Is it profitable to open an online shop for my sports club?

 You have probably considered an online store as a new source of income for your club, it will allow you to facilitate the processes both for you as a club, as well as for athletes, members, and fans. sounds great, doesn't it? 

In principle, yes. Of course, it's a great idea, but this can require time and effort until everything is underway. We are going to tell you a series of tricks and tips that you should keep in mind before venturing out with your online store. Let's get going with it! 

What should I keep in mind to decide if I open an online store or not? 

Have a business mindset 

Most clubs do not aim for commercial purposes. It is not essential to have an entrepreneurial mentality. In fact, it shouldn't be the club's goal. But what is interesting is to value different revenue streams with an entrepreneurial mentality, so that the income generated goes to the club, to the athletes and to offer the best of services. In that sense, e-commerce can help you expand your horizons and expand your brand. 

Size of your club 

You must take into account the number of people who make up your club, the number of fans and members. The process will be very different for a club made up of 20 people than a club with more than 800. The reach of your sales will be greater the more people are affiliated with your club. If your club is "small", perhaps it is more advisable to focus your efforts on making it grow, attracting new members. Later, you will take some lines of business to the digital world. 

Analyze your environment 

It seems obvious, but the location in which your club is located is very relevant. On the one hand, by the number of inhabitants. If it is a small town, it seems more logical to sell the club's clothes at the headquarters than to try to get them online. On the other hand, in a capital or in a larger city, you may need to reach people who do not have access to your facilities easily. 

On the other hand, and no less important, it is interesting to analyse the spending habits of the people around you. Are they used to buying online? It is possible to change purchasing habits, but it is a job that you will have to do, so it does not hurt to try to study it beforehand. 

Analyze what the rest of the clubs do 

This will give you a lot of data on how the sector is because if you see that no club has an online store you can break the market. If there is a club that promotes online shopping and 

does it wonderfully, you should follow their example and adopt their good practices. 

Estimate the profitability of your online store 

If you already have a physical store as such or you order your sports equipment even without having a physical establishment, you can get an approximate idea about the potential of this new sales channel. 

Based on everything described, define your budget 

You have to take into account if you have enough money to set up this online business. It will cost more, for example, if you commission a company to make the website, maintain it, store the clothes and send them, rather than if you carry out all these processes. 

Let's imagine that it more or less makes sense to set up an online store. With the budget you have, you estimate an interesting income, and you have considered the competition. If you are still hesitant and need that boost to help you make the decision, here are the advantages of opening an e-commerce:

Advantages of setting up an online store for your sports club

The shop is open 24 hours a day

This type of trade has no schedules. At any time of the day someone can access your online store and buy the product they want. It works 365 days a year.

Reach new customers

Being on the internet, anyone, wherever they are, can access the web. It doesn't matter where you are physically. There is no geographical limit. You have a greater reach and what is better, greater possibility of sales.

Reduce your costs

You save numerous costs if we compare it with a physical store. It is not necessary to pay the rent of a physical place, nor electricity, water ... associated with this rental. You do not need a person in a customer service role, but you can prepare orders by dedicating little time a day. It is not necessary to have stock, since agreements can be reached with suppliers, so that they produce the club's clothes after the order and not before.

Increase your profit

If the costs are lower, the profit margin is higher. It is true that we will have to add other types of cost that we did not have before such as shipping. However, there are many clubs that pass on this cost to the buyer or offer to receive the merchandise at the club's own headquarters.

Increased customer loyalty

If at some point during the purchase process we request data from the customers, these serve to maintain contact and be able to inform the customer of new promotions or relevant club news. Information is power, and if you own it, you can do great things with it.

Greater convenience for the customer

The customer does not have to go anywhere to buy, they can see if the product is available and receive it at home. There is a tendency towards facilitating this type purchasing processes. The consumer is already used to not wasting time when making the purchase. Why should they do it to buy the club's tracksuit?

Have we convinced you yet? Well, let us explain the 4 different ways to set up an e-commerce for your club, and decide which one is best for you

Different types of e-commerce for your sports club

Web page

If you already have your own website, you can add a section that works as a store or create it from scratch. If you do not have experience in this field, you can find the steps and recommendations to create it or hire companies that are dedicated to it. It must be an attractive and intuitive website to help conversion. Do not forget that the website is the showcase, but someone must update the stock (when selling it is updated, but maybe you incorporate new stock or also sell offline), take care of the orders, etc.

In this post you can see 6 reasons why it is important to have a website for your club.

Marketplace

You can be part of a marketplace, a store of stores like Amazon or Ebay. In this case, you must make sure that people interested in your products know where to find them. You would also need to consider any commissions to be paid. However, you don’t have to worry about setting up an online store, they make it very easy for you to market the merchandise with photos, information, the stock and sell!

Dropshipping

It works as its own store but your function is intermediary between the customer and the manufacturer, who is responsible for sending the product. It is one of the best options if what you sell are manufacturer products. But if your club has customised clothing with logo’s and sponsors, it's unlikely to be able to use this option. And you will have to acquire and save your own stock.

Social Media

If you do not have a large budget or want to test the waters first, you can use social networks to get started in the world of e-commerce. Facebook from a fan page allows you to create a store in which to promote the product. If the customer is interested, you would only have to

provide the payment information (PayPal or bank transfer etc) and send the product. On Instagram and Twitter you can publicize your products and the purchase process can be facilitated with the help of direct messaging.

The Internet is a world with many possibilities ahead and can be very useful for the expansion of your club. If you have decided to take another step towards digital transformation, we can help you set up your own online store. At Clupik we can advise you on which is the best option for your sports club.