In the past, if you wanted to start a dot-com company, investors would shy away from you. They assumed you would fail. In the early days of the Internet, many dot-com companies did just that. They spiked with great sales in the beginning then promptly nose-dived and are no longer in business.
Today, however, the exact opposite is happening. If you aren’t online, you are doomed to fail. The companies that are based solely online are taking the world by storm and are successful. E-commerce is a subset of this trend, but it is becoming more and more common every day.
Here are some reasons why small business owners embrace e-commerce.
#1:. Your Store Will Go Everywhere
If you have a brick-and-mortar shop, you have a limited number of people who can come through your store. Even if you are open 24 hours, you can’t reach as many people as you can with an E-commerce site. Also, you have global customers, but with a physical store, you only have access to customers in the local area.
#2:. Your Shoppers Will Enjoy Convenience
If you are sales expert you know that customers want to be able to buy whatever they want with a click of the button. With an online store they don’t have to worry about whether the store is open. They don’t have to worry if they are wearing clothes or their pajamas. They can have their purchases sent directly to their doorstep.
#3:. Your Overhead is Low
When you own a store, you have to pay employees, electric, water, rent and insurance. You don’t have any of those expenses with an E-commerce site.
You have to pay for the site, logistics and possibly warehouse employees. You might also have to pay for the company that ships your goods, but these costs are considerably less than if you had a store.
#4:. Your Products Can Sell Cheaper
You can afford to lower your price, which attracts more customers. You still will make a huge profit, but the margins are lower. You would make up in volume what you lose in store sales. And, in stores, you have to mark up your prices so high because of overhead and other factors, such as theft.
You don’t have to worry about theft with an E-commerce site. Online sales allow you to be creative with your specials and discounts too.
#5:. You Can Benefit From Affiliate Marketing
What if you had an E-commerce site and were asked to put some of your products on someone else’s site as well? You would rake in tremendous sales. Even with the small commission you would pay the other person, you would get twice the number of customers.
And, you can offer to pick up other people’s products for your site with a small fee. You will help the other company which will help you. Everyone wins.
#6:. Your Store Is Like A Supermarket
If you shop in a supermarket, you can buy almost everything. At stores like Target you can get everything. This means people can take their time, browse the shelves and pick what they need without ever having to go to another store.
The same is true in E-commerce, but the selling space isn’t limited by the physical space of a store. You can find whatever you need on an e-commerce shopping site from clothes to automotive products. Your customers will spend more time shopping on your site, which equates to more sales.
#7:. You ll Benefit From The Big Mobile Buying Trend
In the latest trend in E-commerce, business owners are focusing on mobile marketing because smart phones are driving sales in retail. People are using their phones to shop, tell friends about their finds and looking up reviewson products or services.
This trend is assisting the growth of E-commerce’s popularity. People would rather hit a button on their phones to buy something than to drive to the store. Businesses are eating up the profits and making their sites better.
#8:. Your Shoppers Can Buy Online, Return To Store
If you take notice of customers behavior nowadays, many people enjoy having the option of buying a product online and picking it up in a store/ returning it to a store.
This is all about convenience. People don’t have to wait two weeks to receive their products. And, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to worry about the merchandise return requirements.
#9:. Your Shoppers Will Find the Unique Products They Want
If you want to buy something specific, such as an antique dinner plate, you will have more options online than at a local mall. You might not even be able find what you are looking for at a physical antique store.
#10:. You’ll Be Able To Offer Discounts and Deals
If you own a store, you can offer a sale to draw customers to your place of business, but every other store is doing the same thing. Today, shoppers check online for discounts and deals. They search for the store with the best sale and go there.
However, remember that when you are building your E-commerce site, you want to work with companies who understand the industry as you definitely don’t want a website that will crash.