There are both short and long-term benefits to moving your store online that make it worthwhile. The most obvious benefit of moving your store online in the short run is that you’ll be able to produce sales despite government limits on in-person operations. (ecommerce platforms)
1. Cost-effective expansion (ecommerce platforms)
You may take advantage of omnichannel retail once your life returns to normal. With both a physical and an online store, you may provide BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store) and curbside pickup, as well as online returns and exchanges in store, and more to improve your consumers’ entire shopping experience.
While we can’t predict how the world will change post-COVID, diversifying your business now is a wise decision. Having many ways to reach your clients and produce revenue will almost certainly pay off for you in the long run. 1. Affordable expansion
Compared to typical brick-and-mortar expansion, opening an internet business is far less expensive. Forget about extra rent, employee wages, or renovations; entering the internet world of business requires very little in the way of overhead costs.
So, how do you go about creating a website? There’s no need to engage programmers to complete the task. No matter how much experience you have, the appropriate eCommerce platform should provide you with all of the services and resources you need to construct your website at an inexpensive price.
2. Increased brand recognition (ecommerce platforms)
Just because you own a small or medium-sized company doesn’t mean you can’t grow your consumer base. Taking your retail business online not only allows you to bridge the gap between your business and overseas customers, but it may also help locals find your online or brick-and-mortar location.
To push your eCommerce website to the top of search engine results pages and into customers’ radars, you’ll need to employ a robust search engine optimization strategy. You may substantially increase visibility, your site’s searchability, and in-store and online sales by choosing an eCommerce system that includes SEO optimization features.
3. Expanded consumer base
By combining your brick-and-mortar store with an eCommerce website, you may reach a global audience. You are no longer bound by a single physical location or sales channel, and you may meet new and existing consumers wherever they are, whether in your store, on their phones, computers, or laptops.
4. Sales that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The retail industry has evolved into a 24-hour operation in the previous 20 years. If you rely entirely on a physical business, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to make sales while you sleep. You may break free from the limits of regular operating hours with an eCommerce site, and the greatest thing is that you don’t have to be there at all times or recruit extra workers. Your products may almost sell themselves if you use the correct eCommerce platform and have a solid content and sales plan in place.
5. Increased brand awareness
Do you know what it means when someone says “content is king”? Not only do you establish brand authority, but you also generate trust by including extensive, SEO-friendly product descriptions, customer reviews, a continuing blog, and other helpful, entertaining material like videos. Customers are more inclined to purchase from you and become loyal customers if they trust you.
6. Improved customer interaction
In addition, it should come as no surprise that having an online presence gives your company more consumer touch points. The more touch points you provide, the easier it will be to engage your customers and keep them coming back to your store or website in the future.
You may adapt your messaging to the many shopper segments that come into contact with your brand using POS and eCommerce solutions that allow you to gather and share consumer data such as contact information, birthdays, and brand preferences across selling platforms. With this information, you can make greater use of eCommerce tools like social media integrations, Live Chat, product suggestions, and automated email campaigns to engage customers with more relevant content that will lead to conversions.
7. Customer satisfaction has improved.
Shoppers, at the end of the day, want choices. If you want to enhance customer happiness and compel strong brand loyalty, you must give customers a choice about when and where they connect with your products, as well as how they walk away with them.
Consumers can purchase with you on their own terms if you make products and services available in person and online while maintaining a consistent brand identity and offering payment, shipping, and pick-up alternatives. Who wouldn’t want something like that?
How to make the switch from a physical store to an online one
There are a lot of significant considerations and factors to think about when it comes to taking your business online. We understand that every business has various demands and objectives, so we’ve compiled a list of the most crucial ones to consider for any type of company.
Foundation
The most important step in converting your brick-and-mortar store to an online one is choosing a platform. Start your search there if you already have a website for your company. Most web hosting companies offer an eCommerce plugin that you can use to enhance your existing website. It may be much easier to launch your online business if the eCommerce plugin can link to your POS system.
If you don’t already have a website, consider if your point of sale system can be integrated into an eCommerce platform. If you’re a Lightspeed customer, for example, you may use our integrated eCom platform to create an online store. This facilitates a smooth transition from brick-and-mortar to eCommerce. Your physical shop inventory will sync with your online store, making inventory management easy across all sales channels.
Inventory in stores vs. online
You’ll have to pick which of your physical store’s items will be sold online.
Some products have restrictions that make it impossible or difficult to sell them digitally. Aside from things with legal limits, you could find that some of your in-store merchandise, such as impulsive purchases near the register, isn’t a good fit for selling online. Selling online, on the other hand, has some advantages that selling in a store does not, such as selecting specialty products to sell in your online shop that you wouldn’t sell in your store otherwise.
Delivery and fulfilment
Opening an online store implies that delivering a product to a consumer is no longer as simple as putting it in a bag and handing it over the counter. Shipping and fulfilment can be done in two ways. The first option is to do your own packaging and shipment. The second alternative is to engage a third-party firm to warehouse, pack, and ship your online purchases to your clients on your behalf.
To make things easier, look for a service like ShipStation that can integrate straight into your eCommerce platform and provide you with a variety of shipping alternatives with just a few clicks. Whether you’re shipping items yourself or via a third-party service, ensure sure your products and packaging are properly sanitised before being shipped out.
Human resources are important.
You’re launching a new sales channel, which necessitates the hiring of someone to oversee it. That someone is frequently you, as a business owner. Make sure you understand how your new eCommerce channel works, and don’t be hesitant to enlist the support of someone who is more tech-savvy if necessary.
Marketing
It’s critical to keep your consumers and community informed at all times, and this is true now more than ever. How are you going to get the word out about your new internet store? What’s the most effective and efficient strategy to contact your target audience? Is it possible for your eCommerce platform to automate parts of your marketing efforts? To begin developing your online store’s marketing strategy, look for capabilities like shoppable articles, online listing management, and email marketing in your eCommerce platform or POS software package.
Source: ecommerce platforms , online selling platform
