Getting Started with eCommerce

If you’re looking to create an eCommerce business, starting an online store is a great first step. You can go far more in-depth, but these 5 steps will give you the right start:

How to start an eCommerce business

1. Choose what to sell online

2. Build and design your online store

3. Find a manufacturer

4. Find shipping partners

5. Connect a payment provider

01. Choose what to sell online

The first thing you’ll need to do before you start your eCommerce business is decide what it is you want to sell. You can find products, based on the target audience you’re after, or vice versa.

The products you choose to sell may ultimately determine your success, so take time and really plan your actions before starting.

02. Build and design your online store

To start your online store, you’ll need to build a website using a host that can facilitate eCommerce.

Once you build your website and create your store, it’s time to design it. eCommerce website design is crucial in creating a positive shopping experience and can make or break an eCommerce business, so don’t skip this step.

03. Find a manufacturer

After you’ve decided on a product or line of products, you’ll need to manufacture them. The type of manufacturer changes from product to product.

If you’re after digital products, you may not need a factory, but you might still need to hire professionals to create or provide the final touches on your products.

04. Find shipping partners

Shipping is a big part of any online store. You want every single customer to receive their products fast and in one piece. To pull that off, you’ll need a great shipping company.

If manufacturing and shipping products seem like too much of a hassle, you can always turn to drop shipping. Simply connect your store to a dropshipping service that manufactures, fulfills orders, and delivers your products for you. This takes care of procurement for you.

Of course, for digital products with digital distribution, you get to avoid shipping altogether. But you still need to make sure your products are distributed properly, meaning emails go out without errors, and download links are always live.

05. Connect a payment provider

No business is complete without getting paid. In order to process transactions and receive payments, you’ll need to connect your online store to a payment provider and payment processor. To ensure customers always have a comfortable way to pay, you may want to provide several payment options, including credit card, buy now, pay later, shopping cart software, mobile payment, digital wallets like PayPal, wire transfer, etc.

While we’re on the subject of payments, it’s worth mentioning that you should ensure your eCommerce business is up to date with online sales tax compliance.

eCommerce Marketing Tips

The importance of eCommerce marketing can’t be understated. It’s a critical part of gaining new customers, as well as retaining your existing clientele. No eCommerce business is complete without it.

Optimize your online store’s SEO

One of the most important ways to drive traffic to your online store is by optimizing it to appear higher on search engines. This is called eCommerce SEO (search engine optimization).

Without going in-depth, SEO means optimizing the text, images, and the general build of your website, in order for it to receive a higher ranking from search engines like Google.

Use content marketing

Content marketing is extremely common in eCommerce. In short, it means creating content, such as blog posts, to attract visitors to your website. Using content marketing wisely, in conjunction with SEO, can have a huge impact on your store’s traffic.

Utilize Facebook and Google ads

Facebook ads and Google ads are the most common paid advertising channels for eCommerce, and they’ve proven to be very effective. Between Facebook, Instagram, and Google, you can cover an enormous share of all internet users. But with all that reach, you’ll need to be very precise when setting up your campaign, or you risk spending your marketing dollars on the wrong audiences.

Market using emails

Marketing emails are a great way to stay in touch with your customers, letting them know about new products, sales, or even a friendly holiday greeting. Email marketing is considered to have one of the best ROI’s in eCommerce marketing. However, in order to operate a truly successful eCommerce business, you’ll need to create a marketing strategy that covers most, if not all of these channels.

What makes an eCommerce business successful?

There are many factors that contribute to the success of an eCommerce business. Here are some of the most important:

• A strong product offering: Your products should be high-quality, unique, and in demand. You should also offer a variety of products to appeal to a wide range of customers.

• A well-designed website: Your website should be easy to use and navigate, and it should be visually appealing. It should also be mobile-friendly, as more and more people are shopping online from their smartphones and tablets.

• Effective marketing: You need to let people know about your business and your products. You can do this through a variety of channels, such as search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and email marketing.

• Secure payment processing: Customers need to feel confident that their personal and financial information is safe when they shop with you. You should use a secure payment processor that encrypts customer data.

• Reliable shipping: Customers expect their orders to be shipped promptly and arrive in good condition. Use a reliable shipping carrier that offers tracking information so customers can see where their order is at all times.

• Good customer service: Providing excellent customer service is essential for any business, but it's especially important for eCommerce businesses. You need to be responsive to customer inquiries and resolve any problems quickly.

• Continuous improvement: No business is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. You should constantly be looking for ways to improve your business, such as by adding new products, improving your website, or expanding your marketing efforts.

eCommerce Trends and Statistics

To easily understand the scope and impact of eCommerce on our modern economy, let’s look at some eCommerce statistics.

Online sales are taking over retail

In 2019, online sales accounted for around 14% of all retail sales, worldwide. By 2023, that number is expected to grow to 23%, almost a quarter of all retail sales. According to Nasdaq, by 2040, eCommerce is expected to facilitate 95% of all retail.

Amazon dominates eCommerce in the U.S.

While almost half of all eCommerce transactions occur on small businesses’ websites, big corporations do enjoy over 50% of online sales in the U.S. Amazon alone facilitates almost 39% of all eCommerce sales. Furthermore, 63% of all online shoppers begin their product search on Amazon.

Free shipping is critical

Offering quality products, fast, and at competitive rates isn’t enough to make it in eCommerce. One of the biggest incentives to shop online is free shipping.

Selling products online without offering free shipping may be fatal for many eCommerce businesses, as it can deter potential customers. It’s so important to shoppers, that 85% of them say they prefer free shipping over fast shipping.

Free shipping is undoubtedly good for attracting new customers, but it can also increase profits from each transaction. It’s been found that online transactions are 30% higher when offering free shipping.

Shoppers are more comfortable than ever shopping online

Feeling comfortable shopping online isn’t obvious. Many shoppers were, and still are hesitant to trust online transactions.

But during the past year, with the COVID-19 crisis affecting the way we would normally shop, this has started to shift substantially. Today, 43% of shoppers feel positively about purchasing products and services online. The real shift, however, is in people’s willingness to try new brands online. During the COVID-19 crisis, 44% of shoppers reported they’ve done so.

Customers want quality product images and videos

In a “what you see is what you get” world, being able to accurately see the product you’re about to buy can make or break a deal. That means product photos have a huge impact on your customers’ decision-making. In fact, 60% of digital shoppers in the U.S. say they need to see an average of 3-4 images before they decide to buy a product.

Product photos can increase the number of sales you make. But good photography can help you increase the price tag as well. According to CXL Institute, larger product images create a perceived value that’s, on average, $13.50 higher compared to smaller images.

This isn’t just limited to photos though. Product videos also play a big part in promoting sales. Shoppers who watch product videos are 73% more likely to make a purchase.

Social media plays a big part in eCommerce

It’s no secret the people spend a large portion of their online time on social media. That makes it extremely attractive for eCommerce. In fact, 49% of U.S. shoppers find new products on Facebook. Known as social commerce, this type of eCommerce is growing in line with the number of social media users.

Many eCommerce businesses already use social media marketing to market their products, through paid ads. At an average cost per click of $1.72, and a conversion rate averaging 14.3%, it’s no surprise businesses use Facebook ads extensively.

Other popular social media platforms for eCommerce include TikTok where live streaming to market and sell products is very popular.

Should you use eCommerce?

eCommerce has quickly become an inseparable part of our economy. Consumers continue to move online in ever-increasing numbers and most estimates see eCommerce surpassing traditional transactions in the coming years.

New businesses that hope to thrive in this new environment need an eCommerce presence, and even successful brick-and-mortar stores won’t be able to survive in the long run if they don’t set up online stores as well. In a world where most of the commerce happens online, it’s crucial for any business to have a strong online presence and provide eCommerce possibilities for their customers. Creating an online store of your own has never been more important, or more accessible.

Geraldine Feehily,

marketing writer, Wix eCommerce

Geraldine is a native of Donegal, Ireland, and enjoys spending her time outdoors, hiking, and being close to the Atlantic Ocean. She is a marketing writer for Wix eCommerce and, as a small business owner herself, loves hearing user success stories.