Posted on Wed, May 16, 2012 @ 04:26 PM
Outsourcing parts of your business to outside vendors means you are relying on experts to help you accomplish more results and perhaps fill a resource gap in your own organization. How do owners of an ecommerce retail businesses or even executives at Fortune 50 companies know that they are getting the best value and results?
How many times have you heard a colleague tell you that their marketing firm just can’t get their web site done, their PR firm is not delivering enough media coverage, or their event company ran over budget and delivered an substandard event experience?
Aside from the basics of good sourcing and reference checking along with the fundamentals of setting deliverables and measuring results, there is one key question to ask yourself to ensure the dollars you spend with outside vendors deliver the results you expect, and more.
Do you treat your vendor as a partner?
Chances are your vendor has other customers. While you may have documented the statement of work and expected deliverables, vendors go the extra mile when they have access to you and/or the team members critical to their success . . . when you share your business metrics and how you measure success at a macro and micro level . . . when they feel their work is valued and recognized.
As an example, it’s good practice to hold a weekly 20-30 minute meeting with your vendor following an established agenda structure. Even better is touching base on an ongoing basis. Forward internal updates that are relevant. Take the time when on the phone or in person to build a business relationship through shared interests. Reach out occasionally and ask how things are going, and always be responsive.
When it comes to metrics, a PPC firm, for example, may apply a common industry measurement such as cost per lead as the primary business metric by which they monitor and measure success of your account. Does that measurement align with how you measure the results they deliver for you? If not, make sure your vendor is clear on what you view as success metrics and adjust accordingly.
Do you take good work for granted? Make sure your vendor knows . . . that you know . . . the value they deliver. Praise them in person and within your company. At vendor agencies, team members often know which clients are the best. Just like people want to work for a great boss, agency employees also want to work on the accounts with the best clients. You want to be one of those.
Conversely, if you aren’t seeing results in an area, then ask what your vendor needs or why they think you have not been able to accomplished results in that area. Chances are they know but they may not be telling you. Either way, you can work together to solve the challenge.
You will know you have achieved a partner status with your vendors when they:
- Execute against the agreed plan or service level and proactively update you on milestones;
- Provide recommendations and choices when it comes to decision-making (and if budget applies, provide the budget levels associated with each choice);
- Treat your budget just as if it was their own money;
- Bring you new ideas;
- Say you are their favorite client (and mean it)!
The author, Becky Wood, has sourced, hired, and fired vendors across many marketing disciplines in North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific and Japan. She is currently CMO and General Manager at Webgistix Corporation, the global leader in eCommerce Order Fulfillment.
Posted on Mon, May 14, 2012 @ 12:49 PM
Direct mail is, without a doubt, one of the most ignored aspects of marketing for online businesses.
Yet it offers tremendous potential for conversions and sales for almost any kind of product.
Let’s assume you have been keeping up to date on the latest marketing news, from this blog and from others.
If you have, you’re undoubtly utilizing social media and e-mail to engage with your customers. Maybe you’ve optimized your site for SEO, actively use PPC ads, and have designed an intuitive and attractive website. Landing pages, promotions, and discount tickets are all part of your repertoire.
So now what?
Consider direct mail, one of the single most powerful ways of getting your material in front of potential customers. Even ten years ago, it would be unthinkable for someone to call themselves a well-rounded marketer without knowing how to execute a direct mail campaign.
Today, we have a plethora of tools that didn’t exist a few years ago, especially e-mail, and this has relegated direct mail to the backburner. Some self-styled “gurus” even call it an obsolete discipline. After all, if you run an online business and all your customers are online, isn’t e-mail the only way to go?
Not exactly. Here are three reasons why direct mail is still relevant in today’s digital landscape.
People don’t change.
Tools change and technologies change all the time. But human nature never does. The same methods of persuasion that have been taught to marketers for generations: limited-time offers, testimonials, and exclusive offers, work through all mediums. Whether it’s a late night TV infomercial, a promotional e-mail, or a piece of direct mail, an offer that is effective in one marketing channel will be effective in others. It doesn’t matter if your customers need to use the internet to access your services, if an offer works in e-mail, it will work in direct-mail. This allows you to run proven, effective e-mail campaigns in print format, and hit target markets you otherwise would not be able to reach.
Direct Mail Gets You In Front of People You Normally Wouldn’t
Direct mail is an interesting marketing channel because you can be incredibly creative with it. E-mails are limited by e-mail client compatibilities and hosts of other factors. Direct mail is only limited by what you are willing to spend, and how creative you are with the size and design. Why does direct mail hit segments that you normally wouldn’t be able to reach?
For one thing, direct mail is physically there in front of you. Unlike e-mail, which you can just ignore, you must take actively take time to remove direct mail from your presence. That means most people who get a piece of direct mail will at least see the headline, as well as hold it in their hands. Consider the fact that not everyone checks their e-mail, but almost everyone checks their mail at one point or another. This might annoy people who aren’t interested in what you have to offer, but if you can accurately target your market, it’ll be far more effective than e-mail.
There is a downside to this. Direct mailing is more expensive than e-mailing prospective customers because of postage and printing costs. But the upsides outweigh the downsides in most cases. A good direct mail campaign can increase traffic, sales, and conversions.
It’s an Underused Medium
Many marketers new to the field have dismissed direct mail as a relic of the past. That’s good news for you, because not only are they wrong, it also means less people will be using direct mail. That gives you a key advantage over the competition. People will not expect to see your brand on their kitchen table, and that’s partly why it can be very effective.
Like all forms of marketing, it’s incredibly important to know who you are marketing to, and know how to do it right. Make your offer attractive, make the copy compelling, and send it to the right people. You might be surprised at the results.
Have you ever tried direct mail for your online business?
Posted on Thu, May 03, 2012 @ 04:33 PM
There are quite a few sites out there that will teach you how to expand your online store, boost sales, and attract more customers.
But growing profit is a result of not only increasing sales, but also cutting costs.
In fact, you might be surprised how much your bottom line improves by keeping in mind a few simple principles.
Here are a few quick tips to reduce costs while maintaining quality.
Try to use discounts strategically. Discounts are a great way to boost traffic to your site, and work well as attention grabbers. There’s nothing that quite gets a potential customer salivating like an 80% off sale.
Some sales can easily bring in an influx of customers that more than offsets the profit loss per item. The influx of new traffic discounts bring can be so encouraging, that you might even decide to offer a site-wide sale. After all, with that much more traffic, surely your profits will increase, right?
Well, hold on a minute. Before you decide to offer that sale, make sure you’ve taken into account how much you’re planning to make per item, how much new business you think you’ll be getting, and most of all, whether you will be making a profit! It sounds like common sense, but it’s not uncommon that a site-wide sale turns into a disaster.
Also, consider using discounts strategically by considering your profit margin per item. Once you are able to identify your lowest and highest profit products, you will know which to offer huge discounts on, and which to avoid discounting. By offering discounts on popular items that don’t need any additional incentives to buy, you are potentially reducing your profit rather than increasing it.
Another incentive often used to increase traffic is offering free shipping. But free shipping can be a double edged sword, depending on the item. In fact, on some low-cost items, free shipping can actually cost you money every time you sell those items! On the other hand, offering free shipping is a proven way to increase sales and traffic.
Consider finding other ways to cut shipping costs so that you can offer free shipping. Depending on the size of your operation and how many orders you ship per month, one way of cutting your shipping costs is by using an order fulfillment service. Generally, outsourcing your fulfillment is a far cheaper option than hiring a fulfillment team and renting out a warehouse. Top outsourced fulfillment providers enable you to ship from multiple warehouses and have favorable shipping rates with courier companies due to the amount of product they ship daily. Not only can this save you a lot of money on your shipping costs, but it can also make the actual delivery-time far shorter.
You don’t have to do everything yourself. In many cases, it’s not only cheaper to outsource jobs and specific projects, but also results in higher quality work from specialists. This not only applies to fulfillment, but also to graphic design, customer service, web design, SEO, anything you can think of. That doesn’t mean that you should outsource all of these things. It just means you should keep an open mind when considering a problem that you don’t have expert resources on hand to solve. You don’t have to outsource to a foreign country, there are many outstanding specialty firms in the U.S. Explore your options the next time you have situation that needs a specialized solution.
How have you cut costs for your online business in the past?
Posted on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 @ 06:41 PM
Being able to listen and understand your customers, and vice-versa, is critical in any online business.
How can you know what kind of new products people would like to see if they’re not telling you? Also, why would they tell you if you don’t ask them?
There are so many ways to talk to the people who buy your products. E-mail, phone, social media: people are more chatty than ever. But there are certain underlying principles inherent in all good customer communications, no matter how they are carried out.
A short response time is critical to maintaining good relationships to people who want to speak with you. Consider this. When you're talking with someone in person, how would you feel if they took a few hours, or even days, to answer a question or to respond to a comment you made? People like to think that the person they're talking to is paying attention to them, and the single best way to assure them of that is to respond to them quickly. This is especially important in the case of any customer complaints or service problems. People are far more likely to be understanding if they think you are actively working on the problem! On the other side of the spectrum, nothing annoys someone more than being ignored, which a slow response time might make them feel. Do both yourself and your customer a favor, whether on e-mail or social media, respond as quickly as possible.
Actively seek to communicate with your customers; you can't wait for your customers to come to you in this day and age. This might come as a surprise to you, but your customers like to hear from you, and often. Well wait a minute, you might say: don't people find constant e-mails or discount books annoying? The answer is that it doesn't matter what you're sending them or how often: as long as the customer is interested in that material. Instead of posting their opinion on your Facebook page or ranting about it during a customer service session, be proactive and ask them for their opinion! Not only will you gain valuable information about your customers that you can utilize to produce better products and marketing campaigns, but you will also make them feel like their opinions are important to you.
Be everywhere. Whether it's Facebook, review sites, forums, or chat programs, you need to make sure you are giving your customers every opportunity to contact you. This not only allows for more and better conversations, but also lets you head off potential problems before they negatively impact your online reputation. If you constantly keep your brand presence in the back of their mind, the next time they want something that you happen to be selling, who do you think they will go to first?
To summarize, the key to good communication is to communicate quickly, actively, and in as many ways as possible. Of course, there are other aspects of good communication I haven't talked about here. All the communication in the world can't help you if you insult your customers, for instance. But these fundamentals are good rules to follow in almost every instance.
How has a conversation with a customer impacted your business?
Posted on Tue, Apr 24, 2012 @ 06:56 PM
Why should you consid
er outsourced order fulfillment for your KickStarter project?
Imagine this. Your KickStarter project exceeds its goals and becomes more successful than you thought it could. Everybody wants your new product, and you’re already thinking of new ideas! New product lines, new team members, new locations: there’s just one problem. How are you going to get your incredibly nifty product to your customers?
Chances are you’re not looking forward to long days of packing orders and slapping on labels.
Luckily, there are people out there that will do it for you, and do a great job of it. They’re called eCommerce order fulfillment providers, and they take care of storing, picking, packing, and shipping your product to exactly where it needs to go as fast as possible.
Just in case you are the type that likes to wrap orders though, here are 3 really good reasons why you should consider outsourcing your fulfillment anyway:
Maintain Control Over Your Fulfillment Without Micromanaging.
It’s not easy to fulfill hundreds of orders a week. To do it properly, you’d need an organized warehouse, an experienced fulfillment team, software integrated with your shopping cart, and good relationships with courier companies. None of these are cheap or easy to achieve, and a fulfillment operation must be constantly managed day in and day out. Luckily, it’s very possible to maintain control over your fulfillment while outsourcing it to a fulfillment provider. This can be accomplished if you choose a service with advanced order management technology. Some of these technologies will allow you to keep careful track of your orders, approve/disapprove specific orders, set low inventory alerts, and give you 24/7 cloud-based access from anywhere in the world. So you don’t need to worry about the problems that usually come with doing fulfillment, just on who you’re outsourcing it to. Outsourcing gives you the freedom to work on what you’re really interested in: the growth of your business.
Achieve Industry-leading Speed and Accuracy
The ability to deliver packages quickly and accurately to their recipients is dependent on a number of factors. Speed is not only dependent on the quality of the workers working on picking, packing, and shipping, but also on the number of warehouses a fulfillment provider uses, and where they are located around the US. A single online seller will find it difficult to maintain multiple warehouses around the country unless they are shipping incredible volume. The difference between an online seller shipping with one warehouse compared with several can be 2-4 business days, a lifetime in the world of online shopping. Consumers today expect their packages shipping on the same day, and delivered within 2 days. In terms of accuracy, top fulfillment providers generally have accuracy rates of over 99.7%, meaning that 997 packages out of 1000 will get to their recipients undamaged with the right kinds of items and number of items in the box. Speed and accuracy of shipping is an important factor in customer satisfaction, and will help you drive customer loyalty and repeat business.
Cut Costs and Maximize Scalability.
Depending on what and how much you are shipping, in most cases it is cheaper to outsource your fulfillment than do it yourself. Why? For one thing, top outsourced fulfillment providers ship millions of orders a year, and have the ability to standardize procedures, processing systems, and order materials in bulk. Similarly, due to the vast number of orders they ship every day, they are able to negotiate better shipping rates with courier companies like FedEx and UPS, which are then passed on to you, the customer. Storing your inventory in multiple warehouses also reduced travel distance, and therefore cost of shipping. Scale is also something you have to take into consideration, especially on Kickstarter. For example, if you happened to be shipping 500 order a month, a good fulfillment provider can easily handle your volume if it suddenly quadrupled, something that would be difficult to manage with an in-house operation.
Overall, outsourcing the order fulfillment for your Kickstarter project can make your business run more smoothly, not to mention make your life a lot easier. If your new project happens to take off, you’ll be glad you took the time to ensure your products get to where they need to go, quickly and accurately.
Have you tried Kickstarter?
Posted on Fri, Apr 06, 2012 @ 04:22 PM
Chances are, you've had a bad customer service experience at least once in your life.
Everyone has had that moment when they storm out of a store resolving never to return. There are probably tens of thousands of customers doing so this very minute. The thing is, it also happens online, and it’s one of the top impediments to repeat online business.
Wait a second, you might say. Unlike regular shoppers, online consumers can browse the selections of multiple stores in a heartbeat, and will shop at whatever store has the lowest price. What’s the point of worrying about customer loyalty?
In fact, while online shoppers are more fickle about price and discounts, they are no less loyal. Over 70% of online shoppers belong to a loyalty or frequent buyer program, and over 50% of online shoppers are somewhat loyal to at least one online brand. So brand loyalty does matter online, and it is a significant way to generate sales.
So how do you keep customers loyal?
That’s simple; make sure they have a good time dealing with your online store.
A study by Forbes found that over 70% of all consumers who stopped a shopping at a store did so because of a bad customer service experience.
Though there are more dimensions to this in online retail, it still applies.
Here are 3 ways to make sure your customers stay happy:
Use Discounts and Loyalty Programs:
The customer service aspect of online customer loyalty is important to keep them shopping at your store, but so is another aspect of online retail: discounts. Unlike traditional retail, online shoppers have an almost unlimited number of alternatives to your store, so it's essential to keep them coming back. One of the key methods of doing this is through frequent buyer and loyalty programs, as research has shown most online shoppers respond well to them. In other words, send discounts and promotions to loyal customers so they look to you first.
Engage with your Customers:
Online retail requires engagement. Customers want to talk to you more than ever, and online stores don't have a friendly clerk to help fulfill that essential social need of the shopping process. Make sure they can reach you through other ways. This can be through e-mails, forums, or social media. Traditional stores and restaurants are often judged based on how friendly the employees are: this is no different for online shopping. Be friendly and make a connection through your various social media channels. Ask their opinion. Thank them for their business. All of this is essential to ensuring they shop at your online store again. In the event of any problems, make sure to respond promptly to let them know they are not being ignored.
Increase your Speed of Delivery:
Another aspect of customer service that is often overlooked is speed of delivery. This aspect of shopping doesn't exist in traditional brick and mortar, but to give someone gratification of purchase is essential in making sure they have are satisfied at the end of their shopping experience. That means 2-3 day ground delivery in most cases, as the expectations of customers have risen drastically in the last few years. If you can't get your shipments to your customers in that time frame, consider outsourcing your fulfillment or hiring specialists.
Of course, the single best advice to retaining customers is to treat them like you would like to be treated, and there is no substitute for that. But if you follow these 3 steps, you will be that much closer to ensuring your customers come back again and again.
Has customer loyalty been valuable to your online business?
Posted on Fri, Mar 30, 2012 @ 04:28 PM
How important is creating a successful survey for your online business?
Customer research is a critical part of any online business, especially an eCommerce store. While there are many ways of conducting research, the most common and generally most effective way is just to ask people what they want.
Would you like to see this car in neon green, for example, or would you prefer a dark blue? Surveys are a great way to ensure you are spending your resources on the areas that have the most potential to bring in more sales. Too often however, surveys go out and get response rates in the single digits. So here are a few quick tips to ensure you are getting the most from your customer research initiatives.
Ask Relevant Questions
Ask questions that will actually help improve your business! Creating the questions is the first thing you need to do with any survey, and one of the most important steps. But the longer a survey is, the less people will want to fill it out, so the number of questions you can ask is limited. That means avoiding questions that you want to ask but are not critical to your immediate goals! Figure out exactly what you want to learn before you start creating the survey, then craft questions that will move you towards answering them.
Make the Survey Easy to Fill Out
Accessibility and ease of use is an important factor in increasing survey response rate. First, make sure the layout of your survey is designed in an intuitive manner, and that the instructions are clear. Is it a multiple choice survey, or do the respondents have to write answers? It's also essential that you avoid using jargon or complicated words when writing the actual questions and answers. The more people understand what you're asking, the more likely it is you'll get the data you're looking for.
Create Shorter Surveys or Offer a Reward
People have short attention spans, especially in the era of the internet, smartphones, and YouTube. The shorter your survey is, the more likely customers will be to fill it out. Of course, sometimes you need more detailed information, and that requires longer surveys. In those cases, you can offer a reward for filling out a longer form. For example, coupons, raffles, and free products are typically used to encourage more respondents.
These are the simplest and more effective methods of increasing response rates on surveys. Depending on the industry, people will be more or less likely to respond. As with all things in business, test, test, and test again until you find what works for you.
Do you have any stories where a successful survey helped you make a decision?
Posted on Thu, Mar 22, 2012 @ 05:57 PM
Great fulfillment providers have specialized software that is optimized for eCommerce order fulfillment. Even though there are hundreds of fulfillment companies out there, not all of them were built with eCommerce in mind. Traditional warehousing companies are not good fits for modern online stores. Ask your potential fulfillment partner what kind of technology solution they used to manage your order fulfillment. Does it allow you to see and manipulate your orders in real-time? Does it allow you to approve or disapprove orders? Is it cloud-based? Do you get low-inventory alerts so you’re on top of your fulfillment? These are essential questions you should ask, not just to see if they have the technological capability to enable you to compete in today’s market, but to see how much control they offer you over your fulfillment.
Visit us next week to see what other critical advantages there are to hiring the best fulfillment provider for your business.
Cost can vary widely between fulfillment companies. There is no single price that you can compare and contrast since fulfillment is very much based on what you are shipping and how much. For example, one company might charge you less per shipment, but might charge you for the technology solution they give you. Another might give you that same technology for free. Even if you do calculate the overall cost of your fulfillment, you'll need to be careful on the level and quality of the service they provide. One fulfillment company might charge more than another, but it might offer a 100% accuracy guarantee and shipping within one business day, whereas the other may not. Fulfillment is a vital part of any eCommerce operation, so don't skimp on quality order fulfillment: it will affect your sales in the future. Here are some questions to ask your potential partner. What is your average accuracy rate? What happens if you make a mistake? Do you own and operate your own warehouses? How quickly will you be able to get my product to various parts of the country? How responsive is your customer service? It's important to see the level of service they are offering so you can get the most bang for your buck.
The differences between a good fulfillment provider and a mediocre one can be vast, and if you understand those differences you'll have a better chance of choosing the right partner for your product. If your company has a quirky and unique culture that is evident through your website and your customer relations, for example, you might want a company that will let you brand your boxes or include marketing material. If your company ships pet supplies, you might want a fulfillment partner that has a lot of experience shipping pet supplies. Some fulfillment partners can offer freight services at rates that are cheaper than you can find yourself, or specialize in international fulfillment. Any of these factors can make the difference between a strong business relationship and frustration with your service.
Have you considered outsourcing your order fulfillment?
Posted on Fri, Mar 16, 2012 @ 11:49 AM
So you've decided to outsource your order fulfillment. That's great! Outsourcing your fulfillment is an excellent way to save yourself time and money, as well as getting rid of the complications of dealing with the whole pick, pack, and ship process yourself. Even after you decide to outsource there is an even more difficult decision: choosing a fulfillment partner. There are hundreds of fulfillment companies out there. Some excel at certain kinds of product fulfillment, others at certain industries. One thing is for certain, make sure you choose the right service for your product, because choosing the wrong one can not only distract you from growing your business, but can actually harm your company. Don’t just choose the cheapest service you can find either. Choosing a quality provider can provide you many advantages that will save you more money in the long run.
The first thing to determine is what kind of fulfillment you're looking for. Are you shipping frozen meals or food items that need special refrigerated sections? Are you shipping large furniture? Maybe children’s toys or electronics? Every fulfillment provider has certain types of products they specialize in fulfilling, so be sure to ask about their current customers and if they can handle your product.
Choosing a service which specializes in your product can increase the speed and accuracy of your fulfillment. Once you've decided what kind of fulfillment you want, you'll need to decide on the scale. Do you ship 200 orders a month, or 1000? Many fulfillment providers have a certain level of monthly volume they require from their customers, so choose a provider that's a good fit for the size of your company. You'll also want to make sure they will be able to sustain your growth. Finally, if you're selling online, you'll need to choose a provider that is able to integrate with your shopping cart, which leads to the next point: Technology.
Great fulfillment providers have specialized software that is optimized for eCommerce order fulfillment. Even though there are hundreds of fulfillment companies out there, not all of them were built with eCommerce in mind. Traditional warehousing companies are not good fits for modern online stores. Ask your potential fulfillment partner what kind of technology solution they used to manage your order fulfillment. Does it allow you to see and manipulate your orders in real-time? Does it allow you to approve or disapprove orders? Is it cloud-based? Do you get low-inventory alerts so you’re on top of your fulfillment? These are essential questions you should ask, not just to see if they have the technological capability to enable you to compete in today’s market, but to see how much control they offer you over your fulfillment.
Visit us next week to see what other critical advantages there are to hiring the best fulfillment provider for your business.
Posted on Fri, Mar 09, 2012 @ 01:16 PM
A recent Internet Retailer magazine article noted that large retailers like Nordstrom and Macy's have boosted their online sales in 2011, sometimes as much as 40%. That's incredible when you consider that is an increase of a few hundred million dollars in some cases. So why are people increasingly choosing to shop online instead of shopping at their local stores? There are three key advantages that online retail stores have over traditional brick and mortar.
Convenience
Many people would consider stopping by a local store easier than ordering something online and getting it shipped. However, there are a few reasons why most people consider it easier to buy online. For one, it doesn't require you to actually go to the store. Just to go to a store, you need a way to get there, and for most people this is driving. Not only do you waste gas driving to the store, but it takes precious time out of your day. Compare that to shopping online, which on many major sites has become a one click affair. There's no need to drive to the store to pick up an extra hair comb, just choose one online, click once, and voila, it's on its way. This brings us to another aspect of convenience: speed.
This is one area that traditional retail has a leg up over online retail. By shopping in stores you get instant gratification and you get to hold your purchase in your hand the minute you buy it. But this advantage is slowly being negated by the expanding field of eCommerce order fulfillment. A few years ago, it wasn't unusual to wait for a week to get your product delivered, too long for many consumers. Today however, a online retailer with high-quality online order fulfillment can usually get your product to you within 1-2 business days. Sometimes, you can even receive it the same day you order it. This has eroded the attraction of shopping offline, and it is one reason why more and more people are choosing to shop online.
Price
Is buying something online cheaper than buying it offline? In many cases it is. Depending on the state, many online stores do not charge sales tax, giving a huge competitive advantage to online retailers. Oh, but you still have to pay for shipping don't you? Not necessarily. Many stores will offer free shipping if you purchase a certain amount. Others will offer yearly subscription services that offer free shipping for every item bought. Even when this is not the case, online buyers have the ability to easily compare prices for the best possible deal. When your competition is only a click away, there is a huge incentive to offer the lowest possible prices. Price has always been a critical component of ensuring sales.
Variety
Can't find that special edition Chiapet in your local Walmart? No problem, because it's very possible you'll find it online. Specialty items and almost everything under the sun is sold on the internet. This is because online retailers do not have to hold inventory in every location, as they do in brick and mortar. The internet also makes it easier for specialty sellers, because they don't have to maintain a physical storefront to sell their product. Lastly, international commerce is a big factor online. People selling on the internet are not competing with neighborhood stores, they are competing with everyone else selling similar product, whatever country they may be from. The ability to get your order shipped overseas is incredibly common these days.
In short, online retail provides significant and decisive advantages over traditional brick and mortar, so it shouldn't be a surprise that large companies are seeing huge increases in online sales. Will there always be people for whom a 2-day delivery is too slow? Yes, and there will always be people who enjoy shopping in stores and browsing as well. But the shift to online retail is not something that can or should be ignored.
How has the internet made your online business possible?