The High-street is beginning to see even more competition rise from the online world, not only from large retail chains but also up and coming brands looking to put their mark on the world-wide-web. E-commerce brands can use even more advertising techniques to tempt consumers into shopping without needing to go into their local town and endure the busy shops and long-winded days.
It’s never been easier to shop online and ease isn’t the only reason more people are shopping online, here’s a look at the key reasons why e-commerce is thriving in 2018.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising on Facebook, Google and Instagram have never been easier, any start-up clothing brand to a national chain can use any of these platforms to advertise. The key for up and coming brands is to research their market and make sure their adverts are only being shown to the right audience, if you’re offering mens gymwear, make sure that the audience that sees the ad is male, in the ideal age range and you can even selected men who follow sports pages or fitness profiles, the categories to narrow down the audience are countless. The more your able to narrow the viewers down to it reduces the number of people who see the ad and skip past it, as it will either be inappropriate for them or they’re simply not interested.
Discount
E-commerce companies are targeting people whilst they’re at home, bored and browsing their phones, meaning they are more likely to order if the company offers an extra incentive to shop. Sometimes the high street advertises too heavily which can nullify the adverts to people walking past. A notification on a phone, on the other hand, grabs their attention and they can shop with ease.
Variety
In some sectors, stores can be repetitive with brands and styles they are offering, and although it’s a more guaranteed source of revenue, online browsers have the opportunity to consider of more unique styles that will help them to stand out from the crowd.
Lower Operating Costs
Having a store costs thousands to run yearly to a point where it can weigh too heavily on the success of sales. E-commerce companies have much lower overheads, for this reason, a business can be operated from home or if it’s becoming big, a cheap warehouse can be used for storage. Delivery services are becoming so quick that next day delivery is a common option for all websites and products can be manufactured and sent straight to the customer cutting out a lot of costs.
Rewards
Mobile apps are a popular option to order from whilst shopping and some of the bigger e-commerce companies offer reward points for frequent shoppers. Discount codes, free delivery and even gifts are all incentives that brands use to entice customers to repeat their custom. With fewer overheads, online shopping companies can offer extra discounts and reward the customer more for losing out by much.
There will always be a need for the high-street but the online world does look to continually take a bigger portion of sales whether it’s down to the ease of ordering or the fact that it is likely to be cheaper. The high-street will always offer one thing that the internet can’t, the option to touch and feel the product without the hassle of ordering and returning.
Author Bio: Richard Meadow is a freelance writer that works closely with One Athletic sports clothing. He enjoys researching and writing about health/ sports and how they can benefit everyone in day to day life.