Online Stores vs. Brick & Mortar

The retail market is and has been changing rapidly. More and more companies are building online stores and shifting away from brick and mortar stores. Why? The simple answer is overhead and accessibility. If done correctly, the profit margins for an online store can surpass that of a brick and mortar. Think about it.

General Brick & Mortar Store Costs:

  • Retail Space (Appropriate space and storage for product, utilities, security, maintenance)
  • Employees to work the floor (training of employees, salaries, benefits, uniforms/nametags)
  • In-store advertising artwork (branding, displays, etc. Has to be renewed frequently to fit with current deals and seasons)
  • Shipment of product to store & employee time for floor sets
  • Product loss (damage or theft)
  • Employee errors (sales till miscounts)

 

General Online Store Costs:

  • Ecommerce website build (brand, SSL, SEO, secure payment portal/method, maintenance/tech, photography of products, eye-catching content)
  • Google and Social upkeep for awareness and brand image

 

Technology has improved and become interactive enough where people can buy clothing, food, or anything else from the comfortability of their own home and have it delivered to their front door. Add that to the lower overhead costs that online stores require and you can see why more and more businesses are shifting to a focus on their online presence and sales. Oftentimes because of the lower overhead, online stores can offer more competitive pricing than brick and mortar stores which is responsible for driving even more customers online. However if an online store doesn’t grab the customer’s attention in a short amount of time then that customer may not stay and buy, or even come back. It is important to have a dynamic and interesting web presence and that can tilt the scales into needing to more work into the website content to be successful.

This current financial climate has caused a lot of brick and mortar stores to close or shift focus. Forbes has pointed out in a recent article how brick and mortar stores are evolving to keep their customer base. Some companies are seeing a large amount of success in adjusting their strategy for their in-person retail stores by investing in their customer’s experience.

An important part to either online or in-person sales is that your branding and messaging is as attracting and interesting as possible. Here at Navigation Advertising we are uniquely equipped to help your business thrive with expert advice and an amazing design team. We stay ahead of market trends, informed on customer needs, and can help you make the right decisions to get you quality interactions in your store or online.

Contact us today to talk about your store’s potential and the benefits we can bring to your operation.