seo2b online trading articles
Even in times of pandemic, online trading is quite safe. But is the online option suitable for every company?
It is good news from the economic sector that the Austrian Chamber of Commerce is announcing with a view to the Corona year 2020. Accordingly, even in the year of the crisis, no “significant anomaly” can be seen with regard to the start-ups in Austria. The increase in start-ups in 2020 was somewhat lower than in previous years, but company founders do not seem to be dissuaded from their plans by the crisis.
The conclusion of the experts: The founding spirit is unbroken. Companies with innovative ideas in particular are literally rushing ahead. Incidentally, as does the proportion of women among new founders, which has reached a record level of 54 percent (cf. wko.at). The statistics do not show whether these are regional start-ups with shops. How trade works safely in times of Corona is online – as the following best practice example shows.
The approach of the team behind MAKEUP, which offers perfume, make-up and other beauty and care products online at makeupstore.at, is a true best-practice example from many founder's guidebooks. There you can usually read this tip: “Find the problem of your target group and offer a solution.”
This is exactly what the MAKEUP team did a long time ago and thus explains the “beauty without limits” motto. MAKEUP is not one of the new founders in the country, but the shop and the idea behind it could well set an example.
The problem in the industry is namely the following: Anyone who has ever become a fan of a beauty or care product because it exactly matches the skin or hair type, usually remains loyal to the product and brand. However, this can also mean that a visit to the hairdresser is necessary for the beloved hair care product, that the favorite fragrance is only available on holiday abroad and that the skin care product can only be ordered from a dermatologist. The MAKEUP team would like to get rid of these circumstances – namely, having to target tens of places in order to receive proven products – and is doing this with an online shop (independent of Corona).
The team reveals that 2,000 cosmetic brands are listed there. For customers, this means that 82,000 items can be ordered easily and with a click of the mouse. Overall, the number of fans has already risen considerably, because the number of MAKEUP customers is in the three-digit (!) Million range; 45 million products are ordered every year. It is currently sold in 14 EU countries – including Austria, but also in the neighboring countries of Germany, Italy and Hungary. The strategy for success is online and simple, coupled with a high level of service. For MAKEUP customers, this means: It only takes a few simple clicks of the mouse to order original products at attractive prices and have them delivered to your home quickly.
According to the operators, the beauty universe includes well-known brands as well as newcomers in the beauty and care sector. Innovations and niche products as well as product premieres and international releases are available online. But doesn't it suffer from the advice that is so important in the area of beauty and care? No, because the team has found an online solution for this as well: In the blog area there are seasonal information, for example about caring for the skin in winter or dealing with special topics, such as the secrets of a perfectly manicured man's beard.
As early as 2020, retailers were calling for a click-and-collect solution. The idea behind this is to order online from regional retailers and to pick up the ordered goods in the store as contactlessly as possible. Just in time for the lockdown in December, this ordering principle was allowed – but disillusionment followed at the same time. The trade association explains at oestereich.orf.at that the principle cannot even eliminate ten percent of sales losses. The problem is that the click-and-collect model cannot work for every business and for all products, they say.
The costs and the effort to offer the products from the stationary trade online are enormous. Only those who have already created a digital trading strategy in advance can benefit now. These include mainly building materials dealers and companies that offer furniture online. Accordingly, the number of those who wanted to try click-and-collect to compensate for the income they lost due to the renewed lockdown is also low.
If you believe the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce in Burgenland, the situation is indeed a challenge, but the traders have mastered it perfectly. Despite the trade, the number of infections has not increased extraordinarily. This is also intended to underline the assumption, which has already been formulated more often, that trade is not a source of infection. As a result, according to Peter Nemeth, the WKO president in Burgenland, there should be no further forced closings.
Those who were allowed to resell – be it online or in brick-and-mortar stores – are among those who have even benefited from the crisis. Not only is online trading booming. REWE also set a sales record for the first time and cracked the magic mark of 75 billion euros.
