Be a Merchant-Pro in Online Shopping!

You like this snapshot of the baby right? The idea of buying stuffs with just one click is so tempting, it has made a huge difference for shopaholics these days. Especially if you’re the type who doesn’t like putting your pants on and go strolling in the mall with an indefinite schedule.

E-commerce or shopping sites are saving tons of time for people who would rather take care of their needs whilst sitting in the comfort of their homes.So why not grab this opportunity and put it in paper (in this case the web) your next big product.If you think you’re meant to be a merchant, grab your pen & paper and start jotting down notes.

What’s the merit of having an online shop?

If you’re catching up on the latest human lifestyle, nothing beats the comfort that an online shop offers. There are 2 reasons why it’s a big deal:

1. You can never have another chance to sell on a broader, wider market.

We’re talking about the ends of the earth here. As long as there’s internet connectivity in that place, rest assured, you can reach them with just a click of a button.

2. It’s low-cost & cost-effective altogether when you compare it to the idea of an actual, stand-up shop.

An online store by structure is completely the same as your favorite shop downtown minus the utilities, shop lease, multiple staff & bulky racks. We’ll tell you more about it in the next few minutes with an explanation and concrete examples.

Before that, I’d like to share a survey about the projected growth of Electronic Commerce and how fast the market is growing.

According to emarketer.com, there will be a Worldwide Ecommerce Sales Increase that would be nearly 15% in 2015
– See more at: http://www.emarketer.com

reference here.

And because I love things by two’s, there are also

2 ways you can open your online store

1. EC: using a Marketplace

– If you’re not confident in promoting yourself online, its better to think about having a shop in the marketplace.
Marketplace – is an online shop platform that gathers merchants to sell using their medium. They already have a customized template design to choose from and the system is already laid out for the users & merchants subsequently. So all you have to do is register. Plus, they have a Customer Service Support that can assist you if you have any troubles or concerns.
The biggest merit of being a part in a marketplace is the overwhelming scope of users. Many shoppers are already in the market so you don’t have to advertise and promote yourself excessively because the platform does it for you. Some of the biggest names are Ebay, Etsy and Amazon. So for example, if you have an attractive product, shoppers can easily search it so you can sell it fast.
But on the other hand, like all businesses they will charge you with a transaction fee (Amazon rate: 12-15%, EBay rate: 10%, Rakuten [Japan’s Top Online Shop platform] 5-10%). Consequently with regards to the customer database, legally the marketplace owns them. Part of agreeing to their Terms & Condition, many mp’s ban or restrict their merchant users to post direct links in forums, chats and other websites.

Yahoo Japan Shopping who is more advanced and one of the first to embrace the idea of online shopping has changed their transaction fee from 10% to 0% starting October 2013 so it was beneficial to online merchants. They allowed users to link Yahoo shopping Url to their personal accounts. Merchants can also access the customer database publicly and they are the only online marketplace to do so up-to-date. The only downside is that they can’t customize their own design/shop template.

2. EC: creating your personal website.

– If you have a vivid idea on how to make and manage your own website then all it will cost you (at first) is a domain name, shopping cart software and payment system. It would also be more profitable having a strong knowledge about online marketing and how to promote yourself. This will enable you to personalize your design, product processing and marketing enhancement. Possibilities can be endless.
A lot of companies offer different types of shopping cart system which can enable you to have an online shop easier. You can use Content Management system (CMS) to create your website easily. They also provide shopping cart and payment system including credit card, promotional codes, loyalty program, mail magazine system and CRM (customer relationship management). Using this shopping cart tool includes everything needed to run an E-commerce site. E.g. The most popular Online shopping cart software in the US is Shopify.

[Shopify just got listed last april 14 2015] Read more. You can refer here for more options.
[MakeShop, ShopServe] are also some of the big names in the Japanese market.