E-commerce means more than online stores

In simple terms, e-commerce means commercial transactions conducted electronically on the Internet. By this, we mean sale-purchase transactions, as payment and delivery can be done either online or offline. Online stores are the most popular type of this trade, and for some people they equate to the concept of e-commerce itself. It is worth noting, however, that apart from e-shops, we can also distinguish auction sites, e-exchange offices, electronic banking and betting platforms.

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The challenges for your e-commerce database

In the e-commerce industry, databases undertake special tasks.

A well-configured database system should:

• guarantee data availability 24/7,
• maintain a high polling rate during periods of increased usage,
• save large amounts of data,
• provide information about changes (e.g. the availability of given products from the product catalog) dynamically and on an ongoing basis.

This is especially important during peak sales periods, such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, that can translate into an increased number of queries. For this reason, e-commerce companies should focus on database scalability.

Which to choose: relational databases or non-relational databases?

Let’s take a closer look at data storage for e-commerce services. We can choose from several databases, the best-known of which are relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL). Let’s take a look at the differences between them. To be more precise, SQL is a Structured Query Language, a language for retrieving data from a relational database. However, this type of database has been called an “SQL database”, so I will use this term for the purposes of comparison. It also makes it easier to remember the name of the second type – a NoSQL database – that is often referred to as “not SQL”.

There are 5 basic differences between them:

As you can see, the NoSQL databases perfectly match the requirements and needs of the e-commerce market in terms of data availability and storage. Currently, the most popular database system of this type is MongoDB.

What is MongoDB?

MongoDB is a document database for easy creation and scaling. Documents are created and stored in BSON (Binary JSON) format. Thanks to the use of JSON, it’s very easy to convert the queries and results into a format that can “understand” the frontend code of the e-commerce application. It is also more understandable for humans. The NoSQL solution includes hierarchy, automatic fragmentation, and built-in replication for better scalability and high availability.

Now that we have a picture of what the main challenges are in e-commerce and are sure that MongoDB is a good choice for data storage, let’s learn more about how MongoDB can support the e-commerce industry.

Advantages of NoSQL databases in e-commerce – based on the example of MongoDB

Dynamic schemas

Thanks to dynamic schemas, the documents in the collection do not have to have the same fields, and a given field can have different types depending on the document. This increases the flexibility of mapping to entities or objects. However, practice shows that the structure of documents inside the collection is similar. To guarantee this, MongoDB introduced the ability to set validation rules per collection.

Easy hierarchization of data

Thanks to the use of the JSON format, it’s easy to structure the data. You can do this by embedding one document in another or by providing references. The use of a given method should be considered individually for each collection. Embedding is recommended because it allows you to obtain data with a single query, which improves the system’s performance. References are worth considering for more complex hierarchy representations or when the benefits of embedding do not outweigh the effects of data duplication (such as the need to monitor changes when replacing data).

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Replication

MongoDB utilizes a concept called Replica Set, which is a set of nodes containing the same data. This enables data replication, the purpose of which is to increase availability and protect against database server failures. A properly designed architecture also allows for faster access to data.

We will discuss the key assumptions and replication mechanisms on the basis of the diagram below.

The replica set consists of one node, the so-called Primary member, and Secondary members. There is also a special member of such a set, the Arbiter, which does not contain a copy of the data but is used to select an alternative in the event that the main server is unavailable.

Saving operations are performed only on the Primary instance, from which the built-in MongoDB mechanism then copies the data to the other instances.

By default, read operations also go through the Primary instance, but it’s possible to configure the nodes so that the secondary servers are used to handle queries, which may involve the occurrence of the so-called eventual-consistency, i.e. the delayed update of data.

The clocking mechanism (heartbeat). Each of the nodes (members) polls the others every 2 seconds to check their availability. If the main server is unavailable, a new one is selected.

Deploy a Replica Set — MongoDB Manual

This process consists in selecting the one with the highest priority from the remaining instances. According to documentation, the replica can have up to 50 nodes, of which only 7 can participate in the selection process (voting); the successor is chosen from among them. Other servers, named Non-Voting members, must have the properties votes and priority set to 0. Setting an uneven number of voting instances is recommended; hence, the minimum number of nodes in a replica set is 3.

Fragmentation

Fragmentation means the process of dividing a data set into smaller pieces. In doing so, you can scale your database horizontally, practically without any limits. For fragmentation, MongoDB uses a cluster that consists of:

• Shard – the replica set that contains part of the collection (chunk),
• Router – it works a bit like a load balancer and, based on the configuration, forwards orders to the appropriate subcollection to balance the load,
• Config server – which stores the metadata and a cluster configuration.

The relationship between the components is presented in the following diagram:

For fragmentation, it is important to choose the right key and strategy. When selecting the document field that you wish to use as the key, you need to consider:

• Cardinality – how many elements we can divide the collection into in relation to the key,
• Repeatability – whether any value appears more often than the others,
• Consistency – whether the new key values are not increasing / decreasing linearly,
• Query frequency – the key should be used in the most frequent queries.

When it comes to strategies, there are two to take advantage of:

Hashed Sharding

With this strategy, MongoDB automatically generates Hash from the key field values. It works well when the key values change consistently. Hash increases the consistent distribution of documents between shards. The disadvantage is that in the case of inquiries about a given scope, it is unlikely that all documents will be in one shard. This results in polling all parts of the collection (chunks), because the router cannot clearly determine which shard the searched documents are located in.

Ranged Sharding

Each of the shards holds parts of the collection within a given key-value range. This strategy works well when the set of values for the key is large, but each of them does not repeat often. The main advantage is that you can target your inquiry to a specific shard or collection, which significantly affects the polling speed. The built-in MongoDB mechanism serves divide into parts and to allocate them. The mechanism ensures that they are consistently distributed and tries to maintain similarity in their sizes. When deciding on fragmentation, remember that MongoDB does not have an option allowing you to merge data – you only run fragmentation again using a different key.

Streams of change

As of version 3.6, MongoDB allows you to listen for changes in a selected collection, database or the entire system, except for the admin, premises and config collections. This is done by starting the cursor, which allows you to iteratively navigate through events related to a given range. Since this mechanism uses aggregation, you can also listen for specific changes or modify received notifications. The basic requirement is to use a replica set as notification takes place at the point of saving changes in the majority of those that are responsible for data storage.

Change streams use a special, limited oplog collection to store information on operations that have an impact on the current state of the data. Documents in this collection rotate, which means that when the new document reaches the size limit of the collection, the oldest ones are deleted. Therefore, you should choose the appropriate size for this collection, depending on the frequency of events, so that you can capture the selected one before it is removed.

Conclusion

According to predictions, the dynamic development of e-commerce in Poland will continue for the next few years. Customers’ requirements for websites or applications are growing. The most important factors in improving the Customer Experience include availability, speed and reliability. A properly configured database system such as MongoDB is resistant to failures, scalable, and allows you to hierarchize and store of large amounts of data, so it fulfils the needs of any e-commerce projects.

The challenges in the early days of e-commerce were closely related to simplifying online transactions to encourage customers to shop online. In the following stages, inventory visibility and package tracking possibilities appeared. Content marketing has also become part of the game. Product reviews, blog posts, and social media activities support online sales. Currently a trusted relationship with the customer is of the highest importance. So far you’ve read about it. It’s time to use it.

Main trends in e-commerce in 2020

Let’s look at several trends that many sources unanimously indicate will have the greatest impact on e-commerce development over the next year.

• Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics. AI has travelled the path from a curiosity to be read about in the tech news during a coffee break to everyday use in business. Implementation is no longer expensive, and the benefits allow you to compete with leading players on the market. The more data you collect, the closer you can get to the one-to-one marketing ideal. E-commerce websites are increasingly implementing Predictive Analysis tools to improve email campaigns, predicting the most effective time to send emails based on collected data on conversion rates, opening rates and engagement rates. Next in line are improvements in dynamic content, product recommendation, price optimization and image search.

• Image recognition. Have you had enough of irrelevant search results while shopping online? Thanks to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning we might get rid of this very soon. Visual search allows you to search and find goods that are similar to products from another photo. It might be a picture from the web or even one which you have taken. No wonder that customer-centric visual search solutions are being rapidly implemented by e-commerce companies. Even if the idea sounds unfamiliar, you most probably use the Visual Search Tool on Pinterest already.

• Voice search. In the next five years, up to half of all search queries are going to be either through images or speech. Of course, this will affect SEO, which is why experts recommend the quick implementation of a voice search feature on your e-commerce platform. According to Absolunet’s eCommerce Trends for 2019 report, 80% of mobile users use voice search engines to look for a local business, of which 50% are likely to visit the store within a day, with roughly 18% of those local searches converting to a sale within 24 hours. 

• Mobile Commerce. The decision on whether or not to develop a mobile application for your company is a no-brainer. This is the starting point for voice control implementation, simplifying the ordering process This is the starting point for voice control implementation, simplifying the ordering process, as well as taking advantage of visual commerce. It is faster and more convenient to use the app in your mobile than to wait for the opportunity to use a computer browser. The challenge for digital commerce is to make it easier to buy on your mobile. But this is already happening – half of customers who order online make purchases using a mobile device. This has become possible thanks to an improved user experience and mobile payments, not to mention a Progressive Web Application – a hybrid of a website and mobile application, that loads on average five times faster than a website and can work offline to some extent. Of course, the crucial thing is to know your audience, to know where your customers are most active and willing to make a purchase. According to Statista, estimated mobile e-commerce sales worldwide in 2020 will be as high as 70%.

• Selling through social media. Social media can support sales, that much is clear. But there is something more than building brand awareness, engagement with your community, sales adverts, e.g. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are being used for messaging. Social buying is already standard in China, where 55% of social app users reported buying goods or services directly on a social app.

• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The era of visual commerce is coming. Take a closer look at Augmented Reality if you want to gain a competitive advantage. 61% of shoppers prefer to shop at stores that offer augmented reality over ones that don’t. Moreover, 40% would be willing to pay more for a product if they could experience it thanks to augmented reality.

More is coming…

The above six trends are only part of what the year 2020 has in store for us. There are many more besides, and it is difficult to predict today which ones will rule when we come to summarize the end of next year: same-day delivery, customer privacy protection, unified commerce, subscription commerce, enterprise marketplace, API-based commerce and more. Some of these technologies can provide you with a strong competitive edge when implemented. They are approachable and not as expensive as they used to be. Many companies offer the tools developed in this booming area in a subscription-based model. It is crucial for your company to set trends and get a boost from technology before it becomes widespread on the market.

The range of technology and responsibility associated with the effective operation of all business tools means going beyond the scope of a single e-commerce manager. Hence, e-commerce structures in organizations will grow and specialization in terms of responsibilities will take place. At the same time, a significant scope of work will be provided as part of outsourced services. In the vast majority of cases, it’s simply cheaper and more effective.

Summary

There is a wide range of technology trends that will potentially drive sales online in 2020. Some of them are more likely to star on this stage. According to many forecasts, Artificial Intelligence, Predictive Analytics, voice search, mobile commerce, social media selling tools and Augmented Reality are most often indicated as the future of e-commerce. But as the saying goes: the wheels are in motion and anything can happen. Maybe same-day delivery or API-based commerce will be the hero of 2020? Or maybe a new player will appear on the market? No one knows and that’s the beauty of the dynamic market of modern technology. It will be a great year for all of us who are interested in technology, and most probably a year full of opportunities for e-commerce entrepreneurs.