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    E-commerce

    Internet shopping in all its forms continues to grow, to the extent that the UK now boasts the most advanced e-commerce market in Europe. In fact, the UK was expected to have almost 60 million e-commerce users in 2022, leaving only a small minority of people who don’t shop online.

    Internet retail sales grew a whopping 47% in 2020 alone, and while the pandemic has contributed to the speed of this growth, online sales are expected to rise steadily in all sectors in the coming years.

    For businesses, this means a user-friendly, highly functioning e-commerce site is absolutely critical to growth and success.

    Perhaps even more so than a traditional website, an e-commerce site should attract customers, look amazing and work well. Just like a high street store front, an e-commerce site is a shop window. It needs to invite customers and, once inside, they need to be able to easily find what they want and then buy it.

    Any downtime in an e-commerce site can be costly, the same as if you unexpectedly closed a physical store in the middle of the day. It’s therefore vital that an online store is well built and well maintained.

    As a full-service digital agency, we bring all our design, marketing and development experience into the creation of a successful e-commerce site.

    This includes developing a brief based on various consumer and competitor analysis, creating a wireframe, beautiful design, hosting and ongoing management.

    We can create an entire site from scratch, or we can add an e-commerce platform to an existing website. The key is to make sure any site integrates seamlessly with other back-office sales and fulfilment processes.

    There are various options available when it comes to e-commerce sites and we work with our clients to identify the most suitable solution, depending on the needs of the business.

    This could include:

    • Bespoke build – an e-commerce site built to accommodate a business’s individual processes
    • Popular platforms such as Shopify
    • Plugins for existing websites, such as WooCommerce
    • Adapting sites for mobile
    • The development of e-commerce apps

    Designing a beautiful and user-friendly site is just one part of the equation though. We also want to make sure customers can find it. We support with all the additional traffic-generating activities, including SEO work, paid social advertising and review campaigns.

    We also understand the challenges with international trade and can advise on this complicated area too.

    Check out this case study with Alfred Music as an example. As a global organisation, Alfred Music has thousands of products across different markets, suppliers and licences and needed a cohesive and integrated e-commerce solution where digital products could be safely ordered and downloaded.

    Summary

    The benefits of e-commerce sites for B2C and B2B businesses speak for themselves, but it’s a big investment and one which should be returned in the form of increased sales. A successful online store requires the technical expertise to build it and the knowledge of how to market and promote it to the right audience.

    With more than 20 years of experience, there are not many scenarios we haven’t seen, or problems we haven’t solved. Our skills and experience enable us to develop excellent e-commerce sites that truly work and that our clients are proud of.

    Get in touch via the form below for more information about our e-commerce services.