Have you ever wanted to sell your products or services directly through your website? Don’t worry – it’s a lot easier than it sounds. What’s more, it could provide your business with a whole heap of benefits. Want more customers? Bigger sales? And Increased profits? Well, incorporating an eCommerce platform into your website can do all of that – and then some. There are a number of factors you will need to consider before you go ahead, but by doing a little bit of research, you could have your online store up-and-running in just a few hours. Here are 8 of the reasons why it’s important for your business to have an online shop.
Firstly, let’s explain the basics. What exactly is eCommerce and how does it work? Put simply, its commercial transactions that are conducted over the internet. You’ve probably used an eCommerce platform even if you’ve never heard of the term before. It’s really simple: with eCommerce, a customer selects a product that they want to purchase, adds it to their shopping cart or basket, heads over to checkout, selects a shipping method, enters their details, and then pays for the item. It’s a lot quicker than having to dispatch orders via email or phone as the process is completely automated. What does this mean for you as a business owner? Well, you’ll have bigger opportunities when it comes to selling your products and services. For example, with eCommerce, you can sell to customers around the world. Once a customer inputs their address details, all the hard work is taken care of. All you need to do is dispatch the item!
Many people think that ECommerce is limited to computers or laptops, but that’s not the case anymore. In fact, your customers can order from your online eCommerce store directly through their smartphone or mobile tablet. These opportunities provide your customers with more ways to order from your store, which can increase your profit margins. An eCommerce platform can be incorporated into your website so that it works on any device.
Yes, it’s true – eCommerce can really save you money. Here’s why: when incorporating an E-Commerce platform on your website, the process is automated and requires little input from you. You won’t need to employ any additional staff to handle payments, and unlike a traditional bricks-and-mortar store, you won’t need personnel for inventory management, billing, or other operational processes. You also don’t need a physical location in order to set up your Ecommerce Websites. Once your eCommerce platform is online, you don’t have to pay for rent or maintenance like you would with a conventional store.
There are many customers who prefer shopping online for a wide range of reasons. Firstly, they will be able to order products 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (even during the holiday season!). This not only increases your profits, but improves the overall customer experience. Unlike in a traditional store, they don’t have to wait in a queue, or visit the premises within a particular time frame. It’s also a lot easier for them to find what they are looking for. In a huge supermarket or shopping mall, customers could spend a long time finding the correct aisle or store, but when online, they can simply search for an item in just a few seconds.
If you’ve never heard of search engine optimization, or SEO, let us explain. It’s the process whereby your website ranks on the pages of search engines like Google. Having a higher ranking on these search engines can increase the amount of inbound traffic to your website. And more traffic = more customers and more sales. Incorporating an eCommerce platform into your website can make it more search-friendly for customers who are looking to purchase your product online.
If you sell a specialty product, there’s not usually enough space in a traditional store to tell the customer everything you want them to know. However, it’s different online. You can include in-depth product specifications, photographs, shipping information, product measurements, and much, much more. In fact, you can increase sales by making all of this information available to your customers when they are browsing your online store. Of course, a customer can still speak to you if they need some additional information or have a question about a particular product. However, unlike in a bricks-and-mortar store, you will be able to communicate via email.
With eCommerce, you can still use promotions and discounts like you would in a normal store. However, you will be able to target a wider range of people. For example, sending marketing material to previous customers will enable you to drum up business and encourage more people to purchase your products. The type of promotions you offer will be completely up to you, but you might want to introduce discounts or reduced-price shipping. Customers can even use promotional codes when shopping on your website. They will be promoted to enter the code during the checkout process, and these promotions will entitle them to money-off their purchase. Using coupon codes can be a great way to encourage more customers to make a purchase from your eCommerce platform.
If you have a niche product, it might be difficult to sell in a regular store – especially in an area where there is little demand for the item in question. When opening an eCommerce online store, you expose the product to a potential audience of millions, instantly expanding your customer base. Even if customers haven’t heard of your business before, they will soon find you (either through search engines or via your marketing material) and visit your online store.
Whether you want to expose your products to a wider audience, attract more customers, or boost revenue, eCommerce is becoming big business. To get your online store up and running, consider using a web service that does all the hard work for you. Targeted SEO Services will be able to incorporate an eCommerce platform into your website quickly and effectively. If you’ve ever asked what is eCommerce, you’ll now know what it is and how it can benefit your business.
