Nowadays we hear more and more often about online commerce or ecommerce. business. But what does it refer to in reality? E-commerce refers the flow of buying/selling digital or physical products through electronic devices. To be more precise, e-commerce refers to both online commerce and electronic transactions. It’s often identified as business- to-consumer (B2C) business model, but this would be too limiting. in fact, in the definition of e-commerce, we can include other business to business (B2B) transactions such as auction sites, internet banking websites, travel agencies and so on.
Introduction
By the end of 2022 experts believe that ecommerce business will have reached a total of over $900 billion in sales. Granted, the Covid-19 pandemic has played a part in the surge in online shopping over the past year but eCommerce has been growing steadily growing since its inception. Most people aren’t aware that the concept of online shopping was invented back in 1979. Of course, it looked nothing like the modern concept of ecommerces. Most people consider it synonymous with best ecommerce business such as eBay and Amazon, both of which launched in 1995. Amazon, in particular, has come a monumentally long way since then, recently becoming the number one retailer in the world outside of China. Jeff Bezos’s online juggernaut trailed behind Wal-Mart for years but finally overtook them in 2020-2021, raking in $610 billion over the brick-and-mortar chain’s $566 billion.
What’s even more impressive is that Amazon’s net revenue was less than $200 billion in 2017. It was less than $100 billion in 2014. If you go back to 2004, their net income was $6.92 billion. Their income has grown by over $600 billion in less than two decades. If you want more proof that eCommerce business is the way of the future, look at the second-largest online retailer in the US: Wal-Mart.
Even though the long-fought Amazon/Wal-Mart battle was partly viewed as online retail vs traditional retail, Wal-Mart had to take to the Internet just to keep up their lead, which they lost eventually, anyway. If those numbers aren’t enough to convince you to digitize your business and start selling online, let’s look at a few of the benefits it offers over doing business offline.
Why Take Your Business Online?
Here you can find some of the pros of taking your business online.
Expand Your Reach with eCommerce Business
Even before the pandemic, many people chose to shop online even if they could do it locally. People like the convenience that eCommerce business offers; so when you’re thinking of expanding your reach, it’s not just about customers outside of your area; but also the ones nearby that prefer to shop online.
eCommerce Business Keeps Your Doors Open 24/7
One of the greatest things about having an online storefront is that you never have to close your doors. You don’t have to worry about hiring multiple employees to cover different shifts. Your online store can be open around the clock, even on holidays. Normal operating hours are a thing of the past.
Get With The Times
In conclusion, this article opened by calling eCommerce business as the future of retail. The numbers couldn’t be more clear. Many people consider online retailers to be the new normal; if your business doesn’t have an online presence, many potential customers might not even give you the time of day. They might view the lack of a website as a lack of credibility.
