E-Commerce is a booming industry, which is expected to only increase it value even further in the next five years. Statista has estimated that eCommerce revenues will reach up to USD 4.48 trillion by 2021, a whopping 82.65 percent predicted growth from 2016’s USD 1.86 trillion.
So how do you reflect this predicted upswing onto your own online business? Here are a few tips:
Invest in Mobile
Statista has also predicted that by 2021, 53.9 percent of eCommerce sales will be generated through mobile. In fact, By Q4 of 2016, smartphone shopping orders are at an average of USD 79 per transaction while those who ordered via computer tablets spent USD 98 per order. This just means that people are growing more and more confident about the security of online shopping and want to maximize the convenience of being able to shop anytime, anywhere. If you haven’t optimized your online store yet for mobile browsing and transactions, now is the time to do so.
Consider Selling Wholesale
Credible eCommerce names like Alibaba, Ikea, and even smaller players like Etsy are already offering wholesale options for most if not all of their products. By expanding your services to include wholesale purchases, you’ll be opening up your business to both retailers and direct consumers. The trick is to start small so as not to overwhelm potential B2B customers. A good tip is to not offer wholesale prices by volume but by cost; if the order reaches a specified amount, a certain percentage of the wholesale price will be applied. Some of the easiest things to sell (and buy) on wholesale are clothing items and accessories (including shoes), Asian beauty products, books, jewelry, and collectibles like toys and scale models.
Have a Specialty
It’s tempting to be a jack of all trades, especially in a world where people can practically buy everything online. However, it’s wiser and often more profitable to have a couple of “specialty” products and/or services that you’re really good at to build your credibility. This way, you can cultivate a core group of loyal customers and brand advocates, and establish a reputation for being the best for those products and/or services that you offer. From there, it is relatively easier to expand your offerings to include allied products and convince your customer base to avail these from you, as well.
Use the Power of Data
In this day and age of the internet, there really is no excuse to not gather and analyze data to help drive business growth. Big data can help you develop new products, create more personalized offerings, improve certain aspects of customer service, and address issues like customer churn, among others. There are many affordable tools, sometimes even free, that you can use, like Google Trends, to get an overview of what your potential customers are searching for. However, if you want access to more in-depth information, be ready to invest on tools like Global Web Index, Sysomos, Orange, and Knime. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from the experts, too, especially if you’re a relative newcomer to data analytics.
Don’t Undervalue Yourself
Some online business owners and freelancers may fall victim to this practice of selling themselves and their products short to give themselves a “competitive” edge. Note the use of the quotation marks. Driving your prices down doesn’t always equate to attracting more customers. It’s all a careful mix of quality products and services, customer service, and reasonable prices, among others. What’s more, offering ridiculously low prices just to accommodate cheapskates (and let’s admit that there really are some customers who are such) may affect the industry at large.
Finally, you have to be patient, as business growth takes time and focus. Keep these tips in mind and slowly but surely, your online business will grow. Good luck!
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