By Eric Brown
Mobile One Courier & Logistics
Consumer buying behavior is changing as an increasing number of consumers take advantage of online shopping opportunities. New online sales records were set in December 2009, and eBay now refers to the second Monday in December as “Green Monday.” Americans are leading busy lives, and online shopping offers a convenience not always available through more traditional sales from brick-and-mortar businesses.
As a result of our economic climate and changing trends in buying behavior, traditional companies are reevaluating their sales and growth strategies. Alternatives such as e-commerce can offer new avenues to sell products that can complement or revitalize a variety of businesses.
Some manufacturers find their market share decreasing due to the economy and many retailers are closing their stores. With fewer retailers or distributors selling their products, offering another venue to sell the products online will help businesses maintain sales and awareness for their products. Additionally, retailers are keeping fewer products on hand to keep costs down; however, this can cause delivery delays and cause the consumer to look elsewhere.
The most common strategy manufacturers employ is selling the product online at the suggested retail price rather than the street or actual price to avoid competing directly with their distributors and retailers.
E-commerce also offers the opportunity for manufacturers to expand globally. For example, a company that sells products such as beach apparel or pool toys normally would have only one season if its market is limited to domestic consumers, but by broadening its business to include markets in other parts of the world, the company could substantially increase sales throughout the year.
Local retailers increasingly see the opportunity to strengthen relationships with their customers by selling to them online, too. If a customer purchases a product at a store and later wants to make an additional purchase, the ability to buy online from his or her favored retailer offers convenience. Some customers want to continue purchasing from a preferred local retailer even while on vacation, deployed, or relocated to another area, and offering online sales supports such buying behavior. In a community like Hampton Roads, which includes a large transitory population, such availability will enable a business to maintain sales to existing customers, and ideally, as those customers relocate, their word of mouth about the business’s excellent service and merchandise will bring new clients from other regions.
Catalogs have long been a staple of sales and marketing. At one time, customers would fax, phone, or mail in an order for a product, but of course internet and online sales have changed all that. While some people still phone orders in, it is much more common that orders are placed online after viewing a print catalog. Many consumers browse online catalogs, but often receiving those easy-to-browse print catalogs in the mail is what spurs people to begin their online shopping.
Other businesses that organize seminars or fundraising events will find that requiring participants to register online reduces costs by minimizing the expense of printing and mailing forms as well as offering customers a speedy registration and confirmation process. With the right software, the cost of managing registrant information can also be improved.
Network marketing companies allow individuals to earn an income while working from home. Almost all new companies of this type sell products primarily online. This enables the distributor to sell products directly and build their organization without having to deal with the same logistical and financial issues faced by a more traditional type of business.
Eric Brown is a CEO of Mobile One Courier & Logistics as well as fulfilltopia.com. Email him at eri (dot) brown (at) mobileonecourier (dot) com or call him at 757-449-5013.
