There doesn’t seem to be any slowdown in sight when it comes to the rapid and continued growth in the e-commerce online economy over the last few years.
Many wonder how the thriving online economy took off so quickly. In fact, there is a variety of different reasons and factors that have come together to lead to the astounding growth.
The following are five big reasons why the online economy has thrived in recent years and continues to grow:
Convenience of ordering online
From the customer point-of-view, the attraction of using e-commerce is obvious. Purchases can be made from the comfort of a customer’s own home, through the safety and security of reliable merchant processing solutions, without a word spoken or step taken. From there, the product can be shipped directly to the customer’s home.
It’s also hugely advantageous that customers typically don’t have to worry as much about whether a particular product will be in stock or not when they order from an e-commerce site. It’s more difficult for retailers to keep product in stock in various physical brick and mortar stores than it is to keep product in stock in one central location from which e-commerce orders are shipped out.
Affordability of ordering online
In addition to all the convenience advantages of ordering online and e-commerce, prices tend to be lower on the web compared to in a physical store location. There are fewer overhead costs for an e-commerce business than there are for retail stores. Overhead costs include shipping product to the actual physical location, paying for labor so that the product can be displayed, and paying for sales staff to staff the retail store. This means that customers of e-commerce stores enjoy lower prices and don’t have to pay more for each individual item to cover all those overhead costs.
Benefits of dropshipping
E-commerce businesses can benefit enormously from being able to dropship items. Dropshipping means sending items out directly from suppliers rather than having to order from the supplier and keep inventory in stock at their own location. Dropshipping is often faster than traditional shipping because orders can be processed so simply. When dropshipping is used, the e-commerce retailer doesn’t have to touch or package the item at all. This means a lot fewer headaches and much more practical system that still involves products and satisfied customers.
Ease of payment processing via the internet
It’s so easy nowadays to process payments over the internet. In fact, it’s often even easier to pay online than it is to make a payment at a physical retail store. E-commerce retailers have a variety of different options from among which they can choose when it comes to deciding how they’re going to process payments from credit card companies. The convenience of the technologies involved has allowed e-commerce stores in all industries to flourish. It has also made this simple and straightforward for the customer.
An increasingly global economy
The internet has made the economy more global and has created a situation where diverse products are available in areas and even countries where they may not have been available before. E-commerce makes it so that product can be shipped at least nationwide but often also around the globe.
The Internet has increased the availability of information regarding products. Customers go on the Internet and see product that they may have never seen at a local retailer before but know they want. This means that they’ll track down an e-commerce retailer who supplies it and make a purchase.
