Online Stores Gaining Popularity

September 27, 2007; 02:41 AM

Selling products through online stores is becoming more and more popular among small businesses in the United States. Internet technology has advanced since the beginning of the dot-com era, making online stores much easier to setup and manage, more reliable and affordable. This explains why 53% of small businesses in the United States sell their products or services through their own online stores and have seen a 4.3% increase in online sales revenue between 2001 and 2006.[i]

E-commerce web hosts, like Netfirms Inc. (http://www.netfirms.com), make it easy for small business owners of any skill level to startup and manage their own online stores. Over 20,000 online stores are powered by Netfirms Commerce Pro™, a complete e-commerce solution that gives customers the ability to setup their online stores with total control of product catalogues, shipping rates, and methods of payment (PayPal, Credit Card, Authorize.Net). CommercePro also gives small businesses added features including marketing tools, secure transactions, and customizable sales reports to help maximize their online sales revenue.

Owner of Embellished Bean (http://embellishedbean.com/), Jeannine Ranni, has been selling gourmet coffee and tea online from her home in New York since 2005. Her secure, reliable online store keeps her customers coming back. Using CommercePro has also helped Ranni reduce her costs by a couple thousand dollars each year because she can make changes to her store without the help of a web designer. Many small businesses owners like Ranni are keeping their costs to a minimum by choosing Netfirms CommercePro for their online stores. CommercePro is included in Netfirms Advantage and Business Web Hosting plans starting at $9.95 per month. 

Online stores powered by CommercePro have secure and reliable features that make it easy for shoppers to purchase the products they desire without a glitch. Searching for products is easy, the shopping cart has smooth navigation, and shoppers have the opportunity to read or post reviews of their favorite products and access their order status and purchase history. I Buy Direct (http://www.ibuydirect.ca), an online store specializing in business hardware, electronics, and IT services, has been hosted at Netfirms since February 2007. Lawrence Wong, Owner of I Buy Direct, finds that selling his products through his own online store has helped him keep his costs down and increase his sales. He plans on starting up a couple more online stores at Netfirms in the near future.

Philbert Shih, Analyst, Tier 1 Research states, “The e-commerce hosting solutions available to small businesses are becoming easier to use, more secure, and affordable – one of many reasons why businesses are choosing to sell products through their own online stores.” Although many small businesses are already selling their products online, it will become a must-have capability for in the next two years.[ii] As online selling becomes more of a necessity, it is also becoming more profitable as 97% of small businesses expect their revenue from online sales to stay the same or increase[iii] over the next one to two years. Ecommerce web hosts help small businesses with small budgets generate revenue from their own online stores with reliable solutions that are easy to setup and manage.

For more information on Netfirms Commerce Pro, visit http://www.netfirms.com/ecommerce-about.