“The best way for small businesses to differentiate themselves from the convenient-but-impersonal experience of Amazon is to offer a personalised service – and build personal connections.”
This is the view of 1-grid head of local web hosting Thomas Vollrath after Business Insider leaked documents showing that the United States retail giant Amazon will launch in South Africa in 2023.
According to the report, Amazon plans to launch its online marketplace in five new countries by early next year, even as it dials back parts of its retail business in the US. In Africa, this could mean greater competition for the likes of Jumia, the continent’s biggest e-commerce platform.
Vollrath believes for local small businesses, this will impact margins and market share when it comes to making online sales – particularly for those who are new to the e-commerce game.
To compete with Amazon, entrepreneurs need to focus on what they can offer that global companies can’t, adds Vollrath, an internet entrepreneur. “Use your website, social media, and delivery notes to tell the story of your business. This is the best way to really connect with consumers and make them feel good about buying from you.”
One of the main drawcards for shopping via Amazon for South Africans will be generally low prices and massive discounts, made possible by the sheer size of the company and its inventory. To counter this, local businesses, who aren’t able to compete when it comes to pricing, can leverage the country’s strong preference for homegrown products that are proudly South African.
Southafrica local wearing
“This strategy should extend to all of your choices – from the payment platform you use for checkouts, to the domain extension on your website. A .co.za domain, for example, tells customers that you are based in South Africa and that you in turn support local yourself. While these may seem like small elements, they have a cumulative effect when it comes to your brand story,” says Vollrath.
Local sellers to integrate with Amazon
Another tactic for local sellers is to integrate Amazon into their e-commerce strategy. Amazon will be rolling out their Sellers Marketplace as part of the local launch, which gives South African businesses an opportunity to get their products onto the biggest sales search engine in the world.
“The saying goes that if you can’t beat them, join them. Depending on fees and registration processes, this might be a good approach for certain businesses. The key to success here is to highlight the quality and unique nature of your product, compared to others on the Amazon platform. It’s also important to maintain a web presence so that potential customers can learn more about your product, read up on FAQs, and even contact you directly,” says Vollrath.
Given that the announcement was leaked prematurely, there are still a lot of questions about how the Amazon rollout will affect the South African ecommerce landscape. However, one thing is certain – business owners need to start planning for the retail giant’s impact on the local market if they want to succeed in standing out.
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. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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E-commerce sales are down, a lot, while shopping behaviors continue to shift. Experts explain how the space will evolve further this coming year.
Inflation will compel consumers to research more and spend less, according to experts / Adobe Stock
The Covid-19 pandemic saw e-commerce growth spike, big time, but myriad issues have since created a historic drop in digital sales.
Obviously, consumers have been returning to brick-and-mortar stores – albeit not at the pre-pandemic levels. But there are other significant factors at play, including supply chain issues, low consumer sentiment and rising inflation.
The end result? A forecasted $95bn less in e-commerce sales in 2022 compared with last year, according to the Economic Times. This is after e-commerce soared at least 20% every year between 2010 and 2020, per eMarketer.
So, what’s next? Experts have identified three trends that will shape the landscape over the next year.
1. E-commerce and in-store shopping will have divergent roles in consumers’ lives
Yes, many shoppers around the world were eager to leave the house and return to the stores, but their behaviors have changed. Online and in-store shopping have come to serve distinct purposes for shoppers and that trend will only continue.
“Globally, we continue to see in-store shopping occur with consumers,” says Jacquelyn Baker, chief commerce experience officer at VMLY&R Commerce. “However, the role of the store has changed for shoppers. Consumers can have whatever they want, when they want, on-demand, digitally. For purchases beyond everyday essentials, meanwhile, the store serves more as a showroom for inspiration and ‘retailtainment’. Physical stores play a tactile purpose for consumers to immerse themselves in brands and experiences that ignite the senses and bring joy.”
While stores can offer their own speed and convenience, they are often relied upon for surprise, says Piers Fawkes, founder and president of the retail consultancy PSFK.
“Online has become a place of specificity and efficiency and real-world retail, discovery and delight. As a result, shoppers expect e-retailers to provide a sophisticated, personalized shopping experience. In contrast, personalization is not as big a deal offline. People already understand a store’s offerings and they go there for surprise and serendipity.”
2. Inflation will make consumers research more and spend less
Inflation is on the rise globally. In the US, for example, the Labor Department reported that inflation rose 8.3% since last August, which was worse than economic forecasts. This has already impacted overall consumer sentiment and most likely will affect their spending habits in the future. “Inflation concerns are very real,” adds Baker. “Currency has to stretch much further than it used to and that will continue into the next two years.”
The direct result will be a greater emphasis on researching everything in order to make an informed decision. “Brands that emphasize their marketing investments on searchable content that demonstrates consumer value will prevail,” says Baker.
At the same time, stores will benefit as they become hypersensitive to the added expense of digital fulfillment – such as rising shipping costs and delivery fees, says Baker. “The ancillary expenses of convenience will become cost prohibitive to some consumers or will be deemed unnecessary to others as they work to stretch their money further.”
Overall, brands and marketers should pull all the data they can from 2008-2010, advises William Margaritis, senior vice-president of digital and e-commerce at Reprise Digital. “What did consumers do then? How did they react? How did your brand react? What worked? What didn’t?
“What we are about to see will be similar. Large purchases will be put on hold while small luxuries will be seen as economic ways to splurge. 2008 was fantastic for drugstore cosmetics brands, upscale snacks and any other daily luxury that won’t break the bank. 2023 will likely repeat that.”
3. Live and social shopping becomes a bigger part of the mix
Still, the momentum for online purchases is unstoppable. However, the way consumers buy digitally will continue to evolve, quickly. For example, livestream shopping is picking up speed.
“Social shopping is becoming more prevalent and can be done on various platforms – such as Amazon Live, TikTok Shop/Live, Instagram Live and Twitch – and also on a brand’s own website,” says Travis Johnson, global chief executive officer of Podean.
“Brands should think about what their approach is – do they have spokespeople?Do they have great locations to stream from? What products would they sell? How would they use the content after the stream has ended?”
This trend represents a shift in control for brands. “Younger generations find authenticity and trust in different places than older generations,” says Margaritis. “Predominantly, they trust their peers and they trust influencers. As brands reduce spend and are less present in the shopping conversation, peers and influencers will rise…
“Social commerce and live commerce have already become regular means of shopping in Asia and are rising rapidly in Latin America. The US and Europe won’t be far behind.”
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. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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In South Africa, 94% of online information searches are made via Google. This means that the data gleaned by the platform is an incredibly accurate measure of what South Africans are searching for – as well as when and possibly why.
That information can be accessed via Google Trends and used as a powerful tool for digital marketing.
Targeting and testing
The challenge at the start of any campaign is deciding who it is targeted at. Marketers can put in a few geographic locations, target specific devices and add some demographic and psychographic targets like age groups and interests.
That’s quite broad – which is where Google Trends really comes into its own. It allows digital marketers the opportunity to look at information around specific search terms linked to their campaign, giving them detail like the volume of searches, the period over which those searches generally occur and what the trends are in that period.
It may indicate that there is particular interest in a set of search terms from a specific province or during a season – allowing marketers to specifically target that area or time period.
Seasonality of searches is particularly helpful for, for example, fashion retailers. Digital marketers are able to tell fashion clients when they should start promoting their next season’s clothing – as searches for related fashion items start to ramp up.
Check on the competition
Google Trends also helps marketers determine the competitive landscape in the space. Say you’re a manufacturer of wall heaters and want to know what your competition is doing in the marketing space. By virtue of being able to see which keywords are being targeted, you can see who else is vying for space, allowing marketers to estimate what the client is going to need to pay to make an impact in the digital space.
By looking out for periods where there’s less competitor marketing, or by targeting under-utilised search terms, digital marketers can advise when smaller budgets would make a bigger impact or where there’s less clutter in the space.
Because the online market is so competitive, companies often get frustrated at the cost of a click for a heavily-used search term. Google Trends is able to tell us what keywords the audience is using too, which can help inform organic searches and lower costs – increasing organic effectiveness. When clients start using keywords that rank organically, the cost per click of AdWords goes down, because of the relevance of the offering increases.
In the content marketing space, Google Trends can help marketers define which keywords are most prevalent for a specific topic, to help put out more effective digital PR features for seeding in online media. Using the right terms at the right time can help improve the article’s ranking – another organic search benefit.
Partnering for success
It all sounds relatively simple – so why does a company need to pay a digital marketing agency or partner to advise them when Google Trends simply lays bare the information?
For starters, the breadth and depth of knowledge across sectors and trends within a specialist digital marketing agency have benefits for clients. The broad knowledge of the digital landscape and what’s happening, when – and how – is something that not many clients have the benefit of accessing.
Time and budget constraints often mean they’re forced to stay in their lane and not look at, say, the opportunities a major sneaker campaign from a specific brand could offer their sock business.
Digital agencies also use other tools to inform them – for example, Google Trends data is pulled into an agency’s Google Data Studio, which is a visualisation platform and tool that helps marketers see how search terms and phrases change over time.
For a fashion brand, that allows for the building of a robust dashboard for the marketing manager which shows the seasonality for every product category they have, meaning they know the perfect time to activate a new seasonal campaign and measure how trends and climate change are shifting their customers’ needs.
Any business not using the power of Google Trends is missing out on immensely valuable key information linked to what they do and who they do it for.
And any business not partnering with a quality digital marketing agency to harness the power of its insights is going to spend a long time in the digital wilderness while its competitors are capturing customers.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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See the original article: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/16/232266.html
Year-on-year, the average South African household food basket increased by R611.44 from July 2021. This represents a 14.8% annual increase – far above headline inflation reported through the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and outstripping food inflation.
Despite this steep price hike, South African consumers’ perceptions of grocery costs have improved over time, suggesting that consumer sentiment is driven by more than just price. This is according to Shannon Temple, lead retail analyst at DataEQ, who recently presented on consumer trends in retail at the 2022 edition of E-commerce Live.
“Looking at net sentiment* on social media towards grocery retailers’ pricing since 2020, there is an upward trajectory, indicating that conversation is becoming gradually more positive,” explains Temple.
“Notably, we see Woolworths with the steepest incline here, while Checkers and Pick n Pay experienced slight declines since last year,” she adds.
Having analysed over 1 million social media posts from consumers talking about South Africa’s major grocery retailers, Temple goes on to unpack three major trends that are shaping the local retail e-commerce landscape.
1. Special offers over price comparisons
Despite the prevalence of pricing and affordability in conversation, social media data indicates that consumers are speaking less and less about it since 2020.
Attention has moved away from price comparisons and towards special offers, with the online narrative shifting to which brand is offering the best value for money.
Driving a sense of savings is going to be critical for the industry going forward.
Consumers want to feel like they’re saving when using a premium service, and well-executed specials are key to achieving this.
2. An omnichannel experience is key
While special offers allow retailers to drive perceptions about price, they can be a major point of contention if not implemented correctly across all channels.
In this sense, creating an omnichannel shopping experience is critical for retailers and there needs to be parity between specials offered in-store versus what is offered on the app.
3. Operational ease still matters
Digital platforms do not remove the risk of operational issues arising.
If anything, there is an even higher expectation from digital customers for operational ease.
For example, the issue of items being out of stock is typically met with high criticism – especially when said item is linked to a special offer.
There are also logistical issues that are inherent to the e-commerce model, such as delayed delivery times or cancelled orders.
This is where expectation management and clear communication becomes vital, setting apart the retailers who excel in digital customer service, from those who don’t.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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See the original article: https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/731/231620.html
It’s understandable that small enterprises have found themselves online out of necessity as e-commerce adoption accelerated by three to five years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and online retail in South Africa in 2020 grew by 66%.
To help entrepreneurs who want to iron out the creases in their online presence, Peach Payments’ head of SME growth and marketing, Joshua Shimkin, highlights six mistakes SMEs tend to make online, and how to solve them.
1. Social media profiles, but no website
Social media is an easy way for many SMEs to get in touch with their customers, and sell to them. Most social media platforms – including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest – also offer some way of accepting payments.
“But if there is no website that customers can refer to when they’re looking for your business, they’re just as likely to buy from your competitor’s Instagram profile, which has an accompanying website to support their online presence, where they can see shipping policies and refund/return policies. Customers are still more used to finding those key signals of trust on websites,” Shimkin warns.
Instead, spend time putting together a basic website on Wix, WordPress or Shopify, and then link to it from all your company’s social media profiles.
2. All the socials – and all outdated
“Don’t think it’s essential to be on every single social media platform out there,” Shimkin says. He believes it is much more important to have one or two active and fun social media profiles than to have outdated and boring content associated with your business spread across ten different social media platforms.
“Choose the social media platforms you focus on based on what you know about each platform’s users,” he advises.
For instance, if you have gorgeous pics of the homemade food you deliver, Instagram and Pinterest are likely to be more useful for your business than a more staid LinkedIn post. Add a quick video and you also have content for TikTok and Instagram. Remember to include links to your profiles on your website, and deactivate all old profiles on social media platforms you decide don’t work for your business.
“That way people won’t see old content, and wonder if you’re still in business,” Shimkin says.
3. An outdated and clunky website
Once your website is up, it’s important to keep it updated with new blog posts, new products, and updated payments technology. This is what will make people come back, looking for your products and services.
Use the free templates in popular website builders like Wix, WordPress or Shopify to ensure your website is mobile-friendly because it’s non-negotiable in 2022. And it is particularly important in Africa, where mobile is the most popular way for people to access e-commerce.
“You don’t necessarily need to spend money on developing an app, but you do need to make sure your website is easy to read on a mobile screen,” Shimkin advises.
Also make sure you have an easy, reassuring checkout process with multiple payment options (credit and debit cards, QR codes and instant EFTs) so that customers have a number of ways to pay securely.
4. Ignoring local SEO
You may not be interested in landing on the first page of global search engines, but you should make sure that your business website hits the first page on any “near me” searches on Google,” Shimkin says.
This local search engine optimisation (SEO) can make or break your brick-and-mortar business, particularly if your business is the type that only services your local neighbourhood or city, and not the whole country – like a local restaurant that offers online ordering. It is also important if you’re an online business that isn’t yet ready to start shipping internationally.
Two of the easiest ways to improve your local SEO results are to embed a Google Map in your Contact Us page and to verify your Google My Business page. Also include these details on all your social media profiles as well, so your website becomes the hub for all your marketing activities, such as newsletters and special offers.
5. Not remarketing to your online customers
Take time to learn about and use the remarketing tools that come with all e-commerce website builders to your advantage. They will help you to better understand who your online customers are, where they’re based and how many people come to your website but don’t buy anything. It will also give you insight into how long they spend on your site, where they are getting stuck on your site, and which type of device (mobile or desktop) they are using – all useful to help you tailor your offering.
Google Analytics is a free and powerful tool to help you understand who your clients are – and not just who you dream or hope they are. That will help you serve their needs better. Shopify, Wix and WordPress all have easy integrations that incorporate Google Analytics seamlessly.
6. Be meticulous about checking your online pricing
Online mistakes can cost you – but none more than making a blunder like uploading a new product and leaving its pricing at R0 or R10 ,00, when it should be R100. This is something that happens surprisingly often and can be prevented with a quick double-check before making any product live.
“It may seem daunting, but it is pretty easy to fix minor mistakes that you may have made while rushing to get online. The difference it will make to your online business is likely to show very quickly,” Shimkin concludes.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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There’s a reason TikTok and Reels are so popular. These short-form videos are engaging and entertaining and when produced effectively with sound strategy in mind, they can leave a lasting impression. Research shows that 84% of consumers make a purchase based on watching a brand or business video. What’s more, your customers are consuming a lot of videos–the average consumer watches video content for about 100 minutes every day.
It should not be surprising that video marketing is on the rise, and why marketing professionals shouldn’t underestimate the positive impact it can have for your business or brand.
“Video marketing is a powerful way to connect with your existing and potential customers and has a direct correlation to increased sales,” said Desireé Gullan, executive creative director and co-founder of G&G Digital. “It all starts with creating video content that resonates with your audience.”
Gullan suggests the first place to start is to look at your data from social media, email, and website, to better understand what content is getting views and engagement, and then to do more of that. Use polls and calls for comments to understand your customers’ wants, needs, and aversions. “Let your existing customers or followers guide your content strategy and narrative style and be sure to apply your insights in fresh and creative ways. It’s also important to front-load your key messages so that your investment is not lost on consumers’ limited time and attention,” Gullan added.
Here are four ways to make video work for your brand:
1. Add video to landing pages
This enhances your search rankings and can increase conversions by 80%. Make sure your video content tells the right story and conveys the right emotion. You can include strong calls to action.
2. Use video in email marketing campaigns
Research proves that including the word ‘video’ in a subject line substantially increases open rates, and video can be more effective than text, especially for complicated subjects or where striking images are required.
3. Include influencers and customer reviews
Videos that include referrals and recommendations build trust and increase conversions.
4. Create shareable content
Produce compelling video content, and your customers will share them. This opens your business to a greater audience who trust the referrals of their community.
The benefits of video marketing should not be ignored, even if you operate in highly regulated industries. “No matter your industry, be sure to comply with the regulations by including disclaimers, getting approvals, and keeping a record of your approved scripts on record,” concluded Gullan. “The extra effort that goes into producing strategic video marketing will get you a return.”
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliveryour orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow yourbusinesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
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Investing in Africa is a sustainable business strategy as companies earn bountiful profits. Despite the rising inflation and insecurity, businesses are fast growing in Africa. Beyond rich resources, the continent is one of the most accessible places to do business.
Companies with excellent financial structures benefit from Africa’s fast-growing population and rich resources. This article focuses on the fastest-growing businesses in Africa. These businesses are selected based on their growth rate and revenue generation potentials.
Note that we consulted several reliable sources while compiling this list. These sources include the World Bank, Market Watch, Nairametrics, Tech Crunch, Africa Business Communities, etc.
1. Financial Technology Business
Financial technology businesses continue to outshine many startups in the African continent with problem-solving innovations. According to Tech Crunch, Africa is the world’s second-fastest-growing and profitable payments and banking market after Latin America. The continent is home to over 500 financial technology firms, most in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.
According to The World Bank, about 66% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is unbanked. The unbanked population is another reason financial technology businesses thrive in the continent. They leverage technology to modify, automate and enhance financial services for consumers and businesses.
According to Business Elites Africa, 75% of Nigerian financial technology startups earn an average of $5 million annually. Given the continuous funding for financial technology companies in Africa, the sector will continue to grow with internet penetration and smartphone usage.
2. Food Business
With many investors benefiting from Africa’s resources, the food business is one of the businesses in the continent with a fast growth percentage. According to Business Standard, Africa’s food industry recorded a growth of 3.6% in 2020-21 and 3.9% in 2021-22. Food is a basic need for everyone, making it profitable for businesses for entrepreneurs in the sector.
The growth is driven by soaring demands for packaged and processed foods and the high consumption of frozen and dairy products. The food and beverage industry expansion and innovation are other growth contributing factors. According to Nairametrics, a more significant food Crisis is looming in Africa.
The Russia-Ukraine war, low purchasing power, political instability and conflicts are soaring food prices to unprecedented levels in the continent. Meanwhile, Agro entrepreneurs are benefiting from feeding over one billion people. Entrepreneurs earn huge rewards locally by storing and packaging food products with an excellent transportation network.
3. Real Estate Business
With Africa’s large population, there is a high demand for commercial and residential properties, making the real estate business thrive. According to Nairametrics, The Nigeria real estate market grew by 1.77% in 2021 and 10.84% in the first quarter of 2022. The Egyptian real estate market generated $10 billion, representing a growth of 8% in 2021.
According to Nairametrics, Egypt’s real estate market has a growth projection of 6.5% in 2022. Kenya’s real estate market rose by 5.2% in Q3 2021 and is projected to grow by 5.9% in 2022. The real estate business is one of the most valued in Africa, with entrepreneurs earning from leasing, buying and renting commercial and residential properties.
The real estate business is highly profitable but requires knowledge and experience. To get started in Africa’s real estate business, consider seeking advice from experienced realtors and learn from previous mistakes. Learn the industry’s strengths, weaknesses and how it works.
4. E-Commerce Business
Electronic commerce is a fast-growing African business due to technological advancement and innovation. Firms in this sector allow individuals and companies to trade goods and services through the internet. According to Vanguard Newspaper, Africa’s real estate market value has a projection to reach $180 billion by 2025. The report further disclosed that Africa’s eCommerce ventures secured funding of more than $256 million in 2021, representing a 40% growth from 2020.
According to Africa Business Communities, the e-commerce industry is expected to generate annual revenue of $46.1 billion by 2025. The lucrative industry business involves facilitating the sales of goods and services between companies and their customers. E-commerce ventures also facilitate the sales of goods and services through third parties. Jumia, eBay, Konga, and Kilimall are a few examples of African e-commerce platforms.
5. Logistics Business
Logistic business is a lucrative and fast-growing business in many African countries. Whether in Mauritius, South Africa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, or Nigeria, entrepreneurs earn considerable rewards in the industry. According to Market Watch, Africa’s logistics market rose from millions to Multi-million dollars from 2017 to 2022. Reports from Sawya show that Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded a revenue of $704 million in July 2022, representing an increase from the $531.8 million reported in July 2021.
According to Research and Markets, Nigeria’s Logistics and Freight Market is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 3% from 2022 to 2027. The business is profitable in various African countries with the rise of delivery agencies working hand-in-hand with traditional and online retailers. Delivery agencies streamline the transfer of goods to customers’ destinations. Consider researching the business’s strengths and weaknesses before investing and focusing on building an online presence for promotions.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliveryour orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow yourbusinesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on:https://bit.ly/3ks
Learning how to make money from home might be one of the best decisions you make in your life.
“Having my own business gives me the flexibility I need as a single mom,” says Shan Thomas, a strategic business advisor and founder of Credible Visibility Agency, an Atlanta-based website design agency for women in business.
“Corporate America just didn’t afford me the flexibility I needed to be available for my kids,” she says. “An online business affords me that. I have clients all over the world and have been able to access and service them online. It’s cost-effective and has opened so many more doors.” Thomas notes there are clients in rural communities who wouldn’t be able to access professionals like her if it weren’t for her having a 100% online company.
The ability to make extra money online from home has created a new category of work: “anywhere workers.” That’s the takeaway from a recent survey of more than 1,400 respondents from 67 different nationalities conducted by Lonely Planet and the freelance marketplace Fiverr. According to the survey results, 54% of workers considered themselves “anywhere workers” in that their ability to make money online and pursue financial independence was not contingent on a particular location.
If you’re curious about how to make money from home, advantages to selling online, and how to generate extra money with a location-independent online setup, here’s some advice and tips from experts who’ve done it.
Advantages to Making Money From Home
Making money from home can be a great way to have the best of both worlds. You generate income while having no commute, and for many the prospect of flexible work creates solutions for childcare or other personal responsibilities that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.
“The work-from-anywhere movement is real,” says Yeves Perez, an entrepreneur and CEO of Workbnb, an online travel agency and Airbnb-like service for traveling workers. More than 40 million Americans will be working remotely in the next five years, according to the 2021 Future Workforce Report from Upwork, a gig economy platform. Some want to develop a side hustle that brings in a few hundred dollars a month, while others leverage an online store, online courses, or other money making ideas to make money online full-time.
Here are some of the biggest advantages to making money from home.
Your Work Location Can Be Flexible
If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can earn money from home. Most workers who work from home have location independence, which is one of the biggest perks to having a side hustle, negotiating a remote job, or launching your own small business.
“I left my traditional job in 2014 and have been building a business from home since,” says Gabby Wallace, an entrepreneur, YouTuber, and founder of Go Natural English, a company that provides ESL training and on-demand online courses. Wallace’s passion for teaching and content creation have helped her build her YouTube channel to 2.2 million subscribers.
“I have three streams of income that allow me to make four times what I made in my previous job as a teacher,” she says. “I have homes in different states, travel abroad often, and move around when I feel like it. In everything I do, I want to have flexibility in my life; making money through content online has allowed me to do those things.”
If you desire to travel, have to be somewhere else, or want to hang out at your favorite coffee shop, online tutoring jobs and other money making ideas allow you the flexibility to be on the go and still bring in cash.
You Can Create Passive Income
Passive income frees up your time and allows you to pursue other ventures while still making money.
“A home-based business allows you to incur an income from anywhere in the world passively,” says Blake Nubar, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Laptop Freedom, an online business that has 10,000-plus customers in 96 countries. “I travel twice a month and the same amount of income still comes in because of the business we’ve built.”
One of the more challenging parts of entrepreneurship can be finding the initial capital you need to even start. If you decide to earn money from home, your start-up costs can be low to nonexistent depending on which income model you choose. Popular approaches include creating your own website, setting up your own online store, or being a virtual assistant, and you can work as little or as much as you want to fit your personal and financial goals.
You Can Cultivate a Higher Quality of Life
The longer your commute, the lower your quality of life, according to a frequently-cited 2008 study published in The Scandinavian Journal of Economics. Commute time statistics are shifting thanks to the increase in remote and hybrid work, but 22% of Americans still commute for 30 minutes or more each way, according to a survey published from Statista, a data analytics company. A separate survey from YouGov last year found that no commute was the most-appreciated perk of working from home.
Many workers note that working from home can create better solutions for childcare or work/life balance. As COVID-19 protocols continue to ebb and flow, figuring out how to make money online is an attractive option because you’re in an environment you know and can control.
Do I Need To Invest to Make Money From Home?
Depending on which strategy you choose to make money online, there could be upfront investments associated with getting started. Some of the most common costs include:
Website hosting and buildout if you decide you need your own website.
Monthly charges for an email service provider if you intend to build an email list of customers or readers.
Earmarking money for taxes, especially if you’re a sole proprietor.
Possible costs for hiring professionals to guide you and help you get a running start.
The good news is that you can start and make money from a side hustle or online business with few costs. You can get the strategy and exact steps you’ll need from YouTube videos, podcasts, books, articles, and other forms of online information.
5 Ideas For Making Money From Home
There are many practical ways to make money from home. Here are five popular side hustle options that have low costs to start and tremendous potential for extra cash every month.
No. 1: Sell a Digital Product
Your knowledge and experience could be packaged into digital information products. Some examples include an eBook, a video course, an audio product, or short informational guides.
“Almost everybody has some skill they can package into a digital product,” says Arne Giske, an online entrepreneur and co-founder of the Insider Investors Club and Groups Funnels. He’s built a digital product business with over 5,000 clients.
“You just have to learn the process of putting together an offer that people are willing to pay for,” he says. Giske notes that you can turn a lot of information into a digital product that sells passively once you build an audience. There are few costs to creating digital information products, which creates an opportunity to bring in money immediately and develop good profit margins.
No. 2: Offer Freelance Services
Businesses and individuals are always looking for help, but they don’t necessarily need an employee to get the job done. Often, hiring virtual assistants or a freelancer is a better fit, and freelancing is a great way to make money from home. Some of the most popular freelance ideas include:
Managing someone’s social media accounts on their behalf.
Creating content for a business, whether it be articles, blog posts, or newsletters, to drum up spare cash.
Offering virtual assistant services, in which you are paid by the hour to help someone with administrative tasks from the comfort of your own home.
No. 3: Become an Online Coach or Consultant
Some people prefer to work with an expert one on one. What you know can be taught to others in the form of coaching or online tutoring, and with access to Zoom and other software tools, you can coach clients from anywhere in the world.
“We don’t offer done for you; we offer done with you,” says Isaac Mashman, an entrepreneur and CEO of Mashman Ventures, a company that helps business leaders with personal branding.
“We consult our clients and work with them to build out their brands,” he says. “We’ve built a team of 12 independent contractors who consult our clients virtually.” Mashman says being able to consult from home has been great for himself and his team.
If you’re not familiar with the process of coaching, there are options for training and certification. You can step up an online coaching side hustle with just the costs of using conference software and promote your offers on social media.
No. 4: Teach English
If you speak English, there are options to find online tutoring jobs and teach others how to speak English. This side hustle can be done anywhere, and the potential to make money is good.
“I replaced my teaching income by teaching English through vipkid,” says Tara Branch, a former teacher and current owner of an online travel agency.
“I was bringing home at least $2,000 a month when I was teaching English full-time. I taught six to seven days a week. There are ESL certifications you can get to teach English as a second language, and there are platforms in the U.S. now, such as Outschool.”
Branch says there are apps such as iTalki, tutor.com, Cambly, and many others that offer the opportunity to teach English. You can become certified and get paid to teach from the comfort of your home. The hours can be flexible, and it’s a side hustle with very few expenses.
No. 5: Become an Affiliate
If you don’t have time to deliver a product or service, promote someone else’s offers instead and rack up commissions. You can sign up to become an affiliate with large companies such as Amazon or other retailers or service providers whose products you use.
Being an affiliate means you get paid every time someone buys with your affiliate link. There is no cost to be an affiliate, and you can be paid (from home) to promote things you’d probably talk about anyway.
Start Making Money From Home Today
Online side hustles and remote work can be great ways to make extra income, and they also act as a safeguard if something happens unexpectedly in your career. Evaluate which strategy to make money from home aligns with your life and goals, do your research, and then start taking action today.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses.
Over the previous decade, e-commerce stores have benefited many people, and the industry is predicted to develop. Statista estimates that the e-commerce market is valued at R144 billion and will more than quadruple by 2025. Knowing which things to offer online is critical to your e-commerce business.
In 2021, credit cards accounted for 38% of all sales, followed by e-wallet payments (20%) and cash on delivery (0 percent ). (15% of the total). As previously said, the transaction mechanism is critical when operating an e-commerce store. Your e-commerce store must be configured with payment gateways and other relevant means of transacting.
This article will investigate the greatest products to sell online from home for you.
How do you see which products are trending?
Checking Google Trends is the quickest and most convenient way to find popular things on the internet. It is possible to monitor the popularity of top search queries on Google across different countries and languages using the Google Trends tool. It will show you the trends in your product ideas based on search volume starting in 2004 and continuing to the present.
Given the statistics, creating an online store is a great way to expand a business and ensure that you get a fair piece of the market as online sales grow year after year. You select when to begin. Use your own website, use marketplaces, or use online buying sites like Takealot to establish your online store. In 2022, online sales are expected to reach R165 billion.
There has never been a better time to start selling online. But you might be stuck on what to sell online. Due to the high degree of competition, not every product sells easily online.
20 best products to sell online 2022
1. Skincare Products
Skincare products are among the items to consider when attempting to sell products online. South Africa’s skincare industry is worth R10 billion as of 2021, and it is expected to grow by 4.25 percent in 2022. Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, and Estee Lauder are the most dominant brands. Skincare products are divided into two categories: face care and body care.
Conduct market research to determine which product to sell online and conduct a market survey to see how others are performing for the same or similar products. If you want to start selling skincare products, sell those that are popular with customers so that you can sell them easily. Otherwise, you can opt for niche skincare products that work as advertised.
2. Customized Printed Products
Surprisingly, many South Africans are eager to buy personalised t-shirts or hoodies. Even those that continue to use retail locations as a distribution channel have found this business strategy beneficial. The convenience of online shopping has boosted online sales of printed goods.
When starting this shop, you must have appealing designs and employ high-quality materials. When running an online shop, your business relies on positive reviews. Therefore, poor quality and a lack of attention to detail must be avoided.
3. Kitchen Appliances
Popular kitchen equipment in South Africa include air fryers, electric can openers, and pressure cookers. The list of other kitchen appliances to consider selling online is endless; you just need to know what to sell and to whom. There is no need to sell only one type of goods while selling kitchen equipment. Almost every kitchen item now uses electricity, including bins that employ sensors.
4. Home Decor
Home decor is a great category for e-commerce in 2022. There are numerous home decor items that can be sold online, and the more attractive they are, the easier they are to sell. LED lighting, rugs, storage items, and other items can be sold. If you don’t have enough money, you don’t need to look for products to sell.
If you are talented in product design, you can sell your own designs. People prefer handcrafted items because they believe they have more sentimental value than factory-made home décor goods.
5. Supplements
The South African supplements industry is another multibillion-rand industry. As supplement consumption has increased dramatically since the 2010s, this industry is one of the fastest-growing in the country. In South Africa, you can start your own brand by white-labeling a well-known product.
This method will assist you in developing a brand on which South Africans can rely without having to manufacture the product directly. You can also sell already-labeled supplements or create your own supplements, but this will be more expensive. You’ve probably seen many supplement brands grow from zero to millions of sales in South Africa. This could be an interesting project to pursue.
6. Stationery
In great demand, stationery can be sold at any time of the month. There is always a demand for low-cost, high-quality stationery. Due to the wide variety of items that can be sold, selling stationery may need a large initial investment. But you may handpick hot items and sell them in bulk. With high volume orders, you need a reputable provider because the order value can be significant. So, make sure your provider can supply what you need on time.
7. Hair Care Products
The Hair Care market segment is one to consider because sales are expected to increase by 5.7 percent in 2022. Shampoo, hair conditioner, hair colorant, and other options are available. These products can be sold through various distribution channels, but the online distribution channel allows individuals to sell products with low marketing costs. L’Oreal, Proctor & Gamble, Estee Lauder, and others are among the industry’s leaders. You’re good to go if you can sell hair care products from major manufacturers at a competitive price.
8. Neck Pillows
Neck pillows are trendy right now, and they will continue to be trendy in 2022. Uncovering a reputable supplier with a new product on the market can provide you with great profit margins, and a neck pillow is one such product. Neck Pillows are not a high volume search, thus digital marketing skills are required to sell a huge quantity. If you are new to digital marketing, seek for a product with significant search volume.
9. Nail Decoration
In South Africa, the cosmetics business accounts for almost 20% of all internet sales, and practically any item can sell. Nail Decoration is a popular category in the beauty business, with a wide range of things available. You can sell single items or sets of nail grooming and decoration. Since nails are decorated on a monthly basis, you may be able to maintain your clientele over time.
10. Subscription Boxes
Subscription boxes are in short supply in South Africa. Acquiring a branded subscription box is even more difficult, and if you are willing to supply premium-branded subscription boxes at a low cost, you are likely to strike gold. Before opening an online subscription box shop, extensive research must be conducted. There are various boxes to become acquainted with, and deciding which to sell online requires some research.
11. Smartphone Accessories
Almost every cell phone will require accessories to function properly or to protect against erosion. Screen protectors, phone covers, and earphones are just a few of the accessories that can be purchased online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can make by selling smartphone accessories online. The good news is that you don’t need a lot of money to get started because accessories are inexpensive.
12. Indoor Plants
Indoor plants cost between R20.00 and R1,200.00 and have huge profit margins. This could be the most profitable online store you can open, especially if you are the one who grows the plans. There are numerous plans to consider, and where they are planted is also important. You must conduct extensive research and decide whether you want to start a small plant factory or grow plants in your backyard.
13. Shapewear
Shapewear is a trendy product with large online market potential. Many people in South Africa use these products, which are no longer limited to gym-goers. There are a variety of shapewear options for both men and women to consider; therefore, select items that are more profitable and have high sales projections.
14. Latex Gloves and Face Masks
Despite the peak of the coronavirus, we are nevertheless urged to wear face masks and latex gloves to protect ourselves. These goods will always have a market as long as politicians and citizens discuss COVID-19. There is a lot of potential in selling latex gloves and face masks online. You can work with as many distributors as you want and/or start your own online store. To sell these, use Facebook Market, OLX, Gumtree, Takealot, and Bid or Buy.
15. Personal Alarms
Another market segment with a scarcity of suppliers in South Africa is the personal alarms segment. This market segment is for those who want to sell high-tech alarm systems that can alert users to any threats or breaches in security. Personal alarms are a risk because they are not widely available in South Africa, but they are a great concept for an internet store. A big market share and a loyal client base are more likely to result from early entry.
16. Samsung Smartphones
Samsung cell phones are in high demand in South Africa because the company’s smartphones are both affordable and reliable. If you can find the smartphones at a cheaper price, then you can have a competitive edge over other sellers. You can also sell Samsung accessories through your online store. You may not require an online store if you sell your goods through distributors like Takealot or BidorBuy. However, having your own online store allows you to sell your products in the way that most suits your business strategy.
17. Jewelry and Fashion Accessories
We all want to look dapper, and jewelry is a great way to complement your favorite dress or suit. Jewelry goes with any type of outfit, which justifies its popularity. You don’t have to sell expensive jewelry like the top jewelers we’re accustomed to. Handmade and/or secondhand jewelry can be an excellent way to launch an online jewelry store. You can include trending fashion items and rotate them seasonally. This online concept has high growth potential and is almost certain to last.
18. Wall Art
Everyone wants their house to feel like a home, and wall art can help them achieve this. Wall art has the ability to create the atmosphere that one desires or wishes to have in their home or office. You must be creative when creating wall art. Allow customers to select the type of art they want, whether it’s wallpaper, drawings, or other types of wall art. It is important to prioritize size; so allow customers to select art size on adjustable items.
19. Beauty Products
The term “beauty products” refers to objects that individuals use to enhance their appearance. In recent years, consumers have sought out goods containing Macca root or Fenugreek. This market is booming, and expect some competition as a result of the high demand. Prioritize effective items and seek favorable feedback on delivery, product quality, pricing, and communication.
20. Essential Oils
The list of best products to sell online would be incomplete if we did not include essential oils. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, spas and salons have temporarily closed, leaving individuals looking for self-care remedies. Essential oils are in high demand, and sales are increasing. There are numerous essential oils available, and you can easily white-label one from a reputable manufacturer. Because the pandemic isn’t going away soon, you can help folks get the body treatments they want.
Now that you know the best products to sell online it is important to understand that running an online business requires dedication. And as your sales increase, you will need to devote more time to it. Economic order quality must be created to order items on time and have cash on hand when needed. Equip yourself with digital marketing abilities to stay competitive in the e-commerce business.
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your order requirements. Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow yourbusinesses.
If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
If you are interested in cooperating with us. Please register on: https://bit.ly/3ks
Like in the rest of the world, the COVID-19 crisis lit a fire under the local e-commerce space, leading online retailers to reap the benefits of this major shift in shopping trends.
A World Wide Worx study revealed SA’s e-commerce sales reached a tipping point in 2020, growing by 66% from 2018.
Last year’s Mastercard Economics Institute: 2022 Economic Outlook found South African consumers bought up to 30% more online in 2021, compared to the year before, with a significant surge in e-commerce subscriptions.
Unpacking whether SA has what it takes to match China’s e-commerce growth − which currently sees more than 50% of its retail sales taking place online − Kusel said the country must resolve the challenges around e-commerce, including infrastructure shortcomings.
“Infrastructure is the backbone for any commerce. For example, the SSS’s marketplace has grown hugely…”
“Checkers Sixty60 is another prime example where a huge brick-and-mortar retailer has embraced online and helped bring the e-commerce industry to South Africans.”
The PayFast exec told the virtual audience that online retailers need to get creative in building their businesses to meet the needs of consumers, adding that solving challenges around delivery and logistics in the informal economy is necessary for local e-commerce growth.
“We need to get creative on how we solve this,” he advised. “There’s some great new technology…and other ideas out there that are starting to resolve this. We can’t unlock more than 50-60% of our economy to e-commerce unless we can solve this.
“E-commerce is here to stay in South Africa. If we can solve some of the challenges…I think we can get a lot closer to that 50% that China’s been able to achieve.”
At the same event, Toluse Akinlabi, retail account manager at Google, shared insights into SA’s online shopping trends.
Akinlabi indicated local shoppers have settled into a new normal and there’s no going back to the way they shopped before.
“Globally, more people than ever are shopping online, with 61% more shoppers buying online in the holiday period in 2021 versus 2019. With more people shopping online, differentiation is becoming key.
“Shoppers are using more online information to enhance their in-store experience, and touchpoints that would’ve normally been seen as awareness, engagement or education channels are becoming purchase channels as well. There’s a real convergence in terms of the shopping journey that we’ve never seen before.”
Referencing the findings of Google’s Smart Consumer Report, Akinlabi said in the wake of the COVID-19 period, online remains the preferred way of shopping in SA.
More than two-thirds of shoppers shopped online in 2021, a huge jump from 2020, she noted.
“The habits formed during the initial stages of the pandemic are here to stay. In fact, 87% of shoppers believe they’ll stick with their changed purchase behaviour going forward.”
Akinlabi indicated the report shows e-commerce is “consistently” on the rise in SA, even for fast-moving consumer goods.
“We’re seeing a huge increase in people buying online in the consumer electronics space, home and garden, and fashion. Food and groceries has seen the largest jump since 2020, with five times more people doing their shopping online versus instore.”
She further stated the main reasons people choose online shopping methods is for convenience and home delivery. Another reason is that it’s easier to make a choice and find a specific product.
Akinlabi pointed out that people are buying more on their smartphones, increasing mobile shopping. This trend is particularly seen in the food and groceries, and home and garden categories.
“Mobile shopping on apps is really high and people are used to buying these new categories on their phone.
“While mobile sites are still a key purchase channel, consumer preference is increasingly shifting more towards mobile apps. We’re seeing the shift towards app-purchases a little bit more so than mobile site purchases.”
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, and more. With a successful track record of over 20,000 clients, we are sure to deliver your orders requirements.
Let’s get in touch to build, sustain, and grow your businesses. If you would like to know more details about us, please contact with us: www.shopshipshake.co.za
Beauty ecommerce is growing. Take a look at the numbers: In 2023, the online beauty industry in the United States is expected to generate roughly $86 billion in ecommerce sales. This figure is forecast to reach over $94 billion by 2026.
According to a recent survey, global ecommerce sales in the health and beauty category were predicted to reach $449.6 billion in 2027.
For beauty brands—skin care, hair care, grooming, fragrances, period care, and more—there are many opportunities up for grabs.
If you don’t know what to focus on next, we’re diving into nine examples of successful beauty ecommerce sites. You’ll find the tools, strategies, missions, and products they use to hit huge milestones.
1. Hismile: Influencer-fueled global ecommerce powerhouse
Hismile is known for home tooth-whitening kits that have taken the world by storm. The brand launched in 2014 with its two founders’ $20,000 investment, which they turned into $200 million in revenue within six years.
In its early days, Hismile grew by working with micro-influencers in Australia and worked its way up to partnering with household names like Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
Hismile sells oral care products globally on its ecommerce site.
“You must have all the other stuff in your business churning at 100% before even thinking about reaching out to one of these big names,” Nik Mirkovic, co-founder of Hismile, told Collabstr.
As Hismile rose through the ranks, it had 2,000 brand ambassadors promoting its product at any one time. When you consider its paid ads on Instagram and Snapchat on top of that, it’s easy to see why Hismile’s website had to work smoothly for everyone.
That’s not just about withstanding heavy traffic, but also about looking great no matter which channel and country the visitor came from. Over time, Hismile implemented a global ecommerce approach that supports different currencies and shipping details through six storefronts.
The shipping information page removes clutter and information overload and instead detects the visitor’s country to serve only the relevant pricing and delivery estimate.
Hismile has shipped products to more than 90% of the countries on Earth and grown its key market sales stronger.
“We initially went global on one website, but our sales multiplied by 10 in each market as soon as we sold our products in Australian dollars, US dollars, the euro, and British pounds,” says Nik.
2. ILIA Beauty: Tools that make online beauty shopping easy
ILIA Beauty is a clean beauty brand known for products that enhance natural beauty and protect the skin. ILIA’s products are sold through retailers like Sephora and Nordstrom. Lynda Berkowitz, ILIA’s CEO, told Glossy that direct-to-consumer sales through its website accounts for close to 50% of total sales.
ILIA Beauty sees beauty and skin care as one on its cosmetic ecommerce website.
This is a result of an intentional effort to create an enjoyable online shopping experience. ILIA allows customers to find their ideal shade using the Skin Tint Shade Finder. They can upload a selfie to get matched by ILIA’s team or complete a shade match quiz.
You can easily find the best product for you with ILIA’s Skin Tint Shade Finder.
The shade finder is easy to access through the menu at the top from any page, as well as from relevant product pages. Product pages also feature a “see it in real life” section, with photos and reviews uploaded by verified buyers:
Potential customers can see how ILIA Beauty products look on real people.
ILIA’s customers can rest assured they’ve picked the right product for their skin type, tone, undertone, and concern—and what they want to achieve with that product.
ILIA’s focus on online shopping experience decreased exit rates, improved bounce rates, and played a key role in its ecommerce success. Consider using tools that help customers make a choice and embedding genuine customer reviews to promote real results from your products.
3. Beauty Heroes: Putting customers first online and offline
Beauty Heroes is a healthy beauty discovery service. Its flagship offer is a membership that delivers products from a specific brand each month. Although the membership costs between $40 and $59 per month, each month’s delivery is valued at at least $100.
The current month’s brand of choice is emphasized at the top of the homepage, and the Join Now button follows you as you move around the page:
Beauty Heroes helps you find new beauty products on its website.
Members also receive a 15% discount on almost all products in the beauty store, including skin care, makeup, hair care, and lifestyle products.
In 2019, Beauty Heroes decided to take its online operations offline. Its Northern California store offers the same curation, ingredient standards, and philosophy found on its beauty website.
Opening a brick-and-mortar location meant Beauty Heroes now needed a way to efficiently manage customers wherever they buy.
“Our big requirement was that we wanted our customers to have one profile, whether they shopped online or in store,” says Jeannie Jarnot, founder and CEO of Beauty Heroes. The company now uses Shopify POS to keep complete customer profiles, history, and contact information in one place.
A curated subscription and an omnichannel presence lets Beauty Heroes excel at customer loyalty and retention.
4. 100% PURE: Leaning on customer feedback and rewards
100% PURE is a natural and organic cosmetics retailer. It has two brick-and-mortar locations in the US and a global ecommerce presence in more than 30 countries.
100% PURE promoting a monthly subscription box on its homepage.
The 100% PURE website doubles down on customer favorites: products with most reviews, awards, and purchases.
100% PURE rewards loyal customers. Its Purist Pro program for estheticians and makeup artists offers a 35% discount on most products and first access to new product launches, while the Purist Perks loyalty program includes seasonal savings, birthday gifts, free shipping, points based on customer spend, and more.
With in-store and international ecommerce efforts, the company’s goal is to create an effortless shopping experience for everyone. Easy country and currency selection plays a big role in it.
On top of that, its website needs to be fast, its inventory synced, and product information up to date.
This is where Shopify Plus created a huge improvement. “It’s our customer-facing portal in different countries and allows us to custom code promotions, which have been extremely effective,” says Ric Kostick, the co-founder and CEO of 100% PURE.
It’s a powerful combination—the focus on customer reviews and feedback plus a smooth ecommerce operation—that created success for 100% PURE.
5. The Skin Nerd: Education first, products second
The Skin Nerd is an umbrella of skin-care-focused efforts: education, curated brands, and original products.
The Skin Nerd promoting a promotional gift for customers on its homepage.
Its website points to the key areas for those seeking tips and products to improve their skin: skin consultations, The Skin Nerd book, educational articles (dubbed “skinformation”), and latest products.
The Skin Nerd is a leading example of an education-first ecommerce company. According to its About page, “The Nerd Network was possibly the world’s first online skin consultancy.” Services include initial and follow-up skin consultations, as well as bridal bootcamps, pregnancy consultations, and teen skin consultations and demo days.
Browsers can easily book a skin consultation on The Skin Nerd’s website.
Customers that book a consultation become a member of the Skin Nerd Network, which offers exclusive content, invites to events, and long-term skin guidance.
After their consultation, customers receive a list of recommended products from dozens of brands, including The Skin Nerd’s Skingredients, all of which they can purchase from The Skin Nerd store.
6. Beard & Blade: Free returns as the ultimate quality promise
Beard & Blade is a men’s grooming supplies retailer based in Australia. It has served more than 300,000 customers since 2007, with products for shaving, hair care, beard care, and fragrances.
Beard & Blade promotes a special offer and new arrivals on its homepage.
Beard & Blade’s focus is a straightforward and speedy online shopping experience. Orders made by 3 p.m. are dispatched on the same day, and customers can choose to pick up their order from the brand’s Clayton, Victoria, warehouse within 15 minutes of payment.
A huge part of this customer experience focus is offering free returns for a full year from the order date.
“We don’t have products just for the sake of it. We honed in on what we are best known for, and that’s hair, shaving, and beard products,” Michael Muscat, co-founder of Beard & Blade, told Australia Post. “It means everything we sell is of high quality, so we were confident in offering free returns from day one.”
Information on Beard & Blade’s website about it’s return policy.
“These communities know they can rely on Beard & Blade to have all the products they need. We’ve developed a strong reputation as a market leader and an authority in men’s grooming, and customers recognize that through their interactions with us and through word of mouth,” Ben Chidiac, Beard & Blade’s co-founder, told Australia Post.
For Beard & Blade, the ease of shopping both as a consumer and a business is essential—and that strategy certainly created results.
7. Boie: Minimal product range with strong branding
Boie is an eco-friendly retailer of personal and oral care products. Its online store has a recognizable look: a clean, clutter-free design with a memorable color palette.
Eco-friendly beauty brand Boie’s homepage.
Boie has a streamlined product offering, with just four product categories—oral care, skin care, accessories, and bundles—and four or less products per category. Each product comes in the same six colors.
In 2018, Boie saw $1.1 million in sales, but had conversion rates below industry average and wanted to improve its organic search presence.
One of the upgrades was consistent branding through uniform colors and fonts, more prominent buttons, and clear copy. Another one was sharing social proof.
“A big thing was adding reviews to our website,” says Manuel de la Cruz, co-founder of Boie. “I think seeing other customers’ experience with our products helped increase our conversion rate.”
Boie includes product reviews on every product page to increase conversions.
Using these strategies, Boie increased its sales by 100% within a year. Having a clear focus—and a simple, clear website that supports it—helped Boie exceed its revenue goals, while staying true to its mission of making personal care more sustainable and planet-friendly.
8. Soft Services: A resource that helps people feel good in their skin
Soft Services offers products, guides, and digital tools that help people with skin concerns. Its mission is to reduce physical and digital waste in this industry and the world.
In their own words, the Soft Services team see themselves as more than a brand or a company that makes things, and consider what they do a service—hence the name.
Soft Services’ website stands out through its unconventional layout and design:
Soft Services uses a unique ecommerce website layout to attract visitors.
Its distinctive product pages follow suit. The section that stands out is the list of “Good for” and “Not good for” skin conditions:
Customers can quickly understand if a Soft Services product is right for them.
This is aligned with Mass Index, a resource by Soft Services that houses expert articles, treatment information, and a growing visual library of all types of body skin.
Mass Index aims to fill the knowledge gap left by the skin and health care sectors about a broad range of skin conditions, from body acne and clogged pores to fungal infections and psoriasis.
“We want people to go from having a body issue that they’re stressed about to feeling empowered, and that’s through products and breaking down cultural taboos,” Rebecca Zhou, co-founder of Soft Services, told Byrdie.
Mass Index and the company’s mission are bigger than Soft Services’ products. According to the brand’s site, “Mass Index was created as a place to document research and share it with people searching for solutions, even if not our product.”.
This effort makes Soft Services a go-to resource for skin concerns and solutions and builds trust with the people they reach through it.
9. Blume: Challenging the status quo with a bold mission
Blume is a skin, body, and period care retailer focused on clean, gentle ingredients. Blume serves girls and women of all ages looking to elevate their self-care routine and daily rituals.
Blume highlights its reviews and awards recognition on its homepage.
“We wanted to start Blume to make an impact and take on an industry that has had little innovation for over 100 years. Seventy-nine percent of us use the same products that our moms did,” Taran and Bunny Ghatrora, Blume’s co-founders, shared with Ecommerce Magazine. “This means that 79% of us are still using outdated, potentially problematic products simply because we were introduced to them when we were younger.”
Blume’s product range includes natural deodorants, organic tampons and pads, and face products like clay masks, moisturizers, and acne oils.
Each product page features key information like frequency of use, scent, skin type, instructions, key ingredients (and their benefits), and other complementary Blume products.
Blume shares information about its products on its website.
Blume aims to make self-care easier and healthier and destigmatize normal things like acne, periods, puberty, and sex education, which it achieves through clean products and sex ed resources that knock down taboos and create important conversations.
Stay on top of the beauty industry
From clean products and protecting the planet to educating customers and helping them feel good about their body and the products they put on it, use these beauty ecommerce brands and online stores to inspire your next move. Beauty is personal, so make sure your customer journey is too.
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.
What’s in a domain name? When it comes to SEO, it might be much more than you think.
Your domain name identifies who you are, what services you provide, and how you appear in the marketplace. Depending on what you choose to register, your online presence could appear more or less friendly to curious human visitors.
Today, global competition for ranking a good domain is increasingly competitive: worldwide expenditures for SEO jumped to $80 billion in 2021. Ranking highly for SEO matters more than ever, especially when it comes to your domain name.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify
Domain SEO impacts almost everything published on your websites—your content, your landing pages, and even your products. Understanding exactly how your domain name affects page rankings and web traffic is critical to the success of your brand.
Let’s explore the basics of domain SEO, starting with its actual definition.
Domain SEO is the practice of optimizing owned domains to make them more accessible to human visitors and search engines. It involves picking a simple phrase, an optional subdomain, and a top level domain (TLD) to create the perfect web identity.
Contrary to popular belief, domain SEO is different from webpage or URL SEO:
Webpage SEO involves optimizing your digital web content, including copy, images, and associated buttons.
URL SEO focuses on optimizing title tags, link anchor text, and elements of the actual web address.
Domain SEO only strives to optimize the name of your registered domain.
It’s best to use domain name SEO as a complementary strategy with other optimization efforts, including on-page, off-page, and technical approaches. The more time you spend creating a streamlined, polished domain name, the easier it will be to advance other SEO strategies.
Does domain name matter for SEO?
A domain name’s length, keywords, and extension are critical components of an SEO strategy. A trustworthy, focused, and simple domain name will get more traffic and interest from people and search engines.
You might be tempted to assume that domain names are less important than other elements of SEO. However, take, for example, http://www.cheap-discounted-jeans.net or freeshippingforlife.biz. Neither of these domains inspires much confidence.
In fact, you might be more likely to view these addresses as scams simply because of their names. Customers are extremely aware of this, and so are search engines.
Steps for picking an SEO-friendly domain name
The best way to choose your next SEO domain name is to be mindful of keywords, to consider shorter lengths, and to focus on simple or abbreviated terms. While you might not find yourself on the front page of Google overnight, you will be grounding your domain in best practices right from the get-go—and reaping plentiful rewards as a result.
Below are four actionable tips for choosing a domain name that is optimized for search engines.
Choose the right keywords
The importance of using keywords in a domain has varied over the years. It was once a mainstay of search indexing on sites like Google and used by hundreds of thousands of ecommerce brands throughout the early 2000s. Today, keywords continue to play a part in domain SEO—albeit in an abbreviated context.
These days, domains don’t need keywords spelled out in their names to see search engine boosts. However, it’s not always a bad idea to throw in a concept or two to provide clarity around your brand.
Luxury fashion brand Giulio Fashion leverages a keyword in its domain name, giuliofashion.com, without appearing spammy or awkward. The company Giulio is complemented well by the addition of “Fashion,” setting expectations and helping searchers find what they’re looking for. Sabo Skirt (saboskirt.com) is another example of a brand adding keywords to help boost relevance.
Keep in mind that a great domain name doesn’t need to be wholly focused on keywords. Try to choose a domain name with just one or two keywords, or encapsulate the idea of your brand with a short acronym.
Opt for a short domain name
The actual length of your domain name does not affect its standing on search engines, particularly Google. However, it can and will have a significant impact on customer memorability.
Research indicates that the average domain length is just 13 characters long. For the world’s 500 most popular websites, this average drops to just seven characters.
Gaebler.com
In either case, consider creating a domain name that holds its own without overwhelming your audience. Remember: the shorter a domain name is, the more valuable it will be.
Strive for domain name simplicity
Wharton’s Dean of Entrepreneurship, Karl Ulrich, performed an intensive research study that measured the empirical evidence of online domains, including their performance in the marketplace. The research found that simple and straightforward naming schemes were the most efficient:
There is a 2% reduction in traffic for every domain name character past the seventh.
Less complicated addresses without hyphens avoid traffic penalties.
The repetition of vowel sounds and consonant sounds correspond to a worse rank.
The takeaway for entrepreneurs? The simpler your domain name is, the better it will perform.
Pick a trustworthy domain extension
GrowthBadger
There’s no question that the .com TLD is perhaps the most coveted extension of all. It’s currently the most trusted domain extension in the world, and 33% more memorable than any other TLD. While the use of .com itself won’t provide any search engine boosts, it will prove your trustworthiness to customers—bringing your rankings up organically.
Not all is lost if you don’t have access to a .com domain. Extensions such as .co continue to gather audience trust, as does .us and .net. According to this study by Growth Badger, you may want to avoid any generic top-level domain (gTLD) that was released after 2015, including .frogans, .moda, .olayan, and other less recognizable terms in the marketplace.
Performing a competitor domain name SEO analysis
Before you purchase an SEO-friendly domain name, you may want to check on the domains used by your largest competitors. A competitor domain name analysis allows you to better understand your rival domains’ position, ranking, and perception in the marketplace. The analysis can be used to help inform your decisions before making a domain name purchase.
Unlike site audits or content evaluations, all you need to perform a competitor domain name SEO analysis is a set of simple questions. Asking these questions will allow you to work through competitor decisions for domain naming and understand how it has potentially impacted their online rankings. You can use these insights to choose domain keywords, phrases, gTLDs, and lengths that are even better than those used by competitors.
Ask yourself:
How simple and brandable is the domain name? Is it less than 14 characters max?
Consider the uniqueness of the domain. Does the company own all domains with similar gTLDs to protect against imposters (e.g., swimsuit.com, swimsuit.net, swimsuit.biz)?
Is the domain authoritative? How does it line up with their branding?
The more information you glean from your competitors’ domain SEO, the better decisions you can make about the domain name you choose to purchase.
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of checking competitor metrics on your own, platforms like Moz.com can provide a comprehensive analysis that ranks domains based on keywords, spam, and more. This is a good place to start if you have a large number of competitors to sift through.
How to improve your domain name SEO
Understanding the elements that improve your domain’s SEO status will help you build a winning strategy. Once you have purchased a domain name, you’ll want to continuously improve your factors for search engine optimization.
The best way to improve your purchased domain name’s SEO is by focusing on creating value, building backlinks, and creating positive experiences with good branding.
Create valuable content
Content is one of the most valuable things you can publish on a domain. Highly researched and informative content is an excellent method of increasing your authority in the marketplace, and will help increase your web traffic.
Start by creating SEO friendly web pages, landing pages, and blog pages. Be sure to add value in every piece of writing you produce, and never rely on plagiarism or black-hat techniques to speed up your content production.
Other examples of content you could publish on your domains include:
Listicles
How-tos
Videos
Case studies
White papers
Infographics
Yearly reports
Statistic round-ups
Not only will this content provide evergreen SEO value to your domain, but it also has the potential to generate organic backlinks as well.
Source domain backlinks
Backlinks are third-party hyperlinks that connect to your domain via secondary websites. These are important for two reasons: they drive traffic from one site to another (yours), and they help to prove your brand’s relevance and authority among other competitors. According to a recent study, 91% of online pages without domain backlinks receive zero organic search traffic.
The best way to source backlinks for your domain is to become an authority in your niche. Creating actionable content and well-written copy is one of the most efficient ways to do this. You can also reach out to other brands or websites who may be interested in partnering with you or creating roundups or affiliate content to garner interest.
Note that bulk backlinks from a single website are frowned upon by Google’s search algorithm. It’s best to rely on organic links as much as possible—and not black-hat or paid strategies.
Elevate domain name branding
Your domain name isn’t just text on a screen—it gives visitors an inside look at who you are and what you do. Domain SEO is largely based around user signals, meaning that the more positively your domain presents to visitors, the better it will do online.
Use your domain name to give users a taste of your brand, including its voice and tone. Domains that are more focused on branding than keywords are usually referred to as “branding domains,” though all registered domains should try to incorporate both elements sufficiently.
There are a number of great examples of this:
Manscaped.com says everything you need to know about the company in just two syllables: a playful yet high fidelity store for all things male hygiene.
Cettire.com is a luxury brand whose naming conventions say it all. An elegant play on words sets the tone—and voice—of the brand.
AloYoga.com—a domain owned by women’s yoga apparel brand Alo— is fun, fast, and mindfully modern. It reflects the brand image and personality of Alo.
SEO-friendly domain name examples
Learning by example is a great way to approach domain name SEO. Whether you already have some inspiration or are looking for domain name suggestions, these popular ecommerce domain examples are perfect examples of strategy, length, and branding.
Gymshark.com: Just two syllables long and extremely brandable, Gymshark is a word that just rolls off the tongue. This very short domain name is separated into multiple subdomains to help with global traffic. This is a great SEO tactic for brands with a multinational presence.
Colourpop.com: This domain is memorable, specific, and easy to remember. No hyphens, numbers, or other strange spellings are included, which helps visitors return to the site without much trouble.
Beeinspiredclothing.com: The .com extension and exact brand name means visitors can find Bee Inspired Clothing in the blink of an eye. According to Ahrefs, the domain also commands more than 15,000 backlinks, which is a boon for SEO.
Do I need to change my domain name for SEO?
Domain names do impact your SEO, but they aren’t necessarily a make-or-break portion of your strategy. In fact, a changing domain name could confuse search engines and other bots trying to crawl through your web pages—making a short-lived but still negative impact on your SEO. Updated domain names might make it more difficult for returning visitors to find your site again, tanking your overall web traffic.
You should only consider changing your domain name for SEO if:
You’ve already considered rebranding your site or company
You’re planning on using 301 redirects to sustain previous SEO
Your current domain is confusing or hard to access
Remember that your domain name doesn’t necessarily factor into search engine rankings. However, changing it or rebranding it without following best practices could confuse visitors and search engines alike.
Domain SEO tools for creating a winning strategy
The best domain names certainly didn’t appear overnight, and picking a domain that follows all best SEO practices could take even more time. These tools could help to evaluate your options before registering a domain online.
Domain naming
Shopify provides domain registration, domain search, and hosting opportunities for your next digital identity. There’s also a way to find key information, like who owns the domain, when it was registered, and when it expires.
BlueHost searches for available domains based on entered keywords. This works if you’re looking to buy a domain name immediately, but doesn’t offer any information lookup function.
Domain authority tools
Ahrefs offers a helpful authority checker that measures the strength of any currently registered domain name. Use it to keep up with any linking websites or backlinks.
Prepostseo.com is a free online tool that allows users to measure the authority of multiple URLs under the same domain. Again, this is best for domains with a large number of pages to manage.
Web.archieve.org allows you to check the history of a domain name before you register it—and ensures you don’t pay for something with a poor background or lingering SEO penalties.
Domain monitoring tools
Domaintools.com provides a domain monitoring service that tracks owned and unowned domains. Keep a watchful eye on expiration dates, status changes, and other factors that may impact domain SEO.
Domain Rank Tracker lets users check for the top 50 keywords that are sending visitors to a certain domain, allowing them to monitor changes over time.
Brand Monitor protects your domain name from bad actors and lookalike domains that could hurt your rankings and SEO results.
Putting domain SEO into practice
Domain names are online digital identities that speak volumes about who you are, what you do, and what visitors should expect from you. While the name you choose will not necessarily affect search engine rankings, it’s a good idea to pick short, memorable, and highly relevant phrases that put you in the running with today’s major brands.
With some dedicated effort and a little planning, you can choose an SEO friendly domain name that continues to reap the benefits long after registration.
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.
If a thriving business is your goal, you should follow a methodical approach and pick a niche with attributes conducive to online success.
Market niches are segments of broader markets, defined by their own unique characteristics, such as needs, preferences, and identities, that set them apart from the wider market. This specialized segment of the market is where you want to position your business.Click here to start selling online now with Shopify
In this short guide, we’ll go through how to find your niche and determine which products to sell in that niche. We’ll also show you how to determine if there’s enough demand for your small business ideas and give you a few tools to measure the competitive pressures in those areas.
Finding your niche begins with looking at your passions and skills. Some questions to ask yourself include:
Are there any topics I’m passionate about?
What do I excel at?
Do I have a favorite hobby?
These are all important factors to consider when trying to find a niche.
Let’s say you have a passion for fashion and are good at styling outfits. You might enjoy creating or sourcing clothes and working with a stylist for photo shoots. You can find a niche in the fashion industry by combining these interests and skills.
Or perhaps you enjoy cooking and creating healthy recipes. You might enjoy selling cookware and writing recipes for your company’s food blog. Finding a niche in the food industry would be easier with these interests and skills.
The key is finding an area you’re passionate about and have some skills in. This will make finding a niche you enjoy working in much easier.
2. Find a few different potential niches
Once you have an idea of your passions and skills, start looking around for potential niches. In this phase, you want to build a big list of niches so you can determine demand. You’ll narrow down these niches later.
You can define a niche by:
Price (luxury, moderate, discount)
Levelofquality (premium, handmade, economical)
Geographics (residents of a certain country, city, or even neighborhood)
Demographics (gender, age, income level, education level)
Psychographics (values, interests, attitudes)
For example, selling trail running shoes is a niche. Trail running shoes are a segment of the larger industry of footwear and the audience is runners, hikers, and nature enthusiasts, which have large communities.
There’s no single way to find a niche. But here are a few ways you look for some.
Start with Google searches
The best way to start brainstorming is to understand what other online retailers are doing. Let’s use “vegan shoes” as a starting point. Scroll down to the Refine section where you can search by type, style, material, and department.
Vegan shoes is a niche worth researching.
From there, you can find a goldmine of potential angles, like faux leather unisex running shoes and vegan pumps.
Dig until you find an underserved problem you feel you can provide a solution to. Keep in mind that even if you have competition, you can still compete by getting even more specific with your audience and building an effective marketing strategy.
Pay attention to your surroundings
Start looking outward to catch any common pain points. Your own experiences as well as the experiences of others can spark ideas.
If you’re selling shoes, you might notice both youth and elderly people have trouble tying laces. Maybe you yourself are after a certain style of shoe but no one ships to your country.
Take note of any problems like these and be that business to serve a niche population with your unique solution.
Use Google’s suggestions
Ever notice how when you start typing something into a Google search, it shows you suggestions before you finish? These are Google’s most-searched-for related keywords and queries. Use them to your advantage to find a niche for your product category. You can plug in “best shoes for” to get some ideas.
Pay attention to Google’s suggestions when you input keywords, as there may be niche ideas you hadn’t thought of.
You can also use keyword research tools to check search volume and trends. This will help you identify the most viable opportunities.
Look for passionate communities online
The web is pretty good at organizing itself into communities based on shared interests, passions, and hobbies—in other words, into niches. Dig through the most active subreddit and listen in on their discussions.
Subscribe to hashtags on Instagram and TikTok, like #sneakerhead, and you’ll find opportunities to niche down.
Pay attention to hashtags on popular social media sites and online forums.
3. See if there is a market
When you’re looking for a niche, it’s important to ensure a big enough market to support your niche. It’s no use trying to sell to a group of people that’s too small to sustain your business.
Here are a few ways to determine if there’s a big enough market for your niche:
Total addressable market (TAM). This is the total potential revenue that your business could generate if it captured 100% of its target market. For example, if you’re selling a product that’s aimed at women aged 18 to 35, your TAM would be the total revenue generated by all businesses that sell products to this demographic.
Size of the niche market. This is the portion of the TAM that’s made up of your target market. For example, if you’re selling a product aimed at women aged 18 to 35, your niche market would be the TAM’s portion of this demographic.
Growth rate of the niche market. This is the rate at which the niche market is growing. For example, if you’re selling a product that’s aimed at women aged 18 to 35, your niche market might be growing at a rate of 5% per year.
Do market research on your chosen niches to see if it’s a good specialization or not. You can also plug each niche into Google Trends to see the current trend.
For example, you can see below that the topic “vegan shoes” has consistent demand over the past five years. This would be a decent niche to get into as a new business owner.
Google Trends can show region-specific and global data around search trends for keywords and phrases.
4. Narrow down your niche
Now that you’ve brainstormed a list of potential niches, it’s time to start narrowing them down. Here are a few factors to consider as you narrow your list:
Do you have any personal or professional experience in this niche?
Is this niche something you’re passionate about?
Do you have any existing connections in this niche?
Is this niche too broad?
Is this niche too competitive?
Can you realistically see yourself building a successful online business in this niche?
You don’t have to check all the boxes, but the more “yes” answers you have, the better. If you’re struggling to narrow down your list, try these exercises:
Take a closer look at the niches you’re most passionate about. What are the unique selling points (USPs) of each?
Are there any niches on your list that you could combine? For example, if you’re passionate about fashion and sustainable living, you could focus on selling sustainable fashion.
Are there any niches on your list that you could segment further? For example, if you want to sell fitness products, you could segment by type of fitness (e.g., CrossFit, yoga, running) or by product type (e.g., fitness apparel, fitness equipment, fitness supplements).
5. Validate your niche
There are a few key ways you can validate your niche before you invest too much time or money.
Take a look at your competition
If there are already a ton of businesses selling what you want to sell, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It could mean there’s a market demand for what you’re selling.
But it could also mean you’ll have a hard time standing out in the crowd. If you do decide to enter a competitive market, you’ll need to have a unique selling proposition that will make you stand out from the rest.
Talk to potential customers
See if they would be interested in what you’re selling and if they would be willing to pay for it. You can also look for online communities related to your niche and see what kinds of conversations are happening.
Are people talking about the problem you’re trying to solve? Are they looking for solutions? If so, that’s a good sign you’ve found a potential niche.
Build your audience first
Kickstarter campaigns generate awareness about products before they’re even developed. You can introduce your idea and gain followers before the idea has come to fruition. This way, you’ll have an engaged group of target customers ready and waiting for you when you launch.
Research consumer trends in your market
It’s important to be up-to-date with what’s happening in your chosen niche. Resources like Think with Google and Nielsen consumer research will help you understand consumer pain points, desires, and breakout trends.
Set up Google Alerts for related keywords and regularly monitor social media conversations to stay on top of what’s trending.
The goal is to get feedback from real people about your niche idea. This will help you validate (or invalidate) your assumptions and give you a better idea of whether or not there’s a market for what you’re selling.
6. Test your niche
Finally, you can validate a product or niche by testing it out. This can be done by starting a blog or a YouTube channel related to your niche, or creating a landing page to sell a product or service related to your niche. If you can get people to sign up or buy what you’re selling, that’s a good sign that you’ve found a viable niche.
Why is it important to find your niche?
To succeed in your business, you need to carve out a niche. Choosing a niche helps you build credibility amongst one audience and dominate a particular corner of the market. When you niche, you become the go-to spot for a specific group of people.
Niching also does the following:
Helps you buildbrand loyalty. Customers will choose your brand over a mass market company offering more product types. They will also connect more with a niche brand and know you’ll meet their needs.
Lowers marketing costs. By knowing your niche, you can target specific groups of customers. These people are more likely to act on your promotions, which brings down marketing and advertising costs.
Shows expertise. Choosing a niche establishes you as a thought leader in the space versus providing a generic product. It positions you as an expert, establishing credibility and building trust amongst relevant customers.
Increases profits. Narrowing down on a niche lets you learn about specific customer groups. If you can show you’re the best brand to meet their needs, they’ll spend more with you more frequently.
Suppose you own a shoe store. You sell many types of shoes in the store. One day, in order to attract more customers, you add shirts, hats, sunglasses, and jackets to your shelves.
If someone is looking for a specific work boot or running shoe, are they going to come to you? Chances are, no.
Say you position your shoe store to be the #1 place for nurses to buy shoes. You sell slip resistant, durable shoes that offer support all day long. You spend money on ads and influencer campaigns targeting nurses. Over time, you become the go-to spot for nurse shoes and establish your place in the market.
Niche market examples
Now that we know what a niche is and how to choose one, let’s take a look at some examples for inspiration.
1. Conscious consumers
The topic of sustainability has become increasingly important, and for good reason.
Almost any mass-produced product has a niche market of conscious consumers looking for greener alternatives. More than 78% of consumers are making it a priority to become more sustainable in their daily lives—and they’re willing to adapt their shopping behaviors to do so.
In the past, companies might have donated proceeds to a cause, but now consumers care how products are made. In other words, there’s a subculture within green living that cares about ethical supply chains. If you’re in this niche, keep that in mind.
Some product examples are:
Wax wrap that replaces Saran wrap
Cruelty-free cosmetics
Vegan clothing
Menstrual cups
💡 Tip: Avoid greenwashing. Make sure your environmental claims are backed up. In this category, you can’t be perfect—that’s not how business works. Keep in mind that greenwashing will always backfire.
2. Pet owners
The pet industry alone earned an estimated $136.8 billion in sales in the US in 2022. The market offers a lot of product opportunities across different types of pets, lifestyles, and more.
For example, PupSocks sells personalized socks, you can plaster your beloved pet’s picture on, and it has hundreds of thousands of website visitors monthly.
PupSocks has tapped into a niche in the pet products industry with its personalized pet-inspired products.
Many people own fish, dogs, or cats, but there are also unique pets, such as horses, lizards, turtles, and even chickens. You can tap into any of these niche markets.
3. Locals
Even the world’s biggest brands are adopting local marketing approaches through targeted campaigns. This is because they’re competing with a consumer-driven movement to support local businesses.
But if you’re only selling online, it can be difficult to establish a local presence. Luckily, there are ways for ecommerce sellers to appeal to locals.
Peace Collective, for example, was founded around Toronto pride with the slogan “Toronto Vs Everybody.” Now, it supports all kinds of initiatives.
Peace Collective allows online shoppers to browse collections based on the cause they want to support.
If you want to sell locally, you could make t-shirts with subculture slogans, images of the city, or local sports team logos, or even sell souvenirs and city guides. The possibilities are endless.
Tips for finding niche products to sell
While you’re brainstorming various niches and products to sell, there are a lot of important things to consider. Here are some types of niche products you’ll want to sell.
1. Accessory-heavy niches
Merchants rarely make much on big-ticket items and will earn only 5% to 10% on products like laptops and TVs. Where they really make their money is on the accessories.
Accessories enjoy significant markups, and customers are much less price-sensitive about them. A buyer might shop for weeks to get the best deal on a TV, but wouldn’t think twice about dropping $30 on an HDMI cable from the same place. Yet there’s a good chance the business made nearly as much on the cable as it did on the flatscreen.
When you choose a niche with lots of accessories, you’ll enjoy significantly higher profit margins and fewer price-sensitive shoppers.
2. Customers with a passion or problem
It’s amazing how much money passionate hobbyists will spend. Mountain bikers will drop hundreds on lightweight accessories to shave a few pounds off their bike, and avid fishermen will invest tens of thousands of dollars in boats and related accessories.
Also, if you can offer a product-based solution to a painful problem, you’ll find a captive audience eager to buy.
3. The $100 to $200 range
This price range is an ecommerce “sweet spot.” It’s large enough to create decent average order value (AOV) and per-order profit, but small enough that—with a quality, informative website—most customers won’t need to speak with someone before the sale personally.
As you grow, generating most of your orders online offers massive efficiency savings versus a phone-heavy approach. But if you’re selling products that cost $500 or more, many customers will want personal customer service before pulling out their credit cards.
4. Hard to find locally
If you needed garden equipment, you’d likely head down to your local Home Depot or Lowe’s. But where would you go to buy surveillance equipment or magicians accessories? Probably online. Pick niche products that are hard to find locally and you’ll be able to get in front of the vast majority of your customers as they search online.
While you ideally want something difficult to source locally, you also need to ensure there’s ample demand for the product. This can be a fine line to walk, and we’ll return to the issue in the competition section below.
5. Low product turnover
If your product line is constantly changing year to year, you’ll end up spending valuable time on resources that will soon be outdated. Selling a product line with limited turnover ensures you can invest in an information-rich website that will be viable for years.
6. Consumable or disposable products
Repeat customers are essential to any business, and it’s significantly easier to sell to existing customers who trust you than to new prospects. If your product needs to be re-ordered regularly—and you’re able to keep your customers happy—you’ll be on your way to building a profitable business with recurring revenue.
Finding a great product is only part of the equation. Even a niche fitting all the above criteria would be a poor choice in the face of inadequate demand or crushing competition. Understanding a product’s demand, competition, and suppliers will be important to making an informed decision.
What should you do if you can’t find a niche?
Having a niche business makes it easier to find potential customers and convince them to buy from you, but you need to be sure there are enough buyers in that niche to make it viable.
Let’s say your target audience is dog-loving nurses in Toronto and you determine your niche is too small. Consider pivoting. You could expand to dog loving professionals in North America. You won’t really know what will resonate until you try.
Niche down, make more money
Even if you do achieve success early on, niches change, so expect to evolve with your audience over time. You might even introduce new products to your line as new opportunities present themselves.
Understanding the specific needs of each niche makes it possible to speak directly to them in your marketing—you’ll have a greater chance of attracting a buyer’s attention and winning their business by making it clear that your product is specifically for them.
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 the ever-evolving landscape of international commerce, businesses are constantly seeking ways to broaden their horizons and stay competitive. The allure of global markets, especially those brimming with innovative and affordable products, is hard to resist. For South African businesses, this desire for expansion often leads to the question: How can we tap into the vast world of opportunities in China and bring those benefits home?
Enter ShopShipShake – the answer to your business expansion aspirations. Unlike conventional e-commerce platforms, ShopShipShake is exclusively designed to serve the needs of South African businesses. This article delves into why ShopShipShake is your premier gateway to seamless business growth.
A Platform Exclusively for Business Clients
ShopShipShake’s primary mission is to cater to the unique demands of businesses in South Africa. Our platform is your virtual bridge connecting you with Chinese suppliers and the vast array of products they offer. Whether you’re an established business owner looking to diversify your product offerings or an entrepreneur seeking to venture into new markets, ShopShipShake is your strategic partner.
The Advantages of Choosing Shopshipshake
Supplier Diversity: Our extensive network boasts over 1,000,000+ suppliers, enabling you to explore a wide range of options. This diversity empowers your business to diversify its product catalog and remain competitive in a dynamic market.
Streamlined Logistics: We understand the complexities of international sourcing, shipping, and storage. WithShopShipShake, you can shift your focus from logistics to growth while we handle these intricate aspects on your behalf. It’s a partnership where your success becomes our mission.
Customized Solutions: We recognize that every business is unique, and our solutions are tailored to meet your specific goals and requirements. Our commitment is to make our relationship feel more like a partnership than just a transaction.
Additional Advantages
ShopShipShake offers a host of additional advantages to make your business expansion journey as smooth as possible:
Stable Supply Chain: Our platform provides a stable supply chain that includes product supply, shipping, and secure storage. This ensures a seamless end-to-end process for your business.
Payment in South African Rand: Convenience is paramount, and we’ve got you covered. We now support payments in South African Rand, making transactions even more straightforward for our South African business clients.
Fast and Affordable Deliveries: Our partnership with trusted logistics companies guarantees swift and reasonably priced deliveries. Say goodbye to long shipping times and exorbitant fees.
1688.com Partnership: Through our collaboration with 1688.com, one of China’s premier e-commerce platforms, we gain access to an extensive array of suppliers and products, enriching our catalog and broadening your sourcing options.
Shopify Partnership in Africa: Our partnership with Shopify in Africa opens up new avenues for businesses to thrive in the African market, further solidifying our commitment to providing top-notch e-commerce solutions.
Dedicated IT Technology Group: We continuously invest in technology and have a dedicated team of IT experts working to improve and optimize our platform, delivering the best user experience possible.
Professional Product Inspection: Quality is paramount. Our professional product inspectors meticulously review items before they reach you, ensuring the highest standards for your business.
ShopShipShake is not just an e-commerce platform; it’s your trusted partner in unlocking the world of Chinese products for your business. If you’re a business owner seeking growth opportunities or looking to diversify your product offerings, Shopshipshake is here to make your journey seamless and rewarding. Join us today and experience the difference of doing business with Shopshipshake!
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.
Shoppers often rely on unadulterated opinions of former customers to judge whether or not they want to make a purchase. This makes online reviews a key factor in people’s purchasing journey—and it’s why there are so many review websites where customers go to share their experiences with both local businesses and national brands.
As a small business owner, collecting customer reviews is one of the best ways you can build consumer confidence and expand your market reach. Here are strategies for getting business listings on different sites and getting as many positive online reviews as possible.
Customer reviews benefit small businesses through the concept of social proof: The human tendency to base our decisions on the actions and opinions of other people. Specifically, consumer reviews can benefit businesses because they can help:
Boost credibility. Eighty-four percent of shoppers report trusting online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations from their friends.
Improve SEO. Since Google’s algorithm prioritizes webpages with consumer ratings, you can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) every time you collect customer reviews. The contents of these reviews also help you identify keyword phrases to include in your SEO marketing.
Teach you about your own product. Reviews directly show you what customers think about your products, including the features they like and dislike the most. You can gain ecommerce insights just by reading what your clients have to say about your brand.
Naturally generate content. Need a newsletter idea? Feature some client testimonials, pulled directly from your own business reviews.
Improve your brand’s reputation. Positive reviews help prospective customers view your company favorably and may even inspire people to make a purchase. For return customers, positive reviews can instill greater customer loyalty in your business.
11 review sites for businesses
Every positive review—whether it’s posted on a popular review site or your own website—has the potential to boost your brand reputation. Still, there are certain third-party review sites worth prioritizing, since they get a lot of traffic and people already trust them. Here are 10 (plus your own) of the best review sites for online businesses.
1. Google
When you set up a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), you get placement on Google Maps. You also get a forum for Google customer reviews, where anyone with a Google account can leave feedback about your business. Given Google’s continued dominance in online search and the number of people who rely on Google Maps to get around and find local businesses, it pays to have a presence on its platform. You can solicit Google reviews by directing people to your Google business listing.
2. Yelp
Yelp specializes in local search, so it’s particularly useful if your business has a physical location. But even if you work exclusively in ecommerce, Yelp reviews improve your online visibility. That’s because Yelp devotes a lot of attention to search engine placement, so your Yelp listing might show up in a search result ahead of your own website. Yelp encourages you to set up a business profile and let active Yelpers organically review your company.
3. Facebook
Facebook is known for connecting family and friends, but it also functions as a review site for businesses. You can create a Facebook page for your business and encourage people to like your page and leave reviews.
4. Shopify Product Reviews
While review sites offer value, there may be no better place to feature positive reviews than within your own ecommerce store. The Shopify Product Reviews app and the Shop App both let you display client feedback directly on your Shopify online store, providing on-the-page social proof to interested buyers. The app lets you publish, hide, filter, and manage reviews quickly and easily. It also lets you add review scores to your Google search results.
5. Trustpilot
Trustpilot lets users write reviews about individual products and companies as a whole. This helps it stand out among business review websites, which typically only feature one of these review categories. Trustpilot operates on a paid subscription model, but even its free tier offers Shopify integration.
6. Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit organization that rates companies on an A to F scale, and it offers accreditation, for a fee, which signals to consumers you’re an honest business. These ratings and accreditations can show whether a business is reliable and trustworthy, and whether it proactively addresses customer complaints. The Better Business Bureau’s own research says 88% of consumers said they were more likely to purchase from a business if it had an A+ or A rating, 78% of consumers said they were more likely to purchase from a business if it displayed a BBB Accreditation seal, and 68% of consumers said they were less likely to purchase from a business if it had an F or D rating.
7. Amazon
If you sell on Amazon, reviews are of paramount importance. Positive Amazon customer reviews can push your product to the top of a product search page, while negative reviews can relegate you to the bottom. Note that Amazon forbids the practice of offering people rewards for their reviews. One way to get more reviews on Amazon is to make a high-quality product and aggressively price it to gain market share. Later, when you’ve amassed a large number of reviews, you can consider raising your price to improve your profit margin.
8. AliExpress
AliExpress is a Chinese online marketplace with a growing presence in the United States. It is known for rock-bottom prices, which draw bargain shoppers. AliExpress is much like Amazon in that reviews can boost your listing on search results pages. AliExpress reviews tend to be shorter than those on Amazon, which may incentivize happy customers to quickly type a few words of praise.
9. Angi
Angi (formerly Angie’s List) specializes in local businesses and the service industry—think contractors, music teachers, and caterers. If you exclusively work in ecommerce, you may not need an Angi profile, but if you provide services or operate within a specific local area, a listing may help. Angi charges site visitors a fee to access its review listings. This means you can only request customer feedback from Angi subscribers.
10. Foursquare
Foursquare allows users to “check in” at a local business. It also provides a forum for customer reviews, which can be given on a scale of 1–10. While Foursquare reviews may not directly boost ecommerce sales, they can definitely improve the visibility of your brick-and-mortar locations. Its default view presents businesses in order of their customer ratings, so keeping a high score boosts your presence on the platform.
11. Yellow Pages
Long before online review sites transformed the retail market, shoppers found business by searching the Yellow Pages, a massive print directory that was delivered for free to people’s homes. Today the Yellow Pages name lives on in an online directory. Like Foursquare and Yelp, yellowpages.com (also called YP) emphasizes local listings and includes map views. If you’re rated by the Better Business Bureau (see item 6), you can feature that on your YP listing. You can also indicate how long you’ve been in business and how long you’ve been listed in Yellow Pages.
How businesses can get more online reviews
Asking people to leave you reviews on sites is a marketing strategy in and of itself. Here are four strategies for gaining positive ecommerce reviews.
1. Ask past clients
One of the best review-generating strategies is also among the simplest. Reach out to past clients via email newsletter, text, or phone, and ask them to review your business. Make it easy for them to do so by sending a link that takes them right to your review page.
2. Encourage video reviews
Some clients struggle to summarize their customer experience in written word format, but they may be happy to record themselves talking and leave a video review. Sites like Amazon encourage video reviews, so you can remind your clients that it’s up to them to decide what format they want to use to leave feedback about your business.
3. Embrace niche review sites
Rather than rely on general purpose sites like Google, you can focus on sites that cover your particular niche industry. Think of musical equipment reviews on Sweetwater, or pet supply reviews on PetSmart. You can also encourage engagement by joining forums like Reddit, where users may talk about your business. Although Reddit does not contain formal reviews, it hosts communities of like-minded people open to recommendations; you may have fans on there who welcome the chance to sing your praises.
4. Offer incentives
You can offer past customers incentives (like a discount on their next purchase or a free item) if they leave you a review. This helps, as 73% of consumers say an incentive would make them more likely to leave a review. Ethically, you should offer the same incentives for any review, whether positive or negative. It’s unethical for businesses to only offer rewards for five-star reviews. Note that some sites, notably Yelp and Amazon, discourage soliciting reviews in any form. But generally, asking for a review—and not dictating what you’d like the review to say—is OK to do.
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.
Picture this: You’ve spent the afternoon shopping online, have finally pressed the fateful Order button, only to realize you’ve ordered two of the same item. Who do you turn to for a quick and painless fix?
Customer support is an integral building block for any ecommerce business—so integral, in fact, 77% of consumers think good customer service is critical to earning brand loyalty and generating business.
This guide shares how to provide excellent customer service for your ecommerce brand, alongside techniques to measure and improve your current strategy.
Ecommerce customer service is the support and assistance provided to online shoppers before, during, and after their purchase. It includes addressing inquiries, resolving issues, and ensuring a positive online shopping experience to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty in the digital marketplace.
Advantages of good ecommerce customer service
Good ecommerce customer support isn’t just good for the consumers who shop online—it’s good for business, too. At its best, an exceptional customer service team can help build consumers’ confidence in your ecommerce brand. It can also do the following:
Boost customer loyalty
When online shoppers feel appreciated, their sense of customer loyalty deepens. In fact, a Statista survey found 94% of customers are more likely to buy from a brand again when they have a good customer service experience.
Improve customer experiences
Ecommerce customer service can resolve technical issues for online shoppers who have run into any issues and improve their customer experience. Self-service options like FAQ pages and chat functions can also help online shoppers resolve issues instantly.
Attract more customers
Good news spreads fast. The more often your customers have a positive experience, the more likely they are to spread the word about it and refer new customers to your online business—creating added value for you along the way.
Ecommerce conversion rate is an important metric—one that can be hard to improve. Good customer service can help get potential buyers over the hump and move the most important conversion metric you have: sales.
6 ecommerce customer service best practices
Leverage customer reviews
Have an FAQ section
Develop multichannel support
Utilize live chat support
Personalize your approach
Integrate inventory data
1. Leverage customer reviews
Customer reviews are a great way of parsing through customer feedback. And when you engage and respond to those who’ve left a review, you get a better understanding of what your customers want from your ecommerce business—because you’re practicing proactive customer service.
Proactive customer service means fulfilling a customer’s needs before they bring it to you or your customer service team. It’s a fantastic way to build confidence in your ecommerce business and retain loyal customers. By acknowledging reviews—both the good and the bad—you give your online shoppers the sense that they’re both heard and appreciated.
Here, shoe brand Vessi’s customer service team responds to a customer who was dissatisfied with their order. They acknowledge the challenge of finding shoes that fit, and proactively offer additional help to the customer.
The Vessi support team proactively responds to a three-star customer review, offering help and thanking the customer for their review.
2. Have an FAQ section
The most successful ecommerce businesses offer online shoppers a way to solve their problems on their own before escalating to a customer service agent.
Easily reduce the number of support questions by building out some sort of resource—a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page or a comprehensive knowledge base—that covers both the basics and the most common queries. Magic Spoon, for example, outlines whether its cereal is keto-friendly, whether kids like it, and what it tastes like, which is important for customers who haven’t tried it before.
FAQ page answering questions across five categories: product, shipping, international, orders, and general.
3. Develop multichannel support
Modern shoppers are inherently multichannel. That doesn’t just apply to their purchasing journey—customers interact with brands across a range of communication channels once their order is complete.
Develop multichannel customer support and meet customers where they are. From email and SMS to social media support, provide a direct line of communication to your ecommerce customer support team to not only meet expectations, but deliver excellent post-purchase support.
4. Utilize live chat
Speaking of multichannel support, some customers will head directly to your online store when they need assistance. A survey by Tidio found 88% of web users chatted with chatbots in 2022, and seven out of 10 of them found the experience positive.
Chat software not only answers questions from website visitors, but gives them instant answers instead of waiting for your ecommerce customer service team to come back online.
Shopify Inbox, for example, can alleviate pressure on your support team by providing customers with real-time responses to basic queries like:
Where is my order?
What’s your refund policy?
Do you offer an affiliate program?
5. Personalize your approach
Every ecommerce business can approach the idea of personalization differently. It can mean providing email or phone support from a customer service representative when things go wrong or when online shoppers have questions.
Personalization can also extend to specific customer service phrases and post-purchase follow-ups. Small gestures like including stickers or notes in your packaging or sending personalized emails can make a world of difference.
6. Integrate inventory data
Customer service is an opportunity to sell. Whether you’re helping website visitors find the right gift or assisting an existing customer with purchasing products that match their last order, the job is made easier when you have inventory data on hand.
Choose a customer service tool that integrates with your Shopify store. It’ll ensure you don’t sell out-of-stock products, have an accurate picture of your bestsellers, and create a sense of urgency if a popular item is selling fast.
Ecommerce customer service practices to to avoid
Slow response time
Online shoppers expect brands to meet or exceed their expectations. These expectations are especially strict when waiting for a response to customer support tickets. According to a survey by Tidio, about 53% of respondents find the most frustrating part of interacting with a business is waiting too long for replies.
Setting clear customer expectations around your response times is an easy way to improve customer service. Then, meet or beat them. If your phone support is limited to a specific time frame, be upfront about it. If response times are longer on the weekend, be clear about that too.
No multichannel support software
Allowing customers to contact your team is the first step in making your support strategy more accessible. But if you’re fielding several types of communication, it’s easy to lose track of who said what. That’ll put a wrench in the works if you’re leaning on personalization to connect with those contacting support.
Help desk software diverts all incoming tickets to a central location. All incoming requests—be they phone calls, emails, or social media direct messages—arrive in the same dashboard.
Multichannel support software like Gorgias or Reamaze can also sync your Shopify data and act as a customer relationship management tool. Each incoming ticket will connect to a customer profile. Support agents can see:
The customer’s name
The customer’s contact preferences
The items the customer has ordered
Any previous support tickets
The agent who handled their previous request
Gorgias’ help desk software showing an example customer timeline.
Inconsistent messaging
Inconsistent messaging is one way to sabotage your efforts in building a strong brand reputation.
Ensure everyone interacting with your brand gets the same experience with templates. Write up your most common customer queries and save them as a template. It ensures customers get the same message regardless of which team member they interact with, while also saving your agents time and allowing them to blaze through more tickets.
How to measure customer service success
Customer satisfaction score
Your customer satisfaction score (CSAT) measures how happy customers are with the support provided. It’s calculated as a percentage of people who voted a high satisfaction score out of all those who took the survey.
Implement post-support customer satisfaction surveys to calculate your CSAT. The goal is to have this metric as high as possible, which shows most people who interact with support leave the conversation feeling satisfied.
First contact resolution rate
First contact resolution rate is the percentage of support tickets resolved in a support staff’s first messaging conversation. If an agent doesn’t have to follow-up, or the customer doesn’t have to reach back out via your help desk software, it’s a strong indicator your team is resolving outstanding issues and delivering incredible customer support.
Net Promoter Score
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric that allows you to measure customer loyalty. To calculate it, ask customers how likely they are to recommend your company to a friend. Subtract the number of negative promoters from the positive promoters to find your NPS.
While it isn’t intimately linked to customer service, it’s worth keeping an eye on how your NPS changes as your support strategy changes. An increase indicates your support team is contributing to positive ecommerce customer experiences, resulting in more people who’d likely recommend your products to a friend.
Provide great customer service for online shoppers
An excellent ecommerce customer service strategy helps you retain loyal customers, acquire new ones, and improve overall conversion rates. In other words: good customer service is integral to the success of online businesses.
Most importantly, a thoughtful strategy around ecommerce customer support can help to set your online store above and beyond the competition—and encourage your customers to keep coming back for more.
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.
If you have an iPhone, MacBook, or iPad, you know Apple products aren’t the cheapest. But they’re reliable, high quality, and work seamlessly with each other. People who like Apple often love Apple, and they’re willing to line up for and pay a premium for the newest iPhone model. It would take a lot for them to convert to buying the latest Microsoft PC or Samsung smartphone.
Apple’s success, aside from having top-notch technology, is due in large part to having built a culture that resonates with target audiences. Its story demonstrates the power of brand loyalty, and businesses of all sizes can follow its example to increase revenue and support long-term success.
Brand loyalty is a condition in which a customer feels a strong attachment to a particular company. Brand-loyal customers are less motivated by price and convenience than other customers are, and they are often willing to pay more (or look harder) to acquire their desired product or service, which they often believe to be the superior offering in the market.
Essentially, strong brand loyalty is about belief. When a consumer becomes loyal to a brand, they may feel this connection is an aspect of their personal identity, and that the brand represents and even understands them. When a brand-loyal customer believes that affiliation with your brand says something about who they are, they’re no longer in the market for a substitute. To switch brands, they’d need to reexamine their own identity—a strong disincentive for making a change. This kind of brand loyalty can ensure stability in the marketplace and be a powerful driver of business growth.
What building brand loyalty means for the bottom line
Apparel company Bombas sells women’s ankle socks starting at $13 a pair, and performance compression socks at $36. Even though they don’t have the cheapest prices, Bombas has experienced significant growth since its 2013 founding—in 2021, the business reported over $250 million in revenue. One reason it can charge more and still make so much is because it has focused on building a sense of brand loyalty. Bombas refers to employees and consumers who promote it in their networks as “true believers”—loyal advocates who are willing to pay a higher price for its products.
A major benefit of brand loyalty is that you have the latitude to increase prices (within reason). Here are some other benefits brand loyalty can bring to your bottom line:
Increased profit margins. Building brand loyalty increases customer retention rates, and even small improvements in customer retention can generate increases in profit.
Competitive advantage. Brand-loyal customers are unlikely to try out a new product from one of your competitors or be tempted by bargains or promotions. Companies with a brand-loyal customer base enjoy stability in the marketplace and competitive advantages over those that don’t.
Audience growth potential. Brand-loyal customers frequently become brand ambassadors. They are more likely than other customers to refer new customers to your business, increasing the size of your customer base.
Flexibility to experiment. Loyal customers can give your business the freedom and flexibility to experiment. Launching an innovative new product is less risky, for example, if you have a base of brand-loyal customers who are likely to try your new product and will be biased toward approval. If your launch fails, your other strong products, services, and customer experience make your business more likely to recover.
5 strategies for building brand loyalty with your customers
Brand loyalty is a strong driver of future business growth. These five strategies can help you build brand loyalty with your customer base.
1. Provide high-quality products or services
Product quality is the baseline for brand loyalty. If new customers buy your product and it falls apart or proves to be a bad experience, there is very little chance of them coming back to become a brand-loyal customer.
Maintaining product quality is also critical for your existing customer base. Although brand-loyal customers may be willing to pay more or look harder for a product they believe in, they won’t tolerate a decline in quality—and some might even consider it a personal affront.
This can be trickier than it sounds. Companies with strong brand loyalty often experience rapid growth, and the pressure to scale can change how you manufacture and deliver your products. If consumer demand outpaces your ability to meet it, consider implementing a waitlist instead of sacrificing quality for the sake of speed.
2. Focus on customer experience
Like product quality, customer experience is a key driver of brand loyalty. Stellar customer service can positively impact how customers feel about your business and keep them coming back. Consider monitoring customer satisfaction metrics like Net Promoter Score so you can track your performance and be on the lookout for any issues. As with product quality, make sure that rapid scaling doesn’t affect customer experience.
To build and maintain a loyal customer base, some businesses engage in proactive customer service activities. For example, if a customer’s nine-foot-tall stuffed giraffe order was delayed due to a snowstorm, you might call to apologize and ask if they needed it for a particular event. If the giraffe will be late for a toddler’s birthday party, for example, you might proactively send a gift card to a local ice cream shop. If the giraffe wasn’t time-sensitive, perhaps you offer free shipping on the customer’s next order.
3. Develop a strong brand identity
Loyalty requires an object: When you’re loyal, you’re loyal “to” something—and brand loyalists are loyal to your brand.
To encourage brand loyalty, develop a unique brand identity that effectively represents your company’s personality and values and differentiates you in your target market. Once you’ve established a brand identity, implement a brand management strategy that ensures that all marketing and communications consistently reinforce your main brand identity.
4. Start a customer loyalty program
A customer loyalty program can help you build brand loyalty, retain customers, and generate referrals. Consider starting a rewards program to encourage repeat purchases and to thank frequent customers for their commitment to your brand. You can also award points to customers who make a purchase, refer a friend to your business, or promote your brand on their social media platforms.
5. Get personal
Encourage brand loyalty with a customer service and marketing strategy that builds personal connections. For example, consider sending marketing communications that thank customers for individual purchases. For high-value customers, you might even consider making a phone call to say something like, “Hi Susan! I’m calling from BabyLimeTime to thank you for purchasing 14 key lime trees from our nursery. That’s a lot of limes! I just wanted to check in to see how your trees are doing and ask if you have any questions about their care.”
Consumers don’t typically expect (or receive) this kind of personalized attention, and offering it can differentiate you from your competitors and generate brand loyalty.
You can use marketing tools to automate parts of this process. For example, email marketing tools can automatically address customers by name and create personalized content based on customer behavior. Susan, for example, is a good candidate to receive your citrus tree care guide and, later on, your grandma’s prized key lime pie recipe.
Brand loyalty FAQ
How can businesses measure and track brand loyalty?
Businesses can evaluate brand loyalty by measuring the number of repeat customers as well as looking at metrics like customer churn and the average total lifetime value of a customer. You can evaluate and monitor customer experience, which supports brand loyalty, using a metric like Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Can brand loyalty be influenced by pricing and promotional strategies?
Brand loyal customers hold a steadfast belief in the superiority of a particular brand’s product quality, and are less likely to be price sensitive. Introducing promotions or cutting product prices too much may actually dent their perceived value and damage brand loyalty. Loyal customers can be offended by seeing their cherished brands exiled to the bargain bin, and this may even cause them to question their belief in your brand.
How do changes in customer needs and preferences impact brand loyalty?
Once established, brand loyalty is both durable and strong. Although customer needs and preferences change constantly, a brand-loyal customer might continue to patronize your brand even if it’s no longer the most affordable or convenient option. They may look for an alternate product or service under your brand. Even if they leave your brand entirely, they’ll likely refer your brand to others and return to your company when their circumstances change.
What role does customer service play in building and maintaining brand loyalty?
The most powerful form of brand loyalty occurs when a consumer believes their brand affinity is an aspect of their personal identity. These customers don’t just believe that your products are superior—they believe that your brand understands, represents, and cares for them as individuals. Excellent customer service can build this type of brand loyalty—and poor customer service can quickly erode it.
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.
