Start an Online Retail Business with Your Own Website

Overview	Challenges	Solutions

Overview

The retail and Consumer Goods sector is a category of companies that manufactures and distributes the products that are meant to be purchased by individuals and households for end-point use. The consumer goods are meant to be used directly by the buyers in a short span of time. This sector includes food and beverage production, packaged goods, clothing, electronics, and automobiles. Broadly classified into durable and non-durable, the main feature that drives the products of this industry is their necessity. Retail is the sale of consumer products to its end users once it is manufactured and packed by the manufacturers. Retail, in its conventional sense, means selling products through brick-and-mortar stores and outlets. But with technological advancements and digital disruption, the sector has undergone some changes. Apart from physical stores, retail has also gone online. It now encompasses restaurants as well since the food made in the restaurants is meant to be used by the end-users.

Until a few years ago, physical retailers were assured of steady sales of the daily use of consumer goods such as soaps, groceries, laundry detergents, etc., even as the digital transformation was reaching far and wide. But with big retailers like Walmart going online, more and more consumers are shopping these products online.

Challenges

The Internet has radically changed the dynamics of the retail industry. Technologically driven companies are unsettling a number of industries. It has empowered the consumers with a truckload of information and developed a platform wherein consumers can freely share their feedback and reviews in the open regarding the quality of the products and services of different brands. The limitations of brick-and-mortar stores have now been breached, and consumers can effectively compare prices and read the reviews before making the purchase. The online space has made it challenging for retail stores to survive unless they make a digital presence.

Digital transformation has changed the way companies advertise, promote, and distribute their products. The digital divide has created huge challenges for the physical retail stores that have seen a considerable decrease in footfalls. Due to a complete absence of digital footprints, these stores are also running out of the credibility that would provide a loyal customer base. There has been a frightening increase in the number of bankruptcies since 2017, and with Covid-19 striking the last nail in the coffin for the physical retail sector, the situation looks grim for them. E-Commerce made up more than 10% of the total US retail sales in the third quarter of 2019. Around 25% of the US adults make at least one purchase online in a month, with 87% of the online buyers pointing out that price is the most important factor while making a purchase. As a retailer, here are the challenges you are going to face in 2021:

Digital Disruption

Consumer behavior has seen rapid change with the growth of e-commerce. Customers now have innumerable choices at their fingertips with plenty of comparative information before they make a purchase. Although the share of online retail is still on the lower side, a digital presence is necessary for the physical stores to disseminate information about their products to increase footfall. Consumers research online and then prefer to buy the products at the brick-and-mortar stores.

Continuous Exposure and Developing Bias

Digital retail stores have their ads run on social media and other platforms personalized as per user behavior. Advertisements push the consumers towards making a purchase, and with the world hungover on social media for the most part of their day, physical stores are falling behind in that aspect. Also, the exposure of bigger brands is much better than the smaller ones for apparent reasons. So, it becomes all the more necessary for smaller and local retail stores to build a strong online presence that would boost their visibility in the otherwise untapped market.

Research

As per a survey, 95% of shoppers go through the online reviews before finalizing a purchase, with 90% of them reading at least 5 to 10 reviews before making the purchase. This has reduced the time consumers spent in stores collecting information about the product. With online retailers offering lucrative return policies, it is becoming even more popular for people to order online. Obviously, the fall out of this trend is in the physical stores.

Mobile Marketing

Due to rapidly evolving digital technology, modern business needs to extend itself to potential customers through different channels. As a result, major e-commerce players have started rolling out a mobile-friendly version of their websites. At present, the mobile shopping industry stands at $3.2 trillion worth. Mobile platforms constitute 51% of total retail traffic, with four out of five Americans shopping online.

Solutions

We understand the challenges that the growing technology and digital shift is creating for the retail and consumer goods sector. We offer step by step solutions that will help streamline your business by improving your brand positioning through a formidable digital presence. At e-Global Soft Solutions, we design your business identity in a way that revolutionizes how you conduct your business. Our data-driven solutions put you on the map and let you cross the borders of regionality as well as nationality if that is your vision. We have a team of highly qualified professionals who are technologically-driven and work dedicatedly to provide your business with a robust web platform.

We help you tap into the uncharted market and build a loyal customer base by developing a platform that’s more than just your digital identity card. We offer end-to-end solutions ranging from developing a robust e-commerce platform for your business to result-driven digital marketing. Our innovative digital marketing solutions turn your website into a store that manifests growth and revenue. We are the global leaders in web development and digital marketing solutions with a hands-on approach. We deploy the latest technologies while designing your online makeover and help you get the primary edge in the market. Explore the unexplored with us, and transform your brick-and-mortar store into future-ready e-commerce that is the definition of growth.

Retail and Consumer Goods