It is highly important to ramp up your digital presence now more than ever!
Starting a business once meant investing in a brick-and-mortar address that could persuade customers to walk through the door. However, with changing times and the emergence of the global pandemic in 2019, many businesses started investing in developing their e-commerce websites and marketplaces to continue their revenue.
Not just retailers and business owners, even customers found solace in online shopping (because of the restrictions on visiting physical stores). While the forced lockdowns helped customers transition to online platforms, a greater demand for products, as a result, catalyzed businesses to move toward eCommerce.
Many small to medium-sized businesses invested heavily in building a website to sell their products. Businesses with limited funds expanded their horizons and started selling their products on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay to survive. For many retailers, the pandemic brought an opportunity to develop an online offering of the products that sold well in stores. Bowens, a leading supplier of building materials & timber in Victoria, launched its first e-commerce platform in December 2020. In the past, the building material & hardware delivering industries principally relied on in-store shopping to propel their businesses. But with a colossal shift in Australian consumer behavior driven by Covid-19, stores like Bowens focused on building an e-commerce website to make sales.
Many retailers are still struggling to survive in these unprecedented times, especially retailers who have always done things traditionally. While we all wish the world to go back to normal, it seems far-fetched as of now. Therefore, increasing digital footprint and finding an alternative resort for revenue has become very important even for sellers who like to do business in person.
Listed are a few reasons to switch from physical stores to online stores.
Expanding Reach
While physical stores have limited footfall capacity and accessibility, your online site has no such boundaries (anyone can access it from anywhere at any time). E-commerce provides increased visibility by letting everyone looking for your products online find you.
Convenience
Although building a website, setting up payment gateways, hiring a customer service team, and investing in digital marketing seems like a lot of work, it can be done smoothly and in less time. With excellent automation and management tools available in the market, the process of setting up an online store has become easy.
Availability
Unlike physical shopping, online shopping can be done at any hour and from any device. For instance, if you’re a retailer selling products online, your products can be purchased by someone at midnight, and you’ll be able to ship the product in the morning or ask the customer to pick it up from your store using click & collect. Employing e-commerce eradicates the limitation of ‘open hours’ as it remains open 24/7, allowing shoppers to shop at their expediency.
In today’s day and age, e-commerce offers an unrestrictive opportunity to facilitate sales. If you have a small business and are struggling to keep it afloat, explore your e-Commerce and online marketplace options now.
