In 2024 more than ever, the business environment is undergoing profound change. Little by little, consumers are spending more and more time on online purchases. Existing companies are making sure to digitalize to keep up with current changes. At the same time, many people are trying the adventure of online commerce by creating their own sales site on the internet.
The e-commerce boom
If e-commerce sales were already increasing, the recent pandemic has considerably accelerated things. In France, 46% of consumers have devoted more money to online purchases since the start of the health crisis and many users indicate that they will continue to make part of their purchases online. This upward trend is therefore not ready to stop.
It must be said that this has many advantages, starting with accessibility. In fact, many homes are equipped with an internet connection today. Besides that, we often find a wider offer on the web with a fairly substantial choice of products since e-retailers do not suffer the same constraints as a physical point of sale where the lack of space can pose a problem for storing the products.
Furthermore, e-commerce often requires a lower investment than setting up a physical point of sale, which makes this activity more affordable.
Le dropshipping
In terms of e-commerce, we distinguish between traditional online commerce which consists of purchasing products from merchants and dropshipping. This is a method based on online sales without stock. Despite some preconceived ideas, dropshipping can become a very profitable activity provided you manage your e-store correctly.
People who start dropshipping are in fact intermediaries between the specialized wholesaler and the end customer who places an order on their site. Importantly, it is the supplier who is responsible for shipping to the end customer. The mission of the dropshipping merchant is to place an order on the supplier's site so that the buyer receives his or her item(s). The logistics part is therefore entirely managed by the supplier, which considerably reduces the workload.
How to create your online store?
The world of online commerce is varied and open to everyone: both to professionals with a physical retail business who want to limit the impact of economic losses and to individuals wishing to set up their business online to make ends meet. In all cases, it is essential to create your e-commerce site. To do this, several possibilities are available to you.
It is possibleto opt for a web hostand subsequently install CMS (Content Management System) software specialized in e-commerce such as PrestaShop (here you will find the best hosting for PrestaShop) or the WooCommerce extension if you use WordPress. This approach being a little more complicated, we will develop the simplest, namely choosing an all-in-one platform.
Currently, two large providers of this type share the market. This is the case of the world leaderShopifyand the French group WiziShop. Both offer a complete tool including web hosting, domain name reservation, a content management system and a web editor. Users do not have to install any software, everything is done from the web browser.
Even if these platforms are simple to use and no technical knowledge is required, you must still take into account the transaction fees levied on each sale which can go up to 2% of the price. To avoid having to pay these commissions, it is possible to turn to other providers specializing in website design. This is the case ofWix, Jimdo or Site123 which offer an e-commerce section with store designs that adapt to all sectors of activity and intelligent functionalities allowing, in particular, to manage your orders and monitor the performance of your site .
To find out more about the platform we recommend for creating an e-shop, we invite you to read the section dedicated to online stores inour opinion and test on Site123.
What strategy should you adopt to sell on the internet?
Selling on the internet cannot be improvised. Even if there is no shortage of success stories, it is essential to define a digital strategy by thinking about several aspects: what products or services do you want to sell? Who are they intended for? Who are your competitors? How to attract visitors to your site?
Ideally, you should test your concept upstream or carry out market research.
Certain technical constraints may also get in your way once your site is developed. This is why it is important to be supported by experts in web marketing and e-commerce. For your information, the platforms mentioned offer this type of service to help people who are just starting out. Wix also offers support in French.
Once the activity is launched, it is important to monitor the performance of your site and your activity by measuring, for example, your traffic and orders placed. Over time, you will be able to adjust your strategy based on your results.
