June 2020 - 25

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
Mobile compatibility. Mobile
commerce has taken off as ownership
and use of tablets and smartphones has
increased. Any e-commerce platform that
you consider should be mobile-friendly.
Use free trials or demos to ensure mobile
compatibility and ease of use.
Make sure you fully
understand what you are
subscribing to and ensure
that the functionality
Features and ease of use. Numerous
e-commerce platforms have been
designed specifically for agriculture
with the purpose to address the unique
needs that come with food products
and farm and food business models.
However, you should base your decision
on which platform to use on your
individual needs.
All available e-commerce platforms will
offer different features and compatibility
with an existing website. Some features
will be integral to the platform while
others will be optional. Prior to reviewing
any e-commerce platform, outline the
features that are vital to you.
Initial set-up time. E-commerce
platforms vary in their complexity
and the platforms they are built upon
O
SUPERIOR
G
QUALITY,
GROWN IN THE
WILLAMETTE
VALLEY
LIKE OUR ROOTSTOCK,
OUR SERVICE WILL
GROW ON YOU.
Y
See our website for a complete list
of our offerings.
Our fields are planted with the
most popular clonal and seedling
fruit tree rootstock varieties.
We grow a great selection of
dwarf, semi-dwarf and standard
vigor varieties for apple, cherry,
pear, plum and more...
thus impacting set-up time. Inventory
will be the most time-intensive to set
up even if your current point of sale
system can be easily linked to your
website and online store. Once you
have your online store stocked, take
the additional step of testing.
Inventory management. Beyond
the initial set-up, consider how the
inventory for your online store will
be kept up to date. Depending on the
e-commerce platform you choose
and any existing point of service that
you have, product inventory numbers
will either be synchronized for your
brick and mortar location and online
store, or you will need to regularly
update your online store with product
availability information.
that you require for your
business to operate
successfully is included.
Maintenance and support. A selfhosted
e-commerce solution can
become complex and time intensive to
manage but may give you a certain level
of control that third-party platforms
may not match. A third-party hosted
solution removes most of the technical
maintenance and support concerns
and can have you up and running more
quickly than a self-hosted system.
Payment methods and security.
Accepting orders online requires the
ability to accept credit cards or other
payment alternatives such as PayPal
or Venmo. Security and privacy are
crucial when accepting online payment.
Customers need to know that their
information will be confidential and safe
while ordering from your business.
Customer service. The platform
you use should make it easy for your
customers to create an account, find
what they want, pay, and facilitate
communication. Internally, you need
to be prepared for providing online
customer service and for resulting orders.
Internet connection. Accessing your
e-commerce website is usually no more
bandwidth-intensive than accessing and
managing your existing website. The two
tasks that require adequate bandwidth
are managing the images in your online
store catalog and downloading the
transaction and accounting data.
Committing to and implementing
an e-commerce platform is not
inconsequential. Make sure you fully
understand what you are subscribing to
and ensure that the functionality that
you require for your business to operate
successfully is included.
For more recommendations on
e-commerce operations, visit https://
extension.psu.edu/managementconsiderations-for-implementinge-commerce-in-a-food-or-farmbusiness.
FGN
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FGN | JUNE 2020 | 25
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June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2020