subject: Major differences between online and offline retail stores [print this page] When it comes to running a business you need to think about which kind of business you want to start. There are two kinds of businesses that you can do, online and offline businesses. Which one would you prefer? Although there are many things that are the same between the two there are also many differences, some of which are major. Below are some of the major differences that you can expect when choosing which one you want to start.
1. Risk The risk in offline stores is that you have to put up a lot more money just to get the store filled. But with online stores you don't have that problem because you can simply list an item for sale even if you don't have it. What people fail to understand is that with an offline store you have to keep all items stocked because when buyers purchase the item they want it then and there, unlike online stores. As you can imagine the cost of having all the items you are selling will really add up, that is why many people will start a store online and then move to an offline location once profits start flowing in.
2. Competition Competition is a huge part of any industry, especially retail. The major difference online and offline competition is very simple, online retail stores have a easier time trying to cater to a certain people because they can target certain low competition keywords which will make them more likely to be found on the search engines. With offline businesses they have a harder time being found because they are normally up against more established stores such as; Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Shopko, Costco, and many others. When starting your business it is wise to figure out who your competition is and which type of business would be better to start at first.
3. Profitability This is something that many people don't ever bother to think of for the sole reason they don't think that far ahead. If you have an offline store then you can really only cater to your local market unless you expand and open more stores. So in order to figure out how many people you can sell products to you just need to know who your target market is and then find how many people there are in that age and group and divide it in half, that is the amount of people you will most likely be able to sell to. Now in the online world your number will most likely be about 50 to 1000 times that number. As you can imagine an online business if done right is a lot more profitable.
If you can research these three things and figure out which type of store you want then you will be on your way to making money very quickly. If you are still unsure about your business plan then click here for more ideas to make money from your store.
Major differences between online and offline retail stores
By: adam
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