Its the eternal question does E-commerce really work. I have four E-commerce businesses and I got into E-commerce because I just could not afford to start renting a shop outlet so I looked for different ways I could get into business. With shop rents being at an all time high coupled with business rates that could make your eyes water its no surprise that many people who want to start a shop do it first on the web.


Unfortunately most people expect instant results they expect to pay a developer get the web-site up and live sit back and watch the money roll in WRONG!. Any business takes at least five years to even see any return it takes long hard hours of work to get the general public to trust you warm to your company and start buying. People give up far to easily with web sites they don't see instant results and just give up. People need to realise that your website is going to do nothing without promotion and marketing. You can learn this yourself or pay companies to do it for you I learnt that it is very expensive to get someone else to do it for you so through learning from youtube.com and reading books I have learnt how to get a following to my site and keep them interested.
A web-site alone is not going to earn anyone a living wage unless they hit the road and supplement their income with some good old fashioned market trading. I go once a week to a varying array of markets pay a table fee and start trading it serves as a two way marketing strategy one way I am getting my name into the market place and secondly I can sell some gear to earn some well deserved cash.


I read constantly in the press about companies expanding their E-commerce presence many companies in the UK are recording great levels of growth and profit using E-commerce as a selling tool and the general public are becoming far more web savy when it comes to buying online. Gone have the days when people were scared witless that they would be conned out of their hard earned cash by buying online if anything buying online is now more secure than visiting a physical shop. Companies have sorted out logistics as well you can order on a Monday and have it in your hands the very next morning.
I know that E-commerce will never replace physical shops but I do feel that they will be as popular in the not to distant future,

Written By,

Emma Jones
CEO Ohlalashop.co.uk