ONLINE BUSINESS VS OFFLINE BUSINESS – Which is better?

Online business

As an enthusiastic business person, you should be aware of the changing trend in business and consumer behavior. It is true that with the modernization and development of the world, the realm of business has also evolved from traditional offline business to modernized online business.

Nowadays people want everything to be convenient and fast whereas shopping which plays a vital role in living has gained preference for online than offline due to its convenience. Statista shows that currently, 2.14 billion people do online shopping from 1.66 billion in 2016, proving a significant increase in online buyers and the need for the growth of online business. So, one of the smartest decisions you can make right now is to start an online business and to grow an online presence for your offline business to reach a wide and varied range of consumers for your product or service.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”

What makes online business more efficient than offline business?

“Superiority of clicks over bricks”

Though there are several factors that make an online business dominant over an offline business, know the major differences between the both that show the uniqueness of an online business.

Less Operating and Maintenance Costs

The most important advantage of online business over offline business is the reduced installation, operating, and maintenance cost. An online business does not require a physical location. Basically, all you need is a legit e-commerce store or good website in which the operational costs of running an online business is significantly less by reducing the cost of land, labour, machinery, warehouse, electricity, advertising, and promotional cost, etc that a physical business needs and money saved from all these costs can be invested other factors to improve your business prospects. To start and maintain an online business, you have to incur only a minimum amount for initial investment and you need to pay a monthly/yearly fee to use your e-commerce platform and maintain your website. Especially online business provides a unique identity to your brand with the domain name.

Larger Market

“Make your business visible to worldwide consumers”

When you start an online store, you can expand your reach to a wide range of client bases and improve sales with increased availability by breaking down the physical barriers of offline business. You no more have to rely on the number of people walking past your store or the number of brochures sent to mailboxes. Moreover, small business enterprises cannot expect to tap into global markets by having traditional brick-and-mortar stores. But this can be overcomed by the internet. A significant number of people around the world have access to the Internet and your online store can target this entire vast global market.

24/7 Availability

We know it is tough for a business to work round the clock. Nevertheless, this does not apply to online businesses where an eCommerce website is open 24/7, open all day, every day and there are no limitations on when the consumers can purchase your products, they can buy and can get information about your products or services at any time. This availability can increase the profits for your business and also helps to maintain a relationship with the consumers and merchants.

Mobility and Flexibility

Online businesses are not tied to any particular location, you have the freedom to manage your business from anywhere. E-commerce websites eliminate all geographic restrictions that offline businesses typically face. You can operate and supervise your business from anywhere and at any time and have a successful e-commerce business anywhere in the world. Furthermore, the offline business is perfectly immobile and not flexible as relocating the business immediately according to your and your consumer’s needs is absolutely impossible.

“Flexible business, forever success”

Convenience and Maximum Customer Satisfaction

“Buy and sell in a minute”

Online business is convenient for both consumers and entrepreneurs. Most people lead busy lives and when they need to buy something, they usually choose to do it online rather than going to a brick-and-mortar store as it saves time, effort, and money. Making your product or services available for the consumers to purchase at their comfort, maximizes their satisfaction and loyalty to your business. For entrepreneurs, it is convenient and efficient to analyze the consumer’s tastes and preferences through easily available sales data.

Unaffected by External Environment

Finally, an online business is not affected by any unforeseen external factors, including environmental, governmental, economic factors, etc. But this is not the case for offline businesses, the business is highly vulnerable and influenced by external forces. This is more evident in today’s context, where COVID- 19 affected all sectors and most importantly the business sector which led to the closure of many businesses affecting the livelihood of all people. An epic example of external forces affecting your business is lockdowns, in which several governments have issued lockdown orders. So if your offline store has a physical location, your customers won’t be able to access it during this period. But if your business is available online, you can access it regardless of lockdowns or other restricted circumstances.

Choose your best e-commerce platform!

“E-commerce For Everyone!”

Singlebag” is the best e-commerce platform for your online business. It is a simple and user-friendly platform providing e-commerce solutions and offering various tools to start your online business. Singlebag offers a 14-day free trial and free courses which motivates small business owners and provides them with all necessities to launch their online store. It ensures all the benefits of an efficient online business with a cost-effective online store with a customized domain name in which you can totally manage and operate your business independently and efficiently.

What are you waiting for? Get started now with Singlebag!

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