HOW ECOMMERCE CAN HELP A SMALL BUSINESS.
Ecommerce is an important strategy for businesses regardless of its type and size. It is mainly because consumers have a wide range of channels to do their shopping, with online shopping being the most convenient and popular choice. Although, COVID-19 has caused disruptions to many industries over the past two years, adoption of eCommerce has seen an increase and a higher success rate in its activities. The advancement of eCommerce capabilities has resulted in an increased shift from operating a brick and mortar to operating an online platform. With the adaptation of theses online platforms, the businesses have the opportunity of providing a continuous service to their customers. In fact, the disruptions caused during the COVID-19 pandemic to businesses has forced buyers to look for alternate ways to fulfil their buying needs and the businesses who have been operating in traditional ways had to adopt quickly to cater the changing market needs.
Following statistics show the market size of different continents as per the study conducted by Statista.
Having and effective eCommerce Platform is Important.
A study conducted by Concordia University St. Paul states that many small businesses have been managing outdated eCommerce platforms, which has resulted in a non-user-friendly experience for its customers. Small business owners must be vigilant about what their customers are experiencing on their platforms as some users may find it too difficult to use the platforms causing a potential sale to be missed and resulting in the customer being acquired by a competitor who offers a better digital experience. Without being digitally ready or having a relevant online presence, any business will face missed opportunities, loss of trust and may even damage to the brand. To avoid such situations business owners must have a continuing relationship with their digital partners, digital platform providers and more importantly with their customers as customer feedback will help you give them what they are looking for.
BENEFITS OF ECOMMERCE TO SMALL BUSINESSES.
- Low-cost model: The opportunity to not make large investments in real estate or hire a sales workforce, directly results in low operational costs. Being able to omit the costs of land, security, maintenance and even labour is what motivates majority of small business owners to implement an eCommerce platform for their businesses.
- Easier to set up and run: Since it is comparatively easy to set up an online store, small businesses will only require a stable Internet connection to run an eCommerce platform. An entrepreneur can conveniently start an online platform which is attractive, mobile and user friendly, facilitates payments and which helps manage the inventory and shipping.
- Generate passive income: With the combination of an eCommerce solution and digital marketing, the business owners have access to a larger market share and acquires the opportunity to generate a passive income by selling online. Embracing eCommerce and internet marketing not only helps the business reach a large percentage of customers who are shopping online, but it also increases the value of the brand name of that business.
- Effective marketing opportunities: Ecommerce allows the business to collect customer information with the help of web analytics which can be utilised to optimise the platform. By doing so, the business can identify their target market, their customer preferences, most popular to least popular products, any changes to be made which could enhance the user experience, etc., This gives the business an opportunity to provide a personalised service to its customers.
- Limitless and boundless: However, one of the key advantages eCommerce can offer any business is the ability to sell a product to a customer anywhere in the world without restricting operations only to its local area. The fact that the business is no longer restricted to a specific geographical location enables the business to expand its market which thereby creates additional opportunities for earnings.
Ecommerce has enabled small business owners to continue with their operations even during the COVID-19 pandemic while reaping their rewards. The businesses that have decided to push forward with the traditional business model as opposed to those that have adopted to digital services, will continue to face challenges in terms of rise in costs, advancement in technology and client expectations. This was evident during the pandemic with some businesses having to bring their operations to a temporary halt or terminate the operation entirely.
Upon identifying your unique business requirements and the target market, the next step for any small business is to evaluate the existing platform for its user friendliness, while new entries should scout and select a platform which caters to their operations. Linking Integrating is offering 1hour no obligation free consultation, please add a comment, and one of our team members will be in touch with you.