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Ecommerce is blowing up, and it's becoming even moreimportant for businesses of all shapes and sizes. In 2015, ecommerce'spopularity boomed, with more people than ever going online to make use ofwebsites and marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay.

Ecommerce is faster and easier than going into a shop, andoffers a much greater range of products than physical retail outlets. As ifthat wasn't enough, it is now more secure than ever, and in most instances willgive detailed delivery and stock information to support the customer's choice.There are no wasted journeys to the retail parks and shopping centres, and thereare often price advantages of buying online, with many online retail solutionsoffering free delivery for items or orders above a certain price.

The Importance OfeCommerce In The 21st Century

Ecommerce is also incredibly important to businesses in the21st century, not just for consumers. Offering products for saleonline is an effective was of retail, not least because it eliminates the costsassociated with traditional retail. Essentially, when you offer your productsonline, you are cutting the middle man out of the equation.

Marketing for ecommerce is also extremely cost effective, asmost of it is carried out digitally. Digital marketing is not only moreaffordable for businesses from all industries, but it can be much moreeffective and reach a much greater number of people all over the world.Creating a piece of online advertising, or any form of content, is much cheaperthan having to film and produce a TV ad, or create a piece of printadvertising.

In fact, thanks to online marketing strategies, like PPC,and strategies like content marketing and SEO, it can often cost practicallynothing to create great pieces of work which operate as marketing materials foryour brand.

Also, running an ecommerce business can really help to savemoney in terms of opening numerous local branches to appeal to as wide anaudience as possible. If your business is solely based on the internet, theonly real major outlays need to be on product manufacture, system maintenanceand delivery processes. Even once you've made your business into a success, youwill only need a head office and a stock warehouse!

These are just a few of the general advantages of ecommerceover traditional retail, but its importance for businesses of all kinds grewsignificantly in 2015. Here at Store Express, we keep up to date with thechanging nature of ecommerce techniques and services to ensure that we cancontinue to offer the highest-quality, most cost-effective service possible. Weuse these updates to offer a variety of services to help all develop, integrateand grow all types of ecommercewebsites. We are able to offer a diverse range of solutions for all typesof businesses, including bespoke ecommerce development and website design.

The Dramatic Growthof Online Sales!

You only need to look at the money involved in order to seehow essential ecommerce is in the modern world, and how integral ecommerce websites are to the economyas a whole. In the digital age, it really shouldn't surprise anyone that we'redoing more and more of our shopping online.

Taking advantage of the very best in connectivity andtechnology, more and more businesses are putting themselves online, to allowvisitors the ability to purchase products and services of all kinds. Onlineretail can help to maximise sales and make transactions much easier and moreprofitable for all parties involved. Ecommerce sites are now faster, moresecure and cheaper than ever to build, host and develop.

Ecommerce MarketingStatistics!

Recent figures set the UK's online sales at around £52billion for 2015 as opposed to 2014's £45 billion. This is a 16% increase insales online, and translates that, on average; the British consumer is spendingover £1,000 on items online per year. This figure, unsurprisingly, sets the UKas one of the most frequent ecommerce consumers in the world.

With this growth in online sales, it proves the importanceof ecommerce in 2015. It shows that there is very much a market for onlineshopping, and ecommerce websitesneed to respond to this with easier user systems and fast check out options.

Black Friday / CyberMonday

It was back in 2013 that the UK began to adopt the retailcraze that has swept through the United States for years. A holiday in itselffor some, 'Black Friday' crossed the Atlantic to Asda as thousands of frenziedshoppers rushed and queued outside shops ready to grab the latest deal.However, as shops opened and customers squabbled over the lowered prices,fights erupted in some areas and some people were even arrested. It's nosurprise then that this year people went to their computer, tablets and smartphones to avoid the craze in shops.

It is reported that Britain spent around £1 billion onlinefor Black Friday, which is 36% increase from the previous year. Ecommercetherefore played a very important part in this new tradition. It completelydominated footfall in shops, as Springboard, who monitor shopping statistics,found visits to physical shops decreased by 9.6% from the previous year.

It appears that not only is ecommerce essential for BlackFriday, allowing businesses to promote deals throughout the week to thencapitalise on the day, but it also means Britain is less likely to havephysical fights in shops.

There were few upsets however, as some ecommerce websites suffered problems due to the increase in heavytraffic. Around 65% of one online retailer's customers suffered problems andcomplained about being timed out of their purchases. These slow loading timesand crashing sites meant the anger in the shops did translate to online too.Whilst there are still problems with some websites not used to such heavytraffic, it shows the increasing demand for ecommerce from consumers as theyexpect to such a service.

In conjunction with Black Friday comes 'Cyber Monday', thededicated day for online deals and transactions, but it was revealed that thisspecified day for online commerce was a lesser success. In 2015, Cyber Mondaywas half the size of Black Friday. It seems that consumers go onlineregardless, which does in a way show how important and engrained it now is tothe 21st century.

Social MediaEcommerce?

The importance of ecommerce is its ability to expand. It hasthe ability to reach more people than a simple shop could do. With the rise ofsocial media sites such as Facebook, with 1.44 billion active users per month,and Twitter, with 332 million users per month, businesses can market themselvesto millions more people than their own domain ever could. This integrationcould very well change how users now use Facebook.

Back in 2009 and 2011, Facebook tried to integrate ecommercewith its site by allowing businesses to show their products on the site and letpeople have the option to purchase it. This venture didn't quite work out then,with most big businesses dropping out of it within the year, but it seems likeFacebook has now reworked this feature to suit all. The new update providesbusiness with a buy button on their adverts and posts, which will then allowusers to purchase and check out the item without leaving the page.

This ease shows the continued synergy between social mediaand ecommerce, and is being referred to as 'Fcommerce' by some. But it seemsother social media is following suit, with twitter, Pinterest and Google alltrying to match this service. This new service proves how important ecommerceis, as businesses stand to gain more money and more visits from this system.

Consumers are spending more and more time on their smartphones and mobile devices, and it has been released that on average smart phoneusers spend over 85% of their smart phone usage on apps. Facebook tends to getaround 13% of this time. Typically, there is a low conversion rate on mobiledevices when trying to buy through social media. If they're viewing socialmedia through an app and they click to buy something, it can link them to theirinternet browsing system.

This will lead to a different format, and potentially aformat not well optimised for mobile devices. This distracts consumers and putsthem off the hassle of continuing on with their purchase. By integrating thesesystems, Facebook makes it even easier for consumers to purchase impulse (andnon-impulse) buys, by allowing them to make their purchase there and then.

Whilst Facebook already allows users to transfer money viaits Messenger app, scepticism remains. Despite this, the new update continuesto prove how important ecommerce is, as more and more websites seek to fit itinto their services.

GetThe Most Out of Your Ecommerce Website!

At Store Express we specialise in eCommercesolutions in the UK. We have experts in eCommerce who understand how 2015 was ayear that revolutionised how ecommercewebsites function. We offer services in all areas of online businesses thatproduce quality content. Whether that is website design, social media, orsoftware, we have bespoke services to suit your business.

Does Your Business Require The Very Best WebsiteDesign?

We have experience and a portfolio full ofsuccessful websites, for which we have created stunning, accessible, functionalwebsites. We optimise these websites so they will work on whatever devicethey're accessed on. We know that most people now search through their phone,so we make sure when users search for your business on their smart phone ortablet, the website functions perfectly. We also offer brochure websitedesigns, to help you showcase all your services and stock effectively.

Or Do You Need Help With Your Social Media?

We know how important social media is to manypeople's everyday life. We also know it is a fantastic way to create interestin your business and drive traffic directly to your website. We have socialmedia mavens to expertly promote your business on platforms such as Twitter,Facebook, and YouTube.

We also make use of multichannel ecommerce andpopular ecommerce software. This way we can integrate your business into otherecommerce giants such as eBay and Amazon, and allowing your own website toincorporate payment methods that consumers trust such as PayPal and Sage.

If you're looking for any of the diverse range ofonline retail services that we can offer, including professional integrationservices, web development and ecommerce solution creation; get in touch withour professional team today! For more information, please don't hesitate tocontact our team today on 0845 050 3500. Alternatively, you can email us at sales@storeexpress.co.uk.
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Store Express

Building 4 Millars Brook Molly Millars Lane Wokingham Berkshire RG41 2AD United Kingdom