There’s a rising number of entrepreneurs whose ideal business model is the one that lets them choose any lifestyle they like, and run it on autopilot. E-commerce tends to be a fairly good answer to those desires. Whether you are a bootstrapper or an investor with some extra cash to launch a new venture, e-commerce is an easy field to get into, especially today.
With all the tools, guides and resources laid out for you, all you need is passion and a strong desire to succeed. Below are four more valid reasons why you should start an e-commerce business this year.
Worldwide e-commerce market continues to grow rapidly
According to eMarketer, global e-commerce sales are expected to reach almost $2.5 trillion by the end of 2018. The US market alone is expected to grow by somewhere between 11.6% and 16.5% from 2013 to 2018. China is expected the become the world’s 2nd largest e-commerce market with a projected $1 trillion in retail e-commerce sales by 2018, while the UK market is anticipated to generate about one-quarter of that figure.
With emerging markets rapidly entering the e-commerce game play, there’s hardly ever been a better time than now to tap into the world of online sales. The opportunities continue to grow by day.
Starting an e-commerce business is easy
Even if you are not particularly code-savvy, launching your first e-commerce website has now become intuitively simple with platforms like Shopify and Saphirea, offering a wide selection of pre-made design templates, multiple payments getaways, easy check-outs and free hosting. All you have to do is just list your products and get things cracking.
Tools for marketing, optimizing and tracking your online sales are plentiful, and get even better over time. Even if your startup costs are low, you can get up and running without breaking the bank.
Yet, the most challenging part is still identifying your ideal product and target market. Ask yourself the right questions and focus on products that have personally helped you and you feel passionate about. In this case, building up relationships with the vendors and sourcing products would come much easier.
80% of world’s population has made an online purchase at least once
Considering projected stats mention above, you can imagine that this number will continue to grow.
Now your main goal as an e-commerce business owner is to focus on building trust and credibility around your brand that results into more leads and sales. From safe and easy payment forms to content hitting your customers’ soft spots, you should commit to constant improvement to build a loyal product fan base.
Trust is the key factor of running an e-commerce business. While people clearly trust online retailers more these days, data privacy and online security are still major concerns in many buyers’ minds.
You earn as you sleep
With business process automatization being the buzzword of the moment, e-commerce has a certain “passive” appeal. You don’t need to have products in stock if you choose dropshipping your goods. Customer support is easily outsourced to international agencies and so is marketing, design, accounting and basically any other aspect of your business. You just need a domain name to sell your products globally from anywhere in the world.
As you no longer need to be physically present or have a storefront at certain location, location independence us a isssive trend among e-commerce business owners.
Ready to get started? Check out the 3 step guide to launching your e-commerce website next!