We are living in a time where the internet is an integral part of our everyday lives. Whether it’s about choosing the best route for your destination, or, researching about a product before purchasing something, the internet is indispensable. If you are an owner of a small business, now is the right time for you to understand the benefits of eCommerce to take your retail store online.

It is often seen that business owners face challenges related to technological development, making online business strategies, and building a team of professionals to handle the online business successfully. But, with proper guidance and support from eCommerce consultants, it becomes a smooth migration process for them. It is essential for you as an online entrepreneur to choose consultant services based on your eCommerce business model. This will ease the overall process, at the same time will help you better strategize things for your company.

It is evident that consumers are increasingly relying on online shopping. It is estimated that 95% of purchases will be made online by 2035. eCommerce is opening the doors of opportunity to innumerable entrepreneurs. eCommerce sales are rapidly growing. In 2018, eCommerce alone accounted for $2 trillion in sales. According to analysts, this is expected to double to $4 trillion by 2021. Millennials and Generation X are the biggest online shoppers, with 65% of millennials and 58% of Generation X preferring to shop online instead of physically going up to a store. Part of the reason is due to the fact that these two segments spend the majority of the time online.

Trends in online consumers

• A surprising trend is seen among online shoppers- Men spend 25% more than women.

• The eCommerce ecosystem is also supporting globalism. Analysts report that 63% of online shoppers have made a purchase from a cross-border seller.

• The payment method used by the online shoppers varies across the world. Globally, credit cards are the preferred method of payment being used in 60% of transactions, followed by digital payments and debit cards.

• The attribute that finally favours a customer to do the purchase is the customer experience. Your website’s design and loading speed can play a huge role in customer experience. A survey conducted reveals that around 37% of customers will leave your online store if they find the layout unattractive or is very slow.

Benefits of eCommerce for small businesses

Significant increase in Reach

One of the most amazing advantages of eCommerce is that it takes your business to the people where it is not possible for you to be present physically. By having an online store, you can sell your products and services from a single location to people all across the world

As your reach increases, your customer base would grow, which will directly impact your number of sales and boost your revenue.

Search Engine Traffic

Marketing strategies such as sending emails, phones are outdated and do not yield desired results. But, search engine traffic gets people to the online store in a much more sophisticated way. Through an eCommerce site and with the right strategies in place, it is possible to get recurring traffic to your store.

Low Operational Cost

One of the benefits of having an eCommerce store is that unlike offline stores that require an investment every time you need to be present in a location of your choice, a single online store will do everything for you. This is a huge advantage over the brick and mortar store.

Online Reputation Building

In a physical store, when your customers appreciate your products or services, it is not that easy to take advantage of those testimonials. But, if you have an online store, your customers can share their good words on your social media profiles. These reviews can be seen by everyone and this helps in influencing your target audience

Flexibility

If you have an online store, your store can accept orders or engage customers 24×7, which is not practical with your physical store

Ease of Product tracking

Tracking your inventory is one of the most significant advantages of an eCommerce business. You can easily keep track of the delivery status of the product as well as know when a product is going out of stock

Shipping and Logistics Solution

One concern often heard from business owners is that they are quite unsure of whether their products can be delivered to different parts of the world in an efficient manner. The growth of eCommerce has also been accompanied by the growth of various eCommerce logistics and shipping platforms that can deliver any product in any part of the world in the most reliable manner

Wrapping up

eCommerce stores help you to sell your product or service to a huge audience all over the world with just click of your mouse. It is also cost-effective. Reports suggest that if by 2021, you continue to ignore the eCommerce industry, you are going to be struggling. The need of the hour is to adapt to the evolving purchasing behaviours of the vast majority of consumers.

At PQube we provide a platform for on-boarding all types of businesses onto the eCommerce bandwagon and facilitate their easy migration. Every business is unique, hence the PQube team will build a cost effective, tailor made site for you in weeks.

Contact Us for your online shopping platform!