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Almost all e-tailer (online retailers) analysts indicate a large growth in online sales and a change in buying habits in the market place.

 

"UK shoppers splashed out a record £8.2bn in online shopping in 2005, according to a report by retail analysts Verdict.

And with e-shopping within touching distance of the £9.4bn spent in UK department stores last year, analysts say retailers must take e-commerce seriously." *

 

Selling online reduces your business expenses, provides added convenience for your customers and opens the door to a global market for your products and services. The latest studies of this online market show that not only are the sales growing but buying habits are changing. If you want to study this phenomenon further I would suggest Chris Anderson's The Long Tail. In this excellent book the concept of niche markets and the paradigm of choice is explored in great detail. www.thelongtail.com .

 

To be a successful ecommerce site, the site must be well designed so it can be indexed correctly by the Search Engines in other words be optimised for Search Engines (SEO).

 

Then there are other considerations to make:

 

  • You must be selling the right product at the right price. If it doesn't sell normally, why should it sell online.
  • Your site must look clean and stylish, be easy to navigate and the visitor must be able to find what they want quickly.
  • Visitors must be able to buy the product with the minimum of fuss, ideally no more than three stages, select product, provide delivery details and payment information, confirm purchase.
  • The site needs to be promoted in the same manner as you would a shop or any other retail outlet, i.e. direct marketing, advertising, PR etc. Obviously you will include online marketing and email etc.
  • Finally, sales made online must exceed the customer expectations, if you say it will be delivered in 7 days, it MUST be delivered in 7 days. Reliable delivery and shipment will have a huge impact on whether customers return to your site and buy again.

 

 

 

* source Tim Richardson The Register Feb 2006 "UK e-tailing breaks new records"