Benefits of eCommerce for businesses and consumers

Buying and selling goods and services using the Internet is a regular occurrence for all businesses and consumers. Why is this so?

Well, the truth is that everyone wants to get the desired product right now and right here – which means that we are becoming more demanding as customers.

According to that, GetApp-premier online resource did comprehensive research about digital buyers and their habits – 53.1 percent of consumers prefer researching and buying products online, 28.9 percent of them prefer researching online and buying offline, while only 18 percent of consumers say they prefer to research products in physical stores. 

All of that means – having both an online and offline presence is essential for all businesses.

However, the fact is that many consumers are obsessively buying different categories of goods using the Internet, and many businesses are trying to adapt their work to all those people.

To comfort them, they are creating webshops, developing ecommerce apps, profiles on social media for selling purposes, and doing so many things to increase their sales volume.

Keep in mind – that’s not a future anymore, that’s the present of modern business. 

If you’re planning to start your integrated eCommerce business, or you’re just a consumer who’s not informed about all the benefits of online shopping- you’re in the right place.

Keep reading and learn more about e-commerce meaning, and all the benefits of ecommerce. 

What is e-commerce, and how does it work?

E-commerce is often confused with E-business, but there is a significant difference between these terms. E-business is the most modern form of business organization which implies intensive use of Internet technology,  while e-commerce represents the most popular part of e-business. 

However, a unique e-commerce definition doesn’t exist. Searching online sources, you can find several definitions of the same term.

All of them have the same core –  purchase, and sale of goods, services, and information over the Internet. Besides, in such a form of commerce, the conclusion of a sales contract between traders and consumers takes place without physical contact, using one or more devices for distance communication.

It can also be called an e-commerce business. If you want to gain fresh knowledge and skills related to e-commerce you can take a look at our blog post where we wrote about 10 e-commerce blogs you need to follow.

E-commerce experts emphasize several reasons why this type of business is more desirable than the one that doesn’t include technology. Some of them are a better use of all available resources; especially information, the effort to achieve the best position of the company, as well as the desire to make a better business performance.

This type of shopping is more desirable for customers too. According to Statista- Global No 1. Business Data Platform, about 25 percent of the world’s population shopping online, in numbers- it’s about 1.92 global digital buyers.

Impressive, right? 

Is it webshop a better option than a brick and mortar store? Choose a webshop or a classic store when buying or selling products? Keep reading and find answers to all of your questions.   

What are the benefits of ecommerce to customers?

There are three types of customers.

The first type is continuously buying goods and services using different online sites, webshops, social media, or mobile applications.

A second type is using e-commerce platforms probably a few times in a year, or rarely than that.

The third type is one who’s not aware of all ecommerce advantages, and decisively refuses to use them. 

You are definitely in one of these categories. Are you aware of all the benefits of buying goods online? If not, keep reading and find out what are the remarkable benefits of e-commerce for all customers.

Benefits of eCommerce for all customers

Lower prices – it’s well known that prices in some online stores are more economical than fares in a classic, brick and mortar store. Why are online prices cheaper than standard prices? Well, it’s pretty easy to explain. Merchants with an online store don’t need a physical storefront and more than two or three people who will take care of the ecommerce website.

According to that, online merchants have lower costs than classic merchants and that is the main reason why they can afford lower prices of goods and services for their buyers with low shipping rates for delivery. Yes, e-commerce retail is fantastic! 

Faster and easier buying – ask yourself these questions – how many times did you wait in line for buying some products?…how many times did you look for a parking lot in front of the store? Yes, too many times. That’s something that doesn’t exist when you use ecommerce sites. Just in a few clicks you can order desired products or services and get it on your home address. 

No unfriendly sellers – the reality is that sometimes sellers are not happy with all of your questions about sizes, colors, and other things you want to know about the products. Their answers sometimes could be rude- and that’s something you don’t want to hear.

Online shopping is a great solution to avoid these situations. If you have some questions, you can easily click on a live chat feature, use an email or send a Facebook message to get a piece of relevant information.

Availability 24/7 – one of the best things for customers is that they can easily approach to any e-commerce site at any time of the day and order anything they want. That’s probably most valuable ecommerce benefit for all customers- in comparison with classic stores with exact defined working hours.

Availability of information – searching ecommerce sites you can find different pieces of information about the products and services of merchants; e.g., all products they offer,  all sizes or colors of products they offer, working hours of their physical stores, how to order..and so many things you would probably forget to ask sellers when you’re visiting store. 

A wide range of goods and services – in comparison with classic stores, ecommerce sites usually contains a broader range of products with a wide range of sizes, colors and other characteristics of products and services — one more reason to buy online.

Also, here we can mention an easy price comparison as one of the benefits we can’t ignore.

What are the benefits of eCommerce to businesses?

With increasing the need for the e-commerce industry, almost every entrepreneur is looking to have an online store where they can represent their work and offer. All with one purpose – to drive traffic to their online store and make a better business performance.

There are a lot of various reasons for starting a business online, so the main question is – what are the pros and cons of ecommerce for businesses?

The truth is – every business person has a different reason why to choose an online shop for selling goods and services. If you’re not sure what are the advantages of online businesses for your business – here we are. We decided to share with you the main benefits of e-commerce – keep reading and find out.

What are the pros and cons of ecommerce for businesses?

Lower costs – the cost of doing online business is lower because employees are not required at every location; there is no need for security or maintenance personnel. Specifically, employees are only needed when it comes to sales, and everything else goes passably or automatically.

Also, in some cases, if it’s a direct sale, no storage space is needed. That’s the main reason why some prices in online stores are also lower than standard prices in a classic store.

Availability 24/7 – the fact is that e-commerce is open all day. Buyers can visit e-commerce at any time of the day, get information about everything they want to know and buy whatever they want. Such availability increases the ability to earn profits and leads and helps in building a better relationship between buyers and merchants.

One of the solutions for 24/7 availability is including chatbots, check how can you automate your business with WhatsApp chatbots!

International sale of goods and services – everyone who owns e-commerce knows that if they offer quality and fashionable products to a large number of consumers, they can sell them in different countries. With using the Internet, the market is expanded and creates an additional opportunity for earnings.

A good example of international fashion e-commerce app is Thouqi– a project developed by Factory.

Personalization – the internet-based business also implies monitoring of customer experience and provides an opportunity for adapting offers, newsletters, and everything else that can help in realizing sales to different customers.

p.s. Here are 101 highly effective lead magnet ideas to grow your email list

According to that, a popular ecommerce trend in 2019 is creating virtual and augmented reality mobile apps with a desire of merchants to provide a better experience and personalization for their clients. We wrote about Top e-commerce trends in 2019 where you can find out more about that topic.

Also, feel free to check out some of the newest marketing trends in 2020 to stay in the loop!

Creating a customer database – when registering in a webshop, visitors are usually asked to enter data about themselves.

Based on the data, the merchant can quickly adapt his offer to his potential buyer and also maintain contact with the same buyer. A mobile application can also help in that process – you can easily collect some information about customers providing a possibility to use your app and leave their print- and that’s just one of the reasons why your retail store needs a mobile app.

Business growth – with the support of electronics it’s  easier to make progress and move forward with your business ideas: the costs are smaller, you can point out the products you want to sell approaching the customer is possible by adjusting the content, advertising is more available, and there are a lot of tips and tricks how to generate your leads.

In that process, remember one thing- transparency. You always have to be honest with your customers if you want to boost your sales. Why?

It’s been statistically proven that 60% of users abandon their carts because of the hidden costs they didn’t see before applying for the payment – read more in our blog post about shopping cart abandonment. For your good, try to avoid that cost. 

Will eCommerce continue to grow?

Yes!

There is no doubt that e-commerce will continue to grow. According to all statistics, e-commerce is becoming more popular in the whole world.

The main reasons for that are the growing trend of digital education of the world’s population and the development of digital technologies.

What is important to remember- the growing trend of retail mobile apps. We already wrote about how to create a successful mobile app – so check out these tips and use all the benefits of the mobile retail world.

According to the latest ecommerce growth forecast by eMarketer– the global retail market will reach $25.038 trillion in 2019- an increase of 4.5 % in comparison with the prior year. When we talk about digital buyers- in 2014, the number of digital buyers was 1.32 billion people, while in current 2019 it’s about 1.92 billion.

Forecasts for 2021 say that the number reaches about 2.14 billion people. New technologies, features and digital buyers are continually growing so we can say that ecommerce has a bright future.