Today, online trade and e-commerve-shopping is confidently replacing traditional shopping, but the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce need to be weighed in each case. Is this business right for you? Are there clear criteria that determine whether your business needs an online presence? Let’s explore the main benefits of e-commerce shopping.
Unlike your favorite supermarket around the corner, where a queue at the checkout is normal, online shopping doesn’t know queues and distances. You just need to reach the site from anywhere in the world and place your order. One of the disadvantages is that your competitors have the same opportunities to add their offers to the business listing.
Slow Internet speeds can be a significant obstacle. It is extremely detrimental to conversions and profits.
Think about how much money it takes to open an offline store in the usual way. Acquisition of premises (and, what’s more, transferring an apartment to a non-residential fund!) Or monthly rent, delivery of commercial equipment, payment for a heap of permits, and “modest labor” of inspectors, signs, repairs …
As a result, you get a limited flow of clients living within a radius of one or two blocks (with rare exceptions). You become just another company from the business directory like Direktory, which is fighting for its place in the sun. No scope!
An online store can accommodate any number of items – unlike a physical store where you have limited and very expensive space. Storage and logistics problems in online commerce can be solved by choosing the right model for yourself (dropshipping). Thanks to e-commerce shopping, we can save on labor.
How well does an offline shop or pharmacy owner know the audience? Yes, you can conduct interviews and polls of visitors, but these methods are laborious, selective, and do not give 100% results.
In online trading, you are always aware of who your audience is and what they are interested in, through which channels the site finds, how it behaves, what is it happy or dissatisfied with.
Powerful analytics deliver tremendous business benefits. Contact information from the first purchase, the integration of cookies, and other clever techniques allow you to keep in touch with customers, spread your influence to them and return them to the store again. But the most beautiful thing about this process is automation. Tracking shoppers online is cheap and easy.
Online shopping with the development of electronic payments is becoming not only more convenient but also much safer. You can safely remove from the equation the risks associated with receiving, storing, and accounting for monetary values.
The ability to operate in small batches and sell even items that they themselves did not hold in their hands (dropshipping again) minimizes the risks of the formation of slow-moving goods and the purchase of low-quality batches. Experienced trade workers know where these mistakes can result.
You can make money not only on “real” goods but also on digital goods. The market for all kinds of online courses, video, music, and gaming products today is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars and is showing rapid growth.
Popular digital goods include e-books, music and video files, electronic documents, software, training courses and video tutorials, photography, graphics, fonts, professional services, and gaming products.
If you are thinking about something very profitable, promising, and does not require a single square meter of warehouse space – trading digital goods through an online store are ideal!
These are just some of the benefits of e-commerce shopping. Based on the specifics of the business, customer requirements, location, and other specifics, you can decide whether it is advisable to get involved in online trade.