The scale of a large retailer like Amazon is hard to fathom. In 2020, Amazon will account for just 38% of US online sales (the next closest competitors are Walmart at 5.8% and eBay at 4.5%). are you shocked Amazon’s total sales in the third quarter of 2020 were $96.15 billion. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Amazon’s success is unprecedented.
It is very difficult to open an e-store that can compete with this number.
Fortunately, you don’t need the likes of Amazon or eBay to have a successful online store. You just have to gain market share and learn how to grow in retail. This way, you can expand your store and increase your income over time.
This article explains 11 strategies to compete with an e-commerce company like Amazon. I’m not saying you make more money than Jeff Bezos, but extra money helps.
1. Focus on a specific product or service
No matter where you live, there are likely to be some great online stores where you can buy the things you need. Such stores are good at casting a wide net to attract many customers.
For example, a large retailer may sell hundreds of generic beans, but offer custom designs to fill a niche.
The important thing here is that if you are a beginner, it is better not to try to compete at any level. All you have to do is think of a specific customer persona, focus on that customer, and offer them the products and services they need.
2. Offer subscription-based services
Offering a subscription is a great strategy as it can generate consistent and recurring revenue. Most major stores offer memberships. For example, Amazon offers its incredibly popular Prime service.
Other add-on stores like HubBundle also understand the power of subscriptions. In addition to cheap video games, the store allows users to pay a fixed monthly fee to get extras.
Just because you run an online store, doesn’t mean all of your income comes from selling your products. You can also subscribe for free monthly payments, in-store discounts, access to special offers and more. Must match product in store.
3. Offer better and/or cheaper shipping options
When it comes to shipping, it’s hard to compete with the big online stores.
What you can do to compete is to provide the best shipping option for your area. Convenience stores often focus only on specific cities or countries. This means you benefit from the best international stores as they can offer faster delivery times and a more personalized experience in the process.
In some cases, you may find shipping options that are cheaper than you think. For example, there are many home-based startups that focus on product offerings. By partnering with them, we can provide our customers with the fastest and cheapest delivery based on their location.
4. Good when it comes to customer service
The level of customer service you provide determines the success or failure of your store. People may take a risk and buy from a retailer they don’t know, but you can be sure that if they do something bad, they won’t come back.
Common service mistakes made by small retailers include:
- Answering customer questions takes time.
- Giving users canned responses
- Incorrect delivery date or late package delivery
Remember that customer experience is so important that happy customers are more likely to refer you for new business. Also, retaining customers costs less than acquiring new leads.
In other words, spending a little extra time to ensure good service will pay off for years to come.
5. Customize your online store in every possible way
The difference between 1 second and 3 seconds may seem small, but it is not. Especially if you run an online grocery store. Research shows that users get tired when websites take more than a few seconds to load. For Amazon alone, an estimated one-second delay in load time can result in $1.6 billion in lost sales each year.
In other words, your website needs to be fast. Many factors affect performance, including:
- Using a hosting plan that doesn’t provide enough resources
- I can’t edit my photos.
- Add more text to your page.
- Do not use browser cache.
Factors 2 to 4 fall into the category of poorly optimized websites.
However, if your web host isn’t cheap, no matter how hard you try to customize it. We recommend that you measure and increase your site load. If you don’t get the desired results, move to a new host.
6. Use social media to promote your store and products
The largest online retailers can run millions of ads per day. At the same time, word of mouth advertising can lead to sales simply because more people know about it.
On the other hand, online “mom and pop” stores need to be more aggressive in terms of marketing. , including:
- Active on various social media platforms.
- Learn how to connect with your audience and find new customers.
- Connect with influencers who can promote your products.
- Use non-traditional content formats like infographics to increase engagement.
The bottom line is that small businesses need to work hard to convert online. However, if you know the platform of interest and have a good understanding of social media, this method should yield good results. Also remember that hiring a social media expert can be beneficial if you are not an expert in the field as it is essential to your store’s success.
7. Create your email marketing strategy
All websites and online stores need your email address for a reason. They know it’s a powerful tool to drive sales and increase engagement. The average person checks their email 15 times a day, and 60% of consumers say they get feedback that their messages influence their purchases.
At its best, email marketing is scalable, even for small businesses. The more titles you collect, the more sales you can make through the campaign. Additionally, many email marketing platforms allow you to send unlimited messages at a low cost.
But that doesn’t mean you have to be a spam subscriber.
If you’re using email marketing and want to get more, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
8. Consider streamlining the product list
This is because the more products you offer, the more sales you can make. The problem is that managing a large list of items can be more complicated than expected. For each product, we need to consider procurement, storage, shipping costs, marketing materials, etc.
This is not a problem for large online stores. It’s all a matter of size, and you can put the resources you need into the top activities.
Fortunately, you can have a successful online store that offers a limited inventory of products. For example, Slimfold has built a complete e-commerce experience around several unique portfolios.
Alt Text: Simple slim-fold product presentation.
Provide links to specific catalogs that target specific user niches. As long as you know your product or service is in demand, you can create a sense of exclusivity and try to charge a higher price.
9. Offer multiple payment options
Most people rely on their credit cards when shopping online. However, there are several payment processors available, including PayPal, Stripe, and Amazon Pay.
As you can see, most major online retailers offer multiple payment options during the checkout process. This allows the customer to choose the option that works best for them, so that the store does not have to confirm a potential purchase.
For small online stores, managing multiple payment gateways can be difficult. This means that income can come from different sources. Each channel requires you to create an account and follow different guidelines.
However, despite these drawbacks, there are still several payment options available for most online stores.
10. Study the competition in your field
Until then, the focus is on how to compete with the big retailers. However, it is important not to lose competition with other stores.
Researching your competitors is important so that you can provide a better experience than your direct competitors. However, it can be easier for small retailers than for e-commerce companies. You can participate in this contest in several ways.
- Provide excellent customer service support.
- Additional shipping and payment options are available.
- Create a user-friendly shopping experience
- Beat the price if you can
It’s similar to some of the methods we’ve discussed so far. Only this time, instead of Goliath, we face another David.
11. Offer only the highest quality products
In general, you can’t compete with the big retailers in terms of inventory, price, or delivery, so you have to focus on quality. We’ve talked about providing the highest level of customer service, but it’s important to make sure the products we offer are what they look like.
Today, major online stores like Amazon are full of cheap products. It’s really frustrating for consumers who don’t know why they’re buying a bad product from a retailer they know and trust.
This provides an opportunity to attract customers to the small online store. Often, people go to specialized online stores in search of quality products. If you can prove the authenticity of your product and offer a strong return policy, you can increase your sales.
Kill the little monsters
You have to be realistic about your expectations when it comes to e-commerce. It’s almost impossible to compete with the big retailers when it comes to inventory and pricing. However, many small businesses thrive despite the competition they face.
While you may not be able to compete in certain categories, it’s important to understand that there are many areas where small businesses have a real advantage. For example, small businesses can provide more personal customer service or focus on product quality that larger online retailers cannot.