subject: 5 Advantages Of Having An Ecommerce Web Site - Part 1 [print this page] Having an ecommerce website, or an online business is easier now than ever before. There are many solutions that provide many different types of ecommerce functionality. So why would a business owner want to be able to take payments from their web site? Why would a business owner want to move more of their business online? There are 5 benefits for the business owner that come with having an ecommerce website.
1) Low Overhead
Running an online store requires much less monetary cost to maintain and operate than running a traditional brick and mortar storefront. The costs for an online presence include a shopping cart, merchant account, gateway, hosting, web hosting, domain name and secure certificate. A traditional brick and mortar storefront has to deal with rent, utilities, cleaning and maintenance costs, employees, merchant account and card reader at a minimum. Having a business online is better because the overhead is much lower than the offline counterpart.
2) Convenience
Having an online presence is much more convenient than having a physical storefront. Running your online business can be done from the convenience of your own home, on the beach, at the ski slopes, or in any remote office. All that is required is a computer and an Internet connection. It is also convenient because your online storefront is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It doesn't require you be online because sales of products and services will occur without any human intervention.
A physical storefront requires that someone be in the store in order for business to take place. If no one is in the store to run the cash register, open the doors and serve the customers, then no business can happen. The business owner has to make sure either someone else or them self is available to manage the store.
3) Larger Market Base
An online business gives the business owner a much greater reach to their target market. Anyone from anywhere in the world can purchase your products and services directly from your web site. For physical products, an online merchant would want to have a good relationship with a fulfillment house as well as a good shipping company.
Local brick and mortar storefronts can only draw on local markets and local customers. If they are a business that gets a lot of tourist traffic, then in a way, they have an expanded market, however the tourists will have to be in the immediate area of the store to make a purchase.
Part 2 of the article will cover the remaining 2 advantages of having an online business as opposed to a brick and mortar storefront.
