Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
The rise of e-commerce is imminent. Almost everyone is selling online—and for good reason. In today’s digital age, more and more people are going online, whether to browse the internet, communicate with friends, or shop for products and services.
If a business isn’t online, it’s missing out on a lot. It’s undeniable how e-commerce helps businesses to get their offerings out there, yet it also has its fair share of disadvantages.
Want to take a shot at online selling? This article will help you weigh the pros and cons before giving it a go.
Know the Pros of Selling Products Online
Low Overhead Costs
Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce businesses can cut down on significant overhead costs. Entrepreneurs who manage a physical store often shell out a huge amount on rent, maintenance, utilities, and manpower.
With online selling, there’s no need for any of those. While physical products still need to be stored somewhere, entrepreneurs don’t have to shoulder the costs themselves as third-party logistics will be taking care of those.
Expands Your Customer Base
Setting up a physical store in even the most crowded location won’t get businesses half as many prospects as selling their goods online will. With e-commerce, even the smallest businesses will be able to handle international sales.
Marketing is much easier online with the help of paid ads and search engine optimization. Not only will these eliminate the hassle and costs of offline marketing, but they’ll also help businesses to establish an irresistible brand.
More Convenient Means of Communication
Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels
It’s a lot easier to communicate with customers and prospects with e-commerce. Since the e-commerce merchant collects customer information whenever a purchase is made, it’s more convenient for sellers to establish future communications.
For instance, they’ll be able to send existing customers emails or internal messages about new products, promos, or discount vouchers. On the other hand, buyers can also easily make inquiries and expect a swift response.
Easy to Scale
Scaling an online business is easier to achieve because of the minimal costs involved.
With brick-and-mortar businesses, there’s still a need to spend on physically expanding their location to accommodate more customers. This also includes the need for more employees and a bigger inventory.
While e-commerce stores also need to work on expanding their inventory, particularly for physical goods, the right third-party logistics can easily handle this growth.
Consider the Cons of E-commerce
Need to Prove Credibility
Since there are low barriers for entry in e-commerce, almost anyone can sell online, even those with malicious intent. With online businesses popping here and there, it can be difficult for customers to detect the bad apples among the bunch.
This poses a challenge to entrepreneurs who want to enter the e-commerce game. They need to exert more effort in proving their credibility. This is often resolved by showing customer testimonials or posting actual photos of their goods.
Lacks Personal Interaction
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
It’s a lot easier for customers to trust a business when they interact with it face-to-face, especially when resolving customer issues. This isn’t possible with online selling since businesses can only rely on online customer support or phone calls.
When launching an e-commerce business, it’s best to take this challenge into consideration, especially if a business prioritizes excellent customer service above all else.
Overly Saturated Market
As more and more businesses try their luck online, it becomes a lot harder for the rookies to keep up with the tight competition.
Unlike having a physical store, in which they face two or three competitors within the area, online stores are pitted against hundreds and thousands of industry players. If they fail to market their products well or ace their branding, these businesses will easily drown in the marketplace. To succeed, they’ll have to make sure to bring on their competitive edge and make it known through their offerings.
Put In the Hard Work
There’s no easy way to start a business, even if one does it online. There will always be challenges and difficulties along the way. If businesses want to succeed in e-commerce, the best thing to do is to learn how to overcome its cons to achieve its pros.
What are you waiting for? Start putting in the work, and launch your business online.
