Seven Benefits of e-Commerce Websites and Selling Online

Whether you are an established brick and mortar retailer, a budding e-commerce entrepreneur, or somewhere in between, e-commerce and online sales are exploding and if you are looking to increase your sales, establish a new stream of revenue, or expand your product offerings, now is the time to launch your online store!

Each day, millions of people searching the internet for products and services. The pandemic only expedited the e-commerce growth curve as online shopping has become the preferred method to purchase everything from household goods and groceries to clothing, office supplies, home décor, and virtually any and everything else!  

E-commerce websites allow you to capitalize on the online shopping traffic and tap into the vast sales opportunities online sales afford.  Not only can e-commerce websites help reduce your business operating costs and increase profit margins, but they are also a cost-effective way to launch a new business, especially when designed and established correctly. 

Here are seven benefits e-commerce websites can offer your business and tips to help you launch yours!

1. Affordability: Low cost of entry and decreased operating costs.
   Establishing an e-commerce website is much cheaper than opening a brick-and-mortar business and operational costs are much easier to manage!  As the entire operation is automated online, e-commerce entrepreneurs and online business owners save on staff, wages, and other business costs such as rent, utilities, and insurance. The money saved on overhead can then be used to develop your e-commerce website and further expand your product offerings.  E-commerce websites will also help you expand your product offering faster than is normally possible within an offline business situation, especially if you are able to partner with third party entities who are able to seamlessly integrate with your online store.  If these partners leverage an on-demand ordering and production model, you can also eliminate some inventory costs and save of both shipping and customer service!
   
2. Flexibility: Your e-commerce business can be operated and accessed from virtually anywhere.
   E-commerce websites reduce the geographical restrictions you would normally face with an office-based business. You can be anywhere around the world and still successfully oversee your e-commerce business.  Likewise, customers from virtually can access your business!  All you need is wifi, especially if you are leveraging third party partnerships to handle inventory, shipping, and customer service.
   
3. Scalability
   Due to their cost effectiveness and ability to accommodate both expanded product offerings and ongoing optimization, e-commerce websites are much easier to scale than traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.  Many e-commerce platforms include robust reporting options that enable website owners to closely track both sales and the online behaviors of customers, making it easier for them to evaluate which products are the most highly sought after and identify which products are selling through at the highest rates.  Based on these metrics, e-commerce business owners are better able to forecast their sales and adjust both their product mix and pricing, to meet the needs of their target market.  Successful products can then be diversified to develop a larger range of products to sell through the website, allowing you to grow your business in terms of sales, customer base, and profits.
   
4. Shopability: Your e-commerce business is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!
   With ecommerce websites, you are not restricting your potential customers, as they can view your website at any time of day, any day of the year!  This means as a business, you are maximizing your sales and profits.
   
   You can further maximize your sales opportunities through upselling and cross selling.  “Upselling” revolves around offering products that directly relate to the products the customer has just selected to purchase. For example, if your e-commerce business sells clothing, you could offer the customer a matching sticker.  Or if the business is art focused or sells greeting cards, you could offer the buyer a matching poster or complementary, custom gift wrapping paper.  By suggesting and adding complementary products with a price point that is lower than the primary purchase, buyer are more likely to “add to cart,” increasing your average sale.
   
   Cross-selling is simply encouraging shoppers to spend more money by buying additional products that are related to the primary purchase.  The most common strategy employed in cross-selling is, “You may also like!” or “Wear with this!”  These tactics are designed to increase sales revenues for your business and can be easily achieved with product extensions.
   
5. Measurability:  Easily track a variety of metrics.
   E-commerce websites and platforms generally include a variety of options for tracking everything from site visits and searches to onsite user behavior to purchases and even abandoned carts.  These metrics allow e-commerce business owners to track how many orders are processed through your site, average cart totals, calculate cart abandonment rates, and track the percentage of total revenue your website has achieved at regular intervals.
   
6. Manageability
   Once an e-commerce website is launched, managing, and maintaining it generally takes less time than managing a brick-and-mortar retail store.  As both the ordering and payment systems are automated, completing the sale is more efficient than the traditional sales process.  This automation affords e-commerce business owners more time to determine new products you want to sell, design special offers for your customers, and more closely track which products are selling through at the highest rates and the highest margins.  By partnering with a third party vendor that offers both on-demand ordering, production, and shipping, e-commerce website owners can save even more time, and cost!, as they do not have to carry additional inventory or invest their time in managing production and tracking order shipments.
   
7. Profitability: Higher margins and increased cash flow!
   E-commerce websites allow business owners to sell at higher margins, increasing both your profits and cash flow.  Shopping cart and payment options on these websites collect 100% of the customer payment, up front, and this combined with the decreased cost of operations (from an overhead standpoint), improves cash flow.

Are you ready to launch?  StickersAndPosters.com offers a variety of products to help set your business apart!  We specialize in custom kiss-cut stickers, custom glossy posters, and personalized gift wrapping paper and with our fully automated, on-demand printing process and minimum order quantity = ONE!, we can help you elevate your business and your brand.  As an industry leader and innovator in print technology and automation, we specialize in ONE-OFF printing of fully customizable products, making us the perfect third party vendor for your e-commerce business!  Thanks to our technology and cutting-edge printing processes, we seamlessly integrate with our partners’ platforms and deliver on demand printed products direct from their e-commerce sites and online stores!  And since we print everything on-demand and white label ship directly to your customers, we alleviate the need to carry additional inventory and relieve you of the cost, and headaches!, associated with production, shipping and customer service.

Want to learn more?  Ready to get started?  Contact us for a FREE consultation!