local ecommerce website

Create a Local eCommerce Website with these Essential Features

July 7, 2022
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In a world where the internet has become as commonplace as electricity, choosing to keep your business offline equates to spelling doom for it. Reaching customers has transcended into a whole different game than simply advertising in newspapers and magazines.

Starting a local eCommerce website is an excellent way for retailers to reach new customers. Apart from being a medium for selling your products, it can also function as a branding and marketing hotspot. Considering the fact that the current eCommerce market has reached $875 billion in the US alone, you can expect great profits with your site.

Benefits of Creating a Local eCommerce Website over Global Platforms

There are several other benefits to be enjoyed with a local eCommerce website that you may not get by selling your products on Amazon or similar sites. Let’s look at a few of them:

  1. Build Your Brand

Building your brand may sound like a daunting task, but it becomes much easier with your website. Sure, it may take a while for things to completely kick-off. However, once the local community has your back, your success is ensured. Moreover, studies show that over 77% of consumers are open to giving local eCommerce websites a shot.

  1. Uncontested Territory

Selling on a large eCommerce platform may have some perks, but you’re bound to find a lot of competition there. However, your local eCommerce site would sell only your products without any competition. You will also be able to adjust your prices without starting a price war.

  1. No Hidden Fees

Selling your product on your website will not require you to pay fees for listing as you must on existing global platforms. Your local website can also provide you with more revenue streams, such as advertisements.

  1. Customized Experience

Selling your products online already comes with the benefit of being able to sell your products 24×7. However, having your local website takes this a step further and enables you to customize the experience for your customers with local payment options, delivery schedules, and personalized product options.

Guidelines to Successfully Set Up a Local eCommerce Website

Setting up your eCommerce website isn’t as difficult as it may seem. However, it is important to be thorough to ensure that all the required features and functionalities are present in your online store. Some of these are:

  1. Geo-Location

Geo-Location is an important feature for your site to help provide a more personalized experience to customers. You can even allow customers to add a geo-location tag to their address. This makes it easier for them to add it than having to type out every detail.

  1. Localized Landing Pages

A localized landing page will provide customers with the most relevant products in their location. These pages are especially beneficial for stores that sell different products in different regions.

  1. Local Payment Gateways

Providing local payment gateways will boost your customers’ shopping experience and incentivize them to visit your website again. Most of these methods are also faster and will reduce the total transaction time.

  1. Intuitive UI

Without an intuitive user interface, customers aren’t going to stick around your site for long. Therefore, you need to provide an interface that works with natural movements and completes the purchase process in the least number of clicks.

  1. Customer Reviews

A steady customer review section will help give new customers confidence in your products. Therefore, providing quality in your products for positive reviews is essential.

  1. Cart Recovery

Cart Recover is a feature that is sometimes missed while designing local online stores. It allows customers to leave your website and return while still having the same product in their cart. This feature helps boost convenience as they won’t have to spend time finding the same product over again.

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  1. Tracking System

Tracking systems have become commonplace in almost all eCommerce platforms. Apart from providing live updates of the order’s status, the tracking system should also provide access to the returns system for easy order management.

  1. Chat and Phone Options for Customer Service

Customer service is of the utmost importance for succeeding in the eCommerce world. You will build permanence in your brand by showing your customers that you value them. Customers should be able to access this via chat or phone as per their preference.

  1. Local Language Support

To create a local eCommerce website, you must add support for the local languages of the region. This will prevent the language barrier from interfering with the convenience of the customers.

  1. Self-Pickup

This step is optional but can help you reach a larger customer base. You can allow customers to place orders on your website and collect the product from your physical store. While this won’t be an option for everyone, it will help build more confidence in your brand.

  1.  Mobile Support

While having a mobile application for your eCommerce website isn’t necessary, it is important to make it mobile-ready. Nearly 52.79% of internet users access the web via mobile devices, and this number keeps growing. As a result, having a website that doesn’t load well on mobile devices won’t be good for business.

Final Thoughts

As you’ve already seen, owning a local eCommerce website is a great way to reach more customers. Doing so will also help you take your services to the next level. However, it doesn’t have to be a lengthy process.

With an eCommerce platform like Quick eSelling, you can have your site up and running in no time at zero capital investment.