SWOT Analysis
This report is going to discuss about the introduction of an online business, for a hardware shop. The owner of the business, Hal Donovan, started his ordinary hardware shop in the late 80s. In a short while, the hardware shop, gained a good reputation among their end – users (Batra and Arora 2020). Adding to that, due to a budding neighbourhood, the hardware shop also started sponsoring youth sports teams and local charities. Furthermore, the sales persons who hired at the hardware shop, goes through a rigorous and comprehensive training, which also includes skill training program. The skill training program includes the development of skill sets in plumbing, electrical, power tools, flooring, gardening and many more (York 2021). To keep up with the good reputation, the store owner, Hal Donovan also arranges and conducts classes and workshops, through which the end – users are able to learn the method through which the tools they have bought will be used (Yin and Xu 2021). Few of the workshops are also conducted by various manufacturers in order to promote their products.
However, in the recent years, it has been found that, the business was not growing, in the same pace (Caycho-Vilchez et al. 2021). Through careful research and observation, it has been deduced that, due to the introduction of hardware chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s, Hal’s Hardware were not able to scale properly. The hardware chains have opened various stores around different localities. Also, the hardware chains were able to offer good discounted price for their products (Permatasari and Kartikowati 2018). These marketing strategies have led to close the lumber department which was present within Hal’s Hardware. In order to cope up with the rising competition with the hardware chains, Hal Donovan, would want to open an online retail store to sell their high – end speciality tools which are dedicated for wood workers and cabinet makers. This report will conduct a SWOT Analysis, and marketing strategies which are required to gain end – user traffic to the online shopping website. Adding to that, scenarios will also be explained, which will help in understanding the various kinds of processes the end – users would need to conduct in order to purchase the required product from the online shopping website (Shuklaa, Khareb and Shuklac 2020). Furthermore, a prototype design of the website will be developed and explained, that will contain the key features of the website, which will help the end – users to buy products from the online shopping website.
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Strength |
Weakness |
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1. The organization has been built within a friendly neighbourhood, which have helped the business to gain a good reputation. 2. The sales persons who are hired in the organization goes through a comprehensive training that helps in booting the sales revenue for the organization at the end of the financial year (Wu 2018). 3. The organization also sponsors local youth sports teams and charities which have further helped the business to expand their end – user base. 4. The business owner, Hal Donovan, also conducts various kinds of seminars through which he teaches the home owners about the methods to operate a tool they have purchased from the store. 5. Due to a large consumer base, many manufacturers have also started conducting various kinds of workshops and seminars for the end – users, with the help of which they are able to promote their products (Soni 2020). |
1. Hal’s Hardware do not have any branches across different cities (Sharma 2018). Due to this reason, the organization is not able to scale properly. 2. The organization do that their own website, however, the website contains the general information about the store, the directions to the store and operating hours. 3. Currently, most of the organization around the world are migrating their business and operations towards various online platforms. There are various kinds of advantages present with the online shopping store, as the end – user would not need to travel to the concerned store. However, Hal’s Hardware do not have the online store option within their present website. Due to this reason too, the organization is not able to expand their end – user base. 4. The organization currently have only one store, due to this reason, they are not able to expand their end – user around different localities. 5. Consumers are also looking for huge discounts from the organization, how due to the lack of marketing strategy, they are not able to provide good discounts to their customers. |
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Opportunities |
Threats |
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1. Hal’s Hardware already have a website, which contain information about the store, the direction to the store and the operating hours. However, the organization can introduce a shopping portal within the website, which will help the organization to sell their products to those customers who are most likely to shop online. 2. The organization can launch various online sessions where they can promote the various products which are present within the store. 3. As most of the organization have migrated their business towards the online platform, thus, more number of customer are more inclined towards looking for the products through the online shopping platforms. Thus, in order to target those customers, the organization can launch their own online shopping website. 4. As the organization already have a good reputation among their end – user, thus they would be able to scale their business through the online platform, in no time. Due to this reason, the organization would be able to compete with hardware organization chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. 5. The organization also conducts various kinds of seminars and workshops, which helps the organization to gain more number of end – users. |
1. Recently, the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware has been facing strong competition from the hardware chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. 2. The large hardware chain’s such as Home Depot and Lowe’s are always purchasing the products such as timber in large quantities. Due to this reason, the organization is able to provide huge discounts on those products. However, organizations such as, Hal’s hardware is unable to provide huge discounts. 3. Hal’s hardware do not have an online shopping portal. Currently, most of the organization around the world are migrating towards online platform. Through that approach, they are able to gain more number of users (Krishnamoorthy and Vigram 2020). Furthermore, with the help of the online platform, the organization would be able to gain customers who are living in the overseas. |
There are various kinds of options avail, through which the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware would be able to conduct their marketing strategy (Chidyiwa 2020). However, before proceeding with the process, the organization need to first understand the product they would want to promote with the help of the marketing strategy. In this section, the various aspects of the marketing strategy will be explained (Haque and Alam 2021). The organization was built in the late 80s and specializes in selling hardware products. The organization need to identify their target audiences who would be visiting their online shopping website, in order to purchase the products they are looking for (Vasudevan and Arokiasamy 2021). Sarah Johnson, who is the senior most store manager, were able to identify the high – end speciality products which are mostly purchased by the customers. This is the reason why, these products will be the first to be listed into the website (Thiebaut 2019). It will help the consumers to purchase the product directly from the website, without visiting the physical store.
Marketing Strategies
In the current generation most of the end – users are using the various kinds of online social media platforms (Zhang and Zheng 2020). Due to this reason, it advisable and recommended to conduct social media marketing for the hardware organization. Furthermore, the social media platform, also allows the organization to create their own page in the same social media platform. With the help of the page, the organization would be able to advertise their products into the page. The consumers would be able to view the various kinds of products which are available in the website (Lim et al. 2021). Furthermore, through the social media page, the customers can be redirected to the online shopping website, from where the end – users would be able to make the relevant purchase and then get the order delivered to their location.
The organization is already conducting various kind seminars and workshops in their physical stores (Chen et al. 2020). Furthermore, various manufacturers are also using the hardware store, to conduct their own workshop, also through those workshops they are able to promote their products. The organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware would have the opportunity to record the various seminars and workshops, which they can again post on both the social media page and the website (Putra and Edy 2020). Through this approach too, the organization would be able to expand their end – user base.
Search engine optimization is a technique which is mostly used in order to market the various online shopping website (Sharma 2020). In this process, specific keywords are used in order to make the website of the organization to populate, when the consumer are searching for something in the search bar (Alhulail, Dick and Abareshi 2018). Suppose, for an example, when the end – user is searching for a product in the search, then the online website Hal’s Hardware will appear in the result, through which the end – user would be able to purchase the product they are searching for.
Through analysing the purchase and customer history present, the organization would be able to find out the various kinds of products which are mostly purchased by the end – users. This will further, help the organization to give a discount price to those products, and gain more amount of end – users (Chatterjee et al. 2021). Adding to that, the organization would also be able to sell the product faster. Along with that, if there is a chance, the organization can also recommend various other products, with the best products, to increase their sales revenue at the end of the financial year.
In this section, the various key features of the website will be explained. Currently a prototype has been developed (Abdullah et al. 2021). Depending on the prototype of the website, various other functionalities of the website will be built. Adding to that, the functionalities of the website will be added in a manner that the, end – user is able to purchase the required products from the website without facing any kind of issues while accessing the website.
Key Features of the Website
The website will be made using design that are user friendly. Through this approach, the end – user would be able to easily navigate around the website, without facing any kind of issues and problems (Sabetzadeh and Wang 2022). Simplicity will be maintained throughout the website, by maintaining the same colour scheme and the same font styles. This will further help the end – users to go through the various information which are present within the website.
Currently, most of the users wants to access the websites through their mobile phones. Due to this reason, while designing the aspects of the website, additional effort will be provided in order to make the website mobile friendly (Neghin? et al. 2019). This means that, when the end – user is accessing the website through their phone, the contents and information of the website will get adjusted depending on the screen resolution of the mobile phone.
The images which will be used in the website will be taken using a high – quality photo device (Gao and Li 2019). Through this approach, high – resolution pictures can be obtained for the products which will be listed out in the online shopping website. Adding to that, using this approach, the users would be able to view the product, and go through the details of the product (Qalati et al. 2021). Furthermore, in the future, the website can be redesigned, where the user will have the option to zoom the images which are present within the website.
The website will also have an option, where the customer who have purchased the products from the website, to share their opinion and review about the product (Giao, Vuong and Quan 2020). Adding to that, a star rating scheme will be included into the website, through which the users would be able to the rate the product. Furthermore, the end – users would also have the option to share the image of the product which they have purchased.
As it is an online shopping website, thus, the organization would be able to let the end – users know about the various sales which are going on in the physical stores. Through this approach, the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware, would be able to introduce various kinds of special offers into the website. This will help the organization increase or expand their online customer – base and increase the revenue generated through the online shopping portal.
This is one of the option, which are mostly used by the end – users who are often purchasing products from the online shopping website (Vijay, Prashar and Sahay 2019). The website will have the Wish List option, which the customer can use in order to keep the products, which they are most likely purchase afterwards. Furthermore, when there is a product is unavailable for purchase, due to less stock, then the customers can add that product into the wish list. When the item is in stock, then the customer would be notified through email that the product is currently in stock and they can proceed with the purchase.
As Hal’s Hardware already have their own physical retail store, thus, they can add this option in the website. Through this option, the customers would be able to view the products which are currently present within the store. This will help the customer to understand, whether can drop by the store and then pick up the product that they are looking for. This option will be helpful for those customer who are living in the nearby locality. They would not need to visit the store in order to search for the product. They would just need to visit the website and search for the product. After that, they will need to add the filter for find in store. If the product is present in the store, they can quickly visit the website and then purchase the product, without waiting for it to be delivered.
The online shopping website, can be equipped with AI, through which the organization would be able to introduce the recommendation or related items. Here, the customer would need to first visit the website and create an account and search for the product they are looking for. Depending on the product, the website would be able to provide recommended products for the customer. This method will be processed by the AI, as it would be identifying the various products which the customer is searching for.
This section will help the end – users to get their common queries resolved as soon as possible. As the website will be based on the sale of hardware products, thus, various end – users would have questions related to the products which are present within the online shopping website. The questions would also be regarding how the customer would be proceeding with the purchase of a product.
The prototype of the website has been built on the WordPress platform. Currently, few of the basic properties of the website has been included in the website. In the future, various other properties will be added to the website, in order to make it fully functional. The following link can be used in order to access the website: https://shopwooddotin.wordpress.com/ . Below are the various web pages, which has been built for the prototype.
Figure 1 – Home Page
(Source – Created by Author)
The above image displays the home page of the website, which is named as Hal’s Woodworking. Here, a basic layout of the home page has been developed. Adding to that, in the final stage of the website, additional carousel will be added, where the various products which are present within the website will be displayed. Furthermore, the home page will also contain the navigation pane, which will contain various other options. The customers would be able to view the various web pages of the website by clicking on the options present on the navigation panel. Adding to that, the home page will contain a section, which will have the option of the current deals that are present. Through that section of the webpage, the users would be able to directly view the product and the price of the product. Furthermore, the customer would also be able to add the product to the cart and then proceed with the purchase of the product.
Figure 2 – Product Page
(Source – Created by Author)
The above image is the product image for Glove Kit 1. Here the product has been selected as hypothetical. However, depending on the organization, they would be able to present the product of their choice. The product page will contain the image of the product with the description of the product. Furthermore, this page will also contain the price of the product and the option to add the product. In the final step of the website, the wish list for the product would also be added. Adding to that, based on the purchase of the product, the reviews and rating presented by the customers for the product will be displayed on this page. Also, the products which are related to this product will be listed below the product page.
Figure 3 – About Us
(Source – Created by Author)
The above image is the about us page for the organization. Here the organization would need to describe their operation and the various kinds of products which they are selling. Furthermore, the organization can also add the information about the sector which the organization is serving. Adding to that, various social media icons with their respective links will be present. Here the social account of the organization will be present.
Figure 4 – Contact Us
(Source – Created by Author)
The above web page is the contact us page, of the organization, which will be used by the end – users in order to make contact with the organization. Adding to that, this page will also contain the information about the operation hours of the organization. Through this page, the end – user would be able to contact the organization for various kinds of concerns which are regarding the orders and complaints (Tandon, Kiran and Sah 2018). The dedicated customer service department of the organization would be handling the complaints and queries which are being sent by the end – users.
Figure 5 – Story Board
(Source – Created by Author)
The above story board describes the various activities which the customer would be performing in each of the pages which are present within the website. In order to proceed with the purchase of the product, the customer would need to create an account on the website. However, if the customer would just want to view the products and compare the prices with other organization, they can do that, without creating an account (Santos and Santos 2020). The customer would need to provide their personal information such as name, email address, physical address with zip code, date of birth and their contact information. After creating the account, they would visit the product page in order to proceed with the purchase of the product. Adding to that, the customer would need to click on the Add to Cart option. Furthermore, if the customer wants to purchase more than one product, then they can visit the other product page to view the various options available for purchase (Kasuma et al. 2020). All the products will be then added to the cart, and the total amount of the cart will be displayed. Next, the customer would need to proceed with the purchase of the product. Once they click on the Buy Now option, they will be redirected to the payment portal. In the payment portal, they would need to provide their bank account and card details (Chen, Ku and Yeh 2019). After the successful payment has been received the order will be placed. The customer will receive an order identification number, with the help of which they, would be able to track the progress of the order.
Once the order has been placed, the customer will also receive a confirmation email, which will contain all the information about the order. Through the account they have in the website, the end – user would also be able to track the progress of the order. The end – users would also be notified when the order or the product is out for delivery. After that, once the customer have received the product, the same will be updated on the website. If there is any kind of issue with the product, the customer would be able to visit the website and login into their account and then raise a complaint. Depending on the option available for the product, the concerned customer service department will contact the customer and help them with the replace or refund of the product.
The online website will be created in order to target those customers who are mostly purchasing the products from various online shopping website. Adding to that, the Hal’s Woodworking website will contain the high – end speciality products that are mostly sold to the customers. Adding to that, website will also have the entire catalogue of the products which are present and offered by the hardware organization. The website will have an option called find in the store. As the physical store of Hal’s Hardware is still present, this is the reason why, the find in the store will be present. Through this option, the end – users would be able to view the products which are available in the store. The customers who are living in the same locality of the store, would be able to visit the store and purchase the product.
Conclusion
In order to conclude, in this report, a prototype of an online shopping website has been discussed. Here, Hal’s hardware shop has been facing tough competition from hardware chains such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Due to the high competition from the hardware chains, the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware had to close a department. In order to cope up with the rising competition, the organization, have decided to start their own online shopping website, on the existing website. Here a prototype has been built and explained about the various kinds of features which the website will contain, in order to help the end – users to proceed with their product purchase. Before developing the prototype for the website, a SWOT analysis has been conducted.
In the current generation, it has been found that, most of the organization have started migrating towards the online platform. After research, it has been found that, various advantages are associated with online shopping platform. Currently most of the end – users are looking for quicker options to purchase the products which are present within the website. The online shopping website, enables faster buying process. This means that, with the help of the website, the end – users are able to visit the website, browse through the various kinds of products which are available and proceed with the purchase of the product. Through this process the end – user would not need to travel and visit the store for the purchase of the product. Furthermore, with the help of the online website, the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware would be able to serve the customer who are currently residing in the overseas.
The report have also discussed about the functionality of the pages which are present. Adding to that, the report have also discussed about the various other functions and services which will be added to the website in the final stage in order to make it more useful for the end – users. The report also contains a storyboard which explains about a scenario where a potential customer is visiting the website and would want to purchase a product. The story board have explained about the various processes which the customer need to perform in order to complete the purchase of the product. It has been found that, enabling the e – commerce website for the organization will help the organization, that is, Hal’s Hardware to compete with the hardware chains and expand the business.
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