Why eCommerce is Driving the Future of Sales
If you want to grow your business to stratospheric heights, then eCommerce is the way to go. eCommerce is driving the future of sales because it allows business owners to reach a global customer base. Thanks to the internet’s reach, you can market your products to people practically anywhere in the world, 24/7.
So, while that’s the macro view of why eCommerce is driving the future of sales, let’s get into the micro, nitty gritty reasons for why eCommerce is the ideal business model of the future.
If you’re ready for a customized eCommerce marketing plan that will help you reach customers anywhere with an internet connection, get in touch with us.
eCommerce shopping from the customer’s perspective
One of the biggest reasons why eCommerce is the future of sales is because of how much easier the shopping experience is for the customer. For one thing, an eCommerce shop is open all the time, unlike most physical stores that have set opening hours. Plus, eCommerce shops don’t close for holidays, lockdown restrictions, or dangerous weather conditions.
Shoppers also don’t have to risk life, limb, and limited time driving to a store and fighting traffic and other drivers for parking spots. Customers can browse an online store from the ease of their home, wearing whatever they want (or don’t want).
For business owners, it’s easier to scale an eCommerce operation because the very nature of the eCommerce business model reduces a lot of friction. You don’t have to convince anyone to leave their home and drive to your store. eCommerce eliminates physical time and space constraints.
No matter how you slice it, developing an online business model for your brand is critical to capturing market share in the future.
eCommerce is a strong business model for ensuring future sales
Eighty percent of the US population and 1.5 billion of the world’s population shop online regularly. These numbers won’t slow, but only grow from here. If you want to ensure your brand’s competitiveness as the years roll by, you’ll need to develop an eCommerce strategy into your business model.
Additionally, an eCommerce model gives you access to extremely detailed and useful data you can utilize to build effective marketing strategies. You can target your customers with tailored offerings through email marketing, PPC ad data, and retargeting efforts. Promotional offerings that are customized to the audience increases revenue, conversions, and helps build a loyal customer base.
You might need to invest in hiring a marketing team to interpret and use the data to its full potential, but an online marketing strategy will add incredible value to your business and raise your profit margins substantially.
Investing in an eCommerce platform will make your brand more accessible to a larger customer base. Your products will be visible to consumers anywhere in the world, and it’s a terrible idea to miss this opportunity to grow your store with the right technology and strategy. More and more brands are investing in eCommerce shopping experiences, so you don’t want to give them an unnecessary advantage over your store.
Economic stability in eCommerce
As we all witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many businesses shut down on short notice and with no definitive reopen date. Once the pandemic is in the world’s rearview mirror, sudden shutdowns can still occur. More epidemics will emerge, and climate change and natural disasters can also impact physical commerce operations.
Companies that rely heavily on in-person foot traffic are the most vulnerable to a range of issues that would likely result in shutdowns. But eCommerce is more immune to these significant problems, and you can continue operating and earning revenue when disaster strikes.
Stronger supply chains
Supply chain resilience is critical for operating a thriving business. Unfortunately, many experts believe that supply chain problems are the new normal. With global manufacturing and trade the norm, there are many crises developing that will impact supply chains for the immediate and long term future. Outsourcing your supply chain logistics to a country halfway across the globe makes your business more vulnerable to disruptions.
The good news is that eCommerce makes it easier for you to build stronger supply chains and have an easier time recovering from supply chain disruptions. With an eCommerce brand, it’s easier to bring your supply chains in-house.
Hiring capabilities
There’s a massive labor shortage happening worldwide. Not only is there a shortage of actual workers per job vacancy, but there’s also a skills shortage. For business owners, labor is often their biggest expense and the hardest business operation to fulfill.
Fortunately, owning an eCommerce brand can make this part of the entrepreneurship equation easier. eCommerce has created a diverse range of employment opportunities. It also makes it easier for individuals with the right skill sets to find a job they like and get hired.
On the other side of the coin, business owners have a much easier time finding the right talent to help them run their eCommerce venture. You aren’t limited to a specific geographic area to find a new worker. Plus, hiring for an eCommerce venture means you can more easily find talent with the experience required, allowing you to skip the training process.
Break down language barriers
We’re living in a more connected world. While you may think that eCommerce can’t adequately serve a specific location because of the language barrier, that’s simply not true. You can create an eCommerce site in different languages that shows up for search in a specific country.
Based on recent customer surveys, global eCommerce shoppers want the following pages written in their native languages:
- Product page descriptions
- Product reviews
- Checkout pages
Going native can make or break your website’s sales. Ensuring that you’ve got a website that displays in different languages for your target market will make an excellent first impression and cement brand loyalty. Breaking down language barriers and investing in a customer-centric site will also give you a major advantage over your top competitors who likely aren’t differentiating in this regard.
Environmentally-conscious shoppers and eCommerce
Overall, eCommerce is a more environmentally-friendly business model than traditional retail. This is incredibly important for ensuring your eCommerce brand’s future success, since today’s consumers are more concerned about environmental impacts than in the past.
You may be wondering how this is possible, since eCommerce requires shipping products to consumers, which can use a lot of resources. But a study from Carnegie Melon found that eCommerce delivery uses less primary energy and emits less CO2 than traditional shopping up to 30 percent less.
But what about the packaging?
It’s true that for the most part, eCommerce requires more in the way of packaging than traditional retail. But sustainable packaging has come a long way to reducing this particular strain on the environment.
Glass containers, biofilms, compostable packages and recyclable packaging are becoming more popular with brands and consumers. It’s possible that eCommerce can lead the way to a future with cleaner air, soil, and water.
The future of eCommerce and sales: Key takeaways
Launching a business is difficult enough. But ensuring that your business is sustainable for long-term growth? That’s incredibly challenging. Today’s entrepreneurs have one major silver lining — the rise of eCommerce brands.
Dipping your toes into the eCommerce market eliminates a lot of the obstacles facing business owners. With eCommerce, you don’t have to worry so much about business shutdowns or other in-person shopping restrictions. Geography doesn’t matter either — you can sell to people anywhere in the world at any time day or night.
Best of all, eCommerce makes your unique brand more competitive in the modern, global marketplace. Shoppers appreciate the ability to browse selections and make purchases from the comfort of their homes, with no commute required to obtain the products they want.
While eCommerce can be easier to operate compared to a brick and mortar business, it does come with its challenges. Building brand awareness for a global audience and sales is key to growth.
At Lingble, we help eCommerce merchants build global brands with multi-channel reach, currency and language translations, paid advertising strategies, and much more. Get in touch with us today for a quote on our marketing services.