eCommerce confusion? Ask the experts

The eWholesale Collective is a group of e-commerce experts from four of the UK’s leading brands offering solutions for the sector’s e-commerce challenges

QUESTION

I know that we have to embrace e-commerce to stay relevant, but I feel like we’re already so far behind, is it worth trying to catch up with our competitors?

ANSWER

Absolutely yes! The risk A factors of not embracing online shopping for your customers are great and there are so many benefits, not least flexibility, convenience, ease of shop, increased loyalty and increased basket size.

What’s key is not to be put off or intimidated by what others are doing. Focus on what your customers want and need, and what is going to be manageable, and scalable, for your business. It’s always best to start simple. It doesn’t need to be a complex, bespoke solution. There are plenty of simple models that can plug into existing systems that will allow you to get started and you can build from there.

It’s all too easy to focus on the highly visible front end, but don’t lose sight of what happens behind the scenes. You need to provide correct, relevant content for the website while also ensuring there is staff resource available to update the site with new information or stock availability. Can you process and fulfil all orders?

When it comes to costs, don’t just focus on the budget you have available. Make sure you explore opportunities, such as paid advertising or sponsored content, that help support the costs of an e-commerce site.

Remember, it’s never too late to embrace innovation, even if it feels like you’re trailing behind, so get started!

Do you have a question for the eWholesale Collective? Send it to wn@thebrightmediaagency.com and the Collective will get their thinking caps on.