Start An Ecommerce Retailing Business
About
Starting an ecommerce retailing business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell ecommerce retailing, or selling ecommerce retailing online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start an ecommerce retailing business ➜
Key stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Office Space Expenses | $750 | $7,000 |
| Employee & Freelancer Expenses | $151 | $352 |
| Equipment & Supply Expenses | $500 | $5,000 |
| Website Costs | $303 | $7,215 |
| Business Formation Fees | $5,600 | $20,400 |
| Inventory Expenses | $350 | $14,750 |
| Software Expenses | $162 | $3,094 |
| Advertising & Marketing Costs | $0 | $2,250 |
| Other Expenses | $0 | $300 |
| Total Startup Costs | $7,816 | $60,361 |
Case Studies
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$2.5K/mo
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$25K/mo
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$100K/mo
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$90K/mo
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rakuten | rakuten.com | #698 |
|
Chain Store Age | chainstoreage.com | #39,600 |
|
InternetRetailing | internetretailing.net | #169,186 |
|
ECommerce Times | ecommercetimes.com | #172,954 |
|
RETAIL GLOBAL 2021 | retailglobal.com.au | #191,395 |
|
NitroSell | nitrosell.com | #223,343 |
|
IMRG | imrg.org | #243,745 |
|
RetailOps | retailops.com | #310,843 |
|
Internet Retailing | internetretailing.com.au | #336,126 |
|
Mercatus | mercatus.com | #395,634 |
|
Retailgators | retailgators.com | #446,882 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
| Ability to start your business from home | It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning! |
| Meaningful business connections | You never know who you will meet as a ecommerce retailing business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
| High customer retention rates | Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer. |
| Unlimited income potential | With starting an ecommerce retailing business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make. |
| Amazing perks and discounts | Working in the ecommerce retailing business comes with its perks! As a seller for these products/services, you typically also get to enjoy industry perks and discounts. |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
| Low margins | The gross margins for your ecommerce retailing business are typically around 45%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
| Taxes | As a ecommerce retailing business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
| You may need to charge sales tax | If you are selling your products in various states, you may be required to charge sales tax. Although this may not impact your financials specifically, it can be a headache to create a process and procedure for this. To learn more about sales tax, check out [this article](https://www.thebalancesmb.com/do-i-need-to-collect-sales-taxes-in-my-state-398913) |
| Time commitment | With starting an ecommerce retailing business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business. |
| Complex development process. | The development process for a ecommerce retailing business can be quite complex, which may cause delays and challenges when launching and growing your product. |
| Complex maintenance | Your ecommerce retailing business will require a long-term investment due to the need for updates, bug fixes, and security vulnerabilities. It's important that you (or someone on your team) stays on top of this at all times. |
Marketing Ideas
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1
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
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2
Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.
According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.
Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.
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3
Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a performance-based marketing method that allows you to show specific ads for services or products oriented to a very defined target, with the goal that the user visits your website or landing page.
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