Online Vs Offline Which Business Model is best for ecommerce.

In this age of technology, the internet is the biggest and most significant inventions that change the path of business technique day to day. Technological progress teaches us to make our presence on cloud and grow globally. Traditional Business methods turns into online Business presence and helps business owner to reach a mass of seller all over the world. However, Offline and Online both business method has their own benefits as there are some advantages of online ecommerce besides this offline store has whilst there is a lot of money to be made online there are some negatives too. It’s worth considering both the pros and cons of online retail (think websites, online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, and comparison sites) versus a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ approach so that you know what you are taking on and can plan your business accordingly.

It is very difficult to choose the selling method between online through an eCommerce store, and offline in a traditional bricks-and-mortar way. Defining the structure of the operations that a seller wants to use on their business models is important. Brick and Mortar, and E-commerce are the basic two types of operating structures that is designed for starting a new business.

Whether you sell online or offline will change how you interact with customers, market your products and hire new employees.

Growth of Online Store Globally

The global online store growth rate for 2023 is forecast at 10.4%, bringing global ecommerce sales worldwide to $6.3 trillion. This marks a 0.7 percentage point increase from 2022’s growth rate, which followed a massive dip from 2021.

In 2021, global ecommerce growth rates hit 17.1%, which is also the largest year-over-year increase analysts expect between 2021 and 2026 and can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic. 

It is projected that ecommerce sales growth worldwide is expected at 9.6% in 2024 and 8.9% in 2025. In 2026, online retail growth is forecast at 8.2%

Growth of Online in India

According to sources, digital buyer penetration in India is set to rise by 28% in 2021, which is significantly higher than the previous year. According to estimates, the growth of e-business in India is going to reach 1.2 trillion in 2021. This is a huge leap from the retail market numbers in 2017, which was around $795 billion.

The percentage of online shoppers in India is set to rise in 2021. While e-commerce sales were stunted at 8% during 2020 in India, compared to 20% in the US and China, e-commerce trends in India is growing steadily despite the COVID-19 outbreak. The Indian e-commerce market is now seeing big upsides in the number of online shoppers who are purchasing more online than ever before.

Benefits Of Online and Offline Store

Benefits	Online	Offline
Create a Personal Bond with your Customer.	In Online Store your Product is a brand Your Customer repeat your Product if it it’s up to quality wise good. There is less chance of personal interaction with your customer.	In an Offline Store Word of Mouth tradition is ongoing so often your Customer Comes for your internal bond with your client not for your Product quality
Customer Can Check your Inventory	In Online Store There is a transparency between seller and customer related to the stock. Buyer can check the availability thus they can expedite their buying behavior	In offline selling there is no scope of inventory checking so sometimes buyer get disappointed for the product unavailability as they don’t know when that product will be back in stock exactly so it’s a problem for buyer sometimes if that product is an immediate requirement that time.
No Product Return Policy	In case of Online selling product return tendency is high as there is an option of test and trial so often product is returned to the seller as per the consumer preference.	Offline store returning rate is low as consumer check trial and choice that product physically so return rate is minimal. Although every offline store also offers a return policy but not for the food and raw items and there is a restriction of returning continuously.
Low Cost in Operations	Online store does not require any storefront so there is a less cost of operation and maintenance.	Offline stores require a physical presence of their business and thus the maintenance cost becomes high of offline cost as store rent, Electricity cost, Staff cost etc.
Global Expansion	Online Store or ecommerce store has a global reach audience and can expand their business out of country via their social media platforms marketing strategy and Promotions	Offline Store mostly expand their business regionally and the reach of audience mass is relatively lower than online store. Although offline store can open their store globally like some famous brand Puma, Shoppers stop but the connectivity is not so much popular and operation cost is huge.
Operate business from anywhere:	Online selling your availability is not require all the time as you can maintain your store sitting from anywhere.	Offline store requires opening the set and availability of your attendees for selling at store every time.
24*7 Availability	Online Store availability is 24*7 that is a benefit for buyer as they can do shopping as per their time and convenience	There is a certain time frame of the store opening so buyer have to be available as per the seller timing.
Trustworthy	Reviews on the online store can help in building more trust.	Mouth to mouth popularity and longtime interaction builds trust.
Sales Channel	Sell through the different type of online marketplaces, social media platforms, email marketing, messaging apps etc.	Radio and print advertising – including billboards, signs and pamphlets – telemarketing, and television ads.
Price Comparison	Online stores display a whole range of products they offer in order to cater to different customers with different taste and needs. Thus, the buyer can check and compare the product pricing with other products.	No option of compare your product and displaying of product is minimal
Tracking of Orders	Online store you can tract your delivery as a seller and buyer can track their order status.	Offline Store does not provide order tracking as its physical and f2f selling.
Staff Requirement	Minimum employees require for business operations and management	A huge staff require for managing your offline business channel.
Delivery Timing	Delivery Time is creating a waiting for the buyer to get their product. Sometimes that product. Delivery of the item may take from 1-3 weeks which can be frustrating to the customer.	Less Delivery time or no waiting delivery time in offline selling.
Touch and Feel of Product	Lack of touch and feel of the merchandise is one of the major concerns of online shoppers.	Buyer can touch and feel the quality of the product that leads to them to take perfect selection of right product.

Online, Offline, or Both 

As to the question of, which is the best option for you?’ The answer is both.

Offline and online, both are important for ecommerce, but it is true that online shopping Trend is growing rapidly. There has been a recent trend of traditional retailers opening e-Commerce stores and online stores investing in physical locations.

In the future, eCommerce and social media join together to give your buyer a more streamlined shopping process. It will gain more momentum as the new shopping apps will be introduced by several platforms. 

Platforms providing solutions to get Online.

Selling products online are not as difficult as it used to be. There is a lot of variety of ecommerce platforms and tools which will help you build an online beauty supply store at a lower cost.

-> Build From Scratch: Complex, expensive and time-consuming option. They choose it if they want to create a unique online store. In that case you can change the design or add new functions. Usually, marketplaces are built from scratch developed from outsourced technical partners. 

-> SaaS based model: – You can start selling your products and services by creating an online store for FREE or a nominal monthly or annual cost with Premium features such as WhatsApp Store, Mobile Application, POS System, Store Analytics Customer Wallet etc. You just need to customize it a little and start adding product categories.

Ecommerce Platforms that help you creating your own online store

There are few companies which help you out in the same on SaaS based model:

• GetGrahak
• Bikayi
• Digital Showroom
• Bikry
• Dukan

Must have feature in your Online Store

• Staff accounts Management
• PWA
• POS
• Store Analytics
• Push Notification
• Online Payments
• Footer Navigation
• Email Notification
• SMS Gateway
• Product Videos
• Product Reviews
• Generous Return Policy
• FAQ For Products
• Order tracking
• WhatsApp feature
• Social media integration
• Chatbots
• Coupon Codes
• Product Availability Filters
• Loyalty Program