Today, you would not ever imagine a business without any digital presence. Every business today has its website and sells its products via third-party e-retailers such as Amazon, eBay, and so on. In particular, for most businesses, the services of giant e-commerce players are a major boon as they get to sell their products to a wide audience without the need to spend heavily on marketing. Here, you will know the benefits of Why Your Retail Business Should Have An E-store.
Moreover, the e-commerce giants also have well-established logistics systems in place so there is no need for small players to incur expenditure on doorstep distribution of their products. However, if you are only relying on these channels for your online sales, there are considerable risks.
Why you should not rely purely on third-party e-retailers
There are a few issues described as follows:
- You are not the only player offering your products on such platforms. There will be several other players who offer the same type of products. Therefore, the competition for visibility will be high and competitors offering similar products at lower prices or discounts would be at an advantage.
- Any big player could copy your product and introduce it in the same space, and with their brand name, dwarf your presence and appeal.
- If you are a new player entering the market where there is already competition, your rivals will have the benefit of several pre-existing reviews and comments that offer greater credibility in the eyes of prospective buyers. Therefore, even in future, they remain at an advantage.
- The customers who buy your products on such e-commerce websites are not ‘your’ customers, they are customers of the e-commerce platform. Your products are just advertised there. The products that you are currently offering on the e-commerce website could be competed against by those very platforms that could develop similar products (think ‘Amazon Basics’).
Now if you have realized the cost of the convenience of putting your products on e-commerce platforms, here are the benefits you can have by having your e-store:
- You can have direct communication with your customers in a personalized manner. Thus, you would be able to understand their pain points, complaints, and expectations.
- Because you get full access to your customers’ information, you can now advertise your products to them directly over various channels. You could even personalize your marketing message.
- Any grievance customers may have with your products can be addressed directly and swiftly. Moreover, you have a record of complaints against your products and can choose to act upon the same.
- Your competitors cannot advertise on your e-store, so you can advertise yourself without your rivals generating confusion in your customers’ minds.
You get to keep 100% of the sales revenue you receive from sales of your e-store. - Because you have access to all the order data, you can analyze the same to take future decisions to improve your business strategy and practices.
You can get your e-store branded with your brand elements for generating a greater appeal.
Now, remember, this does not take away the importance of having your products on third-party e-commerce sites. They should be there because you do not want to not be visible at a place where your competitors are. However, your online store can be a complement to your e-retailing strategy. Not only will it result in incremental sales, but it will also provide you with an avenue for performing SEO and driving more traffic to your website.
Moreover, you can cross-sell different products and provide combo offers to increase the size of the shopping cart which will exclusively be filled with your products.
To know more about setting up your online store and reaching your potential customers, you may connect with the right solution experts.