Summary

The analytical capabilities of big data have had a positive impact across industries, including the Ecommerce industry. Online vendors engage in developing services to link big data analytical tools to their businesses in order total into the ensuing benefits. The use of big data simplifies and improves business performances by enabling companies to analyze historic trends and current consumer behavioral patterns and thereby offer better and more customized products.

The application of big data enables E-commerce businesses to get access to huge volumes of data that they can use to reshape their operations and maximize revenue generation. Companies these days, are already actively using big data to study customer purchase patterns and preferences and to reorganize their offerings to drive up sales.

Approximately 54% of millennials preferred online purchases compared to 49% of non-millennials in 2016. The growing popularity of the E-commerce industry is expected to require huge amounts of data, which will in turn propel the growth of the market.

Rapid development and technology advancements in the E-commerce field are likely to offer potential opportunities for big data application. One of the upcoming trends in this industry is contextual and programmatic advertising, which is expected to use huge amounts of data sets to identify target customers.

Social media sites are in the process of revamping designs to cater to this trend. In addition, the significant influence of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsAppis encouraging e-retailers to introduce groups and pages to showcase their products to expand their visibility to larger consumer bases.

Consumers’ changing preferences require continuous product modifications and customizations. This scenario demands the application of big data to understand customer behavioral patterns, which will in turn enable e-retailers to customize their product offerings and recommendations and thereby provide enhanced interactive customer experiences.

For instance, coupon offers, promotional campaigns and discounts based on previous spending records are helping online retailers draw huge customer traffic and generate profitable returns. The increasing use of big data is expected to allow e-retailers to recommend products and remind customers of pending purchases, thereby increasing sales as well as customer satisfaction.

According to IBM, about 62% of retailers claim that the application of big data has given them a prominent competitive advantage. With the help of big data, category managers analyze trending products and their demand preferences. This data, combined with previous data sets, enable Ecommerce business firms to gain knowledge about which products should be kept in inventory, which type of consumers they should be expecting in the future and what could be the most effective ways to maintain high retention rates.