Brick & Mortar Businesses Move Online After Retail Shift
If you’re the merchant or proprietor of a brick and mortar business, chances are you’ve known for quite some time that eventually you would have to move in the direction of E-Commerce. There’s just no getting around the fact that although many brick and mortar operations are still managing to hold their own, more than a few are having a really difficult time and many are permanently closing their doors. The arrival of the Covid19 virus has, in no small way, certainly contributed to pushing the offline business world in the direction of online operations. The e-commerce revolution has also given way to a number of new benefactors like Melbourne courier delivery companies that are struggling to keep up with the demand for online shopping over the past two years.
Millennials Point The Way
Close to 70% of millennials, those of our current population that fall between the ages of 26 and 40, prefer to do just about most of their business online. In addition, 55% of Generation X is not far behind them and even 40% of baby boomers are also turning to online shopping for goods and services. We live in an online world these days whose growth is expected to continue to increase and expand exponentially.
Thus, the writing is most definitely on the wall. If you want your business to keep up, continue to grow and stay vital, expanding brick and mortar to online is unquestionably the way to go.
Going Forward
The good news is you don’t have to start over from scratch. You’re looking to add on something new while preserving what you already have. You can keep things going offline and figure out the best way to expand to an online platform.
There are already many successful online operations and models, both big and small, you can observe, study, and learn from, that will help you decide how best to move your particular business forward.
Establish A Plan
The first thing you’ll want to do is formulate a strong and organized plan of action. Start by taking a look at what products and services you currently offer and figure out which of those, if not all of them, will most easily translate to the internet market.
You’ll need to determine how much you can spend on this new endeavor and budget accordingly, arrange payment processing and shipping systems, computerize and coordinate your online set-up, put together a marketing strategy that will best reach your new and already established audience, hire and train new staff and get ready to get your show on the internet road.
Obtaining A New Merchant Account
Since you’ve already been operating offline, you’ll more than likely have an existing merchant account. However, you’ll need an additional one for your new, online endeavor. Having an already established high risk merchant account does not guarantee that the banks will go easy on you with your new online business.
Banks view anything new as risky. The best path to take in obtaining an additional merchant account is to get the assistance of a successful and established merchant account processor such as us, First Card Payments. We have the experience, knowledge, and banking connections necessary to make this process quick, easy, and inexpensive; in other words, pain-free.
Ready, Set, Go
Once you have all of your ducks in a row, you can begin your new online operation, knowing you’re doing the very best thing to build your business and promote its growth and profitability. Online commerce is no longer the wave of the future. It’s been here for quite some time now and in having your brick and mortar business join forces with the online business community, you’re actually stepping out of the past, into the present, and taking important steps to increase your company’s chances for survival and growth.
