Setting up an online store or adding one as a feature to an existing website enables small businesses to sell more products or services to a wider audience and take advantage of a market where over a quarter of all products are sold online. In this post, we explore how eCommerce can help businesses overcome the limitations of physical stores and the benefits it has to offer.
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Challenges faced by small businesses
Businesses that rely solely on offline sales or who sell via third-party sites face a range of challenges. With no online sales at all, businesses have a limited market reach, often depending on local customers. Businesses that use third-party eCommerce solutions, meanwhile, are hampered by expensive costs and restrictions imposed by their chosen platforms.
Aside from these challenges, neither type of business can benefit from the marketing and other opportunities that having an eCommerce store can provide.
Key benefits of eCommerce for small businesses
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Expanded customer reach
Many businesses operate in a local or regional market and their selling potential is limited to customers in that narrow geographical area. An online store lets you reach a much wider audience, not just nationally, but potentially internationally. Instead of serving 50,000 people in your town, you could serve 68 million people across the country and have a significantly bigger earnings potential.
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Forever open for business
While physical stores have fixed opening hours, eCommerce websites are operational 24 hours a day, every day, enabling customers to browse and purchase at their convenience. This can triple the amount of time your products are available for sale.
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Reduce third-party platform problems
While sites like Amazon, eBay and Etsy enable businesses to sell online without a website, there are pitfalls. Overheads, such as listing fees and sales commissions, reduce margins, while there is significant competition from other businesses on the same site, some of whom may be selling the same products for less.
These sites also have strict rules that can affect branding, marketing and shipping, whereas having your own eCommerce site gives you full control of how you sell, price and interact with your customers.
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Improved customer experience
The major customer experience benefit of an eCommerce website is that it enables people who cannot visit your physical premises to purchase from you. This does not just include visitors from further away, but also local and even existing customers who lack the time or ability to visit. In this sense, it offers a multi-channel shopping experience that gives local customers greater choice and convenience.
A website also offers some experiences that are not always available onsite, such as access to product videos, reviews and comparisons, flexible delivery options, chatbot assistance and more.
Take your customer experience to the next level – read: Why Digital CX is the Way Forward for eCommerce
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Scalability
Scalability is a vital consideration for growing businesses. Expansion in physical premises can be expensive and disruptive as it often means moving to a larger store, reconfiguring internal space or building an extension in order to accommodate a growing range of products and more customers.
With an eCommerce website, scalability is easier and considerably less disruptive or expensive. Adding new products is relatively straightforward and can even be done in bulk using some platforms. This gives businesses more opportunities to offer new product ranges or services while posing less risk.
Moreover, with the right web host, it’s also simple to upgrade to a larger hosting plan, giving you more website storage and the resources to handle more customers.
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Better marketing and engagement
You can improve marketing and engagement by installing digital tools on your eCommerce website. These use browsing and shopping history data to create personalised marketing emails and targeted offers, as well as letting you launch social media campaigns, competitions and loyalty programmes.
These easy-to-integrate tools automate many of the processes, saving you time and effort, for instance, they can send emails automatically or publish social media posts at scheduled times.
Building an eCommerce online store is easier than you think. Read: How To Set Up An Online Store In 10 Easy Steps
eCommerce models
eCommerce isn’t restricted to selling physical goods, you can also use an online store to sell downloadable digital products, such as software, eBooks, music, online courses or teaching resources. It’s also popular for selling services. From restaurants and hair salons to window cleaners and waste removals, an eCommerce store enables customers to make online bookings and pay for services in advance.
Many businesses now use eCommerce websites to offer subscriptions, enabling them to generate steady and predictable income for repeat orders. Customers benefit from knowing orders and bookings are secured for the long term and that changing or cancelling a subscription can easily be done online.
Key considerations when creating an eCommerce website
- Selecting the right platform Choosing a user-friendly eCommerce platform makes it easier to build a store or add one to an existing site. Popular options include installing the WooCommerce plugin on a WordPress website, using the very easy Sitejet Website Builder or choosing a dedicated eCommerce platform, like Magento.
- Web hosting choice A successful online store needs to be secure, load quickly and be reliable. A good web host will ensure your site is protected against cyberattacks and is hosted on fast-performing, reliable infrastructure. They will also offer 24/7 support to help resolve any issues with your online store.
Build an eCommerce store that works for your customers, read: 7 Things Customers Expect From Retail Websites
Conclusion
eCommerce provides small businesses with a range of important benefits. It expands market reach, extends opening hours and removes the limitations of third-party sales platforms while providing the opportunity to improve customer experience, marketing and engagement. It also offers an easy and cost-effective way to scale your operations. To be successful, however, it is vital to choose the right eCommerce platform and web host.
Looking for a fast, secure and reliable web host that can provide you with the best eCommerce platforms? Webhosting UK offers a choice of WordPress Hosting with one-click WooCommerce installation, dedicated Magento hosting and easy online store building with Sitejet. For more, visit our WordPress Hosting, Magento Hosting and Sitejet pages.
