Heading to the pub, having friends round and staying in a hotel without a flight first. There could finally be an end to lockdown. As the government reveals its roadmap to ease restrictions and shops have a chance of re-opening, you may think the e-commerce bubble is about to burst. Think again.
While shielding, social distancing and the general stay-at-home message have all contributed to a massive upshift in online shopping, many analysts believe this was a course we were all on anyway. The Covid pandemic may have accelerated our love of e-convenience, but it seems inevitable we would have reached this point eventually.
So with new purchase habits unlikely to revert too much post-roadmap, now is the time to up your e-commerce game. Small business, individual or charity – we’ve got your back. From a safe social distance for now.
Before you upgrade your website and invest in an innovative online channel though, what exactly are the benefits of e-commerce? Well, actually there’s a few.
Whether you’re after a business-to-customer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) relationship, selling online will save you money. Aside from the obvious lack of rent and rates, there is the advantage of scale-ability. E-commerce allows you to easily and accurately keep track of products that sell well and those which don’t. You can buy the right amount of stock in and increase popular ranges without wasting money on non-runners.
Additionally, time is money. Selling online essentially means you are always open. You are open to all demographs right when they want. No missed sales because you were asleep or busy dealing with another customer. You can also save time by accessing sales and answering queries whenever and wherever you like.
As well as the global potential of online sales, your local profile can be raised too. We’re keen on the power of local and appreciate the value of having your website appear when a potential client searches Google for nearby services. E-commerce will help search engines to know you are selling and excellent SEO will help them to move your site up their rankings.
This search engine visibility will help to create more hits on your site, where the advantages of e-commerce can in turn help to convert them. A well-designed website will let potential customers easily locate items and high-quality images with detailed descriptions will give them confidence to purchase. There is also the advantage of linking products for up-selling and encouraging impulse buys with obvious calls-to-action. Given that everyone loves a bargain, e-commerce simplifies the ’offer’ process too – just post a link on social media to take clients straight to a discount.
Quality web design is the essential factor for a successful e-commerce site. Clear branding, on-point layout, appropriate calls-to-action, excellent user-experience and above all an SEO-friendly, responsive website are crucial.
So how do you do this the easy way? Let us do it for you of course. We can deliver all of this and create a bespoke e-commerce website whether you want to sell teapots or tickets.