The supplement industry is a very successful and lucrative one. 75 percent of adults in the United States take supplements, as the Council for Responsible Nutrition reports. That is a very wide customer base that you can tap into. If you are thinking about starting a supplement business of any size, there are many decisions you will have to make. One of those decisions is where and how to retail your supplement products.
You will need to decide whether you want to start a brick-and-mortar supplements and vitamins store or if you want to opt for an online retailing solution. There may be more benefits to e-commerce for your supplement business than there are for a traditional retailing platform. Read on to find out three advantages of e-commerce over traditional retail when it comes to the supplement industry.
Lower startup and maintenance costs
Having an online store means fewer initial start-up costs as well as fewer maintenance costs for your business. If you have an online retail platform, that means you will not be paying rent and insurance for a physical retail location. Additionally, in a brick-and-mortar store, a business owner must staff the store with customer service personnel, which can cost you money in wages. With e-commerce, your costs are more limited and you can replace personnel with tools like a conversational chatbot.
You will want to spend money hiring and developing a relationship with a vitamin manufacturer to produce your supplements, allowing you to focus on branding and marketing. Additionally, you’ll need to pay any web hosting costs, and you will need to pay for quality packing and shipping for orders. You will find that quality manufacturers, a nice website, and good shipping will save you money in product returns in the long run.
Reach more people with your product
Another plus to having an e-commerce supplement business is that you can reach a wider range of people using the internet than you can in traditional retail. For one, people are simply more apt to shop online for the things they want or need. 79 percent of Americans have shopped online. If people are already programmed to look online for products, it will be a benefit to your business if you can sell supplements online, too.
In addition to the vastness of the internet, there is a clear geographical downside to having a traditional retail business. If you choose to have a brick-and-mortar store, you will need to choose one location to break ground on your store or pay a large amount of money out of pocket to put a store in each region. Having a physical store limits the amount of customers you can reach, as consumers will turn to supplement locations closer to their homes for any of their nutritional needs.
Stay organized with E-commerce tools
An additional benefit to having an e-commerce supplement business is your ability to stay unified and organized. With one website or online shop to take care of, you do not have to worry about unifying important documents, inventories, and earnings from across stores. Instead, you can use popular web tools to keep track of all your expenses, assets, and sales. Accounting for e commerce can seem like a daunting task, but there are plenty of resources to help you keep track of everything, mostly from your computer. Not having traditional retail locations also cuts down on the amount of important papers you will need to worry about keeping track of. All receipts are online, which makes your life way easier.
If you want to start your own supplement business, look no further than e-commerce solutions to help you cut costs, reach a wide customer base, and stay organized.
