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e-Commerce, an opportunity to open your digital retail business to international.

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Source: freepik.com/ai

The GameOn project is aimed at supporting youth in their entrepreneurial pathway by exploring opportunities offered by the latest digital technologies, to launch what we call a digital business.

A digital business relies on technology to operate and grow. It can belong to any industry and will mostly be characterized by the use of productivity apps and task management systems to automate tasks and flows, the use of data to improve business intelligence (big data), or for instance, perform work via digital platforms.

E-Commerce businesses represent nowadays a large part of the digital businesses, as in the retail sector, the digitalisation has been exponential, especially during and after the COVID crisis. According to Eurostat data, Europe now counts about 73% of e-shoppers (2021[1]). In the meanwhile, 43% of large enterprises and 20% of SMEs have developed e-commerce sales. E-commerce offers the opportunity to increase significantly the sales and turnover thanks to access to new markets, including at the international level.

Why is e-Commerce important for businesses?

In short, we could summarise the benefits of e-Commerce as follows:

  • There is an increasing number of consumers demanding digital shops.
  • E-Commerce allows you collecting data on customers to better understand the target market and improve your offering.
  • It allows a faster adaptation to market changes.
  • You can offer new services for an improved customer experience, such as support to select products, calculators, home delivery, etc.
  • Reduction of costs compared to physical business.
  • Access to international markets.

In this article, we will provide you some tips for using e-commerce platforms, presented in the START project (Erasmus+ nº2021-1-BE01-KA220-VET-000034627), which offers a course on internationalisation skills for small retail entrepreneurs:

  1. Define your goals: you should first clearly define the goals of your eCommerce strategy. What are your final purpose? Your goals should be measurable and achievable.
  2. Analyse your target audience: in the same way as for a classic retail business, the definition of the target customer is a key. You should understand their culture and what will motivate them in the purchase of your products.
  3. Choose the right eCommerce platform: Amazon, Shopify, eBay, BigCommerce, Etsy, WooCommerce, Magento… There are multiple existing platforms, each one offering different features. You might also prefer creating your own.
  4. Optimise for search engines: Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for people to find you, so you should take care about your content, product description, etc.
  5. Focus on user experience: The customer experience should be optimised so it is easy for him to navigate in your website, find your product, and pay.
  6. Use Social media, to engage with your target audience.
  7. Monitor and analyse performance: you might use Key Performance Indicators, that will inform you on your achievements.

In conclusion, e-Commerce offers great opportunities to youth willing to enter the retail sector, as it enables you to start your activity with less infrastructure than the one required by a physical shop, and at the same time access a wider target group, including reaching international customers. However, you need to have a clear strategy and define well your goals. For this, the START course can help you to better understand how to operate in international contexts.

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