ADVANTAGES OF AN ONLINE BUSINESS

According to a study there are roughly 1,10,000 online firms generating revenue of meaningful scale on
the Internet. Retail online sales in the US alone are expected to amount to more than $461 billion this
year and is predicted to rise to $638 billion by 2022. Total worldwide online sales are expected to
reach $4.5 trillion by 2021, with hundreds of thousands in further online businesses possible. The
following are the advantages of an online business:
1. Lower Start-up cost
One of the ecommerce benefits is that it has a lower startup cost. Physical retail stores must pay up to
thousands of dollars to organize one of their stores. They also have several upfront costs such as
arranging store signs, setting store design, buying inventory, sales equipment etc. And the store also
requires staff to run each store.
If one chooses to adopt Dropship online business model, there is even no need to buy bulk inventory
that saves a lot of money. 
2. Open 24X7
Another advantage is that online stores are always open for business. An online store allows those
customers who may have odd work schedules or who do not have time to shop in-person. Selling
worldwide is a great feat as it helps in building the brand faster, broadens the marketplace
exponentially and allows the business envisage profits long before the local competitors. 
3. Affordable Manpower
Depending on the type of online business one can hire affordable size of manpower. More employees
can be hired as the business starts growing. Moreover, since employees can work remotely, it makes
easier to find staff that will suit the company needs. In other words, one can hire manpower from
anywhere in the world to act as virtual assistants for running an online business.
4. Website personalization 
Website personalization can help enhance the online shopping experience. One of the biggest online
business advantages is that one can create personalized landing pages for different audiences. This
entices the customers to buy from the same online store since it eases their extra effort on their part
while making purchase decisions.
5. Personalized Marketing
Online businesses can also personalize the marketing campaigns through direct email messages.
Online business may segment the customer emails based on purchases made, location, or even how
much money a customer spent on each purchase.
Moreover, it enables retargeting customers who visited the online store, added products to their cart
and later checked out without purchasing.
6. Customer data for Analysis
One of the best advantages is that one can easily gain access to customer data for analysis. In online
business, one can get customer’s name, mailing address, email address, and phone number. This
data along with the data on purchases made provide invaluable inputs for formulation of effective
business strategies. 
7. Customer Feedback
An online business enables conducting customer surveys very easily to obtain vital information on
customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Prompt actions on such customer feedback helps building a
long-lasting relationship with the customers.
8. More value for money
Value for money is a measure of utility derived from a product by a customer. It is always measured
against the money spent on the product. When a consumer feels that he obtains greater utility from
the product compared to the money spent on it, then the phenomenon is expressed as ‘More value for
Money’. It is possible in case of E-Commerce because the products can be offered at competitive
rates.