E-commerce is a booming trend and one that does not appear to be going away anytime soon. More and more people around the world are using the internet to make purchases on everything from music, to home goods, to clothing, to auto parts, and anything else you can think of. The world of e-commerce gives the average person or small business the opportunity to business worldwide and to compete in a way that was never possible before.
Now we will look at the strengths of e-commerce and the opportunities that it presets that cannot be duplicated by running a traditional store.
1. Very Low Costs and Expenses
Business ownership has traditionally always brought along a large amount of expenses and, as a result, risk. There will be significant and constant costs to run a business, especially startup costs. If you go out of business you will be out a lot of money, and you’ll likely be left with considerable debt.
Although traditional business come with large costs and risks, you can start an e-commerce website on a shoestring budget and be in business the same day. The opportunity to avoid the costs and risks of traditional business is a huge and undeniable advantage of e-commerce.
2. No Employee Necessary
Just one of the issues that comes along with running a traditional business is managing the employees. This is really a full-time job in itself. Aside from the time aspect, employees also present one of the largest costs and risks for business owners.
Another huge advantage to doing business via e-commerce is that you can avoid the need to hire and manage employees. Most e-commerce sites can be run by just one person, and if you want to grow you can always hire employees as you see fit.
3. Open 24/7
If you run a brick and mortar store you most likely have hours when you are open and hours when you are closed. If you’re not open no one can buy anything from your store.
With an e-commerce site you will be “open” for business around the clock. Online stores can makes sales in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, and there is no need for customers to shop during certain hours.
4. Almost No Barriers to Entry
If you want to start a traditional business there are all kinds of things preventing you from getting started, and even more preventing you from being successful. Startup costs, acquiring financing, competition. It’s all more than most people are able to overcome.
Starting an e-commerce business presents very low barriers to entrance. You’ll need very little money to get started, and you may not even need your own products to sell. You will face some competition in e-commerce, but you will not need to be able to compete with the major players in order to be profitable.
5. Market to the World
As a traditional store owner, in order for customers to buy your products they will have to be close enough to your location to come to the physical store. Obviously, this limits your market to those who live or work within driving distance, or those who are traveling through the area.
As the owner of an e-commerce business you can sell to people anywhere in the world, they just need internet access. Yes, there are some issues with shipping, but with higher shipping charges you can sell to other parts of the world, or you can sell electronic downloadable products that never need to be shipped, regardless of where the purchaser live.
6. Just Take a Small Piece of the Pie
For traditional brick and mortar stores, there is always a need to stay ahead of the competition in order to remain profitable and in business. If you can’t be one of the leaders in your industry, you probably cannot survive as a business.
On the other hand, with an e-commerce site you will have very low expenses, so almost everything that you make will be profit. Because of this, you won’t need to have the number 1 site for a specific industry, you can easily survive and remain profitable with just a small piece of the pie.
7. Flexible Working Hours
Running a traditional business means that you will probably need to be there and working just about every hour that it is open. Store owners usually have a very hectic schedule with long hours each week.
Running an online store is work and does require hours, but generally you can choose those hours as you see fit. If you are not a morning person you won’t have to be working early. You will usually be able to work a schedule that you choose.
