The behavior of buyers have changed drastically, they now have the impartial super power of buying anything online from anywhere. They believe in conducting an extensive research online before even speaking to the sales person. They are very comfortable in making e-payments and receiving things on their doorstep. With all such changes and swiftly evolving technology, businesses have stuck with a stark choice of either to adapt or to die.
E-commerce is now the most suitable and direct method of doing business. Rather the definition of e-commerce that is buying and selling things over the internet seems inadequate now. The electronic has been replaced by everywhere and the e-commerce has become everywhere commerce now. The commerce is no more restricted now to one seller, one country, one channel, or one device. The web has expanded the horizons of commerce and induced new ways of doing business smartly.
The growth of e-commerce can be estimated by the statistics which say that close to 240 million people are forecast to buy goods and services online in India by 2019. India is seen as one of the most optimistic projected Asian markets for the e-commerce industry. Now, to capture a piece of this pie, your brick-and-mortar store needs to adapt to the e-commerce trend. There is an acute need to understand that buyers now are no more interested in driving to a store, wandering around in search of what they want and standing in a queue for getting the bill done. They like to purchase at their ease and from their will.
The internet enables small companies to sell their products online with the help of platforms like Shopify, Amazon Webstore etc and solutions like Magento, ZenCart, and other WordPress plugins. For payments also, there are multiple and easy options available with lower fees and great convenience. Selling directly online increases your reach and thus your profits are not limited to the number of customers who physically visit the store. With an online store, you can sell across towns, states, and even countries with absolutely no geographical boundaries.
A traditional brick-and-mortar set-up has a time limitation where it can’t be opened 24X7. This setup really requires a lot of time from the buyer’s end where he needs to be present to supervise, sell and answer the various inquiry calls. A lot of infrastructure and resources are involved in this set up which all are eliminated in an online store. An online setup is accessible at any hour of the clock and gives ample convenience to both buyers and sellers.
Through an e-commerce system, you can really keep a track of the behavioural patterns of your customers. You can see how people interact with your site, what they select but do not buy in end, how they prefer making the payment and things like this. This valuable information can be really analysed later to take some crucial decisions for a better future of business. Recording such behavioural patterns is next to impossible in a brick-and-mortar set-up.
So, adapt rather than die. Start your e-commerce store now. And still, if your products are not ideal for online sales, remember, an e-commerce presence will always increase awareness of your brand amongst people. Shoppers are spending more time researching online than ever before and they might call you after liking your product. Research like this might draw local buyers to your store but through an online platform, a product can be sold then and there without losing a real-time customer.
