COVID-19 has pushed many retailers to consider putting up their own online webstore. Not only can weather more storms (such as a worldwide pandemic) than a brick and mortar store, but it also gives you the flexibility you need to grow your retail business, provided that it is integrated with your back office systems.
I get it. An ecommerce solution is an investment. It takes time and resources to set it up correctly – not to mention connect it with your back office systems. But, when you do take that next step, you’ll be able to:
- Bring your Business into the Digital Age
Retail is a competitive industry. No matter what you are selling, chances are your competition is already online.
Investing in ecommerce allows you to tap into all that technology has to offer in order to get new customers who might have never found your brick and mortar store. This includes search engine marketing, retargeting those that have shown any interest in your company in the past, leveraging email campaigns to get immediate, trackable results, and much more. - Reach your Audience RIGHT when they are doing their Research
Most buyers research before investing in anything. They look at comparable brands, look up customer reviews, and much more. The retailers that offer more information about products online and provide them with something actionable (such as buy now) are much more likely to win that customer’s business than one that just has a brick and mortar store. Not only that, but you will be able to capitalize on impulse buyers who are prone to make purchases right away. - Make Sales 24/7
Brick and mortar stores have their advantages – try before you buy, being able to physically see products that they are purchasing, getting more business on other products from the occasional window shopper, being able to create an in person connection with your buyers, etc.
However, the time that you can do those things and make those sales is limited to your store hours. That’s why many retail startups are investing in an ecommerce solution in addition to their brick and mortar stores so that their customers can buy from the convenience of their own home anytime, anywhere on any device. - Provide a more Personalized Customer Experience
Ecommerce allows you to track customer buying behaviors so that you can better service your customers. Not only is it a more convenient buying option for them, but you can also tailor their specific experience and journey with your brand a lot easier than in a store.
You can take the data from customers in the past to provide suggested products for your customers to compare, or make it easier for repeat customers to reorder previous orders or suggest other products when they sign in. - Retarget your Customers
Every retailer wishes that they could bring the customers who in the consideration phase back to the store, or at least remain top of mind.
With ecommerce you can do just that – but digitally. There’s some great retargeting you can do for anyone who has visited your store, signed up for the standard 10% off your first order, or even those who have abandoned their cart. With Facebook Pixel and a wide range of other ecommerce-specific retargeting like the Shoelace Shopify Application or the Retargeting Application for Magento you can make sure you remain top of mind. How often can you say you brought back a shopper at a brick and mortar store that previously abandoned their cart? - Get Customers Located Around the World
Ecommerce takes away geographical boundaries for retailers. Instead of simply getting customers within driving distance of your store, you can target potential customers across the nation, or even around the world if you so choose. If you can ship to them, you can sell it to them. Retail is hard enough, why pigeonhole yourself to your store’s location(s)? - Get Clear Data about Your Customers
Because everything is online, you can track information about your customers – what promotions worked well on them, demographics, location, and much more. Then you can even tailor your promotions based on the buyer personas that you’ve created. You might be surprised by the data you come up with and even begin to target your products, promotions, and overall offerings based on the data you see in order to make even more sales. - Announce New Products, Promotions, and Service Offerings More Effectively
Most ecommerce solutions require your customers to provide an email during their purchase process or in order to make an account and apply specific promotions. This information allows you to send email announcements in addition to adding these new offerings to the top banners of your ecommerce platform. - Handle a Higher Volume of Orders
You can make sales 24/7, which means theoretically you will get more sales without investing in additional people to work floor for you. Your customers will not get discouraged by long lines or bulky packaging that they do not know how to transport. And, you can process multiple orders at the same time making large sales seasons like Black Friday even more manageable. As long as you have an integrated back end system, you can handle a small number of orders just as easily as a larger quantity. - Scale Quickly
With the right business management system and ecommerce in place, a retail startup can see significant growth in a short amount of time. As long as you choose an ecommerce solution with a seamless integration with your order management inventory management, accounting, and warehouse management systems, you will be able to make more sales in less time, with the same headcount you have now.
Ecommerce is a way for you to sell more product with fewer resources than you would need for a brick and mortar store. It brings you into the digital age and allows you to get even more results out of your marketing investments.
If you’re looking to invest in a long term, scalable ecommerce solution that fits in with your back end systems, we can help! We’ll work with you to find the right solution for your unique business needs. We can talk you through an integrated business management solution with a built in ecommerce solution or a strong ecommerce solution that connects an ERP to help you reach your growth goals.
