“I am an online seller who has, fortunately, been selling products for a long time without any hustle and bustle. Unlike offline or brick and mortar selling, where you need to worry about a lot of things from sales and profit to location, tax, time, and much more.” says a Unicommerce user when asked about how he feels about selling online.
He went from being a cynical, cautious businessman with a shop in the market to being an actively ambitious online seller who is selling 24/7 on multiple marketplaces. And the journey has been quite a learning experience he mentions. Would love to share these pieces of wisdom with you.
Perks of selling online on multiple marketplaces:
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The location does not matter!
When selling from a physical store, if you get the location right, half the work is done. And we already know – the price of anything in demand goes up. That’s why getting a good location is a costly affair. Only the big guys with deep pockets can afford it.
But when selling online your location the same as the location of some fancy deep pocket brand. The customers see you and the big guys right next to each other.
Just imagine how you wished to have the same kind of shop that your big-budget competitors had. But you could not. Today, online marketplaces provide a level playing field for small players who are beginners. You just need to manage your supply chain to sell goods online.
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Increased Brand visibility & profits
In my initial days – I had jokingly commented to my colleagues many times that – “Only If I could be at multiple places at the same time”. How can I be ? Silly of me!
But now – Some if it has come true. Sellers can be at multiple places at the same time.
It’s not Magic. It’s called Ecommerce.
Today, people sell on Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Jabong, at the same time! And manage all of the marketplace with a small team. The same team that used to cater to one small shop on the street.
Unlike conventional businesses where we get to sell our products on certain very selective places, ecommerce provides the facility to sell on multiple channels. Selling through various virtual marketplaces has not only increased visibility but also helped sellers to establish brand among a huge base of customers. Goes without saying that selling on multiple channels has multiplied profits of sellers.
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No more unattended customer in your shop – Even during festive seasons
Usually, in a traditional shop, we need sales persons to attend to our customers. During festivals or any other special occasion, it becomes very difficult to handle lots of customers at one time. And in this scenario, the possibility of the customers going back from the shop unattended is quite high. It not only creates a negative impression on prospects but also destroys our chances of achieving business goals.
On the other hand, an online setup provides a huge advantage over offline stores. Contrary to a traditional shop, eCommerce allows to attend a huge number of customers at any point of time. A simple integration of multichannel order management software can further help you manage all the sales from singly dashboard.
By providing detailed information on the product description along with high-quality images, one can provide a virtual human experience to its customers. This further helps in ensuring a high customer satisfaction rate and attracting and retaining customers.
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Not Just More, but Better Footfall!
We always tried to get more footfall in our shop. Because at the back of our mind, we are clear that if 100 people walk in, at least 5 will like our products and buy them. But what about the 95 who don’t buy. It’s true that more footfall leads to more sales. But there is a limit to the level we can take this approach.
Even the best shops have not more than 10% conversion rate.
Surprisingly, ecommerce shops have more than 20-30% conversion rate. The reason being – In ecommerce people come looking for your product. Such focused traffic is much higher online as compared to offline shops. They are already convinced about buying it, all they need is a little push. So this means there is no limit to footfall and the conversion rate is even higher.
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No bargains
In India, customers can be identified by certain very typical traits. One of the most popular traits of an India buyer is a bargain. Sometimes, in the process of bargaining, the seller has to compromise on his profits. While shopping online the customers can’t go for bargaining on prices of the products. They can only choose from a wide range of products with fixed price tags. The seller has the ultimate say on product prices.
Of course, you can choose to give them discounts on particular items, for particular period, for particular type of customers. But you have total control over it. No more hassling with every other customer over price.
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No worries about holidays or closing time
When you are selling online, you are working 365 days and 24 x7. So, you don’t worry about the holidays or closing time, unlike offline or brick and mortar shop does each time there is a holiday (s) or bandh. There are abiding by the law, as they can’t be open 24 hrs.
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New business options
Dropshipping is the new business option for the new sellers as well as for the established business holders. The new option in the market makes space for new products to get introduced in the market. Apart from that, increases your revenue without making any huge investment in the business. You just need to collaborate properly with the logistics partners as well as with the seller.
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Riskless business!
Business always comes with uncertainty. But this uncertainty turns into risk when stakes go up. In our regular business, once you up the stake, it becomes very difficult to take a step back. Also, the investment that is required to grow is quite substantial in offline business. In eCommerce, it takes just a fraction of that amount to start catering to more customers.
No wonder so many first time businessmen are lining up to open their shop online. And many of them are doing well.
Previously, when it’s about starting a business; the main concern of any prospective businessman was to gather a huge amount of money. They either had to use their savings or take bank loans or borrow from different people. Under this condition, if they would fail to achieve success, it would ruin them completely. Here, e-commerce portals have appeared as a great platform. Selling online or setting up an online store doesn’t cost much. Failing here is not a Punishable offence!
Besides, we don’t share our hard earned profit parts with local hooligans.
What are you waiting for? Book a consultation with Unicommerce, to look after your daily ecommerce and retail business. It eases your daily business operations; merges your online and offline business together; automates your inventory and warehouses; ERP integration with your software; and much more.