大约40% of purchases是通过在线渠道进行的。然后，高达96% of Americans在网上购物，另外 80% 的人每月至少进行一次数字购物。因此，如果您正在寻找进入的业务，电子商务绝对应该是首选。
现在唯一的问题是，您如何以最快和最简单的方式建立电子商务商店？
开设电子商务商店需要什么(What It Takes To Open An E-Commerce Store)
在开始构建您的在线商店(online store)之前，您需要选择要使用的网站构建器(website builder)。有很多可供选择，但为了本文的目的，我们将使用Shopify。
以下是您必须事先采取的步骤的快速浏览：
- 找到您想要销售的产品类型（首选利基市场——即美容产品、保健品、婴儿玩具）。
- 选择一个商店名称(store name)（最终将是您的域名(domain name)）。
- 购买您的域名（您可以在(domain name)Namecheap以便宜的价格购买一个，也可以通过Shopify购买）。
- 为您要销售的产品寻找代销商或制造商。(dropshipper or manufacturer)
- 进行市场调查(market research)，看看还有谁在销售您的产品并确定您的价格点(price point)（只有在不损害您的盈利能力的情况下才更便宜）。
- 为您的产品寻找摄影师（和模特）进行拍摄。
- 确定谁将存储您的产品——托运人或订单履行(dropshipper or order fulfillment)。
设置您的 Shopify 网站(Setting Up Your Shopify Website)
- 现在，是时候开始使用Shopify进行免费试用了（如果您确定要继续使用，也可以购买）。进入Shopify.com 后(Shopify.com)，选择开始免费试用( Start free trial)。
- 然后填写您的电子邮件地址(email address)、密码和商店名称(store name)。如果您不知道您的商店名称(store name)，请不要担心- 您可以稍后更改。
- 接下来，它将引导您完成个人资料的设置，其中包括提交您的地址、您所在的企业以及您的预期收入范围(revenue range)。
- 完成这两个步骤后，Shopify会将您带到您的仪表板。
选择商店主题(Selecting a Store Theme)
- 在仪表板的左侧，单击在线商店(Online store)。这将下拉一个选项菜单。
- 接下来，单击主题( Themes)，然后您将看到自定义当前主题或从免费或付费Shopify主题中进行选择的选项。
- 为了保持便宜，您可以单击探索免费主题(Explore free themes)。选项不多，但您可以根据自己的喜好自定义它们。
我们将选择Supply主题。当您单击每个主题时，它会列出它附带的功能。Supply 主题(Supply theme)附带：
- 大型目录
- 边栏中的收藏过滤器
- 幻灯片
- 精选集（显示在主页上(home page)）
然后你有两种风格可供选择——浅色或蓝色(light or blue)。它还显示了您的网站在移动设备上的外观。
- 准备好后，单击添加到主题库。( Add to theme library.)
- 您会看到一个带有您的主题的区域(area show)- 选择(theme — select)自定义( customize)以开始制作您自己的设计。
从这里，您将能够向您的网站添加内容，例如：
您可以在顶部的“部分”选项卡中找到它。(Sections)您可以在添加每个部分时看到站点布局(site layout)如何变化。
然后，当您单击主题设置(Theme settings)选项卡时，您将能够调整：
Shopify的优点在于您可以在不了解任何编码知识的情况下创建一个功能齐全的网站。
选择支付处理器(Selecting a Payment Processor)
您不想在无法接受数字支付的情况下发布您的在线商店。(online store)幸运(Lucky)的是，有多个平台可供选择。
其中最突出的是PayPal，它与您的购物车(store cart)连接。然后，您可以接受PayPal、信用卡、借记卡和电子支票。PayPal还允许您向客户提供信贷，以便他们为您的产品提供资金。如果您要销售高价商品，这是理想的选择。
以下是顶级支付处理器的列表：
期望为每笔交易支付费用。例如，使用PayPal（和大多数其他），每笔交易有 2.9% + 0.30 美元。但是，无需担心安装费。
在哪里购买库存(Where To Purchase Inventory)
关键是为您要销售的产品找到供应商。其中最受欢迎的是阿里巴巴(Alibaba)。在这里，您可以找到数以千计的制造商和供应商，他们不仅会批量销售商品，还会定制您的产品。
例如，如果您想销售防紫外线(UV protection)眼镜，您可以通过包括一个外壳和一块超细纤维清洁布来使您的产品与众不同。(product unique)这将有助于将您的产品与市场上的其他产品区分开来，以便客户更有可能向您购买。
另一种选择是使用dropshipper。这些公司将为您供应和运输产品。有些还提供产品定制。托运人的一个例子是Chinabrands。
如何将产品带给您的客户(How To Get Products To Your Customers)
刚开始时，您可能没有空间来存储大量库存。
电子商务卖家维护库存的主要方式有两种——直销和履行服务(dropshipping and fulfillment services)。
如果您决定使用直销，您将与制造商建立关系。他们管理物品的存储，并将为您运送给您的客户。无需大量购买任何东西，因为物品在购买时会发货。然后，您与制造商分摊成本。
(Order fulfillment)另一方面，订单履行服务要求您提前购买商品并将其运送(advance and ship)到履行仓库(fulfillment warehouse)。然后，他们将创建一个SKU并为您运送物品。如果您与制造商有良好的关系，但需要有人处理仓储和发货(warehousing and shipments)，这是理想的选择。
两者的成本各不相同，但由于您需要提前购买大宗产品，因此您可以期望在订单履行方面花费更多的前期费用。(order fulfillment)
另外，请记住客户的位置。您需要在您计划销售的地区找到直销商和履行服务提供商。
立即设置您的电子商务商店(Set Up Your E-Commerce Store In No Time)
如果您正确地打牌，您可以在几周内发布您的在线商店(online store)并准备就绪。如果您想尽快开始， Dropshipping是最好的选择。(Dropshipping)
但是，如果您想花更多时间寻找制造商并完善您的产品，那么订单履行(order fulfillment)可能是您的最佳选择。不要(Don)忘记(t forget)投资高质量的照片和产品演示视频(product demo videos)来帮助销售您的商品。
How to Set Up an E-Commerce Store Quickly and Easily
Around 40% of purchases are made via online channels. Then a whopping 96% of Americans are shopping online, and another 80% make a digital purchase at least once per month. So if you’re looking for a business to get into, e-commerce should definitely be a top pick.
The only question now is, how do you set up an e-commerce store in the quickest and easiest way possible?
What It Takes To Open An E-Commerce Store
Before you begin building your online store, you’ll need to choose which website builder you’ll use. There are many to choose from, but for the sake of this article, we’ll use Shopify.
Here’s a quick look of the steps you’ll have to take beforehand:
- Find the type of products you want to sell (a niche is preferred — i.e., beauty products, health supplements, baby toys).
- Select a store name (which will ultimately be your domain name).
- Purchase your domain name (you can buy one for cheap at Namecheap or you can buy it through Shopify).
- Find a dropshipper or manufacturer for the products you want to sell.
- Perform market research to see who else sells your products and determine your price point (only go cheaper if it won’t hurt your profitability).
- Find photographers (and models) for shoots with your products.
- Determine who will store your products — a dropshipper or order fulfillment.
Setting Up Your Shopify Website
- Now, it’s time to start your free trial with Shopify (or purchase if you’re sure you want to stick with it). Once you’re on Shopify.com, select Start free trial.
- Then fill out your email address, password, and store name. Don’t worry if you don’t know your store name — you can change this later.
- Next, it’ll walk you through setting up your profile, which includes submitting your address, where you are in the business, and your expected revenue range.
- After completing the two steps, Shopify will take you to your dashboard.
Selecting a Store Theme
- On the left side of your dashboard, click Online store. This will drop down a menu of options.
- Next, click Themes and then you’ll see the option to either customize your current theme or to choose from free or paid Shopify themes.
- To keep things cheap, you can click Explore free themes. There aren’t many options, but you can customize them to your liking.
We’re going to select the Supply theme. When you click on each theme, it’ll list the features it comes with. The Supply theme comes with:
- Large catalogs
- Collection filter in the sidebar
- Slideshow
- Featured collections (shows on the home page)
Then you have two styles to choose from — light or blue. It also shows how your site will look on a mobile device.
- Once you’re ready, click Add to theme library.
- You’ll see an area show up with your theme — select customize to get started making the design your own.
From here, you’ll be able to add things to your website like:
- Slideshows
- Collection lists
- Featured collections
- Rich text
- Footer/Header
You’ll find this in the Sections tab at the top. You can see how the site layout changes as you add each section.
Then when you click the Theme settings tab, you’ll be able to tweak the:
- Colors
- Typography
- Favicon
- Cart
- Social Media
- Price format
- Checkout
What’s great about Shopify is that you can have a fully functional website created without knowing any coding knowledge.
Selecting a Payment Processor
You don’t want to publish your online store without a way to accept digital payments. Lucky for you, there are several platforms to choose from.
One of the most prominent is PayPal, which connects with your store cart. You can then accept PayPal, credit cards, debit cards, and e-checks. PayPal also allows you to extend credit to your customers so they can finance your products. This is ideal if you’re selling high-ticket items.
Here is a list of the top payment processors:
Expect to pay fees per transaction. For instance, with PayPal (and most others), there is a 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. However, there are no setup fees to worry about.
Where To Purchase Inventory
The key is to find a supplier for the products you want to sell. One of the most popular is Alibaba. Here, you can find thousands of manufacturers and suppliers who will not only sell you items in bulk — but they’ll also customize your product.
For example, if you want to sell UV protection glasses, you can make your product unique by including a case and a microfiber cleaning cloth. This will help to set your product apart from others on the market so customers are more likely to buy from you.
Another option is to go with a dropshipper. These companies will supply and ship products for you. Some also offer customizations for products. One example of a dropshipper is Chinabrands.
How To Get Products To Your Customers
When you’re first starting out, you may not have space to store large amounts of inventory.
There are two main ways e-commerce sellers maintain their inventory — dropshipping and fulfillment services.
If you decide to go with dropshipping, you’re entering into a relationship with the manufacturer. They manage the storage of the items and will ship to your customers for you. There’s no need to buy anything in bulk, since items are shipped as they’re purchased. You then split the costs with the manufacturer.
Order fulfillment services, on the other hand, require you to buy items in advance and ship it to the fulfillment warehouse. They will then create a SKU and ship the items for you. This is ideal if you have a good relationship with a manufacturer, but need someone to handle the warehousing and shipments.
The costs for the two vary, but you can expect to spend more upfront with order fulfillment since you need to buy bulk products in advance.
Also, keep in mind the location of your customers. You’ll need to find dropshippers and fulfillment service providers in the regions you plan to sell to.
Set Up Your E-Commerce Store In No Time
If you play your cards right, you can have your online store published and ready to go within weeks. Dropshipping is the best option if you’re trying to get started as soon as possible.
However, if you want to spend more time searching for manufacturers and perfecting your product, then order fulfillment may be the way to go. Don’t forget to invest in quality photos and product demo videos to help sell your goods.
