Due to the current situation happening around the globe, with the virus affecting thousands and has kept people largely in their houses, it seems to be the perfect circumstances to jump into the ecommerce industry.
Timing can help go a long way in determining whether you managed to launch a successful online store. With its rapid rise and potential of online retailers soon to replace brick-and-mortar stores, it is appealing to join the bandwagon. So here are a few basic pointers to know if it is time for you to step into the ecommerce business.
1. Find Out The Industry Size
Knowing the real size of the e-commerce industry is one of the best markers to consider for businesses looking to enter the online market for the first time. Especially for the products, you wish to sell. According to Statista the number of digital buyers (which includes e-commerce shoppers) is expected to reach 1.92 billion US dollars this year. With global retail ecommerce sales amounted to 3.53 trillion US dollars and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 6.54 trillion US dollars in 2022. Understanding the industry size will help you understand which target market to hit and how.
2. Supply and Demand
Figure out whether the product you wish to sell has a sizable audience to cater to. Discover a niche and make sure you are able to supply them to your audience. If you are already an enterprise with a customer base, then you need to pay attention and make sure you are able to transfer those customers into an online system. Meanwhile, you can also incorporate dropshipping to meet customer demand for out-of-stock products.
3. Can Your Product Be Delivered Globally?
You should decide and ensure whether the products that you sell can serve a global audience then you can see this as an indicator that you should start an ecommerce store. Owning a business model that is not restricted by location is one of the core advantages of an ecommerce store.
4. Fulfillment Options
It doesn’t matter what you are selling or who you are selling to, there are numerous fulfillment options to assist you. You can partner up with marketplaces such as Amazon or Lazada. However, if you wish to start your own business from scratch and you don’t want to work with a tech giant, smaller companies abound that have reliable, high-tech fulfillment systems. It is not currently cheaper than ever before, and it is a great opportunity to bring brick and mortar retailers into the online world.
The truth is it is never too late to start an online business. Don’t fall for that market saturated myth. The majority of the stores out there aren’t always actively selling. The ecommerce field is wide open and there are thousands of niches that have not even been thought about. Find the right niche and start testing small ads on Google and Facebook to create your target audience. Ecommerce has been alive since the internet started and will always be alive. More people shop online today than they have in the last 5 years. It is retail that is shutting down, not ecommerce. The only reason many fail in ecommerce is the same reason many fail in any business, lack of consistency and effort.