Google ads appear all across the internet—in search results, on websites, at the beginning of YouTube videos, and more. Learn how to use them.
Google Ads is the largest digital advertising platform in the world. In the last quarter of 2023, advertisers spent more than $65 billion on the platform—not a small amount.
When most marketers think of Google Ads campaigns, they think of text ads on Google search results. But there are many types of campaigns—from video to mobile app ads—with a few important key steps to setting them up.
Learn the ins and outs of advertising with Google and how to run Google Ads campaigns on your own.
What is a Google Ads campaign?
A Google Ads campaign is a structure for advertising in search results, YouTube videos, and more within the Google Ads platform.
Google Ads campaigns work through a selection of settings. Among them are ad groups (which contain the ad formats and target keywords), budget, and technical settings.
Google ads are self-serve, meaning you can set up and cancel an ad campaign at any time. You can sign up for a Google Ads account, add credit card billing information, configure ads and campaign settings, and have ads running within a day.
There is no minimum or maximum spend for Google Ads campaigns; advertisers can spend as little as $1 per day (though results may be limited).
Types of Google Ads campaigns
When advertisers create new campaigns in Google, they have nine different types to choose from:
Search. Google Search ads appear in Google search results as promoted links.
Display.Display ads, also referred to as banner ads, are image ads, short videos, and HTML-based ads shown on non-Google websites that have agreed to show ads.
Video. Video ads on YouTube appear in multiple ways, including 30-second skippable pre-roll ads and six-second unskippable bumper ads that appear at the beginning of videos.
Shopping. Product listing ads for products or services sold online appear in search results next to text ads and Google’s Shopping tab.
Demand Gen. This new, experimental campaign format appears on all of Google’s social properties, including YouTube Shorts, Discover, and Gmail.
App. A campaign type specifically for advertisers of mobile apps, these appear across all Google’s mobile properties, including search, Google Play store, and YouTube.
Local. For promoting physical locations, such as brick-and-mortar stores or restaurants, local ads primarily appear on Google Maps.
Smart. With this ad type, new or small business advertisers can choose to have Google automatically place their ads across all of the properties Google owns.
Performance Max. Similar to a smart campaign, Performance Max is an automated campaign type that shows ads across all channels but caters to large, commercial accounts.
These five steps to create a Google Ads campaign are the same for every campaign type:
1. Choose a campaign objective and type
When you create a new campaign in Google Ads, your first prompt will be to define your objective. This helps Google recommend the campaign types that best suit you. “Sales” and “website traffic” are the most common goal types.
Depending on the objective you select, there may be additional settings to choose from, such as the conversion goal if you choose a sales objective.
Once you select your objective, Google will provide the relevant campaign types for you. The campaign type will determine the settings and placements available to you throughout the campaign.
2. Determine your ad spend
You typically set budgets on a daily basis in Google Ads and can change them at any time. When creating a new campaign, most advertisers choose the lower end of their budget range and then spend more as they see results.
Your objective will partially determine your bidding strategy. For example, if your goal is to get more website sales, campaigns will bid to optimize for the most sales by default.
There are additional nuances you can add to your bid strategy directly. For example, you can target a certain impression share of all searches or set bids at the ad group level, giving you the flexibility to spend more on high-performing ad groups.
3. Select campaign settings and targeting
In this stage, you will set the parameters for how you want your campaign to reach people. This includes settings for which platforms to advertise on, which languages to use in your ads, and more.
The final step in the configuration is setting your targeting. For search campaigns, this means the keywords you want to target, as well as negative keywords (the terms you don’t want to show up on). Advertisers can research the keywords they want to target ahead of time using Google’s Keyword Planner tool. For non-search campaigns, advertisers set targeting based on the interests and behavior of their target audience.
4. Create or upload ads
In this stage, you’ll write ad copy for search ads or upload media for other types, such as video campaigns. Google also now offers generative AI support to help you create ads if you provide it with the final URL (landing page) you’ll be sending them to.
5. Configure conversion tracking and launch
Google Ad campaigns work best when they can optimize based on conversion signals. These are set in the “Conversions” section of the “Measurement” menu. Google Ads can measure conversions using various tools, but the most common method is for marketers to import their existing conversion data from Google Analytics (GA4).
Once your conversion tracking is in place, your ads are ready to launch. Click “Enable” to turn on your ads. In the Google Ads interface, you can tell a campaign is on if there is a green dot next to its name.
Google Ads does an automated review of new ads before ads go live; you can expect the review to take anywhere from one hour to 24 hours. Once it’s done and your ads are approved, your ads will begin showing.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
Explore the pros and cons of ecommerce and dropshipping to determine the best approach for your online store.
If you’re looking to start selling online, you’re likely searching for products, considering marketing, and wondering how to handle shipping and fulfillment.
Should you start an ecommerce store and manage overhead, inventory, and shipping yourself? Or get your foot in the door of the online business ecosystem with dropshipping?
From a customer perspective, the difference between purchasing from a classic ecommerce site and a dropshipping site is likely imperceptible.
Here are the critical differences between ecommerce and dropshipping to help you choose the best path forward for your online store.
What is ecommerce?
Ecommerce—short for electronic commerce—is the buying and selling goods or services online via websites, mobile apps, or online marketplaces. Ecommerce businesses come in all types and sizes, including retail stores selling physical products (as well as online), digital product creators offering downloadable items, and service providers offering their services online.
An ecommerce store lets an online business reach customers beyond its local area and operate 24/7. It also provides a convenient online shopping experience with features like online payments, order tracking, and customer service.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a retail fulfillment method within ecommerce where you don’t keep the products you sell on hand. Instead, when a customer places an order, you redirect the order to a third-party supplier, who then ships the product directly to the customer.
As the store owner, you function as a conduit between the customer and the supplier. The dropshipping business model lets you start an online store without needing to invest in inventory or manage complex logistics.
Think of dropshipping as a specific ecommerce strategy where you delegate inventory management and fulfillment to third-party suppliers. You could then sell some products traditionally and dropship others. For instance, you might manufacture your own manual coffee grinders and dropship branded beans to upsell and increase your average order value.
Traditional ecommerce and the dropshipping model have similarities, but there are also differences to consider when choosing between the two. Here’s what online sellers need to know:
Inventory management
Ecommerce typically involves purchasing products in bulk, storing and managing inventory, and fulfilling orders yourself or through a fulfillment center. It requires an initial investment in your own inventory and storage space, but it gives you complete control over the stock and fulfillment process.
Dropshipping lets you sell products without holding any inventory. Orders are sent to dropshipping suppliers, who ship the product to the customer. This means minimal start-up costs (no inventory to purchase) and no need for inventory management, but less control over the types of products you can sell and shipping times.
Profit margins
With typical ecommerce business models, profit margins can be substantial; you can buy products wholesale and have the flexibility to set retail prices. This direct purchase and sale of goods allows for clear-cut margin calculations and the potential for bulk discounts from suppliers, adding to the profitability of each sale.
In contrast, a dropshipping business generally yields thinner profit margins because suppliers take a substantial cut (after all, much of the work falls on them). Since products purchased from dropshipping suppliers typically cost more, there’s less room for markup, leading to smaller profits per transaction.
Control over product quality
Ecommerce business owners have considerable control over product quality because they source and inspect their inventory before selling. This hands-on approach can help establish high-quality standards and address any concerns before products reach customers, ensuring a consistent and pleasant customer experience.
Dropshipping gives you less control over product quality since you depend on suppliers to maintain standards. Without direct oversight, you must trust your suppliers to uphold product quality, which can vary and is often outside your immediate influence. This can lead to customer dissatisfaction.
Shipping and fulfillment
With the ecommerce business model, managing shipping and fulfillment in-house gives you more direct control over delivery methods, shipping costs, and wait times. You can negotiate rates with carriers, customize ecommerce packaging, and ensure prompt dispatch of orders.
A dropshipping store puts shipping and fulfillment in your supplier’s hands, letting you focus on other tasks. Though this model demands less logistics management, it can lead to less control over shipping speed, which may affect customer satisfaction and complicate customer service.
Branding and customization
Ecommerce businesses can customize their branding, from unique packaging to personalized inserts. Owning your online store affords complete control, enabling a distinctive brand experience to differentiate you from rivals. However, it obliges the online retailer to allocate considerable effort and resources toward crafting brand strategies and assets, a potentially substantial investment.
A dropshipping business can customize its online store and curate desirable products, but since the products are shipped directly from the supplier, they often arrive in generic or predetermined packaging. This approach reduces both responsibility for product packaging design and initial costs, it may also limit your ability to build a distinct, recognizable brand. This could hinder differentiation in a competitive market.
Customer service
In ecommerce, direct control over customer service allows for tailored support, quick responses to inquiries, and easy handling of returns and exchanges, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction. However, this level of involvement often requires a dedicated customer service infrastructure, which can be costly and require significant maintenance as the business grows.
On the other hand, dropshipping can complicate customer service because you need to coordinate with suppliers to resolve issues, leading to potential delays and communication breakdowns. While your customer service workload may be lighter without direct involvement in shipping and returns, reliance on third parties can decrease your ability to provide immediate and effective solutions, which may impact customer loyalty.
Scalability
Ecommerce businesses can scale significantly by increasing inventory and expanding their business operations, leading to bulk purchasing benefits and better profit margins over time. However, scaling up typically requires significant investment in inventory, storage, and workforce, along with navigating the complexities of larger, more intricate logistical operations.
A dropshipping store offers a more flexible model for scaling up since it doesn’t require purchasing inventory in advance. This allows for the addition of new products and adjustment of offerings quickly without significant investment. Yet, the dependency on one or multiple suppliers means that scaling is limited by their capacity and reliability, which can introduce challenges in maintaining product quality and customer service standards during periods of rapid growth.
Competition
Ecommerce businesses can select or produce unique products and leverage brand identity to differentiate themselves in the market, potentially reducing direct competition and allowing them to carve a unique market niche. However, the challenge relies on constant market research and product development.
Dropshipping businesses often encounter higher levels of competition because many dropshippers source from the same suppliers and sell similar products. This can make it challenging to stand out to customers, resulting in a marketplace where price competition is fierce and margins are thin. Differentiation in dropshipping therefore often hinges on marketing strategies and customer service.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
We’re sharing insights from an independent consulting firm to help you choose the perfect ecommerce platform for your business. Learn the pros and cons on five of the leading ecommerce platforms in North America: Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce (Magento), WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Learn about their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), so you can see how each platform could affect your business’ bottom line. If you’re looking to transform your business, this side-by-side look at these ecommerce platforms is for you.
Large brands are looking for ways to add value to both their teams and their customers by exploring different ecommerce platforms. If you’re one of them, consider choosing a platform that’s able to sell, innovate, scale, and automate with you as you navigate the market. That said, we understand that these features all come at a cost.
Committing to the wrong ecommerce platform can get pricey, complex, and time-consuming to manage, often causing delays and even added fees that you initially didn’t expect. This is where understanding the total cost of ownership (TCO) of each platform’s services becomes your advantage. It helps you answer the big question: ‘Which one is the best fit for me, my team, and our budget?’
To help you pick the best ecommerce platform for your business, we’re sharing research conducted by a leading independent consulting firm focusing on five ecommerce platforms available on the market in North America today: Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce (Magento), WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. We’ll dissect each platform’s TCO to shed light on how it can directly impact your bottom line.
If you’re looking to transform the way your enterprise brand does business—this ecommerce platform comparison is for you.
What goes into calculating the cost of an ecommerce platform?
Think of figuring out the TCO of an ecommerce platform as if you’re a detective that has to dig deeper than what’s on the surface. It’s not just about the upfront costs of setting up and starting on a new platform. You also have to uncover the yearly fees, maintenance costs, the use of third-party services, and those unexpected extra charges that can pop up.
Luckily, we’ve outlined an easy way for you to find out. How to calculate TCO depends on the following factors:
Implementation and setup costs: These are the initial costs associated with setting up your ecommerce store, including the cost of customization, integration of third-party applications, and plugins.
Platform fees and ecommerce stack costs: These are the ongoing costs of using the platform, including subscription fees, transaction fees, and costs associated with third-party applications.
Operational and support costs: These costs include hosting, security, maintenance, and support services.
Gained or lost conversion: This is the potential revenue you could gain or lose based on the platform’s conversion rate.
Four top ecommerce platform price comparisons
In this assessment, we’re putting ourselves to the test too. Let’s dive into a detailed comparison of Shopify with WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Adobe, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud to find out how we line up against each when it comes to TCO.
All information in this article is according to research commissioned by Shopify from a leading independent consulting firm to study TCO across major platforms in North America and understand Shopify’s relative positioning based on objective research methods.
Shopify vs. WooCommerce: TCO comparison
Platform fees and ecommerce stack costs
Shopify users reported the lowest platform costs on average, with WooCommerce users experiencing 32% higher costs on average due to increased support needs and frequent version upgrades.
Operational and support costs
Shopify’s operational simplicity and reduced developer support needs result in the lowest operating costs. In contrast, WooCommerce can incur additional infrastructure costs, such as hosting, leading to 41% higher operating costs on average.
Implementation and setup costs
Implementation and setup on WooCommerce will cost your business 49% more than Shopify’s, on average. Additionally, it’s 41% faster on average to setup a new storefront on Shopify than on WooCommerce.
Conversion
Assuming a 10% margin on goods sold, Shopify’s checkout converts 17% better than WooCommerce, translating to a roughly 1.7% TCO offset when expressed as a percent of TCO.
Shopify vs. BigCommerce: TCO comparison
Platform fees and ecommerce stack costs
Shopify users again reported the lowest platform costs on average, with BigCommerce users experiencing 32% higher costs on average due to limited native enterprise capabilities.
Operational and support costs
Shopify has the lowest operating costs in comparison to BigCommerce’s—which comes in higher with 21% more on average. The difference shows in BigCommerce’s limited native enterprise functionality, which can significantly increase operational costs.
Implementation and setup costs
Implementation and setup on BigCommerce will cost your business 88% more than Shopify’s, on average. Additionally, it’s 36% faster on average to setup a new storefront on Shopify than on BigCommerce.
Conversion
Assuming a 10% margin on goods sold, Shopify’s checkout converts 12% better than BigCommerce, translating to a roughly 1.2% TCO offset when expressed as a percent of TCO.
Shopify vs. Adobe Commerce: TCO comparison
Platform fees and ecommerce stack costs
Shopify users reported the lowest platform costs on average, with Adobe Commerce users experiencing 42% higher costs on average due to less flexible pricing.
Operational and support costs
On average, there’s a 24% higher operational and support cost on Adobe Commerce than on Shopify. This is mainly due to Adobe’s complex legacy commerce platform which can require more internal IT resources or partners for ongoing updates and enhancements.
Implementation and setup costs
Implementation and setup on Adobe Commerce will cost your business 42% more than Shopify’s, on average. Additionally, it’s 40% faster on average to setup a new storefront on Shopify than on Adobe Commerce.
Conversion
Assuming a 10% margin on goods sold, Shopify’s checkout converts 5% better than Adobe Commerce, translating to a roughly 0.5% TCO offset when expressed as a percent of TCO.
Shopify vs. Salesforce Commerce Cloud: TCO comparison
Platform fees and ecommerce stack costs
Shopify users reported the lowest platform costs on average, with Salesforce users experiencing 14% higher costs on average due to less flexible pricing.
Operational and support costs
Shopify comes in at a lower cost in operations and support in contrast to Salesforce’s 6% increase on average. This is mainly due to Salesforce’s complex legacy platform requiring more internal IT resources or partners for ongoing updates and enhancements.
Implementation and setup costs
Implementation and setup on Salesforce will cost your business 16% more than Shopify’s, on average. Additionally, it’s 28% faster on average to setup a new storefront on Shopify than on Salesforce.
Conversion
Assuming a 10% margin on goods sold, Shopify’s checkout converts 36% better than Salesforce, translating to a roughly 3.6% TCO offset when expressed as a percent of TCO.
The clear winner: Shopify
Not only are our customers getting the perks of an innovative, agile, and secure platform, but they’re getting the best in TCO.Shopify’s TCO is up to 36% better than its competitors, and 33% on average., and this research shows our platform consistently outperforms others in terms of cost, ease of use, and conversion rates. It’s the clear winner for businesses looking to maximize their ecommerce potential while minimizing costs.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
Billions of ad auctions take place every day to determine what Facebook ads people see. Do you understand how the Facebook ad auction works?
When the advertiser defines the audience they are targeting, there is no guarantee that anyone in that audience will see their ad. The advertiser must first win in the auctions.
Here’s what you need to know…
The Goal of the Auction
You can’t think of the Facebook ad auction as the stereotypical auction with a fast-talking auctioneer and the item on the auction block going to the highest bidder. That’s not really how this works.
The goal of the auction isn’t necessarily to award the ad with the highest bid a placement in a particular user’s feed. The hope is to accomplish two primary things:
Show a user an ad they are likely to care about and engage with
Provide results to the business paying for the ad
If only the highest bid mattered, users would be less likely to see the ads they care about — and advertisers would be less likely to get the actions they paid for. When done right, both users and advertisers benefit.
How it Works
So, it’s more complicated than having the highest bid. The winner of the ad auction is the ad with the highest total value. The total value is determined by three factors:
1. Bid: Okay, this still matters. The bid is how much the advertiser is willing to pay to get their desired action. This is sometimes set manually, but usually automatically.
2. Estimated Action Rates: This is an estimate of the probability that a person will engage with your ad. This could be based on what a user tends to engage with and the rate that people are engaging with your ad.
3. Ad Quality: This has less to do with the level of engagement and more to do with signals related to quality. This is derived from feedback of users who have seen it so far and automated assessments of the ad that include checks for violations like engagement bait.
How Do You Win the Auction?
Can you win an auction based primarily on having the highest bid? Well, technically. In that case, your ad may not get shown based on estimated action rates and ad quality alone. As a result, you can expect to spend more to get your ad shown. Will that be worth it?
The goal, of course, is to win these auctions in a balanced way. You want to spend the least while reaching the right people who are most likely to perform your desired action.
What’s the best way to do this? Effective creative that grabs attention and inspires engagement while playing within the rules. Ultimately, it’s a quality ad that will give you the biggest advantage with winning auctions while keeping your costs down.
What strategies do you follow to win Facebook ad auctions?
Let me know in the comments below!
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
The Covid-19 pandemic heralded an explosive acceleration in online retail. Statista recorded a 24% increase in global e-commerce revenue in 2020, and a further 18% increase in 2021.
South Africa followed a similar trend, but our embrace of e-commerce in 2020 was even more pronounced, especially in certain categories. Food and beverages were the phenomenal success stories, showing 64% and 40% revenue growth respectively in 2020.
The global cost of living crisis that has struck in 2023 takes place in this environment of e-commerce maturity and heightened consumer comfort with online shopping. As inflation hits peaks last seen decades ago, and interest rates soar in response, consumers are embracing new models that make shopping more affordable and convenient.
One such model, which is proving transformative in several countries, is group buying, or “social e-commerce”. Social e-commerce platforms allow groups of individual consumers to easily coordinate buying activities, benefiting from group discounts.
Social e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo in China and Facily in Brazil have quietly scaled beyond expectations – Facily was valued at $850m in 2021, and Pinduoduo recorded revenue of $18bn in 2023.
In South Africa, the social e-commerce market is led by SOLshop. SOLshop connects wholesalers and customers in one friendly ecosystem, allowing individuals to conveniently access daily discounts on hundreds of products through the SOLshop app.
Jonathan Holden, COO at SOLshop, says, “In an economic environment of persistent low growth and high inflation, we’ve seen an explosion of interest in our ability to coordinate group buying and give everyday consumers access to extraordinary savings. The response to SOLShop has been exceptionally positive, offering consumers a glimmer of light in these challenging times. It’s interesting to note, as we celebrate Women’s Month, that 70% of our customers are female.”
SOLshop collaborates directly with local farmers and producers, allowing lower-than-wholesale prices on food, including fruits and vegetables, as well as household and beauty products. SOLshop users form groups of friends or other app users to access these deals. The more shoppers that collaborate, the bigger the savings.
SOLshop has a large and growing delivery zone and 15+ pickup points around Johannesburg. Currently, the delivery area covers Sandton, Bryanston, Fourways, Randburg Central, Roodepoort, Midrand, СBD & Soweto.
As well as the collective-buying mechanism, social e-commerce platforms often replicate the social experience of shopping, with personalised recommendations, promotions, and fun engagement mechanisms. They result in closer relationships between producers and consumers, and a rise in word-of-mouth advertising.
Holden concludes, “We anticipate that the group-buying model has the potential to scale significantly in South Africa. We’re a well-connected country with a high cellphone penetration rate, and we could all benefit from lowering our grocery and household-item budgets, while building networks and communities.”
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
The latest Takealot Competition Commission ruling seems unlikely to affect Amazon‘s long-term African expansion plans, and the market shouldn’t underestimate the retail giant’s ability to push back against requirements it deems unreasonable.
The latest Takealot Competition Commission ruling seems unlikely to affect Amazon’s long-term African expansion plans
The Competition Commission’s (Comp Comm) Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry’s remedial requirements for Takealot have ruffled more than a few feathers in the retail space, but not e-commerce juggernaut, Amazon.com, which is forging ahead with its plans to enter the local market, albeit at a more leisurely pace.
“The building of warehouses and local hiring is ongoing, but the urgency is certainly no longer there,” comments Anouck van Rietschoten, head of operations (marketplaces) at Incubeta.
“These new remedial actions by the Competition Commission are also going to demand the full attention of the Amazon legal team and, even though they will definitely be on top of it, the company seems to be dealing with more hurdles than are immediately apparent,” she adds.
Van Rietschoten also says that South Africa’s greylisting would have also added complexity to the global marketplace’s expansion plans and says that while the Nasdaq heavyweight certainly has the resources to deal with the challenges, the postponement of its planned 2023 launch is very likely.
“If we see a Q1 2024 launch it would likely be a soft launch with some select big brands and most likely without the third-party (3P) model. What we have seen in other regions is that Amazon will onboard big brands, focussing on its first-party or 1P model.
“While they have historically opened their seller side at the time of launch, they have opened it to just a few select 3P sellers and have not actively recruited resellers. This allows them to get the platform going and the customers used the service before they begin with a vendor onboarding drive,” she explains.
Don’t expect Amazon to roll over
When it comes to the Competition Commission’s move against Takealot, van Rietschoten says Amazon is well-versed in dealing with regional trading anomalies.
“Amazon is used to dealing with these commissions and has shown that they can adapt their commissions and percentages as necessary.
“We also see some flexibility on their terms of agreement in each region to ensure they meet regulatory requirements.
“That said, they have also been known to rock the boat and because of their size and leverage, they can afford to push back a fair bit, as they did in France,” she shares.
Meet in the middle
The most recent concessions in the UK, however, also show the firm is able to meet in the middle, but van Rietschoten says she expects Amazon executives and legal teams to be working hard behind the scenes to ensure they get a fair play at cracking the local market.
“I believe Amazon is already in this conversation. Both with the Commission and with other players in the local market. They will certainly have some leverage in this conversation and may even be able to bend some of the rules, supporting Takealot in the process,” she shares.
Negative impact on the smaller players
Commenting on the Commission’s move to try and split Takealot’s retail and marketplace operations, van Rietschoten believes this may have a negative impact on the smaller players, rather than levelling the playing field as intended.
“You want one place where small retailers can also have an opportunity to compete against the big brands. The US has shown how small players can grow their businesses in an online-only environment and, with some clever strategies, can still be visible and compete against even the biggest players.
“Splitting the models will push the small players onto other platforms. The Commission’s efforts seem focussed on dismantling any monopolies, rather than enabling a platform designed to accommodate big and small players alike,” she explains.
Far-reaching impact
Summing up, Van Rietschoten says the outcome of any further negotiations over the next few months will have a far-reaching impact.
“Ultimately, the consumer would benefit from an e-commerce environment that offers as many products as possible at the most competitive price possible.
“So ensuring that the cheapest prices are visible in the Buy Box, for instance, makes good sense. And when all the players are governed by the same 3P and 1P rules it helps ensure a fair and safe retail experience.
“But any short-sightedness now will stop future e-commerce expansion. We expect players like JD.com to enter the market soon, and you can be very sure they will be watching these next moves with great interest.
“We’ve seen time and again, once Amazon has ironed out the kinks in a region, others will follow,” she says.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
With so many affordable, accessible and customizable platforms, it’s never been easier to create an online store and sell through established marketplaces. But the growth of your eCommerce business depends on your ability to acquire new customers and increase sales from existing ones. Every eCommerce marketing channel costs time, money or energy, and it’s up to you to find the right balance for your business. Even for the most experienced eCommerce professionals, growing revenue and scaling up can be a challenge.
Mistakes are a natural part of all growth and can serve as excellent learning opportunities. That said, we can probably all agree we’d still prefer to avoid them in the first place. Being aware of the most common pitfalls that other entrepreneurs experience in eCommerce can help you avoid costly mistakes and missed opportunities.
5 eCommerce mistakes to avoid
To help eCommerce businesses avoid the most common pitfalls that new sellers make, I’ve drawn on the experience of the Wix team in running an eCommerce platform, as well as the experience of our network of over 500,000 online stores worldwide, to assemble these tips for the top 5 eCommerce mistakes to avoid.
One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is not clearly defining your target audience or taking the time to understand what makes your customers tick.
You can’t really expect the right people to just show up at your website simply because you have a product they might need or want. You need to let them know about your business and get them to notice your products. And to do that, you need to know who they are and how you can reach them.
Without a clear idea of who your target audience is, you’re essentially going into every single marketing initiative completely blind. Knowing your audience will help you figure out which images to use for ads, which words to use in descriptions, which social channels to aggressively maintain, and more.
So get hyper-invested on understanding your potential customers.
What are their problems or pain points?
What are they looking for?
What are their hobbies and interests?
Which groups or subcultures do they belong to?
What values are important to them?
Where and how do they engage with content online?
Defining and understanding your target audience will help you create a brand message that resonates with them and a shopping journey that entices them to buy time and time again.
02. Not Knowing which eCommerce Channels to Choose
It’s not enough to know who your target customers are; you also need to know how to reach them best. Are they on Facebook? Do they shop on Amazon or eBay? Do they read email newsletters? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, your products probably won’t ever be seen by relevant shoppers, no matter how valuable they may be.
eCommerce channels don’t all work the same or even cater to the same audience. Some are great for reaching shoppers who are actively searching for a product, while others work well for reaching shoppers who have previously interacted with your online store. Selling online is an endless process of trial and error, testing and optimization. Understand how new channels work and then don’t be afraid to try new ways of reaching potential shoppers.
Start by defining the ideal results for your marketing efforts.
Do you want to:
Attract potential customers who are actively searching
Re-engage your past customers
Reach out to totally new prospects
Increase traffic quantity and/or quality
Based on your goals, select the eCommerce channels best suited to connecting your business to potential shoppers:
Search Engines are excellent tools for targeting people actively looking for a product. These shoppers are already interested and tend to convert quicker. Search engines like Google and Bing offer many advertising options, like text ads, image ads, product listings, and voice search marketing. By optimizing your eCommerce website’s SEO, you can rank organically for related search terms and grow valuable unpaid traffic sources to your site.
Online Marketplaces are also a great way to reach actively searching shoppers who can easily browse through lots of products from different categories. Amazon and eBay are popular marketplaces that can provide exposure to many shoppers, but can also be very competitive. Smaller niche or local marketplaces might offer more visibility and generate sales at a lower cost.
Email Marketing is a great way to reach shoppers with great conversion potential. These are either past customers who already purchased from you or shoppers interested enough in your business to give you their email address, which makes them more likely to make a purchase from you in the future.
Retargeting lets you target shoppers who visit your website. Many shoppers abandon their carts, but are often still interested and easier to convert. Remarketing can be done through channels like Google and Facebook by adding a unique tracking pixel to your website so that site visitors can be served ads later on. Also make sure to set up automated emails for abandoned carts to remind shoppers about the products they are considering from your site.
Social Networks let you reach shoppers who aren’t necessarily actively looking for a product but are open to new ideas or content. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest are used by hundreds of millions of people around the world every day and offer very granular targeting capabilities based on lifestyle, demographic and behavior.
03. Not Investing in Your Product Pages
Potential customers don’t physically interact with your products before they buy them, but they do engage with your product pages. Your product pages need to convince shoppers to buy the product from your site rather than from somebody else.
Create great product pages that entice shoppers:
Provide accurate and tempting product descriptions, including features, specifications and benefits.
Display your products with high quality product photographs or videos.
Include product reviews and testimonials which are major drivers in converting buyers – but make sure that reviews appear valid and authentic.
Optimize the SEO for your product pages – include all relevant keywords, and make sure that you’re not copy pasting manufacturer or supplier descriptions as duplicate content will cause your pages to be penalized by search engines.
04. Creating Poor Shopping Experiences
Once shoppers make it through the initial steps of your sales funnel, it’s time to close the deal. Unfortunately, this is a time where a lot of eCommerce businesses see abandoned carts. If a shopper has decided that they want to buy your product, don’t put any obstacles in their way.
Simplify your Shopping Cart.If shoppers need to fumble through the checkout process, they are likely to get frustrated and give up before ever making a purchase. To increase conversions, make the checkout process as simple as possible and eliminate as many steps as possible from your shopping cart. Keep buttons big and text small, and remove any unnecessary fields.
Don’t require shoppers to set up an account before buying a product. Give shoppers a streamlined checkout to buy the product they want and give you their money. Then worry about adding them to your brand community or CRM lists.
Don’t surprise shoppers with unexpected fees. Making a purchase involves a degree of trust and you don’t want to give shoppers any reason to think that you’re not being upfront with them. Unexpected fees like taxes or shipping fees can drive away potential customers. This doesn’t mean that you should cover the cost of tax and shipping yourself – simply provide all of this information well before shoppers reach the checkout page.
Give shoppers enough payment options.You don’t want to lose a customer because they can’t functionally pay you. There are dozens of online payment methods, from credit cards to digital wallets and mobile payment solutions. You don’t need to offer all of the options, but find out which payment methods your target customers prefer and focus on those.
05. Providing Poor Customer Care
Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. Not only is it easier to and more profitable to keep an existing customer, but they’ll probably send you more business if you offer amazing customer service.
Poor customer care, from slow response time or showing impatience, to not offering refunds, is a sure way to lose existing customers and avoid getting new ones.
Customer care includes a lot different things – how you:
Respond to shopper’s messages on your website
Answer questions and comments on social media
Address customer complaints over the phone and via email
Be there when your customers need you and offer them your full attention and support.
Learn from these eCommerce Mistakes to Sell More and Grow Online
Understanding common mistakes made by both first-time and experienced eCommerce businesses alike is essential to your growth.
To start with, you’ll be able to better anticipate and avoid making these same mistakes. But you’ll also learn that making these mistakes won’t necessarily be the demise of your business either.
If you understand that you made the mistake and fix it, your business will continue to grow and thrive. Not only will your eCommerce website be optimized for success, you’ll also create a following of happy, loyal customers that are excited to buy your products again and again.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
Choosing the best eCommerce platform is essential for any South African business or online store. There are a number of different platforms to choose from, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
What is the best e-Commerce platform for South Africa?
The Short Answer, in most scenarios, if I was starting up an e-commerce brand or online business I would choose.
Wix (Best all-rounder for small business to medium business, good online store)
Shopify (Best Online Store)
Clickfunnels (Best for Digital Products and Service based business)
Woocommerce (if I already had a successful WordPress site)
Magento (If I had an extensive business)
In this blog post, we will take a look at the 8 best eCommerce platforms in South Africa. We will also discuss the benefits of eCommerce, and look at some of the trends that are shaping the future of e-commerce.
We’ll also compare:
The best website builders for small businesses.
The best free and cheap options.
The ones with the best SEO.
The best platforms with online store capabilities.
The best builders for agencies.
And the best options for photographers and artists.
Before we look at which eCommerce platform is best for you it is important to understand what type of products or services you want to sell.
Are you selling?
Physical goods
Digital products
Brick and mortar Services
Online Services
Secondly,
it’s also important to understand which stage of business you are in.
Are you a startup?
Small business?
Large enterprises?
This will help to guide your decision when it comes to choosing an eCommerce platform.
Now that we have a better understanding of the products and services you want to sell, as well as the business stage you are in, we can take a look at some of the best eCommerce platforms in South Africa.
Each e-commerce platform has its pros and cons, so it’s important to choose the one that best fits your specific business needs. The 6 platforms we will be discussing are:
Shopify
Wix
WooCommerce
Click Funnels
Magento (Now Adobe Commerce)
Prestashop
Opencart
Let’s take a closer look at each of these eCommerce platforms in the context of South Africa.
Shopify Store
The first platform on our list is Shopify. Shopify is a powerful eCommerce platform that is easy to use and provides a wide range of features for shopping online. It is also one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in South Africa, especially if you are looking to sell products.
Benefits of using Shopify include its ease of use, its wide range of features, and its flexibility. Drawbacks of using Shopify include its monthly fees and the fact that it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list.
Shopify is best for businesses that are looking for an easy-to-use platform with a wide range of features. It is also a good choice for businesses that are looking for a platform that is widely used and has a lot of support.
Shopify Pros
Easy to create with Great Templates
Wide range of features for automation
Widely used- Good support Shopify
Great Conversion plug-ins
Affiliate marketing plug-ins
Can scale to a large online store
Inventory management
Drop Shipping integrations
All the basic features
Shopify Drawbacks
Shopify works best with physical products
Templates are good but can be complicated to customise
Updates might require a Shopify developer
Shopify is Best for
Shopify is best for Online stores as well as businesses with a physical presence that wants to sell online
Small Businesses to Large Enterprises
Online Retailers
Wix Online Store
Wix is a great choice for those looking to build their own site without any technical knowledge, with its drag and drop elements design.
They have over 100 million users and 500+ prebuilt templates that will help you design your website the way it looks best!
Since WIX offers so many options, there’s no limit on what kind of design approach or style might suit someone – whether they’re an entrepreneur selling products online from home via social media platforms like Instagram Stories; somebody running businesses across multiple states as well
However, it is a bit more expensive than Shopify but requires less professional development which saves you in the long run. Wix is becoming the website builder of choice in South Africa Currently, Yoco is the best South African payment gateway for Wix in South Africa
Wix Pros
Easy to use with Great Templates (Easily Create)
Best for Owner run websites (Create your own Website)
Easy to customise
Wide range of features for automation
Great Conversion optimisation widgets
New integrations make it more popular in South Africa
Excellent SEO Capability
No Web Development Skills Required
Powerful mobile editor
Easily turn your e-commerce site into an App.
Inventory management
Marketing automation
No Coding skills required
Third party apps
Great Ecommerce add on
Direct support
Local Support
Wix Drawbacks
Not as many payment gateways are set up in South Africa, however, more are being added constantly. Currently, we use Yoco as our payment gateway.
Wix is best for
Service based companies
Agencies
Small Online Stores
Online Magazines
Affiliate Marketing sites
Brick and Mortar Stores
Restaurants
If you don’t currently have an existing website or want to overhaul your current website
Click Funnels
Click Funnels is an eCommerce platform that is designed for businesses that want to sell digital products. It is a bit more expensive than Shopify and Wix, but it is also much easier to use. That said, it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list.
Click funnels specialised in lead generation (Thanks Russell Brunson) and the sale of digital products. What makes Click FUnnels exceptionally powerful is that your website behaves as a sales funnel. You can take a customer on a journey from awareness all the way to purchase without them ever having to leave your website.
The combination of Facebook ads pointing to a click funnel landing page is exceptionally powerful and something we recommend you explore if you are in the digital product space.
We have also seen examples of click funnels working well for brick and mortgage type businesses like gyms, restaurants, and dentists to mention a few.
Click Funnels Pros
Easy to use
Selling digital products locally and internationally
Can take payments directly on your website
The website behaves as a sales funnel
Can integrate with Facebook ads
Great conversion optimisation tools.
Integrated email strategy
State-of-the-art marketing integration
Click Funnels is Best for
Selling digital products
Attaining high conversions
Brick and Mortar stores
App Sales
Online courses
Click Funnel Drawback
Click funnels have an amazing workflow, however that workflow is very reliant on specific content as you journey through the Sales Funnel.
The website builder requires your company to have a lot of reviews from previous customers written and in video format. The funnel also works best when you have video content on your landing pages. With all that said, if you have this kind of content in place or can create it this platform can skyrocket your business.
WordPress + WooCommerce
WordPress site is a popular content management system that can be used to create websites of all types. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that turns a WordPress website into an eCommerce store. WordPress + WooCommerce is a popular choice for businesses in South Africa for a number of reasons. It is relatively easy to use, it is flexible, and it is very affordable. The main drawback of using WordPress + WooCommerce is that it requires a bit more technical knowledge than some of the other platforms on this list.
WooCommerce
Another great eCommerce platform for South African businesses is WooCommerce. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that turns your WordPress website into an online store. It is extremely user-friendly, and provides a wide range of features. Benefits of using WooCommerce include its user-friendliness, its wide range of features, and its affordability.
Drawbacks of using WooCommerce include the fact that it requires a WordPress website, and that it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list.
Unless you have a great WordPress website and support team, I would not recommend this to new e-commerce stores.
PrestaShop
PrestaShop is another popular eCommerce open-source platform that is widely used in South Africa. PrestaShop is a free and open-source eCommerce solution that provides a wide range of features. Benefits of using PrestaShop include its affordability, its wide range of features, and its flexibility. Drawbacks of using PrestaShop include the fact that it is not as user-friendly as some of the other platforms on this list, and that it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list.
Magento is Now Adobe Commerce
Magento is a powerful eCommerce platform that is used by many large businesses around the world. It is not as user-friendly as some of the other platforms on this list, but it provides a wide range of features. The benefits of using Magento include its wide range of features, scalability, and flexibility. Drawbacks of using Magento include its complexity, its high cost, and the fact that it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list.
OpenCart
OpenCart is a free and open-source eCommerce solution that is easy to use and provides a wide range of features. Benefits of using OpenCart include its affordability, its ease of use, and its wide range of features. Drawbacks of using OpenCart include the fact that it is not as widely used in South Africa as some of the other platforms on this list, and that it lacks some of the advanced features offered by some of the other platforms on this list.
Summary of e-commerce platforms South Africa.
These are just a few of the many different eCommerce platforms available to South African businesses. The best platform for your business will depend on your specific needs and requirements. We recommend that you take the time to research all of the different options before making a decision.
It’s important to keep in mind these are just platforms, or templates for creating a digital version of your business. The Best platform for your business should mirror the functions your business does in the physical world into the digital world.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services over the internet. E-commerce businesses can range from small, family-run businesses to large, multinational corporations. The growth of eCommerce in recent years has been nothing short of phenomenal, with online sales increasing at a rapid pace all over the world.
There are many reasons why eCommerce is such a popular choice for businesses. Perhaps one of the most significant benefits is that it allows businesses to reach a much larger audience than they would be able to if they were selling through physical stores alone. With an eCommerce website, businesses can sell to customers all over the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Another benefit of eCommerce is that it is usually much cheaper to set up and run an online store than a brick-and-mortar store. This is because businesses do not have to worry about the costs associated with renting or buying retail space, hiring staff, and stocking inventory.
What is a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway is an eCommerce service that authorizes credit card or direct payments for eCommerce transactions or online payments. A gateway encrypts sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that it is secure when it is transmitted.
What is the best payment gateway for South Africa?
Some of the most popular payment gateways used in South Africa are PayFast, PayPal, SnapScan and Yoco
Running costs of an e-commerce website in South Africa
The running costs of an eCommerce website will vary depending on a number of factors, such as the size of the website, the number of products being sold, and the payment gateway being used. In general, however, businesses can expect to pay around R500 to R5000 per month for their eCommerce website. This includes hosting fees, domain name registration, and SSL certificates.
What is the future of e-commerce?
The future of eCommerce looks very bright. The global eCommerce market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% between 2018 and 2023, reaching a total value of $27 trillion by 2023. This rapid growth is being driven by a number of factors, such as the increasing popularity of mobile devices and the growth of the middle class in developing countries.
The future of eCommerce in South Africa looks especially promising. The South African eCommerce market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6% between 2018 and 2023, reaching a total value of $8.5 billion by 2023. This rapid growth is being driven by a number of factors, such as the increasing penetration of internet users, the growing popularity of online shopping, and the increasing use of mobile devices.
So, what does this all mean for businesses? It means that now is the time to get started in eCommerce.
8-Step eCommerce plan
1. Define your business goals
2. Research your target market
3. Choose the right eCommerce platform
4. Set up your website
5. Stock your store with products
6. Promote your eCommerce store
7. Process orders and payments
8. Provide excellent customer service
A good e-commerce solution needs to offer a wide range of features and integrations that can be customized to suit your business’s specific needs. Some of the most important features to look for include:
What features do you look for in a good e-commerce platform?
A user-friendly website builder
The platform you choose should make it easy to build a professional-looking website, even if you don’t have any experience with web design.
A comprehensive shopping cart
Your eCommerce platform should include a shopping cart that is easy to use and can be customized to match your branding.
A payment gateway integration
The platform you choose should offer seamless integration with the payment gateway of your choice. This will make it easy to accept payments from customers all over the world.
A customer management system
This will allow you to keep track of your customers’ contact information, order history, and preferences.
A shipping integration
The platform you choose should offer a shipping integration that makes it easy to calculate shipping rates and print labels.
Analytics and Reporting
The platform you choose should offer comprehensive analytics and reporting tools that will help you track your website’s performance and make informed decisions about marketing and product strategy.
When choosing an eCommerce platform, it’s important to consider your business’s unique needs. If you’re not sure which platform is right for you, our team of experts can help. We’ve helped businesses of all sizes launch successful eCommerce stores
Biggest e-commerce industries in South Africa
1. Retail
2. Fashion
3. Health and Beauty
4. Electronics
5. Cannabis
6. Home and Garden
7. Food and Drink
8. Gifts and Flowers
9. Toys and Games
10. Sports and Outdoors
11. Travel
So, What are you waiting for, Start Selling Online!
We hope you found this article helpful.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
One only need look at the success of the Shoprite Group’s Checkers Sixty60 grocery delivery service (87% growth in 2022 on the back of 250% growth in 2021) and the big push for same-day delivery from Game and Makro owner Massmart to see how serious they are about online retail, says the author. File photo
Amid general struggles for South African retailers (figures for March show that retail trade sales were down 1.6% year on year), the country is experiencing an e-commerce boom.
While the sector’s growth at the height of the pandemic was to be expected, it’s notable that growth continued in 2022, once most pandemic restrictions in the country had been dropped.
Now worth more than R50 billion, online retail saw a 40% increase in shopper numbers in 2022, having achieved similar increases in the previous two years. Some have gone as far as to suggest that local e-commerce will match that of more digitally mature countries by 2026.
Despite the sector’s recent growth, there’s some way to go before that’s the case. Online still represents just five percent of retail sales in South Africa.
That percentage shrinks even further when you remove dedicated e-commerce players.
Most traditional retailers only see between one and three percent of their sales volumes coming from e-commerce. Compare that to a country like the UK, where online shopping now accounts for more than a quarter of all retail sales.
That means that there is significant scope for growth (and that’s without even considering the potential to sell beyond South Africa’s borders). But if retailers are to take advantage of that and help ensure that South Africa reaches its e-commerce potential, they can’t simply set up an online store and hope for the best. They need to provide the best possible experience for customers at every step of the buying journey, including payment.
Understanding the advantages of online retail
Before digging into how online retailers can build those experiences, it’s worth taking a look at some of the advantages it offers.
Many retailers, for example, might look to open up in new markets in order to mitigate some of the difficulties associated with operating in an environment like South Africa. E-commerce affords them the ability to do so without having to set up physical stores. That, in turn, means that they can sell products at greater volumes without drastically increasing their overhead costs. Those new markets don’t just have to be in South Africa either. By going online, retailers can potentially reach customers globally, expanding their potential customer base.
Online retail allows for more flexibility in inventory management. Retailers can, for example, adopt drop-shipping models, where the products are shipped directly from suppliers or their retail stores (click and collect is a great model for this), reducing the need for storing inventory. Physical stores, by contrast, require dedicated space for inventory storage, potentially further increasing costs.
Small wonder then that some of the biggest retailers in the country have worked so hard on their e-commerce programmes. One only need look at the success of the Shoprite Group’s Checkers Sixty60 grocery delivery service (87% growth in 2022 on the back of 250% growth in 2021) and the big push for same-day delivery from Game and Makro owner Massmart to see how serious they are about online retail. The imminent arrival of Amazon’s marketplace shows that international players see the country’s potential too.
A growing number of services are also catering to specific niches, making it easier for them to build their own online presences. For example, Siteminder is a commerce platform for hotels, while Commerce7 boosts sales for wineries.
There are two factors at play here. The first speaks to the fact that different niches or verticals have very specific needs and services are spinning up for all kinds of businesses to help them do e-commerce. Whether you’re a winery or barber, simply having an e-commerce site isn’t enough anymore.
The second is how important it is for these niche services to understand the local context. While international players like Commerce7, for example, have played an important role helping wineries build increased lifetime value via e-commerce opportunities post-winery visit (boosting a R5.7 billion wine tourism business), local solutions are also addressing local needs. Octiv, for example, is making it easier to connect people that want fitness experiences with local gyms and The Local Edit is bringing together interesting brands in one community to win them business abroad, making it easier to find South African brands.
Building great experiences
What all of these platforms understand is the value of building great experiences at every step of the online retail journey. Remember, it takes a lot more effort to stand out online than it does with a physical location (your first customers in a new location may enter the store solely out of a sense of curiosity).
And that work doesn’t stop once a potential shopper’s entered your site either. On average, around 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts before making a purchase. While many are the digital equivalent of “real-world” shoppers who are just browsing, friction has a significant role to play too.
That’s especially true when it comes to payments. While stats for South Africa are hard to come by, research has shown that 88% of UK consumers will abandon purchases if faced with payment friction. That is, admittedly, a more mature market that offers customers a greater degree of choice but it’s far better to get the payment process right from the start. In South Africa, that should include giving consumers a broad choice of payment options, including instant EFTs, debit and credit cards, direct deposits, and debits.
Beyond that, it may also mean exploring less traditional e-commerce options, including those available on instant messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Remember, you want to be where your customers are. And in a country with mobile penetration rates in excess of 187% that’s seldom likely to be on a PC.
Embracing opportunity
There is, at the end of the day, little doubt that South African retailers of all sizes should be exploring their e-commerce options. The potential opportunities for growth, even in a struggling economy, are simply too big to ignore. But, if they’re to make the most of those opportunities, they must ensure that they provide the best possible experiences for their customers at every step of the buying journey.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
In today’s busy ecommerce landscape, customers are spoilt for choice. A positive experience can be what sets your online store apart.
What is user experience?
User experience (UX) refers to the overall experience that users have when interacting with a product, service, or system. In this case, your website.
Done correctly, good UX can positively affect your:
Sales
Customer satisfaction levels
Number of repeat customers
Customer lotalty
Competitor advantage
Brand reputation.
You want to create a seamless, positive experience for your website visitors. This involves structuring your website in a way that is logical and intuitive for visitors to navigate. For an ecommerce store, you want your customers to enjoy an effortless, hassle-free shopping experience.
What does a good user experience on an ecommerce website look like?
A good user experience on an ecommerce website can be acheived by looking at your customer’s journey across your website and optimising every step of that journey.
A good user experience would look something like this:
Clear and well-organised navigation, so your customer is able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily.
High-quality images and easy-to-understand copy that outlines the benefits of your product or service helps the customer make up their mind quickly.
Consistent branding across your website builds trust with your customer, making them comfortable to continue.
Personalised recommendations based on their choice increases their chance of purchasing another product.
An easy and uncomplicated checkout process supported by visible security measures, such as SSL encryption, trust badges, and secure payment options.
Accessible customer support options, such as live chat, email, or phone assistance. It also encourages and makes it easy for your customers to leave feedback and reviews, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction.
How to apply these principles to your website
Creating a good user experience is not a once-off process, but involves continuous testing and improvement. That said, there are some basic starting strategies you can implement to lay the foundation of a good user experience.
These include:
Put your users at the centre of your design process. Keep their user journey in mind.
Design a clear and easy-to-use navigation system that customers will be familiar with.
Make sure your entire website reflects your brand identity.
Simplify the checkout process so customers who want to shop quickly can do so.
Establish trust with your customers by implementing security measures.
Optimise your ecommerce store for mobile devices (78.6% of South Africans accessed the internet via their mobile device last year).
Optimise your ecommerce website to load quickly.
Just remember, creating a seamless user experience is an iterative process and involves regular testing, user feedback, and data analysis that inform ongoing improvements.
WordPress makes UX even easier
A well-designed WordPress theme will do most of the UX work for you. xneelo’s Ecommerce Starter Site, available with Managed WordPress Hosting, is specifically optimised for creating a frictionless shopping experience and includes safe and secure payment processing with a trusted pre-installed payment gateway and product pages. Your user journey has been optimised for you, including the safe and secure checkout process. You simply need to drop in your own content, keeping in mind the principles outlined above.
Just remember, while a WordPress theme or Starter Site can provide a foundation for a good user experience, it’s essential to continuously optimise and improve.
Wrapping Up:
We at ShopShipShake have been working with businesses like yours with fulfilling experiences. We offer one-stop services, including an efficient supply chain, over 10 thousand of China’s suppliers, over 1,000,000 SKU and more. With a successful track record of over 100,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
