When you buy products at wholesale prices, it’s the perfect opportunity to sell them at retail prices and make an extra profit on each product. However, wholesalers typically have to keep track of inventory, manage physical stock in storage, and then ship the products to their customers themselves.
Becoming an e-commerce business can eliminate some of these steps and make your business more efficient. At first glance, wholesalers who sell products to retail stores might wonder why they should branch out into e-commerce in the first place. After all, wholesalers have plenty of work to do without dealing with the headaches of online sales and customer service. Here are many ways that becoming an e-commerce business can help you increase your profits as a wholesaler.
What is E-commerce?
You may have a vague sense that e-commerce has something to do with the internet, but you may not know exactly what that entails. Simply put, e-commerce is any transaction made online. These sales can involve physical products (like clothes or electronics) or intangible services (like software support or web design).
And while many of these transactions are straightforward — imagine buying toothpaste from Amazon, for example—others get more complex and require sophisticated order fulfillment systems. The point is, there’s a lot more to e-commerce than simply posting things on your website and collecting money; it’s an entire business model that’s here to stay.
Drive Customer Traffic
The power of e-commerce is undeniable. It’s easy to find statistics that support e-tail success: for example, three percent of all retail sales come from online businesses, and e-commerce sales are growing at double-digit rates year over year. As a wholesaler, you can harness these benefits by selling your inventory online through Amazon or other channels. One study found that businesses with ten or more products available on Amazon grew their annual revenue an average of 27 percent — almost three times faster than those without product listings on Amazon.
Consistent Buyer Interaction
If you were to own an e-commerce business, there would be no need for customer interaction. You could create your store and sit back while your money accumulates. This is particularly beneficial when you are a wholesaler with a large inventory of products that aren’t high in demand. It will take a lot of time and energy to deal with customers who may be unsatisfied with their purchases.
As an e-commerce business, you don’t have to do anything except set up your website and wait for customers to find it. Once they make a purchase, delivery is automated, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with picky or unhappy buyers.
Cost Savings
The average e-commerce business spends thousands of dollars per month on fulfillment costs. That’s up to a whopping 90% lower than traditional retailers spend on inventory and shipping. If you’re looking to run your wholesale business more efficiently, think about expanding into e-commerce. It could save you time, money, and headaches in years to come.
For example, those who are in the landscaping businesses need a skid steer loader to haul and lift soil and other materials. This kind of equipment will help with their projects and make them look more professional. Skid steer loaders can be purchased for wholesale prices for anyone interested in owning one.
It is up to anyone looking to get some information about these products to do some research on where they can find these items at affordable prices without sacrificing quality or reliability. If wholesalers and manufacturers sell them online, businesses can buy them in bulk from these sellers so that they have plenty to work with and enough time left over from savings to run their own business efficiently.
Shipping and Handling Costs
If you sell in a physical store, you have likely experienced how increased shipping and handling costs can affect your bottom line. Shipping costs must be passed along to customers, meaning that additional sales dollars leave your business instead of staying within it.
It is another issue that e-commerce businesses do not face. As online shoppers don’t bear shipping and handling costs, they are more likely to spend than those who visit brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, many websites offer free or low-cost shipping deals—again incentivizing purchase from an online source rather than shopping at a retail location
For wholesalers looking to start their own e-commerce business, selling through an established third party is an excellent place to start. With digital nomads growing at such high rates, more and more people will be using smartphones and computers to search for goods online instead of going out shopping in person for what they need. It presents an excellent opportunity for wholesalers that want to take advantage of larger e-commerce platforms.