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Ever heard the statement that e-commerce is the holy grail of retail? It’s the truth.

There is no question that e-commerce websites offer a plethora of benefits to shoppers. And it’s probably no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic has put e-commerce at the forefront of retail. According to Digital Commerce, consumers spent $861.12 billion online with U.S. retailers in 2020, up 44% from $598.02 billion in 2019. Online spending represented 21.3% of total retail sales last year, compared with 15.8% the year prior. This is because shopping online gives consumers access to a wide range of products and stores, saves time, gives us the freedom to shop for the best price, and we don’t have to deal with driving, parking, fighting crowds, and more.

The internet is a powerful platform that you can tap into, and an e-commerce website will allow you to employ a vast array of sales and marketing techniques that provide people an extra reason to stay on your site and purchase your products.

Five Benefits of an E-Commerce Website

1. Zero Geographical Limitations

With an e-commerce website, the whole world is your playground. As long as you have access to the internet, your email, and maybe phone service, you can administer your store from wherever you are – in your office, that local coffee shop, or on the beach.

2. Gain New Customers with Search Engine Visibility

Physical retail is driven by branding and relationships. In addition to these two drivers, online retail is also driven by traffic from search engines. Have you ever followed a link in search engine results and landed on an e-commerce website that they have never heard of? This is not unusual. This additional source of traffic can be the tipping point for some e-commerce businesses.

3. Lower Costs

As compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar store, an online store can be set up for a fraction of the cost. When working with the right platform and great partners, an e-commerce website can be smoothly set up in just weeks. And once you’re up and running, many of the marketing and customer relationship functions can be automated. Some other ways costs can be reduced with e-commerce:

    • Advertising and marketing: Organic search engine traffic, pay-per-click, and social media traffic are some of the advertising channels that can be cost-effective.
    • Personnel: The automation of checkout, billing, payments, inventory management, and other operational processes lowers the number of employees required to run an e-commerce setup.
    • Real estate: This one is a no-brainer. An e-commerce merchant does not need a prominent physical location.

4. Locate the Product Quicker

Pushing a shopping cart is just too slow in this fast-paced world, right? On an e-commerce website, customers can click through intuitive navigation or use a search box to narrow down their product search immediately. From a consumer’s perspective, it’s more convenient to purchase goods from the internet. The process is quick and easy, and you can place your orders in a short amount of time. Not to mention you don’t have to leave your home or office. Additionally, the best e-commerce websites remember customer preferences and shopping lists to facilitate repeat purchasing.

5. No Business Hours

Who doesn’t want to make money while they sleep? An e-commerce website can run all the time. From the merchant’s point of view, this increases the number of orders they receive. From the customer’s point of view, an “always open” store is more convenient. And from the retailer’s standpoint, how nice to wake up in the morning with money in your inbox?

Enhance Your Profits with an Ecommerce Website Made with Love by Charley Grey

If you are looking for more ways to quickly boost your sales, reduce operating costs, and enhance the profit margins for your business, then you should set up an e-commerce website. And if you’re looking to stay on top of search results around your industry and location, let us take you to coffee so we can get this party started!