We’re halfway through the year, and it’s apparent that e-commerce won’t be slowing down anytime soon. Not only are more businesses looking to establish online stores but also they are looking to develop their stores. According to Invesp, ecommerce sales is growing at 10% each year in the US alone and 19% worldwide.

For shoppers, the benefits are plentiful. Shopping online saves time, offers a greater product selection and allows for cost savings in terms of taxes, the price of the product and money saved on gas. For retailers, the benefits are equally abundant. Let’s take a look.

1. Establish an Online Presence

More than 80% of the online population has used the Internet to purchase something. Your customers expect you to be available, and this presence allows you to keep up with the competition. Otherwise, your audience will be flocking toward your competitors to make an online purchase.

As a business owner, you want to grow your business and attract new audiences. Physical retail relies on branding and customer relationships, but online retail has the added benefit of driving traffic from the search engines. If a customer is doing a search for photo editing software, for instance, they may land on your company even though they’ve never heard of you before.

3. Save on Operational Costs

Running an ecommerce store can actually save you money. How? With a web-based management system, you can automate inventory management and decrease the costs associated with it. Also, running an ecommerce store doesn’t come with the same overhead costs as a physical store. The additional profit that is made from reaching more customers will offset any initial setup costs.

4. Better Understand Your Customers

It’s difficult to build a customer persona when you’re running a mom-and-pop shop. You can get a rough idea of who your customers are, but it’s based on your perception rather than actual data. With an ecommerce store, you have the ability to track your customers’ buying habits. What products are they most interested in? When are they likely to buy? What motivates them? All of this information can be used to sell more efficiently to your customers.

5. Boost Brand Awareness

Ecommerce will help your brand get more awareness in the online landscape. As you develop more web pages, the search engines can index them and boost your placement. It’s important to use good keywords in your content that are optimized for your audience, as this is what will drive traffic to your site. As your site gets more visibility, people will become familiar with your brand and reputation.

6. Equip Customers with Information

When you have an ecommerce site, you can provide as much information as you want, which customers appreciate. From the product description to customer reviews to shipping charges, you can arm shoppers with the information they need to make informed buying choices, and you don’t need to provide the staff to answer these questions. This leaves you with more time for other tasks around the workplace.

7. Drive Conversions and Sales

When you open up your business globally without any geographical or time constraints, you capture new audiences that you wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. With a well-designed e-commerce site and a quality product, you can drive conversions and sales and experience a new level of growth. Analytic’s also helps you fine tune your marketing strategies so that you’re reaching the right audience.