E-commerce, On-line Shopping, Shopping Baskets - Web Design Services

E-commerce is about using the internet to buy and sell goods and services online. Current figures have shown the following:

Total UK Internet users who have bought online = 18.68m
Amount Spent Online in Last 6 Months per UK User = £627
UK Users who believe using a credit card online is ‘safe’ 74%

Source: BMRB Internet monitor (Feb 2006)

Obviously these figures do not tell the whole story – some industries have been quicker to adopt e-commerce than others and some firms have benefited more than others. What is certain, though, is that e-commerce represents a real opportunity for businesses to find new markets and serve existing customers more efficiently.

The Benefits of an E-commerce Website

An E-commerce website offers enormous potential benefits to businesses, whatever their size. The benefits include:

Access to a global market – the internet allows businesses access to a huge market of potential customers worldwide.
Cutting out the middleman – businesses can sell directly to end-users.
A level playing field – a small business can show itself to be as professional and credible as its larger competitors.
24-hour business – with a website that accepts payments online, you are always open for business to customers even if your office is closed.
Greater customer satisfaction – an e-commerce website can be a powerful tool for building customer loyalty. A well-designed website puts the customer in charge of the relationship – they can buy, browse, ask for help or track the progress of their order when they want.
Reduced marketing costs – word of mouth can be incredibly powerful on the web through e-mail recommendations and search engine rankings. You can achieve a great deal through organic growth by treating customers well, keeping them informed about your activities and benchmarking yourself against competitors.
Better customer information – giving online customers passwords to your website saves them having to re-enter their details every time they shop. But it also gives you information about buying habits to refine your marketing, pricing and purchasing strategies.
Streamlined business processes – increasingly companies are integrating their business processes. Orders come in to their website, card details are processed, goods dispatched and stock re-ordered seamlessly, dramatically reducing the cost of each sale.

We typically build bespoke E-commerce websites but if required, perhaps due to budgetary costs and the idea of 'dipping ones toe' into this arena then we will design websites using off-the-shelf software packages. For further information please contact us.

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