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What challenges do horticultural/agricultural eCommerce businesses face?
Every industry has unique eCommerce requirements, but the distinct nature of horticulture and agriculture eCommerce businesses is on a level of its own. Here are some of the challenges these businesses face and corresponding strategies for transforming the challenges into opportunities.
1. Marketing and Promotion
Horticulture and agriculture businesses, particularly those that operate on a smaller scale, may struggle to compete with established corporations and online retailers. These smaller businesses, and even some larger ones, may face challenges targeting specific customer segments and may lack expertise and skills in eCommerce marketing.
To address these specific challenges, businesses must leverage SEO, conduct marketing through many channels such as social media and email, form strategic partnerships, and work with experts who can lead in these areas.
2. Logistics and Delivery
Agricultural and horticultural businesses encounter many challenges with logistics and delivery. They must maintain product freshness and quality through careful handling and keeping conditions specific. This can translate to high shipping costs, limited delivery options, and complicated or delicate packaging.
To overcome logistics and delivery hurdles, horticultural and agricultural businesses can invest in temperature-controlled packaging, partner with experienced logistics providers, explore local delivery partnerships, and offer flexible delivery choices to buyers. They can also leverage the capabilities of a robust eCommerce solution to communicate, coordinate, manage, and track logistics and deliveries.
3. Seasonality
Another challenge these businesses face relates to seasonality. As many agricultural products are only available during certain times of the year, there are likely to be large fluctuations in product availability and irregular income for sellers. On the buyer's side, they may struggle to find what they need in the off season or suffer high prices for purchases from limited stock.
To better navigate the seasonality inherent in the industry, businesses can implement predictive analytics and demand forecasting to anticipate market trends and plan ahead. They can also create diversity with complementary products to provide a more stable income throughout the year, carefully select warehousing partners, and develop production strategies to ensure the year-round availability of certain products.