The 20 advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce

1. E-commerce, a booming market
The figures put forward by the Fédération du E-commerce et de la Vente à Distance (FEVAD) are indisputable: e-commerce is a particularly dynamic market. As proof, the 100-billion-euro sales milestone should be passed in 2019. Today, 87.5% of French Internet users buy online, and 22% of online sales are now even made from a mobile terminal. 
These figures speak for themselves: e-commerce is one of today’s most dynamic sectors, a trend that is confirmed year on year and continues to grow.

2. Opening an online store: an easily financeable project
Despite the great potential of e-commerce sites, opening one requires only a small initial budget. To open a traditional physical store, you need to spend several thousand euros, in particular to rent or buy premises. By opting for a dematerialized store, these costs are considerably reduced. 

3. Make the whole world your potential workplace
First and foremost, to create your own e-commerce site and become a fully-fledged merchant, you’ll need to set up your own business. Rest assured, this is a very simple step, requiring barely twenty minutes to complete. After that, you’ll even have your own SIRET number, and you’ll be able to shout it loud and clear: you’ll be your own boss! 
Of course, if you’re selling a lot of products on your e-shop, which I sincerely hope you will, you’ll need to revise your articles of association to become a SARL or SAS… But we’re not there yet! Perhaps you haven’t thought about it yet, but by opting for an online store, you’ll be able to work from anywhere in the world! The only constraint? An Internet connection.

4. Who hasn’t dreamed of becoming their own boss?
When you swap your employee status for that of a sole trader, you’ll also quickly realize that you’ll enjoy total freedom. Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll work less. On the contrary, you won’t have to answer to anyone! 
What’s more, by opting for e-commerce, you won’t have to put up with the time constraints imposed by a physical store. From now on, your working hours will be totally flexible! Would you like to work at night? No problem, because your Internet business is always open 24 hours a day…

5. Reach customers worldwide through e-commerce
While traditional stores are limited to the surrounding communities, e-commerce enables you to reach a much wider area. As soon as you open your online store, you’ll be able to sell your products to customers from all over the world! After all, who hasn’t dreamed of exporting their own products to the other side of the world, so that as many people as possible can discover them? With traditional stores, customers often stay the same. With the Internet, your products can sell just as well in France as in the United States, Asia or South America! 
Similarly, while a physical boutique can only welcome a limited number of customers, a website can always accommodate an almost unlimited number of buyers. It’s simple: online sales multiply your selling power!

6. Your store stays open 24/7
Not only do e-commerce sites enable you to sell everywhere and to everyone, they also enable you to market your products all the time! Forget about the legislative constraints imposed on traditional stores, forcing them, for example, to open from 9am to 7pm. On the Internet, customers can visit your virtual store whenever they like, day or night, 24/7. Once again, this wide range of opening hours means you can reach customers all over the world, without having to deal with time zone differences. It also helps attract people who work odd hours and don’t necessarily have the time to shop in-store. With e-commerce, you don’t have to worry about employees being paid double overnight to keep your store running. While you’re asleep, shoppers can still make their purchases and earn you money.

7. Optimize sales by easily showcasing your star products
In an online store, it’s also easy to highlight your star products. By displaying your bestsellers on your home page, your customers won’t be able to miss them! You can also add flattering customer reviews or sales-incentive marketing strategies. Generally speaking, believe me, it’s much simpler to highlight a product on the Internet than to have to reorganize an entire store facing to draw customers’ attention to a particular product. It’s also up to you to regularly change the presentation of your website to make it more attractive, or even to personalize it to your customers, when they log on with logins…
It’s a little attention for your loyal buyers that’s sure to please!

8. A plethora of marketing tools to boost sales
A whole host of marketing tools are also available to help you develop your business, including impulse buys and the acquisition of additional products. To do this, I suggest you pay close attention to the quality of your photos and the layout of your site. I’d also advise you to take a serious look at your advertising strategy. This may seem a tedious task at first, but rest assured, it’s well worth the effort! E-commerce has the capacity to handle a very large number of orders at once, without necessarily having to hire staff or find larger premises. As a result, it’s a fast-growing business.

9. The ability to vary content formats
To encourage natural traffic to your site and offer attractive content to your page visitors, I also strongly advise you to vary the media and types of content used. Who says your e-commerce site has to be all text and photos? For more originality, you can also use videos or even add a few blog posts. The latter will allow you to appear to everyone as a specialist in your field, while improving your site’s natural referencing on search engines.

10. A store that’s easy to adapt to trends
Online stores are also highly customizable and adaptable to trends or different times of year. There’s no need to redo your entire business or undertake major renovations. All you have to do is change the screen background or add a few decorations here and there, and you’ll go from a summery boutique to a warm, comforting site more suited to cold winter days!

11. E-commerce: real shopping convenience for customers
It’s also worth noting that the advantages of e-commerce are not exclusively reserved for retailers. Customers benefit too, which explains the incredible growth of e-commerce sites. With just a few clicks, they have access to a vast array of products of all kinds. Filters and search engines help them target their purchases. These can then be finalized in just a few minutes, without them even having to leave their couch, at any time of the day or night. So, as a retailer who cares about your customers’ comfort, what better experience can you offer than this?

12. A less intrusive sales style for the customer
Similarly, some more introverted customers hate going into stores, simply because they hate interacting with the staff. All it takes is an “intrusive” sales assistant, and they suddenly feel unable to concentrate on their shopping. That’s why many customers prefer to shop online. Although the offers are very tempting, the sales methods are much less intrusive. If necessary, some online stores offer chat or messaging functions, should the customer have any questions. On the other hand, if they so wish, they are free to shop at their own pace and in their own way.

13. A huge source of information to enrich your customer database
Finally, it’s also worth noting that it’s much simpler to build up a customer file via an online store than in a traditional business. When customers make purchases on the Internet, they are obliged to fill in certain fields, such as their address, e-mail or telephone number. In a store, on the other hand, they are much more reluctant to provide these details to the cashier. That’s why online retailers have much more extensive and regularly updated customer files. This information is vital to better understand your clientele and set up advertising campaigns.