Benefits of Selling Online
Traditional stores are convenient in certain situations. While shopping online offers a wider variety of color and style options, nothing beats the sensory pleasure of, say, fabric on your skin or trying on a garment and experiencing how it makes you feel. There is also the excitement of leaving the house and mingling with other people at the store.
That said, businesses can gain a lot by selling online. And it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. Ideally, your online store should complement your physical premises, bringing in younger customers and allowing you to increase sales through affordable online marketing. Best of all, it lets you reach potential buyers who are too far away to conveniently travel to your physical store, such as customers who live in other countries.
Save cash on exchange rates
If you’ve spent any time abroad, you know foreign exchange (FOREX) can end up costing a lot. Whether you’re converting dollars or cashing traveller’s checks, you can end up losing a significant amount of money during the exchange processes. It can be even more confusing once you start juggling the buyer-seller margins at FOREX bureaus.
When you sell online, you can price your rates in your own currency, and the merchant processor will deal with the currency conversions. They generally charge no fee for changing currencies, so both you and your customers and up spending less.
Complete transactions faster
When customers are making a purchase in a physical store, it can take a while. They have to walk around, exploring what’s available, scouting for a sale, maybe trying out different styles and colors. Often, a customer doesn’t know what they want until they see it. Once they’ve settled on an item, they have to pay in cash and wait for change, or swipe their card.
Sometimes, they have to wait in line to make their purchase. Then their item has to be packed and carried to the car. Online transactions are different. Card processing is instant, there are no lines or loose change, and because the customer simply clicks and leaves, they won’t have to wait around while their purchase is packaged. They can sit back or go engage in another activity until their delivery arrives.
Reach customers in distant locations
Physical store fronts are limited to customers that can get to your premises during open hours. If they live in another county or have traveled away from your area, they can’t access their favorite products or services. E-commerce lets your customers buy from you, no matter where they are.
Even if they prefer to come over physically, it has one added benefit. These distant customers can browse the online store to see what’s available, so that when they do get to the shop, their buying process will be faster. This can earn you extra sales, because you’ll gather consumers who wouldn’t otherwise have made the trip. It’s also easier to highlight seasonal sales and discounts to boost volume.
For more information about the benefits of selling online, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.