The e-commerce sector has experienced some severe ups and downs in recent years! In 2020 sales reached an all-time high, up 45% from 2019, mainly due to the partial or complete shutdown of brick-and-mortar sales channels. People couldn’t go outside, so they had to do their shopping online.
When pandemic fears subsided, and conventional stores resumed operations in 2021, e-commerce sales returned to a more reasonable growth rate of 17% yearly. That’s still a remarkable trend, and it appears to be sustainable. Online sales are anticipated to proliferate by 2025 and account for around 24% of all retail sales.
With these numbers, currently, many people think that putting an online store is the solution to financial security and that it will give results without a doubt. Is it true?
The reality is that online business is not a guaranteed success; it is a mistake to think that e-commerces do not need the same efforts and attention as an established, physical business. I would dare to say that it needs more things to be able to give it life and voice. Otherwise, nobody will know about it.
Some people still have reservations when it comes to online shopping. Now imagine if you are talking about a store that nobody knows about.
Don’t get me wrong! As a tech enthusiast and entrepreneur, I love e-commerces and supporting the people who embark on the adventure of creating one. Based on my experience, I have created a list of 7 key elements everyone should consider for successful e-commerce.
1- think about logistics
A lousy delivery can ruin your reputation and sales: Have you ever bought a product that takes weeks to arrive?
Indeed after it arrives, you do not want to buy it there again! That’s not what you want customers to feel when they buy from your store, so logistics is one of the essential points you must have first. Too many e-commerce “newbies” don’t focus enough on effective logistics and getting the product to the customer as fast and effortlessly as possible.
2- choose a platform
Picking a platform is essential; take the time to choose the one that best suits your needs and budget. So to make things easy, and for those who don’t know me, I’ll say it in one word: Shopify! And if you do know me, then you know that Shopify is the correct answer!
3- take care of the store design
If you had a physical store, you would want your floors, walls, and the whole interior of the store to be as cool, attractive, and well taken care of as possible. The same applies to online stores! Remember that most people make their purchases through mobile devices, which is why it must be optimized to work on any of these. Making it user-friendly, easy to navigate, and visually attractive will significantly improve the buyer's experience, and a better experience equals more purchases!
4- use quality images
Pay close attention to the images of your products. If they are not good, the customer will not trust them and will not buy. And I’m not only talking about pixels and image quality. What you show in the pictures is very important.
My rule of thumb and the advice I always give is that if your pictures can answer any questions you typically ask in any store, you’re doing great!
The more attractive the images are, the more possibilities for sale there will be. If you can also add videos and 3D images, you’ll be trendier and a step closer to the metaverse!
Remember that your site must be thoroughly detailed since there is no physical store where the customer can see the products.
5- web positioning
People need to find you easily. Invest in SEO and SEM. Remember that e-commerce is a web page and therefore requires taking care of the details of its optimization. If they can’t find you, you don’t exist. Try to get mentions in blogs or news outlets that your target audience might read, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can even try an affiliate marketing strategy.
6- measure results
The best advice I can give you today is to try to have data collected from the most applications possible, given the privacy policies and data protection precautions taken by search engines, social media, and other regulators. For instance, look at Shopify Analytics and Google Analytics and compare your Facebook Ads Manager statistics, Klaviyo, and other tools. If you have a little extra budget, it would be nice to consider apps that help you understand your business better and have heat maps or more intelligent attribution systems like Triple Whale.
7- brand culture
Last (but not least!), you MUST pay attention to your brand culture. It doesn’t matter the size of your team, whether you run a massive operation or it’s just you; everyone involved and every stakeholder should be wholly immersed in your enterprise’s values.
Brands with purpose connect with consumers on a far greater level; they inspire and motivate people to get more involved, so living and breathing your brand’s culture is fundamental for its success!
One last thing… Be patient in your efforts but DO IT! The most crucial advice I can give new eCommerce entrepreneurs is to quit postponing and LAUNCH.
You will undoubtedly make some errors. However, you’ll also bounce back from them rapidly. Many people only ever dream of opening their own business because they don’t realize they have all the tools they need to do it.
It’s true what you hear in success stories of people beginning their businesses and earning five, six, or seven figures, and do you know what they all had in common? They all stopped planning and started doing it!
You’ll achieve success more quickly if you have faith in yourself. Your niche becomes more competitive the longer you wait, so save this article for later, and get to work!
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