E-commerce is the new threshold for every company because of the many benefits that it offers. These online transactions are not restricted by geographical boundaries, which means companies that use e-commerce have a worldwide audience. They can sell their products to any person living in any part of the world without any kind of growth inhibitor, so the opportunities are almost endless. Moreover, the setting up and maintenance costs go down, so companies can use the additional resources to interact better with customers. Due to these reasons, more and more companies want to enhance their online presence.
There are many ways to gain a strong foothold in the e-commerce segment of business and one such way is to acquire an e-commerce company. This is exactly what Staples, the second largest Internet retailer in the world, has done. It has acquired a company called Runa based in San Mateo, California. Runa has advanced e-comemrce capabilities and it offers two unique products called PerfectOffer and PerfectShipping. PerfectOffer is a data-driven application based on real-time information. This platform aims to provide a personalized shopping experience for users. It also gives shoppers customized offers based on their search and buying patterns. With this platform, companies get the most sales conversion at a relatively less margin. PerfectShipping, on the other hand, is a product that gives delivery estimates and any free-shipping products to customers. This information is also based on real-time data which means it is highly accurate for shoppers.
With these two platforms under Staples belt, the company aims to further increase its sales through e-commerce. Staples views this acquisition more as a need because of the growing mobile and Internet sales among customers worldwide.
In the meantime, Runa's staff will continue to create such data-powered e-commerce platforms for Staples from its San Mateo location.