A common mistake of anyone who proposes to talk about what e-commerce is to say that it only takes place via the Internet.
Well, catapult revenue can say that the scenario is favorable. To illustrate, according to the 39th edition of the Web Shoppers report, electronic commerce grew in all regions of the world in 2018; check; check out:
- Asia-Pacific: + 30.3%
- Central and Eastern Europe: + 20.6%
- Africa and Middle East: + 22.6%
- Latin America: + 17.9%
- North America: + 16.5%
- Western Europe: + 11.6%
As you can see, there is no more fool in the world when it comes to the e-commerce sector.
Electronic Trade: Advantages And Disadvantages
However, even though e-commerce is booming across the globe, it does have some disadvantages (as well as anything in life). In e-commerce, you need to protect the consumer who visits your virtual store.
Disadvantages Of E-Commerce
There are, for example, disadvantages of e-commerce:
The risk of fraud: Cybercriminals can steal passwords and personal data from consumers, which can harm your customers and your brand reputation. So, once you join e-commerce, you’ll have to be on your guard. Therefore, it will be necessary to invest in a secure e-commerce platform and complementary security systems and protocols such as SSL, for example, among others.
The lack of tangibility: When buying in a virtual store, the customer cannot touch, feel or try a product. People often count on luck when they buy pants or a shirt online, for example. Therefore, to correct this problem, you need to offer online and offline resources that facilitate the purchase and exchanges, and returns.
Advantages Of E-Commerce
Fortunately, in e-commerce, the disadvantages are in the minority. Among the advantages of e-commerce, I can mention, for example:
- The potential to make sales 24 hours a day automatically
- The chance to make sales via desktops, notebooks, and even smartphones
- The possibility of integrating physical and virtual store to boost sales
- The ease of publicizing the online store through Digital Marketing campaigns
- The convenience to capture, activate, reactivate and retain customers online with E-mail Marketing
- The ability to sell in the city, in the state, in the country, and outside (without geographic limits)
- The low investment cost compared to a physical store
- Low operating cost (the online store sells itself and thus does not require many salespeople)
- In addition, when using a cloud commerce platform, you will be able to operate your virtual store from anywhere with internet access.