When was the last time you bought something online? According to the NAB Online Retail Sales Index, an estimated $21.6 billion was spent on online sales in 2016. 81% of that being domestic spending. And its the 35 – 44 age group that’s spending the most, with 24% of all online spend coming from that category.
Online retail is growing, up 10% on the previous year, and while its still a fraction of bricks and mortar retail spending, $21 billion is not something to dismiss either.
So why is any of that relevant to a work at home mum? Well, NAB also suggests that Small to Medium Enterprises took 36% of those online sales, up 18%. People are wanting to buy online, and increasingly wanting to support small business. The perfect situation for us WAHM’s.
It’s predicted that 2017 will see more growth in the eCommerce sector so here are some ways to capitalise on the online shopping trend with an eCommerce store.
Etsy
Are you a talented craftsman of any kind? Etsy is a way to sell your handmade goods without having to create your own website. They do charge a fee to list (26c variable on the US exchange rate) and if your item sells there is a 3.5% transaction fee and payment processing fee (3-4%).
eBay
Perfect for all products. Sell anything on eBay – handmade or not. A great way to get started and get some selling feedback onto your account before you start selling new products is to have a clean out and sell stuff you have lying around the house. They also charge a listing fee (but you get 40 free listings a month) and a final value fee if the item sells (9.9% for non store holders).
Create a website
This does take a bit more effort, and can take a while to get going due to people actually needing to find you, but with sites like WordPress, creating an eCommerce website is not as hard as it used to be. The beauty of your own website is you have complete control.
Amazon
Amazon has announced they will be opening in Australia this year. And while some people are worried about the changes they will bring to the retail landscape, there are plenty of opportunities they will bring to small businesses and WAHM’s. So much so that they will need their own post!
The online world has created so many opportunities for the WAHM community, and the future is looking bright.
