Hal's Hardware
Hal’s Hardware, Inc. Proposed Electronic Commerce SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Ease of transactions
• Make products more accessible to consumers who are not located near an HHI store.
• Make products more visible to consumers and enable HHI to do online advertising.
The proposed e-commerce website may make it easier for customers to buy products online. Since Hal intends on adding an online shopping feature to his existing website, this may be more convenient for many of his regular customers. Customers in rural areas will no longer have to drive far to get to a physical store. A website will also widen Hal’s customer base. Even though his physical stores are located in 3 states, anyone in the U.S. could potentially purchase products from Hal’s. A website will allow online advertising, too. Hal could buy sidebar ads on various websites which can generate more revenue for the business.
Weaknesses
• Cost of configuring the online shopping component to the existing website.
• Maintenance costs and/or hosting costs.
The main weaknesses of an e-commerce site are the costs to create and maintain it. Hal will have to consider the costs of hiring, training and paying personnel to design the website, write or customize code or software, create the content and maintain the site. The total cost to own a website shouldn’t be more than the revenue an online shopping website generates. In Hal’s case the costs may be far less because he has a basic website already in place.
Opportunities
• Partnership with other websites for additional advertising.
• Expansion of services offered.
• Increase in sales due to being able to reach more customers
As mentioned in the Strengths section, Hal could buy sidebar or text ads on other websites with large traffic in order to generate more revenue or increase traffic to his own website. He could highlight products on sale with a weekly “online
Strengths
• Ease of transactions
• Make products more accessible to consumers who are not located near an HHI store.
• Make products more visible to consumers and enable HHI to do online advertising.
The proposed e-commerce website may make it easier for customers to buy products online. Since Hal intends on adding an online shopping feature to his existing website, this may be more convenient for many of his regular customers. Customers in rural areas will no longer have to drive far to get to a physical store. A website will also widen Hal’s customer base. Even though his physical stores are located in 3 states, anyone in the U.S. could potentially purchase products from Hal’s. A website will allow online advertising, too. Hal could buy sidebar ads on various websites which can generate more revenue for the business.
Weaknesses
• Cost of configuring the online shopping component to the existing website.
• Maintenance costs and/or hosting costs.
The main weaknesses of an e-commerce site are the costs to create and maintain it. Hal will have to consider the costs of hiring, training and paying personnel to design the website, write or customize code or software, create the content and maintain the site. The total cost to own a website shouldn’t be more than the revenue an online shopping website generates. In Hal’s case the costs may be far less because he has a basic website already in place.
Opportunities
• Partnership with other websites for additional advertising.
• Expansion of services offered.
• Increase in sales due to being able to reach more customers
As mentioned in the Strengths section, Hal could buy sidebar or text ads on other websites with large traffic in order to generate more revenue or increase traffic to his own website. He could highlight products on sale with a weekly “online