It must have been quite a tough decision to begin your own enterprise with your own vision, mission, and values. At the same time, you have to take on the burden of expectations of investors and stakeholders while moving online. Is it a reasonable proposition in 2021? Online vs. brick-and-mortar stores – Let’s find out!
At present, you can find almost 12 to 24 million ecommerce websites throughout the globe. More and more online stores are emerging everyday and could even lead some people to think about the strong competition in online stores. However, less than one million ecommerce websites are capable of achieving annual sales amounting to more than $1000. Therefore, you have considerable scope for establishing and growing your business through online platforms.
Consumers have spent around $861.02 billion in online purchases in 2020. Interestingly, this number is for the US only! The number indicates a profound growth of 44% in comparison to 2019.
On the other hand, retail sales had a growth of 6.9% only. So, you clearly notice the advantage online stores vs brick-and-mortar stores in terms of growth.
The preferences for online shopping are rising slowly among Millennials, with 67% of millennials preferring to shop online. Almost 59% of Millennials look for a product on Amazon for online shopping. Therefore, online stores cater to the largest consumer base in the existing business environment.
However, individuals with a traditional mindset would look towards brick-and-mortar options for purchasing products and services. So, it is important to reflect on the importance and benefits of a website for brick-and-mortar stores to resolve your doubts.
“Online stores are cost-effective in terms of setting them up. Business owners don’t have to pay additional costs for overheads. In addition, you can enjoy the benefits of reduced operating costs. Businesses could generally pass the benefits of savings to consumers, thereby attracting more customers.”
The next important factor for considering a website for brick-and-mortar businesses is convenience. Online shopping is highly appealing for many customers, especially Millennials, as it allows customers to purchase their favorite products from the comfort of their homes. Furthermore, customers don’t have to invest a lot of time and effort in online shopping.
Some critics may argue that online stores don’t offer the facility of seeing the products in person. However, online stores provide a wide range of other criteria to help consumers in making the right decision. Customers can easily compare prices of the same product from different sellers and also evaluate the features of products easily. Most important of all, customers don’t have to hurry while shopping online.
Your consumers don’t have to worry about the store gates being shut down in few minutes when they want to purchase a dress. Online stores allow customers to look at various alternatives for a product of their choice without any restrictions of time. Such facilities of convenience can help you in ensuring that your customers are satisfied by getting what they want comfortably.
Online presence for a brick-and-mortar store offers the advantage of better performance monitoring. Business owners can capitalize on Google Analytics and other SEO tools for monitoring their website traffic. In addition, online stores could easily track the behavior of customers and changing trends. Online review sites also help business owners in tracking the capabilities of their business in customer service and sales management.
On the other hand, business owners with brick-and-mortar stores have to go through a steeper learning curve for understanding their business, the market, and their customers. If you are a newcomer and you stick to the brick-and-mortar option, you have a long way to go in the industry!
“Brick-and-mortar stores have to go through a steeper learning curve for understanding their business, the market, and their customers.”
With a major share of shopping activity shifting online in the present times, it is also inevitable to note the rise of digital marketing. Online stores can create ads and post them on different social media platforms. Interestingly, business owners don’t have to bleed out huge sums of money on digital marketing like in the case of conventional marketing methods. Most important of all, digital marketing helps online store owners in narrowing down their audience according to different factors.
For example, business owners can focus their digital marketing strategies on a particular demographic or customers in a particular age group. Furthermore, digital marketing tools deliver a promising advantage of reaching out to your customers with new announcements, updates, and product launches. Therefore, website for brick-and-mortar businesses can strengthen their reach among target audiences.
On a concluding note, it is reasonable to reflect on the various advantages of online stores vs brick-and-mortar stores. The most important factor in favor of online stores for brick-and-mortar businesses is the capability for targeting the emerging customer base of Millennials. At the same time, online stores can also capitalize on the demand for convenience by modern shoppers.
If you are thinking about opening an online store for your brick-and-mortar business, you must also notice the other benefits such as accessibility and better opportunities at marketing. Take note of the different factors that favor a website for brick-and-mortar stores and make a suitable decision now!
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