It has been said that, ‘Variety is the Spice of Life’. Adding an online store to your website may be the variety, and more importantly, the convenience your customers are looking for.

By having an online store, you can utilize the thriving online market and extend your reach and influence beyond your parking lot and current customer base.

To set-up an online store with a cart, there are many stock and custom shopping carts and many shipping options from which to choose. Many small business owners believe having an online store is beyond their reach for these reasons and more:

  • Perceived high cost
  • Perceived complexity
  • Deciding which product to put online
  • Time/cost to get product posted to the website
  • Time/cost to update inventory, and coordinate it with a POS system (Point-Of-Sale – a network operated by a main computer and linked to checkout terminals)
  • Calculating weight and shipping costs when a product is ordered

However, modern web technology and software can help to diminish or remove most of these fears to make it easier for anyone to set up an online store!

 

Benefits of an online store –

  • It makes shopping convenient for customers
  • Customers can decide whether they have the time to come into a store or if they if they want to purchase online
  • Gift certificates are one of the most popular items purchased online
  • Sales increase as online presence increases through store and online coupons
  • Online-specific items add to your offerings and sales
  • It adds convenience for customers who are looking for a particular item that may not be in a physical store
  • Online shopping also can allow customers to place an order for pickup or delivery
  • An online store can potentially increase your customer base as people outside your store range can order products online
  • Many products can be stored rather than displayed so that more store space can be used for building an experience

Although it takes some time and money to get an online store’s infrastructure started and the website updated with product, you will have the tools in place to do more in the future. It can be challenging to keep the website/store fresh and updated – but a business can carry national brands and make sure their store is included on those brands ‘featured retailers’ list, so customers know they can find those products in your store.

Businesses should be looking for ways to make their store and website easier to search and find online. Websites frequently get views from people out-of-state who are looking to buy a gift certificate for a customer who lives near their store.

Yes, Selling Online Does Matter to Your Success!

Do you have an online store? Revenue growth this year will come largely from online sales, according to a recent Harris Poll surveying retailers. It is expected that 73% of revenue growth to come from website sales, 61% percent from mobile sales and 57% percent from in-store sales. If you don’t have an online store yet or you’re only getting started, don’t worry!

Online retailing is growing, but online retailers are starting to open brick-and-mortar stores and physical stores are opening online stores. Consumers love the in-store shopping experience as well as the convenience of shopping online.

Get creative: add variety to enhance your sales and revenue.

Call us to get your online store setup or we can update an existing one. You can start a conversation below! 503-875-8364

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/42806032@N07/6669034063″>Trolleys.</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>(license)</a>

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