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Today, online shopping is one of the most popular online activities. In 2017, ecommerce sales worldwide amounted to $2.3 trillion and it is projected to rise to $4.88 trillion by 2021. Shopping online poses many advantages and benefits, not to mention more options, and more people are beginning to report a growing preference for it to traditional physical shops.

People are sitting in their homes right now, making purchases from businesses around the world, while they remain comfortably in their homes. Today, it is not uncommon for people to shop online from anything from foreign online clothing brands, to grocery items.

Because of the advent of the internet and the option to shop online, the decision-making process of buyers has been changed rapidly. Buyers are now better informed than ever before and are avid researchers when it comes to the things they wish to purchase. It’s not uncommon today for a consumer to view something in-store, only to peruse the internet for a better deal from an ecommerce shop.

The fact of the matter is that the internet is the largest shopping complex in the world, and it rests comfortably in the palms of the consumer's hands, changing the way we buy goods and how we do business today at a global scale.

The fact that we can shop with a few quick taps of our fingers makes shopping very easy and convenient. But it’s not just convenient for consumers, it also poses many business advantages and opportunities for those who wish to build a business and career in the growing world of ecommerce.

If you want to know more about why people love to shop online, and why right now is the time for you to build your own ecommerce business, then this article is for you. We’ll be discussing the significance of ecommerce, its benefits and appeal, and the business opportunities for entrepreneurs who wish to venture forth with their own ecommerce business.

Benefits And Appeal Of Ecommerce

Ecommerce offers many advantages to the consumers, and this in itself contributes much to the growth of e-businesses. Let us take a look at the reasons why shoppers are turning to the internet and supporting online stores.

1. Convenience

Online shopping is convenient in enumerable ways. For starters, it removes geographical and time-based obstacles that shoppers need to deal with when it comes to physical stores. Before the rising popularity of ecommerce, consumers needed to travel to a physical destination during business hours, and compare prices with choices that are limited to the available products within the shop they are in.

Now you can pretty much shop from anywhere, and anytime, without having to get up and put your pants on. In addition to that, you are no longer limited to the goods and services in your locality. As long as the online store ships to your area, then you can source any item from ecommerce businesses based in other locations worldwide.

The convenience of ecommerce comes down to the fact that it is breaking barriers for people to connect with businesses, regardless of geographical location, and eliminates the constraints of working hours altogether.

2. Offers Variety

Ecommerce offers a taste of variety to everyone with a device connected to the internet. For instance, if you live in a small city or town, you no longer have to make the compromise of adhering to the businesses in your locality and purchasing from a limited range of options when you desire more than what is being offered to you.

With ecommerce, people are able to satisfy their need for variety. If you come to a physical store looking for a pair of shoes you saw on social media, only to find that they just ran out of your size, you’ll no longer have to grit your teeth in frustration and defeat—because you’ll probably have more choices in size, color, and design online. You’ll also be able to make more price comparisons.

3. Easy Price Comparisons

Comparing prices is easier online because you can switch from one site to another quite easily to see which online stores are ready to give you the best offers.

Gone are the days when it was necessary to travel from shop to shop, to manually compare prices between items you were interested in buying. Now we can see all the prices and all the relevant information about the things we want online.

Ecommerce also offers customers more price reductions, as companies can cut down on the expense of distributing goods to physical shops, warehouse storage space, and other expenses regarding distribution.

4. User Reviews

When it comes to online shopping, reviews are a major plus side that you won’t find inside of physical shops.

When shoppers shop online, they are on the lookout for products that are rated highly, and that’s why ecommerce businesses take their customer’s interest and opinions very seriously, because what online shoppers say play a big role in their ability to gain momentum in the business.

When a customer is not satisfied with the quality of an online brand, they make their dissatisfaction know and can very well ruin a brand’s image and sales. The opposite is true for a good quality product and service. Good reviews tend to fuel more purchases, more revenue, and more brand awareness—all good thing for an ecommerce business.

Online consumers take their cues from user reviews and base their purchase decisions on the praise and backlash of an ecommerce store.

The Ecommerce Business Opportunity

The fact is most people dream of starting a business. With the advent of ecommerce and the internet, there has never been a better time for the aspiring entrepreneur to take matters of business into their own hands on the playing field that is ecommerce.

Ecommerce has not only changed the way consumers shop, but it has also paved the way for a vast array of new business opportunities for those who want to join in on the booming ecommerce industry. It is growing every year, and if you want to start your own online store, now is a good time for you to build your online venture and become a part of the ever-growing wave.

It goes without saying that with the continuous growth and proliferation of online shopping, there are many opportunities to be had in starting your own online business. When you compare brick-and-mortar establishments to ecommerce, it becomes clear which one has the global reach and the 24/7 availability.

When you build an online business, you are not limited to the customers who are in your current vicinity, because you can sell to various cities, states, and across borders. Your customers will also be able to visit your store at any time of the day because an ecommerce store never sleeps.

Consequently, the rise of online shopping has also made starting a business easier than ever before. Technology is on your side, and building an online shop is both easy and economical, especially when you compare it to building a physical shop. When it comes to cost, there comparatively fewer barriers stopping you from starting your own ecommerce venture, so why not give it a shot?

Online tools like Shopify make it easy for you to DIY your shop, and there are many resources to help you create a professional online store today.

Back To You

The rise of ecommerce has made it the decade of the entrepreneur and all you need is a business idea to get you started! We are sure that you have had a few business ideas in the past that were met with obstacles—obstacles that the nature of selling online to a vast audience can remove.

There are many reasons for you to get involved in ecommerce and it can be an extremely rewarding endeavor that will help you generate the income that will make all the difference in your life. You’ll also be your own boss and sell products in a business that you can genuinely be passionate about.

Nothing feels quite as good as building your own success, after all.

For more resources on ecommerce and how to build your own online store, check out more articles on the Ecommerce Pro Blog.

Get In Touch

At Ecommerce Pro, we help entrepreneurs and business owners build better and more successful ecommerce businesses. Have a question or a project in mind? Get in touch with us today!