In today’s online world, having an online presence can give your business a competitive edge. If you are selling products, an online store can help you reach more customers. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the rise in popularity of online stores. But even before, many businesses have already been running their online stores. In the United States alone, there were 268 million online shoppers and it is expected to increase to 285 million by 2025.
If you already have an offline store, you may be having second thoughts about having your own online store. You may think of it as an additional expense on your part. As online shopping continues to be a trend, it will be hard for you to grab the attention of online shoppers if you do not have an online store. Let us find out the reason why having an online store makes sense for your business.
Advantages of Having An Online Store
- Build An Online Presence
- Wider Reach
- 24/7 Accessibility
- Lower Overhead Costs
- Increased Marketing Opportunities
- Boost Revenue
- More Selling Channels
- Enhance Customer Engagement
- Increased Brand Visibility
- Increase Customer Base
Let’s get it on.
Advantages of Having An Online Store
As more customers go online to shop for products, having an online store matters now more than ever. According to Oberlo, 2.14 billion people worldwide purchase goods online. In addition, there are 80 million more digital buyers in 2023 than the previous year, marking a 3.1% year-over-year increase. Surely, you would want to have your share of the ecommerce pie. If you are wondering how to benefit from an online store, read on and find out.
1. Build An Online Presence
With potential buyers now preferring to shop online, it is vital for your store to be seen online. Establishing an online presence allows you to promote and sell your products outside your geographical boundaries. Your physical store limits you to only the area where your store is located. Meanwhile, an online store can attract buyers located on another side of the world.
An online store will allow you to boost awareness of your brand. When buyers purchase something from your online store and like the product, they will easily remember its name. It is worth noting that 28% of all business activities are conducted online. This goes to show how important having an online presence is to your store. If buyers cannot find your products online, you are losing out on potential business.
2. Wider Reach
When you have an online store, you do not have to worry about geographical barriers. This means you can reach potential customers wherever they are located. You can tap a global audience, tap into new markets, and expand your reach exponentially. For some buyers, online shopping has become a way of life for them because of the convenience it offers. An online store allows you to increase your customer base.
An online store will also allow you to expand your product offerings. Unlike your physical store, you are not limited by the physical constraints of a physical store. By offering more products, you can reach out to more customers.
3. 24/7 Accessibility
Offline stores are bounded by operating hours. This means that you can only serve customers within that window. Some buyers may have a busy schedule that they cannot go to your physical store to make a purchase. Another advantage of an online store is that you can buy products or services without worrying about operating hours. You can buy products from the store anytime, anywhere.
Online stores are open 24/7. There is no time zone difference so you are sure of not missing a potential sale. Order processing and payments in online stores are fully automated so there is no need for store clerks to process them. You can browse or shop for products at your own convenience.
4. Lower Costs
With an online store, you need not worry about the overhead costs associated with brick-and-mortar stores. Of course, there will still be fees like website hosting, domains, and platform fees but only minimal. In addition, you do not have to pay for salaries for your sales team. You just need to invest in software and a platform that will take care of everything for you.
Moreover, the cost for inventory management can be passed on to a drop shipping company so you can focus on strengthening customer service and growing your business. Everything can be automated saving you time, money, and resources. Since you are not paying for overhead, you can offer discounts and sales promos to attract customers.
5. Increased Marketing Opportunities
Since online stores remove geographical barriers, you can have more opportunities to expand to a new market and target new customers. You do not need to focus your marketing efforts on just a specific area. With an online store, the world becomes your playground. You have the opportunity to boost your brand and build new relationships.
Having an online store is one of the best ways to increase traffic to your offline store. With online stores, you can offer more rewards and discounts to loyal customers and create exciting promos for the new ones. At the end of it all, you can use your online store to boost sales of your physical store and vice versa.
6. Boost Revenue
One of the biggest benefits of having an online store is that it helps increase your revenue. Since you do not have overhead costs, you can sell more products at a higher price. You get to keep almost 100% profit margin from your product price. The only thing you have to pay is the fee for payment gateways like PayPal or credit card companies.
In addition, you can focus on strategies that can help boost the revenue of your online store. You can offer discounts, incentives, and other promotions to encourage customers to purchase products from you. This can ensure customer loyalty and in the process increase your revenue.
7. More Selling Channels
Having an online store gives you more flexibility in choosing the selling channels. With a physical store, you will most likely be stuck with selling from your store. This is not the case with an online store. Aside from your physical store, you can also sell products or services on social media channels like Facebook and YouTube.
Expanding your sales channels is important because potential customers will come from everywhere. They could be coming from social media, from a link, advertisement, or others. The more selling channels you have, the higher the potential sale will be.
8. Enhance Customer Engagement
With an online store, you get to increase customer engagement. Customers can comment on your products and share them on social media. Online stores have channels for customers to give their feedback, complaints, and suggestions. Although offline stores also have customer support channels, online stores offer quick and instant resolutions.
Enhanced customer engagement can help your business grow and improve. It boosts customer and brand loyalty. Statistics show that fully engaged customers can generate 51% more revenue and sales than disengaged customers. In addition, they spend 23% more over their lifetime than the average customer.
9. Increased Brand Visibility
Having an online store can help your business stay competitive. 78% of shoppers prefer online shopping because there are no long queues like in person. It is expected that there will be 295 million online shoppers by 2025. With this in mind, you need to make your brand visible to potential customers. This is what an online store can do for you – it can help online shoppers become aware of your brand.
For people to buy your products online, they have to see it first. An online store does the job perfectly. When customers click on the link to your online store, they will become aware of your brand. You will have an opportunity to get your brand out there. You get a shot at getting a small percentage of the online shopping pie.
10. Increase Customer Base
Online stores provide customers with a convenient way to shop for products without having to wait in line. You are not limited by physical boundaries. Online shopping has reached greater heights during the COVID-19 pandemic but even before that people had already been shopping online. Online stores can help your business increase your customer base.
With the convenience of being able to browse and shop for products from anywhere and anytime, you can acquire new customers and retain the current ones as well. When customers buy from your online store, they will likely refer you to other people. The bottom line is that the more customers you have, the more revenue you will get.
Complement Your Brick-and-Mortar Store With An Online Store
However, this does not mean that you should ditch your offline store altogether. Having an online store can help support your physical store. The truth is, some people still prefer being able to touch products before they buy them. Having an online store can help your business stay competitive and up-to-date with a dynamic sector.
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For your Ecommerce needs and solutions, drop us an email at contact@airisx.com.