In the 21st century, we are seeing more and more pure play retailers come into the picture. Many of these purely online retailers are stealing the show and dominating their respective markets. You don’t need to think for too long in order to come up with a few examples in your head; think ASOS, Amazon and any comparison site. If you have been a bricks and mortar faithful and kept your business afloat then you are on to a winner, mounting real estate costs and competition have seen many high street retailers face closures.
This is nothing to be disheartened in, even some of the UKs biggest retailers were hit hard by the recession and above factors. With modern technology and CMS (content management systems) which facilitate eCommerce, there has never been a better time to make the move online. Here we take a look at what is to be gained from making the move from bricks & mortar to online.
Profits
With a lower cost in terms of physical rent and overheads, you can save massively and often enjoy an increase in gross profits because of this. Being an eCommerce retailer also allows you to reach customers outside of your immediate catchment area. More customers = more sales, its a fairly simple formula. Where your store was positioned in the market, you would have access to a limited number of consumers, in an online market you have access to a wide range of customers, from all over the world. You can now target your consumers thanks to handy tools including paid online advertising.
It has never been easier to increase your profits, simply by slashing your overheads and increasing the number of consumers you target.
Stay ahead of the curve
With as many as 85% of consumers now researching a product or service online, it is more important to be online than ever before. If you also offer these consumers the opportunity to buy once they have researched then you are ahead of the game. Power re-marketing campaigns can greatly help here by targeting specific consumers who have previously visited your website and viewed specific products.
You are able to measure your results
Unlike a special physical advertising campaign, you are able to measure the results of all aspects of your eCommerce and digital strategy. If a consumer has left your store in real life you may never know why. In an online store you can track the whole shopping process through Google Analytics and analyse where things are going wrong and where consumers are dropping off. Perhaps the checkout process is too long or the speed of the site is too slow. You may be left wondering what is going wrong in a physical store but in the online world, everything is measurable.
You are more responsive
If you need to change the price of something on your website or want to start and stop a promotion, you can do so at the click of a button. Your lead times will be much shorter and you can react to market demand extremely quickly.