E-commerce stores are the future of retail, but many entrepreneurs don’t realize how much can go wrong in the process. The following 10 things to consider before starting your e-commerce business can help you avoid common pitfalls and save you time, money, and frustration.
In the current age, e-commerce stores are becoming more popular than any other form of retail. It’s no wonder why, they offer convenience and accessibility to customers.
If you want to start an e-commerce store, you need to be well prepared before you start. Here are 10 things that you need to consider before starting your own e-commerce store:
1. Decide on a niche
Before you start your e-commerce venture, you must determine which niche would be suitable for your business. You should not choose the wrong niche if it is not profitable or if there are competitors who have already taken advantage of this segment. In this case, it’s better to avoid it because chances are that you won’t succeed in this field if there are already many people who have tried and failed here as well as found success elsewhere.
2. Decide on what kind of product you want to sell
You have to decide on what kind of product will sell best for your store and how much money can bring in from each sale. You can either offer products from different categories such as fashion clothing, accessories and other kinds of merchandise depending on what customers prefer most.
3. Decide on a target audience
Who will be buying? If you’re not sure who will buy from your store, don’t start it! You should research the demographics of your market, and then make sure your product or service fits within those demographics.
4. Consider how much money you need to start
Most people don’t have $100,000 lying around just waiting for them to start a business; but if you want to start at all, you need some money in the bank to get started. You can use personal savings accounts, credit cards or loans to cover startup costs until cash flow starts coming in (which may take months).
5. A market for my business idea
Before you spend time developing a business plan or creating marketing materials, there’s one more thing that needs to be answered: Is there actually demand for what you’re offering? If not, then don’t waste your time trying to peddle your wares on eCommerce Platforms like Amazon or eBay — they’re too saturated with competitors already.
6. The size of the business
If you’re starting an E-commerce Store for the first time, start with a small product line. It’s easier to build up momentum as your business scales up than it is to find that perfect product that sells out immediately. Plus, this will give you an opportunity to test out your product idea and see if it works before investing too much time or money into it.
7. Your marketing strategy
Your marketing plan should be the first thing you think about when starting an e-commerce store. It will be your roadmap to success and it is important that you have a well-thought-out plan that includes everything from branding, pricing and packaging to sales funnel, growth hacking and product development.
8. Your competitors
E-commerce stores are a dime a dozen. They all claim to be the best and sell the most products, but how do you know which one is really the best? You can find out by checking out their website, social media profiles and reviews.
9. Price range and product range
When starting an e-commerce store, it’s important to have a price range and a product range that you’re comfortable with. If you decide that you want to sell designer clothes or expensive electronics, then you should make sure that they’re not too expensive compared to other stores in your niche area. You don’t want people converting from your store just because they can get cheaper items elsewhere
10. Brand recognition
You may be able to start off as an unknown brand with no real name recognition, but if you want people to trust your store as an authority on whatever it is that you’re selling (clothes, shoes or accessories), then it’s going to take time for them to find out about it through word of mouth or search engines like Google. So make sure that your brand has some sort of recognition before you begin selling.
11. Your product range
The product development process should be informed by the kind of product your target audience wants and the expectations of your customers. Your product range is important both because it helps you build an audience and because it tells potential customers what kinds of products you offer. You can use this information to decide how many items you should sell on online store of your choice and on each page of your website, so make sure there’s enough variety in terms of size, color, design and price range so that people don’t feel like they’re being sold one particular thing over another.
