Online shopping is very very very common today because of the growing network across the globe.
There are many reasons why people prefer online shopping rather than a regular shopping to stores:
1. It saves time. You don't have to walk so far and waste time in the transport just to purchase some stuffs.
2. Some stuffs are hard to find in your city. Only online shops from outside the city or the country sell that particular good.
3. Online shops might sell goods at a cheaper price because they do not have to pay for rent. Consumers can get the same stuff cheaper through online.
Due to this growing online shoppers, many people are definitely thinking of opening their own shop! Usually social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are used as a platform for online shops. For example, I open my shop in Instagram as I feel it is the most efficient platform.
Why is it more beneficial to open an online shop?
1. It's free, thus less expense and more profit.
2. Delivery across the country to any particular city is possible by a delivery service. You will have tons more customer that way, rather than a real physical shop which only attracts customer of that particular part of the city.
3. Easy to manage. Communicating with customers is easy using messengers such as WhatsApp, Line, etc.
4. Easy payment through bank.
HOW TO OPEN AN ONLINE SHOP:
1. PLAN
Well, planning is crucial. It includes planning of EVERYTHING.
What do you want to sell?
At what price?
Who is your audience, is it a male or a female, young or old?
Do you have a constant supply of goods to sell?
Where do you find the capital to buy stocks?
Are you sure your goods will sell?
Can you make profit from your business?
There are many things to be thought about, but of course the most important thing is we have to make sure that the things we are selling, sells.
2. CREATE AN ONLINE SHOP ACCOUNT
If you have thoroughly planned on your new shop, go ahead and make an account in the chosen social media and start posting your goods!
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However, many many many online shops fail to grow.
Some of the common reasons are:
1. The goods they sell are not attractive or rather too common.
Solution: Do not sell goods that people can get almost everywhere, like rubber bands, pens, pencils, etc. Sell something import or rare might be a good choice.
2. Too expensive goods.
Solution: Do not sell luxurious goods online, customers are scared getting their money tricked by online shops, so they will unlikely be buying expensive goods!
3. Your shop is just not attractive enough!
So, the only thing we can improve now is number 3!
TIPS ON IMPROVING YOUR ONLINE SHOP:
1. GOOD PICTURES OF THE ITEMS
Pictures of the product is what makes the customer attracted to your shop. A good angle, a bright picture and a nice background always help to make your product look more interesting. Usually you can use a white cloth or a white wall as the background to your product. Customers are attracted to the pictures as they can't see the real object.
2. GOOD ONLINE SHOP NAME
Use a widely known name for your online shop. Do not use your name! For example, you can't use "Mary" as your shop name, but you can use "MaryShop". This helps a lot as it has a huge impact. But it will be much better if you can include the product you are selling in the name. For example "MaryPolaroidShop" indicates you are selling stuffs on polaroid, or "CuteSandalShop" indicates that you are selling sandals, or "FoodTown" means you're selling food and snacks. This way, there are higher chances of your customer visiting your shop! Note: it is discouraged to use your own personal account for your shop. Customers are only interested in your stuffs, not your personal life.
3. BIO/ABOUT
Bio is the place where you get to describe yourself in a social media. This is an important place where you can describe what you are selling. Describe it in a way to attract your customers. For example, we can write "Delicious yummy chocolate cakes for sale!" . People will want to know what you're selling. You can also include the ways to contact you for order. This will be efficient for the customers as it is in a location easy to find.
4. PROMOTION
Give your shop a boost of promotion! Promote your shop to your friends and to your personal account. Introduce your shop to everyone! In Instagram, put hashtags so customers can easily find your goods. There is also endorsement or paid promote for you to gain followers and customers. If you don't gain views in a day, don't be discouraged! Everyone starts from zero. If you commit your effort into your shop, it will grow, even if it is slow!!
5. DESCRIPTION OF YOUR GOODS.
Do describe your goods as complete as you can. Include the size, colour, material,etc. of your goods. Customers feel safer purchasing from you after knowing what the goods are like. Many online shops do not include the price in their post/caption as it might be negotiable, but I personally feel that including a price of your goods in the post is better as it allows customers to calculate their budget without the need to ask again for the price. We can just write "Price: Rp 100 000, nego" to indicate the price and it's negotiable. We need to give the fastest service to our customers. For them to contact us directly just to ask for a price will be a hassle for both parties.
6. EVENTS
Include fun events to your online shop! A giveaway for a lucky winner is a common event. A give away not only increases your views, it also makes your customer happy and excited. A happy customer is a blessing :)
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So these are the tips and tricks of running an online shop :)
I learnt a lot for the past one year of opening an online shop and it is now still growing! I am so happy that my first shop did not fail :'D
I hope my tips help those people who is opening an online shop!
Goodluck!! Tell me if you succeed opening your shop!!
