How might a business start selling online?

A local company imports Asian food products and sells them at a retail store in Dunedin. The company was interested to expand its business using an e-commerce platform, and was looking for advice. Ram Singh, studying for a Graduate Diploma in Applied Management, worked with this company for his research project.

Ram started by investigating the opportunities and threats that e-commerce presented. Ram interviewed both staff members and existing customers of the business. He found that the strongest motivating factor for online shopping was home delivery. Attractive deals would also motivate people to buy online. Most customers already shopped online as well as at retail stores. 

Ram made the following recommendations:

• The website needed to be simplified
  
• The company needs a campaign to raise awareness of its website
• Perks or deals should be provided for online shoppers
• A delivery price under $5 would also encourage online shopping

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