How data can boost your ecommerce business

The Southeast Asia region is now witnessing a massive penetration of internet services. With over 648 million of citizens, 35% of increase in smartphone usage and up to 1.5% of e-commerce annual growth, online retailers, business start-ups and investors can start tapping into new market opportunities and finding ways to fulfilling the demand of the ever-increasing Asian online shoppers.

On top of the rise of technological adoption, the region also receives a tremendous support from the government. Most recently, the Singapore government has launched its Smart Nation initiative with an aim to provide full internet connectivity to its citizens. With it, the Singaporeans can expect to be “perpetually connected to the internet via their mobile devices” and “remain online from the moment they leave their home until they return.”

On a larger picture, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has also come up with its ICT Masterplan of 2015 that aims towards developing a better ICT landscape in the region – increasing cross-border connectivity is one of them.

If you are an online retailer who wishes to expand your business and boost sales, such promising online market and supportive government initiative should mean one thing to you: a thriving e-commerce industry  connected to millions of internet-connected mobile devices ready to skyrocket– but only if targeted properly and if you are willing to think outside of the box.

The Internet of Things and the future of big data

With the increase of internet users and digital buyers, Asian retailers should be ready to handle the accumulation of their client data. It is expected that with the current “Internet of Things” trend, where everyday gadgets can communicate with each other and third-party applications, we will see a major burst of data collection activity. We will see more and more users browsing the internet, searching for the things that they would normally buy offline buying online.

All of these surfing and buying behaviors of users are expected to be captured online and analyzed by online retailers, for them to be able to make sense of the patterns and provide the most relevant product offerings to their clients. Today, companies are not only expected to gather their client data from smartphones, tablets, PCs or laptops, but also from other internet-enabled products such as home appliances, wearable products and even, vehicles.

It is now up to you, as a forward-looking business entity, to make use of big data collection to your advantage. Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, said in his post in Huffingtonpost.com that “in the next decade, the amount of information we will aggregate will grow exponentially” and “we will not be able to analyze all of this data ourselves, nor will we always know the right questions to ask.”

So, in which technology do you put your trust when it comes to processing the terabytes of data and providing you meaningful and profit-generating information? For online business owners or retailers, the answer might lie in Data Management Platform.

Data Management Platform

Data Management Platform, also known as DMP, might look like a normal database. However, the difference is obvious in its functionality and purpose, as DMP will help online marketers, entrepreneurs, and retailers to retrieve audience segments and other related customer information.

The collected data, which majorly comes from client campaigns, social networks, email listings, website analysis, mobile data and offline programs, can give you some understanding of your audience’s demographic backgrounds, buying trends, interests, browsing and clicking behaviours as well as shopping history. With such comprehensive and filtered understanding, you can now create a customized ads campaign that will provide relevant product information to your well-targeted audience.

Converting clicks to sales with programmatic campaigns