What is an online store?

Actually self-explanatory, right? Not quite. In addition to traditional online stores, there are other digital sales platforms on the internet. Examples include online marketplaces where several companies offer their products at the same time. There are also special B2B platforms on which only goods from a specific product group - such as decorative items - are sold. As a store owner or business owner, you can usually also offer your products here. However, it is more effective if you run your own online store .

Does an online store make sense for my business?

Florists, steam stores, clothing stores or jewelers: the retail sector is enormously diverse. The products that are sold here are also correspondingly diverse - often directly in the store on site. As a self-employed person, you are therefore largely dependent on walk-in customers or people who are happy to go the famous extra mile for your offer. An online store can therefore be a clever addition to stationary trade.

What are the advantages of an online store for retailers?

To take advantage of an online store, you don't have to set up the next Amazon or Zalando. Clear online stores can also benefit your business. Here are the most important advantages at a glance:

- More independence: The Corona pandemic hit the retail sector particularly hard. And after the crisis is before the crisis. With an online store, you put your business model on a second footing and become less dependent on income from stationary sales and walk-in customers.

- Higher sales: With an online store, you can reach new target groups and are no longer limited to a specific city or region. Theoretically, you can now sell your products online worldwide. This opens up completely new sales potential for you.

- Better margins: Large marketplaces like Amazon Business, Rakuten or Etsy offer you a potentially huge buyer base. However, the margins are often extremely low, as the merchants naturally retain a significant portion of the sales amount. With your own online store, you avoid this problem.

- Local SEO: A properly set up online store increases your online visibility. This makes it easier for customers searching online for stores in your segment to find you. Local SEO is the keyword here. A professional online store also increases the chances of attracting more customers to your local business.

Convinced? Then you're probably wondering how you can set up your own online store and how it all works technically. We'll get to that now.

Good to know
‍Inthe EU, around 74 percent of people between the ages of 16 and 74 buy products online. In Germany, the figure is as high as 82 percent.^[2] Amazon alone turns over almost 14 billion euros here every year, followed by otto.de with annual sales of around 4.5 billion euros.^[3]

Retail: How do I build my own online store?

Solutions like Shopify or WooCommerce advertise that you can launch an online store with them in no time. And indeed, both systems are comparatively simple. But that is only half the truth. Because until your store is running smoothly, the design is ready and the products are entered, you have to invest a lot of time and money. The same applies if you commission an agency with the development of an online store. Fortunately, there is an alternative that can benefit business owners and store owners in the retail sector.

Digital checkout systems with integrated online store

As a retail entrepreneur, you will certainly already be using a digital POS system. From accounting and returns management to tax issues, it makes your day-to-day work as a self-employed person much easier. What most users of a digital POS system do not know: Many modern POS systems already offer you the option of selling goods online. With solutions like the one from LocaFox an online store is already integrated into the POS system.

How does a digital POS system with online store work?

Digital POS systems and cloud POS systems offer an interface to online store providers or contain their own open API interface for custom programming. In this way, you can connect your brick-and-mortar store with your own online store, offer products on the Internet or connect an external merchandise management system. Thanks to the interface, all stocks can also be managed together. This means that you only need one POS system for sales in the local store and the online store. All data and stocks are constantly synchronized, giving you a perfect overview. But that's not all. If desired, you can even decide which products should be sold through which sales channel. Compared to other solutions, online stores integrated into POS systems are the much simpler, more efficient and clearer choice.

Which online store partners are recommendable?

At LocaFox we work together with well-known providers like PrestaShop or 1&1-IONOS. Both solutions can be easily coupled with the LocaFox system. In the case of PrestaShop, the LocaFox back office acts as a master system and ensures that all your products can be sold online or stationary - even networked across several stores. With 1&1-IONOS, IONOS itself acts as the master system and the products are created and managed in the IONOS portal. However, it is not possible to network several branches here. By the way: Thanks to the Open API interface, many other online stores can of course also be connected to the LocaFox POS system.

Build online store: Who supports me?

Surely you have many more questions now. But maybe you want to start building your own online store right away. Whatever it is: At LocaFox we know the requirements of the retail trade and will be happy to advise you personally on the possibilities of an integrated online store! Use our expertise for your success - analog and digital.

[1] https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/38846/umfrage/anteil-des-online-handels-am-einzelhandel/

[2] https://www.destatis.de/Europa/DE/Thema/Wissenschaft-Technologie-digitaleGesellschaft/Online_Shopping.html

[3] https://de.statista.com/themen/2059/online-haendler/?kw=&crmtag=adwords&gclid=CjwKCAjwq-WgBhBMEiwAzKSH6GmchCnUOARKU4KD24OkN98qealPNOai2XoCUOh9ZSwIGD8QAeLhRxoCJIUQAvD_BwE#editorsPicks

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