To Clik or not to Click/ Kliknuti ili ne

Unatoč pesimističnim predviđanjima, prodaja preko interneta cvjeta. U ovoj ćemo se lekciji baviti nekim osnovnim obilježjima e-trgovine.

Online selling is booming, becoming safer and more sophisticated every day. If you have not tried it yet, it is high time you did, either as a shopper or a retailer. Here is some helpful advice for joining either end of B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce. After reading this article and completing the exercises, continue browsing the Web, and we are sure you will quickly find something to either buy or sell.

Online selling (also known as B2C e-commerce, online retail, or e-tail) started back in the late 1990s, and today exists in two forms. The most famous online retailer, Amazon, is an example of a pure-play online seller, without traditional shops, or bricks-and-mortar outlets. Today there are more and more retailers of another kind, the so called clicks-and-mortar retailers, which combine e-commerce with traditional outlets.

If you are a high street retailer thinking about starting an online business, here is some advice for you. First, it is important to understand the difference between high street retailing, where the key factors are the right location and presenting the items in an attractive way, and online selling, which is much more like mail order, where you need to focus more on delivery service.

E-tail is also much more competitive because, as one businessman put it, ‘you are always just one click away from a rival’. Price comparison websites, such as Kelkoo in the UK, where you can compare prices on any products to get the best deal, make the market even more competitive. That is why some clicks-and-mortar retailers are adopting the model of dual pricing in order to keep their position online while still maintaining margins in their shops.

However, to be truly successful on all fronts, it is essential to integrate online and traditional selling as much as possible. In order to do that, it is necessary to understand that each customer is an individual and visits your website for a different reason. Sometimes they come to buy something, but much more often, just to browse. That is why you need to provide good quality images of your products and information on the pricing and promotions, as well as the choice of delivery options. Your website must be easy to navigate, easy to find and easy to transact with.

Once you have designed an up-to-date, user-friendly website, you need to integrate it with other parts of the business, such as stock control, storage, delivery and customer returns. Delivery and after-sales service are crucial; they will ensure the loyalty of your customers.

But how do you make your website known and easily recognisable among millions of other websites existing today? The best way is to advertise it on the Internet. Unnoticeable banner-ads and extremely noticeable but annoying pop-ups have proved less effective than advertising through search engines like Google or Yahoo. This type of advertising generates the best response from potential customers.

Why bother with all this web design, integration and advertising, when you can simply put a poster in your shop window? Well, let the numbers talk for themselves – online selling is the fastest growing business today, with its profits constantly on the rise. And why is it so profitable? Simply because it is easy to use, safe, and it saves time. And time is money, right?