We have been working from home for the past 2 weeks due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Yesterday, we got an email from one of our valued x2x eCommerce customer:
“It looks like we will be forced to temporarily close our retail store due to the Coronavirus. This means the online store is as important as ever…. It would very much be appreciated as we are going to need every possible online order”
If you are also a store owner and you are also considering to temporarily close your store, the questions that you need to ask yourself is:
‘Are you ready to continue serving your customer even if you need to temporarily close down your store?’
It has been observed that customers who buy online for the first time to take the advantage of the holiday deals, tend to rely on online purchases in the future. The convenience of looking and comparing products and prices, the convenience of placing the orders on phone, the better prices which are available online; and shipping are all the factors that brings changes in the buying behaviour of these first-time shoppers.
It is being predicted by the experts that the same phenomenon will be repeated in this epidemic i.e. it will change the buying behaviour of the people who will be buying online for the first time due to the closure of stores.
The long-term impact will be the change in the customer behaviour. Once they are exposed to the online ecommerce and realize the comfort and convenience of mobile commerce, they are expected to make repeat online purchases.
It is often said that every problem is also an opportunity. Though it is an alarming situation, it has provided a platform to the online sellers. Since, this epidemic is expected to change the buyer behaviour in the future, people will find it difficult to adjust to the changing realities of life will find themselves in a difficult situation.
Therefore, if you already have a webstore that can service the customer and grab this opportunity to bring in the new customers and looking for the products that you sell; well and good. If you do not have a webstore, you seriously need to start thinking about an action plan!
If you have a webstore, is it efficiently managed by your retail or ERP software? If not, you will need to spend hours and making more mistakes that you can easily avoid. With the limited time and resources available this time, you cannot afford to make errors or have a battery of people to service the orders.
Integrating your webstore with your retail POS or accounting and/or ERP solution eliminate the errors, omissions and duplication of work. Your orders are downloaded in your business system as they are received, the items, prices and available inventory is updated promptly on your webstore giving more visibility to your customers on what is available for them to order.
x2x eCommerce specialize in providing integrated eCommerce solutions. We can help you integrate your webstore the automatically function with least manual intervention. x2x eCommerce can also help you optimize your webstore to expand your reach and to make sure that you can do better than your competition.
To talk to one of the eCommerce specialists please feel free to reach out at info@x2x-ecommerce.com