Electronic commerce or eCommerce is any form of business that involves the transfer of information over an electronic network, chiefly the Internet. The most popular example of eCommerce is online shopping, but eCommerce covers a range of different types of businesses, from auction or music sites, to trading goods and services between individuals/corporations. Currently, it is one of the most important features of the Internet to emerge. Some of the examples of eCommerce businesses in Zimbabwe include Tekofarm, Hammer & Tongues and Tekospares. The benefits of electronic commerce in Zimbabwe are as follows:
Targeted marketing.
E-commerce provides you with a treasure of customer data and an opportunity to track customer buying habits as well as the emerging industry trends, eCommerce businesses can stay alert and shape their marketing efforts to provide a well-crafted consumer experience as well as gain new customers. Imagine addressing thousands of your customers by their first name.
Business without borders.
We all know that all physical stores will always be limited to the geographical area that they can serve. However, your eCommerce business has the whole world as its market. Going from a local customer base to a global market at little cost is surely one of the greatest advantages of trading online. Some of you have once bought something on Amazon (American eCommerce business) or Alibaba (Chinese eCommerce business).
24/7 availability.
Here is a chance for you to earn money while you are asleep. The other great benefit of running an online business is that it is always open. This is a dramatic escalation in sales opportunities for your business and it is also a convenient and immediately available option for your customers.
Work from anywhere.
All it takes is a laptop and good internet connection for you to manage your business
from anywhere in the world. Yes! This actually means that your eCommerce business will not need you to sit in an office from 8a.m to 5p.m.
Inventory management.
Electronic commerce businesses can automate their inventory management by using
electronic tools or shopping carts to accelerate ordering, delivery and payment
procedures. This kind of inventory management will save you money by reducing your operational and inventory costs.
Niche markets.
Unlike running a niche brick-and-mortar business, your eCommerce business can build a very profitable niche without any further significant investment. This is possible because of online search capabilities of Google AdWords or Bing Ads, customers from any place in the world can find and purchase your products.
Reduced Costs.
Your eCommerce business will benefit from meaningfully lower operational costs
because there’s no need to hire sales staff or maintain a physical storefront. The major
eCommerce costs go to warehousing and product storage. However, services or digital
products have little to none warehousing or product storage needs.