If you’re only selling online from one location, then you’re leaving money on the table — and losing out to more ubiquitous competitors. A single selling channel is so yesterday; today, the most successful retailers are multi-channel. You should be, too, if you want your ecommerce business to have any kind of a future.

It’s About the Money, Honey

So what exactly is multi-channel selling, and why do you need to do it? Multi-channel selling means offering your products for sale through more than one outlet. Back in the day, that meant having a brick-and-mortar store and a catalog plus an online presence, be it a stand-alone website or an eBay or Amazon store.

But nowadays, ecommerce entrepreneurs can eschew brick and mortar altogether and utilize multiple online sales channels instead:

• Your own website with shopping cart (e.g., Shopify or BigCommerce)
• Online marketplaces (e.g., eBay and Amazon)
• Mobile marketplaces (e.g., Wish)
• Social media (Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram)
• Comparison websites (e.g., Google)

Each channel represents a new market with its own unique set of shoppers. So more sales channels means more shoppers, more traffic, more sales, and ultimately, more profits.

Multi-Channel Selling by the Numbers

Basically, the more places that customers can find and buy your items, the better off your business will be. Ideally, you should be wherever your competition is — and where they aren’t. Let’s talk numbers. According to one recent survey of small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs):

• Retailers who sell on 2 online marketplaces average 190% more in revenue than those who sell on just 1 marketplace.
• Retailers with their own hosted shopping cart solution (such as a Shopify or BigCommerce website) who also sell on 1 online marketplace make 38% more revenue than those with no marketplace.
• Retailers with a hosted shopping cart site plus 2 marketplace stores realize 120% more revenue.

Sound good? But wait, there’s more! There’s another key reason to diversify your selling options: namely, because shoppers have diversified their buying options. They’re buying through multiple channels. Having a multi-channel presence puts you in front of shoppers at more touch points, increasing the chances that they’ll buy from you when the time comes.

Multi-channel shoppers also shop more often. The data about that includes some impressive statistics:

• Multi-channel shoppers have a 12% greater buying frequency and a 32% higher annual spend than those who shop via a single outlet.
• Nearly 50% of consumers who engage with their favorite brands on 10 or more channels will buy from them at least once a week.
• 21% of consumers will do so if they engage with favorite brands via 4 or less channels.
• Customers who purchase via at least two online channels spend three times more per year than single-channel shoppers.

Brand Ambition

Along with increased reach and exposure plus access to a broader customer base, multi-channel selling offers a third major advantage: the ability to easily and inexpensively expand your business on a national or even global scale. Think of your multi-channel enterprise as the 21st-century version of a chain store.

In addition, a brand that’s available through multiple channels is naturally going to gain more recognition — and thus garner more trust — than a brand that’s only sold in one place. Ecommerce is one arena in which size doesn’t necessarily matter; a small to medium-size retailer with a strong multi-channel presence can go head to head with the big name brands and still prosper.

Speaking of big, multi-channel selling lets you take advantage of the technology and marketing efforts (think Prime Day) used by ecommerce giants like eBay and Amazon. Furthermore, 65% of shoppers say they feel more comfortable buying from an unfamiliar brand if it’s selling on a well-known marketplace.

Putting Your Eggs in More Than One Basket

If you’re still not convinced that you should be selling through multiple channels, consider the potential perils of keeping all your eggs in a single basket. What if eBay has site issues that impact your sales (as it did in October and November due to the recent updates to categories and item specifics)? Or your Amazon account gets suspended? Or the rent goes up on your brick-and-mortar location?

By diversifying your selling, you also diversify your risk, thus reducing the chances of any one adverse scenario wiping out your profits or even your entire business.

However, expanding your business to encompass multiple ecommerce selling channels does have its pitfalls. For starters, you’ve got to keep track of your inventory across all of those channels. Other considerations include:

• Managing more complex logistics (listing, orders, shipping, and returns)
• Providing five-star customer service, no matter where your item sells
• Developing a powerful and consistent brand identity
• Tailoring marketing strategies to each selling channel
• Knowing what’s selling where

That’s where inkFrog comes in. eBay Certified Provider inkFrog is a multi-channel selling solution that integrates with your accounts across all of your selling channels, including eBay, Amazon, Shopify, and BigCommerce, so you can manage them all from one place. inkFrog keeps your inventory in sync everywhere you sell, so you don’t have to worry about overselling.

With inkFrog, you can easily import or export listings to and from your various channels. Customizable eBay templates reinforce your branding; you can even create your own using inkFrog’s Design App. inkFrog also automates buyer notifications, helps you optimize pricing across channels, and tracks your orders.

In short, when you’re ready to up-level your ecommerce business to multi-channel selling, inkFrog’s got your back at every step along the way.