Electronic commerce has definitely changed the habits of consumers. This is because it offers them a great amount of selection, which they can browse through in the comfort of their own home. This is why e-commerce is one industry that has rapidly grown in our society.
Apart from the convenience it offers to the customers, e-commerce is also hugely convenient to businesses. Here are some reasons why.
1. It requires no advertising costs.
Because e-commerce is done online, companies do not have to spend for advertising since technically the Internet is widely user-owned and user-oriented. No governing body solely owns it and therefore no one can charge to post online advertisements on the Internet. This can be quite beneficial for businesses since TV and publication advertisements are quite costly. On occasion however, companies may need to spend for e-mail brokers who give e-mail lists of a particular target market. This aside though, everything else is technically free.
2. It is relatively cheaper and easier than setting up a regular shop.
Apart from less advertising costs, setting up an online store is significantly cheaper than setting up a regular one. Again, all a company really needs is a fast Internet connection and perhaps the assistance of an expert web designer. With their specific set of goals, the company can then design their e-store by choosing a hosting service that fit their needs. There are many hosting services that can customize online stores available online.
3. The online stores can reach a wider market.
Unlike regular stores where in customers have to exhaustively walk, or drive to, and is only limited to people within the vicinity, online stores can be visited in the comfort of your own home by people anywhere and everywhere. Online stores are a great way of reaching a lot of potential customers, especially now with the rapidly rising Internet usage. Now that more and more people are going online, more and more are buying off the Internet.
4. Can display their products all day long.
E-commerce provides the opportunity to not only display their products online all day all week, but also to receive orders. Unlike the regular store which has to close at night, online stores are open 24/7. A particular vicinity’s Internet users may sleep for the night, but who’s to stop online shoppers from another place to bump into your online store?
5. Can offer speedy customer service.
Some products, especially home appliance products can be quite complicated not only in setting them up, but also in using them. Thus tendency for puzzled customers usually is to go back again and again to hardware stores, laboriously bringing their products with them and ask for assistance again. With online stores, it’s different. Customer service comes to you. This is quite a big leap from regular stores because not only do the customers get the assistance needed, they also get the pleasure of just sitting back and clicking the button for ‘customer service’.