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Ecommerce Business: How to Start, Grow and Succeed Online
Business

Ecommerce Business: How to Start, Grow and Succeed Online

Ecommerce Business is suddenly a reality for millions of businesses that may not have had online sales in their business before COVID-19.

In the majority of the countries, consumers have been reduction in the expenditure of their purchases as consumers have lost their hopes in improving the economy.

What Is an Ecommerce Business?

Examples include:

  • Online shopping websites (Amazon, Flipkart)

  • Brand-owned online stores

  • Digital service platforms (online courses, software)

  • Subscription-based businesses

How Does an Ecommerce Business Work?

  1. Product Listing – Products or services are displayed online with prices and details

  2. Customer Order – Customers choose items and add them to a cart

  3. Online Payment – Payments are made via UPI, cards, wallets, or net banking

  4. Order Processing – The seller confirms and prepares the order

  5. Delivery or Access – Physical products are shipped; digital products are delivered online

  6. Customer Support – Returns, refunds, and queries are handled digitally

Types of Ecommerce Business Models

Type Description
B2C (Business to Consumer) Businesses sell directly to customers
B2B (Business to Business) Businesses sell to other businesses
C2C (Consumer to Consumer) Individuals sell to other individuals
C2B (Consumer to Business) Individuals sell services to companies

How to start Ecommerce Business

1. Choose a Profitable eCommerce Business Idea

Start with a product that has demand and profit margin.

Popular eCommerce models:

  • Dropshipping (low investment)

  • Private label products (your own brand)

  • Wholesale & reselling

  • Print-on-demand

  • Digital products (ebooks, courses)

How to validate your idea:

  • Search products on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho

  • Use Google Trends

  • Check competitors’ ads and reviews

  • Look for problems your product solves

Tip: Avoid saturated products with heavy competition unless you have a strong USP.

2. Decide Your Target Market & Niche

Define who you’re selling to:

  • Age, gender, location

  • Budget level

  • Problems & interests

Examples of niches:

  • Beauty & skincare

  • Electronics accessories

  • Fitness & wellness

  • Home décor

  • Fashion & accessories

A focused niche = easier branding + faster growth.

3. Register Your eCommerce Business (India)

To run legally in India:

  • Choose business type: Sole Proprietorship / LLP / Pvt Ltd

  • Apply for GST registration (mandatory for eCommerce)

  • Open a current bank account

  • Register your brand name (optional but recommended)

4. Source or Create Your Products

Options:

  • Manufacturers (India, China, local suppliers)

  • Wholesale markets

  • Dropshipping suppliers

  • Create your own products

Key things to check:

  • Product quality

  • Pricing & margins

  • Shipping time

  • Return policy

5. Build Your eCommerce Website

You can create a store without coding.

Best platforms:

  • Shopify (beginner-friendly)

  • WooCommerce (WordPress)

  • Magento (advanced)

  • Wix eCommerce

Your website must include:

  • Mobile-friendly design

  • Secure payment gateway

  • Fast loading speed

  • Product pages with good images & descriptions

6. Set Up Payment & Shipping

Payment gateways (India):

  • Razorpay

  • Cashfree

  • PayU

  • Stripe (international)

Shipping partners:

  • Shiprocket

  • Delhivery

  • Blue Dart

  • DTDC

Offer COD + prepaid options to increase trust.

7. Create High-Converting Product Pages

Each product page should have:

  • Clear product title

  • Benefits-focused description

  • High-quality images & videos

  • Pricing & offers

  • Customer reviews

  • Easy checkout

SEO-optimized content helps you get free traffic from Google.

8. Market Your eCommerce Store

Best marketing channels:

  • Google Ads (shopping & search)

  • Facebook & Instagram Ads

  • Influencer marketing

  • Email marketing

  • WhatsApp marketing

  • SEO & content marketing

Start with paid ads for fast sales, then build SEO for long-term growth.

9. Manage Orders, Returns & Customer Support

Set up:

  • Order tracking

  • Easy returns

  • Fast customer support (email, WhatsApp, chat)

  • Automated emails & SMS

Happy customers = repeat sales

10. Scale Your eCommerce Business

Once you start getting orders:

  • Add more products

  • Improve branding

  • Optimize ads

  • Reduce shipping costs

  • Expand to marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart)

Estimated Investment to Start

Business Type Approx Cost
Dropshipping ₹20,000 – ₹50,000
Private Label ₹50,000 – ₹2,00,000
Branded Store ₹1,00,000+

Build Trust and Take Care of the Relationship with Customers

This blog has already talked about a customer-centric company and how important it is to optimise the shopping experience and generate more revenue.

To achieve this, a fundamental component that must be at the base of any customer-centric company is to gain the trust of your customers.

Due to the growing online competitiveness, trust with customers is a differentiating factor.

which has always been in the offline world, but now it also reaches the online world.

All the departments of your company must align and work to connect in a personal and authentic way with each client.

Establish a relationship of trust that contributes to making your eCommerce customer-centric and, therefore, achieving the objectives of your business.

The Importance of Engagement Beyond the Moment of Sale

In line with the generation of solid relationships of trust with customers.

The critical strategy for any online store that wants to remain competitive in 2018 is to engage with customers even when the sale has already taken place.

Engagement must be a set of actions that have continuity and are not specific since it will cost more and more to attract the customer to your online store once they have completed a sale.

In short, it is about designing a good engagement strategy throughout the customer’s relationship with your business.

To enhance your brand and build customer loyalty.

The Reinforcement of the Credibility of your Brand through Content

The majority of online buyers also inform themselves through the internet before buying. For this reason, although it is already relevant to generate content today.

A strategy that you cannot fail to implement in 2018 is to offer your target audience relevant content so that they can be informed.

Both about your products and services and your sector, before making a purchase. The ultimate goal is for your target audience to know you as a reliable source of information.

Which will help reinforce trust in your brand. Therefore, it is essential to generate quality content that attracts your potential customers when they are researching online before buying.

The generation of content is essential in all phases of the conversion funnel since it attracts new customers and generates engagement with them.

Convert them into customers, and retain them.

Personalization of Customer Interactions

Another increasingly necessary strategy for any eCommerce in 2018 is to personalise interactions with your customers.

Personalization, which is possible thanks to technology, is essential to generate trust and is nowadays vital to achieve engagement and retain your customers.

To offer a high level of personalisation through all channels and communications with your customers. The most important thing is to know them well, that is, to have well-defined buyer personas.

Once you have done it, it will be straightforward for you to personalise all types of content that you will use contact pointsontact with your clients.

Be it the content of your website, your blog, or the that you send them.

Online Sales without Leaving the Email

You can sell through email, did you know?

We are not just referring to sending a transactional newsletter through which your customers reach your website. We mean that they can buy directly via email. It is one of the booming online sales trends you should consider in 2018 for your eCommerce.

And to make it possible, companies like Rebel have added web functionality to email.

Thus redefining the limits of email and turning it into an online store. An email was already a potent tool for generating sales; now, it is even more so with the possibility of your customers completing a purchase directly from their inbox.

Take into Account the Increase in Voice Searches.

The searches for information that all online buyers carry out to inform us before buying a product or service are in writing, Through search engines – mainly Google – either from our computers or mobile phones.

Very shortly, searches will be by voice. The forecast is that 50% of searches in 2020 will be by vote, affecting online stores. Above all, inquiries through the mobile phone will change.

Accessing our usual search engine is less comfortable than doing it from our computer or tablet. It implies that all companies, including online stores, must

optimise SEO and adapt content to voice searches to appear at the top of the search engine results pages when customers do a voice search.

The Increasingly Transversal Skills of eCommerce Professionals – Ecommerce Business

Given the growing need for all the eCommerce departments to interact with each other.

It is increasingly important that the professionals who work in an online store have transversal knowledge that facilitates communication with colleagues from other departments.

Communication and understanding between the different departments are essential.

To all work in the same direction and put the entire company at the client’s service.

Increase the Visibility of your Coupons/Discounts – Ecommerce Business

It is an open secret that one of the best methods of raising an increased number of sales during the holidays is to design promotions and coupons or a discount.

Just like with good content, you need to spend time promoting it! Little tricks can come in handy to get more eyes on your coupons.

One of our favourite ways is to temporarily use a notification bar at the top of your eCommerce site. You can run it during the period of your holiday promotion.

Come up with clever messages to create a sense of urgency, like “10% off for limited time” or “30% off now through Black Friday.” Also, make them selectable for sale.

The Omnichannel Blueprint: Unifying Online, Mobile, and In-Store Experience

Key elements of a strong omnichannel blueprint include:

  • Unified customer data across online, mobile, and in-store touchpoints

  • Consistent pricing, offers, and branding across all channels

  • Click-and-collect, buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS), and easy returns

  • Real-time inventory visibility for customers and staff

  • Personalized recommendations powered by AI and behavioral data

Cutting Customer Acquisition Cost: Data-Driven Loyalty Programs for 2026

Effective loyalty strategies include:

  • AI-powered personalization based on purchase history and behavior

  • Tier-based rewards that encourage higher spending

  • Omnichannel loyalty points usable online and offline

  • Referral programs backed by performance analytics

  • Predictive analytics to identify churn risks and re-engage users

Conclusion – Ecommerce Business

The evolution of eCommerce is constant, and if you have an online store, you must be prepared to successfully face the changes that technology will cause in the way people buy online.

Related Reading: Check out our guide on how to choose Your Own Company?