Developing online sales channels for emerging small and medium enterprises

Abstract

The worldwide total retail sales hit $23.4 trillion in 2020 of which 18.5 trillion are in traditional physical store sales and four trillion are in E-commerce related sales. With the twentieth century closing we have seen a great shift in the market from small retailers (mom and pop shops) to big box retailers. In the current century, these large shops are replaced by a digitized replication of the big box retailers at a more virtual complex than the physical kind. This paper would discuss the evolution of traditional retailing especially within the last 3- 5 years, specifically due to current world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to achieve the objectives of the research the author used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The results demonstrated by the research provide a guided outlook on, how to upgrade an existing retailing business to an E-tailing hybrid business, as well as an understanding on what metrics will be enabled in terms of data and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that can be achieved within this implementation. The thesis would have a detailed look at some of the benefits drawn by an implementation of the online sales channel as well as some barriers faced by the new adopters when trying to implement the technology in their respective organizations. The research focuses on understanding the development of ecommerce within Sri Lanka, by using a triangulation method which the author builds by creating a solid knowledge foundation on retail markets, e-commerce development, different types of e-commerce and finally ties the whole loop with literature that helps the reader understand the overall impact to the supply chain and the different data points gathered that enable a data analytics process, helping business gain new insights, and make much more informed decisions within a business. Using this knowledge, the thesis conducts a survey to understand the overall position of the online customer population using a sample and reverifies these findings with six expert interviews with top officials representing corporates that have been performing outstandingly well when it comes to the e-commerce sector. Finally, the research thesis depicts these learning on to a newly designed four stage ecommerce adoption model that will help any traditional business that is currently generating a significant amount of sale to identify which stage would best fit their business model and best strategy in implementing a digital strategy within their organization