Small Online Retailer Revenues Rising
If you’re still heavily dependent on the brick-and-mortar side of your business, this is the time to consider going online to expand your customer base and increase profitability. This might also be the perfect time to reboot your brand or even reposition your entire business.
Based in the article from New York Times, Forrester Research estimates that about 45% of the projected $26 billion sales from Internet retailers will go to small online retailers. This percentage is up by 3 points compared last year.
According to eBay, nearly 650,000 small businesses in the United States have an online presence, a sizable figure but a tiny fraction of the 7.5 million companies that the Kelsey Group estimates market most of their goods directly to consumers. Many of the holdouts have resisted the Web because they deem the transition to be too difficult, too expensive or both. But now, Yahoo Stores, ProStores from eBay, NetSuite and other companies that help businesses operate online hope to change the minds of the hesitant with software and services that are cheaper and easier to use.
Another major factor is the growing preference of consumers to search for products or services using local elements like name of the city or state. For instance, search engine searches shifted from “pet shops” to “pet shops Alhambra”.
Look beyond your current business practices and embrace new technologies to enhance your competitiveness and marketing relevance to your target market.
Via DM News
