64% of consumers prefer the convenience of shopping online.
52% of consumers are avoiding shopping in-person because of COVID-19.
Over 75% of people are shopping at least once a month online.
Ecommerce is a booming business these days. Thanks to the lockdown and more people staying at home. Shopping online has grown like never before.
It’s estimated that smaller retailers will have a 30% higher mobile conversion rate compared to the larger retailers. If you are a small to medium sized local business selling products in a storefront setting, it’s time to consider moving your business online.
The COVID chaos is likely to continue and more and more people are opting to stay home and shop from their family room.
Here are 5 tips to easily get your business launched online.
1. Pick a Platform
While your current website may work fine for the way you did business in the past, converting it to an e-commerce site may require switching your hosting site. There are a lot of good options out there, but the site we like best for small business e-commerce is Wix. Wix provides several packages, but for the smaller business on a budget their prices are terrific for what they provide.
To see a sample of a very (VERY) small business e-commerce website that costs under $25 a month please visit Uniquely Yours Creations.
Wix also provides an easy to use inventory system, allowing you to keep track of your stock.
2. Choose a Payment Processing System
Integrating your current payment system into the website (if you have one) can be beneficial. However, there are site platforms that will integrate other payment processing systems or even have one built in.
No matter the processing system you choose, it can be easy and effortless to have the transaction process and deposit directly into your business account.
3. Define Your Process
Smaller businesses can easily track and inventory their stock directly in the storefront on the website, accessing the shipping and mailing the packages out without a lot of overhead.
It may take a bit more effort to track and ship, but the benefit will outweigh the cost of your time.
4. Provide a Pick-Up Option
When setting up the site, offer an option for customers to pick up from your store directly. This will require an easily accessible storefront. Allowing people to pick up same-day or next day will add to the benefit you are providing. 65% of shoppers surveyed preferred the option to buy online and pick it up at the store.
If you have the staff, the time, and the budget to offer an in-person delivery option (not shipping) this would also be an added benefit to potential customers.
5. Market and Advertise
Let people know you are now selling your products online. Update your Social Media profiles and start posting updates daily. Get your Google My Business page optimized with all your business information, so it is easily found when searching online.
Set up advertising campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google, whichever site will find you the most interested audience of potential customers. 43% of website visitors are more likely to buy from you if you re-target your ad campaigns to reach them. (Facebook provides an option for you to specifically target website visitors with ads.)
Survive this New World and Succeed
More customers are looking for products online and more customers want the option to stay home and have their purchases delivered to them.
There is no better time to get your business set-up with an online storefront and start taking advantage of the growing demand for online shopping.
We Can Help
Our team can help you get your business set up with an e-commerce site, provide you some tips on getting it going, and help you market and advertise the heck out of it.
Contact us today to get started!