Electronic commerce or e-commerce has become an integral part of our society. As the number of Internet users grows, it becomes an increasingly powerful business tool, a means of selling goods and services. The Internet has become the main source of information for a large number of potential buyers.
E-commerce offers a great opportunity to expand your business. However, to use it really effectively, it is not enough to be a talented entrepreneur, just as it is not enough to know how to navigate the limitless virtual space. It is also necessary to have a series of tools for conducting electronic business. One of them is an online store.
What is an online store?
An online store is a type of business that allows the seller and the buyer to carry out transactions for the purchase and sale of a certain type of merchandise over the Internet. Selling your own products and services over the Internet is the main form of commercial use of websites. Online stores are becoming necessary and effective tools to increase the number of sales, the volume of business and the image of companies.
How does an online store work?
The operating principle of the commercial structure is that the seller or the person who manages the site fill it in with the necessary information: product catalogue, company information, contacts and delivery methods. The buyer, in turn, selects the desired item from the presented assortment, places it in the basket and pays for the goods.
Types of online stores
Before launching an electronic platform to sell products and services, you need to decide what it should look like. There are different types of online stores:
According to the business model, online stores can be:
- B2B – selling goods to other companies.
- В2С – sale of goods to an individual for personal needs.
According to income generation methods:
- Obtaining income through the direct sale of your own services or products.
- Affiliate Program: In this model, the product owner shares part of the revenue with the seller, who brought the buyer to his website.
- Dropshipping: This is a retailing method where you don't keep your own inventory. Instead, you pass your customers' orders to a wholesale supplier or distributor, who in turn will ship the goods directly to the buyer.
According to product range:
- physical goods: The classic type of online store🇧🇷 The owner must develop a delivery system, return policies and other services that are normally found in offline retail outlets.
- Electronic goods: This type is easier to maintain, as resources such as: music, e-books, photos and videos, computer programs are sold.
- Services: On these sites, online consultations of experts are provided or you can order the necessary services (design, software development).
Advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce
Benefits :
- Cost reduction: To open an online store, you don't need to rent a physical space or hire an entire team of employees.
- Expansion of the target audience: The internet is used by a large part of the population. Millions of people actively use various social networks and shop online. Precise audience discovery and ad targeting tools let you find and connect with the people most likely to be interested in your products and services.
- Direct Commerce: E-commerce allows manufacturers to sell their products directly to the customer. This reduces the number of intermediaries and has a positive effect on service quality and prices.
- Personal communication: Brands that maintain pages on social networks are becoming more open, human and delicate, because they are in front of everyone and their every word can affect their reputation.
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Accurate analytics: Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and others collect tons of information about user behavior and interests. This data can be used to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and increase sales.
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Ease of use: Users can shopping without leaving home. It makes online shopping extremely convenient for users and at the same time, it favors the business because people can make quick and emotional purchases.
Disadvantages:
- The unpreparedness of some entrepreneurs for this way of doing business. This problem is less likely to affect the new generation of entrepreneurs who start working on the Internet from the beginning of their activities.
- Lack of clear legislation. There are still no special rules and regulations on conducting e-commerce in our country. Therefore, difficulties often arise in terms of taxation, intellectual property or protection of personal data. In addition, problems may arise when entering the world market and the discrepancy between legal norms and rules between different countries.
- The growth of competition. As the e-commerce industry is developing at a very fast pace, it is necessary to constantly meet current market requirements. Advertising, website promotion, the fight for customers' attention – these are the main areas you need to work on regularly to consistently achieve success.
- Combat mistrust. Many users are still skeptical about offers on the Internet, even if there are real companies behind them. This is due to the large number of scammers who can use loopholes in the legislation.
This type of trading is gaining more and more popularity every year. This is certainly convenient for both the entrepreneur and the consumer. You are no longer limited by time or space to sell or buy your goods or services.
Creating an e-commerce does not require the presence of unique knowledge and large cash reserves. But there are some points that you should always keep under control:
- Choose a popular product that won't cause too many problems during delivery;
- Find reliable suppliers so that there are no interruptions in production;
- Placing the site on a platform with an acceptable cost and a wide range of functions;
- Make your business page attractive and easy to use.
