Moving your retail business online.

There has never been a time when moving one’s retail business online has been so critical; more like a life-or-death situation. Excuse the drama, as well as my inability to put it more mildly. But, sadly, it is the truth.

In the months before the pandemic, we have witnessed numerous high-profile casualties on the high street of many European cities, and yet this is only a part of the story. For every prominent high-street retailer brand that has closed its doors, there are probably another ten smaller operations whose demise did not attract so much attention.

And yet some retailers have weathered the storm, even when Covid-19 reared its very ugly head. Their resilience, due to their already-strong online presence, meant that they were not caught out unprepared.

So, if you operate a retail business and have (finally) decided to move your business online, read on.

The advantages of operating an online business have long been discussed. Having your product range showcased 24/7 to a wide international audience who would otherwise not be able to buy from you is already enough justification. Add to this the lower costs compared to a high-street shop, and you should be wondering why you haven’t yet made this important step.

And then of course there is the added resilience offered to online businesses in these pandemic times and the substantial increase in online purchasing that this has brought about. A trend, which experts say, will not subside in post-covid times.

But there are advantages in being late to the game.

Today there are multiple tried-and-tested technologies and platforms that one could use to start selling online. Two of the most sought-after options are using WooCommerce on WordPress or using Shopify.

WooCommerce is a plugin that turns any WordPress CMS site into an online store. This is a popular option because many websites today run on WordPress, so the attractiveness of just adding a plug-in is too good an opportunity to miss. Many have come to realise, however, that this option does require much more development effort and long-term maintenance.

On the other hand, Shopify takes care of the entire online shop and related processes through an online platform for which you pay a monthly fee, with 24/7 support included.

At Cleverbit we can help you move your business online with this powerful ecommerce tool that will help you manage all your day-to-day operations online. With our experience with Shopify and with the solution’s ease-of-use, we can help set up your online business in less than 2 weeks.