The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the world to a standstill and businesses across the globe are facing the most heat. Selling online is the best solution to keep your business up and running
It’s true. Industries are losing billions of dollars due to the affected supply and demand equation. And nobody can predict the impact it will have in the coming few weeks or months, especially on the retail sector.
But for a moment, we want you to take a step back and think –
How will the world of business look once we are done and over with the coronavirus pandemic?
The present business trends show that more and more brands are going online. They are willing to explore the myriad of business opportunities the Internet is throwing at them.
To support the above statement, let’s talk about Amazon which has emerged as one of the big winners of the pandemic.
How Amazon and Other eCommerce Businesses are Winning During COVID-19?
With $75.4bn in revenue in the first quarter of 2020, Amazon is at a new high. The boom in sales is unprecedented, as it registers a 26% increase than the same time last year.
However, the profit has fallen 29% from the last year to $2.5bn. But, this is mostly because the world is in a lockdown and very few industries have slowed down their production.
If we talk about net sales, Amazon is doing great at $46bn in the first quarter. This is a $10.2bn increase than what it was the same time last year.
There has been an enormous increase in demand as consumers are forced to stay at home. This is a huge sign for people like you who own brick and mortar businesses.
What this means is that eCommerce businesses are taking it all at the moment. They are drawing most of the market attention and boosting their revenues through the roof.
But, can you start selling online as well? Absolutely! Let’s find out how.
How To Start Selling Online in 2020?
Selling online is easier than you think. This is because the blueprint is already out there and all you have to do is follow the footsteps and reach your business goals.
Let’s discuss the five steps to selling online in 2020. Here’s a 5-step guide to starting your own online business.
- Find Your Niche
- Figure Out Where to Source the Products
- Choose an eCommerce Platform and Create Your Store
- Set Up Payment Options
Finding a Niche
If you already have a retail business and you are selling products of a certain niche, then you should definitely take your store online. If that’s not the case, then you have quite a bit thinking to do. Find out what people need and how you can fulfil them and still stay profitable. Is there a niche you are really interested in? Well, go for it.
Figure Out The Source of Your Products
You want to get your products cheap so that you can earn a reasonable profit margin. The best place you can get your products is AliExpress. They list the products at amazingly cheap prices. You can also take products from Amazon and sell them in your store. The bottomline of choosing a source is finding one that provides you the products at a cheap rate.
Choose Online Marketplace or Create Your Own Store
You can create your own online store if you want. The process of creating your own store is a little complex and needs a separate blog post for that. However, choosing an online marketplace and creating your own store on it is much easier. We highly recommend creating your store on Amazon.
Set Up Payment Options
You can enable payment options like Amazon Pay, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Shopify Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, 2checkout to ensure the recent zero-touch policies of eCommerce businesses. Due to the COVID-19, these businesses are not accepting Cash-on-Delivery at the moment.
Final Thoughts
Strike while the iron is hot. Taking your business online can give you a head start to beat your competitors that are still pondering and white-boarding about the idea of going online. It’s time to execute!
I was recently featured in Forbes magazine sharing my thoughts on how to sell online right now. Click here to read more
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