Most forms of eCommerce (electronic commerce) can be summed up as the buying and selling of goods and services using the Internet as our transaction medium. An online store (also known as an "virtual store" or "eCommerce Web site") is simply a dynamic Web site with a shopping cart. On sites that offer more than a couple of products, visitors frequently go looking for the shopping cart, as it makes ordering multiple products much easier.

What's so exciting about opening an online store is that you invest in something that will be generating money from the beginning – and not the opposite! And the best part is; you can get started without having to invest a fortune and you can do it faster then ever before because you have today's technology at your disposal.

An online store is a site that SELLS

In essence, your store will work as your company's online sales agent – working for you all day & night long – and it differs from a "normal" Web site in mainly three ways:

This might come as a surprise to you. Either you want to sell or not through your Web site. The truth is that in the near future, people (your customers) will expect and demand it to be ready for eCommerce. You do not want to lose your customers to the competition just because you never took action and they did!

Benefits both you and your customers

There are so many online stores popping up that it's quick and easy to find what you're looking for, see a picture of it, enter your credit card information, and have the product shipped to your house within the next day or two. There are several benefits to eCommerce for both the merchant and the consumer, here are a few:

The Merchant

• A vast market. No longer does location dictate how much business you get. The Internet is a big place, with a lot of people. Studies show that soon over 300 billion dollars will be spent using online transactions. It's time to get your piece of the pie.
• Store Hours. Online stores are always hard at work. Even when you're sleeping, consumers can be purchasing products from your store.
• No need for retail space. A computer and Internet access is practically all you need to be in business. Some people even take orders from an online store without even owning a computer!
• Few if any employees. No payroll and no benefits can save a business person a lot of money.
• Convenience. You can run an online store from home in your underwear and nobody will know.
• Less need to keep inventory. Many manufacturers will let you dropship products directly from the warehouse to the consumer.
• No printing costs. In cyberspace every electron is recycled!
• Small startup costs. redtienda is free!
• Online stores are quick to set up and fun to maintain.

The Consumer

• Location. The computer is a lot easier to get to than your local mall. No fighting for a parking space during the holidays. How else could you ever do all of your gift shopping in one evening without leaving your house?
• Hours. Online stores are always open. Shop till you drop has never been safer!
• Convenience. No waiting in lines, no grumpy sales clerks to argue with. No sore feet from going to 5 different stores to find what you want.

The smartest way to grow your business

Think for a minute of all the other benefits an automated online store can bring you: more efficient working efforts, increased sales, higher margins (more profits), a larger customer base (that you can sell to over and over again, for even higher profits!), easiness to export, a platform to test new products and/or markets (for immediate results), and additionally it will save you your valuable time and hard-earned money. And then again, why should you have an "normal" Web site that only costs money, when you can have an online store that generates money for your company? The point is; let your site do the selling! With an online store, you can get hundreds, if not thousands of customers that will buy from you over and over again – increasing your sales and profits exponentially! You'll get the maximum return from every dollar, and every minute, you invest in your online business.

How your sales explode with an online store

Now let's look on the math and why an online store can skyrocket your sales. Once you have been online some time and your marketing efforts start to drive targeted traffic, don't you think your online store can produce 10 orders per day? Yes, absolutely! Easily! What about 20 or 30 orders? It's not as hard as it may sound. In fact, soon you'll learn how to set up the "ideal solution" to maximize your online sales (with minimum investment). Now, let's suppose you are only making 20 USD per sale. Watch the power of online stores:

Now; imagine if you make a 30 USD profit per sale, instead of 20 USD – your income jumps to 300,000 USD a year! Remember, that is not "gross sales". That is pure profit! And it's an additional income to your normal business. So be sure that operating your own online store is the cheapest way, by far, to acquire new customers and generate incredible amounts of sales in a short period of time.

Automating your online business saves you time

You might be wondering how you'll keep track of the sales, and receive the online orders. Well here's great news; with the right software, 90% of your store runs on autopilot, so you can concentrate on more important tasks – such as include new products, improve your online promotions, or simply take time off to spend with your family. This also means you can serve many more customers (and rack up a lot more profit) without having to add new employees, or lease a new storefront or office space. You keep your organization and investment to a minimum. And you'll have your business open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – what can be better than working while you sleep!? It takes 5 minutes to get your own online store with redtienda. Click here to get started today at no cost.

Click here to open your own online store at no cost today