Ecommerce as a natural evolution of the physical store

In the last decade, many economists and technologists, from practically all nations, have predicted the same thing: that e-commerce is called to be the natural evolution of conventional stores. That is, in the near future, most transactions would be carried out online, people would not go to physical stores but would choose from a virtual catalog, and the products would arrive at their homes or at the place of their choice, thanks to an efficient network of parcel shipments. This change has been happening for the last ten years. But it is now, in the midst of a historic and global-scale pandemic, that we have fully realized how much trade has changed. From the irreversible evolution of e-commerce as a natural substitute for the traditional store. 

Advantages of an online store over a physical store

Easier and less expensive 

One of the first obvious advantages of an e-commerce, of an online store, is the ease of maintenance. Contrary to a physical space, the online store does not require the presence of anyone to operate. It is not necessary to go to open it every day, nor do we have to worry about the eventualities that may happen with a physical store: electrical failures, problems of leaks in the building where we operate, streets closed for repairs, political or social problems that cause the cut or blocking areas of the city, isolation measures, etc. The online store is immune to all that. In particular if your store is mounted on a platform structure, such as  Integra Internet, because that frees you even from having to have a server at home for your store: Everything can be hosted through the servers offered by Integra Internet, with which, you really do not require anything at the hardware level, or at the level of equipment, to have your online store. Just a computer and an internet connection to configure and  manage your store . 

Obviously more than one will say at this point  “OK, but that is only possible for people who know about computers. I don't know how to program and I can't set up an online store, much less manage it ”  and to think that, nowadays, is a monumental mistake. Setting up an online store today has nothing to do with setting up an online store in the 90s or early 2000s.

Solutions like Integra Internet are designed to be implemented by people who have zero programming knowledge. They are designed to be used by entrepreneurs, businessmen and creators, of any field, background or training. They are extremely intuitive programs, where it is not required to have any knowledge of programming languages, because in fact, you do not need to program anything, but to configure among the options and templates that Integra Internet offers you. 

And at the legal level? In most countries the requirements to set up a physical store are equal to or exceed those to set up an online store. In other words, in nations where there is exclusive legislation on e-commerce, it is usually easier to set up a digital company than a traditional one. And in the rest of the nations, it is usually the same process. In the  Integra Internet blog  you can find different guides that will help you set up your company (we recommend looking for them by region, in this example we share that of Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Chile, for offering two) and take your first steps in e-commerce, creating your first online store. 

Automation 365 days a year

Another of the great advantages of the online store, which is proving to be particularly crucial during this pandemic, is the automation of processes. Online stores can be configured to perform processes automatically. In this way the store practically runs itself. These “automated” stores allow them to operate 365 days a year, as they do not require constant supervision from human beings. This is the equivalent of having a traditional store that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Something that would be, without a doubt, very expensive to do. 

Digitally, however, automating processes is not only usually inexpensive, it also ends up being a way to save and increase revenue. Automation can be implemented in all kinds of processes: taking inventory, restocking products by sending purchase orders to your suppliers, issuing transport guides for the distribution of orders to your preferred transport agency, basic customer service through chat-bots, Automatic promotions by mail marketing based on customer preferences when they have visited your store - what is known for example as shopping cart recovery - and even, promotions and discounts can be automated based on sales volumes or inventory. Virtually everything can be automated! 

A well-assembled online store will only require a human review from time to time. With this, the number of employees required to run an e-commerce is significantly lower than the number required for a physical store. In Integra Internet there is even the option of having a virtual assistant:  Kit.

In this regard, it is key to have the help of experts in automation processes. Experts who form the heart of the Integra Internet community : made up of a network of marketing agencies, programming and e-commerce solutions, worldwide, that guarantee professional support tailored to the needs of any entrepreneur. That is why in Integra Internet we speak of an “ecosystem” a set of organisms - of agencies and experts - that live and evolve within the system and that in turn, evolve the platform itself, thus making Integra Internetthe most powerful of e-commerce solutions. Is there something you want to do in your online store? Probably some of our experts and allies have already done it before, and if not, they surely know how to achieve it. That is an ecosystem! 

From a mug to a car

Until a few years ago, one of the most common myths about e-commerce is that there were certain types of products that were "unsaleable" through online stores. This is becoming more and more false. Today - and again the current pandemic has been the key to showing it - practically anything is sold through the web. From small household items such as mugs or slippers, to refrigerators, cars and perishable products such as food, through medicines, computers, training programs, jewelry, fashion, personal care items and stop counting. Virtually anything that can be sent through a parcel service, or that can be delivered digitally, can be sold through an e-commerce. 

In Spain, during the quarantine of Madrid, the market purchases made online by tens of thousands of Madrilenians have been distributed to the doors of their homes. Similarly, medicines, electrical appliances, parts and refractions of cars and motorcycles, personal hygiene items, toys, computers have been distributed and stop counting.

Spain exists a great example of how today practically anything can be distributed, if the parcel logistics is well assembled and allows it: Sal and Laurel distribute fresh seafood - with all the difficulty of distributing such a delicate and perishable product - to all of Spain from its e-commerce mounted on Integra Internet . 

But what about industrial material, equipment and heavy machinery, or chemical products that are intended as inputs for other industries? They can also be sold online and distributed! A very good example of this is the internationally recognized Mexican construction material and ready-mix concrete brand Cemex, which it distributes throughout Mexico through its online store Cemex Supplies, built with Integra Internet . 

For this reason, it is vital that your online store is more efficient than ever in its transport and parcel costs in this "quarantine" market and in the future post-Covid-19 market, which will surely have a substantial and irreversible increase in the use of e-commerce. This efficiency will not only allow you to bring your product to your target, but also, beat the competition and increase your profitability. 

A shelter from the storm

One of the great advantages of e-commerce is its resilience. Once the online store is created, because its maintenance is inexpensive and little required, as a general rule, they tend to be businesses that are much more resistant to big changes than a traditional business. And that, that ability to stay open and keep billing, can be the difference between stability or ruin for an entire family. 

Something that tens of thousands of small entrepreneurs in Spain and Latin America have been able to verify during this crisis: their e-commerce, their stores set up on Integra Internet have continued to generate income for them. Income in which many cases have become the lifeline, the only type of income, in the midst of an almost total paralysis of global economies. Of the traditional economies, because e-commerce has practically not suffered from this phenomenon. 

This has led traditional businesses to make the final leap into the online world. Creating stores in Integra Internet to sell their products and services, to get out of the inventory that is piled up and that, in some cases, has the double pressure of being on the one hand perishable, and on the other extremely necessary to be rotated - sold - to guarantee cash flow and stability of the business model. 

For all these  entrepreneurs  who have jumped at once to build their online stores, having an intuitive, efficient and quick-to-implement tool has been key. Advantages that allow a person, unfamiliar with the world of e-commerce, to adapt easily and quickly to this sales format, which is substantially different from the normal format of the traditional store.

Differences that Integra Internet has always tried to explain and help exploit for the benefit of newcomers to the online world of electronic commerce.

A new world 

The Covid-19 crisis   has simply accelerated a natural and unbridled process in the evolution of commerce: from physical stores to e-commerce as the nucleus and main way of exchanging goods and services. 

The drastic isolation to which we have been subjected would have been impossible some 20 years ago when there were still no such solid and reliable parcel or e-commerce platforms as those that exist today. And this scalability, this ability to process five or five thousand orders, is what has allowed e-commerce not only to have experienced an abrupt increase in sales, but also to thrive amid the strongest global economic slowdown in recent years. 50 years. 

But what are we talking about when we say that this crisis has accelerated a natural process of evolution? Let's look at the case of Spain and the online food store sector: before Covid-19 this sector, that of online food, was considered one of the least profitable e-commerce sectors, as people seemed reluctant to buy online your food.

The crisis has forced millions of Spaniards to consider buying online, and tens of thousands have done so for the first time. This has led the sector to hit a growth pull that is estimated at more than 218%. Thousands of people have made "market purchases" for the first time from their laptops, mobile devices or computers, and have received their packages with their products, their food at the door of their home. One of the great taboos of e-commerce in Spain has been broken and this is like a broken dam: there is no turning back. These people will surely continue to benefit even partially - every month, every two, three times a year, etc. - from buying food online. 

Obviously the market share that online businesses capable of providing this service to this new wave of customers will be substantial. Enough to force traditional food stores, physical stores, to consider them direct competition. Competition that will push them or make the leap online, or try to fight in a price war that, honestly, they have little chance of winning: e-commerce, as we have already said, are much cheaper to maintain than conventional stores. 

Obviously, this "brave and new world" is going to have a strong fight between its main actors. A battle that will force the entrepreneur and small business to sharpen their market strategies: the battlefield considered the core - the core - of the business, will change from the conventional store to the online space. 

This means, among other things, that the enterprises that had previously captured a market share through e-commerce, escaping the direct fight with the large industries in their sector, will now find themselves competing against the digital versions of the large ones. brands. That is why it is vital for small businesses to go ahead, optimize their online stores, carry out   marketing campaigns capable of building a brand in the memory of their target, differentiate themselves from the competition and remain, above all, current. Rest assured, that in the coming months of 2020, online advertising, email marketing and advertising through social networks will become a priority for all major brands, and in general, for anyone who wants to sell. 

In the post-Covid-19 world, the great market will definitely be through the Internet and entrepreneurs will have to try harder to be efficient in a more competitive market. Training will be key. Understanding concepts such as Sales Funnels, the Avinash model or imbound marketing will be of pressing urgency. 

In short:  The E-commerce Era has arrived!  Having an online store is no longer a luxury, a curiosity or a "filler" to increase sales: it is a vital necessity. It is the guarantee of being able to have an outlet for your product, a sales mechanism that survives 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, in a semi or totally autonomous way and with much lower maintenance costs than a conventional store. Having an e-commerce, as of this 2020, will be the difference for many brands between going bankrupt or prospering.