E-commerce and physical stores: how to combine them effectively?
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 9:51 am
If physical stores and e-commerce were competitors a few years ago, this is now a thing of the past. On the contrary, these two sales channels have become complementary. E-commerce brings the freedom and ease of buying online 24/7. Thanks to the Internet, buyers can glean the information they need to place an order.
Physical stores, on the other hand, offer a different experience, focused on quality of service and advice. For the latter who have not yet passed the milestone of digital transformation, it has become a priority. The health crisis of 2020 showed how essential it was, including for local businesses. Consumers have changed their purchasing behaviors, which forces merchants to adapt in turn.
This is how, in April 2021, the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad) noted a new record. Sales of physical stores made through the Internet increased by 35% compared to the previous year. The number climbs to 141% if we compare to 2019. Developing a merchant site alongside your traditional points of sale is therefore eminently strategic. This is why we explain to you how to effectively combine e-commerce and physical stores.
Why create an e-commerce site?
The turnover of the e-commerce sector continues to grow. In the second quarter of 2021, it reached 32.4 billion euros, for an average shopping basket of 63 euros. That's how many transactions are carried out online. To take advantage of this boom, many companies are trying their luck: in France, a new merchant site is created every twenty minutes.
Creating an e-commerce site increases the potential of your business tenfold kuwait telegram Internet users can access your online store at any time of the day or night. Compared to your physical store, you also expand your catchment area. Thus, rather than limiting yourself to a local market, you can consider sales on a regional, national or even international scale. Opening an online store is finally less expensive than opening a point of sale, even by surrounding yourself with the most competent e-commerce experts .
Digitalization is, in any case, a profitable operation. An e-commerce site, if well designed, can favorably influence the turnover of a physical store. It is estimated that, as soon as an online store is created, it increases by 14% on average*. In addition, you can benefit from substantial subsidies to initiate or accelerate your digital transformation. The Réunion Region offers a support system for VSEs and SMEs on the island: the Réunion 2021 digital check . It allows you to finance your web projects up to 3,200 euros: a helping hand for the implementation of an omnichannel strategy and the growth of your business.
Combining physical stores and e-commerce: what are the challenges?
Online and physical sales are two separate activities. Inventory management, inventory, delivery, customer relations, in-store exclusives: when you combine physical stores and e-commerce, the stakes are high.
When adding an online store to your physical points of sale, you must first consider the specificities of this sector of activity. The rules that govern digital commerce are different. You must therefore think about adapting your general conditions of sale to comply with the legislation specific to e-commerce. This influences, among other things, your delivery and return policies or data protection. This information must appear prominently on your merchant site: it is an important reassurance for your buyers.
One of the main challenges will be your logistics management , a critical subject in e-commerce. Your merchant site and your physical store offer the same products: you therefore have the same stock for these two sales channels. This requires an accurate inventory that takes into account sales made simultaneously on both sides. The slightest stock error can have significant consequences. For example, a customer who buys a product online expects it to be available. The opposite would generate frustration, which is detrimental to your reputation.
You also need to consider that selling more potentially means having more stock, and therefore more storage space. In fact, you may need to hire new employees to efficiently manage the preparation and shipping of orders, as well as any returns.
To meet these challenges, one element is essential: choosing the most suitable e-commerce solution . This is what guarantees the synergy between your online store and your physical points of sale.
Physical stores, on the other hand, offer a different experience, focused on quality of service and advice. For the latter who have not yet passed the milestone of digital transformation, it has become a priority. The health crisis of 2020 showed how essential it was, including for local businesses. Consumers have changed their purchasing behaviors, which forces merchants to adapt in turn.
This is how, in April 2021, the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad) noted a new record. Sales of physical stores made through the Internet increased by 35% compared to the previous year. The number climbs to 141% if we compare to 2019. Developing a merchant site alongside your traditional points of sale is therefore eminently strategic. This is why we explain to you how to effectively combine e-commerce and physical stores.
Why create an e-commerce site?
The turnover of the e-commerce sector continues to grow. In the second quarter of 2021, it reached 32.4 billion euros, for an average shopping basket of 63 euros. That's how many transactions are carried out online. To take advantage of this boom, many companies are trying their luck: in France, a new merchant site is created every twenty minutes.
Creating an e-commerce site increases the potential of your business tenfold kuwait telegram Internet users can access your online store at any time of the day or night. Compared to your physical store, you also expand your catchment area. Thus, rather than limiting yourself to a local market, you can consider sales on a regional, national or even international scale. Opening an online store is finally less expensive than opening a point of sale, even by surrounding yourself with the most competent e-commerce experts .
Digitalization is, in any case, a profitable operation. An e-commerce site, if well designed, can favorably influence the turnover of a physical store. It is estimated that, as soon as an online store is created, it increases by 14% on average*. In addition, you can benefit from substantial subsidies to initiate or accelerate your digital transformation. The Réunion Region offers a support system for VSEs and SMEs on the island: the Réunion 2021 digital check . It allows you to finance your web projects up to 3,200 euros: a helping hand for the implementation of an omnichannel strategy and the growth of your business.
Combining physical stores and e-commerce: what are the challenges?
Online and physical sales are two separate activities. Inventory management, inventory, delivery, customer relations, in-store exclusives: when you combine physical stores and e-commerce, the stakes are high.
When adding an online store to your physical points of sale, you must first consider the specificities of this sector of activity. The rules that govern digital commerce are different. You must therefore think about adapting your general conditions of sale to comply with the legislation specific to e-commerce. This influences, among other things, your delivery and return policies or data protection. This information must appear prominently on your merchant site: it is an important reassurance for your buyers.
One of the main challenges will be your logistics management , a critical subject in e-commerce. Your merchant site and your physical store offer the same products: you therefore have the same stock for these two sales channels. This requires an accurate inventory that takes into account sales made simultaneously on both sides. The slightest stock error can have significant consequences. For example, a customer who buys a product online expects it to be available. The opposite would generate frustration, which is detrimental to your reputation.
You also need to consider that selling more potentially means having more stock, and therefore more storage space. In fact, you may need to hire new employees to efficiently manage the preparation and shipping of orders, as well as any returns.
To meet these challenges, one element is essential: choosing the most suitable e-commerce solution . This is what guarantees the synergy between your online store and your physical points of sale.