During these difficult times, many small business owners (particularly those in the retail industry) are looking for ways to  continue trading.  Self isolation and social distancing are making it increasingly difficult (nigh-on impossible) for business owners to solely operate from a ‘bricks and mortar’ shop.

Now is be the ideal time to upgrade your website, integrating a sophisticated and efficient e-commerce store in addition to your physical shop that will open again in the future.  With much of the UK now ‘stuck at home’, online traffic has increased significantly, which provides you with a much more captive and larger audience.  The earlier you choose to implement your online store, the better prepared you’ll be to weather the storm.

It’s totally understandable to feel nervous about going online with your products, especially if selling in person is all you’ve ever known.  But we’re here to help you through the design and development process (from a safe distance!)…and we think you may even get a little excited when you see your online store starting to take shape!

During this challenging period, it is essential that you keep your customers engaged.  It’s unlikely that your customers have seen all you have to offer just in your shop, so having your products available to view online has the potential to create great excitement.  You could even start by having products on your site as a brochure for instance, without the option to purchase.  This would give you the chance to maintain visibility with your loyal customer base, keeping them informed of your product range.  Once you have got used to your new website, these products can easily be switched to being ‘active’, purchasable items, starting to generate income.

Remember, delivery services may take a little longer than usual to reach their destination at the moment, but just make customers aware of this ahead of purchase (a nice banner at the head of your website would do the trick).

You’re not alone, there are very few businesses or individuals that aren’t affected by the current situation one way or another. So let’s all work together and see what we can achieve.  For a chat about how you can turn your ‘bricks and mortar’ shop into an easy to manage online store, please get in touch and we’ll be happily talk you through it.