What is e commerce

What Is Ecommerce? Everything You Need to Know

Stats like these just show that in less than 21 years, ecommerce has become an integral part of everyday life for people across the world.

In this article, we will look deeper into what is ecommerce. We will run through the history of ecommerce, and share some important statistics. Furthermore we will delve into e commerce development, platforms, and business models to truly show the impact that it has had on the world to date.

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What is Ecommerce?

Ecommerce — also known as electronic commerce, internet commerce and online commerce — is a business model which involves transactions taking place on the internet. Stores that sell their products online are ecommerce stores or businesses.

For example, Amazon.com is one of the most popular online stores in the ecommerce industry.

Ecommerce should not be confused with e-business. Although sometimes used interchangeably, the terms are not synonymous. Ecommerce specifically indicates the transaction of goods and services, whereas e-business refers to all aspects of operating an internet business.

History of Ecommerce

In 1994, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon as an online store selling over one million different books at launch. Amazon would eventually go on to become the most popular online store for consumers to buy any type of products.

By the mid-1990s and early 2000’s, people were adding computers to their home and paving the way for the growth of ecommerce. Companies were accepting checks in the early to mid-1990s as there wasn’t an online payment gateway to transfer funds from customers to businesses. When PayPal was founded in December 1998, it simplified the shopping experience for customers as credit cards were easily accepted.

By 2008, online sales made up 3.4 percent of all sales which shows industry growth. In 2014, it was estimated that there were around 12-24 million online stores worldwide.

Fast forward to 2021 and the knowledge gap is closing very quickly between beginners and more advanced ecommerce professionals. Thanks to the ever increasing blogs and online resources, industry tips, tricks, and strategies are available at the click of a button.

Today, anyone can set up an ecommerce website and start seeing solid results from their efforts in less than six months.

Ecommerce Statistics

What Is Ecommerce Business?

An ecommerce business is an organization or individual entity that seeks profits by offering goods or services over the internet. It allows consumers to buy quickly and choose from a range of payment methods to execute the e commerce transaction. There are many different types of ecommerce businesses, based on the model you choose.

Popular Ecommerce Business Models

The beauty of ecommerce is that there are more options for you to choose from. Whereas in traditional commerce the business models were more restrictive. There are four widely known business models, but there are other niche models.

What Is an Ecommerce Website?

An ecommerce website is any website that sells a good or service on it. This type of website can adhere to any of the above ecommerce business models. Below we outline the common types of ecommerce website that you may find online to show just how broad ecommerce online stores can be.

Common Types of Ecommerce Websites

What Is an Ecommerce Platform?

An ecommerce platform is a software solution that allows businesses to create online stores. In these online stores, businesses can sell products or services to people across the world, utilizing delivery services to transport products to customers. Examples of ecommerce platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento.

E Commerce Examples: Most Popular Ecommerce Sites

Amazon

Taobao

Taobao was founded by Jack Ma. Globally, it’s ranked 11. In China, it’s ranked 6th.

Tmall

Tmall was also founded by Jack Ma. It has a global ranking of 15 and a rank of 1 in China.

AliExpress

AliExpress was founded by Jack Ma. It’s currently ranked 40th in the world and 23rd in the United States according to Alexa.

eBay

eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar. On Alexa, the ecommerce site is ranked 33 globally, and 9th in the US.

Flipkart

Flipkart was founded by Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal. Alexa has it ranked 147 globally and 7th in India.

What Makes an Ecommerce Store Successful?

Running an ecommerce business is not easy. Just having a store and some stock to sell does not mean that people will flock in and buy your products. There are things you can do to try to ensure your store will be a success.

Focus on the User

Test with Friends

Use your friends as your test subjects and have them run through the purchase steps to make sure everything flows perfectly. You don’t want the checkout process to be too long that people leave before they have placed an order.

Be Mobile Optimized

Make sure that users can purchase on mobile and tablet devices. With mobile commerce on the rise, optimizing your store for the small screen is paramount to being successful in your business.

Invest in SEO and PPC

SEO and PPC drive traffic to your store, so missing out on them will slow down your success. Find a good consultant or agency if you have the budget, or get started by learning about ecommerce SEO and applying relevant strategies on your store.

Research and Develop

Never be content with what you do; research new products and ways to sell them. You don’t need to restock your ecommerce store every month. Try to attract attention through innovative ways to grow your store more.

What Is Ecommerce Marketing?

Ecommerce marketing is a process that helps to drive sales for online stores, using platforms that are mostly online. This can include brand awareness campaigns, display advertising, discount QR codes, etc. Most marketing tactics come from traditional marketing strategies but are applied online.

The beauty of marketing for ecommerce is that you can learn almost anything online through webinars, blogs, and ebooks. This means that everyone has the ability to become successful through this type of marketing no matter your budget.

For example, you can advertise your products through Google Ads and social media websites. Also, you can set up promotional emails to get your products in front of additional audiences. Other ecommerce marketing examples include affiliate marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, and influencer marketing.

Future of Ecommerce

The ecommerce industry will continue growing. In 2021, ecommerce sales are expected to make up 18.1 percent of retail sales worldwide. Over time, ecommerce will continue to take away market share from brick and mortar retailers as it has been doing over the past few years. This is good news for those looking to start online stores as sales will only continue to go up, though competition will also increase in the space.

Ecommerce will also likely evolve over the years creating a more virtual or augmented reality experience for shoppers. Stores may eventually include features to help customers ‘virtually’ try on clothing. This will ensure that clothes fit the customer’s shape while allowing them to see what it would look l ike before buying. Shoppers may be able to ‘try’ on makeup using their laptop or phone’s camera. Ecommerce is changing and it’s an exciting time to be a part of it.

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Electronic Commerce (Ecommerce)

What Is Electronic Commerce (Ecommerce)?

Electronic commerce (ecommerce) refers to companies and individuals that buy and sell goods and services over the Internet. Ecommerce operates in different types of market segments and can be conducted over computers, tablets, smartphones, and other smart devices. Nearly every imaginable product and service is available through ecommerce transactions, including books, music, plane tickets, and financial services such as stock investing and online banking. As such, it is considered a very disruptive technology.

Key Takeaways

Electronic Commerce

Understanding Ecommerce

As noted above, ecommerce is the process of buying and selling tangible products and services online. It involves more than one party along with the exchange of data or currency to process a transaction. It is part of the greater industry that is known as electronic business (ebusiness), which involves all of the processes required to run a company online.

Ecommerce has helped businesses (especially those with a narrow reach like small businesses) gain access to and establish a wider market presence by providing cheaper and more efficient distribution channels for their products or services. Target (TGT) supplemented its brick-and-mortar presence with an online store that allows customers to purchase everything from clothes and coffeemakers to toothpaste and action figures right from their homes.

Providing goods and services isn’t as easy as it may seem. It requires a lot of research about the products and services you wish to sell, the market, audience, competition, as well as expected business costs.

Once that’s determined, you need to come up with a name and set up a legal structure, such as a corporation. Next, set up an ecommerce site with a payment gateway. For instance, a small business owner who runs a dress shop can set up a website promoting their clothing and other related products online and allow customers to make payments with a credit card or through a payment processing service, such as PayPal.

Ecommerce may be thought of like a digital version of mail-order catalog shopping. Also called online commerce, ecommerce is the transaction between a buyer and a seller that leverages technology.

Special Considerations

Ecommerce has changed the way people shop and consume products and services. More and more people are turning to their computers and smart devices to order goods, which can easily be delivered to their homes. As such, it has disrupted the retail landscape. Amazon and Alibaba have gained considerable popularity, forcing traditional retailers to make changes to the way they do business.

But that’s not all. Not to be outdone, individual sellers have increasingly engaged in ecommerce transactions via their own personal websites. And digital marketplaces such as eBay or Etsy serve as exchanges where multitudes of buyers and sellers come together to conduct business.

The U.S. Department of Commerce recognizes ecommerce business such as transactional sites, static content sites, online marketplaces, and auction sites.

History of Ecommerce

Most of us have shopped online for something at some point, which means we’ve taken part in ecommerce. So it goes without saying that ecommerce is everywhere. But very few people may know that ecommerce has a history that goes back before the internet began.

Ecommerce actually goes back to the 1960s when companies used an electronic system called the Electronic Data Interchange to facilitate the transfer of documents. It wasn’t until 1994 that the very first transaction. took place. This involved the sale of a CD between friends through an online retail website called NetMarket.

The industry has gone through so many changes since then, resulting in a great deal of evolution. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers were forced to embrace new technology in order to stay afloat as companies like Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, and Etsy became household names. These companies created a virtual marketplace for goods and services that consumers can easily access.

New technology continues to make it easier for people to do their online shopping. People can connect with businesses through smartphones and other devices and by downloading apps to make purchases. The introduction of free shipping, which reduces costs for consumers, has also helped increase the popularity of the ecommerce industry.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ecommerce

Ecommerce offers consumers the following advantages:

But there are certain drawbacks that come with ecommerce sites, too. The disadvantages include:

Ecommerce Businesses

Convenient for owners as revenue may be generated semi-passively

Convenient for consumers looking to easily browse for specific products

Greater earning potential due to no limitations on physical location (can sell to anyone as long you can ship there)

Reduced costs assuming digital presence costs less than building, insurance, taxes, and repairs.

Greater marketing control including data extraction from customers, targeted ads, and pop-up placement

Limited customer service opportunities as there is little to no face-to-face opportunities

Lacks instant gratification as customers must believe in a product before seeing it in person

Products can’t been seen or handled until delivered (can’t try before they buy)

Risk of a down website causing lost revenue or income.

High reliance on shipping constraints which may be out of your control

Higher competition due to lower barriers of entry and greater customer potential

Types of Ecommerce

Depending on the goods, services, and organization of an ecommerce company, the business can opt to operate several different ways. Here are several of the popular business models.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

B2C ecommerce companies sell directly to the product end-user. Instead of distributing goods to an intermediary, a B2C company performs transactions with the consumer that will ultimately use the good. This type of business model may be used to sell products (i.e. your local sporting goods store’s website) or services (i.e. a lawncare mobile app to reserve landscaping services). This is the most common business model and is likely the concept most people think about when they hear ecommerce.

Business to Business (B2B)

Similar to B2C, an ecommerce business can directly sell goods to a user. However, instead of being a consumer, that user may be another company. B2B transactions are often entail larger quantities, greater specifications, and longer lead times. The company placing the order may also have a need to set recurring goods if the purchase is for recurring manufacturing processes.

Business to Government (B2G)

Some entities specialize as government contractors providing goods or services to agencies or administrations. Similar to a B2B relationship, the business produces items of value and remits those items to an entity. B2G ecommerce companies must often meet government requests for proposal requirements, solicit bids for projects, and meet very specific product or service criteria. In addition, there may be joint government endeavors to solicit a single contract through a government-wide acquisition contract.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C)

Established companies are the only entities that can sell things. Ecommerce platforms such as digital marketplaces connect consumers with other consumers who can list their own products and execute their own sales. These C2C platforms may be auction-style listings (i.e. eBay auctions) or may warrant further discussion regarding the item or service being provided (i.e. Craigslist postings). Enabled by technology, C2C ecommerce platforms empower consumers to both buy and sell without the need of companies.

Consumer to Business (C2B)

Modern platforms have allowed consumers to more easily engage with companies and offer their services, especially related to short-term contracts, gigs, or freelance opportunities. For example, consider listings on Upwork. A consumer may solicit bids or interact with companies that need particular jobs done. In this way, the ecommerce platform connects businessess with freelancers to enable consumers greater power to achieve pricing, scheduling, and employment demands.

Consumer to Government (C2G)

Less of a traditional ecommerce relationship, consumers can interact with administrations, agencies, or governments through C2G partnerships. These partnerships are often not in the exchange of service but rather the transaction of obligation. For example, uploading your Federal tax return to the IRS digital website is an ecommerce transaction regarding an exchange of information. Alternatively, you may pay your tuition to your university online or remit property tax assessments to your county assessor.

Investopedia / Sabrina Jiang

Types of Ecommerce Revenue Models

In addition to crafting what type of ecommerce company a business wants to be, the business must decide how it wants to make money. Due to the unique nature of ecommerce, the business has a few options on how it wants to process orders, carry inventory, and ship products.

Drop Shipping

Often considered one of the easier forms of ecommerce, drop shipping allows a company to create a digital storefront, generate sales, then rely on a supplier to provide the good. When generating the sale, the ecommerce company collects payment via credit card, PayPal, cryptocurrency, or other means of digital currency. Then, the ecommerce store passes the order to the dropship supplier. This supplier manages inventory, oversees the warehouse of goods, packages the goods, and delivers the product to the purchaser.

White Labeling

White label ecommerce companies leverage already successful products sold by another company. After a customer places an order, the ecommerce company receives the existing product, repackages the product with their own package and label, and distributes the product to the customer. Although the ecommerce company has little to no say in the product they receive, the company usually faces little to no in-house manufacturing constraints.

Wholesaling

A more capital-intensive approach to ecommerce, wholesaling entails maintaining quantities of inventory, keeping track of customer orders, maintaining customer shipping information, and typically having ownership of the warehouse space to house products. Wholesalers may charge bulk pricing to retailers or unit prices for consumers. However, the broad approach to wholesaling is to connect to buyers of large quantities or many smaller buyers of a similar, standardized product.

Private Labeling

Private labeling is a more appropriate ecommerce approach for companies that may not have large upfront capital or do not have their own factory space to manufacture goods. Private label ecommerce companies send plans to a contracted manufacturer who makes the product. The manufacturer may also have the ability to ship directly to a customer or ship directly to the company receiving the order. This method of ecommerce is best suited for companies that may receive on-demand orders with short turnaround time but are unable to handle the capital expenditure requirements.

Subscription

Ecommerce companies can also leverage repeating orders or loyal customers by implementing subscription services. For a fixed price, the ecommerce company will assemble a package, introduce new products, and incentivize locking to a long-term agreement at a lower monthly price. The consumer only places an order once and receives their subscription order at a fixed cadence. Common subscription ecommerce products include meal prep services, agriculture boxes, fashion boxes, or health and grooming products.

Example of Ecommerce

Amazon is a behemoth in the ecommerce space. In fact, it is the world’s largest online retailer and continues to grow. As such, it is a huge disrupter in the retail industry, forcing some major retailers to rethink their strategies and shift their focus.

The company launched its business with an ecommerce-based model of online sales and product delivery. It was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore but has since expanded to include everything from clothing to housewares, power tools to food and drinks, and electronics.

How Do You Start an Ecommerce Business?

Make sure you do your research before you start your business. Figure out what products and services you’re going to sell and look into the market, target audience, competition, and expected costs.

Next, come up with a name, choose a business structure, and get the necessary documentation (taxpayer numbers, licenses, and permits if they apply).

Before you start selling, decide on a platform and design your website (or have someone do it for you).

Remember to keep everything simple at the beginning and make sure you use as many channels as you can to market your business so it can grow.

What Is an Ecommerce Website?

An ecommerce website is any site that allows you to buy and sell products and services online. Companies like Amazon and Alibaba are examples of ecommerce websites.

What Is the Difference Between Ecommerce and Ebusiness?

Ecommerce involves the purchase and sale of goods and services online and is actually just one part of an ebusiness. An ebusiness involves the entire process of running a company online. Put simply, it’s all of the activity that takes place with an online business.

What Is an Example of Ecommerce?

Dollar Shave Club offers customers personal grooming, health, and beauty products. Customers can opt for what product(s) they want shipped to them and can sign up for long-term memberships to have products sent to them on a recurring basis. Dollar Shave Club procures goods in bulk from other companies, then bundles those products, maintains membership subscriptions, and markets the products.

What Are the Types of Ecommerce?

An ecommerce company can sell to customers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or agencies such as the government (B2G). Ecommerce can also be performed by customers who sell to business (C2B), other customers (C2C), or governments (C2G).

The Bottom Line

Ecommerce is just one part of running an ebusiness. While the latter involves the entire process of running a business online, ecommerce simply refers to the sale of goods and services via the internet. Ecommerce companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay have changed the way the retail industry works, forcing major, traditional retailers to change the way they do business.

If starting an ecommerce site is something you’re considering, make sure you do your research before you start. And make sure you start with small, narrow focus to ensure that you have room to grow.

Что такое e-commerce и как устроена онлайн-торговля

Содержание

В действительности, e-commerce — это не только финансовые или торговые транзакции, осуществляемые с помощью сетей, но и цепочки глобальных бизнес-процессов, связанных с проведением транзакций.

Сегодня к электронной коммерции относят электронную покупку или продажу товаров через онлайн-сервисы или через интернет, мобильную коммерцию, электронные переводы средств, управление цепочками поставок, интернет-маркетинг, онлайн-обработку транзакций, электронный обмен данными (EDI), системы управления запасами и автоматизированные системы сбора данных.

Виды e-commerce

Электронную торговлю можно классифицировать по двум признакам:

Что продают:

Кому продают:

Два самых распространенных типа — b2c и b2b.

Как развивается e-commerce в России и мире?

С ростом цифровизации и массовым переходом в онлайн e-commerce стала драйвером ключевых изменений в мировой экономике. Доступ к электронной коммерции сегодня возможен с любого смарт-устройства: к апрелю 2022 года в мире насчитывалось 5 млрд уникальных пользователей интернета, что составляет 63% населения Земли. Соответственно, меняются подходы к тому, как запускать и продвигать новые продукты.

Вот главные цифры на сегодня:

По данным Ассоциации компаний интернет-торговли, объем рынка электронной коммерции в России за 2021 год составил ₽3,6 трлн. Это на 13% больше, чем годом ранее.

Поддержка электронной коммерции в России на период до 2024 года регулируется нацпроектом «Цифровая экономика». Основными целями документа являются повышение внутренних затрат на развитие цифровой экономики за счет всех источников (по доле в валовом внутреннем продукте страны) минимум в три раза по сравнению с 2017 годом, и создание устойчивой, безопасной и общедоступной информационно-телекоммуникационной инфраструктуры высокоскоростной передачи, обработки и хранения больших объемов данных.

Самые успешные кейсы е-commerce

Alibaba

Модель Alibaba аналогична eBay: она выступает в качестве агрегатора для продавцов — физлиц, магазинов или производителей — которые сами отправляют товар покупателям.

JD.com

Главный конкурент Alibaba в Китае. В отличие от Alibaba, JD.com работает по модели Amazon: отгружает товары сторонних продавцов с собственного склада и отправляет через свою службу доставки. На конец 2020 года у компании было более 900 складов общей площадью 21 млн кв. м. В составе холдинга есть своя социальная платформа — Jingxi, а также сети магазинов у дома Xintonglu и JD New Markets и даже собственное направление коммерческой недвижимости. В ближайшем будущем JD планирует запустить свою цифровую валюту — e-CNY.

Amazon

Amazon — самый крупный розничный продавец в сфере e-commerce в США и один из крупнейших в мире. Компания располагает огромной сетью складов и сортировочных центров, а также собственной службой доставки, которая использует дронов и роботов, а в 2020 году приобрела еще и самолеты Boeing 767. Помимо основной b2c-платформы, есть также Amazon Business для клиентов-юрлиц.

Сейчас 60% дохода Amazon приносят ИТ-решения Amazon Web Services — облачные хранилища и сервисы. Компания регулярно запускает различные продукты и сервисы под своим брендом: электронные читалки Kindle, элементы «умного» дома, голосовой помощник Alexa, онлайн-кинотеатр Amazon Prime. У Amazon есть и офлайн-магазины Amazon Go. Они работают при помощи нейросетей с распознаванием лиц и компьютерным зрением: здесь нет касс и продавцов, а покупки оплачиваются автоматически через приложение.

eBay был создан в 1995 году как сервис онлайн-аукционов c2c: продавцы выставляли на аукцион вещи (часто подержанные), а покупатели делали ставки. Доставка товаров при этом лежит на продавце, а сам сервис берет комиссию за размещение лотов и занимается урегулированием споров. Позже на платформе появились коммерческие аккаунты частных предпринимателей и магазинов, а покупать стало можно и по фиксированной цене.

Wildberries

Wildberries продает одежду, обувь, аксессуары, бытовую технику и электронику, товары для дома. Все это компания доставляет с собственных складов через пункты выдачи (в 2020-м доля таких заказов составила 93%) или курьеров. В 2020 году оборот компании вырос на 96% по сравнению с 2019-м — до 437,2 млрд рублей, а число заказов — до 323,8 млн, достигнув 1,5 млн в сутки, что вдвое больше прошлогоднего показателя.

Еще один гигант российского e-commerce с оборотом продаж почти ₽450 млрд за 2021 год

Компанию основали в 1991 году. Как и Amazon, первый интернет-гипермаркет в России начинал с торговли книгами. Сегодня 24% продаж Ozon приходится на электронику, остальное распределено между книгами, бытовой техникой, одеждой, косметикой, продуктами и прочими товарами. Как и Wildberries, маркетплейс сделал ставку на расширение пунктов самовывоза, причем с 2020 года делает это только под собственным брендом, а не через партнеров. Ozon доставляет товары в собственные постаматы и курьерами. Компания также запустила сервис по продаже авиабилетов Ozon.Travel.

«Яндекс.Маркет»

«Яндекс.Маркет» пришел на рынок 20 лет назад. До 2018 года развивался как агрегатор для интернет-магазинов, с 2018 года параллельно строил маркетплейс «Беру», который в 2020 году стал частью «Яндекс.Маркета». Сегодня это — маркетплейс, где магазины могут продавать свои товары, а пользователи — совершать покупки, выбирая из ассортимента в 4 млн товарных наименования.

Продавцам «Яндекс.Маркет» предлагает четыре модели сотрудничества с маркетплейсом:

Маркетплейс «Маркета» также предлагает другие сервисы для продавцов и покупателей: поиск по десяткам фильтров, сравнение цен на один и тот же товар, отзывы покупателей, рейтинги магазинов и платное продвижение.

На конец 2020 года на «Яндекс.Маркете» продавали свои товары более 8 тыс. продавцов, по рекламной модели размещалось 25 тыс. магазинов-партнеров, ежедневная аудитория достигла 6 млн уникальных посетителей.

Будущее электронной торговли

Рынок e-commerce продолжит расти. По данным Nasdaq, к 2040 году до 95% всех покупок будут совершать в интернете.

Среди глобальных трендов в развитии электронной торговли стоит выделить:

Другими словами, магазины стремятся сделать процесс покупки не только максимально быстрым и комфортным, но еще и увлекательным. Это, помимо прочего, становится вызовом для классического маркетинга.

Электронная торговля берет курс на персонализацию: за счет «умного» поиска и подбора товаров, персональных рекомендаций, онлайн-стилистов и прочих инструментов. ИИ сможет анализировать все ваши покупки и предпочтения, составляя личные рекомендации с учетом ваших особенностей. Продуктовые сети уже реализуют подбор товаров на основе генетического теста и базовых медицинских показателей.

Подробнее о том, как будет развиваться онлайн-торговля продуктами и готовой едой — в материале РБК Трендов.

Еще один заметный тренд — гибридные форматы: когда офлайн-супермаркеты и розничные сети переходят в онлайн и открывают целые зоны для самовывоза или оформления покупок через интернет. Другой пример сочетания офлайн- и онлайн-формата — магазины Amazon Go: клиент может купить любой товар без касс и продавцов с помощью приложения и камер с распознаванием лиц.

Среди других трендов:

What is eCommerce? Everything you need to know [2022 guide]

AfterShip

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AfterShip

The eCommerce industry has become an indispensable part of global retail sales.

In fact, according to this Statista report, eCommerce revenues are projected to grow to 5.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022. So it’s no surprise that as those numbers skyrocket, more people are showing an interest in eCommerce and the opportunities associated with it.

If you’re interested in learning more about what eCommerce means and how it works, this article’s for you.

In this guide, we’ll cover all of the eCommerce basics you need to know. We’ll also take a look at some successful online stores—and share a little bit about how they came to be.

Here’s an overview of what you’ll learn:

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce is the simple act of buying and selling goods or services online. Instead of going into a physical store, finding an item, and purchasing it, you instead visit a website and do the same thing.

Have you ever bought a product on Amazon or ordered groceries online? If so, you’ve engaged in eCommerce.

While “eCommerce” commonly refers to the sale of physical products online, any commercial transaction on the web that is facilitated through the internet can be considered eCommerce.

The History of eCommerce

Phil Brandenberger completed the first eCommerce transaction in 1994 when he used his Mastercard to buy a Sting CD online. A major historical milestone, Phil’s transaction was the first time encryption technology was used to make an online purchase.

Word of Phil’s transaction spread around the globe, announcing to everyone that the online marketplace was open for business.

Shortly after, what are now large eCommerce conglomerates Alibaba and Amazon opened their first digital stores.

While some brick-and-mortar stores became obsolete, other retailers took to the world wide web to save their businesses. As more online stores opened, employment in the eCommerce sector continued to rise. In 2006, Shopify and other eCommerce platforms that help traditionally brick and mortar businesses go online made their first mark on the web.

As technology improved and online activity increased, the number of eCommerce stores continued increasing right alongside them.

Now, the eCommerce industry is worth trillions of dollars, with revenues projected to steadily increase each year.

How Does eCommerce Work?

eCommerce works similarly to offline retail stores, except that the entire experience—from finding and deciding on an item to paying for it—happens online. But from a purely transactional standpoint, here’s how eCommerce works:

Step 1: customer places an order

The first step of eCommerce is where customers place an order through an eCommerce website (online store or marketplace).

Step 2: retailer processes order information

In the next step, the storeowner processes payment information and prepares the item for delivery.

Step 3: order is shipped to the customer

The last step is where product shipping is carried out. All the logistics elements — from product handling to information and control — play an essential role in ensuring successful delivery to the customer.

And that’s essentially how eCommerce works. If you get the basics right and find ways to reduce friction at each step, you are more likely to be successful.

Types of eCommerce Businesses

You can categorize eCommerce businesses based on the type of products or services they sell online. Here’s a look at the most common types of eCommerce merchants:

1. Digital Products Retailers

These merchants sell digital products online. Some examples of e-goods include graphics, white papers, studies, reports, e-books, software, and music downloads. Digital products are essentially data-based and non-physical.

Some examples of eCommerce stores that sell digital products include:

2. Stores Selling Physical Goods

These merchants follow the typical online retail business model. From swimsuits to sportswear and office equipment, shoppers can add what they need to their online cart and then buy it. Afterward, the store delivers the product directly to the customer.

Some stores use drop shipping for order fulfillment. This is a fulfillment method where the merchant purchases the product from a third-party supplier and gets it shipped directly to the customer. Dropshipping removes the need to buy or stock inventory.

Some examples of eCommerce stores that sell physical products include:

3. Service-Based E-Tailers

Service-based e-tailers sell services online. They may sell services through an online store or platform, a subscription-based model, or they may send you an invoice in exchange for services rendered.

For instance, contractors, consultants, and freelancers that sell services online are considered service-based e-tailers. SaaS companies, language learning platforms, and freelance marketplaces are also considered service-based e-tailers.

Some specific examples of service-based e-tailers include:

What Is an eCommerce Website?

An eCommerce website is a virtual storefront that facilitates transactions via the means of funds and data transfer over the internet. It utilizes a platform, database, and payment gateway to function effectively.

Types of eCommerce Websites

eCommerce websites can be classified by the business model they use to carry out operations. Typically, eCommerce stores fall into one of the following categories.

1. Business to business (B2B)

In this model, an eCommerce store sells products and/or services to another business. For instance, Chocomize sells customized chocolates and corporate gifts to businesses looking to express their gratitude for their clients.

2. Business to consumer (B2C)

In B2C, an eCommerce business sells products and/or services directly to consumers. A good example of this is Nearly Natural. The artificial floral retailer sells plants, flowers, and baskets directly to the end-user, with no middle person involved in the process.

3. Consumer to consumer (C2C)

In C2C eCommerce, a consumer sells a good and/or service to another consumer. One individual may use a platform like eBay to sell or auction goods to another person.

4. Consumer to business (C2B)

In C2B eCommerce, a consumer sells a product and/or service to a business or organization. For instance, a person who sells their car to Carvana, an automotive eCommerce company, would be engaging in C2B eCommerce.

5. Consumer to government (C2G)

C2G eCommerce happens when consumers pay bills, insurance, or taxes online to a government or public entity. For instance, if you get your water from the city, you’re engaging in C2G eCommerce every time you pay your water bill online.

What Are The Best eCommerce Platforms?

Starting an eCommerce business requires building an online store where you showcase your products or services. This is done with the help of an eCommerce platform that allows you to manage your website, sales, and operations. Popular eCommerce platforms include:

Examples of Successful eCommerce Stores

The world of eCommerce has seen countless success stories. That’s because the effort required to ramp up a virtual storefront and build a business around it is often so much easier than it used to be—certainly more so than a traditional physical storefront. Here are some successful eCommerce retailers you can gain inspiration from:

Premier Estates Wines

Budge Dhariwal, the founder of Premier Estates Wines, was once a taxi driver who craved a career change.

His first step? Picking up an off-license to become an independent wine retailer.

The problem? He couldn’t keep up with large supermarkets during holidays and special events.

So he decided to sell his off-license and start a wine company instead.

Budge spoke with anyone he could about his wine company. He then decided to fly around Europe on cheap flights to approach major wineries about supplying his independent company with wine.

The good news? It actually worked.

Today, Premier Estates Wine is an online wine company that sources award-winning wines and sells them at low prices.

By leveraging partnerships and building positive customer experiences, Budge was able to build one of Shopify’s most renowned eCommerce stores.

Brilliant Life Shop

Brilliant Life Shop was created by mompreneurs Beth Anne Schwamberger and Sarah Korhnak.

During their weekly podcast series, Beth and Sarah interviewed a different mompreneur each week. After surveying their audience about common challenges they face, their community said time management was their biggest challenge.

The result? Beth and Sarah co-wrote a successful book called ‘Time Management Mama: Making Use of the Margins to Pursue your Passions’. They also created their own time management planner and built valuable resources for their community.

Today, Beth and Sarah’s community is closer than ever. Their online store Brilliant Life Shop provides guides, resources, courses, and of course — their book — for fellow mompreneurs.

By creating high-quality content and focusing on giving their audience exactly what they wanted, Beth and Sarah were able to create the store of their dreams.

Frequently Asked Questions About eCommerce

How many people use eCommerce worldwide?

InternetRetailing reports that there are over 3.4 billion eCommerce users worldwide, and the number is projected to grow to 3.8 billion by the end of 2021.

What is the biggest eCommerce company in the world?

What percentage of eCommerce is mobile?

According to Oberlo, mobile eCommerce sales are projected to hit 3.56 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021. Also, mobile is expected to account for 72.9 percent of total eCommerce sales by the end of the year.

What is eCommerce shopping?

eCommerce online shopping is the act of buying goods and/or services online.

Here are some common examples of eCommerce shopping:

eCommerce: It’s a Wonderful Thing

If you’ve been interested in learning more about eCommerce, we hope this guide was just what you needed.

Digesting all of that information may get your heart pumping. But when you’re building an eCommerce store from the ground up, the learning and insight help you create an excellent structure and set the store up for success.

Excited about opening up your own store, but still want to do more research? Check out the following resources:

1. Wondering what niche and products to sell? Check out this article.

2. Check out 10 eCommerce tips every new store owner should know.

4. Launch a private label brand with these key tips.

What is Ecommerce? Ecommerce Definition for 2022

Find out what does e commerce mean and how to start an ecommerce business.

If you subscribe to a service from a link on this page, Reeves and Sons Limited may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

In a nutshell, e-commerce is just the process of buying and selling produce by electronic means such as by mobile applications and the Internet. Ecommerce refers to both online retail and online shopping as well as electronic transactions. Ecommerce has hugely increased in popularity over the last decades, and in ways, it’s replacing traditional brick and mortar stores.

Ecommerce enables you to buy and sell products on a global scale, twenty-four hours a day without incurring the same overheads as you would with running a brick and mortar store. For the best marketing mix and the best conversion rate, an Ecommerce venture should also have a physical presence; this is better known as a click and mortar store.

What is Ecommerce: Table of contents

What Does Ecommerce Mean?

Recently, the growth of ecommerce has expanded to sales using mobile devices, which is commonly known as ‘m-commerce’ and is simply a subset of ecommerce.

Why has ecommerce seen explosive growth over the past decade? As the internet becomes ingrained in our daily lives, acceptance of ecommerce continues to grow, and businesses are taking advantage of this.

In the early 2000’s many people were skeptical about handing over their card details to an online retailer. Whereas, ecommerce transactions are now second nature. SSL certificates, encryption and reliable external payment systems such as Paypal, Worldpay, and Skrill have helped improve people’s confidence in e commerce.

But before that, here are our top rated ecommerce platforms that we think are the best fit for any needs.

Free Plan, Mobile Friendly, Sell online & In Person

Free SEO Friendly Analytics Discount CodesDigital Products

Free Trial Social Integration 24/7 support

What Are the Benefits of Ecommerce?

Starting an E commerce business has never been easier. Solutions such as Shopify and WooCommerce allow even the least tech-savvy individuals to set up a store.

Gone are the days where hiring a designer and a web developer to get your ecommerce company off the ground are necessary.

Nowadays design templates and WYSIWYG systems enable people to launch an ecommerce store in a matter of minutes.

As a result, people are reaping all the benefits ecommerce stores have to offer.

Below are seven reasons why ecommerce is such an attractive option for entrepreneurs:

Types of Ecommerce Merchants

On the whole, there are two types of ecommerce merchants:

What Kind of Ecommerce Business Can You Start?

There are plenty of different ways to start your own ecommerce business.

The most traditional option is to sell products online that you store and package yourself. However, that’s not the only choice anymore. Today, you can take credit card payments online for services that you deliver over the internet. There’s even an option to develop retail sales through products that are delivered by other people through dropshipping.

Here are some ways to classify the different kinds of ecommerce stores available:

Aside from classifying online businesses by what they sell, you can also separate your options based on the parties that are involved. For instance, the Business to Consumer model represents a transaction between individuals in the general community, and a business. There are tons of examples of companies who make online sales through the B2C model. Throughout the United States, you’ll recognize B2C companies like IKEA, Nike, and even Macy’s.

Alternatively, you can also look into making money through something called B2B. This refers to when you make business transactions with another company. For instance, Slack sells collaboration tools to other companies that want to facilitate better teamwork. Trello makes it easier to manage products for companies, and so on. There are a lot of examples of B2B software companies on the web today after the dot-com bubble.

There’s also a couple of other kinds of business model that are gaining more traction lately. For instance, the Consumer to Business, or C2B model represents transactions where individuals make value for businesses. For instance, freelancer platforms like People Per Hour are good examples of this.

Other options include Consumer to Consumer, when two consumers trade online using tools like Craigslist and eBay. Some companies also include Etsy selling in this landscape, although Etsy companies are closer to a standard B2C business in a lot of ways.

Government to business, where the government provides organizations with services and goods is another option. What’s more, there’s also business to government for companies that focus specifically on serving their government.

Obviously, the majority of these options won’t apply to most business owners. The most common strategy will involve using B2C or B2B selling. However, it’s good to have an overview of the kind of services and ecommerce models that you can explore. With electronic data exchange, virtually anything is possible.

In theory everything about ecommerce sounds impressive, however, like most things, there are a few challenges you’ll need to overcome when launching your own e-commerce on your own.

What Are the Challenges of Ecommerce?

In the interest of balance, we thought we’d present the potential pitfalls you may encounter during the infancy of your ecommerce journey.

Trust: Trust is a big word in ecommerce and comes in many different forms.

A trusted payment solution such as PayPal can help instill confidence in people visiting your website. Using a review system such as Trustpilot or registering your site as a Google trust store are just a few ways you can conquer these potential barriers.

Technical issues: If you aren’t technologically minded, and let’s be honest- you don’t have to be to start an online store, you may run into the following issues:

If you can’t fix these issues yourself, you may need to outsource. Fortunately, ecommerce solutions such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce have dedicated services to help you out if these issues arise.

Competitors: As the initial set up costs associated with starting an ecommerce business are so small, this makes it a saturated market. Therefore it’s vitally important you do your research before you launch, and find your niche.

No physical presence: Although this is improving with time, the fact that visitors can’t see or feel any of your products can be a downfall.

Here are a few ways to get around this issue:

Initial spend: The biggest challenge with electronic commerce is getting started and achieving that all-important first sale.

To do that you may need to spend a bit of money to make some. Some cost-effective ways to get you started, include:

What are Some Examples of Ecommerce Stores?

Ecommerce websites are popping up all around us. Are all of them successful? No. Most fail. But why?

In addition to all the above reasons, more often than not, the business owner doesn’t put the needs of the user before their business idea.

User Experience is Vital for Ecommerce

Providing an excellent user experience is a critical feature of any successful ecommerce store. Without taking care of this one aspect, you’ll face an uphill battle when it comes to driving sales.

So, how do you provide an excellent user experience? Primarily, this comes down to your website design.

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out this post on great ecommerce website designs The 50 Top Ecommerce Websites – 2019 Edition.

These examples of good ecommerce website designs should give you an idea of what elements to focus on. They should also provide pointers on how to provide a rich user experience through additional website features and functional themes.

What Makes an Ecommerce Store Successful?

What secret formula do you use to increas sales?

We teamed up with Ecommerce Design and selected 60 examples of e commerce sites for their flawless design, fabulous customer service, and unique ideas. The majority of these stores deliver an unforgettable experience to their visitors.

Check out our post on the Top 60 Best Online Shops and learn some key marketing tactics from each one.

Making a good first impression is vital – how many poorly designed websites did you revisit after landing on them the first time?

Take this example from gatesnfences.com, would you revisit this website? I certainly wouldn’t.

Ecommerce Success Stories

Check out our list below and learn from these examples. Even if it’s just a logo concept or an idea for your own manifesto, apply these to your store.

Myprotein Ecommerce Example

When Oliver Cookson used his £500 overdraft to establish Myprotein back in 2004, I bet he’d no idea that seven years later he would sell it to the Hut Group for £58 million.

Armed with just his skills in web development and a love of all things fitness and web development, Cookson’s rise is meteoric.

How did Myprotein Become a Successful Ecommerce Store?

A lot of Myprotein’s success came via their social media output, in particular, Instagram. With Myprotein you’re investing in a lifestyle- not just purchasing a product.

When you’re starting up, it can seem appealing to start plastering your social media feeds with offers and discounts. However, consumers are very smart to these tactics, and they don’t like companies who overly promote.

In the long term, this aspirational model will pay dividends and turns customers into fans and supporters.

How can you Make Your E Commerce Store Feel Like a Club

Myprotein’s customers are committed to the brand because the content they publish is aspirational. They feed on this and use certain words in their marketing to make their customers feel as though they’re part of an exclusive club.

See the example above where they use terms such as ‘members’ and ‘V.I.P’ this works incredibly well.

Black Milk Clothing Ecommerce Example

A huge Shopify success story, Black Milk Clothing have built up a reputation that has seen them go from underdogs to becoming a mainstream name in Women’s leggings.

Black Milk is now a multi-million-pound company selling more than 2000 pairs of leggings a day.

What made Black Milk a Success in the E Commerce World?

Black Milk certainly didn’t go about things conventionally. In fact, the Australian ecommerce company didn’t spend a penny on Adwords, social media, television, radio; you name it.

Black Milk spent all their money on community events. Granted, Black Milk now travels the world, throwing parties and arranging photo shoots- but they started in their own back garden.

Start by using websites like Meet Up to see what events are running locally. Or if you’re feeling particularly brave, create your own!

How to Utilize User-generated Content to Build Your Ecommerce Brand

Black Milk Clothing is outstanding at creating user-generated content.

They assign a specific hashtag to every piece of clothing on their website and encourage customers to use them. When they do, the image is featured on the product page and possibly on their Instagram channel which has over a million followers.

What’s so brilliant about this is that it displays all different types of women that customers can relate to more than the usual models you see on clothing websites.

If like Black Milk you’re looking to use Shopify, there are tons of amazing Instagram integrations you can use to publish your feed to your website- such as InstaShow.

Warby Parker Ecommerce Example

Warby Parker’s rise to popularity was much more instantaneous than the two companies we’ve just mentioned.

Within a year of starting in their modest beginnings at the University of Pennsylvania, in 2010, Warby Parker was described as “the Netflix of eyewear.”

How did Warby Parker Master Ecommerce?

Again it may seem a bit far-fetched, but Warby Parker wasn’t overly promotional. They initially focussed on their blog content which they updated daily.

Their blog was a mixture of insights into photography, interviews with models, as well as the odd book recommendation.

Warby found and used oddly celebrated days to promote their products- in a way that was subtle.

When celebrating National Sunscreen Day (yes, really) they wrote an article about it and pushed it onto their channels using relevant hashtags.

This ensured every time there was a random celebratory day related to their product, they were always on the ball and involved with the virality of it.

Ecommerce Definition. What are the Major Types of Ecommerce?

The examples I’ve used above are what we’d call Business-to-Consumer (B2C). However, there are varying forms of ecommerce that may match your ideas betters.

There are six types of e commerce.

Below we’ve listed them and briefly explained what they all mean.

1. Business-to-Business Ecommerce (B2B)

Quite self-explanatory, B2B ecommerce occurs when a transaction is made between two businesses.

Successful B2B businesses include companies such as HubSpot who offer inbound marketing and sales software and Xero who provides accounting software for small to medium businesses.

2. Business-to-Consumer Ecommerce (B2C)

The success stories above are all B2C ecommerce companies. This is when stores sell products to consumers, i.e., people like you and me.

Online retail (including dropshipping) usually works on a business to consumer model.

3. Consumer-to-Consumer Ecommerce (C2C)

C2C e commerce occurs when consumer sells directly to consumers. This has seen a particular boom over the last ten years.

Sites such as depop, gumtree and shpock have made a massive name for themselves.

eBay is still the market leader in this niche, having established themselves in 1995. They’re closely followed by Etsy who was founded ten years later in 2005.

4. Consumer-to-Business Ecommerce (C2B)

Consumer to business models is slightly less common in ecommerce. This materializes when a consumer sells or contributes money to a company.

Companies using crowdsourcing or a Kickstarter campaign to fund their business would fall under the bracket of C2B.

5. Business-to-Administration (B2A)

This type of ecommerce happens when transactions are carried out online between companies and public administration.

This area tends to involve a variety of services such as social security, employment, and legal documentation.

This type of e commerce has seen an increase in recent years with the due to increasing investment in e-government.

6. Consumer-to-Administration Ecommerce (C2A)

Lastly, this type of ecommerce involves all transactions between individual people and public administration.

A few examples of this would be:

What is the Best Ecommerce Website Builder?

“An ecommerce website builder? Why do I need one?”

Well, put simply, they’re all the rage these days for anyone wanting to launch their own online shop.

However, there are a few questions and potential problems you need to consider before you select the right website builder for you.

First off, you don’t want to choose an ecommerce website builder to realize one year later you’re paying too much in transaction fees. Another common issue is that entrepreneurs can’t handle the design tools because they’re made for more experienced developers.

Therefore, dividing your ecommerce website builder shopping experience into two areas: (a) what you want to accomplish, and (b) what your own needs are is usually a good idea:

We review an extensive range of ecommerce website builders in this article: Ecommerce Website Builder: The Best Tools to Create a Winning Online Shop.

Best Ecommerce Platforms

Here’s a brief synopsis of four of the most significant ecommerce platforms on the market and which sorts of companies are best suited to them:

Shopify

Shopify has turned ecommerce on its head and has made the process of a setting up a website incredibly easy for even the biggest technophobe.

This is further backed up by their 24/7 customer support/ You can take advantage of email, phone and live chat support regardless of the pricing plan you’re on. You can enjoy their support in the first few months when you’ll probably need it the most!

Is Shopify suitable for me?

If you’re looking to start your ecommerce business from scratch today then Shopify is a great choice. Additionally, as your business grows, Shopify can grow to match where you’re at by offering better shipping discounts as well as unlimited staff accounts and advanced reporting.

👉 Read a thorough Shopify reviews here.

👉 Check out our in-depth guide to Shopify pricing plans.

👉 Try Shopify for free here.

WooCommerce

Whereas every other ecommerce website builder in this list is ‘hosted,’ WooCommerce is ‘self-hosted.’

Hosted means you pay for the solution and web hosting comes as part of the package. Whereas with self-hosting, you’ll need to find your own hosting and pay for it.

If you already have WordPress, simply attach the WooCommerce plugin for free, and you’re ready to go.

Is WooCommerce Suitable for Me?

If you’re looking to start your own store on a budget, and have a decent knowledge of hosting and web development, then WooCommerce is the option for you!

It’s also ideal if you already have a WordPress account and know how to operate that.

Magento

There are two versions; one called the ‘open-source solution,’ similar to WooCommerce where you need to purchase your own domain and hosting.

Alternatively, there’s a hosted solution, but this can be very, very expensive.

Magento is used by some of the biggest companies in the world, and the scalability of it is seemingly endless.

Whereas you could probably recognize a Shopify store just by looking at it, Magento has a massive range of themes to make your website look unique.

Is Magento Suitable for Me?

If you’re starting up, you may consider the free open-source option. The hosted solution isn’t suitable for fledgling companies.

If your business takes off and you need more flexibility with your website, then Magento is ideal.

👉 Read a thorough review of Magento here.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce markets itself as a platform for “growing sales,” pitching themselves as a more high-end version of Shopify.

Similar to Shopify, support is available 24/7 to ensure you’re getting those much-needed answers to your questions. These always crop up early on!

Is BigCommerce Suitable for Me?

If you’re ambitious and see your business taking off very quickly, then BigCommerce is a great tool to support that.

It’s very accessible and has a range of backend features for discounts and coupons. Not to mention, it also offers you the chance to sell through Facebook.

👉 Try BigCommerce for free here.

Other Top Ecommerce Solutions

If you’re trying to find the right ecommerce solution for you, you need to consider all your options.

Here are a few ecommerce platforms we recommend:

Volusion

We love that Volusion offers users a 14-day trial period. So, you don’t have to hand over your hard earned cash until you’ve tried and tested the software for yourself.

Not to mention, they offer tons of features. Some of the more notable ones include:

Just to name a few!

All in all, Volusion offer their users an excellent ecommerce platform to utilize.

👉 Check out our in-depth guide to Volusion pricing plans.

👉 Try Volusion for free here.

Big Cartel

If you want to start selling homemade art online, then Big Cartel is probably the best ecommerce platform for you. Founded back in 2005, they boast well over a decade of experience in this field. Needless to say, they know a thing or two about helping small brands build an online presence.

There are plenty of free themes you can use to customize the look and feel of your ecommerce shop. Alternatively, if you have any experience coding or web designing, you can craft a one-of-a-kind design that brings your vision to life.

Here are a few other features users of Big Cartel can enjoy:

So, what are you waiting for? Start selling your art today!

👉 Try Volusion for free here.

Teachable

With Teachable, you can create a course for your customers in a way that’s incredibly user-friendly. With just a few clicks of a button, you can set up a fabulous virtual classroom, complete with learning management tools, fully functioning payment gateways, a customizable interface, responsive design, and last but certainly not least- handy marketing features.

Alternatively, if you have any experience coding, you can use Teachable’s Power Editor to modify virtually any aspect of your digital course.

Plus, it’s super easy for students to do all the following:

How awesome is that?!

Is Teachable Suitable for Me?

If you want an ecommerce platform that enables you to provide customers with a top-notch learning experience, then teachable is the solution for you.

It’s fabulous if you don’t have many technical skills, they offer users out-of-the-box websites which hardly requires any kind of configuration.

Plus, it’s great for entrepreneurs on a tight budget. All you need is your name and email address to get started- you don’t have to pay a dime to create your course!

Udemy

Just like Teachable, Udemy is another ecommerce platform enabling entrepreneurs to launch online courses. All you have to do is plan your course, record your video lessons, then grow your community.

One of the best things is that you can create classes in numerous languages. This works wonders for extending your reach and growing your customer base.

Plus, Udemy also provides plenty of free courses to teach you how to make the most of their software.

Is Udemy suitable for me?

If you’re looking for an ecommerce program to launch an online course, then Udemy could be the platform for you. If customer service is essential to you, you’ll be pleased to hear users are provided with 24/7 customer service.

So, no matter what time of the day or night it is, you’ll get your questions answered. You can also use their Teach Hub,- this is best described as a resource center and is terrific for helping you get to grips with their software. Plus, there’s also a Facebook support group you can make use of. So, when it comes to getting the help you need to get up and running, it doesn’t get much better than Udemy!

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)

If you want to sell digital products using WordPress, then Easy Digital Downloads is the perfect ecommerce platform for you. It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling an eBook, an app, or a digital course- you can use EDD to build your business.

They offer an impressive array of features, including:

Is EDD suitable for me?

👉 Try EDD for free here.

Sellfy

Sellfy, just like many other ecommerce solutions in this guide, offers tons of fabulous features. So, if you’re looking for any of the following, consider using this program:

These are just a few of the many features Sellfy have to offer!

Is Sellfy suitable for me?

If you want to get your ecommerce store up and running in a matter of minutes, then Sellfy’s ideal. They claim that their users can build a fully functioning store within as little as five minutes! So, in no time at all, you can market your products via your website and social media profiles, and start bringing in those all-important sales!

👉 Try Sellfy for free here.

Ecommerce Marketplaces

Just selling items on your online store, limits the potential of how much money you’ll make.

With inventory management software it’s never been easier to manage your stock across multiple channels. Which means you can concentrate on what matters most, selling more products!

Here’s a short list of marketplaces, you should consider using alongside your online store.

eBay – People have the assumption that eBay is purely for C2C businesses, but that’s not the case.

There’s a whole host of B2B and B2C transactions happening on this site. If a product isn’t selling well on your website, try putting it on eBay as an auction to recuperate some money back.

Amazon – There isn’t an awful lot that Amazon doesn’t sell now, so even if your idea for a product hasn’t been done before there’s a place for it on Amazon!

Etsy – Etsy in an online marketplace that’s ideal for anything handmade. It specializes in the vintage and unique!

Etsy has a fantastic community vibe to it and is excellent for building a good reputation as a seller.

Alibaba – Alibaba is a marketplace for manufacturers, suppliers, exporters, importers, buyers, wholesalers, products and trade leads

A considerable advantage is that you have access to countless suppliers who sell pretty much any product you can think of it. If you don’t have an original idea and just want to start of selling, then check out Alibaba.

Where Can I Source Products for My Ecommerce Business?

There are tons of places to source top-quality products to sell on your ecommerce store. However, these tend to fall into one of three categories: Manufacturers, drop shippers, and wholesalers.

For more information on all of these, check out our other articles:

1. Manufacturers

A manufacturer is a company who creates its own merchandise and sells it to any of the following:

Traditionally, manufacturers create and assemble products on a larger scale so they’re ready for distribution. On the whole, it doesn’t matter whether you purchase goods via an ecommerce store or in a conventional brick and mortar store, the goods will have labels displaying where the merchandise was created (i.e., where the manufacturer is based).

There are three types of manufacturers:

2. Dropshipping

In theory, drop shipping sounds simple.

All you have to do is launch your own ecommerce shop and then reach out to suppliers. You then take orders from customers to which you’ll pass onto the said supplier. They then ship your customer’s orders directly to them.

This is a fantastic business model for entrepreneurs who don’t have space or the budget to stock masses of inventory. Plus, it minimizes the overall risk. With drop shipping, you don’t have to spend any money before the customer pays you – which is ideal for business owners running on a tight budget!

3. Wholesalers

Out of using the services of wholesalers, drop shipping, and manufacturers- wholesalers are probably the hardest to handle. The system isn’t very well structured. It’s just an extensive list of random suppliers, and in some cases, they’re dotted across the globe.

This means you need to do some research and find out how these wholesalers are structured.

Some of the better ones include AliExpress or Alibaba. These resources enable you to research which products are the most popular, so you’re more likely to find goods your customers actually want to buy.

You can also do all the following with these websites:

As you go through wholesaler directories and conduct your research, ensure all potential suppliers show a good track record of delivering their goods on time, offer a reliable point of contact, and produce top-notch products.

What Kind Of Budget Do I Need To Start an Ecommerce Business?

Don’t believe us?

Here are a couple of articles that show you how:

If you don’t have time to read these articles, here are a few highlights to help you kickstart your venture:

What Kind of Ecommerce Business Can I Start?

If you’re interested in kickstarting your own ecommerce store, but don’t know where to begin, we thoroughly recommend reading the below articles. They’re sure to fuel you with inspiration:

Once you’ve read through these guides, you should have a better idea of the kind of ecommerce store you want to launch yourself.

How do I start an Ecommerce Business?

When you start an ecommerce site, you realize that there are loads of items that need to be checked, cross-checked and tested to ensure that your customers have a good experience. That’s why we put together an expansive checklist for new ecommerce sites.

Often, the largest obstacle that business owners face is being unfamiliar with the process, So we put together a post on ten easy steps to learn how to open an online store, whether you already sell products in a brick-and-mortar location or you’re starting an online business from scratch.

Are you sitting around with a sweet new product idea and you want to start selling it online? Have you been trading in a brick-and-mortar shop and now you want to bring your business online? The solution is building an online store, so I want to show you how to start an online shop in just 15 minutes.

What is a hosted eCommerce Platform?

Now that online shopping is more popular and valuable than ever, plenty of companies are finding new ways to sell online. Selling online can be a very profitable experience. However, just like in any field, it’s important to make sure that you know where you’re going to get started before you jump in and sell your products.

For instance, one major decision that companies need to make is whether they’re going to invest in self-hosting, or hosted websites. Self-hosted ecommerce tools give you the code you need to develop your online store. However, you need the skills to make sure that everything works as its supposed to. That puts more pressure on you from a business development standpoint, but it also means you have more freedom to customize your store too.

The other option is to use a hosted ecommerce platform, which gives you more support in building your business. This includes using a website builder and a hosting space that you can put your online store in. With a hosted website, you don’t have to do as much work from a developer standpoint. The company you buy from will set everything up for you. However, there is less control available for you.

What is a SaaS Ecommerce Platform?

A SAAS or Software as a Service ecommerce platform simply means that everything you need to run your company is delivered over the internet. This is the most common way to access important business building tools today. SaaS platforms permit you to abstain from introducing and downloading the complicated software that you need to build a website from scratch. This also frees you from the worries that come with securing your website.

Probably the best thing about a SaaS platform is that your solution isn’t introduced on-premise or maintained by the client. Your eCommerce framework runs on the SaaS supplier’s servers. Your outside supplier at that point is responsible for security, execution, and upkeep of the application on the servers.

There’s a wide range of SaaS platforms that that offer unique business capabilities. SaaS ecommerce platforms are only a small part of the SaaS business. Ordinarily SaaS solutions are delivered on a membership basis. Clients pay for a monthly expense dependent on the level of service and number of clients. This authorizing model is normally a route for vendors to have constant access to their eCommerce platform at any point.

What are the Benefits of Ecommerce?

If you have a real physical store, you’ll often be limited by the location that you can provide service to. With an eCommerce site, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. Unlike with a traditional business, your online store means that small businesses can deliver their products all around the world. What’s more, running your company is often cheaper, because you don’t need to pay for a physical premise to set up your store in.

An eCommerce business also reduces costs in other ways depending on the strategy that you choose. For instance, if you choose the dropshipping model, then you won’t have to pay for the sting of storing your own products until a customer is willing to buy them. Additionally, there’s no need to travel to other company premises if you’re a B2B business demoing products. You can simply send your goods and services over the internet.

With an eCommerce business, you can stay open all of the time, constantly delivering new value to the customers that you want to serve. What’s more, there’s plenty of freedom to let your company change and grow over time. You might decide that there are new and different kinds of products that you want to sell. If that’s the case, you can simply add them to your online store without having to move to a bigger business premises.

How much does it cost to launch an ecommerce website

The best way to calculate the cost of developing your ecommerce website is to get online and compare the costs associated with a number of platforms, add-ons, tools, and anything else that you might need to pay for. Remember, there are more costs to consider with eCommerce platforms than just the monthly subscription for your tool. From using an electronic data interchange, to working with payment providers, the cost of your ecommerce business will depend on the definition of e-Commerce that you use.

For instance, if you’re hosting your own website, then you’ll need to pay hosting costs. You’ll also need to think about things like professional services from experts. You might want to use a premium theme or have someone design a theme for you to make your website stand out. You could also decide to add extra features to your store, like a membership section where you can collect loyal customers.

Some other fees to think about include:

The overall cost of your website is likely to be pretty low initially. However, as you continue to develop new sales opportunities, your prices may grow.