E-Commerce Optionsfor Small Businesses

THREE MAIN MODELS

Which is right for your business?

➔Store + Shipping➔Store + Pickup➔Shipping Only

1. Store + Shipping

Retailer sells both through a brick-and-mortar storefront and

online channel.

You don’t need to sell ALL of your in-store products online. Think about:

● Only selling most popular items online (or heavily stocked products)

● Selling a custom/specialty line of products online to reach larger customer

base (You’ll compete less on price if the items aren’t available from many other sellers)

● Great way to expand offering with digital catalog. “We don’t have that in-

stock, but we can order it for you.”

+ +

1. Store + Shipping

Don’t forget to plan for all of the what-ifs of offering e-commerce as part of

your business:

● Storage costs of additional inventory

● Shipping methods and costs

● Vendor drop shipping

● Return policy

● Can your current staff handle order fulfillment or will you need to hire?

+ +

2. Store + Pickup

Retailer sells through a storefront and online channel, but

doesn’t ship. Offers in-store pickup or digital-only goods.

Things to consider:

● Provides customers online shopping opportunity without a lot of the

planning/execution

● No need to worry about shipping costs

● Increases store traffic and chances of additional purchases

● Digital options: sell gift cards or classes online that can be printed

+

3. Shipping Only

Retailer sells items only online and ships.

Things to consider:

● No storefront needed - low overhead costs

● Still need to consider storage costs or third-party fulfillment

● Need to compete more on originality than price

● Shipping and mail returns back in play

+

Shoppers who buy from

a business both in-store

and online have a 30%

higher lifetime value

than those who shop

using only one channel.

-- Google

Final Thoughts

Prepare for e-commerce by following these 4

steps:1. Define your business goals

2. Choose your e-commerce selling option

3. Establish policies & procedures (shipping, returns, etc.)

4. Create a budget

If you work through these steps and the numbers make sense,

you’re ready to try e-commerce as part of your strategy!

We know e-commerce.

EXPLORE OUR OPTIONS →