When a company wants to start an online store, whether it be a small retail shop, or a manufacturer, there are many options to choose from. A quick google search will turn up dozens of companies that will allow you to quickly build and launch an online store, some in under and hour. Lets discuss some of the reasons that this can easily become a trap and kill your sales before you even get started.
Many people believe that the hardest part to launching a web based store is to build the site and get everything up and running. Using a hosted provider seems like a quick and easy way to start a store, avoid a long and sometimes expensive design process with a developer, and to start making money right away. I have heard many stories and read countless blogs of people who had aspirations of hitting the online market big, as their idea was sure win. These companies do not publish numbers, but I am sure the percentage of stores that close shop after 60-90 days is quite substantial. There are several reasons for this rise quick and fall quicker online tailspin.
Death by Product Drowning
A retail store, especially in the clothing or fashion industry often carries thousands of different items or skus. While looking good on a retail floor, a poorly managed E-commerce site with thousands of products makes navigation and the user experience and your customers will notice. Even with a good organizational system in place, adding thousands of skus, photos, descriptions, and prices, can eat up a significant amount of time and resources. The solution of course is to used a managed deployment of your products and or services. The key is to understand both your customer and the market your business is in to determine which products are going to be the best products to sell. This managed approach often includes, Competitor analysis, price and profit margins, and longevity. There is nothing worse then paying an employee for 60 hours of product data entry, only to realize that 2 weeks later you can no longer source or supply the products.
Be sure to check back next week as we go into more detail on the pitfalls a new online business can face and how to overcome them.