Are You Selling Tennis Products? You Might Need an eCommerce Website
Business rates, tax, rent, staff salaries and utility bills ... the overhead associated with running a physical store can be a tough challenge for business owners, especially for those that are in the startup stage. Therefore, having an online store (e-commerce website) is extremely important in order to reach more customers in an affordable and scalable way.
E-commerce is a very common term that is used for any kind of commercial transaction that happens on the internet. It could be a transaction that happens between a consumer and an online store or it could also be a business to business transaction.
Let’s take a look at some of the main advantages of an e-commerce website over a physical store.
1. You can reach a wider market
With an online store, you overcome the geographical limitations of a physical store and you are able to reach people from all over the world.
2. Online store is cheaper to operate and maintain
This one is no-brainer. Of course, there is the initial investment of time and money associated with creating a website. However, your overhead will be minimal - you will NOT be paying some major expenses such as: commercial real estate rent, sales staff salaries or utility bills. Your expenses will mainly include routine website maintenance and updating content.
3. Provide abundant information
Each of your products and services can have full details of what it is and how it works. You can do that by creating accurate product descriptions and taking great, high-quality product photos and videos. User reviews and testimonials can also be added for your potential customers to read. That is much better than having an employee explaining product to in-store customers over and over again.
4. It's open and can be accessed 24/7
E-commerce websites can run all day and night! It is advantageous for the merchants because they can receive more orders, while customers can shop anytime at their own convenience.
Below are few great eCommerce platforms that you can use if you are looking for a platform to start your online selling business. We will be publishing a separate blog on some advantages and disadvantages of these platforms. However, please do not hesitate to contact us if you need immediate help selecting one.
In closing, it is worth saying that traditional retails stores offer a lot of other advantages and can still get plenty of foot traffic. If you are a tennis professional you know that tennis balls, socks, shoes, rackets ... these are all things tennis players will need before going on the court AND those are also the things they forget a lot. By having a physical store at your tennis club you can add an element of convenience that your customers will appreciate. We are starting to see that more and more physical stores combine retail with e-commerce to successfully target both groups of people - those who prefer to shop online and those who like the in-store experience better. By evaluating the unique value of each channel you can determine where would be the best place to sell.
Need help with setting up your online store?
