Before you Start Building an E-commerce Platform, Here’s Everything you Need to Know

E-commerce, or online shopping as it is often referred to, is a concept for conducting business online, encompassing a wide range of industries such as food, fashion, and travel, and many more.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, global e-commerce sales increased by a staggering 25% in March 2020 alone. Small, medium, and large enterprises are being pushed to become online investors and hire IT firms to establish e-commerce platforms.

Have you considered upgrading your firm to internet platform development in lieu of your imposed distancing measures? This blog will cover all of the fundamentals you should be aware of before beginning an e-commerce business.

The Significance of e-commerce Growth

E-commerce generated roughly $3.5 trillion in sales in 2019 and is anticipated to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021.

Here are some of the general advantages of having an e-commerce platform for your business:

• A satisfying response that is delivered faster, smarter, and right to the customer’s door!
• Promotion with no geographical boundaries and on-going service 24/7
• Getting ready for the digital age: Enhance your Business Branding and make it fly to success by thriving among the competition!
• Authenticity can be promoted by using the power of reviews.
• Effortless marketing with the help of advertisements
• It is both cost-effective and worthwhile to invest.
• There are no rental expenses.
• Chatbots provide the best approach to communicate with customers.
• Allows you to collect and analyze data for later use.
• Assists in dealing with a variety of issues in an uncertain period.

E-Models and their Typologies

Before you start building an e-commerce platform, you should be aware that there are three key fulfillment models in e-commerce that determine the essential function of party elements ranging from the role of the merchant to distribution methods and storage regulations.

• The drop shipping model is one in which the products for sale are not physically owned by the seller. The product is not kept in stock by the business owner, and he or she is not responsible for its storage. Orders are instead transmitted directly to the manufacturer, who is in charge of keeping and sending the items to the buyer.
• Traditional Order Fulfillment Model: The traditional offline retail model is based on the business owner purchasing stock at a discounted rate directly from a wholesaler, applying a margin to each product, and deciding to deliver to customers directly.
• Outsourced Fulfillment Model: This is a hybrid technique that employs the services of a ‘fulfillment’ On behalf of the retailer, companies are tasked with handling the product side of the business. In general, they are in charge of collecting things from suppliers and delivering them to customers.

Trends in e-commerce Development

It’s critical to remain on top of the current online shopping trends. Here are the top 9 must-follow e-commerce development trends.

• Both mobile and web commerce platforms can be expensive, if you only have one option, go with mobile online shopping app development. Users said they rely on mobile first, sometimes mobile only, the most. Mobile payment services like Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Amazon Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal, and others make it easier to make purchases without having to carry about a hefty computer.
• Incorporate Animation: Oh, yes, the static screen is a thing of the past! On your online campaigns, using animation and movement attracts attention to key details and engages readers. GIFs and 360-degree product videos are preferred.
• Automation: In e-business, the use and adoption of IoT and AIML solutions help automate a variety of tasks. Automation of your customer service and fulfilment, for example, is no longer a question.
• Artificial intelligence: The biggest trend in helping brands communicate with customers is chatbots that can answer inquiries and make purchasing and return processes easier. This e-commerce trend is extremely beneficial to busy customers who require prompt responses regardless of the time of day or the platform they use to contact a business. AI enables e-commerce companies to service clients across multiple platforms at the same time.
• AR and VR (augmented reality and virtual reality): With augmented reality and virtual reality, you can control, redesign, and change your product before you buy it. allows you to personalize how individual users interact with your brand.
• Use with a single click: Your e-shop should not require any additional instructions. By pleasing busy shoppers, the user-friendly one-click method simplifies the ordering procedure and improves your user experience.
• Customers are no longer interested in “tapping” their wants since the world has become lazier. In-voice search on mobile devices became widespread thanks to Google Assistant and Alexa. Adding voice search to your e-commerce platform is well worth it because it increased visitors. What could be better than “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it,” which is exactly what image search stands for, allowing your users to look up the availability of random goods they spotted in your stores?
• Link your online purchasing to social shopping: Popular visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are constantly enhancing the ways in which online formed businesses may promote to customers in natural ways. Customers will sense more trust and security with in-app shopping modals because they will be able to purchase things without having to leave their favorite platforms.
• Due of the lack of the ability to touch the product, e-commerce relies heavily on visual appeal and presentation. The job can no longer be done by as figure. Customers must be able to experience the images given in order for them to be appealing. That is why, in e-commerce, models of all sizes, colors, and circumstances are used, making it more “genuine” by using models who resemble real people.

Make your Website/Mobile Appearance Stand Out

Honey, a badly designed website/app will get you nowhere!!

The appearance of an e-commerce domain is quite important. Without a fantastic e-commerce design, no one will consider buying from you because customer’s judge quality and taste based on their initial impression, which could lead to fewer sales.

That is why online fashion stores give their online appearance a lot of care.

Conclusion

What are you waiting for to create your own ecommerce platform now that you have all of those details? Get in touch with Elsner today!

Elsner is a top e-Commerce web development firm that specializes in creating stunning web-based e-Commerce solutions for the best online shopping experiences. Small, medium and large-scale retail businesses can benefit from our e-Commerce website development services, which include full-featured online e-Commerce store web design and custom e-Commerce web development.