ADVICE: 10 reasons to sell jewellery online

Are you still walking around the pool and worrying about taking the digital plunge? Every year, figures are released from various organisations showing that consumers are loving buying goods online, and that includes jewellery. The vast increase in online purchases made using mobile phones is worth considering, too. We've asked an e-commerce expert to put together the 10 top reasons why you should be selling your jewellery online. 1) Sell 24/7 You'll be open for business and taking orders all day and everyday, not just when your shop is open. 2) Expanded customer base Geographic limitations won't restrict your customers to where your business premises are located; you'll be able to reach a wider, national audience and if desired, internationally. 3) Low cost It doesn't cost much to get online and set up an online store. DIY website builders let you create a great looking website without coding skills or being a web designer. If you already have a basic website then an ecommerce plugin is a quick and easy way to add in an online shop. 4) Better brand awareness Well written product descriptions and other content on your website will attract visitors from amongst people searching for what you’re offering as your pages will come higher up the rankings organically. 5) Keep up with the competition Your competitors are probably already selling online, or planning to do so. Don't give your rivals a chance to entice your customers away with a more convenient shopping experience. 6) Expanded marketing opportunities Offer customers an opt-in tick box to receive marketing emails with your latest offers and newsletters. You'll then be able to remind customers and thereby increase repeat sales. 7) Social media marketing You can tap into a whole new world of social media marketing, attracting interest from potential customers already using Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Twitter. This in-turn leads to others spreading the online word of mouth about your business to their friends. 8) Better marketing insights Adding free web analytics software on your website, such as Google Analytics allows you to gain insightful customer behavioural information about which products generate the most interest, helping you with future stock buying decisions. 9) Flexibility and speed It's quick to update a website and try out new product ranges so you respond to market trends. You can sell a wider range of items online than you could possibly have space for in-store. 10) More sales channels Publish your same online store as a Facebook shop to sell to customers directly on social media, giving you multiple sales channels. Simon Horton is the founder of ShopIntegrator, a hosted e-commerce plugin that makes it easy for anybody to add an online store onto their existing website without any coding skills.