How to Start an Online Store in 2022: 8 Simple Steps

Learning how to start an online store to sell products and services is easier than ever with plug-and-play ecommerce platforms and web builders. First, you’ll need to iron out a business concept, choose products to sell, and decide on an order fulfillment strategy. Then, select an ecommerce platform and build your website. Online stores are visual platforms, so you’ll need to have strong product pages and a marketing plan. Overall, plan to spend around $250 to set up your online store (not including products).

Shopify leads the pack among the ecommerce platforms we have tried and reviewed, being our top pick for best ecommerce platform. Shopify offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

Visit Shopify

Starting an Online Store Video Tutorial

Step 1: Choose a Business Concept

Building an online store starts with honing the idea of the products you would like to sell. Begin with selecting an overall business concept by figuring out which niche or industry you would like to focus on. This idea can come from personal interests or market opportunities.

It’s easier to target customers with a specific interest and sell products that directly appeal to them rather than offering a wide array of general merchandise. Choosing a niche will also give you a specific direction to start and make it easier to develop a strong brand. For example, a dog enthusiast might want to open an online store with dog products. However, a better business concept is to fill a market void or need, such as organic dog food specifically for pit bulls.

Pop Your Pup that create products with customers’ pet photos.

Pop Your Pup is a niche ecommerce brand that creates custom products with customers’ pet photos.

Part of starting a business is knowing the costs, drafting a business plan, and registering it. Download our e-book on how to start a business for detailed insights on budgeting and planning a new business.

Download Starting a Business eBook

Once you have an idea of what you want to sell, you need to decide how you want to sell it. You might want to

Start a dropshipping business (instead of stocking inventory)
Use a third-party fulfillment company to store inventory and fulfill orders
Develop and manufacture your own custom products
Start a private label brand
Pack and ship orders yourself

Start by thinking about the amount of time you want to invest in your ecommerce venture. How much space do you have available or are willing to obtain for storing inventory? If your online store is a side project, it may be realistic to sell and stock only a few products. Or you can only sell products that are available for dropshipping, so you don’t have to fulfill orders or pay for a third-party service.

However, if you are looking to grow your online business, you will likely want to develop custom or private label products and stock many of them yourself. This plan means having a dedicated garage, room, or storage space for managing inventory and packing orders. And, when your business takes off and you can no longer fulfill orders yourself, moving over to a fulfillment company (read our guide to the best fulfillment services).

Once you have an idea of what you want to sell and how you want to sell it, you’ll need to develop a brand. This process includes picking a company name, website, and logo. Do this early in the process of building an online store because you will need to purchase a domain name, which should either be your brand name or at least contain your brand name. For example, Away luggage brand’s website is awaytravel.com (away.com is already taken).

When choosing a domain name for your online store, be sure to:

Choose an extension (e.g., .biz, .us, and .net) that best reflects your store; .com is most common
Make it easy to spell
Keep it as short as possible

Try our business name generator if you feel stuck on deciding a name for your business. We also came up with a list of domain name ideas to help you get started.

Apply for Licenses & Trademarks

While doing your brand development, It’s also a good time to take care of the legal stuff—outline what licenses and legal protections you will need to start your business. Anyone selling products will need to obtain a resale license, also known as a reseller’s permit or sales tax ID from your state’s tax department. You will need to apply for this in each state where you have a physical presence (such as a warehouse).

If you are manufacturing or designing products, you will also want to file for a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) if your products qualify. You will also want to trademark your business name to prevent others from selling under your brand name.

Learn more about trademark costs and how to get them.

Step 2: Source Your Products Through Reliable Suppliers

Once your business plan is solid, the next step is sourcing your products. It will take some time to find the right suppliers and make sure you are satisfied with the final results. Plan to spend several months and a couple of thousand dollars requesting sample orders from different suppliers, especially if you are customizing your products in any way with a unique formula, design, and branding.

Arguably, the hardest part of starting an online store is finding a supplier you trust to deliver quality products on time and for the right price. There are a few different ways new businesses can go about finding one that is best for them.

For example, if you plan on selling on Amazon exclusively, there are popular Amazon products that can help you get started. You can start by researching what manufacturers your competitors are using. You can also request samples from many suppliers at once through Alibaba or other US-based wholesale directories. The most traditional option is to visit industry trade shows to connect with suppliers in person (more on this later).

Did you know?

Most manufacturers prefer selling to wholesalers because they purchase large volumes of products. So, when first starting out, it may be easier to find a wholesaler to work with before going straight to a manufacturer. You’ll get a slightly higher price, but much more flexible ordering terms. Read our tips on how to find wholesale suppliers for your retail business.

Research Your Competitors

To find a supplier, one of the first steps you can take is to research your competitors. Purchase a few of their products and research what is on the product label. Many of them will have the manufacturing location or other details, which you can use in a Google search. There are also smartphone apps you can download that will scan product barcodes and pull up details on the manufacturer. With your smartphone and these apps, you can gather a lot of manufacturing leads on a trip to the mall, box store, or boutique.

Connect With Manufacturers Through Alibaba

Alibaba has millions of products from thousands of manufacturers. Through Alibaba, you can find suppliers to manufacture products, build private labels, or purchase ready-made products to resell. The site is a top name in product sourcing and makes it easy to search for specific products and filter results by price, minimum order, or browse top-ranking suppliers. You can even search by image if you have a product you want to replicate.

Remember: Manufacturing your own products can result in the most profits. The downsides of manufacturing custom products are that it requires a lot of upfront cash and large order quantities, which also means a bigger risk.

Use a Directory Service to Find US-based Suppliers

In addition to searching Alibaba, there are several other directory sites offering mostly ready-made products. Some directory sites link to outside suppliers, while others have a built-in interface for placing orders.

Popular wholesale sites include:

Faire: Unique items from smaller apparel, gift, beauty, and home product makers
The Grommet Wholesale: Unusual gift items from independent makers and manufacturers
Worldwide Brands: A directory site with thousands of wholesale suppliers
Wholesale Central: A free directory site with thousands of wholesale suppliers

Interested to learn more? We list online resources for finding the best wholesale suppliers.

Attend Trade Shows & Wholesale Marketplaces

Attending trade shows is the most efficient way to test a lot of products firsthand and a great way to find suppliers you might not otherwise encounter, especially if you are only searching online. There are some permanent showrooms that you can visit year-round to find suppliers and products. Other shows are temporary and bring in thousands of vendors at once.

We list the best retail tradeshows for product sourcing, but some of the most popular trade shows include:

AmericasMart Atlanta: Gift and home items
NY NOW: Gift, lifestyle, handmade, and home items
Toy Fair: Toy, collectible, and children’s products
Cosmoprof North America: Skincare and beauty products, including private label
ASD Market Week: General merchandise, apparel, accessories, and suppliers offering custom and private label
MAGIC: One of the largest apparel and accessory shows

Consider Designing a Private Label Brand

Private label brands are goods manufactured by one company but then sold under the retailer’s brand name. Private label products help businesses build a strong identity and prevent customers from trying to find your products for lower prices on other online stores. To start a private label brand, design a logo and packaging to place on a standard or slightly customized product from a manufacturer or wholesaler.

Starting a private label brand such as cosmetics and beauty products is a good middle-ground option between manufacturing a custom product and buying traditional wholesale goods. Private label items provide unique branding, SKUs for product listings, and sometimes unique formulas or design elements. Still, the process is much easier than designing and manufacturing a completely new product.

Step 3: Decide How You’ll Fulfill Orders

Order fulfillment is the process of storing products, packing customer orders, and shipping products out. When starting, many small businesses handle this process themselves out of a garage or storage space. However, some companies handle order fulfillment for ecommerce sellers.

Part of an efficient order fulfillment is having an effective inventory system. Inventory management is the process of ordering, tracking, and storing your products to meet demand efficiently. It’s a crucial part of any retail or ecommerce business.

Tracking inventory stock effectively helps businesses prevent stockouts (minimize carrying costs and shrinkage), manage multiple locations, and ensure accurate recordkeeping. An inventory solution makes these processes easier than trying to do them all manually.

There are paid inventory solutions and specialized systems such as POS inventory software for those managing a storefront or doing in-person sales. However, there are also free inventory management tools and inventory templates to help you get started.

If you need more guidance on establishing a full process, read our guide to retail inventory management and SKU generation for products.

Processing, picking, and packing customer orders are part of the fulfillment process. There are four different ways to do this: in-house fulfillment, outsourced third-party fulfillment, dropshipping, or a hybrid approach.

Select a method from the dropdown below to learn more:

In-House Order Fulfillment

In-house order fulfillment is literally in-house—all of your customer orders are processed, picked, packed, and shipped under your roof. Your business handles all phases of the order fulfillment process, including receiving and storing inventory. This type of order fulfillment works best for businesses that have full-time store owners or those that process fewer than 10 orders per day (usually startups or young businesses).

If you are fulfilling customer orders yourself, you have full control on choosing retail packaging materials and packing them in custom boxes. We have a guide that features some eye-catching business packaging ideas that can help.

Third-party Order Fulfillment

If you want to outsource order fulfillment, order fulfillment companies and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) will store your products and then pack and send orders as they come in. With this fulfillment method, ecommerce businesses still purchase inventory upfront and send it to the order fulfillment company to store. This method is often ideal for ecommerce businesses that have outgrown their at-home fulfillment space and do not want to start their own warehouse and large-scale fulfillment operation.

Learn more about the costs involved in fulfillment and read our top picks for the best order fulfillment companies and best third-party logistics companies for small businesses.

Dropshipping

Dropshipping companies serve as the product supplier and fulfill customer orders, so ecommerce businesses don’t have to purchase upfront inventory. When working with dropshipping companies, ecommerce sellers are limited in that they can only sell products the dropshipper has available. However, there are fewer upfront costs and a lot less work involved for ecommerce businesses. You can read our guide to starting your own dropshipping business.

Shopify, our top-recommended ecommerce platform, connects with hundreds of dropshippers (such as Oberlo) through its Shopify App Marketplace. Learn how to open a Shopify dropshipping store.

Hybrid Fulfillment Solution

A hybrid fulfillment approach combines some (or all) of the above order fulfillment methods. This is a popular solution for growing businesses because it offers a lot of flexibility. It is also ideal for brick-and mortar stores expanding into online sales by allowing shoppers to buy online and pick up purchases in-store.

Want to learn more? Read our comprehensive guides on dropshipping vs fulfillment companies and in-house vs fulfillment centers to learn about their differences and decide which method is best for your online business.

If you are packing and shipping customer orders in-house, choose a shipping software or service, look for cheap shipping supplies, and shop around for the most efficient shipping rates among FedEx vs UPS vs USPS—the most popular shipping platforms. However, if you plan to ship internationally, there are different ways to do so, such as cross-border international shipping and localized fulfillment.

Download our checklist on ecommerce shipping and handling best practices and learn how to offer free shipping on your products.

If you go with popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Square Online, then you will be delighted to know that they have built-in shipping tools. They have discounted shipping rates, automatically calculate shipping costs for customers at checkout, and make it easy for ecommerce businesses to print shipping labels directly from the order management system.

However, if you built your own site or are using a shopping cart plugin that does not have these features, you’ll need to find a third-party solution. For small operations, Stamps.com is a popular option. It syncs with many online marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy, plus shopping carts like Magento. Simply import customer orders and print out the shipping labels at home.

Step 4: Choose an Ecommerce Platform

There are several popular ecommerce platforms that many small businesses use to learn how to build an online store. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Square Online are some of the most popular platforms for new businesses and retailers looking to expand online. All of these programs offer templates, varying levels of inventory management tools, reporting, and options for connected payment processing.

These tools also offer native or plug-in solutions for selling and advertising on social media, selling in person, connecting a blog, and selling on third-party marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. They also have different plans for businesses of different sizes and sales volumes.

Best Ecommerce Platforms & Online Store Builders Compared


Visit Shopify	Visit BigCommerce	Visit Square Online	Visit Ecwid	Visit Squarespace
Best Overall	Best for Growing Businesses	Best for Cafes and Curbside Pickup	Best for Adding to an Existing Site	Best for Top-rated Templates
From $29/month	From $29.95/month	From $0	From $0	From $23/month
Learn more: Our Shopify review	Learn more: Our BigCommerce review	Learn more: Our Square Online review	Learn more: Our Ecwid review	Learn more: Our Squarespace review

Based on our evaluation of the best ecommerce platforms, the choice of an ecommerce solution for most small businesses usually comes down to BigCommerce vs Shopify. Shopify is our top-recommended ecommerce platform for small businesses, whereas BigCommerce is better suited for larger-revenue businesses, especially those that have complex inventories or want to save on processing fees.

When to use a WordPress site: If your business is not a dedicated ecommerce site and rather a large blog, coaching, or publishing site that also sells merchandise, you may want to create a WordPress site and add a WooCommerce or other WordPress shopping cart plugin. Businesses can also turn any existing WordPress site into an ecommerce store by using a plugin. However, a WordPress site is much more difficult to create and maintain, so most individuals and small businesses are best suited with an ecommerce platform or website builder.

Step 5. Build Your Ecommerce Website

After choosing a platform, build your online store’s website by selecting a theme, customizing your site, putting security measures in place, and getting any necessary add-ons. Use your brand design and custom products or packaging as a guide to choosing fonts, a color scheme, and an overall look.

New released free theme from Shopify called Dawn.

Shopify recently released a new free theme, Dawn. It is a mobile-first template and 35% faster than Shopify’s previous store builder’s theme (now referred to as “Vintage”).
(Source: Shopify)

Should you build a custom store? Larger businesses with developers may benefit from a custom store. However, most small businesses that don’t have a developer and want to manage the website themselves would have the flexibility to do so with a templated design from one of our recommended ecommerce platforms. Remember, even if you start with a template or theme, you can still customize your online store to suit your needs and your brand.

No matter what ecommerce platform you choose, all of them have many options for free and paid templates or themes, usually with multiple variations available. There are also many free and paid WordPress ecommerce themes available for different shopping cart plugins.

When choosing a theme for your online store, remember to

Invest in quality: Don’t shy away from paid themes; spring for the one you think is best. It’s not impossible to change themes later, but it is easier to pick the right one from the start.
Opt for a mobile-responsive theme: Mobile browsing makes up a large portion of online shopping, so make sure your theme is optimized for mobile.
Prioritize navigation features: Easy navigation is critical for a positive user experience, so make sure your theme has great header, search, and related product navigation features.
Evaluate product pages: Quality product pages help increase conversions. Choose themes with options for lots of high-quality photos and/or images, multiple types of product descriptions, and other dynamic content.

Store customization will depend on your chosen platform, but most ecommerce platforms have drag-and-drop features that allow you to easily customize your online store.

Demo store built on Ecwid’s Instant Site Builder.

When we reviewed some ecommerce platforms, we replicated the same store across each site builder for an apples-to-apples comparison. This is our demo store built on Ecwid’s Instant Site Builder.

To learn more about building your store’s website using different ecommerce platforms, select a guide below:

Step 6: Set Up Your Product Listings

When your online store infrastructure is in place, it’s time to add the actual products. There are multiple layers to this process. First, you’ll need to enter all the inventory data for each item—like wholesale price, retail markup, vendor information, SKUs and barcode information, categories, colors, sizes, quantities, and other data points relevant to your specific merchandise.

If you already have a list of inventory, you can upload this information in bulk via a CSV or Excel file. You can also use our free inventory templates to help you get started. Otherwise, you can manually enter each product.

Adding Specific Details to Each Product on Shopify

On Shopify, sellers can add specific details to each product page and listing.

Create Descriptive Product Pages

After you enter the data, the next step is to create a detailed individual product page for each item. For ecommerce websites, product pages are arguably the most important element of the site. Shoppers can land on a product page after browsing your store, from a Google search, or via a targeted advertisement.

A product page should have:

Clear pricing information: Pricing should be displayed prominently and clearly indicate whether or not the price displayed is before or after any promotions.
Easy “Add to Cart” buttons: Add a large “Add to Cart” button next to product images and below pricing information; the goal is to get shoppers to buy, so make sure the button is a color that stands out.
High-quality photos: Product photos can make or break sales. Use high-quality images that show products from all angles, in all variants, and in action where situationally relevant.
Customer reviews or social proof: When buying online, shoppers can’t see or feel the product for themselves, so they rely on customer reviews to assess product quality. Incorporate user reviews in product pages and/or photos and testimonials from social media—most ecommerce platforms have these features built in or available through a plugin.
Detailed product descriptions: Product descriptions should be concise and include precise product information like size and material, but should not be salesy.
Related products: At the bottom, display similar products, or items people who bought the item also purchased—some ecommerce platforms have this built in, while others have this feature available through plugins.
Proactively addressed customer concerns: Indicate whether or not shipping is free or calculated at checkout, or if there is a minimum order for free shipping.

Write Well-crafted Product Descriptions

Product descriptions should be uniform across the site, following the same template and tone throughout. In general, there should be three elements to a product description: a short intro, bullet points outlining high-level features, and a longer description at the bottom for shoppers who want greater detail.

Upload High-quality Product Photos

Product photos are one of the most important elements of an online store. High-quality images can showcase the details and quality of an item, while low-quality or grainy photos leave shoppers with more questions than answers.

Some wholesale suppliers will provide high-quality photos of their products, which will save you a lot of time and money. Ask your suppliers if this is something they provide. If not, you can either take the photos yourself or hire a professional.

When taking the photos yourself, use a plain white background in a well-lit area. You can do product photography on a budget with a smartphone camera and natural light. Though, if you are not a professional or experienced photographer, for the best (and fastest) results, there are services that specialize in ecommerce photography.

Square Photo Studio offers very affordable product photography with a fast turnaround time. Square takes photos of the products and then you can choose either three photos with different angles for $9.95 or a 360-degree photo for $29.95. Square will send you the images within 14 days.

Square Photo Studio delivers product photos with a white background and apparel displayed on a ghost mannequin. (Source: Square)

In addition to standalone product shots and 360-degree photos, consider photos of the product in-use. This is especially important for apparel, accessories, and makeup. Shoppers will want an idea of what the product will look like when worn. For decor and house items, consider lifestyle photos of the products so that customers can picture the items in their homes.

Step 7: Integrate Payment Processing

Integrating payment processing is a mundane yet critical element of building an ecommerce website. As an online retailer, you’ll need to choose a Payment Card Industry (PCI)-compliant payment processor. Many ecommerce platforms have built-in payment processors or a few select payment partners that are compatible. Any built-in payment processors will be PCI-compliant, e.g., Square, Shopify Payments, Stripe, and PayPal.

Learn how to accept credit card payments online. Square, Stripe, and PayPal are three of the most popular online payment options. To find out which is right for you, read our Square vs Stripe vs PayPal comparison.

For most small businesses, opting for a built-in payment processor is the easiest option. Payment processing rates across ecommerce platforms are usually competitive. For example, Shopify has its built-in payment processor called Shopify Payments, while Square Online works with Square Payments.

However, once you start to grow larger (processing more than $15,000 per month), it may be worthwhile to actively shop for a payment processor that can offer lower rates, or negotiate a lower rate with your existing processor as you could qualify for volume discounts. BigCommerce is a popular choice for large-volume sales-based businesses because it doesn’t charge transaction fees when you go with a different provider.

Credit card processing fees are a necessary cost of doing business. Learning about credit card processing and transaction fees will help you find the cheapest credit card processing companies that will work well for your business.

As an online seller, it’s critical to have an option for shoppers to enter their credit or debit card information. However, having more user-friendly options like one-click and e-wallet payments, PayPal, and installment options (buy now, pay later) are important for increasing conversions and sales. Most major ecommerce platforms have a direct integration for accepting PayPal payments, and many also accept Apple and Google e-wallet payments.

For example, Shopify provides stores a feature called Shop Pay (formerly Shopify Pay), a customer-facing checkout that saves a buyer’s details. This allows shoppers to purchase items quickly just by clicking the Buy Now button. It’s exclusive to Shopify stores, but it works across every Shopify store that uses Shop Pay. So, if a customer already made a purchase from a Shopify store, it means all their information is already loaded; thus, when they buy something from your store, they can check out with a click.

Installments are typically offered by a third-party processor that pays the retailer up front but collects monthly payments from customers, so shoppers are only paying a fraction of the total cost up front. Many of these services don’t charge customers interest or require hard credit checks. These payment options are appealing for shoppers who don’t use traditional credit cards. Popular providers include AfterPay, Klarna, Splitit, and PayPal Credit.

Learn more in our guide on how to offer buy now, pay later.

One of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment is a complicated checkout process—shoppers said that when it is too hard to navigate, lacks security seals, or asks for too much information, they abandon their carts.

So, simplify your checkout process by asking for essential information, offering a guest or express checkout (or a one-click option, if available), extending a variety of payment methods, displaying areas for applying gift cards and discounts, and providing a clear link to your policies on shipping and returns.

A perfect example of a streamlined checkout page is Package Free’s that uses a Shopify store.

Package Free has a streamlined checkout page on its Shopify store.

The image above is an excellent example of a distraction-free checkout page. It offers an express checkout option right from the start, different payment options, and a security seal of trusted payment channels. It only asks for basic information—a name and shipping address—and is transparent with taxes and shipping fees. All of these can be done with very minimal clicks.

Payment security is still a big concern for most online shoppers, with 59.5% of online shoppers still wary of using mobile apps to make purchases. Read our guide to learn how to implement ecommerce payment security.

Step 8: Launch & Market Your Online Store

After setting up the product pages, your site is ready to launch. Once your online store is live, it will require a multipronged marketing approach with search engine optimization (SEO), listings on additional sales channels, and email marketing to bring in a steady flow of shoppers. Some ecommerce businesses also use in-person sales at pop-ups and events to grow their businesses.

Online stores need at least a basic SEO strategy to make sure that product pages appear in search results. To do this, ecommerce sellers need to target a keyword with each individual product page (such as “striped polyester T-shirt”). Ecommerce websites should also make sure to add product titles and descriptions that will appear in search engine results and alt text for images.

BigCommerce’s strongest features is implement SEO from the back end.

The ability to set up and implement SEO from the back end is one of BigCommerce’s strongest features.

Online store builders like Shopify and BigCommerce have built-in tools to set SEO up easily. In addition to optimizing individual pages, ecommerce sites should have a logical and user-friendly structure so that shoppers can easily navigate through them. For example, all BigCommerce websites include SEO features, such as an automated image optimizer, on-page SEO capabilities, sitemap generation, and site speed enhancers.

Many successful ecommerce businesses grow by selling their products in more than one place. Even with a standalone store, many online businesses also sell on Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy. These platforms likely won’t drive traffic to your main store, but they are a good way to bring in revenue and can help strengthen your brand credibility and recognition.

Read our step-by-step guides on the following:

For example, BigCommerce has a built-in integration to sell on Amazon, so your inventory and customer order information are synced and centralized in one place. This means you won’t have to check several platforms for customer orders or manually update available products across multiple sites.

Email promotions are one of the best tools an online store has for driving repeat sales and connecting with customers. Ask customers to provide their email addresses with orders, but also have a sign-up option for people who visit your site but do not make a purchase. Most ecommerce platforms have either built-in tools for email marketing or integrations with email marketing solutions like Mailchimp.

Tip: Learn how to leverage retail analytics to boost store sales. Our guide provides a wealth of information that can help with your marketing strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting an Online Store

Starting an online store looks a little bit different for everyone depending on the type of business you have and whether you’re taking a brick-and-mortar business online or building a new company from scratch. Here are some of the most common questions around starting an online store.

How do I start an online store with no money?

Square Online has a forever-free option that allows you to build a multipage online store. Once you gain traction, you can upgrade your plan for more advanced features. However, expect to put in a lot of work and time before your store becomes significantly profitable.

Do I need a business license to start an online store?

Whether you’re starting a brick-and-mortar store or an online store, most states will require a business license. This is so that you can collect taxes from your customers and the IRS can track tax revenue. Your state’s department of revenue should have the info you need.

How much money can I make with an online store?

While there are no guarantees you’ll make any money, you may make a profit with the right resources. Whether you’re covering the costs of your monthly hosting or making a full-time income, any of it is possible given the time, talent, and resources. Your income depends on your niche, audience, and expenses. Try our price markup calculator to learn how to price your products and estimate profit.

How can I grow my online store?

There are many ways to grow your online store. If you’re creative and persistent, you can attract a following with blogging, social marketing, email, video, and offline engagement—and spend very little money doing it.

Blogging: Gain fans by showcasing your expertise in your niche. Learn how to start a blog.
Pinterest: You can create shoppable pins and even share blog posts on Pinterest.
Email marketing: Market to an email list by collecting emails.
Video marketing: Create videos to help your potential customers see your product in action.
Coupon promotions: Send coupons through email marketing or social media ads.
Free shipping offers: Offer free shipping to help increase sales.
Influencer marketing: Hire an influencer in exchange for compensation, whether product or cash, to help drive sales.
Paid social media ads: If you have the budget, you can focus efforts on paid marketing like Facebook ads and Google Ads. These let you drive targeted traffic to your site or certain products. When you make a sale, be sure to use other tactics, like promotional inserts in shipments, to keep customers coming back.

Bottom Line

Statistics show that 54% of consumers prefer online shopping, and 73% of ecommerce sales are expected to come from mobile. It is clear that ecommerce is here to stay, and having an online store should be part of a retail business’ growth plan.

Thanks to plug-and-play software like Shopify, BigCommerce, and Square Online, learning how to start an online store is easy. Most people can even set up a basic store in under a day. However, building a successful and profitable ecommerce operation requires much more than simply building an ecommerce site. You’ll need a business plan, carefully selected or manufactured products, a marketing strategy, and an organized order fulfillment operation.

Shopify is one of the biggest names in ecommerce software because it makes it easy for individuals or businesses of any size to start an online store. Preset templates and built-in inventory and order management features make it simple to get an ecommerce business up and running in no time.

What’s more, Shopify’s app marketplace offers dropshipping companies and marketing tools and features to build product pages. With several plans, individuals can start a small online store and grow it to an ecommerce enterprise. Try Shopify’s free 14-day trial.