The past year has been a golden age for online sales, as the restrictions caused by the coronavirus situation have pushed customers toward online shopping. Both the number of customers and sales have increased exponentially and have, in many cases, also kept brick-and-mortar stores afloat.

While coronavirus has played its part in the growing popularity of online stores, the reality is that online shopping has been increasing significantly for several years now. Now, the rapid digital leap has merely shown an increasing number of consumers how easy and effortless shopping from home can be.

The duration of the current unusual situation is difficult to predict. Despite that, it seems highly likely that the purchasing behavior of people will be changed permanently.

Now, if ever, is the time to consider whether it would be possible for your company to offer its products and services online as well.

Remember to be user friendly

At the same time as online shopping has increased, the various online store solutions have also improved by leaps and bounds. Whether you need a store for selling a few different products or a more comprehensive solution, various online store platforms that are suitable for any application or budget are available today.

Which solution is best for your company is a question that can be best resolved together with an expert. This will allow you to ensure that your online store is user friendly, reliable, and most of all profitable.

Due to the unusual past year, many entrepreneurs have been in a rush to open up their online store and begin selling. But as the online store will sell and represent your company 24 hours a day, each day of the year, you should invest time and effort into planning and creating your own store.

Invest in visibility

A well-functioning online store solution will do little to help you if your customers cannot find your store. Therefore, it is important to also ensure sufficient search engine visibility and marketing.

Marketing an online store is a systematic long-term process. Effective and productive digital marketing requires constant experimentation, monitoring, and learning. The competition for search engine and social media visibility can be intense in many sectors, which is why it can be beneficial to improve your visibility through paid marketing.

The more visitors you are able to attract to your online store, the more likely you are to sell your products, thus generating cash flow. In a best-case scenario, an online store will also bring more people to a brick-and-mortar store by improving its visibility.

You should however remember that no online store is ever fully finished. The world around keeps changing at pace, which is why you will also need to develop your online store regularly. All of this means that an online store is unlikely to become a smash hit or save your business overnight, but by working consistently you can build one into an important and profitable part of your business operation.

Top 5 things to consider when establishing an online store

1. Choosing a suitable online store platform. Do you want to run the store yourself or should you rely on an existing service? Do you need an ERP system?
2. Building your product tree. How can you ensure that your store is simple to navigate and customer friendly?
3. Visibility. Can the customers find your online store? For example, does your store show up on organic Google searches? Do you need paid marketing?
4. How can you set yourself apart from your competitors? Is your brand or your ad campaign memorable to your customers? Do the product images and descriptions provide enough information?
5. Monitoring and development. Does your store produce enough analytics and data to support the development?