Online vs (non virtual) shop

[Prettyinpink]

I am a bit far away from opening a shop, but i was wondering for toiletries what are the pros and cons of each.

I figured one of the cons of a virtual store if you sell toiletries is people cannot sniff, or feel your products.

But then again i like the idea much better than a real store, (shopr rents, theft, hygine matters when those obnoxious ppl decide to sneeze all over your goods without covering their mouths (it happens often and hence why i hate going out to crowded places))

what do you think?

[BLSoaps]

I think since so much shopping now IS virtual, people are much more likely to make that plunge (buying something they haven't held, touched, smelled, tried) than they were even a few years ago.

For me, as a shopper and an online seller, I've found two 'ingredients' are crucial to making successful sales.

One - clear, professional and appealing product photos. Since they can't hold your product, they need to visualize it as best they can. A good photo helps draw them in.

Two - good product descriptions. A lot of times, people get stuck in the mentality that shorter ad copy is better. That's because before the internet, they had to pay for all that space. And they weren't trying to close the sale, they were just trying to get that customer into a store, and then the sales people would close the sale. Since you don't have that, you need to start and close your sale all in your ad copy. So longer, as long as it's not rambling and wandering, is better. You need to make sure to answer their questions about your product since they won't have you immediately there to answer. Make sense? I'm recovering from a migraine, so I'm still a bit foggy.

Most visitors when they come to your website won't read all your ad copy. But most visitors won't actually be purchasing either. They're essentially the tire kickers (borrowing from car shopping - those who come into the lot, kick the tires, look around, but never actually buy). Your ad copy isn't written for them. It's written for those that are actually buying.

And I'm getting rambly myself! LOL! You need to make sure you write good ad copy to describe the product, the scent. Make it appeal to them in the ways that their other senses would have been appealed to had they had the opportunity to actually hold/see/smell/try it.