When you operate a physical retail store, your audience is relatively set in stone – you’re mainly going to be serving people within a specific radius. Sure, maybe during some seasons when tourists are visiting the area, you’ll gain access to a new audience, or if you expand to new regions, you’ll increase your exposure, but for the most part, you know where your audience will come from.

For eCommerce operations, however, there often is no geographic limit unless entrepreneurs put one in place arbitrarily. As the number of Internet users across the world continues to grow, the potential market for eCommerce businesses will also surge.

One recent report from yStats suggests that nearly 1 billion people across the globe – approximately one-third of the world’s total population – now have access to the Internet.

This is obviously a substantial market for the retail brands that are flexible enough to take advantage of it. Although North America has traditionally been the go-to market for online retailers, with comScore statistics suggesting this market spends more than $200 million online each year, the growth of Internet availability also means that new regions may become more profitable.

“While North America has the highest percentage of Internet users, Asia is set to overtake North America in terms of total online sales as Internet penetration there increases, online retailer outlets expand and online payment infrastructure develops, particularly in China and India, adding to the already widespread online shopping in Japan and South Korea,” the yStats report concludes.

The global shopping landscape will be further impacted by the increased use of mobile devices to buy products and services. Much like online shopping, the mobile commerce revolution is expected to start in tech-savvy regions such as the United States before impacting operations elsewhere in the world.

Keeping up with the times
The retail landscape has always been in a state of evolution, with new technologies and eCommerce software driving further improvements and change. The growing market space may seem daunting, but the use of the right tools and technology can help savvy retailers streamline operations and improve their flexibility.

Whether it’s a matter of inventory management, customer engagement, order processing or any other task, eCommerce software allows merchants to adapt to the challenges they face ahead.