You’ve seen retail brands that you never expected to close go bankrupt. For instance, Toys “R” Us had liquidated and shut down all their remaining brand stores in the US after the pandemic hit it and many other businesses. The COVID-19 crisis somehow accelerated the expansion and success of e-commerce, providing customers with online access to many products they used to purchase in-store. This means more and more people are now shopping virtually from the convenience of their homes.
E-commerce is making greater inroads into the web than traditional businesses into new commercial areas. It’s only a matter of time before e-commerce dominates retail. Whether you’re an experienced retailer or internet savvy who wants to put up an e-commerce store, you need to consider several aspects to achieve success in your online business.
Here are the most important factors that you need to consider in e-commerce:
Right Products To Sell
One of the challenges for aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs is looking for or coming up with profitable products to sell. You may think that the best products are already saturated in the market with lots of competition in the most popular product categories.
In deciding on what products to sell, you may want to take note of the following strategies:
Offer a product that solves a customer’s pain points
Pay attention to the frustrating experiences of customers with the currently available products. Examine these—you might come across products that could be your profitable product idea. Then, identify their pain points, which may include the costs, convenience and productivity, process, availability, and shopping journey. Once you get an idea of what products or services to offer, you can position your company as a business that knows its consumers well, thereby providing solutions to their dilemmas.
Offer a product that capitalizes on early trends
Don’t be confused between trends and fads. Trends exist based on needs, so the product demands hold for much longer. While fads have emerged into the limelight because of their gimmick or novelty. Examples of fad products are Pokemon Go, fidget spinners, and chokers while trending products include ‘athleisure’ (yoga pants, sneakers, tights, etc.) or wearable tech (Fitbit, health monitors). You can only sell fads and make money from them on the peak of the craze, whereas trends can be a stable investment as it moves along with the changes in culture, society, and politics.
Offer a product that appeals to hobby enthusiasts
You’ll never run out of product ideas for customers who are passionate about a particular hobby. Examples are art crafts, gardening tools, sports equipment, eBooks, cooking materials, baking ingredients, and more.
These buyers are investing money in products that’ll give them an improved or new way of experiencing their favorite hobbies. You may consider a buyer’s willingness to pay when looking for the best products to sell.
Offer a product you’re personally passionate about
It’s easier to stay focused if you’re genuinely invested in what you’re selling. You can use your passion or expertise in manufacturing or reselling products as well as marketing your chosen niche.
Product Stocks And Availability
You have to ensure that when you offer products, you have enough stocks available. Make your stocks up-to-date as well. Your e-commerce site must sync with your stock system. If you’re running a dropshipping online store, make sure to communicate with the supplier if they have enough supplies in their warehouse.
Dropshipping is a method of acquiring products from a manufacturer or supplier then shipping them directly to a consumer. You may use this model if you want to start a business but don’t have the required capital or necessary stock of goods on hand yet. If you’re interested in this type of business, you can learn the concept of dropshipping by enrolling in online courses such as eCom Elites. But before using it, you might want to check out an authentic review of this dropshipping course at https://www.scamrisk.com/ecom-elites/.
Pricing
When determining a profitable price for your products, you have to think about every aspect that may affect your business. The deciding factors you need to consider are your profit margins, cash flow, and operating expenses.
You can follow these three steps in computing a sustainable price for your products:
Add up the variable costs per product
The variable costs are calculated based on the cost of goods, production time, packaging, promotional materials, shipping, and affiliate commission. If you’re interested in including affiliate marketing products in your e-commerce business, you may want to check out a review of the affiliate training program by Wealthy Affiliates. If you think it’ll work for you, then you may try availing it.
Add a profit margin
After you compute the total variable costs per product, you can now add a profit margin. You may consider the overall market and see to it that the price still falls within the acceptable price in the market.
Include the fixed costs
A fixed cost isn’t included in your variable cost. This won’t increase nor decrease regardless of how many products you sold. Examples are costs for website hosting, domain registration, email set-up, e-Commerce app, or monthly website management.
Shipping
E-commerce shipping refers to all the services required to ship your product/s to your customer’s delivery address. You have to choose the right courier service partner so that shipping could be reliable, fast, manageable, and affordable—increasing your success in e-commerce. The cost of shipping can affect your pricing and prospect leads as well.
Professional E-Commerce Website
If you want to succeed in the e-commerce business, you’ve got to have a professional website. This platform supports your digital marketing efforts. When potential customers visit your online store, everything they see sets their first impression of your business. A professional website can help you gain customers’ trust and engagement.
Conclusion
If you want to see success for your e-commerce business, you need to choose the right products to sell and offer them at the most reasonable prices. Moreover, build a strong online presence in the digital market. Your e-commerce website should provide the best service and user experience to your customers. You can start with a strategic plan on putting up your e-commerce store. You can consider the important factors mentioned above to be ahead of your competitors. Come up with high-quality products, offer the best customer service, and build an easy-to-use and customer-friendly e-commerce website
Source: https://www.mikegingerich.com/blog/5-important-factors-for-success-in-e-commerce/
- https://www.mikegingerich.com/
- Mike Gingerich
- United States
