Should my business be selling online?

Is the future digital?

Over the past decade, we’ve witnessed the ongoing evolution of King Street as businesses great and small have had to react, adjust and drive business into new frontiers in the name of survival.  As rising overheads, increased online competition and decreasing high street footfall comes into play, many brick and mortar businesses have had to think smart and make big strategic decisions as a means of weathering the storm. 

At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, consumers who were then physically restricted to their homes, created a boom in e-commerce which caused artificial inflation greater than if the pandemic had never happened. During that time, as people across the world became increasingly accustomed to working from home, business owners globally too began to appreciate this powerful digital environment. 

Capitalising on this new way of working, shopping and living, many brands made the decision to close shops, translate traditional inventory-holding stores to experiential showroom concepts, and some even came to the realisation that they could do without physical premises altogether.

According to the latest UK statistics, approximately 74.3% of all UK citizens shop online, with 67% of UK online shopping purchases during the 3rd quarter of 2021 being by mobile phone.  We have no doubt that a physical shopfront for some businesses is absolutely essential - and of course plays a huge role in contributing to the wealth of our community as a whole. But it’s arguable that the forced era of change experienced over the last 29 months has in fact createdthe perfect storm in facilitating an argument for investing in your digital presence and perhaps, making your website your shop window.

Benefits to online payments:

1. 24/7 Accessibility: business isn’t limited to office hours,  your customers can find you and pay you at any time.  
2. Increases Audience: You aren’t limited to the size of your physical presence. Your business can be shared globally, payments can be made in multiple currencies, you decide who you wish to cater for and take payments accordingly. 
3. Reduces Overheads: From storage and staffing to utility bills and infrastructure, having a digital shopfront can streamline your running costs and alleviate financial commitments that put pressure on your business. 
4. It’s Quick & Convenient: For both the customer and you! More people are shopping online than ever before, the speed and convenience of a quick digital transaction is becoming an expected offering.
5. Controlled UX: You get to control how your customers experience and interact with your business from start to finish. From the brand, language, site-movement to information and accessibility - this level of consistency is what business dreams are made of. 
6. The Power of Data: Every click on your site is a valuable insight into what your customers want or need and empowers you to provide the products  and user experience that will strengthen your business. This includes customer feedback!
7. Top Security: Trust is absolutely essential, so ensuring sensitive data such as credit card information is totally safe is absolutely imperative. For this, we use Payment Gateways - which we detail below.  
8. Boosts your Marketing: Having a digital presence comes with a plethora of fantastic marketing tools designed to boost your business profile, get you seen by your target audiences, encourage and facilitate them in making a transaction with you. 
9. Prepared for the future: Advancement in technology, search patterns, consumer spending and global statistics all point to digital transactions having a stronghold in our future. But by getting the systems setup and in place now, you’re already prepared should you need to resort to purely digital transactions in the future. 
10. Increased Sales: At the end of the day, all of the above points are aiming to do this. By reaching more customers, improving your offering, being open for business and making it easier to spend money with ease - it is highly likely your sales will increase.