Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Just How Big Is Amazon.com?

According to Forbes.com, on November 29th alone, customers on Amazon.com ordered more than 13.7 million items, at a rate of 158 items per second. That was just one day of sales!

That leads us to two conclusions: 1) Amazon.com is a much bigger player in the online retail industry than we all thought, and 2) if you aren't using your web site as a sales tool - now, more than ever, is the time to starting doing so.

In my new book, Black Business Secrets: 500 Tips, Strategies, and Resources for the African American Entrepreneur (www.BlackBusinessSecrets.com), I dedicate an entire chapter on how to be a cyberpreneur - that is, an entrepreneurship that makes money online.

I talk about how every year over $140 billion in sales are generated online, and how your web site should be much more than just a brochure. Pictures, text, an "about us" page, and a "contact us" page, are simply not enough. Your web site should offer a full and simple shopping experience that allows your customers to buy into what you're selling without having to communicate with anyone.

Amazon.com isn't the only major online retailer. Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, and others are each generating more than $1 million in revenue a day - not including the revenue from their storefronts. This means that a lot of people are spending a lot of money online, and if your web site is not functional in these regards - you are losing a lot of revenue.

Granted, there are a few industries where it wouldn't make sense to sell your services online. For instance, a barber shop, a hair/nail salon, a tax preparation firm, a restaurant, etc. However, these types of companies should still consider using their web sites more interactively to allow customers to download coupons, buy gift certificates, and even make reservations.

Take a good look at your web site, and compare it with the industry leaders. Do you accept credit cards? Is your shopping cart simple and easy to use? Does your web site look professional?

If you see areas that can use improvement or a complete overhaul, I highly recommend that you make the needed changes. You can start by subscribing free to Internet Retailer Magazine, frequenting their web site (www.InternetRetailer.com), and planning to attend their 2011 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in June in San Diego.

You can also visit your local library or bookstore and find tons of books on e-commerce and selling online.

Want more tips, strategies and resources? Purchase Dante Lee's new book "Black Business Secrets" at www.BlackBusinessSecrets.com

1 comment:

  1. Once again you have hit a homerun. As an author I realized that you have to get people when they are hot. Having my books for sale directly on my site has proven to be very beneficial. When people are curious about me and decide to search me out I give them the option to take advantage of their discovery by purchasing one of my books. However I found that there is one Caveat. I use Paypal as a purchasing method and to my surprise many people are still skeptical about Paypal’s services.

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