When a business makes the jump from an online store to a brick and mortar shop, it’s a risky time. The outgoings of the business will go up dramatically, and there will be a lot of additional work to be done. This is a time that can render a business untenable, eventually leading to closure. But, you can avoid the risk altogether, and stick online. Of course, there are some obvious benefits to running a physical shop. But, there are benefits to sticking online as well. Let’s consider them.
- Cost
The price of running a website vs. a physical shop is vastly different. With a shop, you need to have staff, utilities, and, of course, rent. With a website, you have a one-off payment to have it built, and then you just have to pay for hosting. Obviously, this makes hosting a website much cheaper than a physical shop. Development can be expensive, but it’s unlikely to be as much as a year’s rent, wherever you are. You just need to find the help of an E-Commerce agency, who can get everything setup for you. If you’re an entrepreneur in today’s day and age, operating an online business can be the more affordable route to take, especially to get your business off the ground and making sales.
- Time
For a shop to be open every day of the week, someone needs to be working every day of the week. At the start of your business’ life, it will be hard to get staff in to do the work for you. This means that you’ll have to spend much of your time working in a store and not on your business. With an online store, you simply have to get it running, and then leave it. You only have to do additional work when orders come in. This is the difference between waiting all day for customers or working until you have a customer. Obviously, it’s always best to save time in business.
- Reach
A lot of companies will think that running a physical shop will give them a wider reach. But, this is untrue, at least when a business has been running for a bit of time. Near enough everyone has the Internet, which means that you have the potential to reach out to everyone, with a website. But, this is all about how you play your cards and handle business. A high street shop won’t need advertising to be found. Whereas, an online store may need all the help it can get. Just be aware that it’s easy to drive away customers if you’re too forceful.
- Appearances
A physical shop will always look nice for the first few weeks of running. But, as time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to keep everything sparkling. Of course, that’s why you clean. Why clean, when you don’t have to, though? A website’s appearance won’t change over time unless you want it to. And, when the time comes to renovate, you don’t need to close down your business until it’s ready.
Hopefully, this will help you to make the decision between a brick and mortar store and a website. Of course, physical shops will always have great benefits. It’s really all about finding out whether or not your business is ready to take the plunge.
