Ecommerce is at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement, driving logistical departments to their limits. The potential to exponentially grow your business with ecommerce (if you don’t already) is definitely there.
Faster buying/selling
Speed is one of the biggest differentiators between competitors today. Delivery speed is a major factor that strongly effects purchasing behaviour. Traditional brick and mortar stores can’t compete when it comes to convenience, would you rather drive 40-mins around town on a Saturday or have it delivered to your door the day after you’ve ordered it?
The problem with physical stores is they are limited to their selling space within the shop. Ecommerce stores have unlimited space to advertise their wears to you. Not only that, but with new developments in augmented reality you can now try on clothes in the comfort of your own home! Ecommerce is definitely the way forward for any store, especially with generation Z’s reliance on technology and shorter attention spans.
Low operational costs
Operating a physical store can be extremely expensive, whereas for an online store all you need to pay for are the operating costs and any associated costs with your selling platform. For example, depending on the location rent can range from anywhere between £1,000pcm, to the most expensive area in the UK on Bond street, where retailers pay over £1000 for every square foot pcm!. Compared against the negligible costs of hosting your own website or paying for someone else to host it. There is only one clear choice for smaller retailers and independent sellers.
Another benefit of ecommerce stores are the fact they are open 24/7, constantly selling no matter the time-zone. If you have an associated system you can automatically update your stock alongside your selling platforms, making sure your customers always have an accurate overview of your stock.
Go niche
Selling niche products can be a risky business, especially when you’re linked to one geographical location as the pool of potentially buyers is significantly lower than what it would be worldwide. This is where ecommerce really shines, what would have been almost
impossible to find in your local town centre is readily available anywhere online. Whether that be certain types of Fabergé egg or your favourite childhood stuffed toy.
The age of social media has been upon us for a number of years now and shows no sign of slowing. Promoting your products over Instagram, Twitter or Facebook will boost your potential audience reach exponentially, especially if you do your research and find the right groups and buyer personas. Being so interconnected has been a massive boon for businesses and people across every continent, allowing us all to purchase to our heart’s content.
Upselling/cross selling
One of the best ways to sell additional products, offering printer ink to go alongside their printer, or golf balls alongside their golf club is the best way to make that extra bit of profit. Whilst this can be done to a certain extent in a physical store ( proper placement of goods ), it can still be easily looked over. But with an ecommerce site you can immediately recommend additional products once they have put an item into their shopping cart.
The same applies with cross selling, if you are out of stock, you can recommend a similar item thereby preventing a customer from going to a potential competitor. With over $634 billion every single year lost every year from not having the appropriate stock and 53% of customers stating they have switched providers after having received poor customer service speaks highly to the benefits of utilising these techniques.