One of the biggest e-commerce platforms today started as an online business operated from home. Yes, we’re talking about Amazon.
And just like Jeff Bezos, you can launch an e-commerce business from anywhere. You can run it from your living room or garage. No need to rent a warehouse. No need to spend thousands of dollars on an office. No dealing with commutes and separate utility bills.
On the other hand, running an e-commerce business from home does expose you to the risk of invasion of privacy. Not to mention your products invading every possible open space in your home.
Now, you may run an e-commerce business from home, but this doesn’t actually mean every aspect has to be managed from your home address. For this reason, it’s advisable not to use your home address as your mailing address, but instead consider utilizing a virtual address.
Why Online Shops Shouldn’t Use Their Home Address
It’s Not Safe
Any address you use for your e-commerce business becomes public information. There’s no way to hide it. It’s on your website, your social media accounts, your print ads, your business card, and public records.
Using your home address for your online shop exposes your personal information, and anyone can show up at your doorstep or steal your mail at any time.
It Doesn’t Look Credible
Which business looks more trustworthy? A business with a residential address or one with an address in a commercial center?
A home address can often imbue your business with a less-than-professional vibe. It can project the idea that you’re a small-time operation. Potential customers may assume your business isn’t legitimate, which can ultimately impact sales and growth.
It Disrupts Business Processes
Your business mailing address plays a critical role in your operations. More than just a physical location where the authorities or the bank send you letters, it’s also where supplies and products are delivered, and your customers send product returns.
Imagine using your home address for all of these transactions. You’ll have piles of materials in your foyer and living room, and it’s all too easy to mix up personal and business deliveries. Some supplies can even go missing, resulting in production delays.
If you use your home address for product returns, you expose your personal information to your customers or anyone who may wish to defraud you. And, if you have limited space, accepting returns in your home is a storage nightmare waiting to happen.
Switch to A Virtual Address for Returns and Inventory
For tighter control over product returns and inventory, a virtual address is a highly effective solution. A virtual address is a legitimate mailing address located in a commercial location. It’s a service offered by pack-and-ship centers, coworking spaces, and other providers of business management solutions.
A virtual address offers businesses numerous benefits. Compared to a home address, it’s a prestigious address that lends your business instant credibility. And it protects your personal information, ensuring that anything private remains confidential.
Additionally, one specific feature of a virtual address that will drastically improve your inventory management is the mail management feature. In addition to allowing you to use a legitimate address to post on your website or social media, a virtual address also lets you receive, store, and manage postal mail digitally. In other words, it’s a secure and convenient way to stay on top of all of your returns and inventory.
How a Virtual Address for E-Commerce Works:
- You display your virtual mailbox address on your e-commerce store and specify it for product returns. You make it your official mailing address for business transactions.
- A customer will use this address to return products, and your manufacturers and suppliers will send products or supplies to this address.
- The virtual address provider will inform you that you have a delivery. You’ll receive a notification on a phone app for each individual delivery.
- Your provider will scan the address on the side of the package, which displays the sender’s information, then send that information to your mobile device.
- You can then have the items forwarded to you or pick them up yourself. On the app, you can click “forward” or schedule a pickup date and time.
Throughout this workflow, you can manage your e-commerce business and enjoy the following benefits:
- Home address privacy.
- Safe and secure product storage.
- Remote inventory management.
Integrating A Virtual Address with a Fulfillment Center
To enhance your returns and inventory management, take your business one step further with a virtual fulfillment center or a virtual warehouse. More than just an address that allows you to receive and manage returns, it’s a service that handles inventory tracking and product fulfillment for your business.
You get a physical warehouse for your inventory without having to manage the physical location yourself. It’s completely virtual, manageable from the comfort of your own home, 100% convenient and secure.
Major e-commerce platforms enable integration with virtual fulfillment centers, ensuring that products are shipped out in a timely manner when a sale is made.
Virtual Address for E-Commerce: Startup vs Scaling Setup
Depending on the size of your e-commerce business, a virtual address and a virtual fulfillment center are crucial components for success.
When you’re just starting out, you need a virtual address to give your business a professional edge, to accept returns, and protect your privacy.
As a startup operation, you can store your products in one closet in your house. Once you start scaling your business, however, a virtual warehouse will prove more useful, as you won’t need to handle inventory physically. In other words, you get to take back that precious storage space in your own home.
Note, however, that you must retain your virtual address even if you already have a virtual warehouse. A virtual address offers convenience and benefits distinct from those of a virtual warehouse. You need both to run an e-commerce business and to address critical business concerns, such as home address exposure, disorganized product returns, and scaling logistics.
The bottom line is that to protect your e-commerce business and give yourself a critical edge for success and growth, a virtual mailbox is a pivotal component.
