Optical Prism April 2020 | Page 36

Special feature The real cost of investing in e-commerce By Cameron Martel and business models alike. Retail is under intense pressure and giants like Amazon are accelerating a transformation that has been in the works for the better part of two decades. Faced with this environment, it’s logical that independent optical dispensaries would look for ways to participate and benefit from the disruption. But here’s the thing: selling online is a tough business and that’s before even considering the competitive environment. E-commerce: a term that represents as much opportunity as it does frustration. Foundational Considerations When business owners decide to jump into e-commerce, they typically do so from the lens of It is second to perhaps only SEO in terms of its ability capitalizing on opportunity. This opportunity comes to confound, while simultaneously convincing business with a cost and those costs aren’t just tied to the owners that they need to have it. product, sales, or shipping. The “Why” Cybersecurity Convenience culture is overtaking the world, and We live in a world where “breaches” and “hacks” along the way, its impacts are disrupting industries are the new normal. In fact, in 2019, more than 750 34 Optical Prism | March 2020