E-commerce has been growing faster and faster with every year, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The way we do shopping has changed, we start preferring online stores over conventional store for their convenience and ease of use. In 2022, the e-commerce industry had a big growth spur, and is expected to continue to grow even more in 2023. In this article, I will show you how much e-commerce expanded in 2022, what you can expect concerning the demand in online-shopping in 2023 and finally you will discover the features of the WebstoreTM product. If you were thinking about starting your own business, read ahead!
How e-commerce grew this year
Internet usage in Canada has been increasing every year. Among other uses, people also benefit from the internet to make online purchases, which is why the e-commerce industry has been growing every single year since 2017. In this year, the people who shop online formed about ¾ of the Canadian population, and their number is expected to grow even more, reaching 77.6 percent by next 5 years. The online stores with the biggest revenue in this year were the following: Amazon, Walmart, and Home-Depot. Together, these businesses make up 40% of the online revenue in Canada. What is common between these three companies is that they all have developed their brand’s name. When you hear the name “Amazon”, for example, you do not think of the thousands of sellers that use this platform. This is because a seller, by using Amazon, are simply blending in with every other seller on the website. That way, the seller will be unable to grow his own brand and customer loyalty will be non-existent. However, Amazon’s brand on the other hand will continue to grow more and more and gets the big money. Don’t make the same mistake as the business owners selling their products on Amazon and learn how to create your own brand right from the start.
Demand for e-commerce in next year
There is no question about it: e-commerce is growing and will continue to grow as long as the internet exists! So if you are planning on starting a business, rest assured, the demand for e-commerce is present. Currently, the areas of products that are leaders in online sales are the following: electronics, fashion, and furniture. However, food, beverages, and healthcare also have been selling online. As business owner Sawn Lipman said, “All the social channels are becoming ecommerce channels”. Think to yourself, when you browse Instagram or Pinterest and like an item, there is often the option to click on the picture and the given social media finds the item for you, you can simply follow the link to buy it. This makes social media websites just like any another online store. Because of technological advancements and people’s new habits, e-commerce is bound to grow.
WebstoreTM
WebstoreTM is an entirely customizable and functional online store that could become yours and allow you to grow your brand instead of blending in with other sellers. I will now explain to you all the features you get with this product and show you why it is the right choice for you!
Free Domain and Branded Email Accounts
By free domain, we mean that you are getting a free URL for your store. By having a domain name, clients can access your specific store by simply entering your website’s URL, which will most likely contain your company’s name. You will also get a branded email account, or accounts, depending on your plan, that will look something like this: yourname@yourcompanyname.org. A branded email account is an extremely important feature, since it makes people trust your company so much more. It is important to realize that when a client receives an email, and sees some generic extension, often times the trust vanishes and your email ends up in the trash or spam. However, when a client sees your company’s name as an extension, the doubts that you might be a scammer are greatly reduced.
Showcase your products and services
As with any online store, the showcasing of your product is the most important part. If the way you show your products to the user is annoying or inconvenient, the user will most likely never visit your page again. This is why in our website, the display of the products is made to be extremely easy to navigate for the user. All products are clearly separated from one another, the price and quantity available is displayed and you can scroll through product’s images without having to click on in and being brought to a new page.
Horizontal banners
Horizontal banners at the top of your website are an extremely useful tool. If you look at any successful business’s online shop, you will see these eye-catching banners at the top of the home page. They allow you to build brand awareness, display store-wide discounts or promotions, highlight your new arrivals, drive engagement and interaction, and they hook the customers. If you think about it, your horizontal banner can be compared to a store window display in a physical store. Overall, this feature is one of the most important tools on your website.
Product Display
You can be in control of how you display your products with WebStore. This is possible because you can:
- Add detailed product descriptions that provide all relevant information for each item.
- Choose high-definition images that show your items in the best light, and you decide how many images you can add.
- Set the prices as you wish, in different currencies of your choice and make sure your prices stay consistent for the best client experience. The clients can also easily change between currencies, depending on what are the ones you offer.
- Manage your inventory by displaying the quantities available for each product. When the quantities are low, it gives the potential buyer a sense of urgency to buy your product.
- Add a user search: make it easy for people visiting your business to find an item. This helps people find what they need and leave your website satisfied.
Shopping Cart and Recommended Items
The shopping cart is where the users make their final decisions about what to buy and what not to buy. This is why the recommended items feature is so important - it lets you give final suggestions to your clients and make even more sales.
Merchant account
Your merchant account is what will allow you to easily add and edit products, whether it be adding new pictures, or updating the descriptions. It will also provide you with tools for managing orders, such as processing payments, handling returns and refunds, as well as calculating shipping costs. The good thing is that you will be free to choose any available shipping carrier you like. It is also through your merchant account that you will manage discounts and promo codes you created. You will also be able to fully customize the theme of your store and choose the store background theme that best suits your brand’s aesthetic. An important feature of the merchant account is that it also allows you to view your store’s analytics such as stats, reports, and insights. Overall, the merchant account will be your best friend through the growth of your online store.
Integration to Payment System Provider
WebstoreTM has integration to a payment system provider with the use of an application, which will allow you to accept payments and file refunds. This will increase security, since by integrating with a payment system provider you can accept payment option such as credit cards.
Order management with reports
To be able to view and manage orders as well as reports is a vital feature for your e-commerce store. This feature also allows you to track what are the orders you have received payment for already and what are the ones that are still processing.
Customer Reviews
Our online store will allow your customers to post reviews and opinions on the products they buy. Rest assured, you will be safe from internet trolls that leave bad reviews for no reason, since we have a review management system that allows you to choose to keep only the most accurate reviews and prevent you from damaging your business’s reputation.
Guidance and Customer Support
We believe that customer support is one of the most important aspects of owning a business. Our WebStoreTM offers the option of an online chat that connects the customer to a real employee. This allows you to directly help and lead your customers leaving them happy and satisfied. However, you yourself will also receive all the guidance and customer support you need throughout your journey from us.
Security
When it comes to making purchases online, cyber and data security is an extremely important factor. One of the biggest challenges for e-commerce business owners is security breaches. Your customers will be entering sensitive data when making a purchase, so it is vital to complete online identity verification, and we do the most to make sure that data stays safe with an SSL certificate, back-end data encryption, and a secured hosting environment.
System Reliability
Your online store will have 99% of up time with WebStoreTM. It allows you to not worry about your store breaking down and being unusable for a certain amount of time.
Hopefully, I cleared some of your worries and answered your questions in this article. If you have any other concerns, feel free to reach out to us and we will answer any of your remaining questions!
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