With rapidly expanding technologies, newer modes of digital payments, improving hyper local infrastructural facilities, e-Commerce business is on the rise. Around the globe, the ease of getting goods and services at the doorstep, has pushed the demand for e-Commerce substantially. The penetration of internet and growing user base has led to evolving e-commerce business models. The scope of expansion beyond national boundaries,ease of locating customers, best suppliers and suitable business partners, cost reductions in managing processes and distribution of products, greater efficiency, 24x7 reach out to customer, availability of vast data; all these make e-commerce a good proposition.

But,it’s not as rosy as it seems. The biggest challenge in the e-commerce sector is of survival. Combating market pressures is of necessary to sustain. The competition in e-commerce landscape is cut throat. And to hold on to their market shares, all the e-commerce giants need to overcome the pressures from various environments such as political, legal, economical, infrastructural or environmental.
Pressures surrounding the e-commerce can be such as:

• Advertising Pressures: As the e-Commerce companies eye for the largest slice of the market pie, they need to work really hard to position themselves as unique. The primary nature of the business remains the same, the target audience remains the same, the only way to differentiate oneself is to advertise aggressively with greater budgets and send out some unique messages to the customers.

• Pricing Challenges: the e commerce businesses have a tough time in deciding the prices for their offerings. Not only they have to take care of their own profit margins, they also need to keep pace with the rising prices of the commodities, products or raw materials. The expenses are on the rise and the e-tailer need to price their products strategically so as to not be over or under priced. A big consideration or reference point while pricing is the competitor’s pricing model as well.

• Payment Options: With the availability of plethora of payment options across the digital mediums, e-Commerce companies

need to include and provide diverse modes of payments to their customers apart from cash-on-delivery method (being the most preferred method of payment in India) to ensure that payment doesn’t become a reason of customers churning out.A comprehensive payment scheme can attract, motivate and retain customers with the e-tailer for long.

• Ramping up Fulfillment Capabilities: one of the biggest way to ensure survival in this supremely competitive sector is to have the shortest lead time and delivery time to consumers. A good network of supply chain and logistics operations can be help any e-commerce player stay in the game for long. Creating supportive infrastructure and networks for smooth conduct of operations, shipment and deliveries can ensure round the clock availability of products in warehouses and quick reach out to customers through effective distribution

• Privacy Concerns: Due to easy access into customer data, information overload has become a concern for both marketers and consumers. Consumers have become wary of intrusion of businesses into their private data due to multiple data points. A lot many regulations can arise for controlling the data flow across parties which can be a big put off for marketers as they might lose out on valuable customer data.

• Data Explosion: With the explosion of customer data, it has become important that e-commerce businesses have the right kind of capabilities and tools in place to be able to extract value from this big data set. Keeping up with competitors to use technologies and analytics for extracting the right information from the right data source has become crucial. The better the quality and relevance of information, the better the customer insight.

• Customer Satisfaction: Survival in e-Commerce sector is possible only when the businesses can keep and retain their customers for lifetime. Customer retention is based upon customer satisfaction. Every time a competitor comes up with a new idea for giving higher satisfaction, there is pressure felt by the other players to innovate and reinvent their customer satisfaction approaches. In the recent times, e-commerce players are radically adopting personalization and scalable hyper-personalization to upgrade and ensure customer delight.

•Customer Service: for an intangible business model, it is not easy to please the customer and meet their needs every time. Customer defaults, service failures may happen. For services, customer service is the only way to redress customer complaints, queries and issues to provide satisfaction and retain customers for the longest time. Customer lifetime value is enhanced through superior customer services; faster, efficient, responsive and 24x7 accessibility.

• Maintaining Cash Flows: the biggest pressure for any ecommerce player is to maintain cash flows, liquidity and remain profitable. Margins, revenues and on-time funding are essential to any business. Businesses can’t grow if there aren’t sufficient funds available (external parties or internal cash reserves) therefore, ecommerce businesses need to take care that the business models are profitable and give back ROIs.

There could be many other pressures which constantly put the e-commerce businesses under the grind. But those businesses which can stay relevant, offer something unique and better than the competitor and keep up with the pressures will be the winner of the constant combats in the e-commerce industry. For being the winner, e-Commerce companies need to be very vigilant and ramped up for facing internal and external pressures or threats and should constantly come up with a way out to survive.After all,it’s about the ‘survival of the fittest’.