An Online Store vs A Retail Store – Which one?

An Online Store vs A Retail Store – Which One?

It doesn’t matter how you started out with your business, it is simply important how to decide whether an online store vs a retail store might be the way to go or vice versa. Both types of stores have their advantages and disadvantages no matter what you are marketing. All the factors like:

• product or products
• delivery times
• transportation costs
• availability of the product
• market demand

which will play a major role in your decision as well. 

When embarking on the launch of a physical store, remember to conduct some market research to ensure that the products you offer are a viable proposition. Also, make sure you have all the required equipment, such as barcode scanning software and other methods of monitoring stock and making payments, so you can run your business efficiently from the word go. Follow this advice and you can avoid the pitfalls that many stumble over when launching a physical store.

Let’s see what this contributed article has to say to help in your decision-making on whether an online store vs a retail store is the better choice for your business.

From E-Store To Physical Shop: The Pitfalls To Avoid

If you started out simply selling a few of your wares on eBay only to realize that you may have a money making business on your hands, you’re not alone. Thousands of people each year are choosing to forego their full-time jobs to embark on a career in e-commerce. A lot are choosing an online store vs a retail store.

Specialized e-stores range from the selling of vintage and retro Scandinavian furniture to importing a niche type of ball bearing from China and selling it to hydraulics companies and plumbing professionals across the United States. If you can find a successful market to tap into, you could find yourself with a winning business idea.

However, what happens when an e-store isn’t enough? Take a look at the pitfalls to avoid should you ever want to set up shop in your locality.

Marketing

It’s important that you understand that you are now tapping into a local market rather than a national one. What sells across the Eastern seaboard may not go down as well in downtown Dayton in Ohio. Nevertheless, you should be using your online presence to market and launch your new physical store.

Don’t simply open up without a mention of it online. Utilize your social media to generate an online buzz about your new shop. Initiate a countdown and offer discounts to those followers who will retweet your mini-marketing campaign. With minimal effort and no financial outlay, you could get the word out that your physical store will be launching imminently.

Frontage

As with your online presence, you need your physical store to emulate your brand. If you are selling musical instruments such as drum kits, electric guitars and edgy rock sheet music, don’t have your base located in a family suburb. You need to be downtown in the midst of the action. Try to position your store near a music venue and close to where the young hipster-type folk frequent.

Make your store stand out. By reading LED signs: the definitive guide, you’ll discover how you can use this form of advertising to display the branding of your company on your shop front. These sorts of signs are way more engaging and exciting than the usual static frontages you see and could attract potential customers through your door.

Start Small

Remember that your main success is online so you don’t want to neglect this side of your business for the physical venture. Begin by leasing premises rather than purchasing. This way, if the physical shop isn’t doing so well or you want to revert to a wholly online business, you can do so with relative ease. Don’t be tied to a contract and start with relatively small premises. There’s nothing worse than wasted square footage as this only means wasted fees spent on rent.

When embarking on the launch of a physical store, remember to conduct some market research to ensure that the products you offer are a viable proposition. Follow this advice and you can avoid the pitfalls that many stumble over when launching a physical store.

My Final Thoughts On An Online Store vs A Retail Store!

Ultimately, as a business owner, you have to choose the most viable option for your business needs, whether it is an online store vs a retail store. Even if sometimes you might think that your growth may dictate your final decision; you need to have all the ‘bases’ covered so that your business does not have a ‘downward spiral’ effect vs the upward profitable effect you seek for sustainability.

Do your research well as this is the only fact that will help you make an informed decision either way!

All the best.

Images courtesy of Pixabay and Pexels.

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