LSA Technology - e-Commerce and Shopping On-Line

You have probably heard about 'e-commerce', and you may have bought (or thought about buying) goods or services using the Internet. You may know all about it, or you may know virtually nothing about it, but you are probably considering the possibility of selling your own goods or sevices online over the Internet.

Selling online can be hugely successful, and can help to generate increased sales for a relatively modest outlay, but it is a route that will not suit every business. The following sections will help you to understand e-commerce, to analyse your own business and to make a more informed decision about the benefits of online selling.

The e-Commerce opportunity

Will e-Commerce work for my business?

What do I need to set up my online store?

How can LSA help me?

The e-Commerce opportunity

The ability to sell online can offer significant advantages over traditional sales methods, and many businesses are making use of this new approach. As customers gain confidence in buying online, it is increasingly important for a business to offer customers the option of buying online.

Increase your sales
An enormous number of households and businesses in the UK now have internet access, and an increasing number of those shop online - a potential market of maybe 10 million buyers in the UK alone. With an online store you can have access to this market, at a fraction of the cost of conventional expansion. The accessibility of the internet creates the potential for a relatively quick return on investment. It is possible for a new store to become profitable within just a few months.

An online store is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – without your customers even having to leave home or office.

Attract customers from overseas just as easily as those in your own locality.

Lower overheads creates the opportunity to offer discounts and add value for customers.

An online store can generate new leads and increase sales.

Reduce your costs
Making your store available online means that order processing and acknowledgement, invoicing and accounting, can all be automated and integrated. Product information is always available to customers and orders can be taken 24 hours a day, leading to significant cost savings and improved efficiency.

Automated ordering around the clock means no evening or weekend working and no overtime payments.

As customer details are entered by the customers themselves, and then automatically passed through the ordering process, workload and errors are reduced.

Changes made to a product catalogue can be quickly posted to the online store.

Give your customers better service
Your online store has the capacity to interact with your customers, remembering who they are, receiving enquiries and asking questions, and ensuring that they are provided with the most complete and up to date information about your products and services.

Regular customers can save their contact details on their own PC, to be recalled and used each time they visit your store.

Product details can be updated frequently and easily, allowing customers to benefit from new products and special offers as soon as they are available.

Technical information, special promotions, newsletters, surveys, coupons, gifts, and contests can easily be added to raise interest and encourage frequent visits to your store.

Accessories and optional extras, such as batteries, can be offered with relevant products, for customer convenience and the opportunity to increase turnover.

Will e-Commerce work for my business?

Whether or not selling online can benefit your business depends on a number of factors; for example, the nature of the goods or services you offer, the make up of your customer base, the size of your business and your existing distribution channels, will all have an influence. Before deciding whether the internet is a suitable sales channel for your business, consider these points:

What are you selling?
The internet is particularly good for selling:

'Hard goods'

Products priced in a consistent way

Products for which there is a fixed price list

Products with a short sales cycle

Products that can be chosen by sight

Repeat purchases

The internet is less effective for selling:

Services for which the prices are individually negotiated

Products with a long sales cycle

Who are you selling to?
Purchasing online is ideal for many customers. Consumers and businesses can save time by ordering online at their own convenience. The internet is particularly suitable for:

Customers looking for value items

Convenience purchasers who want to save time and effort

Ethical shoppers who want honest and 'politically correct' goods

Experimenters who are ready to try new things

Customers searching for niche products, specialist or hard to find items

Customers sending gifts remotely

Tickets, gift vouchers and items that are easy to post

Shoppers (remember that shoppers can be individuals or businesses) can be categorised into:

Those ready to try new things

Value shoppers

Those who want the lowest cost

Social shoppers

Those who enjoy shopping

Convenience shoppers

Those who want to save time and effort

Habit die-hards who are stuck in their ways

Ethical shoppers who want honest and 'politically correct’ goods

Experimenters

How are you selling?
Selling online is merely a more efficient way of selling by mail order. If your company currently takes orders by phone, mail or fax, you will benefit by adding e-commerce to your sales channels. Consider the possibility that if you do not adopt online selling, you will almost certainly lose business to competitors who do.

If you are not already selling by mail order and you want to, there are many issues to consider, such as payment methods, tax, delivery, order tracking, returns policy and stock management. These aspects of your new business will be at least as important as your online store, but they should not dissuade you – help is available to guide you through these aspects of selling online.

What do I need to set up my online store?

In order to set up an online store and start taking orders, the equipment and facilities you will require are:

A Personal Computer
A standard PC is all that will be needed to operate and maintain your online store. LSA will help to ensure that your computer has the correct specification, and can supply you with a suitable system if required.

A connection to allow your computer to access the internet
A dial up connection via a modem or via a router connected to your network are the most likely to suit your purposes, but other forms of connection are available. LSA will advise the most suitable method, and set up your systems to give the most appropriate cost/performance solution for your needs.

A suitable internet hosting account
You will require web hosting that provides sufficient space to accommodate your online store website, and provides the necessary software facilities required by the store software. You will require an email facility to communicate with your customers, and to receive order notification from your store. To enhance the profile of your store, you should register your own domain name. LSA is able to supply a Business User Web Account, that provides all the facilities necessary to run your online store.

A website containing your online store
You will require a website with online catalog and shopping cart facilities to display your products and services, and to take orders. LSA recommends the market leading Actinic family of e-commerce solutions for most business requirements. This flexible and easy to use solution is able to handle any number of products, from half a dozen to several thousands, and is capable of presenting your corporate image with polish and flair.

A means of receiving payments
To provide your customers with the most immediate and convenient method of payment, you should be capable of taking payment by credit card. There a several ways of achieving this, but all are handled with a great level of security overseen by your chosen Payment Service Provider (PSP). Card details are taken by the PSP, who then obtain authorisation, confirm payment to allow shipping, and ultimately credit the funds directly to your account. For the convenience of your customers, other payment methods can be provided, such as payment by cheque or on account. LSA are able to guide you through the various choices, and recommend a number of PSPs for you to discusss terms with.

A means of taking and using suitable photographs
It is vital to display your goods in an attractive manner within your store, allowing your customers to see what they are buying. This means good quality photographs, and one way to get these is to take them yourself. This really means using a scanner to scan prints, or using a digital camera and uploading the photos directly to your computer.

How can LSA help me?

LSA can offer a complete service to take you through the whole process of developing an online store, from first thoughts to taking and fulfilling orders. We will work with you to develop your website, and your business, to exploit the opportunity to the full. We will create your store website, with a design reflecting your corporate image, and displaying your products to their best advantage. We will also supply all the resources you will require to complete the project. At each step of the way, we will advise which of the many options will most suit your needs, leading you to the best cost/performance solution possible.

We can take on the whole job of creating your store, including the entering all of your products, and then continue to maintain the store and its contents. If you prefer (and feel confident to - it's really quite easy), we will show you how to maintain the store and products yourself, so that you will only require us to help if you want to make major changes. If you ever need any help or guidance, we will always be available to help you out.

Try out our demonstration online store that will allow you to view and test the functionality of our on-line trading solution. This shop is a fully functional demonstration, and has all the capabilities associated with the finished solution, even allowing you to place orders. PLEASE NOTE! As this is a demonstration system, we will not be taking payment or supplying the goods!