April 23, 2020
Unless you’ve been in another country … actually, strike that. Unless you’ve been on another planet, you know that there has been a decided shift in retail. The past month of shutdowns and stay-at-home orders has made e-commerce more important than ever.
We’ve written before about why e-commerce should be a key component of your business growth plan. But suddenly, this key component has turned into a critical one. E-commerce is, what many retailers are realizing, the difference between adapting to new challenges or being overcome by them. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a new company or a well-established one. Just as it does with humans, this pandemic will affect companies young or mature, healthy or already struggling. The unfortunate truth is, we’re all vulnerable.
And now, the good news. (Yes, good news still exists.)
- e-Commerce numbers have been increasing
In the absence of brick-and-mortar shopping, consumers have turned to their computers. And the numbers don’t lie. Listrak shows that a state of emergency was declared in the U.S., e-Commerce stores have experienced a 28% increase in revenue.
- There’s no sign of slowing
According to Shopify, by the end of 2019, worldwide e-commerce sales hit $3.5 trillion—a number that is supposed to almost DOUBLE by the end of 2023. And while 16.1% of all retail sales were projected to happen online in 2020, we can only expect that, given the current global pandemic and the temporary closure of many brick-and-mortar shops, that number could increase.
- It’s not about location, location, location
In fact, your location can be at the beach. In your basement. At your kids’ baseball game. Your storefront is your domain name. And people from all over the world can stop (and spend money) at your shop.
- Online presence makes a statement
A statement that says “we’re current.” “We’re advanced.” “We know what customers are looking for.” (You get the drift.) Simply put, savvy shoppers aren’t just looking for you to have an online presence. They’re expecting you to have one. (And they’ll spend money if you do.)
- E-commerce supports better customer support
E-commerce not only lets customers and clients reach you on their time and terms, it helps you better help them. By keeping track of their buying habits and site visits, you can let your customers know about relevant sales and promotions so they keep coming back. Retention is everything.
If you’re considering starting an e-commerce business or adding an e-commerce component to your current one (and you should be), Diffactory can help. We’re Kansas City’s premier Shopify accredited e-commerce site creator, and we’ll set up your site, teach you how to maintain it, and get you ready to start selling.
We’d love to show you how you can build your “e-commerce empire” (it’s easier and more inexpensive than you think).
Contact us here or call 816.287.2010.