Having an online store for your business is no longer the province of large and established retailers. With the variety of channels available, the ease of developing a website, and all the tools at your disposal, thereโ€™s no reason your business should not have a store online for potential customers to make a purchase. Your e-commerce website needs to be mobile-friendly, simple, and responsive.

More Exposure to Potential Customers

It is one thing to have a website for your small business, but it is a whole other thing to have a responsive website. A basic website is little more than an advertisement or billboard, on the internet. A responsive website, on the other hand, will be dynamic and hold the attention of your visitors, as well as push them towards a sales conversion. Potential customers may use a combination of devices all at the same time, so having exposure across the numerous devices increases customer exposure and engagement.

Faster Growth Rate

The numbers have shown over the past few years that e-commerce spending is growing at a faster rate than retail spending and, in some instances, has continued growth even when overall retail sales were dropping. In 2013, online retail grew by 14%, even though overall retail sales were only mildly improved. Experts at Goldman Sachs have also predicted that e-commerce sales made with mobile devices โ€“ including tablets, and mobile phones โ€“ will increase to over $600 billion in 2018. Tapping into this growth can help your business to grow at a highly accelerated rate. (1)

Encourage Impulse Buying

As more people are using their internet-enabled cell phones for everything, your e-commerce store needs to be mobile-friendly and needs to translate to the smaller screen. One of the advantages to a mobile-friendly site is that the customer has immediate, impulse-friendly access. If your website is not mobile-friendly, the urge to purchase may pass by the time a potential customer gets to a laptop or desktop.

Creating the Right Website and Store

Mobile devices and their users have different requirements from the normal browser devices. Add-ons, flash requirements, and sites that need to be pinched or zoomed are turn-offs to mobile users and can lead those users to leave without a sale. Your mobile storefront will need to fit the needs of the buying public โ€“ it will need to load in three seconds or less and be easy to read and navigate. Research has shown that 3 seconds is the key amount of time โ€“ 57% of mobile customers will leave your site if they have to wait longer than 3 seconds. Additionally, a study by Amazon has indicated that even a 100ms increase in load time can decrease the likelihood of a sale by 1%.( 2)

Letโ€™s be honest, there are few good reasons not to have a way to sell your goods and services online. It is the future of business and the future of business growth. Whatโ€™s more, mobile access is the future of online access and shopping, and failing to account for this could leave a business behind.

Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-e-commerce-growth-is-now-far-outpacing-overall-retail-sales-2014-4
http://resources.mobify.com/50-mobile-commerce-stats.html