Getting into ecommerce can be exceptionally lucrative, particularly if you nail your marketing channels. However, it’s also fraught with risks. In this post, we take a look at some of the facts that you’ll want to consider before launching your own store. Here’s what you need to know.

Most Vendors Can’t Provide Next-Day Shipping

While all the big ecommerce stores offer next-day shipping, smaller vendors can find it difficult. That’s because they simply don’t have the systems in place to make it happen. They love to get products to their customers faster, but they can’t. 

Experts Expect People To Make 19 Out Of 20 Purchases Online By 2040

The traditional mall or high street might be coming to an end. Experts now believe that the number of people shopping in real, physical stores will drop to 5 percent of the total by 2040, a massive reduction from today’s levels. 

The Fastest-Growing Ecommerce Businesses Are in Emerging Market Countries

Ecommerce is already popular in the West, but it is becoming even more widespread in emerging market countries, according to https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development. Top destinations include Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and India. 

Interestingly, other countries are seeing hardly any growth at all. For example, ecommerce is not at all popular in Latvia or France. 

Most Facebook Users Use Their Phones to Browse for Shopping Online

Facebook users are, as a group, shopaholics. Most use their phones to search for products online before going to a separate website to buy them. This fact demonstrates just how important it is to have mobile e-commerce stores. 

Amazon Launched in 1995 but Didn’t Make a Profit for 8 Years

If you decide to go into ecommerce, prepare yourself for the long haul. It could be many years before you turn a profit. The world’s most successful online retailer, Amazon, took eight years to make a profit, and then another decade after that to become consistently profitable in a way that mattered to shareholders. 

Ecommerce Sites Need Regular Maintenance

Ecommerce websites don’t last forever. As sites like https://www.atwix.com/services/magento-maintenance/ demonstrate, firms need to invest massively in maintenance to keep them in good condition. 

Ecommerce Has Been Around Since the 1970

Most people assume that ecommerce was an invention of the 1990s, but it’s actually been around since the 1970s. Michael Aldrich was the first entrepreneur in the space and he did it by connecting a TV set to a phone line. Such services boomed in the 1980s, netting him and his rivals significant profits. 

Because of this, modern ecommerce entrepreneurs shouldn’t assume that they’re getting into a cutting-edge business that only just started. Ordering products via a screen has been around for a long time. 

People Over the Age of 55 Spend the Most on Online Shopping

Lastly, people in later middle age spend the most in ecommerce stores. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure that your store targets this age group effectively. You can use this fact to get a leg up over your rivals who believe millennials are the primary consumer in the online space.