The benefits of developing a Web presence

At this point, all major retailers in the U.S. already have an online presence. When their products are suitable for purchase and distribution from an online retail shop, these major retailers have pursued retail sales online. They will certainly profit from the increase in online sales in the years to come, but this increase may come with a decrease in sales at their many brick-and-mortar locations across the country. These locations could continue to carry the same overhead without making the same profit. But for new entrepreneurs and small businesses, the trend offers a tremendous growth opportunity. These businesses can increase their base of potential customers, though they generally only have one brick-and-mortar location.

The trend is leaving some small businesses asking whether the traditional brick-and-mortar business model is out of date. Will brick-and-mortar businesses be profitable in the future as more and more people begin to buy online? The answer is almost always yes. The brick-and-mortar location still has and will continue to have value. In addition to any profits the location makes from walk-in customers, it offers your business brand exposure and serves as a warehouse where the inventory you offer online is stored, packed and shipped. Statistics also shows that multichannel retailers, those that have both a brick-and-mortar location and an online business, have higher online retail profits and growth than online-only businesses.

Clearly, the online retail trend is here to stay. Profit will remain the greatest benefit small businesses can achieve by developing a Web presence.

A small business with a brick-and-mortar location could profit from an online retail shop.

I'm interested in how this new business model will develop in the future.

I think that it could be profitable for retailers, as consumers are increasingly buying online.

Many people project that online sales figures will continue to increase.

There is a lot of growth opportunity for businesses that create a web presence.

Statistics show that this trend is here to stay.

Reviewed by Anna J.:

I love Amazon’s website. My favorite things about it are the book reviews and recommendations. I’m sure publishers and authors write nice reviews and recommendations for their books, but I think most of the people writing about the books are average readers. In the reviews they say what they liked or didn’t like about the book and then rated it. The Amazon website calculates the average rating for each book, so you can easily see even before reading the book reviews how many people have recommended a book. The book recommendations are lists of books that people create. For instance, a reader might start a list of books about history that they recommend. These reviews and recommendations really help to bring books that interest me to my attention.

Reviewed by Ethan R.:

I like Amazon because of its huge choice. You can find just about any book there, and that’s good for me since I like to read science fiction books that are really difficult to find in book stores. I also often buy books for my friends and family who like to read unusual books. For instance, my sister is always looking for really old books that aren’t being printed anymore. If I can’t find new copies of these books for her on Amazon, I can at least find a used copy through one of the used book sellers working with Amazon.

Reviewed by Jana X.:

I think Netflix is great because of its ease of use. There is a lot of information about movies there, including details about the story and its ranking, and you can create a list of movies you’d like to see and specify when movies are sent to you. But despite there being a lot of functionality, you never have to take much time figuring out what is going on. For instance, you can easily see that when you hold your cursor over the thumbnail image for the movie, you get basic information about the movie; when you click on it, you get even more information. It’s also clear that you can browse different types of movies, a list of the most popular movies or what your friends have been watching. It’s just so easy!

Reviewed by Tim M.:

Netflix appeals to me since it’s so convenient. You don’t have to go to the video rental shop to get a movie; you just order it from the company’s website and either watch it online or have it delivered to you. Unlike the movie rental shop, you never have to wait in line and, if they’re in Netflix’s inventory, the movies you want to see are always available. Then, when you’re done watching the movies, you put them back in the return envelopes, which you can easily reseal (запечатать), and put in the mail without having to buy stamps! The website also recommends movies you might like and provides more information about each movie. Now that’s convenience!

You're buying a gift for a business client and want to shop online. Your gift budget is $100. Read the reviews of the four different online gift shops and then choose the best website.

Select the correct answer