Here are four key advantages e-commerce can bring your business.
1. Lower operating costs
It’s inexpensive to set up an e-commerce operation thanks to low-cost platforms. These services make it easy for entrepreneurs to start an online store with everything from an attractive, mobile-friendly site to taking payments to managing inventory and shipping. They can also integrate sales and inventory management between your online and bricks-and-mortar operations.
Of course, there will be lots of details to work out and challenges to overcome, but your upfront investment will be relatively low, especially compared to setting up a physical store.
As you become more successful, you can ramp up your spending to increase your product offerings, do more targeted advertising, create content and eventually build a custom site.
The three founders of From Rachel, a Montreal company that sells funky, high-quality stockings and leggings, used a WordPress platform to launch their online store in 2014 and will soon be launching a new site using Shopify.
Thanks to their cool branding and highly personalized service, partners Carolyne Parent, Alyeska Guillaud and Mélanie Heyberger have tripled sales every year and are now exploring the U.S. market.
