A lot of the businesses that come to us for an online shop have been selling through Instagram or Facebook for a while. It's working to a degree — they're getting enquiries, DMs, the occasional sale. But at some point it starts to feel unmanageable, and they want something more structured.
That feeling is usually the right one.
What social media selling actually looks like
When you sell through social media, every transaction is manual. A customer sees a post, sends a DM, you reply with a price, they ask about availability, you check, they ask about postage, you work it out, they pay by bank transfer or PayPal Friends and Family, you manually track the order. Then you do the same thing again for the next customer.
It works when you're small. It stops working when you're busy.
What a proper online shop gives you
An ecommerce website puts a system in place that handles the process for you. The customer browses, selects what they want, chooses any options, sees the price including postage, pays securely, and receives a confirmation. You get a notification with all the order details. No back and forth. No manual tracking.
That's not just more professional — it frees up a significant amount of time every week.
Social media still has a role
This isn't an argument against social media. Instagram and Facebook are still valuable for reaching new customers and showing products. The difference is that social media should be driving people to your website, not replacing it.
When someone sees your product on Instagram and clicks through to a well-built online shop, the conversion rate is far higher than asking them to DM you.
Find out more about building an online shop that works for your business or read about the signs your business is losing sales without one.