It’s been long apparent that ignoring the benefits of the internet is no way to do anything in this day and age. eCommerce has had a massive impact on the everyday lives of regular internet users and business owners.

But why is the distribution of online goods and services so important? Why has integrating an eCommerce platform into your business become so crucial in the modern business world?

Here’s more about growing your business by way of eCommerce integration. It’s definitely not a subject that you should ignore in any way.

The World Has Moved Online

Yes, we all know that the internet has taken a considerable bite out of our daily lives. Just for a start, people stream video content instead of watching TV.

This readily extends to buying and selling stuff. eCommerce has been around for decades. Still, it took a while for everyone to be comfortable with it. Although online scams and frauds still exist, people are significantly less reluctant to make online purchases nowadays. As compared to a decade ago, for example.

Take all of these into account and look at how most of your competitors are online, it becomes clear that you need to integrate eCommerce into your business if you want to take it places.

The Benefits of Integrating eCommerce

The benefits of eCommerce are vast and varied. Like it or not, if you aren’t fully utilizing the web in your daily life (professional and private), you might be lagging behind.

Online sales are an instrumental part of growing a business. Few companies can claim that eCommerce integration isn’t something that they need. The rest should see the benefits for what they are and jump onboard the eCommerce train.

The content that follows will teach you about the advantages of integrating eCommerce into your business.

Targeting

Target marketing has seen quite a spike in recent years. If you use social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you’ve seen those ads that pitch a slew of products and services. You’ve also noticed that these products and services are pretty close to what you need or what you’ve recently talked about or searched for.

This is called target marketing, and it’s one of the pillars of online sales.

In itself, target marketing isn’t part of eCommerce platforms. Rather, it’s a means to get people into the funnel. But the effectiveness of targeted ads wouldn’t be as high without the Buy Now option. In other words, target marketing and eCommerce sales work together to generate more revenue for you and to expand your business’s outreach.

People Are No Longer Afraid

As said, you’d have to tell your users how easy it is to make online purchases in years past. Although things are simpler nowadays, shopping online has always been reasonably straightforward. Businesses that invested in eCommerce integration rarely grew to regret and most of them thrived because of it.

Nowadays, there are generations that have grown up with online shopping. They are aware of the risks, they know what a legitimate seller looks like, and they are in no way afraid to shop online. They’re teaching their parents and grandparents that they shouldn’t be scared either.

So, where the barrier of entry was a concern a decade ago, it’s no longer something that should deter you from integrating eCommerce into your business model.

A Couple of Clicks

They might not admit it and they might not like it, but people make impulse purchases more often than they care to admit. With proper targeting, you can quickly get to more conversions, relying on social media ads and other forms of target marketing. In other words, you pitch your product to the buyer in the target group and get them to click/tap and buy the product, and therein you’ve converted the lead.

Even without target marketing, eCommerce is hugely beneficial. Some people who are too busy or lazy to make a physical purchase may only need a little push to buy from you online.

Without a reason to be concerned for online purchasing safety, seeing as all credit card and debit card companies have required online merchants to offer returns and refunds, people are more than happy to make a couple of clicks and have their orders shipped to them.

Outreach

Let’s say that you’re a business based in Boston. You have a couple of retail shops in town and a few in the suburbs or maybe Cape Cod, which are still localized to Eastern Massachusetts. Let’s also say that you have an interested buyer in Seattle in the Northwest. They’re highly interested in your brand and want to make a purchase from you. Without eCommerce, it’s not likely that it will ever happen.

They are probably not going to fly across the US to get the product. They’ll find an alternative – a competitor of yours who sells online.

Marketing across the world is easy, especially digitally. With eCommerce, you’re making the purchases possible.

Extend the outreach to your buyers and you’re in effect growing your business. That’s one of the most significant benefits of eCommerce.

User-Generated Content

The story behind User-Generated Content, or UGC, is a rather simple one. Your conversions help your leads to become new conversions. Conversion testimonials are the key here.

People who are satisfied with your product are likely to post a picture of it on their post or story (social media) and tag your business. Then, you get to share their content to serve as the testimonial of an unbiased or unendorsed user. This can be of considerable help to nudge your leads into the funnel, as people are more likely to believe fellow consumers than a merchant waxing poetic.

But what exactly does this have to do with eCommerce? Well, let’s say that your user has bought your product at a retail store. They’d have to find your business on social media and tag you in it. Sometimes, this just doesn’t happen as people have come to appreciate fully-online experiences.

With the help of eCommerce integration, you increase the chances that your conversions will tag you online. This is a potential for repost that’s very significant in online marketing.

How Hard Is eCommerce Integration?

The internet does have a tendency to scare off people who aren’t familiar with its capabilities. It all seems overwhelming and incomprehensible. In truth, once you start digging into it, you’ll notice that eCommerce integration is straightforward.

Platforms like Magento allow you to get your eCommerce platform up and running without any hassle. Automation is key here.

Still, be prepared to make an investment in eCommerce. But you can rest assured that the investment is going to be worth it. Online sales, supported by appropriate marketing and ad campaigns, can accelerate the growth of your business, perhaps even past your plans and expectations.

eCommerce and Business Growth

Don’t be afraid of progress, even if it takes effort and getting used to. Fortunately, with eCommerce, there is little effort required or a sizable investment.

Nowadays, eCommerce is everywhere and if you aren’t making the most out of it, you are missing out. This can extend to the point of frustrating your customers. They want to be able to get products or services from you online. If they can’t, they’ll go to your competitor. You do not want to frustrate your leads.

So, start planning for the eCommerce integration of your business with an eye on its growth. It has never been simpler than it is today.