All you need to know about having an e-Commerce brand website.
An e-Commerce website or mobile commerce is dramatically changing the way brands reach and engage with their customers. It is a sales channel which allows your business to sell products and services directly to your customer.
Customers can browse through your products and collections, be notified as and when you add your new collections and can place orders from the convenience of heir homes or from anywhere in the world with any device in their hands as long as they have internet connectivity. Customers can also pay directly through your ebsite or opt for cash on delivery.
Increasing number of consumers prefers making purchases online and avoids the hassles of going to the stores through the never-ending traffic and save some precious time. They prefer to spend that little extra time with their loved ones.
Initially when Amazon launched in India they charged 7% commissions on apparels and accessories but currently, they charge around 19%. I don’t think so you need to be Sherlock Holmes to crack the pattern.
These marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra etc. are no doubt a great place to promote and sell your products but as they have the upper hand in this relationship, at times you are completely left at their mercy. You never know when they will suspend your selling privileges or de-list your brand.
Today, when a customer buys a product from any marketplace, say amazon.in, they don’t tend to remember the brand of the product but just the fact that they bought it from Amazon. It is very difficult to make loyal customers when you are selling your products through marketplaces. With increasing competitiveness in every marketplace it is very difficult to create brand loyalty but having a brand web-store definitely allows you to engage with your customers and create an impression in their minds which results in strong brand loyalty.
It takes a lot of effort and time to get customers to your brand store but eventually it makes a lot of difference. By now I think you understand the importance of having your own brand store, if not, here are few more reasons:
- An eCommerce store can be set up in less than 21 days.
- The initial investment to set up your own store can be as less as 1950 per month.
- There was a time when payment integration with your website took more than a month, but now it can be done with a few clicks.
- You don’t have to worry about haggling with logistics providers to deliver your products to your customers on time. You have easy integrations with a lot of logistics providers such as FedEx, Delhivery, BlueDart etc. and that too they come to your doorstep to pick up the products and also provide cash on delivery facilities.
- You might have experienced this – you have visited a website and browsed through a product and till eternity you see it following you where ever you go. Through your web-store, you can also be that creepy guy. You can easily run these ads across the web through Facebook and Google and can promote your brand easily through them because it comes pre-integrated with your web-store.
Do you need any more reason to have your own e-Commerce online web-store? You must be definitely wondering how is all this possible?
What is Shopify?
Shopify is the most popular choice among the customers to set up their online store. Shopify is an all in one web-based platform that allows entrepreneurs to run their own online store. It is used by businesses to set up online shops that can sell almost anything.
Why Choose Shopify Platform?
Everything in one place-Selling your products in many places should be every bit as simple as selling in one. With Shopify’s e-commerce software, you get one unified platform to run your business with ease.
Features of Shopify
- Shopify is easier to use than any other eCommerce platform
- It constantly adds free new features to help you sell and reach your market more effectively.
- Excellent built-in SEO is integrated into Shopify.
- It includes a great blogging system to create blog posts and share them with the world.
- Shopify has built-in coupon codes.
- Sites from Shopify allow for unlimited SKUs.
- It gives you clear and easy to understand e-commerce analytics
Fully customizable website, online store, and blog
1. 100+ professional themes
2. Uniquely brand and customize your online store
Every template comes with its own intuitive settings so can quickly and easily customize every facet of a storefront.
3. Mobile commerce ready
Shopify store includes a built-in mobile commerce shopping cart. Customers can browse and buy from the store using any mobile phone or tablet.
4. Edit HTML and CSS
Shopify provides full access to the HTML and CSS of your store, making it easy to customize every aspect of your website.
5. Your own domain name
Use your own domain name, or purchase one through Shopify.
6. Web-based website builder
Shopify online store comes with a full-featured content management system.
7. Full blogging platform
Publish and categorize articles, create look-books, encourage discussion, and moderate comments on your Shopify blog.
Marketing & SEO
1. Search engine optimized
Help potential customers find your store using search engines. Shopify supports SEO best practices like customizable H1, title, and Meta tags.
2. Product reviews
Engage your customers and encourage sales with the option to leave SEO-friendly product reviews on your website.
3. Dynamic sitemap.xml creation
Your sitemap.xml is automatically generated with your products, web pages, and blog posts.
4. Email marketing
Notify your customers of upcoming sales or new products with the MailChimp email marketing app.
5. Discount codes and coupons
Run sales and promotions by offering coupon codes that save customers money. You choose whether the discount is for amount off, percentage off, free shipping, etc.
6. Sell on Facebook
Your Facebook fans can browse your products and make a purchase directly from Facebook.
7. Gift cards
Your customers are able to purchase a gift card for someone from your store, or you can use gift cards as store credit.
8. Social media integration
All Shopify websites include social media integration, such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr.
How does Shopify Works?
1. Add Product Categories/Collections
Import/Export
Import or export your products using CSV files, or one of Shopify’s importer/exporter apps. There’s no limit to the number or type of products you can sell in your online store
Multiple Images
Shopify allows to add multiple images for your products so you can show off your product from all angles.
Product organization
Organize products by category, type, season, sale, and more. Use smart collections to automatically sort products based on vendor, price, and inventory level.
Product variations
Offer different variations of your products, such as multiple sizes, colors, materials, and more. Each variation can have its own price, SKU, weight, and inventory.
- Premium Themes Installation & Customization
100+ professional themes available under Shopify – Choose the appropriate Theme & Customise accordingly
- Create Content Pages e.g, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service etc.
4. Add-Ons (Shopify App Store)
Shopify provides the platform and all the core features and offers hyper-specialized products that plugin seamlessly to Shopify’s platform.
Few of best Add-Ons:
- MailChimp(an awesome email marketing company)
- Product Reviews– automates review collection and posts it on the site
- Sales Pop by Beeketing– Boost Sales
- Kit– Drive more Sales by
- Creating Facebook and Instagram ads that deliver sales
- Sending personalized ‘thank you’ emails to generate repeat purchases
- Promote new or back-in-stock products to customers
- Payment Gateway Integration
Shopify supports all Popular payment methods in India
- Checkout settings, shipping configuration
- Social media integration (Sales Channel)
Shopify has made it very easy to sell across different channels and platforms, in particular via Facebook using the Shopify Facebook App. In addition, they also offer capabilities to sell on other platforms, like Twitter, and Pinterest. All of this is essential to help online stores increase their potential audience and grow sales numbers.
- Newsletter Popup
- Set up Free Apps to make store Profitable
- Setup Domain for Store
- Set up Shipping & Tax rate
You can add additional tax rate and Shipping rate.
Other Features of Shopify
1. Analytics
Shopify’s analytics and reports help to learn about your sales and customers in great detail.
Dashboard
An actionable dashboard of your sales, orders, and traffic helps you make the right choices for your business.
Product reports
Analyze and gain insight into your store’s growth. See which products are selling — and which ones aren’t.
Export reports
Reports can be exported for further analysis in your favourite spreadsheet tool, or can be sent to your bookkeeper or accountant.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics works with your online store, so you can track sales, visits, and referrals.
Traffic/Referral reports
See where your visitors come from, and how they found your online store.
- Mobile App Order fulfillment
Capture payments and fulfill orders right from your phone. Send shipping notifications from the post office.
Mobile dashboard
Quickly see items that need your attention, and track trends in your business.
Manage inventory
Add products, take a product photo, change a price, or manage inventory – all from your phone.
Email or call customers
Look up customer profiles and instantly reach out through email or phone.
All your data synced with Shopify
Your products, inventory, orders, and customers are automatically synced between the Shopify app and your online store.
24/7 customer support
· Dedicated support team
· Discussion forums
· Shopify Experts
Shopify is a good solution for those looking to create an online store. It’s typically considered an easier alternative to professional e-commerce solutions.
Conclusion:
Now that we’ve taken a look at a few handy Shopify features, it’s important to test them out.