Why Many Businesses Are Closing Their Doors & Going Online
More and more brick and mortar businesses are going online but an interesting trend shows that they are also closing their doors to their brick and mortar stores. Convenience of working from home and lower costs to provide goods and services are a huge reason this is happening.
Reasons Brick & Mortar Stores Are Being Replaced With Online Stores
Lower overhead costs
Lower Labor Costs-Products and services can be sold online with less overhead costs than brick and mortar stores because brick and mortar stores require higher labor costs for cashiers, stockers, managers, etc. This is great for businesses but not so great for unskilled workers who have no computer experience. Online stores are hiring employee's to monitor their social networking pages, marketing strategy experts, and utilizing automated data to keep track of sales, inventory, invoices, and payroll. This means less employees are needed to sell products or services which results in lower labor costs due to fewer employee's but there will be higher pay wages for those marketers, social network monitors, customer service representatives to chat online to resolve customer issues, website builders that keep the online stores going.
Lower Utility Usage and Costs-Running an online store means using less electric, gas, water, and other utilities to maintain and operate a business. This will save energy costs and help to conserve our natural resources.
Less overhead costs means goods and services can be offered at a cheaper price, however, the cost of shipping and handling products needs to be added to overhead costs.
Lower Employee Training Costs-Employee applications, training videos, testing, and interviews can be set up on a intranet site or a website with a password that only employees are allowed to have so the general public does not have access.
Less Safety Issues & Law Suits-Online stores have zero safety issues with customers falling or injuring themselves while in their store and less employee safety issues as well.
Convenience for businesses and customers
For business-Business owners and employees can work from home which will save money on gas, vehicle maintenance, child care costs, will result in less missed days of work for employee's and reduce the chances of work related safety issues and injuries. Less vehicles on the road means less pollution going into our environment. Businesses which manufacture products can sell them directly with no middle man sales costs by building a website of their own or having one built for them, using Google for Business to advertise their online business, sell products on Amazon, Ebay, Paypal, etc.
For customers-Customers can visit the business website, order, pay, and chat with a customer service representative. Products, goods, and services can be delivered right away online or delivered to the customers home. Returns can be done online where customers can send a photo and description of a product they are not satisfied with. This means happier satisfied customers because they get what they want and it is much more convenient for customers because they do not have to pay travel expenses to get to and from a brick and mortar store, no waiting in lines to check out, and they can see what the product looks like, read other customer product reviews and videos before making a purchase.
Lower Labor Costs-Products and services can be sold online with less overhead costs than brick and mortar stores because brick and mortar stores require higher labor costs for cashiers, stockers, managers, etc. This is great for businesses but not so great for unskilled workers who have no computer experience. Online stores are hiring employee's to monitor their social networking pages, marketing strategy experts, and utilizing automated data to keep track of sales, inventory, invoices, and payroll. This means less employees are needed to sell products or services which results in lower labor costs due to fewer employee's but there will be higher pay wages for those marketers, social network monitors, customer service representatives to chat online to resolve customer issues, website builders that keep the online stores going.
Lower Utility Usage and Costs-Running an online store means using less electric, gas, water, and other utilities to maintain and operate a business. This will save energy costs and help to conserve our natural resources.
Less overhead costs means goods and services can be offered at a cheaper price, however, the cost of shipping and handling products needs to be added to overhead costs.
Lower Employee Training Costs-Employee applications, training videos, testing, and interviews can be set up on a intranet site or a website with a password that only employees are allowed to have so the general public does not have access.
Less Safety Issues & Law Suits-Online stores have zero safety issues with customers falling or injuring themselves while in their store and less employee safety issues as well.
Convenience for businesses and customers
For business-Business owners and employees can work from home which will save money on gas, vehicle maintenance, child care costs, will result in less missed days of work for employee's and reduce the chances of work related safety issues and injuries. Less vehicles on the road means less pollution going into our environment. Businesses which manufacture products can sell them directly with no middle man sales costs by building a website of their own or having one built for them, using Google for Business to advertise their online business, sell products on Amazon, Ebay, Paypal, etc.
For customers-Customers can visit the business website, order, pay, and chat with a customer service representative. Products, goods, and services can be delivered right away online or delivered to the customers home. Returns can be done online where customers can send a photo and description of a product they are not satisfied with. This means happier satisfied customers because they get what they want and it is much more convenient for customers because they do not have to pay travel expenses to get to and from a brick and mortar store, no waiting in lines to check out, and they can see what the product looks like, read other customer product reviews and videos before making a purchase.
More Benefits of operating an online store
Generating Ad Revenue-When operating an online store the business owner can take advantage of Affiliate Ad programs such as Google Adsense, Amazon Affiliate, Cafepress, etc. This will generate advertisements for other products on other websites (possibly the business owners competitors) but it will also generate additional income and give customers other options to purchase.
Easier to Keep an Eye on Your Competition-There is alot of competition out there but it is now easier than ever to see what they are up to. You can simply create a Google Alert for a particular business and they will notify you when something important comes up pertaining to it, or you can subscribe to your competitors website and they will send you emails telling you about their most recent sales and activities.
Lower start up costs-Starting a business online is much cheaper than starting an actual brick and mortar business. All you need is a good computer and a little bit of website know how. If you know how to upload a photo, copy and paste, and type words, you can build your own website. Website host providers generally give you plenty of tutorials and videos which explain step by step on how to do it. If you are unsure about it you can always hire someone to build a website for you.
Lower advertising costs-You can hire a marketing company to advertise your online business or you can utilize social networks and online business resources too, such as Google Adwords. Getting your business noticed by popular websites and bloggers is a great way to get some free advertisement too. (See How to Get Free Advertisement)
Less equipment to buy-You won't need cash registers, counters, shelving, machinery, etc. when operating an online business. Your goods and services go directly from the manufacturer to the customer. This saves the business owner money which can translate to lower costs to the customer and higher profit margins for the business owners.
By Rev. Penny Dean
April 29, 2018
See more below...
Easier to Keep an Eye on Your Competition-There is alot of competition out there but it is now easier than ever to see what they are up to. You can simply create a Google Alert for a particular business and they will notify you when something important comes up pertaining to it, or you can subscribe to your competitors website and they will send you emails telling you about their most recent sales and activities.
Lower start up costs-Starting a business online is much cheaper than starting an actual brick and mortar business. All you need is a good computer and a little bit of website know how. If you know how to upload a photo, copy and paste, and type words, you can build your own website. Website host providers generally give you plenty of tutorials and videos which explain step by step on how to do it. If you are unsure about it you can always hire someone to build a website for you.
Lower advertising costs-You can hire a marketing company to advertise your online business or you can utilize social networks and online business resources too, such as Google Adwords. Getting your business noticed by popular websites and bloggers is a great way to get some free advertisement too. (See How to Get Free Advertisement)
Less equipment to buy-You won't need cash registers, counters, shelving, machinery, etc. when operating an online business. Your goods and services go directly from the manufacturer to the customer. This saves the business owner money which can translate to lower costs to the customer and higher profit margins for the business owners.
By Rev. Penny Dean
April 29, 2018
See more below...
Rev. Penny Dean was recognized as a Top Ranked U.S. Executive by the National Council of American Executives.
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Home/Privacy Policy/ Mission statement/Terms of Use/Disclaimer/Become a Member/How to Start Your Own Business/Marketing Your Business/How to Use Social Media for Business/How to Get Business Loans/How to Get Business Grants/Other Websites by Rev. Penny Dean.
This website created by Rev. Penny Dean
Contact Us: [email protected]