eCommerce is fast becoming the preferred medium through which consumers buy their goods. Unlike on the high-street, business in the virtual world is booming and every year the eCommerce sector experiences double-digit growth.
For consumers buying online and having goods delivered strips out the time and effort of shopping in the ‘real world’, for retailers the costs can be lower and the process of getting goods to market more efficient.
Also unlike on the high street, selling in the digital space is evolving at light speed. New products and services for ‘e-tailers’ are launching all the time and each one brings an dimension to the industry and makes selling over the internet a little bit easier.
For small businesses, the big incentives to selling online are cost and scope. Owning or renting a physical shop space can be expensive, but website websites can be free or at least very cheap to run by comparison.
While costs like stock, warehousing and marketing are consistent, the shop itself is less of a drain on your resources – especially when you factor in the need for sales staff, utilities such as light and heat and window displays.
When it comes to scope, the internet beats physical shop hands down. With the right marketing in place a website can pick up customers across the world, while a walk-in shop relies on the patronage of people who live nearby.
In certain cases, online shops can attract thousands of customers overnight while stores in the real world tend to start slow and build a customer base over time. Done the right way, online wins every time.
Like it or not, it’s why traditional high street favourites are struggling to attract customers and are channelling increasing resources online to compete with new media businesses that have sprung up in the last few years and are already taking massive chunks out of the retail sector.
Your business could become one of these plucky start-ups turned retail behemoths. With planning, careful consideration and the right tools at your disposal an online shop could be just the trigger you need to get sales moving.
eSellermedia.com is packed full of advice to help you achieve this goal. So check out our guides, profiles and reviews to get one step closer to online business success.
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