From storefront to home pages: Business transition in the digital era

Thinking about transitioning your shopfront into the digital sphere? If you’re ready to increase your business, expand your audience and have the added luxury of revamping your look, this is a smart move.

With the vast majority of consumers going online to do their purchasing research, taking your business online can offer you a world of added benefits – including increased revenue, lower operational costs and greater opportunity for customer retention.

Here’s what you need to consider before making the move.

Finding the right online selling platform

Before transitioning your shopfront into the online world, you first need to do your research into what kind of online selling platform you want to use. As your digital storefront, you will want something that clearly displays your product or service in a visually appealing way, while providing valuable insight on your business performance.

Selecting the right platform for your needs will serve as the backbone of your online store, so spend time looking at different platforms and what they offer. If you already have a website, you may consider a plugin or payment system add-on that enables you to take and process orders.

Additionally, make sure your online selling platform encompasses responsive design. With the majority of online shoppers using mobiles for their purchasing journey, it’s essential that your platform is mobile friendly. Testing and retesting is a must.

The right time to transition your shopfront

Transitioning your business from a storefront to an online environment seems like it should be quick and easy. However, as with any business strategy, it’s important to plan accordingly.

Take time to consider the resources and overall investment you need in order to transition. From sourcing shipping and fulfilment through to eCommerce for online payments, building your online business takes time. Keep your shopfront open while you work online behind the scenes until you are fully prepared to take the leap.

Streamlining your customer purchase experience

Store fronts rely heavily on customer interaction – think about the last negative experience you had when in a store. From inattentiveness to rudeness, cleanliness and approachability, there are a variety of factors that can determine your choice to return or spread the word to others on your personal experience.

Concurrently, while the customer purchase experience is just as important online, it mainly relies around two main aspects: being secure and streamlined. Customers want the security of knowing their personal information is being kept safe and private. When making the transition to online business, invest in a secure online payment platform. Not only does this provide security for your customer, but also ensures all private information that is yours (and obtained by your store) adheres to the highest measures of cybersecurity and privacy.

When it comes to streamlining your online business, keep your path to payment simple. While suggested items, add-ons and 2 for 1 discounts can be valuable assets to incorporate into your purchasing journey, too many options at once can be overwhelming and dissuade a potential customer from completing their order. Instead, consider offering a mailing list to nurture customers and increase the likelihood of continued purchasing.

Want to learn more about how to grow your online business? Download our ‘how-to’ guide which outlines 3 growth hacking strategies including how to choose the best eCommerce platform, choosing a payment provider, and how to get traffic to your website to make sales.

eWAY processes payments for over 26,000 businesses nationwide. With over 250 shopping cart and software integrations, connecting eWAY to your online store is simple! Whether you need an all-in-one solution or a payment gateway, we have a solution to suit your business needs. Enquire now.