It is easy to look at the success of ecommerce even during COVID-19 and to decide that starting your own online store is an easy way to make money. While there is certainly the potential for success with ecommerce, it is also important to understand that it is fiercely competitive, hard to get your name out there and challenging to get people to take a chance on your store.

Ecommerce Businesses on the Rise

Banner printing specialists instantprint conducted research that revealed that nearly half a million new businesses were registered in 2020 and it was retail sales (online and mail-order houses) that were the most popular with 22,011 new registrations. The pandemic has led many to reflect on their livelihoods and explore new opportunities, plus many people will have been out of work or potentially looking to supplement their income.

Changing Consumer Habits

COVID-19 also changed people’s buying habits in 2020 with a huge increase in online shopping and bulk buying. People who previously did not shop online were forced to and many people starting buying items online that they previously bought in-store, so it seems that the market is in a strong position right now and ecommerce is expected to continue to flourish even with lockdown restrictions easing.

Starting an Online Store

Starting an online store is relatively straightforward, but finding success in a competitive industry like this is tough. As with any new business, there are a few steps that you need to take first such as market research, writing a business plan, securing funding and registering the business.

Finding Success

The key is to sell products that are currently trending and not too niche so that you can target a large group, such as health and fitness products or clothing. You also need to make sure that you choose a good platform for your ecommerce store and provide high-quality product details. 

Attracting Customers

In terms of attracting customers to your business, social media is key and can make it much easier to compete with more established online stores. You need to create a strong following by creating and sharing high-quality and useful content for your target customer, engaging with followers and keeping people updated with the store. You also need to make customer service a priority and make it easy for people to reach you whether this is live chat on the website, social media, email or phone. 

It is understandable that people are looking to start their own online stores looking at the success of ecommerce. Setting up an online store can be straightforward enough, but success will not fall on your lap and you need to be willing to put the time, money and energy into getting your online store out there and to start attracting customers.