Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Many experts agree that by the end of this year, electronic commerce - e commerce online - will reach a total of about $1 trillion in terms of global online sales volumes. On the other hand, the recent pandemic has played a crucial role in facilitating the exponential growth of online e commerce over the past two years, but to be honest, e commerce has always grown gradually and steadily since its inception. What are the future prospects for those who want to open an e commerce or online store and start selling on the Internet?
Most people do not know, in this regard, that the idea of opening an e commerce to sell online was conceived back in '79, while most people immediately think of famous portals such as eBay and Amazon, both of which were successfully launched only about twenty years ago. If you are planning to open an online store, then I suggest you continue reading this article of ours carefully.
- Recommended: Speed Of Websites & SEO
Selling On the Internet: Benefits of Electronic Commerce
Wide Reach
Even before the advent of the recent pandemic, many people chose to buy online even if they could do so 'physically' locally. This type of user appreciates the convenience offered by e-commerce; therefore, when thinking about expanding your reach, it is not only customers outside your area, but also those nearby who prefer to shop online over the traditional method.
Always Available
One of the biggest advantages of selling on the Internet by opening an online e commerce is that you never have to close up store. You don't have to worry about hiring multiple employees to cover different shifts. Opening an online store allows you to be open all day, even during vacations.
Future of Electronic Commerce: the Dropshipping
If you have a fair amount of familiarity or experience with how to sell online, you may be familiar with the term "dropshipping". It is a dropshipping method that has helped many entrepreneurs start their own e-commerce business without having to spend too much money up front.
What is it all about? How to go about opening an online e commerce and starting a dropshipping business? Is it really worth it?
This modern method allows retailers to start selling their products without having any product on hand. To this end, they simply ship one or more products from their supplier's store directly to the customer. In this way, they not only have no inventory to manage, but also do not have to purchase stock in advance; this advantage drastically reduces the initial cost of opening the business.
Benefits of Dropshipping
When starting a traditional business, substantial investment must be directed into finding products as well as building and maintaining an inventory. Not only is it necessary to purchase inventory in advance, but it is essential to have a staff to manage that inventory, which includes shipping products when they are purchased. In the case of dropshipping, it is not necessary to incur these expenses up front. If you want to open an ecommerce or online store and use dropshipping to distribute your products, you do not need a physical location at all.
Many entrepreneurs run successful businesses from a home office. This means there are no additional rents or leases, and no physical maintenance is needed. One of the biggest advantages of e-commerce, is that by selling online, the entire process is automated. Customers find what they need, put it in a virtual shopping cart, and checkout themselves.
Disadvantages of Dropshipping
Although dropshipping is particularly effective, nothing is perfect. When you use this method, you are not selling your own products, but the products of your supplier. This means that other retailers will sell the exact same products, shipped from the same place. Gaining the advantage against the competition will require some creative thinking on your part. Traditional retailers buy products in bulk, saving money this way. The more items they purchase at one time, the lower the cost per item. If you are dropshipping products, you buy from a dropshipping store only when the customer does, that is, one at a time. This means that you will pay for such products at full price.
Electronic Commerce: Conclusion
To conclude, this short article opened by defining e-commerce as the future prospect of retail. The numbers, in this regard, could not be clearer. Many users, especially younger ones, see e-commerce as the new normal. If your business does not have an adequate online presence, many potential customers may not be interested or may not give you sufficient credibility.
