Expanding your business onto an eCommerce site is a great accomplishment and a smart move. The eCommerce industry is expected to grow to a $4.8 trillion dollar industry in 2021 with over 1.8 billion online shoppers. While an eCommerce site is a great advantage to take on, it’s not as you might think. Before you take the plunge into the eCommerce world, let’s take a look at a few differences between in-store and online sales.
Location
You know that a huge part of being a successful store is location, location, location. However, there are limitations to a brick-and-mortar, being able to only sell within your small geographical area. Once you expand onto an eCommerce site you open your business up to competing with stores that are anywhere from 2 miles away to 2,000. You can generate sales and reach new customers two towns over or into the next state. The limitations become only what you think your business can manage.
Customers
Adding an eCommerce channel to your business will not only drive sales but build your relationships with your customers. You’re probably used to placing ads in your local town or posting on social media in the hopes that your foot traffic increases. Now you can create an ad on any type of online platform that sends customers straight to your shopping site where you can measure how long they stay, what they look at, and even follow the sales flow to checkout. This additional source of traffic to business will only help increase your in-store and online sales. Using the data you can gather from your online store, you can create more effective marketing campaigns both online and in-store. Your perfect customer is out there and now you will be able to reach them by the thousands.
Time
At your brick-and-mortar store, there is a lot to manage on a daily basis that takes up huge chunks of your time. When managing an eCommerce location you can save yourself loads of time because an eCommerce site can essentially run itself. You will still have to manage what products are on your site and any sales. But once your site is up and running you don’t have to worry about overseeing every transaction. The checking out process is completely automated so no more lines of customers waiting. Just keep your inventory stocked and let the sales come in, no extra time is needed.
Taking your business online can help improve your bottom line and drastically increase sales. However, you’ll never get to reap the benefits if you don’t get started! It is time to start overcoming the gaps between your in-store and online locations and grow your business. Don’t let your competitors beat you to it. Reach out to our team and let us help you navigate the process of running an online business.
