The Holy Trinity of eCommerce

The rise of eCommerce has a constant theme at it's heart that we describe at STRIQE as the Holy Trinity... 3 core requisites of any consumer's experience that will drive their decisions when choosing a retailer on-line, repeating purchases from that retailer and recommending it to their friends (or giving it good trust-pilot scores).

The Holy Trinity is made up of:

1 - Choice

2 - Price

3 - Convenience

In our experience, for any Direct-to-Consumer retailer, successful Marketplace or Service-through-Subscription to succeed these consumer expectations must be met. Let's explore them in more detail:

Choice - Where eCommerce has developed a natural competitive advantage against Bricks & Mortar retail is in the scope for significantly increased range to be offered in the store. The term "elastic shelves" describes the idea that the retailer can continue to add range unabated, giving the consumer more choice. This is a core Marketplace principle, where the range offer can continue to grow because the retailer is only managing the listing on the site and facilitating the sale. The supplier or distributor is actually holding the stock and arranging for the pick at site and delivery to consumer.

Price - Google Shopping (and other comparison services) presents the consumer with an easy and validated approach to comparing prices between Retailers..the sharpest prices at the digital shelf edge will convert to traffic from Search, onto the site and conversion to sales in the till..

Convenience - Are you old enough to remember when you had to travel to a particular store, in a particular town to buy a specific type of product? Calling ahead to check if it was in stock..

Perhaps it was a large bag of dog food or Charcoal that you had to carry along the high street or across the car park? eCommerce has effectively reduced those constraints to a nil consideration today...

• Bulky product, heavy to lift or inconvenient to park - order online

• Unique manufacturer based in a far flung location... order online

• No longer available in a nearby store? Check other stores and arrange for it to be transferred to a nearby store...

• Want it sooner than next day? Click & collect from store whilst buying your top up groceries

These considerations dovetail beautifully and when delivered successfully in unison they can create a powerful combination. A Classic example of the Holy Trinity demonstrating a powerful force includes:

• Amazon - the OG marketplace that demonstrated incredible choice, reassured consumers with best prices and delivered greater convenience through shorter lead times or improved delivery services through Prime.

Or more recently, consumers have demonstrated that they don't need next day delivery if they can get better prices - happy to make a trade down in one area if they can get a better offer in another area. A recent example here is the rise of Global retail:

• TEMU/Alibaba - Access prices from the factories directly - shop China as if it was on your doorstep... receive deliveries within a very reasonable time-frame at considerably cheaper prices than you can get from domestic retailers.

As eCommerce continues to evolve and Social-Selling grows in importance, more retailers launch marketplaces and new Direct-to-Consumer brands continue to exploit the niches in regular consumption categories we foresee that the Holy Trinity will continue to play an important role in the success and longevity of on-line retailers.

What do you think? Is there an important consideration missing from the consumer offer?

Please add your thoughts in the comments below.

STRIQE has access to a broad set of capabilities and experience honed in some of the most established eCommerce retailers and digital retail formats in the last 10 years.

Contact the team to discuss how we can help you build an improved eCommerce experience using email to Hello@striqe.co.uk

Ben Penrose is available to speak at events on matters related to this topic and others in eCommerce and Digital retailing