A leckében összefoglaltam Neked az online kereskedelem előnyeit és hátrányait mind a vásárló, mind pedig az értékesítő cégek szemszögéből nézve.
As a result of COVID-19, the importance and popularity of trading online has increased. It enabled retailers to survive, since they had to close their stores. Ordering online and delivering goods to customers’ homes made it possible for them to continue their business.
Selling goods online has many benefits for businesses. If you operate an online store, you don’t need a building (brick-and-mortar store), so you can spare the costs of buying or renting expensive shop space. You have also reduced overheads, because you don’t have to employ shop assistants and you don’t have to pay for heating and electricity. In a web shop you can offer a wide range of products and you can increase the number of your customers, since in an online store there is no geographical limit: customers can order your products from a different part of the world.
As for the drawbacks, you will certainly need some investment in technology, in creating and maintaining a website and in managing your web shop. It can be done by yourself, if you are familiar with all these things, or you can hire a professional. Besides, you will have to contract a deliverer to transport the products, which also adds to your expenses.
In order to offer products online, you will need a good website, where your customers can find the products or services you offer. A good website is user friendly, which means, it is easy for the customers to browse among the products. Avoid using music or videos that can slow down browsing. Besides easy navigation it is also important that the products can be found easily and provide all the information in a detailed product description. A good image about the product is a must. In addition, you have to provide clear information about the terms of payment and delivery.
Customers prefer online stores, because they have the widest range of products and the longest opening hours – they can buy or order products 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Another important convenience factor is that you do not have to leave your home for shopping – this way you can save time and save money (travelling costs). In addition, it is very easy to find a product online – compared to real shops. With the help of price comparison sites, you can find the cheapest option for a certain product. Shopping online is a great help when you want to avoid crowd for example in the Christmas period or when you live in a rural area, where only a few shops are available.
As for the disadvantages, you cannot ask a professional before buying a product. The only information you can have is the product description and some forums, where other customers share their experience. These are, however, not always enough and reliable. Another disadvantage is that it can be difficult to make a complaint, because there are a lot of unknown and unreliable companies online, who either don’t have any availability or don’t react to complaints. Another drawback is that sometimes the transport costs are very high – even higher than the product itself. It can be difficult to check the quality of the product before ordering, because you cannot touch or try the product. In this case you have to rely on a photo or image, which is sometimes misleading. The most popular products sold and purchased online are books, electronics and clothes. There are, however, some products, which are not suitable to be sold online, such as perishable food stuff (long transport routes) or valuable devices such as laptops or mobile phones (might get damaged during delivery, lack of professional advice).
A szituációs feladatban előfordulhat, hogy meg kel győznöd a főnöködet az online értékesítés előnyeiről, de a várható kiadásokról is tájékoztatnod kell. Az is lehet, hogy webes szakemberként egy ügyfélnek kell elmondanod, milyen is egy jó weboldal.