A new era has embarked in the past months. An era in which retail businesses can no longer rely only on physical trade, but must also rely on e-commerce. The problem is that many people are simply afraid of e-commerce and are afraid to see a loss on both ends. In this article, we will try to answer all the important questions before getting started with e-commerce!
E-commerce management
Electronic trade is the equivalent of physical trade. Physical trade is called commerce and electronic trade is e-commerce. In both cases, there is a seller who offers goods and a buyer who requests to purchase those goods. The difference is in the configuration only. That is, electronic trade is carried out through a website that mediates between the parties instead of a store and seller that mediates between the parties.
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That is, all the rules you are familiar with remain in place. You must price correctly, photograph the products correctly, but above all – provide a good service that will ensure that buyers will return again and again to purchase on your website.
And yet, it’s not the same.
So let’s briefly go over the important questions for you:
- Who manages the sales on the website?
- How is the online transaction actually carried out?
- What are the operating costs of a website?
- What taxation expenses are there in internet sales?
- Is e-commerce really economic?
We hope you find the answers to these questions helpful for making decisions on your end.
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Who manages the sales through the website?
Just as you have a seller at the physical store, we also have to have a seller in e-commerce. But, unlike the flesh and blood seller in the store, our online seller is the website. The website must provide as much relevant information as possible and promote a purchase to the various users.
Despite all of the above, the website still requires a human employee, a professional webmaster who will manage the website and take care of the actual marketing. But it is possible to outsource website management services so that you pay the cost of less than a quarter of an employee instead of having a full-time employee.
How is the transaction actually carried out online?
E-commerce transactions are carried out in a configuration where the customer first pays for the product he wishes to purchase (he transfers the credit independently) and only then does the business owner handle the actual order.
If an order is accepted on the website, the money is already in your hand and you will receive an email with the order details and an address to send the package by mail. You will have to send the product as soon as possible and make sure that the customer is satisfied and comes back for repeat orders.
What are the operational costs of a website?
The costs can be divided into two:
- One-time setup costs – the cost of developing the platform (varies).
- Day-to-day operational costs – distributed over several main fields.
Day-to-day costs include:
- Maintaining a website address – a cost of $2 per month.
- Website hosting – a cost ranging from $50-500 per month.
- Website maintenance – a cost ranging from $100-500 per month.
- Site management – a cost ranging from $1000-2000 per month
- Credit clearing – cost ranging from $50-100 per month + clearing fee.
- Online marketing – a cost ranging from $1000 and up.
Generally speaking, if you make a deal with a website management company, you can cover all expenses except marketing for about 2,500$ per month. Marketing expenses will increase according to the scope of results (return of investment). The more you earn, the more money you will spend each month on marketing.
What taxation expenses are there in internet sales?
There is no special taxation on e-commerce. That is, your eCommerce website is an integral part of the business and every sale through it requires a receipt tax invoice as you are used to in the physical store.
But, there are advantages in Ecommerce compared to physical commerce, there is no property tax, no signage tax, no rental expenses or dealing with assigning workers to shifts. Everything works 24/7 and most of the time, without any human contact. Also, there is no physical limit to the location of the store and you can sell all over the country and even abroad with the same configuration.
Is e-commerce really economic?
We are, of course, a little biased – but of course, it is! Especially today, especially now, electronic sales are of the utmost importance for your business. The volume of internet sales is steadily taking a bite out of the volume of physical sales. Furthermore, businesses located on the other side of the country or even on the other side of the world “steal” your old and loyal customers away, those who have purchased from you for years.
Besides that, of course this is a fairly economical business. As a company that manages hundreds of websites, we know how popular they are and what their growth rate is every year. As such, we can wholeheartedly say that this is indeed a financially correct step for any retail business, so itโs probably right for you as well.
But, it is still recommended to call us for a free consultation to get an accurate forecast in accordance with your specific business. Hope you had a pleasant read, see you!