How to Start an Online Store for Your Small Business

Nearly everyone shops online today. Some may even say e-commerce is one sector of the economy that is practically recession-proof. Starting your own retail store is a great investment that can help in times of turbulence and economic prosperity as well. As a small business owner, you may be wondering: “How can I compete?” You’ve poured your heart and soul into getting your brick-and-mortar store up and running, but when a global crisis clears the streets and the economy turns south, you must branch out beyond your walls in order to survive.

The Growth of E-commerce

An eMarketer report shows e-commerce retail sales are forecasted to more than double, from $449.88 billion in sales in 2017 to a predicted $969.70 billion by 2023. In fact, U.S. consumers are predicted to spend $668.50 billion -- or 12% of total retail sales -- via online stores in 2020. Why are analysts predicting this strong continued growth? Check out these seven factors:

• The millennial generation, a large portion of the retail buying sector, has grown up using e-commerce platforms.
• Gen XYZ and the Baby Boomers are no longer afraid to put their credit cards online. They are comfortable with - and even prefer - online shopping.
• Most of the population carries the digital world with them. With mobile phones in hand at all times, we can shop anywhere, anytime.
• Social media influences our shopping decisions every day and makes it easy to share products.
• We are an on-demand society. We want it now and expect convenience.
• Comparison shopping is much easier online (convenience again!) vs. having to travel from one store to another.
• The niche market has a very loyal customer base who will seek out specific products online.

Step-by-Step Guide to Starting Your eCommerce Business

Starting an eCommerce business is a lot of work. It’s easy to get distracted if you don’t follow a proper guideline or checklist. To help you in this journey and see you succeed, here we are with this 8-step guide:

1. Identify Your Niche and Validate Your Idea: A niche is a specific segment of a broader market. Target a specific niche to build a loyal customer base and reduce competition.
2. Build a Business Plan: Examine your current product lines and look for gaps and opportunities.
3. Choose Your eCommerce Model: You can choose between dropshipping or holding your own products.
4. Choose the Right eCommerce Platform: Choosing the platform for your e-commerce business is one of the most important decisions you will make.
5. Design Your Online Store: Nowadays, people are expecting sites to be user friendly and easy to navigate.
6. Set Up Payment Gateways and Shipping Logistics: Your delivery system needs to be quick, since primarily you are dealing with customers who prefer convenience & quickness over price.
7. Source and Develop Your Products or Services: Upload all of your products and the necessary descriptions.
8. Create a Marketing Strategy: SEO helps your shop get found on search engines, driving more traffic to your site.

Choosing the Right Platform

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular platforms available for your business:

• Shopify: This is a very well-known platform and is very useful if you are just starting out. Shopify is user-friendly, secure, and reliable. The cost of using this platform starts with $29 a month to simply use the platform and do everything yourself.
• Magento: Magento is a very versatile and mobile-friendly platform. One of its greatest advantages is that there are tens of thousands of companies around the world working on Magento extensions. The eCommerce store cost with Magento might be around $30,000, but it is worth it.

Market Insights and Data

If we talk about stats, the market saturation of online selling businesses varies by industry. The following data highlights the potential in different sectors:

Industry Category	Market Saturation (%)
Online Travel	50%
Online Electronics	35%
Online Grocery Selling	3-5%

Specific Challenges: Online Grocery Stores

The idea that seems to be catching eyes of most entrepreneurs is Online Grocery Stores. However, the sector is full of challenges associated with it:

• Inventory: A refrigerated storage definitely manifolds the inventory cost & management efforts.
• Packaging & Delivery: The perishable nature of grocery items also reflects on the packaging & delivery cost.
• Timely Delivery: It is essential to ensure the freshness & quality of the grocery products, which can only be achieved by implementing an efficient hyper-local delivery network.
• No Returns: Perishable items mean very thin window for returns, requiring an impeccable online ordering & delivery system.