General Store Vs Niche Store | E-commerce

By Author: Ron freeman
Total Articles: 23
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With e-commerce being on everyone’s mind, online businesses are experiencing tremendous growth. Deeming the pace of their growth and profit margins, folks are more inclined towards investing their energy, time, and money in online platforms. But, when it comes to developing an online store for a business, many people consider deciding on the type of store a hard nut to crack. Because people often get confused between general store vs. niche store or general Shopify store and Shopify niche store.

And it is not new! Yes! Almost every novice has to go through this. That is why in this article, we intend to bring more clarity to what does General Store Vs Niche Store indicates? And which one is the better option?

So, keep reading, and let’s crack it!

General store
In an online marketplace, a general store sells various products. By diverse products, we mean that all the products do not necessarily belong to the same category. Instead, a wide range of unrelated products is present at a general store. 

It is pretty much similar to the physical grocery store or a mart where everything ...
... is available. Such as groceries to clothes, toys, and other accessories.

Due to the vast array of products in a general store, various customers visit the store. That is the sole logic and idea behind people developing General Shopify Stores.  

Niche store
In contrast to general stores, Niche Shopify Store targets a specific market segment that is not very much developed and sells products related to that segment.

To make it further easy for the newbies, consider niche stores as a store engaged in selling products of one type or from merely one category.

An example to explain this would be a store you might come across in the physical marketplace, a store selling a particular style of food such as Halal food in Canada. The majority public in Canada would not be interested in knowing if the food they eat is halal or not. But for the Muslim community in Canada, it is a great concern. That being the case, that store will be a niche store, targeting a specific segment, i.e., the Muslim community in Canada, and selling a particular type of food.

General store vs Niche store Which one is better?
Once you have clarified yourself regarding General Store Vs Niche Store, you can dig in further to know which one is better for the business you intend to start. 

One can do it simply first by looking through the advantages and drawbacks of both stores, secondly, by aligning the store advantages with your business goals.

Advantages and Drawbacks of General Store
Advantages
A broad audience, as the store, engages in selling multiple products.

It always has an edge to test different niches without being risky.

Business can sustain as one can change the products constantly according to the market trend.

High turnover causes high profit.

Online platforms such as Shopify offers easy setup of a general store.

Drawbacks
A great competition awaits you with a general store choice.

Customers may consider your store to be highly generic, ending up buying from somewhere else.

Building your brand is hard because dealing with diverse products shrinks the focus.

In an online general store, search engine optimization becomes difficult because of several various products.

Advantages and Drawbacks of Niche Store
Advantages
With niche stores, branding is easy as the store focuses on specific products.

Niche stores can offer better customer services as the store specializes in specific products.

Effective market campaigns can be launched as niche store targets specific markets segment. 

One can work on capturing the social media audience as well by posting content regarding their product.

Drawbacks

It requires extensive research n building a niche store for niche selection. 

Only a specific market segment can be engaged.

They might face intense competition due to existing brands, which could be people’s go-to choice. 

Aligning Business Goals with The Store
Apart from understanding the advantages and disadvantages of general store vs. niche store, one must look at their business goals. It is about what you want to achieve. Store selection is pretty much based on one’s business resources as well. 

If you are a newbie with a bit of a marketing budget and no experience in market and product research, you can opt for a general store because general stores have a wide product range and significant turnover with a bit of risk factor.

A person interested in taking a risk just as entrepreneurs and have pockets filled for marketing and product research expertise can go with a niche store.

As niche stores are likely to sustain longer due to borrowed focus on products. 

The Bottom Line
Starting with differentiating between General Store Vs Niche Store, this article attempts to gauge insights on which store is better for online business. Furthermore, the advantages and drawbacks of both stores can also assist one in making their choice for online business.