Is now the time to expand my operations online?
A big question for many business owners is whether to expand their operations online, enabling them to earn the title as a multi-channel retailer. There are risks in any business decision, and in this day and age businesses don’t have the large budgets they used to have. This is because of the dire situation the economy is in; so many business owners are putting this decision on hold until we start to see a recovery. But the data indicates that over the last 5 years there has been a 350% increase in online sales, and you begin to ask yourself – “maybe I have been wrong, maybe it’s time to make that move?”
The great thing about Britain’s high streets is that they’re full of small, medium and large businesses that have been going for many years, strong in their traditions, which really make it a vibrant place to shop. From the bakers, to the bathroom showrooms, to health shops and even the clothes shops, you really know a British high street when you see one. But the key for a business to staying on top is to follow the market trends, stay open minded and of course work as many sales channels as possible in relation to their business.
Moving online has never been a better move, just as IMRG's CEO, James Roper, comments:
"With multichannel retailers now accounting for two-thirds of the top 50 merchants, it is clear that those with both physical stores and an online presence are leading the growth in e-retail. This is also evidenced in the IMRG Capgemini E-retail Sales Index, where multichannel retailers are consistently outperforming their pureplay counterparts in terms of sales growth. Not surprisingly, fashion retailers continue to move up the Hot Shops List as clothing remains one of the fastest growing online sectors."
Read how UK `e-tail` or e-retail is set to double by 2020.
Some of us ask why and how has this internet boom happened? As with any high growth trends, it’s down to several factors:
1. The increased use of home broadband, now cheaper than ever.
2. The Increased cost of fuel and maintaining a vehicle, making shopping online a far cheaper option.
3. The increased cost of town centre rents for business owners, which has lead to a lot of business expanding their operations online.
4. The ease and cost effective solutions such as wysi for businesses to build a website.
wysi, the online solutions company, is dedicated to arming all businesses (small or large) with the right tools they need to compete in the online market place cost-effectively. We have a system that enables you to integrate your whole online solutions into one very easy to use HQ so you can keep on top of your online and offline operations.
As far as we are concerned, you are the experts in your market and we respect you for that. We are the experts in bringing your business to life online, suiting every requirement you may have. Our goal is to keep the small to large businesses in fighting form so that our traditional British high streets continue to thrive.
We offer a free consultation to evaluate your business. This enables us to bring together a proposal of exactly how we could integrate an online channel into your business.
So ask yourself – is now the time to take full advantage of the internet boom?
We think so, and we're here to support you every step of the way.
Call us now (free of charge from BT landlines) on 0845 003 8087 or fill in our quick contact form
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