Pros and Cons of Online Shopping as a Business During a Pandemic
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2024 5:47 am
The Impact of the Pandemic on Online Trade
According to research , today around the world 3 out of 4 people (almost 77%) buy something online every month. In Russia, during the self-isolation period in 2020, the number of new buyers increased. According to estimates , this number is between 15 and 17 million people.
Therefore, the market follows the consumer: traditional retail stores open online stores, organize home delivery, communicate with customers outside of points of sale via social networks and instant messengers.
Advantages of an online store
Advantages of an online store
1. Low costs
Launching an online store is always cheaper than launching a physical store. To operate a physical store, you will need to pay for renting a space and other start-up costs, such as purchasing inventory, store design, store equipment, signage, etc.
While when starting an online store, you only need to pay a small amount for hosting, a domain, or create your site on a website builder . For example, Weblium offers ready-made templates, hosting, several payment methods, and a convenient system for managing your own store - all on one platform.
2. Reduced requirements for personnel
While a physical store owner would need to hire several employees, an online business does most of the work automatically. For example, there is no need to hire a separate person to act as a cashier. The customer simply enters their card details on the website and the goods are paid for automatically.
Since the online store is online, employees can work remotely, making it easier to find specialists who are right for the company.
3. No geographical restrictions
If you own a brick and mortar store, in most cases you sell products and services to people who live nearby. In other words, you are limited to a neighborhood or city.
However, an online store has no geographical boundaries, because the whole world is your market. Buyers from any city can visit the online store, read information about your products and find out when they can receive it, the shipping schedule and much more.
4. Potential income 24/7
Since the store is available 24 hours a day, the buyer can order something at 12 o'clock at night or during the day. As soon as you receive a notification about the order, you can contact the buyer, discuss the details and send the order.
Most physical stores are open from 9am to 9pm at best, but you may miss out on customers who shop earlier or later. If you have a 24-hour store, you as the owner don't have to pay 24-hour rent or employees.
5. Selling digital goods
Selling digital products such as music, books or webinars is possible without additional costs through an online store. The owner can sell an unlimited number of copies of these digital products without worrying about renting a warehouse. There is also no need to deal with delivery and logistics, because it is enough to simply send a copy or provide access to the product to the buyer.
6. Remarketing: Turning a Visitor into a Customer
Every day we learn about promotions and product updates in many online stores without even leaving home. It is enough to check your email, refresh your social media feed or receive a message on your phone. This is how stores try to stay in touch with customers - this is called remarketing.
Your website contains all the information about the customers who visited the site and made purchases. This information can be used to send useful and promotional emails , SMS messages. All these means of communication are easy to set up, with messages sent automatically.
7. Promotion and customer acquisition
Having an online store will help you get traffic from channels like Google, Youtube, Facebook, and more. There are many ways to promote your online store. It is quite common these days for shoppers to click on a link in a search engine and then visit a site they have never seen before. This organic traffic can be the primary way for some businesses to attract customers.
8. Accelerated purchase process
Previously, when a customer wanted to buy something, they nigeria phone number material had to plan a shopping trip in advance or change their schedule. Now, customers can sit comfortably at home or in the office, search for a product using their smartphone, and make purchases. One click, and the product will be delivered to the customer’s home at the right time.
Disadvantages of an online store
Disadvantages of an online store
1. Time to launch on the site
The costs of launching a website — planning, designing , creating, hosting, securing, and maintaining a professional e-commerce website — can cost a pretty penny. Alternatively, there are website builders with online store functionality . You can create a website yourself , fill it with new products, and manage orders within your own account.
2. Fear of fraud
Many shoppers are nervous about providing personal information, such as credit card information, to fill out a form when shopping online. If your site doesn't reassure shoppers that the checkout process is safe, they may be afraid to make a purchase and leave your site.
In fact, there are many hackers who are looking for opportunities to attack a website, payment service to steal customer information. To prevent such situations, online stores should have encrypted payment software, security systems and other means of protection against online fraud.
3. Unstable operation of the site
You can lose a lot of time and money if for some reason your website stops working. Also popular problems associated with online stores are slow loading, poorly designed design - These and other errors can affect whether a site visitor becomes a buyer. It is important to remember that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.
According to research , today around the world 3 out of 4 people (almost 77%) buy something online every month. In Russia, during the self-isolation period in 2020, the number of new buyers increased. According to estimates , this number is between 15 and 17 million people.
Therefore, the market follows the consumer: traditional retail stores open online stores, organize home delivery, communicate with customers outside of points of sale via social networks and instant messengers.
Advantages of an online store
Advantages of an online store
1. Low costs
Launching an online store is always cheaper than launching a physical store. To operate a physical store, you will need to pay for renting a space and other start-up costs, such as purchasing inventory, store design, store equipment, signage, etc.
While when starting an online store, you only need to pay a small amount for hosting, a domain, or create your site on a website builder . For example, Weblium offers ready-made templates, hosting, several payment methods, and a convenient system for managing your own store - all on one platform.
2. Reduced requirements for personnel
While a physical store owner would need to hire several employees, an online business does most of the work automatically. For example, there is no need to hire a separate person to act as a cashier. The customer simply enters their card details on the website and the goods are paid for automatically.
Since the online store is online, employees can work remotely, making it easier to find specialists who are right for the company.
3. No geographical restrictions
If you own a brick and mortar store, in most cases you sell products and services to people who live nearby. In other words, you are limited to a neighborhood or city.
However, an online store has no geographical boundaries, because the whole world is your market. Buyers from any city can visit the online store, read information about your products and find out when they can receive it, the shipping schedule and much more.
4. Potential income 24/7
Since the store is available 24 hours a day, the buyer can order something at 12 o'clock at night or during the day. As soon as you receive a notification about the order, you can contact the buyer, discuss the details and send the order.
Most physical stores are open from 9am to 9pm at best, but you may miss out on customers who shop earlier or later. If you have a 24-hour store, you as the owner don't have to pay 24-hour rent or employees.
5. Selling digital goods
Selling digital products such as music, books or webinars is possible without additional costs through an online store. The owner can sell an unlimited number of copies of these digital products without worrying about renting a warehouse. There is also no need to deal with delivery and logistics, because it is enough to simply send a copy or provide access to the product to the buyer.
6. Remarketing: Turning a Visitor into a Customer
Every day we learn about promotions and product updates in many online stores without even leaving home. It is enough to check your email, refresh your social media feed or receive a message on your phone. This is how stores try to stay in touch with customers - this is called remarketing.
Your website contains all the information about the customers who visited the site and made purchases. This information can be used to send useful and promotional emails , SMS messages. All these means of communication are easy to set up, with messages sent automatically.
7. Promotion and customer acquisition
Having an online store will help you get traffic from channels like Google, Youtube, Facebook, and more. There are many ways to promote your online store. It is quite common these days for shoppers to click on a link in a search engine and then visit a site they have never seen before. This organic traffic can be the primary way for some businesses to attract customers.
8. Accelerated purchase process
Previously, when a customer wanted to buy something, they nigeria phone number material had to plan a shopping trip in advance or change their schedule. Now, customers can sit comfortably at home or in the office, search for a product using their smartphone, and make purchases. One click, and the product will be delivered to the customer’s home at the right time.
Disadvantages of an online store
Disadvantages of an online store
1. Time to launch on the site
The costs of launching a website — planning, designing , creating, hosting, securing, and maintaining a professional e-commerce website — can cost a pretty penny. Alternatively, there are website builders with online store functionality . You can create a website yourself , fill it with new products, and manage orders within your own account.
2. Fear of fraud
Many shoppers are nervous about providing personal information, such as credit card information, to fill out a form when shopping online. If your site doesn't reassure shoppers that the checkout process is safe, they may be afraid to make a purchase and leave your site.
In fact, there are many hackers who are looking for opportunities to attack a website, payment service to steal customer information. To prevent such situations, online stores should have encrypted payment software, security systems and other means of protection against online fraud.
3. Unstable operation of the site
You can lose a lot of time and money if for some reason your website stops working. Also popular problems associated with online stores are slow loading, poorly designed design - These and other errors can affect whether a site visitor becomes a buyer. It is important to remember that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.