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The Benefits of E-Commerce for Small Businesses

As a web development company, we often get asked, “Why do I need a website?”. Even if you already have an established and successful brick and mortar store, your business can increase revenue with a small investment by utilizing e-commerce. E-commerce improves your ROI in a number of ways, from expanding your reach of an established business, or keeping low overhead costs if you’re a startup business. Why wouldn’t you get a website? Here are a few basic ways e-commerce can benefit your small business.

1. 24/7 Availability

First, e-commerce allows your business to be available 24/7. This means that you are not only making sales when your physical store is open, but also at any time of the day or night. Essentially, e-commerce allows you to run your business on auto-pilot, decreasing your responsibilities while increasing your profits. By having an online representation of your store available, you can increase foot traffic to your physical location as well, but I’ll touch more on that later.

2. Expanded Reach

Selling online allows you to expand your reach. With e-commerce, you can easily market and sell to audiences across the world for a much lower cost than with traditional marketing methods. There are extensions that you can integrate that launch your products out to multiple marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon, Rakuten, and more. This helps you gain a huge image, reach international markets, and compete with the big guys.

3. Lowered Overhead Costs

E-commerce is great for increasing ROI because it allows you to increase revenue while lowering your overhead costs. This can be extremely beneficial for a small startup because you can eliminate the expenses associated with a physical location, such as rent, utilities, and staff. Low overhead costs don’t just affect startup businesses, it also helps established ones expand. Like I mentioned before, e-commerce is a small investment for your business to gain all of the benefits, and the sales that come with going online. For example, if you have a successful business making homemade jam with an established physical location in California, why not target Washington, Texas, Florida, etc? By gaining an online presence, you allow potential customers to discover, and purchase your jam.

4. Convenience for Users

Another benefit of e-commerce is its convenience for users. Consumers like to shop online because they can do it at any time from the comfort of their own home. Like I mentioned above, having an online representation of your store can increase foot traffic to your physical location. Have you ever browsed a store online, and went shopping there the next day? There is a positive correlation between having a good web experience, and customer purchasing action. Basically, consumers love e-commerce, which means it is beneficial for your business.

5. Integration With Social Media

Finally, e-commerce is advantageous to your social media marketing strategy. By selling your products online, you can directly convert social media engagement into sales and take advantage of cost-effective advertising. There are also services that allow you use social media data to create more effective marketing. You can get to know your customers better, monitor their behavior, and adjust your marketing strategy around your findings.

Still not convinced? We would love to talk more about the benefits of e-commerce. Contact AppMe Solutions, and let’s chat!

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