People are more and more intrigued by investing in ecommerce. In the following lines, we’ll share information about the pros seen through the eyes of ecommerce businesses.
Smaller initial investment
One of the great advantages of ecommerce is the more economical initial investment. Considerably less money is needed to run an online store compared to a physical one. To open a retail store, you need at least to rent some space. After that comes the interior design and repair, inscriptions / signs, loading goods and so on. Let’s not forget the need for staff, insurance, other overheads and sometimes security, depending on the type of goods.
For comparison – the online store can be started extremely economically with any of the rental platforms or online marketplaces. In this way, your financial risk is minimised. This is important for people who want to start their own business from scratch and do not have large budgets.
Quick start business
You can start an online store a lot faster than a physical one. Especially if you use a ready-made solution (platform like eBay) for ecommerce. It’s an excellent option for people and companies who want to validate their idea in the market without making significant investments. Think about how much less time and money you will invest in opening an eshop.
Potential for new customers
Among the advantages of ecommerce is the ability to attract new customers. People from different cities will be able to shop from your online store without having to travel to a physical site. This is what takes you out of the vicious circle of the local market and everything additional that goes with it. Also, if you have a niche product, you can affordably serve the ‘long tail’ of international customers who are looking for just what you have.
Sales on the international market
Continuing the theme of increasing the circle of potential customers, online stores provide an opportunity to make sales in the global market. Of course, this goes with additional efforts and difficulties, but it greatly expands the opportunities for the development of a company. Selling goods abroad is an interesting opportunity, which is perfectly complemented by their production at a local level.
Drastically lowers the number of requirements and permits
At least for now, the number of documents required to manage an online store is significantly less than the maintenance of a physical site. This facilitates both daily work and initial start-up. Not to mention that it reduces the possibility of administrative blunders.
24/7 revenue potential
The good thing about the online store is that it does not close its doors, has no working hours, always welcomes customers and is in working condition. This allows people to shop at a time convenient to them. Such convenience is indispensable for highly engaged people.
Staff flexibility
We don’t want to be misunderstood here. Of course the online store needs staff and doesn’t work completely automatically. What do we mean? In the beginning, you can manage your store and process orders, then gradually hire people (you can also check our post Automated customer service – The What, The Why and The How). Another trick is to outsource some of the online store functions to regions with moe affordable living costs, which also reduces your own monthly costs. It’s very difficult to get these benefits from managing a physical site.
Easy to encourage impulsive buyers
Through the online store, you can stimulate the so-called impulsive buyers. These are people who make quick purchase decisions if you hit the right note. Listed below are some tricks used by eshops:
• Attractive product photography;
• Introducing emotions through colours;
• Limited quantities;
• Special, limited series of products;
• Timers for expiring promotions;
• Large price reductions;
• Promo codes for discounts;
If you know your customer, you have the opportunity to use various tactics to increase online sales.
Retargeting customers
You’ve probably noticed that after visiting an online store you start to see offers for their products all over the internet. This is due to the store retargeting potential customers. They attach a cookie to the visitor’s device and remind them of the store and the wonderful products they offer. Retargeting marketing gives good results for businesses and is not an expensive option.
Alas, working with a physical store, this kind of retargeting marketing isn’t impossible.
Detailed customer information
With the number of people entering and leaving physical facilities, it’s difficult to track who they are. While in the online store, with the help of user profiles, you have information about the names, phones, emails, gender, and address of people. This way you have a good picture of what’s happening and you can better choose products and market more successfully (also check our post Managing your Data, the right way).
To find out more about the automotive aftermarket, or for a no-obligation introductory discussion, please contact us.
Fast processing of multiple orders
Online store ordering systems allow businesses to sell without hindrance. No more queues in front of cash registers and grumbling customers. Through the eshop shopping carts and online payments, you have the opportunity to accept multiple orders at the same time, with the minimum of hassle.
Easy business growth
An online store can grow more easily and quickly than its physical counterpart. Often, scaling up comes down to inflating the marketing budget and managing stocks. While the big brother – the physical store, requires more effort and investment. The opening of many physical stores in individual cities is slower and more capital-intensive.
Content as a way to increase sales
If you decide to write articles for your online store or make video reviews of products, you get the unique opportunity to increase your sales organically. What does organic mean? Google indexes the content you create, then displays you in the so-called organic search engine results, so you don’t pay for ads. This is a big plus that relieves the financial burden. It’s a good idea to put this type of content into an early marketing strategy, since it takes time before your time and effort pays off.
To keep the balance, we’ll do a post on the shortcomings of online commerce, so please look out for this. You can also check our guides Online Sales – How To Start Selling? and How to choose the Right Software to Grow Ecommerce Sales.
In the meantime, if you need help planning and developing your eshop – contact us via the contact form.
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