Author: Toby Nwazor / Source: Entrepreneur According to United Nations trade and development statistics, ecommerce is worth more than $22
According to United Nations trade and development statistics, ecommerce is worth more than $22 trillion, and it’s still growing. That’s why we’re seeing a good number of online stores springing up.
Consumers have come to expect the speed, ease and convenience of ordering online; they seem to like sitting back and waiting for their merchandise to be delivered. What’s more, they don’t seem concerned about the fees they have to pay for shipping, either. Less stress in exchange for a token charge doesn’t strike them as such a bad deal.
So, yes, there’s a lot of money on the table for any aspiring entrepreneur to venture into establishing an online store. But, how does one start?
The best place to start
Fortunately, as more people venture into ecommerce, more materials are becoming available on the internet to help. Unfortunately:
- A lot of that information isn’t good.
- You’re likely to suffer from information overload.
- You’re probably be more confused than when you started out.
So, first, let’s clear about the obvious. An online store fundamentally is comprised of three components:
1. Your platform
There are many ecommerce platforms to choose from, but make sure you go with the one that is easy to set up and use. Go with something you’re comfortable with. You don’t need to have all the payment options that exist, but you still need to find out from your target audience members the type of payment method that would work best for them. For most people, the best option is to allow the use of major credit cards, and accept bank transfers as well.
2. A functioning payment gateway
When choosing a payment gateway, look out for a processor that will enhance your gateway-user experience, that promises to grow with your business and that easily integrates with your current platform. If it doesn’t offer these things, you may have to change and upgrade your platform to make use of the new payment gateways. The most important thing is…
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