For anyone who wants to begin an e-commerce business, the most challenging aspect of the same is to decide upon the right product to sell online. Either the product could be from a niche product segment, being unique and able to create demand for itself or it can be from among the trending products such as apparel, mobile phones, electronic gadgets, etc.
Any business, let it be eCommerce or through a physical brick-and-mortar store, should result in making profits for the entrepreneur. Profit would be made only if the entrepreneur witnesses a steady or increasing sale of the products sold online.
Many ways can help to determine and choose the best product/s that should be undertaken for sales fitting the online market best, at any given point of time.
A few of the most trending products for 2019 are listed below for the convenience of the eCommerce beginners:-
1) Apparels and electronic gadgets like mobile, tablet, laptop, etc
2) Mobile phone accessories
3) Computer hardware
4) Footwears
5) Women’s and men’s bags and purses
6) Jewelry
7) Fashion accessories
8) Books
9) Health and beauty products
10) Gaming console
11) Home utilities
Before narrowing down to any products, certain factors should be considered such as
1) Availability of the product within the state of residence
Try to opt for the product/s which is manufactured in your residence state as it will be available in abundance and in a lot of variation where it is manufacture
2) The price range should also be decided beforehand for the different products. Also, different marketplaces can witness different price ranges for the same product based on the cost incurred on transportation and handling
3) A new eCommerce beginner, make sure that the product quality is good because a low-grade product will worsen your image amongst buyers.
4) Try to opt for non-fragile and easy-to-ship products because this will save upon breakage and spoilage.
5) Evaluate your storage space available because smaller is the product you are selling, smaller would be the storage space required. So, in the beginning, try to choose small products.
6) If you are opting for some perishable products like fruits and vegetables, foodstuff, etc. the shelf life of the same should be well-researched and noted. The shorter shelf life product/s needs to be sold immediately to avoid wastage.
7) To witness continuous and steady sales in the beginning, always try to opt for all seasons goods such as kitchen wares, packed food, and many more. Instead, get a catalog in advance for each season and rotate if the product you narrow down to, is seasonal.
8) If you are outsourcing or purchasing the products from another manufacturer, make sure that you have direct contact with the manufacturer or the drop shipper to have a well-organized work-chain
9) Choose the right advertisement method and technology, which should be simple.
A common buyer is not usually interested in knowing the technical aspect of the product and the services. So, it is always better to advertise for the new product the most simply and impressively, which could be understood by the prospective clients easily.
10) Try to bring in innovation in the products to be launched as such products can create a niche for themselves. It is always better to get into an online business after having thorough research for the product/s and the prospective marketplace for the same. Launch the product with the people’s expectations roped in from the same.
Benefits of Drop shipping for eCommerce merchants
Dropshipping is a process that allows the merchants to list products, take orders from the buyers, and pass those orders to drop-shippers. The drop-shippers get the items that are sold, get them packed, and ship them to the customers who bought them.
In this case, the customer never gets to know whether the product is coming directly from the manufacturer / online seller or through the drop shipper.
Few benefits of drop shipping are like
- The low risk involved for the product seller as they pay for the product to the manufacturer only after-sales.
- Inventory cost is almost zero as the online product sellers don’t have to store every product in their warehouse.
- Packaging and shipping is not a problem. The shipping department is handed over to the vendors.
- The online store can have an extensive product range and selection of option because the products are actually with the drop shippers.
The only drawback with this drop shipping involvement in the eCommerce business process is, the online seller tend to lose control over the product as drop shippers have more control.
To overcome this, a business portal can buy the product directly from the manufacturer or the wholesaler and then proceed towards selling them online for your eCommerce store.
In which case, good relationships with the manufacturer or wholesaler are a key to procure the products at good and reasonable prices. After that, sell them on your portal with the price band that can yield profit for your online store.
As an eCommerce store owner, you should know manufacturers or wholesalers available in the regions near you and far away.
The complete market research should be made pre-launch and post-launch of the store. It should be comparing various manufacturers for their prices, payment preferences, shipping capabilities, and terms and conditions of working with them for a smooth long-term business relationship.
After procuring all the necessary information, compare and decide upon the products and the marketplace you will be entering into for sales.
Lastly but very important, get your eCommerce products photograph done well because online business is all about visual representation. The products will attract clients only if product photography has been done through experts. These experts can bring out the luring look of every product.
With the growing popularity of e-commerce business, Product Photography studios have evolved in every state, big or small. Research for the best studio in your residence state to get your product photographs done to the best. Only e good-quality photographs of your products can create magic on portals. In short product, photographs are a salesperson for any eCommerce. So, never compromise on their quality and get them to do by experts that can bring them alive through their tricks and expertise.