If you’re keen to continue growing your business but your in-store sales have started to plateau, it’s time to add online sales to your existing business plan!
Why Add Online Sales?
While your physical store may have a loyal customer base, it’s ultimately limited by geographic local and accessibility. Prospects in surrounding and outlying areas may be prepared to travel to shop with you in person, now and again, but online sales open up almost unlimited possibilities in terms of new customers and growth.
Think of your online store as an extension of your existing shopfront – making it easy for people hours, or entire continents, away to browse, buy and repeat. If you’re based in Hawke’s Bay, which has a population of around 150,000 people, you have the potential to reach millions of customers throughout New Zealand, and even internationally, with an ecommerce store.
If your business has a website, but does not currently offer online shopping, you’re likely to be missing out on sales. People interested in your products are already searching for them via Google – imagine their disappointment if they find you online, but can’t make a purchase because they live too far away… or simple prefer the ease of shopping from the couch.
More and more people are choosing to shop online – even when a brick and mortar store is available in their location – thanks to the convenience ecommerce stores provide.
Top Benefits of Online Stores for Shoppers
Every savvy shop owners knows that success is driven by a customer focus – and your customers and prospects want the option to purchase your products with the click of a button.
When you add online sales to your existing brick and mortar store offering, you’re providing your customers with…
- The ability to shop 24/7, around their schedule
- The convenience of browsing your products, without worrying their little ones are going to invoke the ‘you break it, you bought it’ policy
- The ease of having their items delivered directly to their door – or to a gift recipient on their behalf
- The option to research products, read reviews and compare pricing quickly
- The ability to source products they wouldn’t normally have access to in their immediate area
- The convenience of saving time – and money – by avoiding traffic
- A shopping experience that matches their expectations!
Nowadays, shoppers have all but come to expect the option to make their purchase online – which means businesses without an ecommerce store can appear outdated… particularly those attempting to reach demographics who live their lives online.
How Does an Online Store FIT with Your Existing Store?
It’s common for business owners to feel trepidation if they’ve been running and physical store for some time, and they’re not sure exactly how online sales will fit with their existing processes.
The good news is, the latest platforms make it EASY to launch an online store that blends seamlessly with your current physical shop. Not only can ecommerce stores be designed and customised to look on-brand – they are also powered by software that integrates easily with stock and inventory systems, meaning you never have to worry about missed orders or stock discrepancies.
A great example of this is Shopify, a highly customisable, reliable and cost effective ecommerce website platform. Shopify not only looks great, but communicates flawlessly with Vend point of sale software – ensuring the same system that manages all of the important ‘back of shop’ processes at your brick and mortar store also feeds into your online store for a seamless and complete experience.
How Do I Get Started?
Easy! You can give our team a call right now on 021 045 6275 to learn more!
We can take care of everything for your ecommerce shop development and launch, including copywriting, photography, supplier communications, product loading and more – or we can develop a site with all the essentials, and provide your team with training so you can load product inventory into your systems at your own pace.
Our ecommerce website development packages start from just $6,999 +GST, and can be tailored to your needs.
Drop us a line to make an enquiry.