eCommerce Is Present and Not Just the Future: In Conversation With Simona Diana Thrussell

Q1: What exciting projects are you working on right now?

I have several things on my plate right now. One of them is a CRM that works as a plug-in to both Adobe Commerce and Shopware, allowing shops to streamline their inventory management better.

Q2: What potential do you see for the eCommerce industry as a whole?

eCommerce is not just the future; it’s the present. As the past two years have shown, no business can survive without selling online anymore. The ones that didn’t take e-commerce seriously have folded, and the future is very much online. eCommerce can only grow.

While some things will still need physical shops, their number grows smaller and smaller. This trend will continue to the point where only absolute basics like grocery stores and extreme luxury brands will still have brick-and-mortar shops in 5 years’ time.

This is already creating some serious changes in the way society works. Cities, for example, will become less crowded because most people will no longer need to be near shops. Coupled with the work-from-home trend, I believe we will see a serious depopulation trend where people move towards smaller, more affordable communities. It will mean more and more eCommerce.

This is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing for manufacturers because their whole process can be easily automated, a blessing for consumers who will have access to a lot more amazing products, and a curse for many retailers because online sales need a completely different set of skills, infrastructure, and processes.

Q3: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in post-pandemic eCommerce trends?

All serious companies are starting to realize that eCommerce is important and act accordingly.

This means improved customer service, better logistics, and a huge improvement in user experience. The things we had problems convincing executives of 5 years ago are the ones they now come to us for. This is great for the customers.

Q4: What industries do you think will take the biggest piece of the pie due to this surge in eCommerce?

IT, or to be precise, eCommerce consultancies/agencies. Not all companies can afford a full IT department, but all will need an eCommerce website.

Logistics companies- everything physical that is bought online will need to be shipped.

Data analysis companies. This is a favorite of mine because so many manufacturers were in the past very much removed from direct customer feedback- they put something out and prayed it would sell. Those times are over now, and we have an unbelievable amount of data at our fingertips showing what the consumers actually WANT.

Products that experts rejected because they weren’t pretty or elegant enough took the market by storm- the Top Gear guys looked down on the Dacia Logan, but it was for years the best selling European made car because most customers don’t really care about a car being pretty or fun to drive- they wanted something they could put the whole family in and go from A to B.

Q5: Any specific technology trend where store owners should consider investing?

Invest in a top-quality ERP. It will make or break any company, but it is a necessity, not a luxury. 

The funny thing about eCommerce is that it is very unforgiving. Brick and mortar exclusive businesses could get away with a lot of slack in terms of processes, but those times are gone.

The moment you start selling online, you need to have your business in order, inventory in check, shipping and packing, and labeling done right, and so on. 11 years ago, I spent months manually cataloging all of the inventory of a company I worked for because they didn’t have a complete list of all the products they sold.

If you want to sell online, you have to have a flow that works, and more and more businesses are turning towards that. This is better for consumers, but there are some serious growing pains for the smaller companies trying to adjust. In the end, the strong will survive, but the field is changing.

It will also cut down on a lot of clerical jobs. Because with a good ERP, you can automate many things like record keeping, taxes, reordering, etc. The times when a business could survive without technology are over. This is a simple truth. Proceed accordingly.

Wrapping Up

So, that was all about today’s session. We thank Simona Diana Thrussell for talking to us and sharing essential insights about the industry. We hope you find this session insightful! For more critical discussions and insights, subscribe to our content and stay updated with what’s new in eCommerce and Magento.