Starting an Online Business All-in-One For Dummies®, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1: Knowing When to Put Your Store Online

In This Chapter

• Deciding whether a Web site can help your business
• Perfecting your timing when you're launching a site
• Building on your store's existing identity
• Mapping out the details for your online move
• Putting your inventory on the Web

Today, rather than asking whether a retailer has a Web site, you most likely simply assume that they do. Why wouldn't a traditional brick-and-mortar business also have a Web presence, so you can purchase their products online as well? However, although significant numbers of retailers have moved online, plenty have yet to make the jump or have not made their complete inventory of products available on the Web.

If you are in this group, don't fret. You might have put off launching a Web site because of costs or other reasons, but believe us when we say that there has never been a better time to join the online revolution. E-commerce sales in the United States are expected to grow by nearly 10 percent a year, reaching $450 billion by 2014, according to Forrester Research. At that point, online sales are projected to account for more than 8 percent of all retail sales in the United States.

In addition to gaining sales online, your Web store is probably also influencing your offline sales. In 2010, online purchases reached $155 billion. However, Forrester Research found that a larger amount of offline sales were driven or influenced by customers doing online research. It is estimated that nearly ...