In the electronic world, wise men say those who don’t go with the times, disappear sooner or later. Thus, innovations play a strategic role in the development of every successful business. As for the retail industry, it’s vitally important to display an online presence and turn a business website into a sales machine as soon as possible. According to Forrester Research, 192 million U.S. consumers only will shop online in 2016.
How much should a business owner spend in order to strengthen his competitive position, establish reciprocal communication with customers, promote goods and services and enhance revenue with the help of an online retail portal? As a general rule, the budget needed to set up your retail portal will highly depend on the functionality and additional capabilities of your website.
Common categories that help determine how much it will cost to start up your retail portal
- The quantity of data you need to post on the website;
- The number of pages your web-developer has to create;
- Preferable design and its complexity;
- Special solutions for your business such as shopping cart, integration with additional services, and more;
- The scope of technical support, SEO optimization, and advertising.
Below is an approximate cost breakdown, arranged according to the categories mentioned above.
Small Business Website
It will suit you in case you want the website to help you increase loyalty to your company and indicate its presence in the online marketplace. It fulfills the mission of demonstrating the main advantages of your business and explains why customers should contact you. This type generally entails home, contact, and landing pages, a blog engine, gallery, or catalog.
Starting price: $1000.
E-commerce Website
If you need to build more than an average website and would like to promote your goods and services effectively, it’s better to choose the e-commerce website. An advanced e-commerce software solution may comprise a mobile-optimized version, a turnkey online shop, a shopping cart, integration with payment systems such as PayPal, online registration, and custom user interfaces.
Starting price: $3000.
Professional Retail Portal
You should choose this variant if you are thinking about the creation of something more serious, like eBay or Amazon, to attract a great amount of traffic and to suggest numerous online bargains. A multi-functional portal encompasses rich functionality (e.g., access control, search system, forum, knowledge database), a high level of security, and enhanced usability. In any case, the cost of your retail portal will depend on the amount and complexity of work involved in its creation as well as your specific requirements.
Estimated cost: subject to negotiation.
Industries and Technology Areas:
Industries: traveling, tourism, hospitality, airlines
Technology Areas: mobile application development, tablet, iOS, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
