What to Consider when Opening an Online Shop
Online shopping has become the new trend in the last few years, and for many people is unthinkable not to buy online. Online purchases take place every second, but what are the differences between an online shop and a physical one? What purpose do they serve?
BENEFITS OF ONLINE SHOPPING
– Online shopping is a time saver! Instead of going out to a mall and browse for hours the products that we want, we can just go online, quickly browse on the catalog, select the products that we want, place the order, and after a few clicks the item will be deliver at our front door.
– Online shopping offers a wider selection of products through their online catalog, so buyers have many more choices than what they can find in a store shelf.
STEPS TO OPEN AN ONLINE STORE
- The first step is to start creating a website to open an online store. Its interface should be clear and aesthetically pleasing. Do not use too many bright and striking colors, as they distract the attention of the buyer of the merchandise. The name and address of the site should be simple and easy to remember. A buyer's trust in a store will be greatly reduced if its address consists of an incomprehensible set of letters and symbols.
Interface should be clear and aesthetically pleasing. Do not use too many bright and striking colors, as they distract the attention of the buyer of the merchandise. The name and address of the site should be simple and easy to remember. A buyer's trust in a store will be greatly reduced if its address consists of an incomprehensible set of letters and symbols. - The next equally popular mistake is to create a menu system or store catalog that is too complex. Everything should be simple to understand.
After you create a website for the store, you must complete the catalog. It is very important to provide as much information as possible about the goods: about the country of origin, size, price, composition, etc. It is also necessary to provide a photo of the product, since it is unlikely that the buyer will decide to buy something that he has no idea or sees.
When opening an online store, contact a company that allows you to create a turnkey online store
3. Then, you need to hire a small staff, which usually looks like this:
- Store Manager
- Consultant
- Support
- Courier (does not have to be regular, since you can reach an agreement with the delivery services)
The store manager is its owner, whose functions include overseeing the store's activities. The consultant's main task is to assist clients with site orientation and selection of the required product. In addition, the consultant helps the client in case not enough information about the product is provided. Support service is required to resolve various issues related to a product already sold, for example, when a customer is not satisfied with the item received or the quality of its delivery.
Of course, the shop owner himself can perform the tasks of a consultant and a support service, but this is quite a difficult task and also takes a long time. One of the most important employees of an online store is the courier, since it is he who delivers all the purchases. As mentioned above, the courier does not have to be on the store staff, it can also be an employee. If necessary, delivery can be made by sending the goods by mail, but this will take too long and does not guarantee the safety of the package.
4. The next pretty important point when opening an online store is to set up a payment system. There are the following types of charge for online stores:
- Bank card. It's the least secure type of cashless payment.
- Money transfer made with the help of a bank.
- Settlement by electronic money.
- Using terminals. In this case, the payment is made through terminals specially installed for this purpose. This payment method usually has a fairly high commission percentage.
- Payment made by SMS. With this type of payment, the store's website uses special details that are sent to the customer via SMS messages. Entering these details is a confirmation of the customer's consent to payment.
- Cash on delivery. A feature of this type of payment is that it is made only after receiving the merchandise.
- Using cash. The payment of the goods is made personally in the hands of the courier and only after the delivery of the goods to the customer.
- Electronic cash register. This type of payment is essentially mixed, as it combines several other types. Choosing such a payment system gives the customer the opportunity to decide independently how to pay.
- Do not forget cryptocurrencies, check about it.
