How to Start an E-Commerce Business In 2024
Over the past few years, e-commerce companies have emerged immensely all over the world, due to the evolution of buyer behavior people rather search for their needs online on multiple platforms looking for the best value for money.
As global users on internet platforms increase rapidly so are the e-commerce businesses to cater to them and get the benefits of online stores from the traffic on the internet. In 2024 e-commerce retail store sales reached 6.3 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide and it is expected to go even further in coming years.
Why Start an E-Commerce Business?
There are several benefits to e-commerce stores, including:
Lower overhead costs:
In comparison to a physical store, building an e-commerce website is more affordable where there's no large amount of capital is required to pay for a commercial property, its maintenance, and utility bills, instead all you need to invest in a domain name, web hosting, website, inventory and e-commerce marketing
Chance to reach a broader audience:
In a physical limited store, it is most likely that you are limiting your customers residing nearby and restricting your business to cater to a larger audience across the city or the country.
On the other hand, an e-commerce website allows you to target and reach your potential audience worldwide, all you have to do is find a professional and experienced e-commerce website developer and e-commerce marketing agency with the right strategy and implementation.
Ability to easily scale:
In the modern era where buyers' buying behavior has transformed drastically, physical store businesses rely on customer visiting their store which requires time and effort on the other hand e-commerce business does the opposite it saves time and effort and gives them time to think and analyze the product before making the purchase.
Access to customer data:
Through the advancement of technology, it is easier to collect customer data and analyze your potential audience's buying habits and demographics, to get a better understanding of the market and reduce the risk of stocking unwanted products.
E-commerce market leaders
Internet users can choose from a variety of online platforms giants to browse making comparisons on prices and features getting the most value for money according to their needs here are five top marketplaces in the world, as they are the ones the go-to place for people looking to buy anything online with most sales and with the most traffic.
Amazon
temu
Ebay
aliexpress
Shopee
Essential Guide Before Starting an e-commerce business in Australia
If you are an entrepreneur or have a brilliant idea of selling your services or products and looking forward to entering the e-commerce world in Australia, it's not too late or early as the industry is full of opportunities now, and it is the perfect time to do so.
Online Shopping has become popular all over the world due to the convenience and variety it has to offer. Australia is one of the largest markets for e-commerce in the world now with full potential and opportunities for entrepreneurs to capitalize on the market if you have a few brilliant e-commerce business ideas and start an e-commerce company.
Here's our guide on how you can start and a checklist of things to do before you start an e-commerce business in Australia today.
Before starting an e-commerce company in Australia, it is essential to comply with the law by registering your business with ASIC Obtaining an Australian Business Number and learning taxation and GST regulations to ensure compliance with the tax authorities, here are the most common licenses that you need to obtain before starting an e-commerce company in Australia
1. ASIC: Learn and Apply for ASIC
2. ABN: Learn and Apply for ABN
3.GST:Learn and Apply for GST
3. Types of E-Commerce Businesses
e-commerce businesses fall into these categories:
• Business to customer (B2C): A business-to-customer business website relies on a product, or services offered to the general audience
• Business-to-business (B2B): A business-to-business website does not sell directly to the general audience or larger public; it relies on selling to other businesses related to their products or services.
• Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): A C2C website or marketplace is the platform website where two customers can buy and sell their possessions
Steps To Start an E-Commerce Business
Define your e-commerce business idea
The first and most important decision is to decide what product you're going to sell. it is necessary to research the product its competition its demand and pricing to increase the chances of scaling your e-commerce store and making the most of the online market in Australia
Develop or source your products
If you are a manufacturer yourself and confident enough that your product is good enough to be placed in the market, another option is drop shipping if you are not a manufacturer you can also sell other manufacturers' products through your website, drop shipping has become a common e-commerce business practice done all over the world
Write a business plan
Once you have finalized the product you are willing to sell, it is important to create a business plan for what you are planning to accomplish, what will be your business goals, and how to achieve them.
• Executive summary: This is where you discuss your structure, industry, leadership team, and offerings.
• Competitor research: Competitor research is all about your competitors and their tactics.
• Product or service descriptions: Product or service descriptions explain each offer and how customers may benefit.
• Marketing and sales strategy: The marketing and sales section should describe what you’ll do to reach prospective customers and retain the ones you land
• Financial projections: Here’s where you may want to work with an accountant to estimate your pricing strategy and profit goals.
Create your e-commerce website
Before starting an e-commerce website, once you have decided to name your business, the next step is to check the availability of the domain, here are the top websites to register and host your website
• GoDaddy
• Bluehost
• Domain.com
• Namecheap
• Hostinger
Once you are through registering a domain name and hosting next step is to build e-commerce website, here are the most popular built-in e-commerce websites
• Shopify
• Woocommerce
• BigCommerce
• Wix
if you are a layman in e-commerce web development it is necessary to hire a professional e-commerce website developer to make your website fulfills the full purpose and functions of a good e-commerce website or e-store, and well-optimized with high page load speed and your full inventory is placed with the right details.
Create your Brand Identity
Creating a unique and attractive brand identity is essential to attract your audience to lure them to explore your website and search for the product they are looking for, creating a brand identity requires creating a brand kit consisting of a logo, color themes, and fonts
Although any person can create a brand kit by themselves as it does not require a person to be technically qualified or certified to do with many creative tools available on websites free ones and paid ones,
it is highly recommended to hire an e-commerce design agency due to the importance of creating the first look impression of a brand to attract the audience to explore your offerings.
Design agencies in Australia can easily be found through search engines by searching relevant keywords such as "e-commerce web design Perth" or finding companies through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Create Marketing Plan
As the number of e-commerce companies emerges every day and so is the competition, almost every other product in this modern era has a high number of competitors offering similar products and most probably at similar prices.
It is highly recommended to hire a professional e-commerce marketing specialist to make sure your business is in the right hands and your efforts and money are placed in the right place.
Hiring a professional e-commerce marketing agency is essential due to their valuable knowledge about placing your products or services at the best e-commerce platform in Australia to create better chances of showcasing your products to the most relevant audience which will convert into paying customers.
Finding a professional e-commerce marketing agency is essential and is not as hard as many might think, search engines could be the most important platform to find an e-commerce marketing agency through searching by relevant keywords such as " e-commerce agency Sydney," or"e-commerce marketing agency"
1: Social media marketing
Social media marketing is the most popular marketing platform due to its 5.07 billion active users globally
Social media marketing is not restricted to just Meta Platforms such as Facebook/Instagram other social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, and LinkedIn are also great and widely used platforms by advertisers and e-commerce marketing agencies. A good ROAS for Facebook Ads is typically between 200% and 400% However, it all depends on the target audience, every digital marketing agency has its own experience of utilizing the best platform to showcase its products to convert traffic into paying customers.
2: Google Ads
Google Ads offers multiple types of campaigns from Payperclick (PPC), Display Campaigns (On Google Platforms and partner platforms such as websites and applications, Performance campaigns (Only Google Platforms), and Video Marketing YouTube
Any e-commerce business needs to advertise on Google platforms to create its brand recognition and brand value as Google ads are the best platform to use for short-term and long-term goals.
According to statistics and research a good and well-optimized Google campaign can provide 200% ROAS or in some cases, businesses may aim even higher than 400%.
Remember, Google found that companies could earn an average return of $8 for every $1 spent on the Google Search Network it all depends on the product and e-commerce marketing agency if they can fully utilize the Google advertisement platform.
3: Search Engine Optimization:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) operates opposite from paid ads it depends on the authority of your website the higher the authority of your website is the higher the amount of organic visitors/traffic an e-commerce store will get from the web when they are searching for a product/services matching your offerings.
E-commerce SEO services can do wonders connecting e-commerce stores to millions of traffic depending on the demand, Any website's Authority gains through On-Page, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO
Many Businesses have thrived through SEO activities as it produces most organic traffic, People who are actively searching for a thing you are offering such as "e-commerce agency Sydney" or "e-commerce marketing services" without spending large amounts of money on digital marketing
4: EMAIL MARKETING:
Email marketing is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to reach and keep your customers informed about your company's latest offerings.here is the blog on six types of email marketing Campaigns your company needs
Here are the top email marketing ROI statistics for 2024
• Email generates $42 for every $1 spent
• Mobile devices account for about 60 percent of email opens
• 64% of small businesses use email marketing to reach customers
• 89% of marketers use email as the primary channel for generating leads
• 82% of marketers worldwide use email marketing
• 99% of email users are checking their email daily
• Professional marketers have found a 760% increase in revenue from building email lists and using email campaigns
• Half of the world’s population has an email address resulting in 4.3B accounts globally
• 4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing
Top 10 Best Email Marketing Platform Picks
Best for Platforms
• Mailchimp
• ConvertKit
• Omnisend
• AWeber
• Moosend
• Brevo
• Mailerlite
• klaviyo
Final Thoughts on Starting An E-Commerce Business.
Starting an E-commerce business can be very profitable as there are many success stories to get inspired from as long as you make the right decisions choose the right product choose the right audience and implement a successful marketing plan on the right platforms it can be a profitable venture. With the above tips and tricks kept in mind, you’re ready to launch a successful eCommerce business.