eShop (Online Shop)

What is an eShop?

Behind the abbreviation eShop hides the term Electronic Shop. Alternatives for the term eShop are also online shop and commerce system. This refers to offers for purchase on the Internet, which are displayed via a website. Here, the seller presents its goods or services and potential buyers can view them, obtain information and purchase the selected products or services via electronic checkout. In most cases, an eShop is associated with the sale of tangible goods, but digital products such as software, music or eBooks can also be sold.

Advantages and disadvantages of an eShop compared to a retail store

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Financial savings

By shifting distribution to an online store, retailers can downsize their stores and by that reduce expenses. As a result of a reduced sales floor space, fewer staff are needed, so there is also potential for savings here.

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More flexibility for customers

Customers are no longer tied to store opening hours and can shop from the comfort of their own homes. This makes the purchase less complicated and easier.

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Lower service and consulting performance for customers

An online store cannot provide the same level of advice as a store, as there is no personal customer service or individual advice.

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No real contact with goods

Despite high-quality product images and detailed descriptions, the options for presenting goods in the eShop are limited. Customers lack real contact with the products, which is why returns occur, especially in online retail.

Connecting online shop and retail stores

More and more retailers are realizing that they are not positioned for the future with either the one or the other extreme of online or offline retailing. A combination of online and brick-and-mortar retail offers both you and your customers the best of both worlds. There are already various concepts for this today:

Click & Collect

Goods are purchased and paid for in the retailer's eShop. They can then be picked up at a retail store. This gives customers greater flexibility, as they can pick up the goods at a time that suits them and at the store of their choice. In addition, there are no shipping costs for him.

Click & Reserve

With Click & Reserve, customers can reserve goods in the store online beforehand without paying for them directly. The order can then be picked up at the store and the purchase processed. This gives the customer the opportunity to view the merchandise before purchase and reduces the likelihood of a return.

Click & Return

With Click & Return, products purchased online can be returned to a retailer's store. This saves customers or retailers the return costs and the return can be processed faster.

Click & Meet

Click & Meet gives customers the opportunity to shop in a retail store at an appointment previously arranged online. In most cases, the Click & Meet service is combined with an in-store consulting service. This allows customers to obtain information on products online in advance and then receive individual advice on their selection.

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