Unit 5: E-commerce Marketing and Advertising

This unit explores the world of e-commerce marketing and advertising. Once an e-commerce site is built, the next challenge is to attract visitors and convert them into customers. We will look at how businesses use the unique features of the internet to reach and engage with their target audience.

We will start by examining online consumer behavior and the factors that influence purchasing decisions. We will then dive into the key digital marketing strategies and technologies, including search engine marketing, display advertising, and email marketing.

Consumers Online: The Online Audience and Consumer Behavior

The Internet has created a new and powerful channel for businesses to reach consumers. The online audience is large and growing, and it is important for businesses to understand how consumers behave online.

1. The Online Audience

The online audience is the group of people who use the Internet. The size of the online audience has been growing rapidly in recent years. In 2023, there were over 5 billion Internet users worldwide.

2. Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. The consumer decision process is a five-stage process that consumers go through when making a purchase decision:

  1. Need recognition: The consumer recognizes that they have a need or want.
  2. Information search: The consumer searches for information about products or services that can satisfy their need or want.
  3. Evaluation of alternatives: The consumer evaluates the different products or services that they have found.
  4. Purchase decision: The consumer makes a decision to purchase a product or service.

The Online Audience and Consumer Behavior in Nepal

The online audience in Nepal is large and growing. According to the latest data from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), there are over 30 million Internet users in Nepal. This represents a significant increase from just a few years ago.

The demographics of the online audience in Nepal are also changing. In the past, the online audience was dominated by young, urban, and educated men. However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of women, older people, and people from rural areas who are coming online.

The online shopping behavior of consumers in Nepal is also evolving. In the past, most online shoppers were looking for deals on electronics and other high-ticket items. However, in recent years, there has been a growing demand for a wider variety of products, including fashion, beauty, and home goods.

Some of the key characteristics of online consumer behavior in Nepal include:

  • Mobile-first: The majority of online shoppers in Nepal use their mobile phones to make purchases.
  • Social media influence: Social media plays a big role in the online shopping decisions of consumers in Nepal. Many people use social media to discover new products and to get recommendations from friends and family.
  • Cash on delivery preference: Cash on delivery is still the most popular payment method for online shopping in Nepal.