COVID really changed the shopping game. In the past two years, businesses everywhere saw an unprecedented surge in online shopping- just ask Jeff Besos. If businesses didn’t have social media accounts they created one, and others turned to open platforms to create their own online stores. Everyone thought that brick and mortar shopping will remain dead after life returns to normal (whatever normal means these days.) However, if H1 of 2022 is any indication, people obviously still love to physically go shopping and browse window shops.

Now, in a post-COVID era, businesses are left wondering what is an ideal presence especially with social, digital and physical touchpoints that also include many different channels and apps: ecommerce websites, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp etc.

Believe it or not, some eCommerce websites are becoming somewhat obsolete- especially the ones that do not allow customers to chat with you (and no I don’t mean chat bots!). Businesses are turning more and more to social networking sites and social media apps to be closer to their customers: they are turning to cCommerce or connected commerce.

The Future of e-commerce in the Middle East

In the MENA region alone, the retail market size is $1 Trillion of which 40% could become cCommerce (to learn more, you may check out the (C-Commerce Mena Report 2022)). On the other hand, social media pages are also limited in what they offer you. Take Instagram for example: as you keep adding pictures, your older ones get pushed down- it’s great for putting visually appealing pictures but not so great for having a product list that includes image, price, description and that is easily updated with newer products. Physical stores, although offer the advantage of speaking directly to another human, sometimes seem inconvenient and time consuming.

Today, shoppers are looking for exceptional shopping experiences across these many digital and physical touchpoints with the businesses or brands they shop from and interact with.

The cShop: the best of three worlds.

This got us thinking. What if there was a way to combine the best of three worlds? A digital window shopping experience, ability to easily interact with a salesperson, accessibility from mobile phones, and option for people to checkout on their own. And so the cShop was born. The c obviously refers to “connected” and shop is well, a shop. Why cShop and not cStore? It’s because we wanted to differentiate it from eStores. This is not just another version of an eStore or eCom website. This is a new shopping experience mainly defined by our 6-year experience in cCommerce with thousands of our business partners that have- and continue to- put their trust in us to do business.

What is the cShop?

We define cShop to be a social landing page since it has the following:

• About us section.
• Product or service catalog.
• A featured collection section that will appear on the main page to show off seasonal items, latest collections or the best-selling products.
• A WhatsApp button for customers to easily connect with.
• A share button so that customers can share the cShop or specific items with their friends on all social media channels and messaging Apps.
• Links to all social media accounts and websites in one place.

What are the advantages of a cShop?

• Mimics the experience of window shopping
• Organize and keep all your online presence in one place (social media accounts and website).
• Direct and personalized communication with your customers.
• Better presence for selling on social media because the cShop structure combines an e-store with a mobile-optimized social media website
• Increased basket size on average per checkout.
• Easily changeable and customizable in terms of adding and editing products which is far easier and faster than an ecommerce website and much more organized and fluid than a Social Media account (change of items, seasonal items, prices- these usually get lost in feed or highlights).
• Ability to gather leads more effectively.
• Access to a comprehensive set of metrics, including the number of visits, the number of clicks, the number of things purchased, etc.
• Customer data to improve remarketing efforts and boost customer retention.

Why is a cShop important?

Don’t think of the cShop as a way of putting all your eggs in one basket but rather organizing all your different eggs in one basket to optimize your business presence across touchpoints to make it easier for your customers, increase your sales, streamline your ability to retain customers and get access to data and analytics to grow your business in an informed way.

Perhaps the cShop is not the answer to all your business dilemmas or miracle fix to your business, but the cShop is definitely a well designed solution that will increase your odds and help you better understand where your business stands today and where it can be in the next 5 -10 years.

Contact us today to find out how to grow your online business with your own cShop from Zbooni.