E-Commerce and Small Business

E-Commerce 101
Interested in entering the online business world? Here are some benefits of adding an E-Commerce sales channel to an existing business.

Small businesses can benefit from adding an ecommerce sales channel in following ways:

1. Allows small businesses to compete with other companies both locally and nationally (promotional tool);

2. Creates the possibility and opportunity for more diverse people to start a business;

3. Convenient and easy way of doing business transactions (not restricted to certain hours of operation, virtually open 24 hours a day, seven days a week);

4. An inexpensive way (compared to the cost of paper, printing and postage prior to the Internet) for small business to compete with larger companies and for U.S. firms to make American products available in other countries; and

5. Small businesses that utilize the Internet have higher revenues, averaging $3.79 million compared to $2.72 million overall.

E-commerce has opened up new avenues for small business owners to create new businesses as well as compete with larger firms. E-commerce also lowers the barrier to entry and allows entrepreneurs to enter the market with relative ease (when compared to tradition business start-ups).