In e-commerce, your prices have to be better because the consumer has to take a leap of faith in your product. – Ashton Kutcher
The e-commerce sector has gained immense popularity in the last few years. It is an industry which is always on the lookout for creative and dynamic individuals, people who are capable of applying their inherent skill-set to the next level. E-commerce is expanding. It is an industry which not only lets you get involved with your favorite websites but gives you the complete freedom to undertake projects while sitting at home. From learning new skills on a daily basis to getting rewarded for results rather than qualifications, e-commerce provides a host of opportunities to its employees.
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Due to the stiff competition between organizations, several companies are taking to the online mode of conducting business in order to save labor costs and overhead expenditures. It is interesting to note that multichannel and mobile shopping avenues are growing so fast that many retailers are struggling to keep pace with the increasing demands. Hence, they are constantly looking for talented individuals with the right skill-set, creating jobs in retail by the number.
If this line of work interests you, now is the best time to get into this field. Here are the top 5 reasons why working in e-commerce is hot right now:
1. Convenience
Providing services online is highly convenient to both customers and organizations in the form of lowered costs. Customers avail the benefits as discounted prices. Organizations on the other hand incur less expenditure as the number of employees required to run the setup reduces. Activities like billing, automation of checkout, inventory management, payments, and other operational processes get eliminated saving cost to the company. Also, social media traffic, organic search engine traffic, cost-effective advertising and marketing, and pay-per-click are some of the other avenues to ensure lower expenditure. With online shopping, customers do not need to travel long distances to make a purchase. This saves time, energy, and money as e-commerce allows people to visit the same store virtually, with just a few mouse clicks.
2. Exposure
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A career in retail exposes the employee to supply chain, product marketing, customer acquisition, pricing and profit management, up-selling, cross-selling, customer service, and a lot more. The knowledge gained through this enterprise is quite unmatched. Most of the jobs in the market just give you a taste of the operations and never expose you to the entire enterprise at work. With e-commerce, you have the opportunity to differ two aspects of the work-flow, while imbibing qualities that work best and with your inherent temperament. In short, e-commerce is one profession which is a complete amalgamation of all the fundamental skills of business.
3. Skill development
This line of work gives you the complete freedom to hone your “soft skills”. It in fact gives you a real feel of the needs and requirements of the customers. E-commerce develops a deep-rooted appreciation for the value of Customer experience and Brand experience. It makes you a great storyteller who can convince the audience, easily and effectively. It forces you to see the world as a customer does and exposes you to not only what a customer might say, but what he might actually do. Interestingly, this interaction can highlight the connection between a consumers’ social and shopping behavior. The outstanding skills that are acquired in a retail job are enough to take you a long way.
4. Purposeful
With e-commerce you can not only make a difference in your job, but in your entire life-style as well. Being smart and logical at e-commerce is something that can last a lifetime. For example, whether it is starting your own company, raising money for a charity, or promoting a band, with e-commerce nothing is irrelevant or a complete waste of time. It is but a great place to learn. Here you can engage in a lot of testing with daily feedback from the customers. This real-time feedback loop can augment your business learning curve exponentially.
5. Global growth
The reach of e-commerce is far and wide. The total size of the market today is around $1 Trillion slated to increase at a rate of 17% every year. Online selling has always been well established in the US and is now gaining prominence in China, India, Russia, Brazil, Southeast Asia and many other emerging markets burning with the e-commerce fever. Almost 20% of e-commerce sales are contributed by Mobile shopping. Imagine the state when tablets and smart phones sweep the world entirely. So whether e-commerce stays a hot property or not, the skills attained in retail will remain in demand for the rest of your life.
Conclusion
E-commerce has the potential to give you a taste of the best business practices in the world. The experience gained in this line of work can make you a better employee, worker, associate, or manager. Recruiters highly favor the candidates who have “e-commerce experience” on their resumes. It means that they are looking at an individual who can make the cash register ring. Jobs in retail or jobs with e-commerce are not hard to come by as leading online brands are looking to hire talented individuals all the time.
Author Bio:
Tina Jindal is a professional content writer who works on a variety of topics like employment, real estate, and education. She has been involved with renowned publications and has tried her hand at editing works on Cookery, Gardening, Pregnancy, and Healthcare. She loves to travel and is crazy about dogs. You can contact her @Gmail | LinkedIn | Google+.