I’ve been in the e-commerce business for about ten years now, and I’ve met a lot of e-traders.

Today, with the development of e-commerce, a number of people are starting to sell on the Internet because they think it’s an Eldorado. A way to make a quick buck.

What they forget, however, is that e-commerce is a profession in its own right, and one that needs to be learned.

Setting up a store requires a wide range of skills: logistics, webmarketing, customer/supplier relations, social network management, natural search engine optimization…

Managing an e-commerce site is an all-round job. It’s a job that can be difficult, but so interesting and captivating!

The aim of this article is to present e-commerce in all its details, to help aspiring e-merchants understand the adventure that being an e-merchant represents, and the basics to acquire in order to launch a successful e-commerce business.

What is e-commerce? Definition and characteristics
How does e-commerce work?
E-commerce (also known as electronic commerce or online commerce) is a business practice that links the consumer with the merchant via the Internet and new technologies.

The purchaser buys a good or service on the web: the transaction is therefore digital and does not require a physical meeting between the two entities, from the moment the Internet user discovers the product through to delivery.

Online store, social media, mobile application, marketplace… Numerous commercial platforms enable these digital commercial exchanges.

According to Statista, e-commerce worldwide is expected to generate nearly $7 trillion by 2024!

History of e-commerce
E-commerce emerged in the 1980s on the initiative of inventor Michael Aldrich, with the idea of shopping from home via a remote network.

The Minitel then revolutionized digital transactions, before the arrival of the Internet in the home.

In the 2010s, the arrival of smartphones, or connected mobiles, changed all that: access to the Internet became permanent, in every aspect of daily life. E-commerce has developed, both on computers and mobile devices (known as m-commerce).

Physical retailing is losing market share to online sales, which have become complementary, if not indispensable, for traditional retailers.

What’s the difference between e-commerce and e-business?
E-business is the sector representing all commercial areas on the Internet, mostly linked to a notion of financial transaction. As such, e-commerce is a sub-section of e-business.

E-commerce is a form of e-business, which can be found alongside hotel reservations over the Internet, the purchase of train tickets on a tablet or even property rental via an application, for example.

What are the different forms of e-commerce?
Depending on the type of transaction and target, e-commerce can be categorized into different forms.

B2B, business-to-business Internet sales

“Business to Business” defines an online sales company that will address professional customers, either for the sale of items or for the provision of services. This is the case, for example, between a carrier such as UPS or DHL and online sellers, or when a professional uses the services of an agency.

B2C, the commercial exchange between professionals and private individuals

“Business to Consumer” defines sales between a professional and an individual consumer, as in the sale of products to the general public (supermarkets, for example).

C2B, an exchange between private individuals and companies

“Consumer to Business” is a transaction of goods and services between a private individual and a professional, such as the sale of photographs taken by “amateurs” and then sold to image banks.

C2C, transactions between private individuals

“Consumer to Consumer” is a transaction scheme between private individuals and private individuals, as in the sale of second-hand products, or the exchange of home services, for example.

These types of services have prompted professionals in the field to come up with different sales schemes, and therefore several business models: selling one’s own products, dropshipping (selling without stock), affiliation, selling on a marketplace, selling online services, and so on.

What are the advantages of e-commerce?
Throughout the life of an online store, a wide range of advantages and means of development are available to the company.

Launching an e-commerce business is first and foremost a way of expanding beyond a specific geographical area, from local to national or even international.

E-commerce doesn’t require premises or physical sales support to receive the public: it’s therefore less expensive than traditional retail.

Thanks to marketing tools and technological levers, it’s possible to promote one’s sales space faster and with greater precision than with traditional methods.

As data is constantly processed, target and result analysis is highly accurate, maximizing the chances of success.

Unlike a physical store, an e-commerce site is open 24/7, enabling the seller to provide customers with access to their products and services regardless of time or place. A conversion rate that can be much higher on e-commerce sites!

What is an e-commerce site?
E-commerce uses all Internet media to operate.

A seller (professional, private or institutional) publishes an advertisement for the sale of a good or service on a digital platform or e-commerce site.

The buyer is either already interested in this type of content, or discovers it while browsing the web, on search engines, on social media or following an online or offline recommendation.

The consumer interested in the good or service will proceed to purchase via a purchase tunnel, choosing one of the payment methods offered on the sales platform, and will then receive his order at the address of his choice.

How to set up an online store and get started?
Today, it’s possible to sell products and services through a variety of channels, including social shopping and marketplaces. To get started in professional e-commerce, you need to create your own website and choose a suitable e-commerce solution.

Before you start selling online, there are a few steps you need to take to ensure an optimal plan of action.

Analyze the market and the competition
When you decide to go into distance selling, you need to know the market you’re planning to enter, and that means knowing the sector and your competitors.

This advice will enable you to understand the gaps to be filled, the best practices and also the pricing policies of your competitors: an essential step!

Draw up a solid business plan
This is a comprehensive document that will enable you to lay the foundations of your business and your future development.

Market, competition, strengths and weaknesses, forecasts… This key document will set your course and enable you to apply for funding or recruit partners.

Choose the best e-commerce solution
To support your success, your business needs to be based on a suitable, foolproof e-commerce platform.

WiziShop is a high-performance SaaS e-commerce solution: user experience, natural referencing, unlimited AI, speed and efficiency… This online tool enables all e-commerce entrepreneurs to generate sales and therefore turnover quickly, without the e-merchant needing to know how to code, and without having to worry about website maintenance!

Create your brand and its universe (design, branding, NDD, etc.)
Once you’ve determined your development plan, you need to define your brand identity.

Once you’ve analyzed your competition, selected your products and chosen your target market, let your creativity do the work of creating your visual identity. Logo, colors, style, design, domain name… Draw, write, experiment or get help from professional graphic designers!

Put your products online (product sheet content, photos, videos, etc.)
Your WiziShop site is now up and running: start your business by adding your products to your administration area and filling in all the boxes.

High-quality product photos, detailed descriptions, explanatory videos… Add as much information as possible to create your catalog and present your products effectively.

Set up your store (terms and conditions, payment methods, etc.)
The technical parameters of your store must be properly configured in the administration space of your CMS to ensure an optimal user experience and online sales in compliance with French legislation.

Paypal, Stipe, Amazon Pay, etc. dozens of solutions are available on WiziShop, included in your subscription!

Build a marketing strategy
To attract the maximum number of customers in France, Europe and even worldwide, and build customer loyalty, you need a solid marketing plan.

Search engine optimization, Google Shopping, social networks, traditional communication… What levers will you choose to make your store known and boost your sales?

Get started!
All your plans drawn up, all your products online, all your motivation at its peak: it’s time to launch!

Your job will then be to monitor all your activities effectively, to offer the best possible service to sell more and more, and to create a sustainable online business.

How to create a successful online store?
The experience I’ve gained over many years in e-commerce enables me to share with you the best advice for your success. I’ve put together a list of the 10 key elements you need to know and put in place in order to become an expert in online sales and stay in this exciting business.

Invest time and money in your e-commerce business
Invest money:

If you want to do everything, you can learn a lot, improve your skills and save money. But you can’t master all the skills required for e-commerce on your own. You need to delegate: there are online micro-services platforms that can support you in your venture (5euros.com, fiverr…).

Distance selling is difficult! When a physical store opens, if it’s well placed, it will have natural traffic (passers-by in the street) from day one, whereas your e-commerce site will have very few visitors in the first few days.

So, whether you choose to sell locally or around the world, it’s clear that investing in your site from the outset, and even more so afterwards, to generate daily traffic, should be a priority for you.

Time investment:

Your schedule as an e-tailer will then be very full, but all your investments will pay off. You need to know your priorities: you need to be productive and organized.

Make to-do lists, do task after task, and cross off tasks once they’ve been completed. Free applications such as Trello or Todoist can help. But above all, be patient and passionate!

Make your site look professional

Your site must inspire confidence. It must reassure the buyer.

To organize everything, you need to display solid reassurance elements. Here are just a few of the things you need to know to make your site look professional:

Display your contacts and after-sales service
Have a contact page, legal notice, terms and conditions
Create a “Who we are” page
Categorize your products effectively and make them easy to find – visitors need to be able to find what they’re looking for.
Use high-quality visuals showing the item from every angle
Use video to present your products
Display that the item is in stock on the product page, along with the estimated delivery date
etc.
Stand out from your competitors
You need to entice consumers to buy from you.

To do this, conduct market research before creating a site, then invest time and energy in establishing a unique brand image.

To start with, offer an optimal user experience: let’s be honest. If you had a choice between 2 sites: one offering free delivery and the other offering free delivery and returns. Which would you buy from?

Also, be available by e-mail or telephone. Your priority must be your customer.

Have a real long-term strategy
If you’re serious about launching a site, it’s going to take time and money, and you need to have a long-term plan.

This will give you a clearer vision of your site, and make it easier to develop.

Don’t depend on a single source of traffic
Ideally, your traffic sources should be diverse and varied.

For example: 20% referral sites (other sites that talk about your site), 20% Google Ads, 30% SEO, 20% Facebook Ads, 10% marketplaces. This is just an example: it’s up to you to determine your priorities according to your target market.

Work on your SEO before launching your site
SEO remains one of the surest sources of traffic, and is above all the most profitable: in the long term, once your pages are properly positioned, you’ll be able to showcase your content without having to spend a lot of money.

Here’s a simple, step-by-step SEO checklist to implement before launching your site:

Start a blog on which you’ll write articles related to your theme
Select keywords to work on the e-commerce site – opt for keywords with low competition but a decent search volume
Fill in the title and H1 tags of all your category and product pages…
Create unique product descriptions
Allow between 3 and 6 months for these different stages. It all depends on the depth of the catalog you’re adding.

Create a checklist and a marketing plan
With your checklist, you’ll list all the actions you’ll need to determine for the launch of your online sales site, and even afterwards. You’ll create a checklist to organize your ideas, as well as a marketing plan. You can get started with the e-commerce checklist , which you can customize to suit your business.

The marketing plan will be your compass for where you need to go. The preparation phase is just as important as following through.

You need to respect the rules
Becoming a micro-entrepreneur is easy on the Internet, so to be in order and give confidence to your service providers, suppliers and above all customers, you need to create your business quickly.

On your site, you must display a pop-up for RGPD cookies, send the invoice to the customer after placing an order. And there are many other legal obligations you need to know inside out.

You need to respect the rules
Becoming a micro-entrepreneur is easy on the Internet, so to be in order and give confidence to your service providers, suppliers and above all customers, you need to create your business quickly.

On your site, you must display a pop-up for RGPD cookies, send the invoice to the customer after placing an order. And there are many other legal obligations you need to know inside out.

Be patient, motivated and passionate!
You absolutely mustn’t get discouraged! One day you’ll be making the best sales you’ve ever made, and the next day you’ll be making €0! Take the long view, not the day-by-day view, or you’ll get discouraged.

E-commerce is a huge and exciting field that opens doors to all passionate professionals.