The e-commerce boom of the last decade has made online stores all the rage right now as consumers seek for better deals at their convenience.
When Jeff Bezos first started Amazon in 1995 as one of the first online stores; albeit beginning initially as a bookstore, he must have known he was onto something.
While the internet was still a relatively new phenomenon and convincing people that this was the future proved to be a task, the convenience associated with this swerve away from the traditional shopping experience eventually began to sway customers.
Post Millennium era sees major transition
Fast forward one decade and Amazon was had grown considerably. Now much more of a generic online store which sold just about everything and with an ever-improving shipping and distribution system, Amazon was quickly making strides.
It wasn’t long before they started offering people the chance to create their own online store with the software they provided, while competitor Ebay began doing the same.
However, this had barely began to scratch the surface with the possibilities that still existed, with the world of e-commerce primed to take off in a spectacular way.
As of February 2019, the e-commerce industry in North America alone had a market capitalisation of $552.6 billion, however it was Asia leading the way with staggering $831.7 billion. Europe, meanwhile, posted results of $346.5 billion.
When taking into account figures from the rest of the world this industry boasts figures well over a trillion dollars with the potential to grow even bigger as technology becomes more widely available and affordable in less economically developed countries.
Shopify platform & drop-shipping allowing anyone to start online stores
In recent years the amount of online stores has exploded, with e-commerce platform Shopify providing anyone with the ability to start their own business, drop-shipping products to customers all around the world.
The early adopters of this really took advantage because they were able to creatively fulfill a need that very few others did and then capitalise on social media advertising, particularly the early, then easier-to-use algorithms to get their store and products in front of the right people on Facebook.
However, as competition increases, standing out in a crowded, yet perfectly attainable marketplace has proved to be harder. Online stores need to be doing things differently to capture the attention of customers.
Finding the right value proposition
One of the best things about the Shopify platform is that it allows store owners to provide customers with a wide array of offers to try and generate sales.
The question is finding the right offer. While the obvious ones include the typical discount, where customers receive a code to enter at checkout, other popular ones allow you to combine products into one package.
Also by having an expiry date on each offer, this can help to pedigree a sense of urgency among potential customers which sometimes leads to an influx of sales.
It is perhaps, the ‘outside of the box’ thinking approach however, that can help you to differentiate your online stores from everyone else. That means, not even using the discount functions, but your own ingenuity and creativity.
For example, having an offer on certain product lines which are marketed as ‘Free plus Shipping’ or ‘Just pay Shipping’ can appeal psychologically to customers and help you to stand out.
Ultimately a ‘smoke and mirrors’ approach, where you just essentially cover your costs and add a margin, but pitch it as advantageous to the customer, this can work wonders.
The biggest issue now though for online stores, with most of social media a saturated marketplace, is finding customers. Not only that, but finding actively interested customers who are essentially buyers.
What makes e-commerce such a versatile industry is the fact that you have the option to be creative with your sales strategy, because the vast majority of site owners don’t actually hold the stock if they drop-ship.
This means that they can differ their offers as they see fit from a trial and error perspective, essentially making Snizl the perfect platform to get their products in front of interested customers.
With a Free non-obligation month’s trial, it is a great alternative for online stores to reach and engage with customers who they know would be interested in what they have to offer.