Ways Brick & Mortar Businesses Can Get Started In E-Commerce

E-commerce, in simple terms, has been defined as a transaction of buying or selling carried out online. From 1971-72 where the first e-commerce transaction took place to 2017 where it is like a commonplace word, e-commerce has created a magnificent impact on today’s world. Despite the growth and awareness of the advantages of having an e-commerce existence, not every retailer is selling online. Retailers are skeptical of how the impact of e-commerce and omni-channel retailing have on its consumer base.

E-commerce is mounting in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer context. It is quite different from the traditional way of shopping in all respects. The only common factor for both is the focus on consumer satisfaction. Every small business or large enterprise have the same goal when they set up their business. Relatively, we have seen a huge impact of employing e-commerce and omni-channel retailing on the sales strategy. The most famous examples e-commerce retailing would be companies like Amazon, Apple, and Walmart.

So for any brick and mortar business looking for tips on how to get into the e-commerce retailing, you should consider the below mentioned points:

1. Shipping to the store

Companies like Target and Walmart offer a huge range of varieties of products with different suppliers. So when you visit their website, you can pick whether a particular product is available to you at your nearest store or else they arrange for it to be shipped to the store for your convenience. The biggest advantage is that a consumer doesn’t have to run from aisle to aisle to look for the product and eventually be disappointed. Instead the click and ship to the store is a better and easy way to keep your customer happy.

2. Drop-Shipping

Many retailers now directly give an access of the products bought by the customer via the omni-channel to the suppliers and the suppliers in turn ship the product directly to the customer. This saves a lot of time and money both for the retailer as well as the supplier.

3. Subscription services

Offering subscription services has been booming. E-commerce subscription market can succeed only if the company can find a distinct segment. When subscribers purchases your product or service, they are automatically committing to your company which makes the company even more responsible to carry out the future transactions in an effective manner.

4. Partnering with Locals

The best way to explain this would be by taking an example of Blue Apron, a USA based company. It partners with local farmers and with the use of omni-channel, it creates a distribution channel whereby it provides a box full of fresh ingredients with a detailed recipe. From all those health enthusiasts to newbies at cooking, this is the best way to get the exact amount of ingredients in a special packaging required to make a meal.

Get in touch with us for further inquiries related to marketing your business on e-commerce channels.