As the remote workspace tends to become more common, workers have found a sense of liberation and the chance to work outside the traditional brick-and-mortar atmosphere. Internet culture and the invention of video conferencing have changed how people can make money—and much of that has been through the development of ecommerce stores.
The ecommerce trend has exploded for a number of reasons. Not only does it allow new entrepreneurs the safe space to start a working business, but it can also be done from any location in the world. Unlike the usual small company model, which involves a loan or an initial investment in order to get the business up and running, ecommerce allows the owner to contribute as much or as little of his or her funds as needed. Ilya Pozin writes for Inc., “It’s cheaper and easier to get into the e-commerce business than ever before.”
The trend also shows no sign of slowing down with online retails sales continuing to balloon in 2014 at 15.7%. As customers find it easier to search for their favorite products on handheld devices or computers, the market for ecommerce stores grows. Many customers find the ability to purchase necessary items online as a way to save time and, some cases, money. “It’s astounding to see the revolutionary impact e-commerce has had in the last decade,” Josh Payne states.
However, that does not that ecommerce stores are free of any challenges. While there are some major positives for clients being able to order a product online, it also creates a number of obstacles for new online stores trying to get off the ground. Potential buyers cannot hold a product in their hands, and beating out giants like Amazon, Etsy, and Zappos can create David and Goliath situation. “No one will ever end up on your site accidentally—the Web is just too big. Every person who visits your new site searched, saw an ad, or was somehow told to visit your site,” Pozin warns.
Because the competition can be enough to drown out emerging businesses, ecommerce entrepreneurs must think of innovative ways in order to reach buyers, including building a deals website like DealWiki or knowing how to effectively use Google AdWords or Facebook Ads. Just as brick-and-mortar store would have had to come up with a unique strategy for marketing, ecommerce entrepreneurs must also think of unique campaigns in order to stand out from the crowd and convince buyers to choose them over big competition.
How products are delivered is also a concern many budding e-businesses have to face. Traditionally, warehouses served as places to store products if you were a large chain such as Walmart or Target. Items would often be stored for months in a singular location, and there was often no way to predict whether a certain product would be successful or not. Now, ecommerce makes it much easier to track the popularity of an item and how often it is purchased because that information is immediately available to the seller. While this can greatly benefit a business owner by eliminating overstocking a product, it has also altered the warehouse work environment, as well.
“Suppliers keep warehouses full of the products they need to continue operations, so good supply relationships are essential. Today’s warehousing technology makes it easier than ever to run things smoothly,” Entrepreneur writer Larry Alton states.
With new technology available to track shipping, where products are stored within the warehouse, and new software available on tablets for inventory purposes, ecommerce is making the traditional storage facility much more efficient. A greater insight into what customers are choosing to buy creates a higher rate of success for on-time delivery and reduces the amount of products that might not have been sold otherwise.
As a result, even more established companies are looking to increase ecommerce sales. Brick-and-mortar stores are not only becoming more expensive to maintain compared to their ecommerce counterparts, but the industry is also seeing a number of retail stores collapse under the competition. In a recent poll, 51% of Americans would prefer to shop online, a significant rise from the year before. Millennials are also expected to increase the percentage as they choose to order from voice assistant devices such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. Daniela Cecilio predicts, “Millennials will continue to lead the way in the ecommerce and mobile space.”
As our world becomes more digital-friendly and ecommerce takes over the realms of physical stores, it is likely that we will see some of the big box corporations working to develop their ecommerce platforms, as well. If not, there is a large chance that they will not continue to exist in an age where almost anything a customer could want can be ordered at the press of a button.
If you would like to contribute an article or contact our contributors, you can get in touch here