Sell Online vs Physical Store

Significantly cheaper in fixed overhead. An ecommerce store can launch for under $500 per month with no rent, no utility bills, and minimal staffing. A physical store typically costs $2,000-10,000 per month in lease, utilities, and staff according to SBA data, but benefits from walk-in customers and higher in-person conversion rates.

For products that need to be seen, touched, or tried on. For local services. For high-value items where trust matters. And for creating brand experiences.

Sell online when your product ships easily, your target market shops digitally, and you want to test demand with minimal risk. Online stores cost 50-500/month vs 1,000-5,000/month rent for physical space. 87% of US consumers research online before purchasing.

Online store: 500-5,000 setup plus 200-1,000/month running costs. Physical shop: 5-20K fit-out plus 1,500-5,000/month in rent, rates, and utilities. Online has 5-10x lower fixed costs but may need 10-20% of revenue for digital marketing to drive traffic.

High customer acquisition costs (CAC averages 30-80 for ecommerce), intense competition from marketplaces (Amazon, eBay), 30-40% return rates for fashion, and difficulty building brand loyalty without physical touchpoints. Conversion rates are 2-3% online vs 20-40% in-store.

Product type (impulse/fashion = physical advantage, niche/specialist = online), target demographic (under 35 = online, over 55 = physical still important), capital available, location foot traffic quality, and whether your product needs to be seen/tried before purchase.

An online store can launch for $500 to $5,000 covering platform subscription, domain, and initial inventory according to Shopify data. A physical retail space requires $50,000 to $150,000 in lease deposits, build out, and inventory according to the SBA. Online stores break even 3 to 6 times faster but physical stores see higher average order values and return rates below 10% versus 20 to 30% for online.

The five factors that drive a high ecommerce readiness score are professional product photography, seamless mobile checkout with a guest option, transparent upfront shipping costs, strong social proof with 10+ reviews per product, and automated abandoned cart recovery.

It evaluates revenue growth tracking, customer acquisition strategy, retention program, product development, market positioning, competitive awareness, team scaling plan, technology stack, process documentation, and goal setting.

There is no single best strategy, the right approach depends on your order volume, average order value, product dimensions, and geography. Shopify Commerce Trends data shows stores with a free shipping threshold typically see 10-30% higher AOV, but flat rate shipping is simpler for low-volume stores, real-time carrier rates suit variable product sizes, and 3PL fulfillment unlocks scale above 500-1,000 orders per month.

10 areas: product photography, descriptions, checkout, payment options, shipping transparency, return policy, mobile experience, reviews, abandoned cart recovery, and analytics. Baymard Institute research shows that stores scoring above 75 on these 10 dimensions convert visitors at more than twice the rate of average stores.

Start with your base product cost, add the cost of each option/add-on, then apply your target margin. Ensure every configuration is profitable. The most successful configurators make the mid-tier option the most attractive by anchoring against a premium option.