It’s 2021 and there are so many reasons why you need an online store. From increased sales to better brand awareness, the number of advantages keep increasing with every passing year.
That’s not to say that your brick-and-mortar store is useless. Far from it! They serve as the cornerstone of your business, and allow you to advertise using tools such as Google My Business.
However, even before the pandemic hit and quarantine measures were rolled out, eCommerce was on the rise. Now – it has hit epic proportions with no signs of stopping. In fact, eCommerce shot up to nearly a third of all UK retail in May 2020.
Do I Need a Brick-and-Mortar Store First?
Absolutely not. In fact, it does not matter if you are an established business, or a startup looking for the best way to launch your business.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the reasons why you need an online store!
Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
Reasons Why You Need an Online Store
Cost-effective Expansion
No more rent, renovations or moving costs associated with brick-and-mortar stores. If you create an online store, your overhead costs are minimal.
Or maybe you are worried about the costs of building your own website? Don’t worry about that. In fact, you do not even need a developer for that nowadays.
With the right eCommerce platform you can build yourself a free website in minutes. In just 6 steps you can build yourself a catalogue of your products, set up shipping and delivery preferences and be ready to go live!
(Oh, and with eSuperStore you pay 0% commission, but that’s just our little secret!)
Open All Hours
As Country Star Dolly Parton says “Working nine till five, what a way to make a living!”
You can work whatever hours you like, but your online store does not stop for a coffee break. Open for orders 24/7, 365 days a year you have an open sales channel that anyone can reach.
Imagine how many more orders your offline store could take in if you were open for an additional 16 hours a day? You also have the option to limit orders, or increase delivery time if you find yourself swamped with customers eager for your products.
Of all the problems – surely that’s the best one to have, right?
Improve Company Image
As far as reasons why you need an online store, this is an important one.
You are expected to have one.
Your competitors, because surely you have some, all have online stores of different shapes and sizes. If prospective clients are searching for your products and fail to find your own online store, they might raise questions.
How serious are you about your business?
Is your company worth buying from if they are not online?
These questions are immediately, if unconsciously, triggered in your potential customers. So don’t let them ask those questions and get your online store immediately.
Expand Your Market
Brick-and-mortar stores are fantastic. You can build relationships with regular customers, and use word-of-mouth to saturate your local market.
But what about potential customers that are too far away to travel to your store? Or those so far away that they do not know that you exist?
With an online store, these potential customers now have access to your products and services, even to the point of your small business accessing international markets.
Better Customer Support
What if you could provide customer support without actually having to take time out of your day to help customers?
That’s exactly the sort of support that your online store can offer.
Through the use of a FAQ page you can answer the most common problems and questions that customers may have. You can also upload videos and webinars on certain aspects of your business to give a live, in-person experience while you focus on other aspects of your day-to-day business.
Social Media Links
Marketing and Sales are two reasons why you need an online store, and they come through social media links.
You now have access to the better marketing by linking social media profiles with your online store. From there you can build your digital presence, increase brand awareness and interact with potential customers anywhere at any time.
By linking your online store with Facebook and Instagram, you can also gain access to selling via social media. This is an essential business tool, as you can increase the number of impulse purchases from potential customers.
Customer Personalisation
Nothing builds your brand more than treating customers well. So how do you do that? By personalising their experience of course.
With access to customers via social media, you can create promotional offers just for them. If their birthday is coming up, why not give them a 5% discount code for your store that they can use on their birthday?
If you include a time limit, it also increases their urgency for your products – giving you more sales, and a better reputation with your customers.
Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
One of our favourite reasons why you need an online store – abandoned cart recovery emails!
Consider that 70% of all carts are abandoned at the point of purchase through distraction or time constraints. What if you automatically sent a reminder email to these customers?
This technique is actually one of the most effective methods for sustainable growth, and these emails account for around 30% of all online sales!
With numbers like that – you can’t say no.
Brand Building
Your brand is not just who you are. It is also what you look like.
The top-range brands of the high-street do not have to charge so much for their products, but they do so because their brand is well-known. That is why they are happy to slap on some extra value to their products.
That is one technique that every business should aspire to. You need to show that your brand stands for something, and provides unique products and services that are your own.
The easiest way to build your brand and advertise your logo? Your own online website!
Affiliate Marketing
Once you have built your brand and attracted customers, you can begin to play with affiliate marketing.
Not to be confused with Influencer Marketing, Affiliate Marketing is a more effective method of building your business.
In essence, you select existing customers to promote your brand and give them a unique affiliate code. They, in turn, promote your brand and your products online to as many people as they can.
An affiliate will drive new customers to your business, and include their unique code, and the affiliate will take a proportion of the profits of that sale.
You may not like the idea of sharing those hard-earned profits, but just remember – each customer that they bring is another customer that you didn’t have before. Also, if the affiliate doesn’t bring you more clients, then they don’t get paid.
They are so much more reliable than influencers.
Freedom
If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, or you decide to move completely onto your online store, you now have freedom.
The freedom to live and run your business from wherever you want.
From Timbuktu to Tennessee, as long as you can provide your products or services, your location does not matter (as long as you update those delivery options!)
These The Reasons Why You Need An Online Store
Even one of these reasons is compelling enough to get an online store, and now you have a full list of 11 incredible advantages to setting one up.
So don’t waste time and check out our eSuperStore today! It includes:
- Free Signup
- 6 step wizard to build a personalised store
- 0% commission paid on every sale
- Facebook and Instagram Store integration
- Abandoned cart recovery emails
- International payment pathways
And so much more for you to explore.
So get in touch with a member of our team today if you have any more questions. Or alternatively, browse our list of guides and resources for the latest business news and tips!
SuperDisty – Your Passport to Online Markets
