For many small businesses or top app development companies in USA with brick and mortar establishment, exploring the potentials of e-commerce may seem enticing, and many even venture into it without a proper understanding of the concept and its pros and cons. Here is a vital guide to the advantages and disadvantages of employing e-commerce for Android device marketing.
But before getting into the pros and cons it is essential to get an understanding of what e-commerce is. E-commerce describes any form of business where the buying and selling occur online. There are millions of e-commerce outfits spread across the web currently, but in the early days of the digital era, Amazon and eBay were the most dominant retailers on the web.
The market for e-commerce has grown tremendously since the early days of Amazon and eBay. According to one research, 96% of Americans were found to do their shopping online or consider online shopping as an essential aspect of their purchasing character. The astronomical rise in online shopping can be attributed to a couple of factors, one of which is the increase in technology which supports shopping online. Others include a growing reliance on the flexibility that mobile devices, particularly Android, offers and the society’s desire for convenience in completing day to day activities.
E-commerce makes online shopping wonderful. With just a click of the mouse or the tap of a button, you can purchase any product you desire, and it could be delivered directly to your doorstep. No wonder the e-commerce market is valued at billions of dollars and projected to rise even higher in the foreseeable future. Although e-commerce might seem like a lucrative venture, there are rules that guide it. It has its strength and weakness. It is important that any business or top app development companies considering e-commerce is fully aware of all these.
Below are 6 pros and cons of e-commerce for Android marketing.
1. YOU WILL REACH MORE CUSTOMERS:
This is the number one advantage of e-commerce not just for top app development companies but across all niche of business. When it comes to traditional marketing using brick and mortar establishment, you can only market to people within your vicinity or people who are traveling or passing by. But for e-commerce, you are not limited by geography. E-commerce allows you to market and sells to anyone in any part of the globe, as long as you can ship the product to them.
E-commerce tremendously increases your customer base. Several surveys have revealed that businesses that venture into e-commerce record an increase in their customer base as well as a measurable increase in their revenue.
2. YOU ARE ALWAYS OPEN:
This is another tremendous pro of e-commerce for top app development companies, there is no closing time for your e-commerce store. A customer at 3 am can browse the web for a product, visit your site, and make an instant purchase. As the business owner or app developer, you have succeeded in selling your product without actually paying anyone to have it open for the entire day and night.
3. LESSER COST:
This is obtainable both on the supply and demand side. For the business owner or app developer, he does not have to spend so much paying staff to manage the store and run the registers. When it comes to e-commerce everything is automated. And on the demand side, customers do not need to physically drive or walk down to your store to make a purchase, everything can be done from the comfort of their home.
Adding an e-commerce branch to your established brick and mortar outfit seems like a very good idea. But just like everything in life, there are disadvantages.
Below are some of the disadvantages of e-commerce for top app development companies.
1. SECURITY CONCERNS:
This is about the number one disadvantage of e-commerce. Many people are reluctant to release their credit and debit card details to online sources and for good reasons. The truth is, instances of online fraud and scam has grown with the rise of e-commerce. There are many cases where innocent shoppers have been robbed of a substantial amount of their wealth. This has prompted many online merchants to adopt tougher security system and encrypted software to guard against fraud.
2. LACK OF ONE-ON-ONE ENGAGEMENT WITH CUSTOMERS:
Brick and mortar outfit may have its own weaknesses but you can’t replace the personal one-on-one experience it gives to top app development companies and their customers. Personal engagement and interaction with customers is something that is highly essential in marketing. On the demand side, your ability to speak with the app developer or sale assistant offers more guide than reading review and product description on a screen. The inability of top app development companies to communicate one-on-one with potential customers is one of the biggest losses associated with the rise in e-commerce in the app industry.
The inadequacy of information is another issue associated with e-commerce. Of course, electronic stores will give product information, there is still other information that is important to the shopper which an electronic store cannot provide.
3. ADDED COST:
The cost of opening, designing and maintaining an online store may not be as much as renting and managing a physical store, but the financial and intangible cost can build up over time. The business owner or top app development companies will have to spare some extra hours setting up and managing the site. This would add to a potentially filled plate. Alternatively, he will have to outsource it to an expert in digital marketing and technology who can ensure you reap the full benefit of online trading.
Although there are website building software that can assist just about anyone to build an average website, technology can still be a hindrance for many people in the running of an e-commerce store.
Before making a final decision on whether to include an e-commerce store to your overall business consider your business goals and how relevant an e-store will be to the realization of these goals. There are no definite right or wrong choices when it comes to deciding the future of your business, every action has its pros and cons. You just need to consider your company’s goals, business plan and the relevance of adding this sector to your already established business, and then decide if you need it or not.
Author Bio: Kenneth Evans is a Content Marketing Strategist for Top App Development Companies, a research platform for top app development companies in the world. He has been contributing to various blogging platforms and Forums.
