The e-commerce industry has seen unprecedented growth as people busy with work prefer shopping online rather than hunting for the same in multiple stores. The covid-19 pandemic hampered offline shopping, accelerating the popularity of the e-commerce industry.

According to Statista, the e-commerce industry amounted to approximately $5.2 trillion US dollars across the world. It is expected to reach around $8.1 trillion US dollars by 2026, with a growth rate of 56%.

Therefore, many businesses are shifting from brick-and-mortar shops to online platforms. Online business selling has become a strategy to ensure future growth and generate more revenue. Moreover, the benefits of selling business products online are far greater than physical businesses.

Benefits of Selling Products Online

For starters, setting up a physical shop requires considerable capital unless the business already owns a property site. On the other hand, setting up an online shop is straightforward and can be done quickly.

Here are the main benefits of selling online –

1. Cheaper Startup Costs

As mentioned above, various overhead and running costs are incurred in traditional shops. Business owners must pay wages, rent, electricity, utilities, and other expenses to keep the shop running. It is one of the primary factors that affect the final price of products the businesses sell. However, starting an online shop requires an active internet connection and a computer or laptop. Often, it is possible with the help of a smartphone. Marketing agencies like QueueBuster help to integrate online shops with the cloud to make them accessible from any device.

2. Flexibility and Scalability

Running a business online is pretty easy, and online stores don’t have to worry about moving to another location or staying confined in one place. Owners are free to go anywhere they want to if they have a laptop and an internet connection. Additionally, they can track which products are performing well and create campaigns accordingly.

3. Increase Customer Reach

Accessing a more extensive customer base goes without saying anything. A physical shop can only attract a handful of customers in the local area. Moreover, it would be impossible to capture the target market outside the local area due to geographical restrictions. Not everybody is willing to travel to another city to buy from a particular business. However, switching the business online helps companies gain a more extensive customer base from a national or international standpoint.

4. Sell Anywhere Anytime

All physical shops have a fixed opening and closing time. Therefore, they can only earn revenue within a specified time frame. Comparatively, selling products online has no time limit, and customers can place orders at their own convenience. As a result, businesses can continue generating revenue even if their shops are closed!

5. Better Profit Margins

Running an online business requires little capital and expenses compared to a physical shop. It is only possible due to the absence of fixed overhead costs. Hence, they no longer have to worry about paying wages or related expenses. As a result, businesses selling products online can continue to make profits even if they offer lower prices to beat their competitors. They can further build their online presence by offering discounts and other promotions without incurring losses.

How to Sell Products Online?

As mentioned, online business selling is pretty straightforward and can be done by most business owners. However, there are certain steps involved in the process. Here is a quick overview of the steps listed below –

1. Study and Research Competitors

Most businesses have already set up their online shop during the pandemic. Hence, it is best to begin the transition by researching potential competitors. It helps to understand competitor strategies used to make the transition and helps businesses develop a better plan. If the competitors are not yet online, then it is the perfect time to do so.

2. Set Up An Online Shop

The very next step is to begin the online business selling journey. First, businesses need to purchase a domain with their shop’s name. There is an annual charge for it, but it can be easily covered with future profits. After that, they must start designing and creating an e-commerce website for their products.

Various online tools, like SquareSpace, Wix, QB eStore and WordPress, are available to help create beautiful websites. Here, it is important to note that domain names and websites are two different things. If a business cannot do it alone, they hire a professional marketing agency like QueueBuster to do the needful.

3. Make A Deal With A Local Courier

Businesses can only sell products online if they deliver to the customer’s front door. Therefore, the need to contact a local courier and enter an agreement. Businesses can get great deals and save costs on shipping by entering into a contract with last-mile delivery vendors and such logistic partners.

They must also determine preferred payment methods to sell their products online. Although most customers prefer online payment, many prefer cash on delivery (COD). Hence, they should set up payment methods like credit or debit cards, online wallets, and UPI. Another way is to use a reputed POS system offered by agencies like QueueBuster.

4. Build An Online Presence

Once businesses have an e-commerce website, they must inform their target consumers about their online presence. The best way to do it is by creating free online profiles on popular social media handles like Instagram and Twitter. Businesses must ensure they use their name as much as possible while developing their online profiles. Brand awareness helps customers differentiate from other businesses and builds a brand image.

After that, businesses have to produce engaging content and advertise their products fun and subtly. People live in the ‘meme’ era, where people spend their time online looking at relatable memes and having a light chuckle. Hence, they can increase customer engagement by hosting giveaways and contests, making relatable content, and other fun activities.

5. Improve online services

Online business selling may be new to most businesses, but they must adapt quickly. They need to learn many things related to online selling and digital marketing. It will help them to increase conversion rates and get more customers.

By focusing on brand awareness with the help of content marketing, they can successfully promote their products via Google AdSense or social media. They can also make short videos or hire influencers to do it for them.

Book a demo with QueueBuster today

Creating an e-commerce website is an essential step in online business selling. A beautifully-designed online shop is impactful by itself. Moreover, customers want their online experience to be simple and easy. It is only possible by a clean-looking website that is easy to navigate. Hence, the design of an online shop is important for customers to know that the brand is trustworthy and will encourage them to buy from it.

QueueBuster helps to bridge the online gap between a brick-and-mortar shop and an online e-commerce website. They can help businesses to start selling online in no time. They help maintain an online catalog, accept online payments, customize delivery options, and track sales with their POS integration. QueueBuster supports various types of businesses in different sectors like restaurants, electronics, groceries, retail, and spa and salons with their POS system management.