Nowadays, you can buy pretty much anything you want with a few mouse clicks or swipes of a touchscreen. From handcrafted goods to household staples, there is not much that you can’t purchase online and have conveniently shipped to your front door.
If you know how start an online store the right way, you’ll be able to boost your profits significantly and grow your business year after year.
Why is it important to understand how to start an online store if commerce is your game? Where should we start?
We are living in the midst of a digital age. In today’s world, consumers are no longer bound by one particular geographical location.
On the contrary, nowadays people have the power to connect with their peers, conduct research, consume content, and most importantly shop wherever they are in the world with a few swipes of a screen. And that means that in the current climate, if you’re an entrepreneur looking to grow your business, building an online store might be the best thing you ever do.
At present, 21.8% of the planet’s population shops online, and in 2021, this number is expected to rise to more than 2 billion online shoppers.
The current state of eCommerce
Before we delve deeper into how to start an online store, let’s explore these eCommerce stats, facts and figures that prove the power of online shopping:
- On average, men spend $220 per online transaction and women spend $151 per transaction. That’s a high-value average spend per customer.
- Online shopping is more popular than ever before and by 2021, eCommerce sales are expected to climb to 17.5% of retail sales across the globe. That’s plenty of profit up for grabs.
- During Q3 2018, smartphones made up 61% of retail site visits globally. If you’re online store is mobile-optimized, you’re likely to boost your conversion rate, big-time.
- The main reason people shop online is that they’re able to buy items or products 24/7, literally.
Realizing the full power of an eCommerce website
Just to reiterate (and we do so because absorbing this message will give you the best possible chance of easy eCommerce success): eCommerce stores give businesses the power to act big, but remain small.
Through professional and powerful, yet affordable, online storefronts, businesses can reach an extremely large market and sell to a vast and wide customer base.
Estimations of U.S. online sales for 2019 are projected to soar to over $560 billion — and that number is only expected to grow. The same projections put eCommerce sales at roughly $414 billion to more than $735 billion by 2023. Mind-blowing.
As mentioned, online stores give small businesses the opportunity to tap into a massive marketplace and an entire nation of shoppers.
Easy eCommerce: How to start an online store in 3 steps
It’s clear that if you’re a modern business, entering the eCommerce arena is a wise move. To help you start your digital journey, here’s our how-to guide to create an online store, broken down into three simple steps:
- Fine-tune your idea.
- Create your online store.
- Promote your online store.
1. Fine-tune your idea
At this point, it’s likely that you know what you want to sell. Start fine-tuning your idea by deciding on a business name, conducting market research, and finding your audience.
Consider these questions: What makes your brand stand out from others in your niche? What particular pain points do you solve?
Work out the answers to these questions and you’ll be able to move forward in the best possible direction.
Choosing your business name and domain name
When it comes to naming your eCommerce business, choosing a name that is digestible, memorable, relevant, good for digital marketing purposes and will work well as a domain name is a must.
Your domain name is the web address for your digital storefront. You want it to truly represent who you are and what you have to offer — at a glance.
There are myriad domain extensions (the part of the domain name to the right of the dot, like .com) available to help you secure the perfect name. Consider a domain extension that suits your industry or niche and that will help you stand out from the crowd. Think .shop or .store for general eCommerce, or get more specific with .jewelry, .clothing, .coffee and more.
2. Create your online store
Once you’ve considered all of the key ingredients of a successful web-based eCommerce business, it’s time to start thinking about making it happen, in a practical sense.
The simplest and fastest way to get your online shop up and running is by using a templated eCommerce store.
With this option, you get it all in one quick install. An eCommerce website package includes an online shop website template (aka website theme), product pages, shopping cart, payment processing feature and hosting for the site.
Instead of building your store piece by piece, you can install the whole store at once.
GoDaddy Online Store or HostGator Online Store both of these sites includes all of these essentials plus award-winning customer support, tools for integrating with online marketplaces, Facebook and Google Analytics, and more.
Consider these questions: What makes your brand stand out from others in your niche? What particular pain points do you solve?
3. Promote your online store
The third and final element of our how to start an online store guide comes in the form of promotion or marketing.
Once you’ve fine-tuned your idea and actually created your online store, it’s time to shout about it to your target audience.
Here we’re going to explain how to promote an online store, expand your reach, and enjoy the profit-boosting success you no doubt deserve.
There are a host of avenues you can take when marketing your online store to prospective buyers, from connecting your website to popular third-party vendors to social media, email marketing and more.
But, before we delve into these all-important areas, it’s important to reiterate the importance of spreading the word about your online store.
Why you need to promote your online store
Many small business owners think that once they have created an online store their job is done.
In fact, that’s where the fun begins. Not everyone who creates an online store is successful in making it their primary source of income. But those who are successful have a few common characteristics:
They love their customers
Ask any successful online seller what they like about their business and they will have a ton of heart-warming customer stories on the tips of their tongues. They live for making their customers’ lives better.
They are scrappy and savvy marketers
The most successful online sellers have figured out a way to spread the word in their customer community. Some do it through social media marketing. Others identify influencers in their community and have them promote their product. Some business owners come up with clever viral marketing campaigns by promoting their products with special discounts.
Conclusion and next steps
eCommerce is not an industry; eCommerce is a tactic. – Tobias Lutke
An eCommerce website can open a large, new frontier for your business. You will be able to sell to millions around the world instead of the thousands in your neighborhood. You will be able to tap into a billion dollar market. And, you will be able to give your business an opportunity to expand and grow with minimal risk and low investment costs.
Once you’ve fine-tuned your idea with a great name and thorough market testing, an easy eCommerce website is just a few steps away.
Begin with a few products that you showcase on your eCommerce site with stellar photos and product descriptions. Prompt store visitors to take action with compelling CTAS and authentic customer testimonials and reviews. Make it easy for customers to pay via various methods. Offer multiple shipping options — including free shipping.
These are the basics that will get your online store up and running.
Then you can focus on expanding your product line and growing your business through digital marketing techniques such as email marketing, social media and online business listings.
Now that you know how to create an online store, get going and make those dreams a reality.
