“Create content that teaches. You can’t give up. You need to be consistently awesome.”- Neil Patel, and thus businesses need to look beyond the hype and develop their own perspectives on the value of e-commerce, thinking carefully and weighing all the advantages and disadvantages – backed by good market research – before they begin to see growing sales figures, as retailers who ignore e-commerce may see their trade lessening as customers continue to shift to ordering products online it’s almost economic suicide for any retailer. 

Before starting with the advantages and disadvantages let’s know a bit about e-retailing. So e-Retailing, a subset of e-commerce by nature, is the process of selling of retail goods using electronic media, in particular, the internet. Electronic Retailing also called as internet retailing is used in internet discussions since 1995 the term seems an almost inevitable addition to e-mail, e-business, and e-commerce, etc. e-retailing is synonymous with any business- to- consumer (B2C) transactions that take place over the Internet.

fig.no.1.E-commerce (baltictimes.com)

ADVANTAGES OF E-RETAILING.

1. A Larger Market.

A brand can sell to customers around the world easily. Selling worldwide is a great feat as it helps you build your brand a lot faster, broadens your marketplace exponentially, allows you to see profit long before your local competitors, and without additional expense. You have the ability to discover your audience whether they’re in the U.S., Africa, or neighboring countries. Many e-commerce websites offer affordable ePacket shipping or free shipping. This helps them to price and ship their products competitively to a worldwide audience.

fig.no.2.E-commerce goes global(globaldots.com)

2. 24/7 Potential Income.

Most physical location stores have a particular time for selling, promoting, and attracting customers, which is generally between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. But where will you go on unusual times, that is when e-commerce comes into the picture. Another advantage of e-commerce is that online stores are always open for their customers. With your ads on digital platforms, you’ll attract someone at 12 p.m. or 5 a.m. in any part of the world. By being available in the least hours, you’ll attract people that would normally devour a product in stores, if the shop were open. You don’t need to have employees working the night shift if a customer orders at night. To ensure all orders get processed, all you need to do is automate your ordering systems in order that customers receive a confirmation email once they place their order to offer them peace of mind.

fig.no.3. 24/7 potential income(dreamstime.com)

3. Personalized Online Experience.

Website personalization, one of the online business advantages, can enhance the online shopping experience. Creating personalized landing pages for different audiences can entice them to buy from you without much extra work on your side. It is not like customers coming into a physical store who you need to nurture from the first minute. You can do all the hard work before you launch a campaign and then relax once you release the campaign to your customer base.

4. Easy To Retarget or Remarket To Customer.

It’s easy to create retargeting ads to reach out to customers in your area when running an online business making it one of the most profitable e-commerce benefits. You can create a Facebook pixel. You can use the Shoelace Shopify app to retarget the browsers who visit your store but don’t buy. With e-commerce stores, you can retarget people who add products to cart but don’t abandon and don’t buy or who visit a blog post and never buy. You can collect email addresses easily with an effective pop-up or lead magnet and continue marketing to your customers after you’ve made the sale.

• DISADVANTAGES OF E-RETAILING. 

1. Limited Personal Experience.

No matter how attractive your ad is, it does not provide the same social or emotional feeling for the customer. Many customers value the experience as in-store shopping and interacting with sakes associates, they may consider buying the product as a risk. The products that are merchandised cannot be touched, handled, or experienced, they are on a two-dimensional screen, and the customers not only want to buy a product but also want to have an experience during the process.

2. Battle With Security.

Instances of fraud have grown over the growth of the e-commerce sector. one of the biggest disadvantages of selling and buying online is the continued battle with security and fraud, which consumers face on a daily basis. Shoppers are becoming more relaxed by providing their personal and credit card information, but security concerns are still keeping many consumers from shopping online. The level of security of e-tailers, encrypted payment software, cyberattacks, opening malicious links which can breach consumer's data are a major concern around security and privacy undermining e-tailing efforts.

fig.no.4.Disadvantages of E-retailing(razorpay.com)

3. All The Eggs In One Basket.

Its an era of e-commerce and everyone is overwhelmed with the success of e-commerce and digital. At times if given a choice as a brand manager would you want to spend all your online media budget for a campaign on a single e-commerce website where you have hosted your product in anticipation of online sales....? This is a big question and would continue to trouble a lot of brand managers!

4. Ecommerce Is Highly Competitive.

Online marketplaces are changing the way consumers search and shop for products online. With websites such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy continuing to grow in both size and popularity, e-commerce competition is more complex than ever before. Not only are brands competing directly with other brands, but they are also now battling marketplaces that are populated by thousands of competitive sellers.

fig.no.5.Online store(e-commerce.com)

• Conclusion

E-commerce has reshaped the modern marketplace in recent years, with online sales now accounting for around one-quarter of the total retail market.   We know by know that e-retailing has its own set of pros and cons but if executed in a proper way, it can prove to be incredibly helpful for most companies who target a worldwide audience. Also, witnessing the dynamicity and the increasing rate of rivalry in the business environment these days, it has become absolutely necessary for all businesses to take to such strategies that can help them, market their products globally but also at a low capital cost. E-retailing is thus one such strategy that provides both.