BaseKit 2024 Product Roadmap

We’ve all heard of the e-commerce boom by now. Accelerated by the pandemic and predicted to overtake physical retail as soon as next year, e-commerce has disrupted every corner of the retail industry and taken hold all across the world.

For small businesses, e-commerce is often touted as the answer to growing their business, giving them the ability to reach loyal customers on a global scale and sell their products far and wide. But that’s not the only opportunity that the e-commerce boom represents. As e-commerce sees increased adoption in specific markets, it will be of strategic importance to larger companies. And they look to support this rising tide of small retail businesses, they will be a part of creating a tech democracy.

1. POS companies looking to complete the picture

One trend that will have big implications for small businesses launching online stores is the rise of point of sale companies. These are looking to partner with e-commerce store builders as a means of scaling their offering.

It makes sense for POS companies to move into the e-commerce world. By offering e-commerce tools like a store builder alongside their point of sale system, they can offer a more complete package to small businesses. In fact, the merging of e-commerce and POS has already started happening from the other side of the fence – for example Shopify has already added a POS system to its own e-commerce platform.

This merging of POS and e-commerce also makes sense for the end user. Small business owners already face a daunting task when it comes to sourcing all of the platforms and digital tools they need to get their business up and running. From project management tools and appointment schedulers to invoicing, accounting and inventory management software, the shopping list can quickly become far longer than they were expecting.

For many hoping to sell their products online, they might not even be aware that they need to find a separate store builder and POS system. And even when they are, they then have questions about which systems are most compatible with each other and how to integrate them – questions they will likely struggle to answer if they’re not already tech-savvy.

By adding something like a white label store builder into their offering, POS companies can help small business owners find those answers effortlessly. They no longer need to research all the individual components of their online operation – they can find them already wrapped up under one brand, and get a fully-fledged e-commerce system straight out of the box.

2. The rapid rise of Asian e-commerce

Some of the fastest-growing markets for e-commerce right now can be found in Asia.

According to Statista, the Philippines was the world’s leading country for retail e-commerce sales growth in 2023, closely followed by India. Meanwhile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea made it a total of seven Asian countries in the top ten.

Much of this has been driven by an increase in internet connectivity and smartphone adoption. For example, India is expected to have over 1 billion smartphone users by 2026, while its e-commerce market is expected to be worth $350 million by 2030.

Other Asian countries are experiencing a push from the government level to embrace e-commerce, as a means of diversifying and future-proofing their economy. Mongolia, whose economy has historically relied on mining copper, coal and iron ore, has been investing heavily in digital infrastructure and education to boost its e-commerce market.

As a result, more than 70% of the country’s mobile broadband subscribers now have access to 4G, and the number of online shoppers aged 15 or older rose from just 7% to 42% between 2017 and 2021.

All of this growth gives more opportunity for people in these countries to become entrepreneurs and small business owners. As countries across Asia target the adoption of smartphones and fast, reliable mobile internet, the barrier to entry for new businesses setting up online will keep coming down – while the number of potential customers they can reach via an e-commerce store will only rise.

3. Greater trust for cross-border shopping

There’s a common misconception that “small business” equals “local”. Even if they’re selling online, the assumption is usually that they primarily sell to customers within their own country, or even their own city.

That traditional perception is often no longer accurate. Thanks to the continued rise of e-commerce, small businesses can sell to customers on the other side of the world just as much as they can to customers in the same town. And not only are they more capable of reaching international customers, but online shoppers are also increasingly more likely to buy from e-commerce brands around the world.

In their 2022 Borderless Commerce Report, Paypal found that 57% of online shoppers worldwide are now buying from e-commerce businesses outside of their country. While major corporations are certainly part of that, small businesses with online stores are as well. And as the consumer trust shift towards small businesses continues, the role small businesses play in cross-border e-commerce is only going to grow.

One of the biggest reasons small businesses struggle to find support from larger companies is because they’re often priced out of services or seen as a risky investment because of their size.

But when the rise in cross-border e-commerce gives small businesses a chance to reach a global audience, the reasons to invest in their success become too compelling to ignore. And the more we help small businesses by extending the digital tools and education they need to sell online, the easier it will be for any new entrepreneur to take advantage of this opportunity.

We’re on a mission for tech democracy for small businesses – are you in? Request a demo of our software, or get in touch to discuss what a BaseKit partnership could look like.