Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 31% of Singaporeans reduced shopping from brick & mortar stores. 41% started working from home more than before, and 37% increased their online shopping activities.
Evidently, consumer behaviour has shifted as more turn to online alternatives. Furthermore, a study has shown that 44% of Singaporeans prefer to shop online post-outbreak.
However, despite it being relatively easy to set up shop online, not all traditional retail stores have adopted it. For many small-medium businesses, they simply do not know how, or where to start.
Top 3 challenges SMBs face in venturing into
e-commerce and how to solve them
1. Customer experience
Figuring out how to offer your customers the same experience they would get in a brick-and-mortar store can be challenging. The online customer journey is entirely different, and it all boils down to a seamless, fuss-free customer experience that many online consumers value.
Ensuring your customers have an all-in-one experience is important. Carousell provides a simple user interface for users to browse products, engage with merchants in active communication, and even negotiate prices. As a seller, you can then provide the same level of customer service through virtual means.
2. Visibility
Setting up your own individual website would make things even harder for small businesses to attract volume, much less quality traffic. On top of that, you’d still have to convince visitors to make a purchase.
It is thus more efficient to set up shop on an online marketplace like Carousell with an already established user interface, as well as a large user base that is already familiar with the platform. That way, users can find their way easily, and your business gets to enjoy the exposure it provides.
3. Finding the right audience
How can you narrow down and target the right audience, given the internet is full of consumers with differing interests? Utilise platforms like Carousell that have categories in place, users will then know exactly where to find the products they want. Put up your listings under any category of your choice, and use Bump or Spotlight to get you extra visibility, knowing well you’ve reached the right audience.
How Carousell helps to bridge the gap:
- Simple and extremely user-friendly interface
- Dedicated personnel to guide you every step of the way so you can get started with ease
- Reach 1 in 4 Singaporeans who actively browse our platform
- Comprehensive seller tools to ensure your listings get maximum visibility (Bumps, Spotlight and CarouBiz)
Eligible merchants will receive one-time grant
support of 90% from Enterprise Singapore!
Success Story: Demaco sees a 10-20% increase in sales after taking their services online
We chanced upon the CarouBiz Booster Package during the Circuit Breaker period and decided to go ahead with Carousell. The package provides us with seller tools promote our products and services. This helped us get a head start as well as increase sales and brand awareness.
Within 3 months, we have managed to get an estimate of 10-20% increase in sales and have since received many orders on Carousell. This has helped us greatly during the circuit breaker by providing a platform to regain the lost revenue from our retail store.
– Demaco, Sunscience Marketing
