What is e-commerce?

Electronic commerce, more commonly known as e-commerce, is the buying and selling of goods and services electronically – primarily over the Internet.

 Why E-commerce?

According to eMarketer, retail e-Commerce sales growth will continue to outpace brick-and-mortar sales growth by more than a 3-to-1 margin over the next four years. By 2019, global retail e-commerce sales are expected to exceed $3.5 trillion, by which time they will comprise 12.4% of total retail sales. That is over $9.5 billion per day, every single day of the year.*

Sell Anytime, Anywhere

Listing your goods online enables you to reach customers from across the country, or even across the world. It also turns your shop into a 24/7 retail organization. Your customers can buy items right from the comfort of their couch, at any time of the day.

Outside of Making Money, there are Other Benefits

Selling online can help you gain some great ratings online. Be sure to ask your satisfied customers to rate your shop and leave a review. The more good ratings you have, the better! This helps build credibility as more and more people look to buy items from you both online and in your store.

eBay and Craigslist are good platforms for getting started with e-commerce. You can list your items, and leverage the millions of users that are already visiting those sites on a daily basis. Starting here can also help you build up a loyal customer base, as well as develop your process. Once an item sells on eBay, you’ll need to package and ship it in a timely manner to keep your customers happy. Craigslist is more of a hybrid platform. While you’re posting an item online, the sale itself typically happens in your store. Using Craigslist will bring new customers into your store, where you can upsell them in person, and gain new loyal, local customers.

Building a Customer Base

Just like in your brick and mortar store, every customer you gain through e-commerce is a potential repeat customer. Be sure to capture your every customer’s information such as e-mail and cell phone number. This way, you can reach out to them in the future with special offers to bring them back to your shop or online store to buy more. Once you’ve made them a happy customer the first time, you’re more likely to have gained their trust, and any hesitation they may have had with their online purchase the first time around will likely subside after the first transaction.

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Source:
*eCommerce: The Crucible of Customer Engagement