Planning for e-commerce

There are several different ways you might use e-commerce in your business. Many businesses use e-commerce for the direct selling of goods or services online.

For some businesses such as those selling software or music, the sale and delivery of goods can be made online. For most, the supply of goods will continue to require a physical delivery.

Direct sales

Online direct sales can streamline your operations, allowing customers to purchase products or services directly from your website. This method can greatly increase your reach and accessibility. It serves customers who prefer shopping from their own homes.

If you plan to sell online, you may need to rethink many of your business activities. You will fundamentally change how you interact with customers.

For example, they will place orders online instead of talking to a salesperson. You will also need to work out how every part of a transaction is handled. This includes order confirmation, invoicing, payment, and deliveries and returns. See fulfilling online orders. 

Pre-sales

You can use your website for pre-sales activities and generate sales leads. At its most basic this can mean having an online version of your promotional materials on your site. Other options include email campaigns, search marketing or online advertising to attract visitors to your website. Effective pre-sales strategies can significantly boost your customer base and potential revenue.

Post-sales support

You can also use the internet to automate parts of your customer support. This could help cutting the number of routine service calls. You can do this by using your site to answer common questions or you can put technical info online.

Automated follow-up emails can encourage further sales and enhance customer satisfaction. Efficient post-sales support is crucial for retaining customers and fostering loyalty.

Ensuring success

However you use e-commerce, you should define your goals from the start. What level of sales are you hoping to make? How many sales leads are you looking to generate? What percentage reduction in customer telephone calls are you expecting to achieve?

Put in place targets. They will let you measure the success of your e-commerce activities. See your marketing objectives.

Sustainability

When planning your e-commerce business, also consider how sustainability affects customer choices.

Sustainability is becoming an important factor for online shoppers. To attract and keep customers, use eco-friendly packaging, source materials openly, and share your sustainability efforts clearly.

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is a type of e-commerce conducted through mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and netbooks. It allows customers to browse the internet and shop while on the move.

Using m-commerce as part of your e-commerce strategy means providing a quick and easy online shopping experience optimised for mobile devices. You can offer personalised products and discounts based on what customers like and have bought before.

There are many benefits to marketing and selling on the mobile web, including:

• reaching a larger audience as more people use mobile devices to access digital content
• sending single or bulk messages anytime, anywhere, with immediate tracking and record results
• targeting specific demographics such as age, location, and gender for better engagement
• low production and distribution costs, with potential additional revenue from replies to promotions and competitions
• providing 24-hour billing, sales, service, and assistance to link your business directly with customers
• easily tying into other advertising media such as TV or radio
• enabling viral marketing potential as messages can be easily forwarded

What is social commerce?

Social commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services directly within social media platforms.

Unlike traditional e-commerce, which typically requires users to visit a separate website, social commerce facilitates the shopping experience by integrating it into users’ social feeds.

Social commerce includes features such as:

• shoppable posts and videos
• live shopping events
• integrated checkout systems
• influencer-driven product discovery

To be successful, an e-commerce site should be easy for customers to use. It's also an important part of your online brand image.

You should consider the user experience at each stage of the shopping process.

An alternative to developing your own e-commerce website is selling through online marketplaces. 

User interface

The user interface of your e-commerce website or app is like an online shop front. The interface allows your customers to browse products and choose what to buy.

Customers should be able to find the product they are looking for quickly. Some best practice features for e-commerce websites include:

• Search field - this allows users who are looking for something specific to find it quickly.
• Call-to-action buttons - this can improve your sales by encouraging users to take an immediate action.
• User-friendly navigation - help your customers find what they are looking for with a simple menu structure. Use familiar, meaningful categories and avoid complex hierarchies.
• Breadcrumbs - this helps users navigate easily through the site by showing them where they are in the site structure.

The navigation design is an important factor. This includes features like search fields, breadcrumbs, dropdown lists and image carousels. Consider allow customers to filter products (eg by price, colour, category) to help them find what they are looking for.

The design of the interface should make shopping intuitive, with the customer knowing at all times what stage of the buying process they are at.

Carry out research to find out how to improve your user interface to increase sales. Research techniques include:

• A/B testing
• user testing and focus groups
• web analytics

See user-centred web design and best practice in web design.

Mobile optimisation

When planning your e-commerce site or services, consider the importance of mobile optimisation:

• Mobile websites should be responsive, adapting their layout for mobile device screens.
• Mobile applications (apps) can be developed if there is a specific functionality not achievable through a website; however, apps can be costly, and customers may be hesitant to download them.
• ensure content is easy to read and navigate on mobile devices with fast load times, considering differing internet connection speeds such as 3G, 4G, 5G, or WiFi.
• Research your mobile customers’ needs, device types, and how they connect to the internet.
• Develop mobile content with user-centred design principles.

AI integration

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology can help improve your online store and customer experience. Using AI can make shopping easier and more personal, helping keep customers coming back.

Common ways AI can assist include:

• AI customer service – chatbots and virtual assistants provide instant support, answer queries, and guide users through the buying process, improving satisfaction.
• Smart logistics – AI helps optimise inventory levels, predict demand, and manage deliveries efficiently, reducing costs and improving reliability.
• Customer segmentation – grouping users based on behaviour allows for targeted marketing and tailored promotions.
• Pricing optimisation – AI tools monitor competitor pricing and customer trends to adjust prices dynamically and stay competitive.
• Sales forecasting – predictive analytics help plan inventory and marketing strategies based on expected demand.

Shopping cart

Shopping cart software allows customers to select the products they wish to purchase. Once the goods have been selected, the customer should find the checkout clearly signposted, so that they can proceed to pay for the goods.

The system should process the order speedily and provide you with a summary, including any packing and shipping requirements. It should also allow you to send a confirmation email to the customer.

Keep the number of steps involved to a minimum. Show clearly where the customer is in the process and what they need to do next. You can use web analytics to see if there are steps where customers abandon their purchase. This indicates there could be an issue or barrier to completing the purchase, for example an unexpected delivery charge or confusing layout.

Payment software

Most customers will wish to pay for their purchases with credit or debit cards. There are three options for accepting such payments - you can:

• open a merchant account
• use a payment processing company
• set up an online shop within a virtual shopping mall

Read more about accepting online payments.

E-commerce can help improve relationships with trading partners.

These online systems can also allow you to improve your own business efficiency.

Intranets and extranets

You can use an internal, browser-based company network (intranet) to improve efficiency. For example, by enabling employees to search for and share key business information.

An extranet extends this to external partners, such as suppliers and key customers.

You can use extranets for exchanging data and applications and to share specific information. For example, you can share inventory levels and sales trends.  

Read more about the benefits of intranets and extranets.

Supply chain management

The concept of supply chain management revolves around having the right product in the right place, at the right time, and in the right condition.

The key aspects of supply chain management include the ability of businesses to:

• exchange information on stock levels
• fulfil orders more quickly
• minimise excess inventory
• improve customer service
• use a networking infrastructure to ensure good response times and speed

See supply chain management software. 

E-marketplaces

E-markets, also known as electronic marketplaces, are virtual platforms that serve as a hub for transactions. They let suppliers, buyers, and middlemen to trade products and services with no physical limitations.

These platforms offer many products and services. They let buyers browse and search by criteria such as price, quality, and delivery time. Algorithms drive the matching to find the best fit between buyers and sellers.

When a deal is made, it is a match between the buyer and seller on factors such as:

• price 
• volume 
• delivery costs 

Reverse auctions

Reverse auctions are a distinctive feature of e-marketplaces, especially helpful in procurement processes. Traditional auctions involve sellers competing to offer the highest price. Reverse auctions are buyer-driven.

The supplier with the lowest price usually gets the deal. However, the buyer might also consider other factors such as delivery time, quality, and reliability.

The key tool for delivering e-commerce services is the business website. This must be specified, designed, hosted and maintained.

Specification

Your website specification should clearly identify what your objective are and the features you will need to achieve them.  Consider who your target audience is for both technical and marketing purposes. You should ensure this is all covered in your digital marketing plan. See develop a digital marketing plan. 

Domain name

You will need to choose and register a domain name. It should be memorable, easy to spell and indicate what your business does so that potential customers can find your site.

You should also use search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques to ensure your website appears high in search engine listings.

Check if the domain name you are planning to use has already been taken.

Website hosting

You can host your own website but most businesses opt to have an internet service provider (ISP) host it on their behalf. Read more about your website hosting options.

Software options

You can create your website using a 'shop' package or have the software built from scratch. Shop packages allow you to configure the look and feel of your shop but design options may be limited.

Read more about creating an online shop.

Even in the planning stages of an e-commerce project, it is important to understand how you will maintain the website on a day-to-day basis. There are also various marketing and security issues that need to be taken into account.

Site maintenance

You will need to maintain the following information on your website:

• changes in product details
• product ranges
• special offers
• up-to-date advertisements
• sales information 

You may publish news and blog articles on your website as part of your content marketing strategy. This will also need updated. 

You should consider redesigning the site every few years in order to improve it in line with technology changes and design trends. 

It is important that the site evolves to meet the needs of your customers. There are a number of actions you can take to encourage customer feedback. This could include carrying out surveys and putting feedback forms on the site.

Marketing

No matter how well designed your e-commerce site is and how competitive your products and prices are, if the customers are unaware of its existence, then you will fail to exploit its potential.

Popular methods of promoting a website include:

• email marketing campaigns
• search engine optimisation (SEO) - improving visibility of your site in search engine results pages
• pay-per-click and paid search advertising - online advertising to drive visitors to your site
• Using social media, such as blogs and online communities
• Digital coupons offering discounts
• Online directories

Mobile advertising

Mobile advertising has become increasingly popular and can be integrated into your overall marketing mix. Common formats include:

• search engine pay-per-click ads with mobile features like "click to call"
• video ads on mobile-friendly platforms such as YouTube
• social media advertising on networks like Facebook and Twitter
• in-app advertising
• SMS and MMS campaigns

Before starting any advertising campaign, consider your target audience, campaign goals, timing, budget, and how it fits into your overall marketing strategy. Set clear objectives and measure success through click-through rates, pages visited, purchases made, and app downloads if applicable.

Security considerations

Using the internet for business purposes is fraught with risks to security. Hackers can attack systems at any time. Whatever your business, there's a real risk that your system may become the target of an attack.

You should recognise the need for effective security controls to prevent your site from falling victim to hackers or fraudsters.

See cyber security for business and protect your business online. 

Contingency planning

The more successful your e-commerce service becomes, the more reliant you will become upon it. You should consider what risks and threats your e-commerce site might be open to and have contingency plans to ensure that you can continue trading should anything go wrong.

E-commerce impacts upon almost every function within a business.

The following teams should be involved:

• IT
• marketing
• accounting
• stock control
• delivery
• leadership

Key customers and suppliers can also be involved.

Collaboration

Marketing and IT need to work together to plan and create your website and related materials such as any email marketing campaign. You'll also want to involve other areas such as:

• accounting
• stock control
•  delivery

This is important if your e-commerce site is going to be integrated into their systems.

It's a good idea to discuss your plans with key business partners such as major customers and suppliers. Read more about trading partner relationships and e-commerce.

Before starting an e-commerce project, you need to ensure that you are fully committed. Top-level involvement can help show your commitment. It can encourage different employees to work together.

External suppliers

Depending on the level of in-house skills, you will likely need to involve external IT suppliers. Your requirements may include:

• additional hardware and software
• website design
• training for your employees

If different suppliers are working on the project, it's important to plan and manage how they will work together. You also need to ensure that any solutions work with your existing IT systems.

Read more about choose an IT supplier for your business.