In my previous report, Overcome Top Digital Challenges In 2015, we found that digital marketers’ top challenge is meeting increased pressure to deliver business outcomes. In fact, they’re gradually taking on more responsibilities directly related to business outcomes, such as eCommerce. My latest brief, Digital Marketers Are Embracing eCommerce, And China Is Leading The Way, helps B2C marketers understand this emerging trend and embrace the opportunity to deliver consistent digital experiences to customers.

One-third of the digital marketers in China who responded to our survey indicated that eCommerce is one of their job responsibilities (see the figure). Forrester sees this trend developing in China as well as in Western markets. For example, in the US, Gap redesigned its global CMO role by merging eCommerce and digital marketing in a single executive position earlier this year.

However, the fusion of digital marketing and eCommerce teams is happening more extensively in China because:

  • Social and commerce are more closely intertwined in China than anywhere else. The bond between social media and eCommerce is extremely close in China, exemplified by the strategic partnerships between WeChat and JD.com and between Alibaba and Weibo.
  • eCommerce is the latest addition to a very new digital marketing team. For many companies, especially in traditional industries, the digital marketing team is still new and rather small. Around three-quarters of digital marketers we surveyed reported that their digital marketing team consists of fewer than 10 people.
  • Digital marketing mastery is essential for eCommerce to succeed in China. China’s eCommerce landscape is extremely concentrated. As brands engage in fierce competition on a limited number of eCommerce platforms, they need to invest heavily in digital marketing.

B2C digital marketers who want to understand the importance of delivering consistent digital experiences across channels and different stages of the customer life cycle so they can embrace the opportunity to drive eCommerce initiatives and take ownership of critical business outcomes should read the full report.