The number of Internet users is now increasing, especially after the existence of quarantine and social spacing, a large number of people are resorting to using the Internet in many details of their lives. One of the areas most affected and increasing is e-commerce, and statistics have shown that the number of users of e-commerce sites has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts expect the rate of e-commerce sales to rise to 95% of purchases by 2040.
E-commerce thus accounts for the largest share of the world's market, and countries around the world are now increasingly interested in providing many sites to consumers not only local but also international. E-commerce promotes globalisation as.
The number of purchases from abroad is constantly increasing. Many countries are therefore now keen to open many online stores to increase sales from inside and outside the country.
If you're interested in this area, here's everything about the details and types of e-commerce and how to study the field well before you start it.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is an abbreviation of electronic commerce that expresses online purchasing processes around the world. The prevalence of this type of buying and selling has increased in recent decades since the advent of Amazon
The concept of e-commerce varies among merchants and shoppers. For the trader, it is about displaying his goods during different locations and following up on purchases and sales reports, and evaluating customers on the products offered, but for the shopper, it boils down to the products he is looking for on different sites and buying these products and paying the required amount.
Types of e-commerce
There are several types related to the field of e-commerce, of which you can choose the right type for the nature of your business to be displayed and divided into 6 types
1. Companies to Business to Business (B2B)
This type reflects the marketing relationship between the two companies and the trade between them and provides for the offer of one company's product to another company to increase the chances of selling products.
2. Consumer for Consumer Consumer (C2C)
In this genre, the online platform acts as a mediator among consumers so that individuals can view their products on commerce online platforms for sale to other individuals.
3. Companies to Business to Consumer Customers (B2C)
It is one of the most popular types currently prevalent and boils down to the relationship between companies and individual consumers, and this type is one of the easiest and most profitable types.
4. Consumer to Business (C2B)
The relationship is here where the consumer offers companies the services needed by companies such as photographers or logo designers.
5. Business Management (B2A)
Transactions are made through the Internet companies and administrative and government agencies as many government agencies rely on some electronic services, especially on documents, records and wages.
6. Consumer to Administration (C2A)
All electronic transactions between consumers and public and government administration and some services fall under this type such as (distance learning or education, payment of health services, payment of taxes).
Steps to create an online store
To start an online store, you should be aware of creating an online store, and you must determine whether you are the one who will create it or need to hire someone else.
If you want to know how to start designing your online store, we'll list the steps in detail with the following lines.
Step 1: Select the products your store will offer
You must first choose which products you will sell or market in your store. The process of selecting products must be done properly and accurately through which you must study the market and the target segment as many of the stores were created and then closed due to poor selection of products or the time when these products are offered, so we advise you to search well within the market and choose products that have a good demand to ensure the success of your project.
You can use some tools that help display individuals' requests and choices, such as Google Trend, and display your words with a high search rate and therefore high demand. In addition to Trend Hunter, which offers you products that have high demand around the world, you can use it to choose products.
Step 2: Choose the store's brand name
When choosing a name, you should be careful to choose a name that is easy to pronounce and stay away from difficult names that are difficult for people to pronounce and the name does not have to have enough meaning to be in the minds of customers and to remember well.
Step 3: Choose your store's hosting site
Many sites allow you to create an online store, whether free or paid.
Creating an online store requires time and great effort in searching for a domain name that is easy and unused in addition to programming science you should be familiar with it to be able to create your own site, so some websites allow you to create a site through which the easiest way all you have to do is follow some steps that these sites display to you one by one and correctly and we will ensure that you set up an electronic store in a way safe.
best online store platforms:
Shopify: One of the most popular websites for creating online stores gives you 14 free trial days. It has many features that any designer needs for its trading site and is easy to use and offers many professional features
WooCommerce: WooCommerce platform allows you to create an online store in an easy way besides it's free.
Expert Card Platform: This site is one of the leading sites in this field in Arabic and allows you a large number of ready-made templates free of charge as it helps you in the management and the movement of buying and selling
Site 123 platform: Through this site, you can set up your store for free in just three steps.
Eb2a: It is an easy-to-use site in Arabic and also has free options for transferring and storing data through it.
Salla Basket Platform: Features easy and fast store creation and free inclusion of products inside it. It also contains a large number of professional templates and payment requirements and allows you to monitor and measure the performance of your store.
Step 4: Interior design of the electronic store
After you have created the site you will start in a new phase which is the design of the internal site at this stage you must divide your site into the pages you need within it such as the product page and categories as well as the main pages such as (connect with us, know us or who we are, FAQs, terms of use and privacy policy).
This stage must be well planned because it is about convincing the customer to buy what you offer on the site so you should be careful to display all the information on the site from the product pictures and its description to be convincing to the customer.
You should also activate customer opinions, which encourages people to buy products. Studies have shown that 84% of people trust opinions to buy on the site.
Make it easier for the customer to pay and multiply, the more options the buyer has in paying the better, whether it is a cash payment at the receipt, or using multiple electronic payment cards.
Step 5: Review the website.
You should always review each step after you have finished it to check the quality of the site. Once you've created your store, the review phase comes in the final form of the site and the user experience it.
You need to make the details within the site clear to the user and urge them to purchase through the content provided to products or categories and be clear and error-free. Check the exterior of the site and its suitability with computer screens or mobile phones, and experience the site in several different browsers.
Also, make sure that there are no internal errors on the site specific to the codes, content, or images and make sure everything related to the templates and interior design of the site and if the links to the site are working properly so as not to lose your customer during his journey.
Always make sure you secure the online store to keep it away from theft attempts. It is now the case that all websites, including online stores, are required to apply the Secure Plug Layer Protocol (SSL) that provides location data and customer information.
Step 6: E-marketing of the site.
Marketing methods are numerous at the moment due to a large number of sites and the multiplicity of target segments so you must reach each segment through its preferred platform. First, a comprehensive marketing strategy should be developed that reaches a large number of target segments. Your project will not grow or reach your target customers without good marketing, so we have compiled the most popular e-marketing methods right now and how to start them.
First: social media marketing.
The most important and easiest way to market as at the moment, no one has used a social media site whatsoever. Using these sites allows you to expand and spread significantly in a good number of segments you should ensure your constant presence within these platforms.
Second: content marketing.
Content marketing requires you to be fully aware of the type of platform you want to advertise and what users of this platform prefer, so the content should attract the target segment, so we offer you a content marketing course to help you determine what type of content and platforms you should market.
Third: e-mail marketing.
This type has spread in recent times and has achieved great success so many marketers prefer to use e-mail marketing strategies to reach the target segments and communicate with the largest number of customers, so we advise you to put this plan within your marketing strategy.
Fourth: Telemarketing.
Telemarketing is one of the easiest types of marketing and reaches a very large number of targets as there is now no one who does not carry a mobile phone with him, so its costs are relatively lower than other types of marketing and the return on investment from it is high. It also allows you to follow customers and always be in touch with them.
Fifth: Improving search engines (SEO):
Improving search engines has become one of the most important and cheapest means of electronic marketing at the moment because it relies mainly on applying Google algorithms within the site to make the site leader on search engines free of charge, which helps your site reach a large number of targets and to get issued within search engines must follow some rules first such as: choose keywords, improve the user experience, create the site for search engines in addition to building external links.
You can see the search engine optimization course to understand everything related to this type of marketing.
Together, we have reached the last of the stations to create and market an electronic store. Now you have to choose and select the right platforms for you to create and launch the online store and how to market it.
