Let’s start with a little clarity also in this sector.
There are activities carried out with one’s own site: ownership of the domain, of the server space, ownership of the site with related programming.
The latter is used to interface the site with the management system (Administration), the Warehouse, Customer Care, Marketing, and the accepted means of payment.
Then there is the trade done on third-party platforms, called Market Place, there are many, the most famous being Amazon.
Obviously these are faster in allowing the first collections, but they have at least a couple of “contraindications” to keep in mind: presence (or not) of competitors’ products / services with easy comparison and payment of the commission to be paid to the platform.
The huge mistake that many have made, and that has led them to failure, going to swell the ranks of those who disappointed, they shot zero on the internet bluff, etc. etc.
The mistake we said, is and has been, not to make a preventive analysis on the market, the competitors already operating, the margins and the cost of marketing.
In fact e-commerce needs a lot of funds for the various activities of “acquiring” traffic on the site, to be converted into customers:
– SEO and sponsored ads (pay per click)
– in addition to social activities.
These are very necessary not to say essential if you are not a known brand.
So it is not enough to reason like this: “I open my e-commerce, and in the evening I watch the collection, while during the day I dedicate myself to my hobbies”. No!
Like a physical store, an e-commerce also requires the dedication and presence of merchants.
Maybe a “different” presence, obsequious to the rules of the web, but it must be there!
Obviously e-commerce has significant advantages, compared to a “physical”, classic activity, which allow it to be more profitable, if designed and developed correctly over time.
Let’s see:
It does not need its own warehouse, you can rely on logistics centers, which manage stocks, supplies and often also the transport of goods;
low costs: tens of thousands of Euros, compared to hundreds of thousands when dealing with brick;
active 24/24 – 365/365 all over the world, for those who have products that have markets all over the world, of course;
sure collections ! in fact the customer pays in advance !
Targeted marketing and advertising, thanks to the amount of data collected and verifiable also thanks to the advent of Artificial Intelligence!
Final tip:
the customer is wary for a whole series of factors: I don’t have physical contact with a shop nor with people, I pay in advance, I don’t see or touch so I can’t evaluate the product well, if they feel any about the scams on the web (“What if my credit card is cloned?”), how long does it take for it to arrive?
Before thinking about e-commerce, think about organizing a Customer Care with counter-bows, Amazon docet!
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