Setting up an eCommerce store for your business
With COVID-19 lockdowns enforced throughout Australia, many retail outlets have had to rapidly transition to selling online as their only way to continue operations. Whilst many “bricks and mortar” stores may not have felt they needed a website or a strong online presence in the past, embracing technology will be critical to enable retailers to survive and thrive in this difficult situation.
If you’re a retailer needing to move online, this article is for you. GippsTech’s team have put together a Retail Website Package to assist you in setting up an eCommerce store for your business to allow continued trade. This package has been specifically designed and priced to fit within the budget of government funding packages available to help businesses affected by COVID-19. If you are eligible, you may be able to access our Retail Website Package at no cost to you.
Now is the time to transition and promote your business online, so that you can weather the viral storm and set your business up for long term success.
Already have a website? Contact us and we can get you a quote to add online sales to your existing site.
What you get
Your own WordPress website, with a landing page and eCommerce store using Shopify integrations. This website is customised with your own logo, colours, photos, and fonts.
Two weeks of WordPress and Shopify support while you familiarise yourself with your new site.
Twelve months of hosting, as well as twelve months of website security maintenance including all security updates, backups, monitoring etc.
A social media marketing consultation and plan to help you let your customers know that they can order from you online.
No ongoing commissions, platform subscription fees, or recurring costs beyond normal website hosting costs and maintenance costs ($100/mo) going forward.
Domain registration available for an additional $100.00+gst.
Websites will be developed on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you want your website up and running as quickly as possible, place your order today!
To view the whole article, read on!
Retail stores and COVID-19 restrictions on trading
For some businesses, the new restrictions on face to face store trading will see substantial short-term losses; but for others, this could mean making the decision to close their doors, and their businesses, permanently. Myer has recently announced the closure of their retail stores for 30 days, standing down 10,000 members of staff. However, with a strong push in online marketing to target shoppers to utilise their eCommerce store, Myer (and other large retail chains) should survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, how can your retail businesses follow in their footsteps, innovate, and continue to operate through these difficult times?
We recommend setting up an eCommerce store of your own, and promoting your business online to both current, and new customers. For businesses who have limited experience in online trading, our team at GippsTech is here to help you.
We have outlined some important aspects and functionalities of online retailing below:
Stock inventory that automatically adjusts stock amounts when items are sold
Postage costs and delivery times
Safe and secure payments for your customers
A returns and store credit policy
Product information which includes pricing and size chart
The stark reality is, online retailing will gain market share through this time, as consumers are forced to purchase online. Even those who previously disliked shopping online are now learning to embrace it, so your business must do the same in order to survive.
Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic will eventually subside, the transition to online shopping will continue to rise, so putting your business in a position where it is accessible and available to buyers in the comfort of their own home will be an immediate advantage in the future.
How to get a website built for you in just a few days
If you are one of the many retail owners who need to get online urgently, and you don’t have the time to learn how to build your own website, we’ve created a very simple Retail Website Package for $4999 + GST. This package will include a one page website for your business; with an eCommerce store and payments processor built in, domain registration, and assistance in collecting the content needed for the site, such as a store products and inventory, and some information and text about your retail business.
The only requirements from you in order to build your website using this package is your business details, your store products and photographs of each item, your preferred website URL, your bank details to connect the payment system to, and a paragraph of information about your retail store.
It should take you no more than a couple of hours to gather the required information, letting you focus on the operational side of managing your staff and your business processes to switch to online sales.
A high-quality WordPress website built for the long term
The websites we will build for you in this Retail Website Package will be on WordPress using Shopify for the eCommerce component. WordPress is the top platform globally for small business websites, and it is extremely flexible, allowing you to extend in future with the design and functionality that best suits your needs.
Shopify is an online eCommerce system which is also the industry leading solution in the field. It complies with all payment processing security requirements and is used for hundreds of thousands of online stores, including some handling millions of dollars worth of orders per month. We recommend Shopify for retailers in particular because of its inventory management and delivery systems, which make it particularly valuable for simplifying your business administration into the future.
Our team at GippsTech has integrated Shopify into other clients’ websites with fantastic results. The reason we recommend integrating Shopify into a WordPress website as opposed to simply creating your own Shopify website is because this improves the ability to adapt and grow your business website long term. Using a WordPress website, you can add additional features to your site, control the branding and design of the site, and enhance your SEO and organic reach. The long term possibilities and design features of using a Shopify site on its own are more limited, and can end up holding back your business from future growth.
In our Retail Website Package, we will provide you with a simple template website which will include information about your business and your online store. The eCommerce online store functionality will be fully built out in the template website, it will even calculate delivery fees for you and will allow you to automatically manage stock inventory. We are just keeping the design of the site very simple in order to keep costs low, so initially you will only be able to customise your colours, logo, fonts, product photos and text content. However, as a WordPress website, your site will be fully extensible, so in the future or as an addon service, it can be extended to a customised premium design to make your business stand out from the competition.
Using these industry-leading solutions means that the website you’ll get out of this package will be high quality, even if it is very simple to start with. This would not be a throwaway website the way a website you build yourself would be likely to be; but instead the foundation for a high-quality professional website for your business, able to continue to be developed into the future.
With the eCommerce solution already in-built into the site, you can continue to operate your business throughout this crisis, whilst still giving you the option to enhance and update your website at a later date.
Whilst online stores such as Ebay, Amazon and Etsy have their appeal when it comes to a low cost solution, we recommend putting your time and money into your own professional website.
Why we recommend selling through your own website
Whilst online stores such as Ebay, Amazon and Etsy have their appeal when it comes to a low cost solution, we recommend putting your time and money into your own professional website. If you look forward to the future goals of your business, having an online presence is very important when it comes to the trust of your customers in using your brand. Having your own WordPress website gives you control over your branding, design and SEO; and it supports you as a professional and reliable business. This makes it easier to secure partnerships with other online stores in the future, as stores like Myer do not buy from a business which is only listed on Ebay or Etsy. The WordPress + Shopify solution also allows you to set up a private store for wholesalers in future which will help your business to build up partnerships with larger retailers, as many of them require their suppliers to provide a way to purchase products online.
To make the cost of website development more accessible to small businesses, particularly at this difficult time, we’re offering the package at a total cost of $4,999 which fits well within the budget limit of government grants available to help businesses affected by COVID-19. (Please see our article “How to get funding for your business” for more information on funding available for your business website, or reach out to us directly for a free consultation.) If your business is not eligible for a grant or funding, we can offer a 6 month payment plan to assist your cash flow requirements at this time. You’ll pay $835 per month for the first 6 months, plus the 2.9% + $0.30 Shopify fee per transaction.
A comparison of transaction fees
When making the comparison between building your own eCommerce website and listing your products on Amazon, Etsy or Ebay, it is important to take transaction fees into account.
Whilst the initial setup of your own website can be a significant investment, it does pay for itself over time if you take transaction fees into consideration; not to mention the impact a professional website can have on your business.
Etsy proves to provide the lowest fees of the three brands for selling products through its site, with a 33 cent listing fee, 5% transaction fee, and 25 cent payment processing fee.
Ebay charges a 35 cent listing fee (if you list more than 50 items per month), and a 10% transaction fee if your item is priced under $100.
Amazon charges members $49.95 per month to have an account, along with a 12% transaction fee for each sale.
Shopify in comparison, proves to have the lowest fees at 30 cents and 2.9% per transaction. Long term, if you are selling a lot of items and want to promote your brand, building your own website is the best way to achieve this.
Gain funding for your website
In some areas, grants may be available to assist businesses to adapt and continue operations during the COVID-19 shutdown. We have worked with over 30 businesses in the past to help them apply for grants to fund websites, digital marketing and other projects. While we cannot make any guarantees about securing a grant for your business, we are happy to discuss ways we can help you apply for a grant in a free half-hour consultation.
There are a number of grants available to businesses to assist in remaining operational through this time. If you are a Gippsland business, the Latrobe Valley Authority has a grant of up to $5,000 in funding for eligible businesses, to be used for professional services, which includes websites and digital marketing.
More information regarding grants and funding for your business website can be found here, or book in a free consultation with us if you’d like more information about how we can help you apply for grant funding for your business website.
Book your Retail Website Package today
In light of the current situation regarding COVID-19, it is time to innovate and pivot your business to sell online, so that you can remain operational. Our package will allow your website to go live in under a week, to minimise the disruption to your business, and will allow you the flexibility and capabilities to grow into the future.
We hope that this guide has proved helpful for you at this time. If you would like to book a Retail Website Package for your business, please complete the online order form here, or if you have further questions please feel free to set up a free half-hour consultation with a member of our team below.
Websites take up to a week to set up, and will be developed on a first-come-first-served basis. If you want your website up and running as quickly as possible, place your order today!