CLIX4U’s “CORONAVIRUS PROOF YOUR BUSINESS” BLOG SERIES
With businesses still reeling from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies that can adapt quickly and efficiently to new ways to sell and service their customers will be the ones who come out the other side of this pandemic with a healthier company and increased market share.
In our “Corona Virus Proof Your Business” blog series, we will be examining ways that your business can start to adapt or pivot to the new environment. Todays blog is about eCommerce and 10 Reasons Why You Should Have an eCommerce Website.
First off, does my business need to be online?
For any business, the answer is “YES!”
· Clothing Boutique/Retail Stores? While your physical location might limit the amount of clothes or items you can display, with an online eCommerce store, you’re able to show everything – all combinations of colours, sizes and styles are available to browse and purchase online.
· Coffee shop or quick serve restaurant? You can increase restaurant sales with online ordering and delivery (Menulog, Ubereats or Deliveroo).
· Health Provider/Wellness Centre? Display your ability to service people in a safe environment, and allow customer access to book consultation times online.
ECommerce isn’t just about providing a convenient service to your current customers, it’s also a channel for attracting new customers, if you aren’t present online, your customers may be moving on.
STILL not convinced? Here’s the list of the top 10 reasons that you need an eCommerce website today.
01 – ANYWHERE, ANYTIME
In an era of Globalisation, having an eCommerce website will give you the opportunity to reach out and offer your products and services to customers around the world, regardless of the distance and time zone.
Unlike your bricks and mortar store, customers can purchase what they want, when they want it, and you won’t lose out on sales with an online shop that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
02 – HIGHER SALES CONVERSIONS
Wouldn’t you love to have people come into your store and have them purchase instantly rather than walk in, browse and then ultimately walk out without buying anything.
With an eCommerce site, potential buyers are actively looking to buy the product that you are selling as they have actively searched for it. This is where structuring your site and providing a simplified customer experience is critical as buyers are more likely to make purchases when they can place their order instantly, rather than waiting for a regular store to open.
03 – CONVENIENCE
Another reason to have an online eCommerce website…it will do wonders for your customer experience. There’s incredible convenience afforded by a website as well providing necessary information like your store hours, phone number or address, which helps drive in-person sales.
Rather than spending hours searching in physical stores, customers are appreciating the convenience of online shopping more and more. People are now making purchases over the Internet during breaks at work, at home before or after work and in harsh weather conditions, all the times that would be difficult to make a trip to a shop.
04 – THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING
Strengthen your balance sheet and cash position. In times of chaos, cash is king. This is not a time to have customers with outstanding receivables longer than 30 days.
When you take your business online, its reach expands. Basically, an eCommerce website creates endless possibilities and new markets to explore, and cultivate, for new sales and revenue opportunities. Who shops online? Big Commerce studies show:
· Millennials and Gen X. This generation accounts for 50% more time shopping online each week (six hours) than the older generation (four hours).
· Everyone else. Seniors, Baby Boomers, and Gen X are ‘adding to cart,’ as well. 56% of Gen X prefer to search and purchase on eCommerce sites rather than in-store; 41% of baby boomers and even 28% of seniors prefer online to offline shopping.
· All Geographies. While it may seem counterintuitive, urban citizen have greater proximity to physical stores, yet online shoppers in major metropolitan areas spend more money on eCommerce websites ($853) than suburban shoppers ($768), and even those isolated in rural areas ($684).
05 – BUSINESS OPERATIONS
When you have an eCommerce site, you can begin to combine the best parts of physical and online shopping to provide a multi-channel, customisable experience for your customer and streamline your business operations.
For example, a customer orders a product online, to be picked up in store, thus, when they arrive at the store, their item is ready, they’ve already paid online, and they are out the door. This can help keep queue times down and require less employee effort to complete the sale.
The benefits of in-store pick up are even greater for restaurants. Offering an online ordering system, with both delivery and take-out options, increases your sales by saving potential customers their most valuable commodity – time.
06 – MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA
A key way that businesses attract new online customers today is through social media. Part of the consumer experience in the Digital Age is an opportunity for customers to share their favourite brands and recent product purchases via social media. With an eCommerce website, other consumers who see the social media posts of your customers have the opportunity to find your business and make purchases of their own.
Also, social media websites will provide you with a platform to build trust with your current and potential customers through reviews and ratings, as well as keeping them informed with regular posts about your products and offers. Keep your customers engaged with competitions and shareable content to drive even more traffic to your website.
07 – INCREASED BRAND AWARENESS
Between these social media mentions, gaining fresh customers through search and tapping into new, online markets, the end result is increased brand awareness. More people will be aware of your company and its products and interested in buying them.
A successful eCommerce site can have a snowballing effect. As more people share and spread your site and its products, brand awareness grows exponentially, which means so do your sales.
08 – REDUCED RISK AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT
How many shops get left with damaged stock, or stock that has not been able to sell? This represents capital invested that may not be able to be recovered and therefore has an adverse effect on the bottom line.
With an eCommerce store, you don’t have to physically hold all the stock options in a store. If you have an on-demand supply chain, you simply provide the options that the customer can choose for each item and then order that version from the manufacturer.
09 – INFLUENCE PURCHASERS
With the huge amount of information and options available, many potential buyers go to the Internet to browse, research before making decisions on what they want to buy and where to buy it from.
In an age where customers are constantly looking for the quickest and easiest ways to purchase what they need while at the same time maintaining a busy lifestyle, having your products showcased on a properly designed eCommerce website can increase your sales conversions as you will be to show customers why your product is right for them.
10 – CONCLUSION
You offer great products and services to the local customers that visit your store, yet, you could be denying them a lot of convenience and value by failing to have an eCommerce store as well.
In the current COVID-19 restrictive environment, setting up your online store now is one of the key ways to provide your business with a viable option to continue to operate and will give you a competitive edge over those who have not yet embraced the world of eCommerce.
Simply put, you shouldn’t let any apprehensions or fears get in the way of building and operating an eCommerce website.For more information visit our website at www.clix4u.com.au, we offer modern, user-friendly web solutions so why not contact us for a no obligation quote for an eCommerce website today.