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What is E-commerce, Its importance and how it will change your business

The term e-commerce refers to the sale of goods and services over the internet by setting up an online store. It is an important part of the internet economy. In 2020, e-commerce sales worldwide reached 4.28 trillion US dollars and are projected to grow to 5.4 trillion US dollars in 2022. Globally, e-commerce online sales are projected to grow from 16.2 billion US dollars in 2015 to 20.4 billion US dollars in 2020 . The online marketplace is no longer just the domain of large retailers; millions of small and medium-sized businesses are now setting up online business to sell their products through their websites.

Table of Contents

1

Why you need to be an E-commerce business ?

Unlike Physical Stores, E-commerce is the selling and buying of goods or services over the internet. These Online Stores are becoming a popular way to do business due to the convenience it offers consumers, and the low cost for retailers. The growth of e-commerce has skyrocketed in recent years, as it is now more convenient and cost-effective than conventional retail. Ecommerce sites has made it easier for consumers to shop , and retailers to sell their products . E-commerce solutions have also improved the efficiency of retailers and lowered the cost of doing business.

 

Due to the growth of e-commerce , many small businesses have been able to start up an online business, even if they lack the capital or expertise to establish a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Unlike traditional Brick-and-Mortar businesses, E-commerce businesses can theoretically sell unlimited products on their website; as long as they have a strong fulfillment service in place. Marketing Efforts can also be easily managed with automatic collection of customer emails, with automatic segregation of the emails into different mailing lists based on their behavior.

 

Starting an Ecommerce business website only cost upwards of S$4000; a small price to pay as compared to traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Ecommerce websites are mainly categorized into B2B Ecommerce Stores and B2C Ecommerce Stores.

2

E-commerce Helps Businesses Go Global

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services through electronic systems. It has grown from a niche market to an important part of the global economy, generating trillions of dollars in annual revenue.

 

Many people are beginning to realize that the days of having to have a storefront to conduct business are quickly going away. With ecommerce business, anyone can buy or sell anything in the world; be it physical or digital products. Businesses now have the opportunity to reach people on the other side of the globe from their smartphones. E-commerce has made it easier for people to interact with other cultures and share their goods with the world.

 

There are a lot of successful e-commerce businesses in Singapore. So much so that many new startups aim to build and capture market share in this space. Enterprise Singapore, an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry is working hard to encourage more growth for e-commerce businesses here in Singapore.

3

Essentials you need for your E-commerce website.

Website Security

Website security is about protecting your website against cybercriminals, website hackers, and malicious attacks. It’s like closing and locking all of your store’s exits, hiring security guards, and installing surveillance cameras just to keep your inventory safe.

 

If anything, security is important in any website, for both buyers and sellers. This is especially true for Ecommerce websites, where you store customer data (both personal and credit card details) and where monetary transactions are made. An insecure website puts you at risk of potential decline in traffic and revenue – and it hits your brand real hard. Check out this article, where we take a deeper dive on why security is essential for every website.

Mobile Responsive Website

A responsive website is one that looks good on all devices from desktop computers to smartphones and tablets. A responsive website adjusts its layout and content based on the device being used. This means that it will look good no matter if they are visiting the website on desktop, tablet, or mobile. Some people ask why they need their websites to be mobile responsive. The answer is simple: cater to as many people as possible. Smartphones are becoming more and more prevalent in the average household and an increasing number of people are using them to surf the web and shop online.

 

There are many benefits to having a responsive website, such as:

  • Improving Conversion Rates – making your site accessible to more visitors Improving User Experience

  • Easier to cheaper to maintain and update, with a single dashboard to manage the whole website.

  • A mobile responsive website will be easier to monitor. You will be able to immediately know what’s going on with your business anytime you want, anywhere in the world.

Check out this article to know more about mobile responsiveness.

Website Loading Speed

The importance of how quickly a website loads has only increased in the past few years. With the internet being used as a primary source for information, businesses are more reliant on it than ever before. Having a slow website can cause a great deal of frustration for your customers, resulting in potential loss of sale. Think about it; you’ve invested time, money, and hard work building your E-commerce website. You then spend precious advertising dollars to marketing your website to potential buyers – only for the customer to get tired of waiting for your website to load and leave.

 

Here are some statistics for you:

  • The average internet user spends less than 20 seconds on a website.

  • 69% of people will leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

  • 54% of internet users will not return to a website that has given them a poor experience.

As you can see from the statistics, your potential customers are very quick to leave a website if it doesn’t load quickly. The faster ecommerce websites loads, the higher the chances of resulting in a sale. You’re also going to want a web host that will make sure your website doesn’t have any delay times or speed issues. The best web hosts for you are the ones who use custom-built data centers to run your website. Search engines like Google also reward fast loading websites with higher ranking on Google Search!

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Abandoned Cart Recovery is a program that allows your customers to recover their abandoned cart after they have left your website. Generally, it sends the customer a email notification with an option to recover the items they have previously added to cart. An abandoned cart Cart recovery follow-up has been statistically proven to help with conversion and boost sales! You can even create incentive coupons or gift cards for abandoned carts!

Customer Behavior Analytics

If you are a company that sells products online, your customers are the most important people to you. You want to provide them with an excellent customer experience and make it easy for them to purchase from you. How do you know your customer’s browsing behavior on your website? Which are the pages with the highest fallout rates? What products are added to their shopping cart? With so many paid marketing tools around, make sure your E-commerce website is minimally connected to one of these free data analytics services:

 

1. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is the most popular e-commerce analytics solution. It is free and easy to use, with a variety of features that can help you better understand your customers. The free version of Google Analytics offers you an incredibly detailed report on all your website’s visitors . This means that you can easily see which pages are the most popular , what content is being clicked on the most , and who your top customers are.

 

2. Facebook Pixels

Facebook Pixels is a free service that allows you to track a number of information about your visitors , including what they are looking at on your site. You can track what page a user is on , who their friends are, and even what they have been looking at just before they left your site.

 

These tracking services are free, but will require technical knowledge to install in on your website. Ask nicely and your web developers might even help you connect your website to these analytical services, free of charge!

4

Need an E-commerce Website for your business?

E-commerce websites should not be complicated to manage. With advanced features like Easy Product Management, Automated Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Multiple Payment Methods and Payment Gateway, Social Media Optimization, Smart Product Filters, our All In One E-Commerce Website Design Service is designed to provide unmatched scalability along with your business! Change product descriptions or get order notifications anywhere. Of course, it’ll come along with all the necessities we’ve mention above. Quote this blog post to get a complementary connect to Google Analytics and Facebook pixels when you decide to engage our E-commerce Web Design Service. Cheers!

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