24/7 Access and Online Selling

24/7 access means an online system or service is available at any time of day or night. A website that takes orders while the office is closed lets an organisation keep trading after the counter shuts, sell at any time and reduce some premises costs, such as fewer staffed opening hours or a smaller sales area. Because anyone with internet access can visit, it also reaches customers who are too far away to visit in person.

Data, maintenance and security

Because every visit and order can be recorded, 24/7 access builds a detailed record of what customers look at and buy. The organisation can use this to target its advertising and to plan stock and support, for example by adding web-chat staff when orders usually rise. However, the system must be maintained constantly: updates, fault fixes and backups cannot wait for opening hours. It must also be secured constantly, because customer data and payments are at risk around the clock.

Drawbacks to weigh up

• A technical failure can stop every order at once, whereas a problem with one shop till affects only that branch.
• Competition is greater: a customer can compare another website in seconds.
• Some customers want face-to-face help before they buy, which a website cannot give, so relationships have to be built online through clear information, quick replies and reviews.

Selling online and analytics

An online shop can take a birthday-gift order at 11 p.m. that would be missed if the only option were a counter with set hours. Extra orders from a wider audience raise sales and income; profit is income minus costs, so it rises once those orders more than cover the website's running costs. Website analytics records data about visits and purchases. An organisation can use it to choose what to sell, when to sell it and where customers are based. For example, a shop selling knitting wool might find that most orders come from one region on Sunday evenings, so it stocks up and advertises at that time.