If you have a physical business but you still don’t sell online, you may have already thought about creating a virtual store, right?
At Tiendanube we understand that expanding a business requires good planning. For this reason, and so that you can make the decision with clear and precise information, in this article we present the main advantages of Create a virtual store from a physical store.
Let us begin.
1. Your audience is already online
According to a study by the prestigious agency We are Social, Mexico has a little over 89 million Internet users, that is, 69% of its total population is connected to the Internet.
This demonstrates the relevance of the online world and ecommerce in Mexico since, according to what the Mexican Internet Association (AIMX) reports, 8 out of 10 internet users in Mexico made some purchase online in the last year (2019)
Taking this scenario into account, if you already have a business, selling online is a great opportunity for your product to be offered to more people and thus increase the sales of your business.
2. Your target audience searches for the product on the internet before buying it
It is becoming more and more common that, prior to making the purchase decision, users search the Internet for what they want to acquire to ensure that they are making the best choice.
In fact, the Digital in 2020 report that we mentioned above indicates that 89% of the Mexicans surveyed did so during 2019.
Imagine if, when the user is looking for a product on the internet, your brand appears in the search results, offering them what they are looking for. Your chances of selling increase! Point for him!
3. The scope of the virtual store is greater
While with a small or medium-sized physical store you are limited to one area or, at most, one city, with an online store your geographical reach is unlimited!
This becomes a great advantage for ecommerce because you can not only ship nationwide, but why not? To the world!
4. Schedule flexibility increases
All physical businesses have specific opening and closing hours, some may even change depending on the day.
When creating your online store you have no time limit: you sell 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! There is nothing stopping your business.
The only thing you have to keep in mind is to inform your potential consumers what the customer service hours are in order to manage their expectations well and be able to help them in their purchase.
5. Some items are more easily available online
Imagine that you are a fan of a football club in one city but you live in another, quite far away. You will hardly be able to find your team’s jersey in your city, but that product will undoubtedly be available in an online store.
Therefore, to get “local” items, buying online is infinitely simpler.
In these cases it is clear how the greater reach of digital commerce can benefit your business. So, if you sell items that you think people in other regions might be interested in, maybe it’s time to create an online store.
6. There are products that can only be found online
Some classic books or movies, for example, are very hard to come by. From time to time you can find those products in a physical store, but how do you go about locating that store? It’s basically like looking for a needle in a haystack, right?
E-commerce gives you the ease of being able to find the product you want and without the hassle of having to go to a physical address.
Also, if you sell some kind of antique and/or curiosity and only work offline, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to expand your clientele and take advantage of the .
7. Customer service channels are expanded
By having a physical store, you can serve your potential customers through social networks, WhatsApp, mail and/or telephone, but in an online store you can go further.
The first step is to create a FAQ page within your ecommerce. Having this page well structured, the possibility that someone sees it and still needs another service channel is much lower.
This is how Tiendanube does it:
Another interesting alternative is to offer a chat within your virtual store to answer the main questions of your consumers.
If you have a Tiendanube, you can integrate your store with or .
8. The trust factor is key in your virtual store
For many businesses thinking of buying, the lack of consumer confidence when shopping online can become a daunting point.
However, the ventures that were born from a physical store have a competitive advantage since they enjoy greater trust: if something does not go as expected, the customer knows that he has a place to turn to last resort.
9. You already have sales experience
If you already own a physical store, selling is in your blood. Unlike people who create an online store without prior knowledge, you have all the experience necessary to start selling online and you know how to run a business, how to manage finances, etc.
The experience gained over the years as an offline store owner is going to be an important advantage when creating your online store.
10. You already have the inventory
In addition to experience, if you have a physical location, you probably already have your own inventory to organize your products. In case you choose to create an online store, you will be able to divide your stock between the two businesses and save valuable money.
11. You already have the first clients
A physical store that goes online brings with it part of the customers who already buy offline regularly.
Therefore, once you create your ecommerce, spread it in your physical store and, if possible, offer discount coupons or other attractive promotions so that your customers from the offline world can learn about and buy from your virtual store as well.
12. The cost of trading online is lower
When we think about expanding a business, it is normal to consider large costs. But, in the case of a , the values are considerably lower compared to the opening of a new physical branch, for example.
To keep your online store running, the expenses will only be for the monthly fee of the e-commerce platform you choose, the fees of the payment intermediaries and your digital marketing campaigns.
You can have one or more employees dedicated exclusively to your virtual store, but you will not need as many people as in a physical location.
In addition, you can use the physical structure of the business you already have to keep your ecommerce running, such as electricity.
13. Starting to sell online is simple
Depending on the in Mexico you define, creating an online store does not require great technical knowledge.
Uploading your products can take a while, but it’s not difficult. In addition, in a few steps, you will be able to choose the design of your store and integrate the payment and shipping methods that you prefer.
14. You have more security for your business
Another advantage of electronic commerce is the security.
All financial transactions are carried out through the largest online payment intermediaries in the market, such as Mercado Pago. Therefore, you do not have to deal with cash.
15. It is easier to create a sense of urgency
In physical stores, it sometimes happens that salespeople can irritate potential customers a bit when they tell them why they should buy, at that precise moment, the product they are looking at.
Instead, in an online store you can encourage your consumer to make a purchase without being so pushy.
For example, you can put together a sale that is available for a limited time, or show how many items of a product are still available in your inventory.
This information will create a sense of urgency in the person, and can increase your chances of a sale.
16. The opinion of other clients is visible to your visits
Another advantage of electronic commerce is that, before making the purchase, your potential consumer can see the reviews and comments of people who have already bought the same product.
This helps a lot to make the consumer decide to buy from you, since is based on an opinion that it considers unbiasedfrom other customers who received and used that item.
17. You can integrate your sales platform with other channels
When creating an online store, you can integrate it with other sales channels such as marketplaces (the most popular is Mercado Libre) or social networks (the big star is Instagram Shopping). Thus, you can multiply your presence on the internet and reach your target audience faster.
Depending on the sales platform you choose, you will be able to manage all orders from the same panel, saving time and money!
18. You achieve a greater follow-up of the results
Although in a physical store you can make a tracking numbers and data to analyze your trading strategieswhen we talk about digital trading these indicator analyzes can be done more thoroughly.
Why? Because when your potential customers browse the internet, they leave traces of the ads they looked at, the pages they visited, the products they viewed, the purchases they made, among many other pieces of information.
Therefore, it is much easier to register your KPI’s (key performance indicators), understand their behaviors and obtain richer information for your business.
19. Analyzing your competition is much easier
When it comes to a virtual store, doing it becomes much simpler since it will only be enough to look at the page of your main competitors, instead of going to their physical location and trying to discover information (such as prices, sales strategies, payment, etc).
You can also use tools such as to obtain data on what keywords they use to appear in Google results or if they carry out paid campaigns, for example.
20. You can customize the user experience
Although in a physical store the seller can talk to the potential customer face to face, in a virtual store you can offer you products based on your browsing habits.
What does this mean? That it is possible to show you a selection of personalized products according to your tastes, in addition to sending you special offers by mail. In this way, the shopping experience becomes much more special and your chances of selling increase!
There are tools that you can install in your store to promote this personalized purchase, for example, .
It’s time to start!
If you are looking for options to grow your businesscreating your online store may be the way.
We hope that these 20 advantages that we share with you will help you make the decision and, if you have any questions or suggestions, we will read you in the comments. 😉
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