‘Headless e-commerce’ has been trending for a while, but do you really understand what this means and what benefits headless solutions can offer? 

Headless commerce, as an approach, means decoupling the front end and back end of businesses' web stores by putting an application programming interface (API) between them that manages the exchange of data. This is the equivalent of saying that your front and back ends technically operate as separate individual things. 

Doing this allows for an opportunity to test and experiment within both environments (independent of each other). Furthermore, it allows the optimization and regular update of each end without tampering with the other. 

This for e-commerce is particularly useful, as it allows for updating the front end - the public one - without having to change the back end - the one that usually requires more programming skills - and because e-commerce needs to be constantly updating and modifying its public side - with new products being listened, sales, events, and promotions among many other things - this poses a strategic advantage over traditional architectures where the front and back end are bound together. 

Headless e-commerce's main benefits 

The main benefits headless e-commerce provides are speed, creative control, and easier integration with multiple third-party solutions. 

More creative control

A monolithic system - non-headless traditional back and front connected - where the presentation layer (so-called themes or templates) is strictly defined and connected to the back office makes it an ideal place to quickly build an online store and get your products to market but creates a vulnerability for the future. 

Now, headless provides the opportunity to shift, modify, and change the frontend tools you use to better match your brand's style, spirit, and desires while retaining the backend you prefer for optimal performance. 

The idea is to be more ‘composable’ and have access to more different tools to choose from. Your front—your public side—will reflect what your brand wants and what the public wants, while at the same time, you can keep the less ‘sexy’ parts of your business safe and sound in the backend. 

Easier integration 

Because the front-end UI is separated from the back-end logic and data storage, the ERP system can be easily connected to other applications, providing a cohesive single source of truth.

This allows businesses to create an integrated view of their data, which streamlines their operations and improves cross-functional collaboration. The result is a more efficient, data-driven business that is better equipped to adapt to changing market conditions and customer needs.

Speed 

Using a headless architecture makes it possible to create faster-loading pages across desktop and mobile devices. Improving your site speed can also impact your bottom line. The two-to-three-second mark is the turning point where bounce rates skyrocket.

This is because headless e-commerce provides an integration approach by connecting and exposing assets using APIs. APIs allow software platforms to communicate with each other more easily and foster seamless connections and data transfers with greater flexibility.

Monolithic commerce architecture tends to be slow and sluggish. Even if prospects aren’t in your commerce storefront proper, the strength of your CMS/backend integration will regulate their content browsing experience. 

The more complicated your architecture, the slower their pages will load. This is bad enough when it comes to your storefront and shopping pages, but when it happens to customers simply trying to browse your thought leadership resources, it can be hugely detrimental to their browsing experience. In many cases, it may drive them away from your brand altogether.

Conclusion: is headless for you? 

Overall, headless e-commerce is a good idea. It allows for an easier, faster, and more efficient approach to e-commerce, and thus, it has been gaining traction and will probably continue to do so. 

But, before you jump into the headless wagon, be mindful that this solution might not necessarily be the best for your brand or business, and many - many - factors should be weighed in before choosing it. 

The post What is headless e-commerce? + benefits appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Roel Linssen - Imagine that you started a webshop for passionate amateur bakers in 2015. Shows like the Great British Bake Off kicked off a widespread baking frenzy, which was good news for your webshop. After that promising start, 2020 happened. Confined to their homes, more people started figuring out how to cure their boredom by baking bread.

E-commerce was booming while your enterprise was at the height of its power. To deal with the gargantuan demand, you increase essentially everything: stock, personnel, distribution. Now that we’ve returned to the ‘old normal’, people can go out again, and their ovens are running out of cakes to bake. Your sales drop and the stock continues collecting dust at warehouses. The costs of all the upgrades from the lockdown days remain, and growing competition drives up marketing costs. What are you going to do?

The secret ingredient is preparation. I’ll walk you through it. Brick-and-mortar stores, where people would usually get their rolling pins, had to close during the lockdowns. This accelerated the rise of e-commerce, where people had to make new purchasing decisions.

Roel Linssen / Director & Founder Tomahawk

The customer journey has always appeared to be a linear procedure where customers make step-by-step choices for purchase. The past years made clear that this is not the case: the process is not a predictable funnel. Google describes it as a ‘messy middle’. Calling it the messy middle implies that the steps the shopper takes from exposure to a product to the actual purchase are beyond our influence and unpredictable. 

The recent decline in brand loyalty is one of the elements that made the middle so chaotic. Consumers don’t have a clear journey in mind when they’re looking for products. They might have an idea of a product type or a brand in mind, such as a round baking mould.

But they’re still on their way to the actual purchase and everything can happen en voyage. Another webshop might offer free shipping or have better reviews. These nudges can motivate consumers to switch to another brand. You might lose some customers because of that loyalty, but there is also potential to attract new shoppers. 

Research has proven consumers nowadays are more willing to choose a lesser-known brand if buying biases are similar (or better) than a well-known brand. So this is what you can do to face the aforementioned challenges: you can have biases mise en place that influence the purchaser, such as free cake decoration samples and recommendations from regular shoppers. These biases tidy up the messy middle for the consumer. Compare it to baking – it is so much easier to do when all the supplies are already put in place.

But the real opportunity is beyond local markets. With the reduction in brand loyalty, it’s easier to convince new consumers in new markets to pick your brand without having to invest in brand awareness. Going international might sound ambitious for your e-commerce enterprise, but specialised marketing agencies can help you out with this.

Crossing borders with your webshop gives you a chance to boost your sales and decrease your dependence on the local market. Baking virtuosos in new markets are more than happy to relieve you of that extra stock you have left from the lockdowns. By simply being present with the right biases, you can nudge consumers from exposure to purchase. It’s almost a piece of cake. 

All the best,

Roel Linssen

Director & Founder Tomahawk

The post Claim your slice of the pie: Go International! appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Salesupply - In the ever-evolving ecommerce landscape, providing exceptional customer service has become a fundamental success factor and a strong ticketing system is crucial for any well-run customer service operation.  

Still customer service operations have been under pressure due to the influx of customer requests combined with the shortage of qualified agents and the need to save cost.  

Now generative artificial intelligence (AI) seems to come to the rescue, presenting advanced capabilities that empower businesses to handle customer interactions with greater effectiveness and efficiency. 

Best of both worlds: AI with human support 

Firstly, AI takes charge of classifying and prioritizing incoming tickets. Frequent issues are swiftly resolved by AI, while more unique/complex problems are handed over to human agents. This ensures critical problems get immediate attention and each issue lands with the most suitable agent. 

Furthermore, AI offers rapid, automated responses to common issues, freeing human agents to focus on more nuanced queries. It also provides predictive suggestions to agents based on analysis of past interactions and knowledge base articles, thus enhancing response efficiency. 

Generative AI doesn't just respond, it learns. It can continuously analyze customer interactions to detect patterns, common issues, and areas needing improvement. This helps in refining the AI system's responses and indicating training areas for human agents. 

The integration extends to AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants. These tools can process transactions and answer queries while standing by to loop in human support when needed. 

Popular AI-Enabled Ticketing Systems in Ecommerce Customer Service 

Now, we will delve into some of the leading ticketing systems employed in ecommerce customer service, namely Zendesk, Freshdesk, Gladly, Gorgias, eDesk and more to discover their current AI integrations. 

Zendesk 

Zendesk has firmly established itself as a leading (ecommerce) customer service solution. One of the most notable features of Zendesk is its commitment to omnichannel support. In the digital age, customers expect to interact with businesses on their preferred platform, be it email, live chat, phone, or other messaging platforms. Zendesk caters to this demand effortlessly, opening up multiple communication channels and, in turn, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Zendesk has integrated AI into its customer service platform, leveraging billions of real-world interactions. This has enhanced over 250 million tickets and saved significant agent time. The AI tools aid agents by suggesting responses, detecting customer intent, and providing context, helping to streamline the handling of customer queries. 

Zendesk's AI also speeds up issue resolution by integrating intelligence into the workspace and offering timely, personalized information to agents. Automation is a key strategy, with bots that can autonomously handle customer requests or direct them to the right agent. 

Zendesk has also partnered with OpenAI to bring more human-like AI capabilities to customer service. They offer a range of AI and bot capabilities in their Suite offerings, with advanced features available in an AI add-on for Suite Professional plans or higher. 

Finally, Zendesk is committed to data protection, ensuring transparency, GDPR compliance, and accuracy in their AI models. This approach guarantees trust while providing top-tier, AI-powered customer service. 

Freshdesk 

Freshdesk has quickly become one of the more popular customer service tools on the market, offering an array of features that greatly benefit ecommerce businesses. With its intuitive interface, multichannel support, customizable options, collaboration tools, and extensive integration capabilities, Freshdesk provides a comprehensive solution. In the past, users have reported certain drawbacks associated with the solution. 

When it comes to AI integration, Freshdesk has made significant strides. The platform includes a chatbot named Freddy AI, which automates various aspects of customer service, thereby enhancing the overall customer experience. 

Additionally, an AI-powered 'Summarize' feature generates ticket summaries based on all responses received, facilitating the efficient handling of lengthy tickets by agents. 

Gladly 

People-centered service for people-centered brands is how Gladly markets its customer service software designed for ecommerce brands. The way Gladly sets itself apart from other brands is by the user-friendly design around conversations instead of tickets. All communication with a customer, no matter the channel, is displayed in one conversation overview – almost like a WhatsApp screen. 

Most of the reviews are raving, agents really value the simplicity and the conversational design. 

In terms of AI, Gladly isn’t leading the way, The tool is carefully investigationg and implementing the technology to not steer away from their people-centered customer service. AI is currently integrated in the Gladly software in Answers Suggestions: 

The sofware suggests actions and answers to agents. Automation is for now depending on agent feedback (something we at Salesupply strongly advice). Automation would exclude important topics that require human intervention such as suchbereavement or legal affairs. 

Gorgias 

Recognized as highly regarded, ecommerce focused, customer support software, Gorgias excels in consolidating requests from multiple channels into a single dashboard, leading to enhanced customer responsiveness.  

One of the main advantages of Gorgias is its user-friendly interface, which simplifies the management of customer interactions. The software lets you connect to multiple channels and add team members with just a few clicks.  

It also offers a variety of features to help improve collaboration, such as the ability to create a ticket, assign tickets to another agent, send one-click replies via automation, and set up tags.  

Additionally, Gorgias allows you to perform actions like editing or refunding orders and cancelling subscriptions directly from the helpdesk​. 

The platform's AI capabilities are certainly worth mentioning as well, offering automation for repetitive tasks, sentiment detection, and robust ticket management.  

In terms of AI, Gorgias offers automation for many repetitive tasks. For instance, you can automate responses to frequent customer questions like "Where is my order?" by creating rules and macros, boosting agent productivity. Also, you can automate customer sentiment detection, creating rules that tag comments based on sentiments, such as positive, negative, threatening, urgent, or offensive, which can be instrumental in identifying and addressing issues more swiftly​. 

Gorgias also excels in its ability to effectively interact with social media platforms and classify tickets for efficient handling. 

eDesk 

Widely embraced in the realm of ecommerce customer service, eDesk brings its own set of advantages and drawbacks. The platform seamlessly integrates with various channels, offers multilingual support, an efficient feedback mechanism, and a centralized mailbox for all customer queries.  

eDesk's AI capabilities are robust, enhancing its ability to deliver exceptional customer service. The platform offers AI-driven summaries and sentiment analysis, AI-assisted replies, and automated responses.  

Noteworthy AI features include AI Classification and Summary, AI Agent Assist, ticket prioritization, the HandsFree feature, and integration with OpenAI's GPT models.  

These AI functionalities collectively contribute to eDesk's capacity to provide quality customer service.  

Greyhound 

Greyhound CRM is a comprehensive customer service solution, predominantly catering to the German-speaking market, aimed at enhancing businesses' client relationship management. 

This robust platform offers unparalleled flexibility in deployment, accessible through Cloud, SaaS, and Web-based platforms. Additionally, it extends its compatibility to a wide range of operating systems including Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook for desktop use; as well as Android, iPhone, and iPad for mobile access. 

Where Greyhound truly differentiates itself, however, is its incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) services designed to streamline and automate a range of daily tasks. These include translating emails, understanding user intentions, data classification, and operating chatbots.  

Adhering to GDPR standards, Greyhound's proprietary AI provides reliable assistance while maintaining data privacy. 

In an effort to further enhance its offering, Greyhound also extends the option to connect to OpenAI's ChatGPT. This innovative feature allows users to tap into an expansive knowledge base and engage in communication that is as close to natural human language as it gets. 

AI & Salesupply and Salesupply AI 

Our agents are trained in working with all the systems mentioned above (and more) and they are constantly being updated on the latest (AI) developments of these systems. 

In addition we are on the verge of unveiling a beta version of our own AI solution powered by OpenAi’s ChatGPT, promising superior service experience at significantly reduced costs. 

In short the AI initiatives of Salesupply focus on: 

• AI Assisant - Agents save a lot of time because of AI’s effort to enrich, provide insights and create possible answer suggestions. The AI tool has access to all relevant information, from product - and order information to all previous communications with the client. This way, AI can actually prepare factual email suggestions for the agents resulting in faster processing and higher quality. 
• Continuous improvement – the AI Workflow Manager  is constantly analysing results and optimising AI prompts to improve continously. 

Here's a sneak peek into what's in store: 

- Categorisation: ChatGPT scans and categorizes your historical customer service requests, identifying common questions posed by your customers. 

- Template creation: this information, inclusive of categorized queries and AI-generated templated responses, is fed into the solution's training module to enhance its capability to address requests autonomously. 

- Enriched responses: our solution doesn't provide repetitive responses. By embedding ChatGPT into the system, it crafts bespoke replies to customer inquiries, enhancing their experience. 

- Multichannel: the hybrid solution will be accessible through chat and email, with future integrations into phone and WhatsApp channels.  

- Teamwork: mails are analysed and processed by AI. If AI can process it, it will provide instant draft responses for the agents to be checked and sent.  

- Hybrid customer service: when a customer prefers human interaction or if AI cannot provide an answer, the customer will be redirected to a customer service representative. 

- Translations: agents can handle tickets in any language. They will read the request and prepare the response in their preferred language. The customer receives the response in their native language 

- Perfect agent communication: Emails written by agents are optimised by AI to provide the perfect response 

- Two-way quality control: the solution's performance and content will be constantly supervised and enhanced by our team and AI will do the same with the output from human customer service representatives

- Ensuring safety and compliance of the system is paramount. Compliance with privacy laws will be consistently monitored while the solution is in operation. 

What does your online business stand to gain? 

Currently, the combination of artificial and human intelligence optimally leverages the best of both worlds. Here's what it means for you: 

• ChatGPT scans and categorizes your historical customer service requests, identifying common questions posed by your customers. 
• By harnessing a hybrid chatbot powered by an advanced tool, you can address most of your customers' queries promptly, boosting your first-call-resolution rate and customer experience.
• This system also allows your customer service representatives to focus on addressing intricate queries, leading to increased customer satisfaction and positive feedback. 

We're in the last phase of refining this solution and will provide updates shortly. If you would like to discuss how AI could benefit your customer service operation, please email us at info@salesupply.com. 

AI & Customer Service final take-aways 

It is clear that AI provides unmatched potential to optimise your customer service operation. Whenever you decide to integrate AI in your customer care – to whatever extend, keep the following in mind: 

• It all depends on data. If you don’t have complete, actual data, you can’t automate your processes properly 
• Prompt engineering is vital. Only with the right prompt you will get the responses that live up to the customer expectations of your brand 
• Don’t rule out the impact and importance of human agents. For now, the technology is far from reliable enough to fully automate your customer service operations – not even taking into account the fact that your clients probaly don’t want this. For now most ticket systems deploy AI to categorise, identify customer sentiment and provide summaries to help agents grasp the context and save time.          

The post AI-Enabled Ticketing Systems in Ecommerce Customer Service appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

NIQ and GfK have recently announced and confirmed their strategic combination to create the world's leading consumer intelligence company.

The alliance between these two industry-leading companies consolidates their strengths and establishes a complementary partnership to offer customers new, innovative solutions that deliver results.

With advanced technological tools, companies gain a more detailed understanding of consumer purchasing behavior. This allows them to provide valuable insights for decision-making and sustainable growth to major retailers and brands.

The symbiotic relationship between NIQ and GfK is beneficial from all angles. NIQ contributes unique information on fast-moving consumer goods, while GfK provides insights on durable goods and consumer technology. This combination grants access to comprehensive and practical store-level information.

Full View approach

Their offering, "The Full View," provides a complete global perspective on consumers, making this combination a unique option in consumer intelligence.

CEO Jim Peck summarizes it best: "Together, we have tremendous potential with greater global reach, omnichannel coverage, granular data, consumer insights, and predictive analytics, resulting in practical analysis and growth for our clients. Importantly, we bring together industry innovation experts and complementary cultures driven by integrity and an unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality ever."

Furthermore, the companies boast nearly 200 years of collective experience in the industry, combining the expertise of both organizations. Present and future clients can trust that their experience with the tools and technological offerings will yield great results.

The post NielsenIQ (NIQ) and GfK SE (GfK) join forces appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Sandra Galiano - "If you don't show it, it doesn't exist" - This is one of the mottos we follow in Business Analytics. In theory, it could be applied to many things. You can be the best at your job or what you do, but if you don't demonstrate it, you don't allow others to see it, and it will never be known. 

When we work on a project involving technical concepts like regressions, analysis, data processing, and big data techniques, we gain a deep understanding of how they work and use them to achieve our desired results. For instance, we can predict a company's future, identify reasons for poor product sales, or determine the best time to adjust prices for specific products. These are only a few examples of the countless outcomes that advanced data techniques can offer to companies. 

Here we face a problem: the engineer will understand us, your fellow data scientist will understand you and other analysts will understand you, but with the director, executive, and decision-makers, who may lack technical knowledge, we face a challenge. 

We can't simply present tables filled with numbers, code scripts, and predictive models during meetings and expect everyone to comprehend.

This is where data visualization comes into play. By creating visual and graphical representations of our insights and conclusions, we can make them understandable to those without data expertise. In doing so, we can effectively communicate the value of our data-driven decisions and ultimately achieve our project goals. 

How do you present your insights? 

Insights are usually presented in one or several dashboards. These are canvases where information is displayed in a style that mixes infographics and graphical representations. 

The dashboards can be adapted to different platforms where the graphics will be displayed, such as mobile screens, desktop screens, etc.

The main advantage of dashboards is their digital nature. Before, if you wanted to present your graphs, you had to print them and explain them. You've probably seen thousands of photos on the internet of a table full of papers with graphs. What problems does this approach entail? 

1. The obvious paper and resource consumption 

2. It's not efficient: To begin with, in a physical format, less information can be condensed and related than in a digital format, and the most important thing is that it's static. 

When we have a dynamic dashboard, we can establish filters and "play" with the screen to see the information we want or more specific information.

Before, if you have a sheet with a graph of, for example, all the products sold in a store in a month by quantity to your superior, and he/she said, "No, but now I want to see the specific sales of this product in this location," you had to go to the computer, edit the graph, print it again, and explain it again. This way, we save not only time and resources but also the person seeing it feels more functional when interacting with the dashboard and seeing how they can find the information. 

The Rules of Data Visualization 

- Colors: Colors are very important, they must be visually appealing and aesthetic. Most software programs come with pre-made color palettes that combine well and provide a clear view of the information. 

- Categories: Categories are preferably each represented by a different color. This way, the legend or label only needs to be placed once. That is, if in Chart 1, blue represents Product X and red represents Product Y, it is ideal only to specify once that red is X and blue is Y, and therefore assume that in the rest of the charts that have the variables X and Y, these colors will be used. There's no need to explain what blue and red represent in each chart.

- Gradations: They are important; sometimes there are no categories but gradations, such as the number of inhabitants on a map. We will represent the higher numbers with darker colors and the lower ones with lighter colors, in a scale. But it is best to use the same color, only changing the darkness or lightness of the color. 

- 3D figures should not be used on a dashboard unless essential. The reason is simple: we want to simplify complexity, why make it complicated? If we use 3D graphics, our audience's brain will have to work harder, first converting the image into 2D in their mind, then understanding the representation, and finally interpreting the graph. This is partly why some people get headaches when watching 3D movies because their brain is working on converting the images into 2D, which is what we are used to. 

- Filters: We have mentioned them before to make dashboards dynamic. They should be placed on the edges or corners of the dashboard, never in the middle. 

- Tree Maps: They are the great hated ones. Care must be taken when using them. They will be helpful when we have few variables that are very different from each other because the distinction would be clear. Still, in terms of percentages, they can make it more difficult to differentiate which square is larger or smaller than another, especially when you move away from the dashboard, as would happen with the audience of a presentation. 

- Pie Charts: Categories in pie charts are represented from largest to smallest. The more significant categories are painted from the center to the right, and the smaller ones are left at the end of the circle. This is because the more significant categories are usually the ones people are more interested in seeing at a glance. 

💡 Extra tip: It is best to create a public dashboard with important conclusions first, and then, if you want to go deeper, you could give each part you want to focus on its panel.

How to choose the right chart? 

To choose the appropriate chart, it is essential to consider the type of data being visualized and the objective of the visualization. 

● Bar charts: are used to compare numerical values. They help show the distribution of a categorical variable in a data set. 

● Line charts: are used to display trends and patterns over time. They help visualize time series data and compare multiple variables.

● Pie charts: are used to show the proportion of each category in a data set, especially when you want to highlight the proportion of each category, but are not recommended if you want to show multiple categories or compare values.

● Scatterplots: are used to show the relationship between two numerical variables. They help show patterns or trends. 

● Area charts: are used to show the evolution of a numerical variable over time. They help compare multiple variables on the same chart.

● Histograms: are used to show the distribution of a continuous numerical variable. They help visualize the frequency of each value or range of values in a data set. 

● Box plots: are used, for example, to represent actions or results derived from data mining. They are graphs that collect different types of information at a single glance. 

Many charts can be used to visualize different types of data. The choice of the appropriate chart will depend on the nature of the data, the objective of the visualization, and the audience to whom the information is being presented. 

Data Visualization Tools 

Multiple data visualization software is available with powerful tools to manage, clean, transform, and analyze data.

The most recognizable and appreciated tools in the field of Business Analytics are: 

● Microsoft Power BI: a tool that is also a Business Intelligence solution that provides a wide range of data visualization functions, including pivot tables, charts, and diagrams. 

● Tableau: offers a wide range of functions and tools for effectively visualizing data in an easy-to-understand way. 

● Google Data Studio: an online data visualization platform that allows you to create customized and interactive reports and dashboards. It also integrates with other Google tools, such as Google Analytics and Google Sheets. 

● QlikView: a Business Intelligence tool that offers a wide range of data visualization tools, including pivot tables, charts, and diagrams. 

● D3.js: a JavaScript data visualization library that allows you to create customized and highly interactive visualizations. 

It is important to note that the field of data visualization is constantly evolving, and staying up-to-date with the latest tools and techniques can give you a competitive edge in the job market. As companies increasingly rely on data-driven insights to inform their decision-making processes, the demand for skilled data professionals who can effectively communicate complex data through visualization will only grow. 

Moreover, becoming proficient in data visualization can also benefit your personal career growth. By presenting your data in a visually compelling and informative way, you can effectively communicate your insights to stakeholders and decision-makers, making you a valuable asset to any organization. 

So, whether you're a data analyst, scientist, or simply interested in data visualization, investing time and effort in learning these tools and techniques can bring great rewards both professionally and personally.

About the author: Sandra is a tech-savvy young entrepreneur currently President of Generación Empresarial, a youth-oriented university association committed to creating the next generation of successful European business leaders.

🔥 Check out more about Sandra here!🔥

The post Master the Art of Data Visualization: Tips and Techniques for Captivating Insights appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Direct Link - The Swedish e-commerce market decreased by 7 percent year-on-year in 2022, according to  PostNord´s annual E-barometer report. The total turnover for e-commerce in 2022 was SEK 136 billion, with two product categories – pharmacy products and fashion& footwear reporting positive growth.  

The near future is difficult to predict. It will be significantly affected by macroeconomic factors,  which of course, include such as international conflicts, inflation, and cost of living. 

The 2022 E-barometer presents three scenarios for how the state of the economy might affect e-commerce in the short and long term. 

The three possible scenarios are: 

• The wind is turning quite fast – e-commerce will slowly increase this year after a  gloomy 2022 

• Break year 2023 – growth will be at a standstill this year but will pick up speed again in 2024 

• A deeper slowdown – there will be continued high inflation, high-interest rates and high energy prices, and recovery only in a few years. 

The report has also identified some clear trends regarding the behavior of Swedish e-commerce consumers. The first is that social e-commerce is growing strongly. To browse and shop directly is becoming increasingly common. To understand the potential size of social e-commerce one can look at the e-commerce market in the United States, which often influences the Swedish market. In the US, social commerce makes up four percent of all e-commerce sales. And, as the buying channels the consumer prefers to use change,  opportunities are naturally created for new players to step in. 

Another one is that it´s increasingly apparent that influencer marketing is becoming increasingly critical for building a brand. At the same time, a discussion is emerging about how profitable this strategy is, and that it can be challenging to measure the actual outcome.  From the Swedish e-tailer´s perspective, the principal value of collaborating with influencers is that it strengthens the brand. Thirty-seven percent of the surveyed e-commerce companies agree on that. 

*The E-barometer is published quarterly, including a full-year report, based on five consumer surveys and one survey with e-retailers.

The post Decline in Swedish e-commerce in 2022 appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Direct Link - Like the rest of the Nordic region, Denmark has a very well-developed e-commerce market and a population with a good grasp of digital technology.

According to DESI, the European Commission´s Economy and Society Index, Denmark is in second place, behind the UK, in terms of the percentage of the population who shops online. In 2021, 91 percent of the
Danish internet users made purchases online. Between 2012 and 2021, the value of online retail sales in Denmark went from 42 billion DKK to 133 billion DKK.

That strong development indicates that the Danish online consumers have both a high purchase frequency and average spending. According to the PostNord/Direct Link report e-commerce in Europe 2021, the typical Danish consumer spent EUR 243 a month online. The highest average spending among all twelve countries that was surveyed in the report.

When it comes to delivery options, Danish consumers have always been more positive about home deliveries than their Nordic neighbors. 55 percent of Danes have it as their most preferred option.

The Danes are also keen cross-border online buyers. Regarding a favorite destination, they
have changed their preferences a bit in recent years. According to the latest IPC* Cross-Border e-commerce Shopper Survey, 50 percent of Danish cross-border consumers had bought from Germany in the past year, 31 percent had bought from China, and 25 percent had bought from the UK. For a number of years before, China was the big dominant here.

Regarding the most commonly bought product categories online, Danish consumers´ preferences do not differ significantly from other European markets. Clothing and Footwear is number one with more than 50 percent having bought that over the past year. The number two category was Home Electronics, followed by Cosmetics and Skincare.

If You want an expert with market knowledge in the Nordic – Reach out to Direct Link!

The post High online shopping frequency and spending in Denmark appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

France is the 7th largest market for e-commerce globally, with a predicted revenue of US$91,645.5 million by 2023, placing it ahead of India.

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Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 8.5%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$126,879.3 million by 2027. 

With an expected increase of 18.1% in 2023, the French eCommerce market contributed to a worldwide growth rate of 17.0% in 2023. Like in France, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the following years.

Five markets are considered by ecommerceDB within the French e-commerce market. Fashion is the largest market and accounts for 33.1% of French e-commerce revenue. It is followed by Food & Personal Care at 22.9%, Electronics & Media at 16.9%, Furniture & Appliances at 13.6%, and Toys, Hobby & DIY with the remaining 13.6%.

B2C e-commerce in France expects to grow 7.36%

B2C e-commerce market in France is expected to grow by 7.36% on an annual basis to reach US$154.3 billion in 2023. The Medium to long-term growth story of the B2C e-commerce industry in France promises to be attractive.

The B2C e-commerce is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 6.20% during 2023-2027. The country's B2C Ecommerce Gross Merchandise Value will increase from US$143.7 billion in 2022 to US$196.2 billion by 2027.

This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of B2C e-commerce market dynamics, covering over 100 KPIs in France. It details market opportunities across key B2C verticals - Retail Shopping, Travel & Hospitality, Online Food Service, Media and Entertainment, Healthcare and Wellness, and Technology Products and Services.

It provides market share by key players across key verticals along with sales channels (Platform to Consumer, Direct to Consumer, Consumer to Consumer). In addition, it provides spending patterns by payment instruments along with a snapshot of consumer behavior in France.

Niche trends for e-commerce in France

The report also covers niche trends such as market size by live streaming engagement model and cross-border purchases. It also covers e-commerce spend share by operating systems, devices (mobile vs. desktop), and cities.

In addition, to detailed data-centric analysis, this report provides analyst commentary on key trends, drivers, strategies, and innovations in the B2C e-commerce industry in France.

This report provides a detailed data-driven look at the France B2C e-commerce industry, covering various segments and highlighting areas of interest across the verticals in the industry. In addition, it provides a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics and future forecasts.

The post France is the 7th largest market for e-commerce appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

By Sandra Galiano - We live in the era of the so-called "titulitis", - as we say in Spanish - and is the overwhelming compulsion to have titles or degrees. 

That's why today we want to help business analytics entrepreneurs and all those who have chosen this as both a career path and as a prime tool to help grow their business and brands to clearly identify the SAS certificates that will, indeed, be of use, and will place them ahead the competition. Let us begin!

Too many options

This situation is expected nowadays, with so many courses available, so many wanting to catch our attention, and so many tools available in the form of programs, programming languages, APIs, techniques...

Sometimes it can be frustrating not knowing where to go and how to discern what you need to stand out professionally.

Every day there are new things to learn. In a world like nowadays where the only constant is that everything is constantly changing, we must be up to date, especially professionals in technology, which is in continuous exponential development and will not stop surprising us. 

What do companies look for? How many courses, degrees, or diplomas will bring me closer to the job I want?

Today, we will focus on our field of interest: Business Analytics and something that will surely make you stand out and increase your professional value. This not-so-well-known software can open many doors and allow you to choose where you work: SAS. 

Yes, Python, R, SQL, etc., are still important for a data analyst. Still, it's about bringing excitement to the game, raising the level a little, and looking beyond the basics, something that makes us stand out and I think SAS can be that game-changing asset that could allow you to be one step above your peers.

SAS stands for Statistical Analysis System, a statistical analysis and business intelligence software that provides us incredible tools for data management, statistical analysis, data mining, predictive modeling, and data visualization.

Due to its capabilities, more and more companies are using it to analyze their data and be part of their BIT (business intelligence tools). It is not surprising then that these companies seek professionals with a firm grasp of SAS to perform roles such as data analysts, data scientists, business intelligence consultants, etc.

Born in university, raised in top Businesses 

This highly-demanded software was born in North Carolina, in 1966, at the hands of James Goodnight, Anthony Barr, and John Sall while working at the university. They began developing statistical software for the United States Department of Agriculture and later expanded their reach to include more areas, founding SAS Institute in 1976.

In the blink of an eye, it became one of the first statistical software companies in the market. It quickly became a popular tool for statistical analysis and business decision-making. Over time, SAS has expanded to include a wide range of data analysis and business intelligence solutions.

Today it is a private company based in Cary, North Carolina, with a global network of offices and partners. It is considered one of the leading providers of statistical analysis and business intelligence software in the world.

What sets SAS apart from other software?

Certainly, if there is something that stands out about SAS, it is its focus on integrating different data analysis tools and solutions in a single platform; it also has a large number of built-in functions and procedures, which allows users to perform advanced analysis quickly and easily. As well as many machine learning algorithms and predictive models, which allow companies to make accurate predictions about their business.

Something else that is fundamental, too, especially in the area of Big Data, is that SAS has a remarkable ability to handle large volumes of data with shocking scalability. Therefore, it has enough capacity to perform real-time updated data analysis solutions.

A striking feature mostly loved by analysts is the fact that SAS also has API (Application Programming Interface), which allows connecting SAS with other tools and programs, unifying all necessary in one single place to successfully perform their job, saving time, compatibility problems, and improving the integration of data and processes between different programs.

For instance, imagine that you are working on a project in SAS, and you need to do something that you are better at or already had consolidated in Python; you can use the SAS interface with that other program having everything in one place. You could also connect SAS with R, even with relational databases, which are daily bread in the world of data: Oracle, MySQL, etc. Besides, in a more focused big data environment, you could connect it with Hadoop or Spark. 

In short, something very comfortable for professionals in the world of data.

Last but not least, an advantage that seems obvious but, in the long run, is appreciated is that it has a GUI (graphical user interface), which provides easy and intuitive use.

Companies do use SAS:  

As technology advanced and became more accessible in businesses, SAS became an increasingly valuable tool for analysis and decision-making.

Various companies in different industries use SAS and are looking for professionals with SAS experience to work on their teams. For example: 

• Banks and financial institutions: Bank of America, Citibank... to analyze financial data and make decisions.
• Insurance companies: Allstate, AIG, MetLife, Prudential... analysis of risk data and development of products.
• Retail companies: Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Macy's... To analyze sales data and develop marketing strategies.
• Market research companies: Nielsen, Kantar, Ipsos…
• Service companies: Deloitte, Accenture, PwC…
• Technology companies: Microsoft, IBM, Google…
• Healthcare companies: Many healthcare companies use SAS to analyze patient data and develop strategies for improving medical care.
• Government: Governments of the United States, United Kingdom, and France, among others.
• Telecommunication companies: Vodafone, Telstra, AT&T, among others.
• Transportation companies: UPS, FedEx, and DHL, among others.

These are just a few examples of companies that demand SAS for hiring; many other companies in different industries use SAS and look for professionals with SAS experience.

What certifications are available? How do I learn SAS?

SAS Certification credentials are globally recognized in over 120 countries and are highly valuable.

There are several SAS certifications available; some of the most popular are:

• SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9: certify an individual's ability to use the SAS platform to manipulate and process data.

• SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS 9: certifies the individual's ability to use advanced SAS programming techniques to manipulate and process data.
• SAS Certified Predictive Modeler Using SAS Enterprise Miner: certifies the individual's ability to use SAS Enterprise Miner to build, test, and implement predictive models.
• SAS Certified Big Data Professional: certifies the individual's ability to use SAS to analyze large volumes of data and big data processes.
• SAS Certified Data Scientist: certifies the individual's ability to use advanced data analysis techniques and predictive modeling to solve complex problems.

There are different ways to study for these certifications to take the exam. The most common one is to follow the study pills on their website, which you can access from the different types of certifications with materials, examples, cases, and videos for self-study. 

However, it is not an easy exam, so I would recommend you to look for additional material, such as tutorials or private lessons, for those concepts that you are not very clear about or concern you.

Be very clear about the structure of the exam and go to the SAS offices calmly on the day you are going to take the exam. It can be a bit impressive to arrive at that place, see the offices, and be amazed that the experience is real with those innovative spaces where people work. If you pass, you’ll be closer to something similar, but far from being scary, it has to inspire, excite and motivate you to give your best on the exam.

In summary, to pass a SAS exam you must know the requirements of the exam, acquire the necessary knowledge, practice with exercises and problems, use exam study materials, and review and rest adequately before the exam.

What do you think? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Good luck in your SAS journey!

About the author: Sandra is a tech-savvy young entrepreneur currently President of Generación Empresarial, a youth-oriented university association committed to creating the next generation of successful European business leaders.

🔥 Check out more about Sandra here!🔥

The post The must-have SAS certificates to boost your business analytics career path! appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

Spanish e-commerce continues to grow, and in the second quarter of 2022, it increased 33.1% year-on-year to reach €18.19 billion, according to the latest e-commerce data available on the CNMCData portal.

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According to the CNMCData research, the sectors with the highest revenues in 2022 were the following: 

• Travel Agencies and Tour Operators had the best figures, 10.2%. Increasing by 3% compared to the previous quarter.  

• Air transportation with 6.6%. This sector only grew by 1.3% compared to the previous quarter.

• Apparel with 6.5%. The drop in this sector was 0.8%.

• Services auxiliary to financial intermediation with 4.7%.

• Hotels and similar accommodations with 4.5%.

• Gambling and betting represented 3.8%.

• Public administration, taxes, and social security with 3.6%.

• Artistic, sports, and recreational shows with 3.2%.

• Hypermarkets, supermarkets, and food stores with 3%.

• Restaurants with 2.9%.

A record year for Spanish e-commerce 

More than 325 million transactions were recorded, up 16.4% in the second quarter of 2022. Restaurants lead the ranking for sales and purchases (7.1%), followed by gambling and betting (7%) and ground transportation (6.2%).

Regarding geographic segmentation, 46.8% of revenues in the second quarter of 2022 were destined for Spain. The remaining 53.2% corresponded to purchases originating in Spain and made abroad. Very similar to the data obtained in the previous quarter.

The net foreign balance (the difference between what is bought from abroad to Spain and from Spain to abroad) shows a deficit of 7,046 million euros. By the number of transactions, 37.5% of purchases and sales are destined for Spain and 62.5% abroad.

The turnover of transactions originating in Spain and directed abroad amounted to 9,683 million euros, 20.9% more than in the second quarter of the previous year. 92.3% of purchases from Spain to foreign countries were made in stores located in the European Union.

All in all, with this massive traction from 2022, it seems 2023 will be another strong year for Spanish e-commerce.

The post Spanish e-commerce reached €18.19 billion in 2022 appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.