What is eCommerce?

You come up with this idea for a product. You tinkered.  You’ve toiled. And you’ve finally decided to start selling your AMAZING product and open your business! But how do you do it? The fastest and easiest way to sell your products is to do it online. Opening an eCommerce business is a great way to start selling your products and earning revenue!

The eCommerce industry was projected to do $27 trillion in sales in 2020 and that was BEFORE the pandemic hit. Keep reading to learn what eCommerce is, the different types of eCommerce, and the benefits of selling your amazing products online.

What is e-commerce?

eCommerce, also known as electronic commerce, or for some of us… buying stuff on the internet in your pajamas at 3 am. Stores that sell their products online are eCommerce stores or businesses.  An example of one of the most popular online stores in the eCommerce space is Amazon.com

According to my #1  and my personal favorite eCommerce platform Shopify, the first-ever online sale was on August 11, 1994. A dude sold a CD by Sting to his friend through a website called NetMarket. This is the first example of a consumer (the person buying the CD) purchasing a product (the CD) from a business that only existed on the World Wide Web - or eCommerce as we know it today.

Since then, eCommerce has evolved so that everyone from large corporations to people like you and I can sell our goods and services without having to set up a brick-and-mortar retail location.  And it’s NOT about to slow down. 

There are 4 different types of eCommerce models:

1. Business to Consumer (B2C):

When a business sells a good or service to an individual consumer. For example, when you buy a pair of shoes from an online retailer).

2. Business to Business (B2B):

When a business sells a good or service to another business. For example, when a business sells software-as-a-service for other businesses to use)  

3. Consumer to Consumer (C2C):

When a consumer sells a good or service to another consumer. For example, when you sell your old furniture on eBay to another consumer

4. Consumer to Business (C2B):

When a consumer sells their own products or services to a business or organization. For example, an influencer offers exposure to their online audience in exchange for a fee, or a photographer licenses their photo for a business to use)

The common types of eCommerce websites include:

Retail:

This is the relationship you've formed 1:1 with a website whose shoes you stalk at 3 am in your pajamas. 

Wholesale:

Is when you sell in bulk to another retailer who then sells the products directly to the consumer. This is what Costco started out as in their brick & mortar form.

Dropshipping:

This is when you sell a product that you don’t hold inventory, but is manufactured and shipped by a 3rd party.

Crowdfunding:

When you collect money in advance of the product being created or available and you’re raising the money to bring it to the market

Subscription:

These are your subscription box businesses that bill consumers on a recurring basis

Digital products:

These are the downloadable digital goods, templates, and courses, or e-books that must be purchased to use them. 

Services:

A skill, set of skills and blocks of time provided in exchange for money. These are your online coaches. 

My ecommerce business, KinkyCurlyYaki is D2C - direct to consumer using an ecommerce platform called Shopify, which I’ve been using since 2015.

An ecommerce platform is a software solution that allows businesses to create online stores and sell products and services to people down the street or around the world. . 

Examples of ecommerce platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace and Big Cartel. Websites like Amazon, Etsy and eBay are marketplaces where you and hundred of other businesses have access to millions of customers to sell your products on. 

The benefits to creating an online business is a long one, but they include:

  • Access to a global market

  • 24/7 availability

  • Work from anywhere

  • Reduced overhead

  • Targeted marketing

  • Ability to serve a niche market

Once you’ve done all your research and chosen an AMAZING product to sell, it’s time to start thinking about the key elements of your store’s identity such as your brand name, domain name, logo and your brand guidelines. Getting your brand right from the start and doing it consistently will help you accelerate your growth if you do it correctly. 

Brand guidelines will help you look the part of a well-established brand.  It helps you maintain consistency in what your brand looks, feels and sounds like. 

I use brand guidelines in my 7 figure ecommerce business to help me maintain a consistent brand image that my current customers love and my potential customers gravitate towards. 

I keep my brand guidelines close by to help me keep my brand on track and share it with graphic designers, social media managers, photographers….anyone who is creating content for my brand. 

Brand guidelines will help you look the same everywhere your brand shows up  - on your website, social media, print and more. I know you’re asking… “Vivian...how do I create my own simple brand guidelines?” I gotchu! 

I created a Simple Brand Guidelines Template that you can purchase and edit to fit your brand. 

This 13-page document that you can edit in Google Slides is essential for any business that wants to earn trust, look professional and grow its sales. 

It includes pages to include your brand statement, logos, fonts, colours, images, and more. 

All in an easy editable format that you can then PDF and use as your brand bible.

You can download your own copy of the Simple Brand Guidelines template by visiting this link.

eCommerceVivian Kayeentrepreneurship, ecommerce, digital business