Australians spent $15 billion in online retail. Here's what you need to do to get a share of the revenue pie.
In the year to March 2014, Australians spent $15.2 billion on online retail [same value as of April]. This level is equivalent to 6.6% of spending with traditional bricks & mortar retailers (excluding cafés, restaurants and takeaway food to create a like-for-like comparison) in the year to February. - NAB Online Retail Sales Index March / April 2014
The fastest-growing group of online shoppers is aged 65 years and older. True enough, Groceries and Liquor had the strongest growth in online sales. Other categories include Personal and Recreational Goods, Department and Variety Stores, and Fashion.
eCommerce Basics for Small Businesses
If you don't have an online retail store yet, this may be the time for you to consider expanding in eCommerce. Typically, you'd assume that the young demographic would lead the way in online retail. But the index indicates that it's fast becoming a part of a consumer's everyday life.
The eCommerce Platform
You have two options in building your small business eCommerce platform:
Off-the-shelf Packages
All-in-one eCommerce platforms are suitable for those who don't have technical know-how in setting up an online retail shop. These include Shopify, BigCommerce, and Volusion. Apart from the standard shopping cart and payment processing methods, they also include design and marketing tools.
If you want predictable monthly costs and to focus on running the shop, off-the-shelf packages are suitable. Keep in mind that there are various caveats. There can be more fees (on top of your monthly price) and a lock-in (if you cancel the account, all data will be permanently deleted, so you'll have to start all over again if you choose to move) included in the subscription.
Open Source
Open source means that the software is free. You can build your online shop without the hefty licensing fees. OpenCart, PrestaShop, and Zen Cart are some of the popular ones. Support and add-ons are available through a community of users and developers or you can pay for those through a third party.
If you have technical know-how and run a small shop, open source eCommerce platforms are better. However, self-hosted stores would need occasional development work which can be expensive if you have a big shop.
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