What is Ecommerce and Why Does it Matter?

With the rise of online retail giants like Amazon and Alibaba, more business owners and managers than ever are eager to learn how selling products online can benefit their business. It has become a booming industry, with estimated sales in 2021 of $768 billion in the United States alone. That’s a lot of money changing hands! So what does this mean for your business? In short, ecommerce offers opportunities to reach new markets and grow your customer base. But it’s not just about sales. Ecommerce can also help you improve your operations, streamline your processes, and boost your bottom line. Ready to learn more? Keep reading!

Ecommerce or electronic commerce is the process of buying and selling goods and services over an electronic network, typically this takes place on the internet. Ecommerce has become an integral part of our digital lives, in fact the average American orders something online once a week.

The average consumer might not fully appreciate the number of times they utilize ecommerce on a daily basis. For example, mobile payments, streaming subscriptions like Netflix, and online shopping are all examples of ecommerce that many consumers use daily. In addition to consumer sales, ecommerce is also used by businesses of all sizes to sell products and services to other businesses.

Business can utilize a variety of different platforms to create an online store. Each platform has its pros and cons, but the one major thing to consider is how well it fits with your individual business goals. Be sure the platform you choose also offer the specific features you need such as subscriptions, paywalls, product videos, etc. Below are 7 examples of ecommerce platforms currently available.

– How to Sell Tickets Online Without Fees: A Guide for Businesses

Woocommerce is a plugin for the popular content management system WordPress. It’s free to use and offers a wide range of features including product listings, shopping carts, payment gateways, and more. In addition to its native features, there are thousands of plugins that add features and improve Woocommerce further.

One major advatange of Woocommerce is it’s an open source platform. This means that the code is available for anyone to use for free. Many ecommerce platforms charge monthly fees to use their software, but Woocommerce will always be free.

BigCommerce is another popular ecommerce platform that offers everything you need to build an online store. It also offers a wide range of features, including the ability to make subscription services. BigCommerce is most well known for its easy to use platform.

BigCommerce is a paid platform and starts at $29.95/month. There are also a number of additional features that can be added for an additional cost, including the ability to make affiliate programs, gift cards, etc. The main downside of BigCommerce is that it lacks some of the features offered by Shopify and Woocommerce.

Wix is a popular website builder that also offers ecommerce capabilities. It’s free to use and offers a wide range of features, including the ability to make subscription services. Wix also offers a number of templates to choose from.

The main downside of Wix is that it doesn’t offer as many features as some of the other platforms. For example, Wix doesn’t offer the ability to use affiliate programs or gift cards. Also, if you want ecommerce features then you need to pay for a separate plan that starts at $17/month which will also increase your monthly website hosting cost since it’s not included in their basic package.

Magento is a popular ecommerce platform that offers a wide range of features. It’s free to use for the first 250 products, but after that it increases in price significantly. Magento also offers a wide range of features, including the ability to utilize subscriptions services.

The main downside of Magento is that it can be difficult to use. It’s not as easy to set up as some of the other platforms, and it can be difficult to make changes once your store is up and running. In addition, Magento is more expensive than some of the other options.

Many small business owners think selling online isn’t important to their industry, but this could not be further from the truth. There are a number of reasons why ecommerce should matter to your business, regardless of its size or industry.

Online businesse have the opportunity to reach consumers all over the world. This can help you expand your customer base and grow your business. Don’t let your store’s geographic location limit your business potential.

Ecommerce presents a unique low overhead opportunity to sell anywhere. In fact with only a computer and an internet connection you can start selling products to people all over the world for next to nothing. Compared to a brick and mortar store, the overhead of a basic ecommerce store is next to nothing and it can reach a significantly larger audience.

Ecommerce can help you streamline your processes and improve your customer service. Having a centralized system to serve your customers online can help improve the customer experience and reduce customer service costs.

Some ecommerce platforms can ultimately manage your entire business. From operations to marketing, these platforms allows you to control all aspects of the sales, process and reduce overhead costs traditionally associated with retailing goods on a physical store-front. Just think of it as “renting” a store online instead!

Ecommerce can help companies increase their return on investment (ROI) by reducing costs over time through streamlining operations. In addition, ecommerce can provide businesses with a new stream of income that may not have been available before.

As a business owner, you know your bottom line matters. Why not make more money for the same amount of work? Ecommerce can help you do just that by boosting sales and increasing ROI through better operations. Consider an investment in ecommerce for your business

Many consumers prefer an ecommerce site to a physical store experience. Why? Online retail offers consumers the ability to view all of your products from the convenience of their home or office, and purchase it with a simple online payment – no need for driving around town trying to find parking!

In addition, making product information available online makes it easier for people to find what they need. Consider this scenario: you are in the market for a new laptop, but you have a list of specific technical requirements that need to be met. Instead of going to every store in town hoping to find one that works for your needs, you would look online since it will be easier to find what you need efficiently.

Making the customer experience better is essential to retaining customers and growing your business. So why not let an ecommerce solution help you do that?

Not everyone has the time, money, or the ability to shop in person. With ecommerce, you can open your store to a larger audience who may not have been able to purchase from you before. Online shoppers can purchase from your ecommerce business at anytime of day. You don’t need 24/7 staffing to sell online like physical stores do.

In addition, online retail offers a more convenient shopping experience for customers with limited mobility. For example, many people with disabilities or who are elderly have trouble with physical shopping. With the ability to shop at any time of day, all they need is an internet connection and a computer – no stairs required!

In fact, it’s not uncommon for ecommerce businesses to see a higher ROI on their marketing dollars than traditional brick and mortar stores. This is in part due to the valuable information digital marketing can provide. For example, with the ability to track customer behavior on your website, you can see what marketing campaigns are working and which ones need to be tweaked. No more guessing whether your ad campaign actually reached your audience.

Ecommerce is an amazing technology and can benefit many businesses. If you don’t know how or where to start creating your website, 608 Media can help! Our team can build your ecommerce website, so you can focus on growing your business instead. Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more; 608 Media will create a custom ecommerce website tailored perfectly to your needs!