E-commerce is the holy grail of retail right now. No matter your geographical location, you can reach a broader base of customers at the literal click of a button and expand your sales quickly. Don’t be one of the 30% of small businesses that don’t have an online store or even a landing page to build from.
Building a website is putting you off, and you cannot afford to pay someone to create a website for you; getting a visible online presence has never been easier. Even if you don’t start out by selling products online, you can use simple No-Code Websites to get started and use this as a base to expand what you offer.
If you have been on the fence about whether or not to add an e-commerce site to your business, this post looks at some of the benefits an e-commerce store can offer your business.
Gain Extra Visibility
Branding and relationships are the driving forces behind physical retail. In addition to these two primary factors, search engine traffic contributes to online retail sales. Following a link in search engine results and landing on an e-commerce website that the customer has never heard of before is not uncommon. For some e-commerce enterprises, this additional source of visitors can make or break the success of a small business.
Easier Shopping Experience for Customers
One of the most attractive options about online shopping is that you no longer have to visit the store in person and spend time looking for the items you want. Customers can quickly narrow down their product search on an e-commerce website by clicking through intuitive navigation or using a search box to narrow down their product search immediately. Some websites even keep track of consumer preferences and shopping lists to make it easier to make repeat purchases.
You Can Provide More Information
In a physical store, there are constraints to the amount of information that may be shown. Training employees to know all of the information customers might ask can be challenging, especially if you stock 100s of lines. Customers can readily get additional information on e-commerce websites if they are well-designed. The majority of this information is provided by suppliers and does not incur any costs in creating or maintaining the database.
You Can Be Open At All Times
E-commerce allows stores to be open efficiently 24/7/365. If you tried this with a physical store, it could be massively expensive, not to mention challenging to staff. Take advantage of different time zones, late-night shoppers, and those who cannot physically shop in-store by adding a website people can shop from and adding convenience to the customer experience.
Offer Better Deals
Do you offer discounts or accept coupons? An online store gives you an easier way for customers to utilize discounts available to them. Send out offers via emails and offer a box within the checkout process to apply discounts and offer codes. Plus, if you have a sale or need to shift slow-moving stock, you can apply the discount to online retail prices and market it more effectively.
Be More Competitive
Use online tools to help you track competitors’ pricing and sales. Are they experiencing a boom with specific products, or have they slashed prices? Competitor tools can come in handy to help you keep an eye on your sector. You can stay ahead of the game by using the analytics provided to enhance what you do and match competition in your industry.
Niche Down
When marketing your e-commerce store, chances are you will be looking for a specific customer who keeps coming back time and time again, but how can you find them? Using targeted keywords and an effective omnichannel strategy, you can target those who display an interest in products or services similar to your products.
An omnichannel strategy involves using your SEO-optimized website supported by PPC (Pay Per Click) ads, social media support, emails, and blogger or influencer outreach campaigns, to name a few. This allows you to reinforce each effort as part of a more extensive campaign and benefit from finding your ideal customer easier than to tools at your disposal to assess analytics and refocus your efforts in the right places.
Ultimately, having an e-commerce store can be hugely beneficial to your brick-and-mortar store if utilized correctly. Countless benefits will justify the time and effort required to get up and to run. If this is out of your capabilities, consult an expert in website design and maintenance to get you started and make sure your website works as required and is secure for all users.
No comments yet.