It helps to get a little bit outside your bubble. Or your home.
For some time now, I’ve looked at E-Commerce as “my home”, basically. I find it to be an incredibly strong sales channel, really important for any business.
Recently, I’ve left “my home” for a bit. I was astonished to find out that online buying worldwide stands for 20% (at most) of total retail sales. Here’s the link for the data: https://lnkd.in/d4ryeFMn
Now, it’s common knowledge that this number can only go up as time passes. That’s why businesses can’t overlook it.
But my point would be this:
I was blindsided! OK, not really blindsided, but I was unaware of this global phenomenon. I thought E-Commerce was the mother and father of business, and you needed nothing else. Apparently, I was wrong. If you focus on E-Commerce only, you might just miss out on an enormous slice of the pie.
What’s more, it’s easy enough to start out online, as your main distribution and sales channel, but switching to an offline presence (a physical store) means you’ll gain a lot more visibility, and you’ll earn your client’s or potential client’s trust. That’s a big boost!
A physical store means you can offer a whole experience and consultation on-site. That’s the way to build a loyal customer base.
That’s all.
But wait!
A great example of what I just wrote comes from Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, founder of The Turmeric.co. He had this to say about the topic above:
“Hi Vladi, yes. Retail is interesting. It is a trade off. You lose direct customer data and controlling the customer journey, with increased distribution and footfall. Focus moves away from direct acquisition strategies and more on brand awareness.”
Back to the matter at hand, that’s why I started the CTOCraft events in Bucharest.
Director, Brand and Content at Orium | Editorial Director, Composable.com | Composable Commerce Advocate
4wcannot WAIT!