SmallBusinessNewz

This kind of ties into David Utter's recent article on saving your customer's fuel costs.

I think that most of you would agree with me that these gas prices are getting ridiculous.

Believe it or not, your customers are probably thinking the same thing every time they go to fill their tanks. Chances are that many of these same customers are also trying to think of ways to cut down on the amount of gas they use, if nothing else, just to save some money.

Some are probably carpooling. Some are probably riding their bikes and walking more. And some of them are probably looking to do more of their shopping online.

Doesn't this seem like an obvious time to start selling goods online if you're not already? And if you already are, doesn't this seem like a crucial time to make sure your web design, marketing, and search engine optimization efforts are kicked into high gear?

eCommerce has never seemed more practical than it does right now, and it appears that this truth will only continue to become more evident as fuel costs continue to rise. At what point do consumers decide that they'd rather just buy some new shoes from the comfort of their own home rather than taking out a small loan just to have enough gas to get to the shoe store?

Clearly, they'll find a better selection to choose from online with the entire Internet at their disposal. I'm not predicting the end of brick and mortar stores or anything. That's just absurd, but people are looking to save money right now. And many of these people that haven't shopped online much in the past may reach the conclusion that they should've been doing it a lot more and also may turn it into a habit.

Online shopping has its cons for consumers, particularly in the apparel industry. You can't try on clothing that is not in front of you, but does this con outweigh a seemingly never-ending increase in fuel costs?

The point that I'm trying to make is this: whether you are strictly an online business or a brick and mortar, if you are selling goods, sell them online, and put some effort into the marketing and appearance of your site. You have a lot more competitors on the Internet.