E-commerce is the process of selling goods online through a website. You have more than likely bought goods in this way yourself, and it is clear to see that this is the future (and, in fact, the present) of trading in general. The stores along the main streets of our cities may still be there for now, but due to changes in how people shop, it is probable that they not only have their physical storefront, but they have an eCommerce website too. If you are thinking of creating your own eCommerce website it could be a great idea, here are some of the reasons why.
It’s The Future
Although some people might hope that strip malls and shopping malls, or even small stores along the main street might make a comeback, with lives becoming so hectic and busy, it is much more probable that this type of shopping will die out entirely, leaving everyone the chance to buy online instead. Buying items online is convenient because you can do it at any time of the day or night, it is often less expensive than physically buying an item (especially when you take into account the price of gas and parking charges), the goods can be delivered to your home or work address – or anywhere else of your choosing – and you can find pretty much anything you want. If you want your business to thrive and succeed, going online is the way to do it.
Learn Business
In many cases, when you set up an online store you don’t have to keep any stock; you might choose to work on a drop shipping method, for example. There is very little cost involved in setting up a business like this, and even if you do have stock, the cost is still minimal when compared to having a physical store or office space. In this way, you can set up a business relatively easily and start running it without having to know too much about how business works. It is something you can learn along the way, even staying with your day job while you do it. This is a great way to learn how to run a business by doing the work involved and with little risk.
Make Money
Perhaps most obviously, creating an eCommerce business means you can make money. Whether you take it on as a fulltime job, as an extension of your current business, or as a ‘side hustle’ to make some extra money to pay off debts or to save for a vacation or similar, if you are selling something that people want, and you are able to advertise that fact, you should be able to make some additional income from it.
Reach More People
If you have a store, you will reach people in your local community. If you have multiple stores, you can reach more people, but you will also be creating a bigger risk for yourself and spending more money to do it. If you have an online store, you can reach people across the world without having to spend a fortune to do it. This means you can have customers all over the globe from dozens of different countries. You don’t even have to worry about mail costs because there are different ways you can send parcels to other countries that are highly cost-effective such as online shipping services that forward parcels to where they need to go.
Independence
Running an online store might not be a quick path to millions of dollars, but it could be a good way to make enough extra cash to become more independent. You could quit your day job and work entirely from home, working only the hours you choose and being able to spend more time doing things you enjoy and with your family, for example. The way that eCommerce works means that much of the process is automatic – you don’t have to be standing behind a counter waiting for customers and processing their orders because they come to your website and complete their purchase online without your input at all. All you need to do is ensure that their goods are sent out in a timely fashion and that you give them great customer service so that they come back and tell their friends about your store.
Easy To Market
An online store is easy to market digitally, giving you the best value for money when it comes to advertising. Digital advertising means that you can focus your adverts on specific groups of people; the groups who are most likely to buy from you. It means that you can adjust your marketing campaign to create better results whenever you need to, and it also means that you can test and measure as you go so that you know what’s working and what isn’t.
Using social media to help advertise your online business is a good way to do this as you can direct people straight to your website through your ad on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (amongst other social media platforms) and they don’t even have to leave their seat to do it.
Mobile Shopping
When you run an online business, you aren’t solely appealing to those who are at home at their laptops because you can create a mobile shopping experience that they can see and enjoy on their smartphones and tablets. So many people use their phones seemingly constantly throughout the day – whenever they want something, this is what they use to get it. Ensuring that your website is mobile friendly is essential as you will find many more customers this way and you can really boost your profits if people can buy from you directly from their mobile devices.
Easy To Start
Finally, an online business is easy to start. You can buy ready-made eCommerce packages that you simply have to personalize, for example, and there are many different programs and tools that you can use to make your site look inviting. Once you have found the right product and made sure that there is a need for that product, you can have your business up and running within a matter of hours.
