By 2020, retailers expect 20 percent of all non-food sales to be facilitated through some form of eCommerce. By 2016, half of all consumers’ purchases will incorporate some online or mobile component: comparison shopping, ordering, customizing and paying. And today, 65 percent of consumers already do some online shopping. (Statistics gathered from the Kiplinger Letter, June 29, 2012.)
Clearly, buyers’ habits are changing and changing quickly. And as consumers embrace eCommerce methods, businesses are examining their sales models, incorporating the changes their customers expect.
From a distributor’s perspective, here are some important points to consider when reviewing an eCommerce strategy.
Streamline the Structure—Rebuilding an inventory management system to accommodate online web sales is redundant and costly work. It quickly becomes difficult to maintain, adding unnecessary expense, and requiring additional expert oversight to keep synchronized. A best practice for eCommerce is to leverage the inventory structures you already have in place and simply control and extend your product offering out to your web customers.
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