Why you need to switch to E-comm, NOW !
By the virtue of easy internet access consumer is now tech savvy & explores multiple channels before making a purchase decision. In such a scenario it is imperative for any business to go to their customer & be seen.
E commerce today is growing both in success and accessibility .Shoppers all across the world are exposed to a 100 thousand options before buying anything . Not having to move to shop has changed the face of selling and buying market globally. The growth of E-commerce companies has been tremendous for last 5 years.The industry has grown handsomely above 35% during these years and is expected to grow up to 45% in coming 5 years. In Fact, India is stated to be the fastest growing E commerce market.(Source)
Most retail business with brick and mortar formats do understand the fact that E commerce is the next mainstream shopping mantra ! At the same time they might not be sure about the transition from B&M to Online format. Well if that’s the case , there are many reasons why migrating into an e-commerce platform is much easier than operating a store outlet.One of the biggest reason being that some of the most important things are common to both forms ; Marketing , Inventory & Customer Service.
Starting up
If your venture has just begun or the idea is still nascent , there is nothing better than an e-commerce model to sell your product or services. From giving a higher reach to enabling your business to going to its customer , an e commerce model is better in several ways. Businesses today have taken quite a turn where the customer is “actually” everything.
If you are located in an office in Mumbai , how would a prospective customer in Delhi reach you ?
E-commerce would allow you to go to your customer instead of them reaching out to you. With higher reach and ease of accessibility your business could grow in a very short span of time.
One such example would be Babyoye, largest one of its kind online store for the new born, little kids and parents.
They sell a wide range of baby products at best prices from established brands. Babyoye made the lives of new parents or to be parents extremely easy by being the one stop destination for all the baby related products. After a great deal of time spent online , it now has over 100 stores all across the country.
Basically Babyoye acquired its audience at a very low price during its e commerce phase. Once it knew its market , it diversified into opening stores . Right time , right research and the right idea — Babyoye is the perfect example of an e commerce success.
Retail store to E comm
It might sound scary to migrate to e commerce after having an established retail chain which is doing — just fine. It might be a little easier for those who aren’t doing that great — what’s the harm in trying e commerce ?
An e commerce business is able to reduce labor & inventory costs considerably. You don’t need store managers or attendants & maintaining an inventory is not required.You have the liberty to order your inventory according to the demand or keep a limited stock in a warehouse with meagre rent.
Well , for both these cases we feel it’s Imperative to be online. Why ? It makes your customer’s life easy , even if they aren’t buying online.
The need of the hour is “to go online” Let’s not sound preachy and find reasons why ? -
- Reach out to your user , make them feel important , Give them more
- Establish a customer base all across the country , or even globally !!
- Have an online catalog with higher SKU's without really stocking up
- Be able to give heavy discounts & still get your bit (Have your cake & eat it too)
- Eliminate your lousy staff that doesn’t fulfill the customer interaction — Automate !
- Notify your user about every offer & seasonal discount at your store / online
- Make money at your store , Make money while you sleep .
FabIndia is a well known retail brand that is keeping the spirit of Handicraft alive by selling various hand made products across India & overseas.
Founded in 1960, today the brand has over 120 stores including 6 overseas. Being one of a kind and keeping the roots the of Indian handicraft alive the most unique thing about this community based business. Recently they started selling online with their own portal & also on other shopping websites such as Myntra,Jabong etc.
After the huge offline success why did it go online ?
Going online will have more reasons than we anticipate , one such reason was a growth strategy. You might want to choose e-commerce to grow your business in terms of reach , accessibility , revenues & profits. FabIndia successfully operated offline for a very long period & chose e-commerce to grow and expand. Due to innovative marketing the brand is clocking profits offline as well as online !
Save your costs
This should be one of the primary reasons to choose e-commerce ! You save up on Inventory , Manpower , Place … pretty much everything.
E-comm allows you to convert your ideas into a business at a cheaper price. Your online business also gives you extra perks of taking it slow & knowing your market.
Do your business according to your discretion , get that freedom without incurring any daily overheads or Inventory costs.
Tools for marketing & reaching to customer are plentiful. With e commerce even if your start up costs are low (which they would be) you can catch that pace without breaking the bank.
Koovs.com — The high street fashion website has changed it business model several times . How?
From micro marketing platform to selling gadgets to becoming one of top fashion websites , Koovs has sure come a long way. Being an online portal allowed it to have that kind of freedom to diversify according to the need of the hour. With astounding marketing strategies & the right segment of users , Koovs managed to double the weekly web traffic to 1.5 million & clocked in £10 million in gross order value in 2016.
Your customer is Online
“80% of world population has made Online Purchases at least once” (source)
When you know your customer is probably trying to look you up on the internet or know more — the main thing is to build trust & credibility in an online business. Which often get’s difficult due to lack of human touch. E-commerce community today has however managed to eliminate that pain point too by providing safe & easy payments along with trusted products.
What attracts your customer the most !!
Why is your customer online ? Customers have the true notion to get an all time discount on e commerce sites…Which is feasible for you as a business to provide because your costs are lower than a B&M store.
Know your customer Touch points
When your are online , there is lack of personal contact to create valuable touch points. In that case your customer will be based on Ratings & reviews , Testimonials , word of mouth , community involvement , website , Thank You cards etc. It’s imperative for your online business to cover all these customer touch points to create brand loyalty.
You can connect to third party services
Internet is seamless , and when we say this we mean there are no boundaries for interaction / collaborations when you are operating online.
Third party associations might not be mandatory for your online business but sure boosts the revenues by providing ease to customer in every way. They can initiate higher volumes of orders , have multiple payment options , contact experts & consultants , gift card integrations , collaborate with third party sellers and a lot more.Managing all of these features on your own is incredibly time-consuming.
This increases the scope of innovation and user friendly experience. Third party services do a lot for your online business as well as your customer. And being able to access these services is one of the major benefits of going Online !!
Starting an ecommerce store is not a breeze but not a humongous task either.You just need a balanced mix of merchandise,marketing, security, delivery, shipping & credibility.
Customers are shopping online in more ways than one.Businesses today need to find new and innovative ways to connect with their customer & e commerce is opening many paths to do that.
There are many reasons to start an e commerce , If you want your ideas to convert into a business faster than usual & be able to cover a magnificent number of audience , E commerce is definitely worth considering !
