The increase in consumer demand for online services and transaction will fuel the future revenue growth therefore it is essential for businesses to be ready for a change and move their business to an online platform where they are able to have effective digital marketing to attract current and future costumers. Starting an ecommerce shop is hard work and requires many steps and decisions that need to come together at the right time. (Lazazzera, 2016) As technology and consumer trust in online shopping grows, it is a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs to come into place and starting building their online businesses. Ecommerce is the most popular business trend in our futuristic society, we now live in a world where internet is found everywhere it such process to send payments online to purchase any kind of goods of our desire. (Rocheleau, 2016)

eCommerce businesses can differentiate a lot form normal retails shops, it can bring several advantages and disadvantages for the marketplace. One of the biggest benefits of setting up an ecommerce business is that, as mentioned previously, there is low start-up costs, business owners can buy a domain and obtain hosting for less than £100. Also, the internet never sleeps, by this said, ecommerce business are 24/7 opened, a ecommerce owner can be making sales and profits while he sleeps or is on vacation. (Truex, 2016) However, ecommerce also faces a lot of challenges, there is a fierce competition out there and as a new business, it can be difficult to gain a share of the marketing from existing business. Another disadvantage of ecommerce business, is that the consumer needs to trust the website, consumers are wary of businesses they haven’t done business with or haven’t been referred to. They are more likely to stick with businesses they know. (Truex, 2016) Many consumers will research or wait to see what others think about the ecommerce shop before spending money. Another key thing to consider is the technical issues ecommerce shops can have. Websites can stop working for a variety of reasons and some are easier to fix than others. Until issues are fixed, the site is down or not working, which impacts sales. Therefore, it is essential to study these issues before setting up the business online. (Khurana, 2016)

An excellent way to attract customers straight away is using influencer marketing; it will help you increase your consumer reach and bottom line. Why? Because 45% of online consumers go to social media before making purchases, while 88% of consumers trust online recommendations over what a brand has to say about a product. So find the right influencers—YouTubers, fashion bloggers, etc. and start building a relationship with them now. (Shuey, 2016)

There are important steps to consider when setting up the business: (Rocheleau, 2016)

Registering a Domain

The domain name is the web address on the Internet and the first step to setting up a website. The most important thing to consider at this stage is the domain name, it has to reflect to the business, preferably a memorable and easy to spell name so that visitors can find the website with ease. (Dunsby, 2015)

Web Hosting

A website hosting is a computer or set of computers which stores all the websites data. There are many things to consider at this stage and choosing the right hosting package is important for a couple of reasons:

• Website Speed – Hosting the website in the same country your selling can have impact on how quickly the website loads however if the target consumers are from outside the country it is likely that the website will be slow therefore more investment have to be make to make the website effective.
• Uptime and Performance – The host has to be efficient and keep the website running at all times. If website spends half of the time offline, then the business will not be taking any orders.

Also, before making a final decision, there are different types of web hosting. The business can either purchase a third-party hosted ecommerce solution which manages hosting on the websites behalf or they can manage their own hosting however this will be more technical and more expensive because it would be needed an expert, equipment and access to high speed internet which turn outs more expensive. (Dunsby, 2015) Below there are a couple of affordable UK hosting providers:

1&1 and 123-reg offers third party hosted solution whereas the rest are personalized web hosting, We can see that both type of solutions are relatively the same price therefore it is recommended that the personalized web hosting is used.

Website Design & eCommerce Platform

A website design can have a huge impact on how often website visitors purchase. According to Jonathan Lacoste (2015), personalization is key to successful marketing–73 percent of consumers prefer to do business with brands that personalize their shopping experiences and 86 percent say personalization plays a role in their buying decisions. Using an ecommerce platform to manage the sales is also essential to make the business effective. An ecommerce platform manages all the products, purchases and checkout processes. It basically manages the whole technical part operating the website. To set up the ecommerce business and to minimize start up costs there are a few solutions that can be used, for instance: (7)

• Shopify (shopify.com) – Shopify is the most common website builder in the market. It is suitable to small business all the way up to larger stores that sell millions of pounds. Here are some key highlights about Shopify:
  • Over 1000 website templates to design the website.
  • Over 1500 apps to add to the store to extend functionality
  • 24/7 support.
  • Qualified experts available for hiring for hiring if complex customization     of the website is needed.
  • Prices: £25 a month for basic Shopify or 80£ for normal Shopify pricing plan.

• Wix (wix.com) – Wix is a “pure” drag and drop website builder. It enables to drag and drop any content anywhere on your website. It is a kind of a more freedom and simples website builder, it is less advanced than Shopify however it is best suited for users who want simpler store configurations and less sophisticated requirements. Basically, this platform is ideal for people that will not be selling “thousands” of products. In regards to pricing, it is way cheaper than Shopify. The basic subscription is 10£ a month and the most complex Wix plan is only 21£ a month.

Setting up an online ecommerce store is not an easy task. From choosing a product, evaluating viability and sourcing, to building, launching and growing sales. However, with dedication, research and time it is worth starting a small business in the online world. Also it opens doors to new entrepreneurs – or by other words, any entrepreneur at all. Ecommerce helps to eliminate trading and business barriers given that anyone at any time can create and adjust their business.

If you have difficulties in building an eCommerce platform, have a look at this following video that shows some easy steps to create an attractive online platform:

References

Richard Lazazzera (2016) “Ecommerce Business Blueprint: How To Build, Launch And Grow A Profitable Online Store” Shopify [Online] Available at https://www.shopify.co.uk/blog/14459769-ecommerce-business-blueprint-how-to-build-launch-and-grow-a-profitable-online-store [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Jake Rocheleau (2016) “Ultimate Guide To Setting Up Your First Online Shop” HongKiat [Online] Available at http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/setting-up-your-first-online-shop/ [Accessed 12th April 2017]
Leslie Truex (2016) “Pros & Cons of Starting an eCommerce Business” Small Business [Online] Available at http://smallbusiness.chron.com/pros-cons-starting-ecommerce-business-775.html [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Ajeet Khurana (2016) “Advantages and Disadvantages of Ecommerce” The Balance [Online] Available at https://www.thebalance.com/ecommerce-pros-and-cons-1141609 [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Megan Dunsby (2015) “E-commerce website: How to start an online business” Startups [Online] Available at http://startups.co.uk/e-commerce-website-how-to-start-an-online-business/ [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Brent Gleeson (2014) “3 Steps To Launch Your First eCommerce Website” Forbes [Online] Available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2014/09/05/3-steps-to-launch-your-first-ecommerce-website/#5992a97d994d [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Jonathan Lacoste (2016) “3 Digital Marketing Trends” Inc ONLINE Available at https://www.inc.com/jonathan-lacoste/3-digital-marketing-trends-retail-ecommerce-2016.html   [Accessed 12th April 2017]

Greg Shuey (2016) “2017 Digital Marketing Predictions For eCommerce Businesses” Stryde ONLINE Available at https://www.stryde.com/2017-digital-marketing-predictions-ecommerce-businesses/ [Accessed 12th April 2017]