why we need e commerce

The trend of "pop-up" shops are on the rise, as some merchants are choosing to meet their customers in-person with little more than a tablet, a card reader and a few sample products in hand. var name = "critic"; Mike Power of The Guardian notes that the first e-Commerce trade was done in the early 1970s through the ARPANET (the internet’s precursor) for marijuana between students from Stanford and MIT. Software can help you to build individual profiles for every online customer, that detail their relevant information - such as size for clothing - and personal tastes, in order to generate automated suggestions that they are most likely to enjoy. Successful e-Commerce traders either buy out their smaller rivals for cheap, or kill them slowly by undercutting their prices. There are many great reasons to start an ecommerce business. Additionally, it's that passion that's going to drive you to do the work you need to do to build a successful business. People clearly trust etailers more than they did in the past, but security and privacy concerns are still foremost in many people's minds. Don’t risk losing the loyalty of your customers - follow the crowd and keep up with expectations to the very best of your ability. Why is e-Commerce such an important part of today’s world? Abandoned shopping carts are a prevalent problem, and you have to have a willingness to tweak and optimize your funnel to ensure maximum conversion. Sign up below to get the latest from ITProPortal, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! Costs are kept low as there is no need for a brick and mortar shop, goods can be sent straight from a warehouse to the front door avoiding markup, and the buyer can shop from the comfort of their home and avoid the whole saga of finding pants and a clean top. Nicky Felix, founder and owner, Box2 Complaints should be addressed to the Secretary, PO Box 10-879 The Terrace, Wellington. So who could lose? By Nicky Felix 21 September 2017. My concern is the larger impact we impart is far greater than the few dollars we saved by clicking “buy now”. Please refresh the page and try again. Moscato, Rosé, Moscato Rosé: Do They Taste the Same? Press Council: people with a complaint against a newspaper should first complain in writing to the Editor and then, if not satisfied with the response, complain to the Press Council. As you can imagine, that 80 percent is only going to grow. Knowing your customer inside and out is the 21st century answer to upselling, and in many cases, it is hugely successful. Fortunately, there are some great retargeting apps and tools, such as CartHook, that can help with capturing customers before they're gone for good. These figures are of particular value when it comes to making projections for future quarters, applying for investment and other upgrades, and planning for busy or difficult periods. The lack of smaller companies means we as a society relinquish the familiar setting and employees of the shopping centre in favour of faceless and soulless corporations all in the name of saving a couple of dollars, in time putting those people out of a job. You can create relevant, value-adding content pieces for your readers, capture them as email subscribers, and then let them know about sales, discounts and promotions as you run them. (Infographic). ... and many of them have affected the way we do business. If you have been financially successful thus far, without creating an online presence or selling via a website, then consider just how much more you have to gain by expanding your customer base so widely. Copyright © 2020 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved. On a practical level, e-Commerce is unavoidable. Ulbricht steadfastly denies that he is the DPR that they were after and insists he was set up by a former DPR. In the U.S. alone, ecommerce growth is anticipated to be somewhere between 11.6 and 16.5 percent from 2013 to 2018. // -->. One argument that came out in light of Ulbricht’s case was fair and reasonable–Silk Road was a place for willing buyers and reliable sellers to conduct business. How to Build a Perfect Checkout Page. According to marketing research firm Coleman Parkes, 21-40% of a business’s contributions are a direct result of e-Commerce and that number is expected to grow rapidly over the coming years. If you're interested in being your own boss and selling products you are passionate about, it's something worth considering. All you need is a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. By giving your company an online presence, you open yourself up to a wider audience, who now know that you are fresh, up-to-date and modern in your approach. Create your business plan in half the time with twice the impact using Entrepreneur's BIZ PLANNING PLUS powered by LivePlan. Customers like to see a business that moves with the times, and those that don’t have Twitter, or won’t take card payments are only going to alienate the customers they have. Silk Road was a website run by Ross Ulbricht, known as the Dread Pirate Roberts, a moniker taken from The Princess Bride to represent a character who always exists and can never die, much like The Phantom. A customer who feels valued is far more likely to reward you with their loyalty, and that is a vital driving force in any healthy business. Visit our corporate site. Why do we need…E-Commerce? Take Your Business Where Your Customers Are, Build an Ecommerce Store on Shopify with Help From This Bootcamp, This shopping season will be different for this reason, E-commerce is growing thanks to women: study, Preparing Ecommerce for the "New" Holidays. On a smaller scale, would you rather have a shop in the centre of a busy shopping mall, or in a run-down backstreet of town that rarely gets visited? E-Commerce comes in four main forms: consumer to consumer (Trademe), business to consumer (Rebel Sport, Warehouse), consumer to business (Second Video), and business to business (Print Shop). That’s where it gets tricky. (Infographic), A 6-Step Checklist to Get Your Online Business Ready for the Holiday Season, How Do People Find You? (Image credit: Image source: Shutterstock/Pretty Vectors). But resisting this transition can be the death knell of a fledgling company, and those who still haven’t logged on are already lagging behind the rest of their competition and making life much harder on themselves. Your business stands to gain many new clients, more loyalty, more money and ultimately, better chances of longevity by throwing open the doors and inviting one and all to join the party. Thank you for signing up to IT Pro Portal. For advertising enquiries call (03) 479 5361 For all enquiries or to volunteer, email Business owners are faced with a similar ultimatum when resisting the move to e-commerce. Ebay, Trademe, Amazon, Alibaba… all names we are familiar with, sites designed to allow consumers and merchants to come together and exchange goods for a fair and reasonable price. You only went there if you wanted certain products, and poor service and products were quickly identified through feedback forums. The magnitude of online retail not only makes it important to business owners, but at times daunting too, and some companies go to lengths to avoid becoming part of the e-commerce world. From social media to competitions, mailing lists to exclusive offers, proper use of e-commerce gives way to many engaging and fruitful methods of attracting new customers. When running a business, the simple equation of operating where the widest customer base is holds true. Whether you're a bootstrapper or an investor with a bit of extra money to start a new enterprise, ecommerce is a great field to get into, especially today. Image source: Shutterstock/Pretty Vectors. It was safer than buying mystery substances on the street. The key as an ecommerce business owner is to establish trust and credibility with leads and customers. She went to work as a ‘picker’ running around and filling orders in a several-hundred-thousand-square-foot warehouse. If you want to speed up the process, you could even buy an established business instead. I understand that the data I am submitting will be used to provide me with the above-described products and/or services and communications in connection therewith. Once you've built up a successful ecommerce business, selling it may provide you with the capital you need to move onto greener pastures. 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