Thanks to the increase in web traffic and related marketing solutions, open an e-commerce becomes an increasingly widespread and in many cases advantageous choice. In fact, those who do business or own a physical store spread their products into new markets. It is possible to undertake new activities that did not exist before, because they operate exclusively online providing multimedia material, software and digital services. Companies expand, find new customers and facilitate contacts with suppliers. Huge global platforms provide promotional space and logistics services.
And in the meantime, virtual reality shops and businesses are growing in the metaverse where cryptocurrencies are exchanged, with solid copyrights on NFTs, and through blockchains that ensure traceable and shared values on distributed ledger networks.
Selling online in multiple ways is now within everyone's reach and borders are disappearing.
Are you going to finally open an e-commerce but you don't have clear ideas?
Here are the basic concepts to guide you.
Content index
Open an indirect e-commerce
The first choice to take before open an e-commerce it depends on what you sell. In our experience, the virtual equivalents of physical stores are the most popular. So online showcases where the same products that are in the physical store are displayed. In this case we are talking about indirect e-commerce. The advantages of this choice are many.
First of all, customers can see and buy your products from the comfort of their home, or with a smartphone or tablet wherever they are. Then you can reach customers even outside your city.
Also a E-commerce creates a direct channel with its advertising, then optimizes it. In other words, if a customer searches for a product and sees yours ads on Google, if the ad leads to a E-commerce will buy directly from there instead of having to leave the house and come to the store. The more steps you save, the easier it sells.
The critical issues lie in storage and shipping, which we will see later on by going deeper into the business models.
Open a direct e-commerce
Direct e-commerce instead it takes place entirely online. The advantages are the absence of logistics and storage, but this narrows the field of supply. In fact, it only affects the buying and selling of multimedia material, the supply of software, digital services, and cases in which the seller does not own the product.
Types of e-commerce according to the parties involved
- B2B (business to business): it is exercised between one company and another. An example is the relationship between company and supplier.
- B2C (business-to-consumer): indicates a relationship between company and consumer. One of the most representative cases is Amazon.
- C2C (consumer to consumer): an example are the online auctions or trading platforms.
- C2B (consumer to business): it is when consumers offer a product or service to companies or businesses: this is the case of freelancers hired online or bloggers and influencers who advertise a product.
- B2A and C2A (business to administration, consumer to administration): e-commerce related to public administrations. The relationship involves both business and consumers. These methods of e-commerce in our country are backward, but the convenience, usability and an increasingly widespread positive response encourage conversion from traditional methods.
Business models to open an e-commerce.
Now let's look at the main ones business models for e-commerce. Which ones are right for you? Consider that these models can be combined and can be applied according to the types you have just read,
Dropshipping (without shipping)
La platform, of e-commerce displays the products and processes the payments.
The seller does not own the product or ship it, therefore acts as a link between customer and supplier.
In this case the profit margins are lower than in other business models, but the expenses for opening the e-commerce are also lower and the costs relating to logistics, storage and physical headquarters are non-existent.
Wholesailing (wholesale)
It consists inpurchase of products in large quantities and then resell them at a competitive pricevo. A large volume of sales is expected to cover both purchases and expenses related to warehouse management, packaging and delivery.
Alibaba was successful applying the Wholesailing.
Warehousing (warehouse)
A company owns a warehouse, displays the products on the e-commerce platform and there ships directly.
The risk of accumulating unsold and costly inventories can be avoided thanks to theprocurementor strategic and controlled, often automated by functional software internal to the e-commerce platform.
So even companies with limited budgets and warehouses can approach this business model.
Whitelabel (white label)
Il product of the supplier comes custom by who sells it. Here it is important to evaluate the question well. In fact, suppliers require a minimum order, which in some cases can exceed expected sales.
Il White label influencers, graphic artists, but also particularly branded shops practice it. For example, there are those who apply personalized labels on bottles of water, or there are pubs that have their brand printed on t-shirts (or on bottles) that they sell to customers through online platforms advertised by social media pages (strategies of Digital Marketing).
This business model is particularly suitable for cultivating brand awareness (Brand Awareness).
Production
If you have solid resources and want to expand on the web, this is the business model that's right for you. The company takes care of all the processes of production, storage and logistics. The latter, with variable costs, can be delegated to third parties (an example is the service Amazon FBA, of which we offer one specialist advice).
Subscription
provides monthly or annual subscriptions for the supply of products or services.
The automation of processes significantly reduces the time and resources used in management.
Here we play in the medium-long term, with the aim of guaranteeing aconstant entry at precise cadence. Through Subscription strategies can also be implemented Digital Marketing, such as offering sealed box subscriptions (and at affordable prices) both to introduce the entire range of products to customers who already buy from you, and to encourage new customers to choose you.
Freemium
Transfer Delivery to Italy takes one or two business days of a product, service, or part thereof, in function of selling premium supplements. Examples can be found in many suppliers of such as antivirus, translators, packages Adobe, Office...
Costs to open an e-commerce.
One of the biggest doubts you can have when you decide to open a E-commerce i'm sure i costs. The importance of careful attention is obvious evaluation of costs and benefits, to understand if you should invest and how.
Costs are extremely variable. There are no objective handbooks to consult quickly.
What we can clarify, however, are the factors to take into account:
- The type of e-commerce and the business model you decide to apply.
- The platform, including any graphic customizations and functions.
- Any licenses for software.
- THEhosting, i.e. the 24/XNUMX connection of a computer so that the e-commerce can be visited at any time.
- Measurement systems (type Google Analytics).
- SEO optimization and promotional campaigns.
- Quality of work and delivery times of professionals/web agencies.
Open your e-commerce with Kilobit
Now that you have a more concrete idea of the elements to take into consideration to open an e-commerce, we at kilobit we can provide you with a free personalized quote, based on all the factors you just read.
You can fill out the appropriate form, call us or make an appointment to come and visit us at our headquarters.
