The Importance of Websites in 2018
By: Aimee Dyson
Tags: Shopping, Ecommerce, Website, Writer, Social Media

Given the task to create a new website, which may prove to be the backbone for my writing future, I had to ask; is it for me? Is this the future I see for myself? With the time and energy a website would take, would it all be worth it?

With the internet at the world’s fingertips, the choice of how we will use it are endless; social media, online shopping, blogging — all three combined? In the writing world, bloggers particularly are known to use a combination of these to their advantage such as fashion bloggers who often promote brands/products in their pieces which are shared on their social media accounts. Due to the concept of blogs only existing due to the creation of the internet, these writers have an advantage over traditional fiction writers as their work is first and foremost on this platform.

However, with the likes of targeted and personalised adverts, the internet is still largely in favour of high street retailers rather than budding writers. But these retailer’s successful online presences can assist in helping writers to enhance their online space by understanding the features which have a positive impact on a company’s sales and name. Hearing the term online shopping would lead most people to instantly have clothing brands such as New Look, Next and ASOS in mind; high street retailers who have used websites to their advantage, promoting discounts and offers to both new and existing customers. Between December 2014 and December 2017 alone, online shopping (excluding food related products) has risen by 12.5%, counting for 24.1% of all sales in 2017 (Bowsher). The growth of a company’s online presence has in many cases led to an app being created in response to this, in order to allow easier access via smartphones. Wolfgang Digital found in 2016 that 59% of overall browsing took place on mobile devices but only 38% of sales came from these platforms (Orendorff).

Aside from clothing retailers, there are a number of other retailers who are using websites in 2018. Major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda also have an online presence. The main benefit of this for customers is the option of home delivery, meaning they can simply select the products they wish to purchase and arrange a delivery time suitable for them. Between 2010 and 2016, online food purchases doubled, resulting in £141.9 million being spent on online shopping in 2016 (Statista). Other supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl do not offer online shopping to their customers, causing a potential problem for these companies if online sales continue to soar. By not including this feature on their websites, many of their customers may turn to rival supermarket chains for their shopping due to the convenience of this.

The increase of retailers who use websites has also allowed for an increase in connectivity between brands, often leading to collaborations which result in a mutually beneficial outcome. Two examples of this being done are with Amazon and ASOS, two companies who trade solely online. Both of these companies feature products of other brands on their websites and apps, increasing the range of products they offer, therefore opening up their target market to include a variety of customers. These two companies also use the feature of ‘suggested products’ to enhance their customers’ retail experience and increase sales. This feature is of particular use in the ‘books’ department of the website as readers can find a variety of authors whose style is similar to others they enjoy; creating more success for authors without them actively seeking out a specific audience to sell to.

The introduction of social media to society towards the beginning of millennium has massively helped businesses and public figures to gain attention. Sites such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat are all used by a range of celebrities as a way of keeping contact and growing their audience. Author’s in particular are often found to be active Twitter users due to the retweet feature of the app allowing more publicity through fans sharing their work/news. These accounts are often used in one of two ways; either formally or informally. J.K. Rowling uses her Twitter account on a purely professional level, sharing content which is either self promotion or relevant news stories. Adam Silvera however, uses a more informal tone with his tweets, switching between his own publicity and book promotion to informal comments about life/society which he deems to be relatable with his followers. Both of these approaches to engage with an audience have their benefits, with the choice of how to engage largely based on who the person’s target audience is.

In 2018, there are still a number of shops (and indeed public figures) who have not extended themselves to use the internet to promote and grow. Although this may purely be a selective choice, it is possible that lack of funds may be reason enough for this to occur. If a business feels as though it will not gain a significant amount of profit by introducing it’s customers to an online format, it will simply not go ahead. By attempting to reclaim the ‘traditional’ form of shopping, in much the same way that people attempt to reclaim books, CD’s and other physical products, will we all eventually end up lost on the world wide web? By preventing ourselves to fall into the trap that is the digital age are we actually losing out, leaving it longer to take up the newest trends and therefore finding ourselves way behind the rest of society?

References:

Bowsher, Ed. “Online retail sales continue to soar.” The Financial Times, 11 January 2018, https://www.ft.com/content/a8f5c780-f46d-11e7-a4c9-bbdefa4f210b

Manning, Ellen. “Why retailers stop selling online: the hidden cost of e-commerce.” The Guardian, 15 December 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2016/dec/15/hidden-cost-e-commerce-online-shopping-entrepreneurs

“Online grocery shopping in the United Kingdom (UK) — Statistics and Facts.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/topics/3144/online-grocery-shopping-in-the-united-kingdom/

Orendorff, Aaron. “Online Shopping Trends in 2018 and Beyond: Ecommerce’s 11 New Realities.” Shopify, 18 July 2018, https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/online-shopping-trends-ecommerc e

Peru, Georgie. “Internet Statistics & Facts in 2018.” Top 10 Website Hosting, 11 April 2018, https://www.top10-websitehosting.co.uk/internet-facts-and-statistics-2018/

Williams-Grut, Oscar. “‘What we’re seeing is a revolution’: How the internet is remaking the British High Street.” UK Business Insider, 18 August 2017, http://uk.businessinsider.com/future-british-high-street-internet-brexit-retail-2017-8