eTRADE eMBRACEING eCOMMERCE

Trade, acquiring things we need and want, is the oldest profession known to man. Now I know what everyone thinks of as the oldest profession, but that would not be possible without trade. Over many centuries trade has evolved and adapted to our changing world. Trade is still alive in all its forms. From barter to bargain, switch to swap, haggle to negotiate, and exchange to fund, trade makes the world go round. Everything in life revolves around trade. Everyone is involved and everyone needs trade.

Today trade has evolved to its greatest form, eCommerce. This is the ability for anyone to trade based on a digital representation from the omni-present mobile device. Enabled with a device a person or business can buy and sell anything with a few clicks. The order and payment are instantly done between buyer and seller at speed never imagined. Orders are placed, inventory is checked, goods are shipped, paid for, and - as expected - arrive in days. Trade provides instant satisfaction like a social medicine. There is much we do not see in, and many more advances coming to, social commerce.

Shopping as entertainment. That is where we do not have anything in mind to buy, but we just want to see what is new, what is everyone else looking at and liking. We just want to be part of the fun.

Social commerce is now a thing, and it is only going to grow. In China, the world’s largest eCommerce market, about 50% of their consumers buy through social platforms. In the U.S. that figure is a little over a third. Companies are shifting their promotions to performance marketing and remarkable marketing. In performance marketing, advertisers and marketers only pay for success. This can be based on measurable actions like transactions, clicks, views, etc. With remarkable marketing the individual is encouraged to take part and interact with the site, product, company, or social platform. This is done through likes, emojis, and remarks that are personal and individual. Bringing the buyer, seller, and social platform together in a way that could not have been imagined and its instant. Technology does it, COVID-19 increased the velocity, and social commerce content puts it all within easy reach.

The most invigorating, yet daunting conversion is in process. Businesses are jumping in! Wholesale ecommerce is a fast-growing segment. Instead of buying single items for personal use, companies are buying production quantities. Larger volumes mean larger dollars. Increasingly this business is cross-border. The trend is towards vertical specialized online marketplaces. With the rise of these marketplaces, buyers can connect with wholesalers in minutes and receive their orders faster. The world is moving from trade shows to online marketplaces. This is creating a huge opportunity for payments, foreign exchange, and financing.

Unfortunately for many traditional banks this opportunity is passing them by. With their reliance on legacy technology and slow thinking management, they are not as agile as the fintechs. Fintechs are evolving at an ever-increasing pace. The use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in payments, FX, and Financing is increasing the speed and accuracy while reducing the time and cost of transactions. Payments made with cryptocurrencies are generally smooth and almost instantaneous. Recording transactional details within the blockchain provide unmatched security with reliability and accessibility. AI unlocks the trends in FX to make real time rate decisions. Technology provides integration between the bank and its customer providing the bank an instantaneous window to the accounting positions accurately. This visibility gives the bank confidence to provide financing while monitoring the company’s position.

What the data, reports and trends reveal is that global eTrade embracing eCommerce is evolving as trade has always done since the beginning of man. Trade has never been a choice; it has always been a necessity.