Do you really need an ecommerce store?

Published on July 07, 2008 Do you really need an ecommerce store?

Yes, you need ecommerce. Why? Ask yourself this: If ecommerce wasn’t profitable, why are so many ecommerce e-tailers appearing?

A lot of local businesses such as market sellers, arts and crafts shops, clothing shops and corner stores believe that they don’t need ecommerce and simply rely on the physical traffic they receive at local markets. If the business is content on limited sales and limited growth potential, then that’s fine. But those are the types of businesses who really need ecommerce the most. Why not make sales when you’re not at the markets? You could sell while you’re asleep!

Especially in travel accommodation and tourism, businesses are no longer able to simply rely on passing foot traffic, referrals and telephone business to succeed. When was the last time you selected and booked a holiday without using the Internet? Last minute booking websites make being online essential to compete for the lucrative holiday accommodation market and to get a slice of mind for the travel dollar.

In Australia and New Zealand, holiday destinations in remote locations are finding that adding ecommerce to their website not only allows them to be found by overseas tourists in North America (who are heavy users of search engines for travel and accommodation bookings) but get access to the lucrative domestic holiday market that is growing heavily at the moment.

Don’t be deterred from the past – learn from it

Many people say that they are deterred from setting up an ecommerce website because of the failure of so many dotcom ecommerce websites in the late 1990s. Those failures were because those companies offered poor customer service, poor navigation and were not prepared to put in the effort selecting the products to list, setting their prices, writing appealing descriptions and updating their site regularly. You can learn from this and make your site a success.

Ecommerce has the opportunity to make money

The bottom line here is that if you’re committed to putting in the effort, ecommerce websites can make you money with little cash input and ongoing management. If you build a site with high traffic, an appealing design and good products you can eventually sell advertising on your sites too.

If you’re not online, you’re losing money. It’s that simple.

To get started with your own ecommerce shopping cart website, talk to Ozcart today.