When times are tough, it makes the most sense to try and expand your target audience and the easiest way to do this without opening another store or spending massive amounts on direct advertising, is to move your brick and mortar shop online.
We totally understand how intimidating this can be. If you’re already struggling for sales or barely even have time to do accounting and other business functions, transitioning your store to online sales can seem like an impossible challenge.
But all is not lost! There are many EASY ways you can move your brick and mortar salon to an online domain.
So here are our top tips and tricks for generating online sales.
Getting Started
Getting started is often the hardest part for most people, but the easiest way to conquer this is to simply START!
You won’t be able to do it all in one day but if you can dedicate as little as an hour a day to preparing your online store and learning about your different options, you’ll be ready to launch in less than a month.
Remember, improving just 1% a day means a total of 365% improvement over the course of a year. It adds up!
Before you Start
Now there are some things you can do to prepare before you start setting up your store. It’s best to have these items ready to go so you’re not held up looking for them when you’re setting up online for the first time.
They are:
- Product Photos/Descriptions/Ingredients
- Prices
- A business number/tax number
- Shipping plan (Curbside pick up/print own labels/pay at the post office?)
- Contact Info
- Terms/Conditions (Refund Policy, What happens if the package goes missing etc.)
- Payment processor (If not built in)
You can start with just basic photos and descriptions and work on improving them later based on your analytics of what people search for when looking at your products, but for now, just get started with the basics.
You will need a business number in order to sell products online through a website or any other platform. This is for tax purposes and declaring income at the end of the year.
Shipping can make or break your business. If you choose to offer free shipping, make sure to calculate exactly how much you need to mark up your products in order to make this work. Also, set shipping zones. You may not want to ship outside of the United States if it is going to cost you an arm and a leg to do so. Look at other websites’ policies and try to emulate ones that work well.
Implementing a refund policy that is clear and makes sense to your customers/keeps them happy is something you should absolutely do. Again, do what you’re comfortable with but consider your brand image.
Consider adding a payment processor if your website or online channel doesn’t come with one (rare, but it happens).
Where to Sell Online
Etsy
If you’ve been on the internet in the past 10 or so years, you’ve probably heard of Etsy. Etsy is a marketplace platform where sellers can signup and create their own “store” without having to build an entire website. This means that they take care of the design and layout of all stores and you just need to upload product images, descriptions, and prices.
Set your shipping rules/costs in the settings, and upload your own logo to get started and they will take care of the rest.
Of course, it’s not free to use Etsy, but you only pay when your items sell. No sales = no payments to use the platform, so no worries there!
Learn more about how to sell on Etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/sell
Nextdoor
Nextdoor is an app that allows you to see what’s going on in your neighborhood nearby, and interact with local businesses in the area.
This is great for those offering curbside pickup, connecting your neighbors directly to your business listing for people who want to keep their spending local.
This app is a trusted source for many people and is available in 11 countries. It’s great for businesses looking to become a part of their local community and establishes a form of trust amongst your neighbors.
Learn more or sign up here: https://ca.nextdoor.com/
Facebook Marketplace for Retail
Facebook is also a huge untapped market for retailers looking to bring their business more online.
Like on Etsy, you can list and manage inventory on a dedicated storefront that lives on your business’ Facebook Page. Of course, you need to have a Facebook page for your business in order to take advantage of this feature.
People can navigate to your Shop Section on Pages to see inventory listings, ask questions about items and in some cases, buy products without having to leave your business Page.
You can customize your product inventory, communicate with buyers, display reviews and ratings from customers and view insights.
To use Facebook Marketplace for Retail you also need to have a website with existing product inventory from one of Facebook’s retail partners: Bigcommerce, Shopify, ChannelAdvisor, and a few others.
Instagram Marketplace
Shopping on Instagram Marketplace is similar to Facebook Marketplace, which makes sense because Facebook owns Instagram.
You need to set up a business Instagram account and connect your online store catalogue in order to take advantage of this feature. There is no charge to sell your products through Instagram (unless you are running advertisements with them) but you do need to pay for your online store and any associated processing fees.
This feature is beneficial to your audience because they don’t ever have to leave the Instagram app to buy your products, even though all sales still go through your website.
To learn more, check here: https://business.instagram.com/shopping/setup?igb_blog_shops_launch
eBay Marketplace
It’s super easy to sell on eBay Marketplace. You’ll need to register as a business seller (even if you have a personal account) because you have to add a company name and collect tax on the listings. But this is pretty much the only difference between a business and regular eBay account.
From there, you’ll go about setting up an eBay store to list your products professionally. If you already have another website like Shopify, you can connect your inventory with eBay through integration tools and plugins, but this is a little more advanced.
eBay makes the process to sell online very simple and is most similar to the process on Etsy: https://pages.ebay.ca/seller-centre/selling/integrate-your-business.html
Curbside pickup on Shopify
If you want to focus on building your own website first, instead of creating and customizing a shop through another platform like eBay, Instagram, Facebook, or Etsy, it’s best to go with Shopify.
Shopify is a website builder and eCommerce solution that allows you to build an online store for your business. It’s fairly easy to use, with a number of customizable templates/themes to choose from for your store’s appearance.
They offer secure payment solutions at reasonable rates. Just select your plan based on the volume of sales you anticipate and get started!
Offering curbside pickup through Shopify allows your store to sell to those who are local and willing to stop by to pick up their products.
More Robust Options (with upfront costs):
Shopify
Shopify has a great step-by-step solution specifically designed to bring brick and mortar shops to online retail.
You can check out their recommendations here: https://www.shopify.ca/blog/brick-and-mortar-online
This option is similar to the curbside pickup through Shopify, but with a more long-term goal of setting your store up for success in eCommerce for the longevity of your business.
Cratejoy (Subscription Box)
Cratejoy is an online marketplace platform for subscription boxes. This allows your customers to buy a subscription to your products and receive a box each month (or other frequency).
You can either sell on their marketplace (like Etsy/eBay) or create your own website through Cratejoy.
Learn more here: https://www.cratejoy.com/sell/
Established Sellers
If you already have some existing online brand presence (maybe through a social media account or killer blog), you can go with some more established sellers like Amazon or Walmart’s Online Marketplace.
These platforms are definitely more challenging to navigate but once you get the hang of it or if you already have some experience selling online, you can achieve success with your branded products here, too.
These platforms take some finesse and you can either fulfill the products yourselves or take advantage of Amazon’s Fulfilled By Amazon option, for a greater percentage of your earnings.
We wouldn’t recommend starting here but once you’re more established, it’s definitely a great option!