their input and be guided by their expertise. There’s a reason that your employees are there – and it’s not just to fill seats.

Successful leaders learn from the successes and failures of others. South Africa is full of brilliant entrepreneurs and experienced businesspeople who often offer free advice on social media or through webinars. Listen to what they have to say and implement their successes and lessons learnt in your business.

5. Self-discipline

Entrepreneurship is incredibly rewarding, but also demands your blood, sweat, and tears to be successful. Be prepared to work long hours as you build your client base while ensuring your operations run smoothly. You will also need the self-discipline to avoid procrastinating over difficult tasks, and to remain calm and work through stressful situations even when you are under pressure.

Finally, don’t be afraid of mistakes – the difference between an entrepreneur who succeeds and those who don’t is not failure, but rather the willingness to pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and persevere. That’s how successful businesses are built.

Wrapping Up:

This article partly refers to: https://bizmag.co.za/5-traits-needed-to-be-an-entrepreneur/

Posted on 17/01/202313/10/2023 in Business, e-commercce

Top beauty and healthcare trends to watch in 2023 and beyond

If there is ever an industry that is capable of literally reinventing itself, it has to be beauty and healthcare. Over the years the industry has seen a constant evolution to facilitate agility as well as product portfolio to stay ahead of ever-changing and diverse customer needs across geographies.

Today’s consumers crave great customer experience above all else. They expect excellent customer service that is provided hassle-free, efficiently, consistently, and repeatable across all product and service distribution platforms – be it physical, virtual or augmented channels.

As the world moves beyond the Covid-19 pandemic, stakeholders in the health and beauty industry, investors and consumers alike, can look forward to an improved industry with accelerated product and productivity enhancements.

The next phase of growth and new customer acquisition will be rewarding to those who are stepping it up in order to strategically position themselves consistently ahead of their peers. To achieve this, industry leaders will have to pay considerable attention to the four key trends that will facilitate the industry’s next growth wave.

1. Augmented reality shopping

Augmented reality (AR) shopping pivots the shopping experience to the next level. It enables customers to virtually fit and test products through a digital device such as a smartphone or virtual reality set as if they were in the physical store assessing how a particular product could look on their bodies, homes or offices.

According to industry research and intelligence firm The Insight Partners, the augmented, virtual and mixed reality shopping market is projected to reach more than $250bn by 2028.

For us, this includes make-up choices in a digital setting applied to the customer’s own profile.

From virtually trying on make-up looks to evidence-based skin analysis, AR and other disruptive technologies are changing how consumers discover, experience, and connect with health and beauty brands.

2. Social commerce

One of the more constants within the retail sector is the ever-shifting consumer behaviour influenced by the sheer salvo of information accessible to consumers.

Social commerce, anchored by the influencer market, provides an opportunity for consumers to receive genuine product or service feedback from their trusted sources.

This trend is already on the rise due to its convenience and non-invasive advertising. It is forecasted to reach $30.73bn in sales in 2023, accounting for 20% of global retail e-commerce sales.

Credible influencer marketing is becoming one of the more sought-after marketing channels for e-commerce brands and retailers due to the rapid return on investment, strategic targeting of the right online audiences, and positive advertising.

3. Hyper-personalisation

To know one’s consumers is to know what those consumers want. But hyper-personalisation isn’t that narrow.

It’s about anticipating the needs of your consumers before they even realise that they have those needs, all enabled by the strategic use of AI technology and predictive modelling.

Additionally, providing people with easy and intuitive mechanisms to enrich their shopping experiences through instantaneous interaction, whilst giving them control over the outcomes of that shopping is proving to be gold.

That interactive element, however, is easier to achieve through a physical setting with beauty consultants who can competently attend to a query, whereas the ultimate example of hyper-personalisation in skincare would be creating a formulation that is optimised based on the person’s skin profile. This is a game-changer and something that as a leading health and beauty retailer we are watching closely.

4. Natural, clean, and transparent product choices

The move towards more natural and clean products is a global one across sectors. That means the healthcare and beauty sector are neither spared. This presents a massive opportunity for retailers as the global organic skincare market was expected to reach a value of $17.57bn by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate of 8.78% over the forecast period (2022 – 2028), currently valued at $9.75bn as at 2021.

Consumers are now seeking brands that are as transparent in their ingredient schedule as they are natural in their products. This will also open doors and create opportunities for players in the organic skincare manufacturing sector.

Sales of cosmetics that are both free from parabens and claim to be natural are growing five times as fast as those just meeting the paraben-free specification. One example of this is American cosmetics brand Kiehl’s, which reformulated its Ultra Facial Cream to remove parabens and experienced a sales bump of $5m. The increase helped it climb into the top five US prestige skincare brands.

As an ever-evolving industry and self-reinventing industry, there remain several other trends we can expect to see as the industry gears up for its next growth phase.

We firmly believe that the aforementioned ones will be key to brands gaining a competitive advantage over their peers, enabling them to attract a diversified consumer base and creating value for investors.

Wrapping up

This article partly refers to: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/731/234853.html