A study conducted by a US-based Pew Research Center back in 2000 revealed that only 22 per cent of Americans were shopping online. A similar study carried out last year, 2016, however, showed that 79 per cent of Americans now shop online.
Such a trend in buying behavior
cannot be said to be peculiar with the Americans. The emergence and growth of
the internet in this century has indeed changed the way people conduct their
lives and do business, not only in America but all over the world.
What does this portend for the future of offline
stores or shops and owners of such businesses? Market analysts observe that
traditional offline
stores and shops are shutting down, thus gradually giving way to online stores
and shops.
It would be noted that an increasing
number of shoppers nowadays prefer buying online, using their smart phones,
tablets, laptops or desktop computers than going to physical stores to buy their needs. What could be the reason for this shift in preference?
Respondents say buying online is more convenient for them. In addition, they say they always enjoy good customer
care service whereby products are delivered to them at their doorsteps. 
In addition, online stores generally put detailed product descriptions side by side with product images, more than you will ever see on the labels, to further educate buyers on what they are paying for. They argued that one can hardly obtain such wide range of detailed information and reviews from shoppers at physical stores neither would one expect shop attendants to know all about the products on sale at the physical stores.
However convincing or otherwise their reasons may sound, it’s not our duty as entrepreneurs, marketers and retailers to question the choice of consumers regarding where they prefer to shop; whether at online stores or the physical stores. Our duty is to find them wherever they are and place our products, goods and services before them to buy. If they choose to shop on the moon, we go after them on the moon; if they choose to shop on the Mars, we go and sell to them on the Mars; and now that they have chosen to shop online we shall take our products to them online.
This development obviously opens up an ample opportunity for entrepreneurs who have business sense and can read the times, to exploit. Indeed, anybody who can identify a great opportunity when they see one, should quickly cash-in on this trend and set up their own eCommerce store for buying and selling products online at huge profits.
Steve Martino, in an article he titled, ‘Working Online Opportunities: The Ideal
Jobs’ has this to say among other things: “Start an online
store and see the cash flowing. Although online stores can be a bit riskier
than brick and mortar stores, they require only smaller capital and less leg
work.”
In as much as I share the views expressed by Mr. Martino here, I cannot readily think of any risk associated with starting and running an online store business over that of the physical store. Come to think of it, there is risk in almost every business endeavour, but some have minimal risk than others, and buying products and selling them online in an eCommerce store is one of the least risky businesses to embark upon.
It’s even much more risky seeing an opportunity of starting and building a profitable and enduring online shopping business, in an era when such a business is increasingly enjoying a boom, and not to take action. You’ll hate yourself if in future you discover that other people who also read this post like you and had taken the recommended action of setting up their own eCommerce stores, have grown their businesses into large concerns, that are making them six or seven figure profits yearly.
What does it take to have an
online store? If you can afford to buy a domain name and hosting for a website,
then you can also afford to pay for an online store. Even though it would cost much more to host an eCommerce or online
store than it would for an ordinary website, it's not one you cannot afford if you really want to do business. The profits could be jaw-dropping when it starts rolling in, on the long run. You'll be surprised how affordable it is. Why not check it out here.
I know quite a good number of
websites that specialize in hosting eCommerce stores for clients – Shopify,
BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magneto, osCommerce - to mention but a few. The most
popular and user-friendly among them is Shopify. Most successful eCommerce or online
store owners use Shopify. It is highly recommended also for beginners. The best part of this website is that you’re allowed a 14 day free trial period to
test their system and decide whether to continue or opt out.
Shopify has a
cutting edge app that helps you set up your online store in a matter of minutes
just with the push of the button. You don’t need to be technically savvy;
neither do you need to understand web design, html or anything of the sort.
All you’re required to do is to create an account, register or use an existing domain, select a theme template
of your choice from dozens of free themes, name your store, write a little
description of your store, do a little tweaking on the website, copy and paste
products’ codes to upload your niche products to the web store. Bam! And your eCommerce website starts running
live on the internet. You’ll find plenty of tutorials and other walk-through
resources to assist you on Shopify website.
Next, begin to promote and send
traffic to your web store in order to get prospective customers who will buy
your products. As more people visit your web store and buy more of your products,
your profits will soar. And the chances of you becoming a rich eCommerce
entrepreneur are imminent, all because there is a shift in consumer preference
for online shopping at this age and epoch and you’re wise enough to jump in and
capitalize on it. Aren’t you a genius!
Now, go ahead and sign-up for a 14 day free trial today and begin your journey of the most thriving
online business career of your life.
But if you’re like some people
who are easily put off by any kind of technical jigsaw, or you simply just
don’t have the time to do all that stuff. You want a ready-made, niche-products-populated web store? Of course, you don't have to worry because you can hire some experts on Shopify to help
you for a fee.
See you at the pinnacle of success!
See you at the pinnacle of success!
