Digital Commerce vs E-Commerce in 2024: Which Is Better

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Nov 2022 and was updated in Jan 2024 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Digital commerce vs E-commerce is a topic of frequent discussion because Digital commerce is the future of the evolving retail industry. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce services are accessible anywhere, and anytime in the world.

Digital commerce is a strategy that provides customers with an engaging, interactive experience that enables them to buy products and services online without human interaction. whereas, e-commerce is the buying and selling of tactile products online.

Digital commerce and e-commerce have been around for a while, and they are starting to become popular with businesses of all sizes. Both types of marketing are used by companies that want to reach consumers in different ways. In the article, we explore a comprehensive overview of digital commerce vs eCommerce in 2022.

 

What is Digital Commerce

Digital commerce is the purchase of goods and services over digital networks. Digital commerce can be conducted online or offline, but most transactions are done online. The benefits of digital commerce platforms are immense and will continue to grow at an exponential pace in the future. Despite the subtle differences, digital commerce would be eCommerce if it were completely automated, from marketing to sales to product delivery.
 

What Is E-Commerce

E-Commerce stands for any online transaction associated with businesses over the internet. A variety of technologies are used in e-commerce to meet the requirements of these processes, such as electronic funds transfers, mobile commerce, online marketing, supply chain management, online transaction processing, and automated data collection systems. With the rise of e-commerce, the retail industry has been profoundly impacted and new jobs and revenue have been generated for small businesses as well as large corporations.
 

Comparison Between Digital Commerce Vs E-Commerce

Digital commerce and E-commerce, both consist of doing business online. However, there are certain differences between them that are discussed below

How Did E-Commerce Get Switched to Digital Commerce

Despite consumers' expectations, e-commerce has never taken off. By 2024, commerce digital will transform retail. There are several reasons why businesses should invest in digital commerce vs e-commerce today.

1. Digital Commerce Offers Convenience

Despite being around for a while, digital commerce has only recently gained popularity. As a result, both buyers and sellers benefit from it. A benefit of digital commerce is that it does not require waiting for your order to arrive in the mail like traditional e-commerce. Customers who want something unique can also benefit from more customization options.

2. Customer Expectations

Customers’ expectations are being restructured by competition, which includes direct competitors, experiential competitors, and eternal influencers. These are all significant aspects of Digital Commerce. This makes it more efficient than E-commerce.

3. Digital Commerce Provides Cross-Channel Analytics

Media companies do not have to rely solely on advertising to monetize their target audiences. As a result, a consistent customer experience across all channels may be achieved through the creation and distribution of relevant information at the right time. We gain a deeper understanding of our customers through cross-channel analytics. Content commerce digital success requires your brand to inform and motivate your customers. Your business will become more visible if you are successful, because people will share your work.

 

Different Trends in Digital Commerce in 2024

1. Data Personalization

Data personalization and individualized interactions cater to the needs and preferences of users. It ensures that every aspect of the user’s journey is user-centered. A complete picture should be provided to every visitor throughout their stay on the site, including product recommendations, browsing data, and landing pages. You can show your target audience that your business cares about them by advertising based on their online behaviour. Your content should be tailored based on your target audience’s purchasing habits, as determined by market research. Visitor data is also acquired using CRM.

2. Commodity Exchange API(s)

Content and commerce digital solutions stifle brand expansion. API-based commerce circumvents these problems by connecting to various business systems. The use of a lightweight API allows data to be sent between systems without interfering with front-end development.

With customized layouts, retailers can reap the benefits of omnichannel design quickly. Scaling a linked system will give the same result. With this tool, you can provide consistent, relevant, and contextual product and content experiences across all of your digital touchpoints.

3. Artificial Intelligence

By incorporating AI into Digital Commerce, we can target clients with customized sales material based on their user data. AI is on the rise; figures show that AI in eCommerce will be worth $9 billion by 2022. By adopting Machine Learning, AI analyzes and automates the interpretation of the information provided to it using advanced analytical and logic-based approaches.

4. Real-Time Augmentation

Augmented reality technology overlays visuals from the user’s perspective by activating the senses. In certain circumstances, Augmented Reality (AR) may utilise effects that mimic real-world sensations, such as sounds, images, and smells. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) can produce effects mimicking real-world sensations, such as sounds, images, and smells. An emotional connection with the customer is necessary to elicit a desire to acquire a particular product from them. By reducing physical stock, AR may benefit Digital Commerce strategies, saving time and money. It increases the brand’s value by removing the need for customers to see the products in person before buying them.

5. Analytical Tools

Making data-driven decisions requires a thorough understanding of client behaviour, which analytics provides. Analytical tools help organisations plan their marketing campaigns more efficiently and increase demand from their target audience. Analytical tools like customer analytics may help organisations better understand current customers. With the use of analytics tools, organizations may improve their social media marketing tactics and increase their Return on Investment (ROI).

6. Business Models Subscriptions

Subscription business models have several advantages for merchants. By generating recurring income, sellers can make budgeting and cash flow forecasting easier, reduce administration costs, and increase their firm’s value. During the planning and budgeting process, buyers will find that recurring monthly expenses make it easier to plan and budget for new applications that they wish to reduce in price. Subscription commerce can be used to achieve recurring sales. It’s becoming more and more important in the world of beauty, food, exercise, health, and wellbeing.

7. Developing Web Apps (PWAs)

Users gain access to engaging, accessible, and seamless experiences with PWAs. With an opt-in installation process that is as simple as possible, these applications provide users with native-like competence. They provide users with native-like features through a simple opt-in installation process. As well as being fast, reliable, and engaging, PWAs are also safe and secure. Developing, testing, and maintaining internal applications across multiple platforms is prohibitively expensive. Businesses are moving away from regular mobile apps to cutting edge Progressive Web Applications (PWAs).

 

Advantages of Digital Commerce in 2024

Digital commerce and e-commerce have become an integral part of our daily lives, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some advantages of digital commerce in 2024:

1. Sustenant Nature of Digital Commerce

The digital world of commerce can be seen as the eCommerce of the 21st century. A digital transaction is one that is made online without a salesperson’s help. Due to a specific difference between digital commerce and e-commerce, digital commerce is better than E-commerce. Therefore, businesses are slowly adopting digital commerce since it’s more relevant to them.

Online purchase of goods and services is growing rapidly than any other type of business. Earlier commerce digital was an option and now has become an essential part of our lives. Businesses that sell digitally have the flexibility to change their schedules when possible.

2. Digital Commerce Will Evolve Rapidly

Although eCommerce and digital commerce have slight differences, they will become interchangeable as eCommerce becomes fully automated, from sales to marketing to delivery. Despite the fact that full automation seems far away, the world’s top retail companies employ this approach. Rather than focusing on their e-commerce platforms, businesses should focus on their digital presence by 2024.

As virtual commerce digital continues to grow, we see a significant move towards these newer platforms coming soon, which many companies will recognize. The attention span of consumers is set to be shorter in the future – so businesses can serve their customers and themselves better by focusing on newer, less established platforms sooner rather than later.

3. Dynamic Changing Nature of D-Commerce

When it comes to these two approaches, digital commerce wins. Even though the e-commerce model has seen considerable success, its scope remains limited by its very nature: to facilitate traditional commerce. Online shopping will primarily be conducted through digital commerce. For businesses to help their consumers, they need to go beyond their social influence and boundaries. It is becoming increasingly common for consumers to purchase online as e-commerce platforms decline in popularity.

4. Seamless Processes

There is a specific piece of content for nearly every potential consumer journey. As a result, digital commerce offers marketing automation at its best, as it anticipates consumers’ next logical needs, and answers those needs, leading customers to make a purchase. A significant amount of time is saved, especially in B2C markets where most purchases are impulse purchases.
 

Examples of Digital Commerce

Buying products and services without human interaction is the most common example of B2B digital commerce. Sekel Tech, Slack, Trello, HubSpot, and Lightspeed are examples of collaboration tools and B2B Digital Commerce. 

Sekel Tech offers software as a service to businesses and brands. The services offered by Sekel Tech as a B2B Digital commerce platform are inclusive of :- microsites, local listings, Reviews management, Geo-fenced offers, Automated SEO, Product cataloguing, etc.

1. Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is one of the clients of Sekel Tech. Schneider Electric’s complete product catalog is available online in its web store. Customers can discover and choose the desired product within just a few clicks and add it right into their shopping cart.

2. The Aurelia

The Aurelia team wanted to boost their engagement across the platform using SaaS based solutions for which they chose Sekel Tech. The brand was able to transform and implement the entire campaign with the help of Sekel Tech’s software as service. Aurelia was able to successfully involve a huge number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs).

3. Blackberry

Blackberry discussed the goal of their business and service needs with Sekel Tech. Sekel Tech offered the brand to understand the behaviour of its consumers, see cohorts, read funnels and get an insight on retention rates. With the help of Sekel Tech’s dashboard software, a stepwise plan was created.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What does Digital Commerce Mean?

Digital commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet using electronic devices such as smartphones, computers, and tablets.

2. What are Digital Commerce Platforms?

Digital commerce platforms are software solutions that enable businesses to sell their products or services online. These platforms typically include features like shopping carts, payment gateways, and inventory management tools.

3. Does e-Commerce Include Digital Products?

Yes, e-commerce can include digital products such as ebooks, software, music, and videos that are delivered electronically.

4. What is the Need for Digital Commerce?

The need for digital commerce has increased due to the growing number of people who prefer to shop online. It provides convenience, flexibility, and accessibility to customers while allowing businesses to expand their customer base and increase sales.

5. Is Digital Marketing e-Commerce?

Digital marketing is not the same as e-commerce, but it is often used in conjunction with e-commerce to drive traffic and sales to online stores. Digital marketing includes strategies like social media marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization.

 

Conclusion

To succeed in digital commerce, businesses need to have a deep understanding of their customers' preferences and behaviour, which can be achieved through analytical solutions that capture consumer data across various touchpoints. Personalization techniques, AI, and budget optimization can also be leveraged to enhance the commerce digital strategy and improve customer engagement. Overall, the key to a successful commerce digital venture is to stay focused on the customer and their needs and to adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
 

How are Sekel Tech’s Digital Commerce Solutions and Services Different from Others

As observed, Digital Commerce Vs E-commerce, the clear winner is Digital Commerce because it is adapting to the market and changing technology rapidly.

Sekel Tech’s digital commerce solutions and services are designed to enable businesses to sell their products or services online. The key features of Sekel Tech’s digital commerce solution include an easy-to-use interface for customers, a secure payment gateway, and a reliable and scalable infrastructure.

Some of the factors that differentiate Sekel Tech’s digital commerce solution from others are –

1. Customization and Flexibility

A good digital commerce solution should be customizable to meet the specific needs of the business. Sekel Tech’s solutions offer more customization and flexibility to meet specific business requirements.

2. Integration with Other Platforms

A good digital commerce solution should be able to integrate with other platforms like CRM, ERP, and shipping carriers. Sekel Tech’s solutions offer better integration capabilities.

3. Analytics and Reporting

A good digital commerce solution should provide real-time analytics and reporting to help businesses make data-driven decisions. Sekel Tech’s solutions offer more advanced analytics and reporting features.

4. Customer Support

A good digital commerce solution should offer reliable customer support to ensure that businesses can resolve any issues quickly. Sekel Tech’s solutions offer better customer support services.

Sekel Tech offers dynamic tools and software services to boost your sales using the digital commerce platform. We’ve helped our clients to grow their traditional businesses to the next level by making the most of this platform. Call us or contact us online to learn how you can grow your business using Digital Commerce!