SME Business Concierge will help you start your online store. Simply visit our website.
We all know what Amazon is. This is one of the world’s largest online stores. Alibaba is another name for a dominating online store. It is owned by a Chinese man named Jack Ma.
When we look for a consumer product on the internet, we usually see these two names in the search results. We no longer have to go out to do our shopping. Now, you can buy almost any kind of consumer product online, and you can do so worldwide. People can get what they need while sitting at home or in the office.
The main reason to open an online store is to reach more people and get in touch with as many potential customers as possible. Even if it starts small or medium, an online store can make us a lot of money over time.
Let’s look at what makes an online store different from a regular store and what benefits you can get from it that you can’t get anywhere else.
No Need for A Physical Space
Since your presence will be online, you won’t have to worry about renting or buying a physical space, buying a lot of items at once, or storing them. But you have to pay for a domain name and any other fees that go with it.
Of course many businesses that operate from premises still have an online store to further boost their sales ability therefore increasing their profits.
You Don’t Have to Deal with a Middleman
You can get the items or goods straight from the factory or maker and ship them to the customer at the retail price. Because there is no middleman, you will also make more money. Small and medium-sized businesses and people who make things at home can reach out to potential customers and get orders directly. This is a very helpful tip. But they will have to spend a fair amount on advertising to do this.
Work Based on Your Skills and Resources
Can you run the store on your own, or do you have a team or family to help you? Make a plan for your work. If you are the only manager, you can do it on the side while you work at another job. You can grow it based on how much money you have, and when it starts making you a good amount of money each month or each year, you can quit your job or other work.
Manage It on The Go
You can run your online store from a tablet, laptop, or smart phone while you’re traveling. No need to worry about being stuck in one spot.
Long-Term Benefits and A Safe Investment
At first, you put a small or reasonable amount of money into an online store, depending on the situation. So, this is a safer investment than others. At first, it moves slowly, but as time goes by, it starts to get more customers and make a lot of money. “Slow and steady” will pay off in the long run if you keep at it.
How to Start Your Online Shop
There are a number of providers out there and it is very easy to get confused over who is the best one to go with. SME Business Concierge recommend Shopify and Sum Up if you want a easy to start easy to use professional online shop for your small business.
SumUp
Sum Up provide a free to set up online shop that comes with no monthly subscription fees that are found with every other provider. This easy to use service provides a professional looking online shop with built in payment facilities. You can monitor sales etc via an app on your phone or online.
The only cost associated with the Sum Up store is a 2.5% fee on every sale you make. Money taken through your store can be paid to you as quickly as the next day.
SumUp also provide a range of card payment machines.
Shopify
Shopify is a subscription based provider that has a wide range of benefits. They often have introductory discount offers meaning customers get to trial the service at a heavily reduced rate. For example they have recently run a promotion where they charged £1 a month for three months.
Shopify in addition to the services provided by SumUp have a range of extras that include plug in ability to accounting software, CRM and more.
Sales made through a Shopify store are subject to fees and they will vary dependant on the card payment provider you select.