What to consider before opening an ecommerce?

Electronic commerce , popularly known as e-commerce or ecommerce, is the commercial activity of buying and selling that is carried out through online spaces.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2021 world electronic commerce reached 16.7 trillion dollars throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within the context of this event, various entrepreneurs, brands, businesses and companies promoted the sale of their products through an ecommerce.

Likewise, not many had the desired success or impact, the reason? There were elements that were not considered so that your electronic commerce did not have the desired impact.

15 elements that you should consider before opening an e-commerce

Next, we will introduce you to 15 elements and factors associated with opening a new e-commerce.

Market study

Maybe you have your product or service ready in a physical space, but do you know if an online business is viable to sell your merchandise?

The market study will help you identify and evaluate the viability of a new online business . To find out, you'll need to identify your target audience, market trends, growth opportunities, and competition.

research the competition

Returning to the aspect of the previous point, studying the competition is a key factor to see what the nature of the sector is like.

Far from reproducing their actions (which is obviously bad), researching the competition helps to know the positions that exist in the market, as well as to identify strengths, weaknesses, growth opportunities and the prices that they manage with each other.

Products and services

We know that if there are products and services, the most logical thing would be to expand the business to digital places, however, this is not always the case.

In this sense, we must think about the nature of the services and merchandise and whether this allows us to make them available to the public through electronic commerce.

Define shipping schedule

The reason that e-commerce has grown exponentially during the peak of the pandemic is that there was no prolonged interaction with the seller in physical spaces.

The products arrive at the parcels or directly to the homes of the consumers, causing the consumer to do nothing more than wait for their product.

For this reason, it is important to define what the shipping program will be, which can range from using a courier company to home delivery through some means of transport.

Target audiences

Do you know who your product is for? And most importantly, do you know who will browse and use your ecommerce?

It is vital to know which is the target audience that will have a greater presence on your website, so it is convenient to make pertinent modifications so that their experience is friendly and without problems.

Choose a good platform

There are several platforms that offer their services in the design and creation of ecommerce. Sites like Shopify, Magento, Wix, Jumpseller, Weebly, among others, have their own plans, tools, and functions to facilitate the creation of your first ecommerce.

Choose the one that best suits your needs and dispositions.

Design, appearance and effectiveness of the website

In addition to the previous point, it is important to create an eye-catching ecommerce; from the design and appearance to the intuition in its interface.

It is time to bring out your most creative side and with the tools that the host you have chosen for your ecommerce puts at your disposal.

Good presentation of the products

The eye-catching, creative and professional look of your products or services is just as important as the website itself.

For this reason, it is recommended to invest in the presentation of the products , since it is the first approach that users will have with what your brand offers.

Complete description of the products

The second interaction with your products, after customers have seen it, is through their description or presentation.

It is important to make concise, timely descriptions and with the general details that every consumer wants to know about what they are possibly going to acquire.

Customer Service Action Plan

When consumers are interested in purchasing a product, but there is something that keeps them in doubt, they always try to contact customer service to resolve doubts, concerns or more detailed questions.

In this sense, it is convenient to have an action plan to know how to deal with users who show interest in the products but that something still stops their action.

Security

Security in any ecommerce is essential. Customers and consumers want their personal and banking data to be treated with the utmost care to avoid problems.

Therefore, it is convenient to know in depth the security proposal offered by the host where we will build our e-commerce. It is important to inspire confidence in all users.

Payment options

After guaranteeing the safety of users, it is now necessary to guarantee their comfort to make their purchases.

In this sense, it is recommended to include the payment methods that may be useful for customers, such as: payment with debit/credit cards, interbank transfers, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay or any model that is efficient and safe.

Likewise, and if the possibility is found, financing programs can be implemented, which facilitates the acquisition of your products in a considerable percentage of the population.

Logistics

Organization is vital to the proper functioning of any business. In this sense, it is always necessary to manage inventories, storage, packaging and shipments in order to have greater control over what happens in ecommerce.

Marketing strategies

In a general aspect, marketing strategies take place when ecommerce is a little more consolidated. In other words, when it is incorporated into the market and it is time to race against the competition.

However, it never hurts to think about possible marketing strategies when starting an e-commerce, as it would be a welcome boost.

Budget

Last but not least, it is vital to have a budget for each of the processes ; from renting the host to the investment required to give your e-commerce the direction you want.

It is true that everything can be managed autonomously with a smaller investment, although this will require more time and commitment.

In conclusion

Electronic commerce is a fundamental and complementary part of those businesses that have physical spaces and that wish to expand their borders.

However, opening an ecommerce requires careful execution of actions, this in order to avoid failures or errors along the way.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After being in charge of several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.

If you want more information on this topic or you are looking for other options to profile your ideal client, at MHA you will find the solution you need. Schedule a call