Is Ignoring eCommerce Hurting Your Business?

The business world has surpassed a critical turning point. With the Internet revolution, the world is more connected than ever before. ecommerce has emerged as a powerful tool for product-based enterprises. The numbers show that having an effective ecommerce platform has become increasingly vital to a successful business. No matter what industry your business is in, it pays to pay attention to what ecommerce can do for you, and what it may already be doing for your competition.

A Growing Industry

At this point in time, ecommerce has become a staple of most industries, and its presence is only increasing. The US Census Bureau reported that in 2012, ecommerce sales had signifcant increases from previous years in all measured industries: manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and services, and an eMarketer study reports that total global ecommerce revenue broke the $1 trillion mark in 2012. In Forrester’s latest five-year forecast, staticians have reported a whopping $204 billion has been spent through ecommerce by US consumers alone in 2014, and they predict for 2018 that number will be up to $414 billion. People are increasingly turning to online methods for their needs. The Internet and ecommerce have proved to be more than a trend-- don’t let your business be left behind.

ecommerce is not just an American phenomenon either. Every region of the globe is experiencing substantial growth in ecommerce, with the US, the UK, and China emerging as leaders in revenue from ecommerce sales. Your business now has the potential to go far beyond its own backyard. But this is a double-edged sword, as globalization now means that any business is also competing against foreign businesses. Use globalization to your advantage; implement an ecommerce system that can handle multilingual and international sales.

Maximize ecommerce Efficiency

A good ecommerce platform actually saves businesses money and increases profits by changing the way that resources are used. Meanwhile, on the consumer’s end, it has become easy and lightning-fast to compare prices over hundreds of businesses. As more consumers are drawn to this ability, various sources report that 71% of consumers believe they will get a better deal by shopping online, and there has even emerged a trend of buying products online while inside a store. This means that with the financial advantages that ecommerce gives a business, being competitive within a marketplace hinges upon how well your ecommerce is working for you. If your competitors are able to more effectively cut costs and lower prices with their ecommerce, it is very difficult to seem relevant beside them in the price charts without an ecommerce strategy of your own.