Running an online shop - what do you need to know and how much does it cost?

Running an online shop requires appropriate preparation. Those entering the world of e-commerce should remember that certain legal requirements must be met when selling in this form. Key things also include the construction of a shop website, promotion or marketing. How to run an online shop to make it profitable? Here are some things to keep in mind when selling online.

What does running an online shop entail?

Running an online shop involves many different activities. Contrary to appearances, it is quite a demanding job that obliges you to constantly keep your hand on the pulse. This is all because those responsible for operating the online shop have to constantly update the site. They have to continuously update the product database, manage the customer panel and add content such as images, videos and descriptions.

In addition to this, e-commerce requires efficient shipping of products. Fast and trouble-free delivery is something that customers value highly. For this reason, it is worth cooperating with a reliable courier. InPost offers subscriptions for companies and e-commerce merchants. The parcel subscription option is dedicated to both large market players and smaller shops. The offer even includes an option for companies that send an average of 15-30 parcels per month.

Larger retailers, instead of buying a subscription for a courier and delivery to Parcel Machines, can invest in Fulfillment. This is an outsourced service that involves the comprehensive handling of orders in a logistical context. InPost's Fulfillment not only takes care of the smooth delivery of parcels, but also the storage of goods, order picking and, finally, the processing of returns.

The latter are as important to online shoppers as fast delivery. All because buying online involves the risk of spending money on wrong products. Therefore, convenient and cheap or even free returns encourage customers to take advantage of the shop's offer because they give them comfort. Thanks to an affordable return procedure, customers do not have to worry about encountering problems when returning products.

It is worth remembering that running an online shop is not just about fulfilling orders. In order to have what and who to serve, you first need to acquire customers. This is where marketing comes into play. A business can be promoted in many different ways. Traditional television or radio advertising is only a fraction of the options available to entrepreneurs.

Recognition of the shop can also be increased through a presence on social media or the internet in general. Content marketing and SEO activities are invaluable as they are very beneficial for the shop's search engine positioning.

In order to increase the number of potential customers, you can also bet on offline promotion. An interesting idea for reaching your audience is the wrapping of Parcel Machines. Cabinets with parcel lockers are a great medium for promotional material, as they attract many people every day who come to collect their orders from them. Advertising on the machines or on their displays can be placed after entering into a business relationship with InPost.

How to make an online shop? - choosing the right platform

Running an online shop should start by choosing the platform on which you will sell. An e-business can be built in several ways. One popular solution is SaaS (Software as a Service), which is a service that offers off-the-shelf software that you purchase on a subscription model.

When choosing SaaS, there is no need to worry about the server, hosting or technical support, as all this is included in the price of the service. However, such software also has some disadvantages. The downside, for example, is that SaaS limits the customisation of the website.

More freedom in creating an online shop is provided by open source systems. These are open platforms that are free to use. However, this solution is not completely cost-free, as you usually need to hire a developer to build a site on PrestaShop, WooCommerce, Shopify or another platform.

A specialist also seems to be needed if you bet on a dedicated e-commerce system. In this case, an IT specialist has to create the entire website from scratch, and is therefore able to personalise it very much on occasion. Such a customised design may look great, but it will not always be a good solution. It requires involving a programmer every time you want to change something on the site.

Online shop site architecture - why is it so important?

The architecture of a website is the way in which it is organised. The right arrangement of information, a clear website structure or intuitive transitions between different sub-pages are extremely important in an online shop. All because they affect the experience of the user, i.e. the potential customer.

If an online shop's website is well designed, it is easy for the consumer to navigate the site and achieve the desired goals - e.g. searching for the desired products, adding goods to a virtual shopping cart, checking order status, etc.

Every action a user wants to take on the site should be easy and seamless for him. Otherwise, they may quickly abandon the purchase and move on to a competing site. With online shopping, this is not difficult, as there are many shops with a similar product range online.

Giving up on taking the next steps and failing to finalise an order is actually a common practice. It is linked to a phenomenon that is keeping shop owners up at night. We are talking about virtual shopping cart abandonment. This is a situation in which a customer adds a product to the basket, but then does not complete the transaction and leaves the website. This behaviour can be influenced by a number of factors, and the architecture of the shopping platform is one of them.

In order to minimise the number of abandoned shopping carts, it is worth spending some time, attention, as well as resources on designing your website properly. How do you set up an online shop that encourages interaction? A UX designer, or User Experience specialist, can help you with this task. The UX designer is a specialist in user experience, who researches the needs of users and, on this basis, creates the structure of the website, the layout of the content or the menu itself. The UX designer also selects the graphic design, images and typography. All these elements have a real impact on the user experience.

Online shop - what should it consist of?

In order to make running an online shop simple and efficient, the platform needs to include several basic elements. In addition to the homepage, product pages, i.e. sub-pages where specific items are presented, are of great importance. This is where you should find a detailed description of the goods, their characteristics, parameters or, finally, images.

Good quality photographs are extremely important, because online, the customer buys by sight - after all, he or she cannot touch or try out the item ordered. Information on item availability, price and delivery options, as well as associated costs, must also appear on the product card.

Another element of an efficient shop page is the search engine. The so-called magnifying glass is a convenient tool for customers because it makes it easier for them to find the desired products. If the search engine additionally suggests the names of the goods while typing or displays pictures of them, the user can become more involved in the purchasing process.

In order to make visitors to your e-shop more likely to take up your offer, it is a good idea to include a section on the website with reviews and ratings from customers who have already bought the product. In this way, you can take advantage of the specifics of recommendation marketing and provide recipients with answers to their questions at the Zero Moment of Truth. This is a phenomenon that involves online analysis of information about a product and checking whether it is worth buying.

Running an online shop from the legal side - what do you need to know?

Polish law does not specify the legal form in which online sales are to be conducted. A shop can be operated either as a limited liability company or as a sole proprietorship. The latter option is generally used by people who have a really small business. Such people also often choose to operate an online shop from home - this form of selling is as compliant as possible.

The legal form of the business seems arbitrary, but there are detailed guidelines on many other aspects of selling online. Among the basic requirements for e-business owners is the obligation to have shop rules and regulations. Among the most important information that should be included in such a document are:

• the full name of the company as well as its VAT number;
• registered address;
• contact details including e-mail address and telephone number;
• the address to which any complaints should be submitted;
• list of available forms of payment and delivery;
• the return and complaints policy for goods and an explanation of the procedures surrounding these operations;
• information on the customer's right of withdrawal and how to do so;
• content of guarantees and after-sales services;
• information on all costs - including additional costs;
• data protection policy and information on data processing.

However, before setting up an online shop and the rules and regulations assigned to it, it is necessary to find out whether the business idea itself is legal. It is worth knowing that certain products cannot be traded online. Prescription drugs, tobacco products or weapons are just a few examples of items that are not allowed to be sold online. Therefore, before setting up a shop, it is best to check whether trade in a particular group of products will be legal. This can be done at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Before entering the world of e-commerce, it is also important to find out whether the business in question requires registration with BDO - the database on products and packaging and waste management. The obligation to register with BDO does not apply to all entrepreneurs and depends on the type of product sold.

Those who trade in intangible goods such as audiobooks or computer software do not have to register. The waste database also does not cover dealers offering goods shipped directly from the manufacturer. The same rule applies to traders on whose behalf goods are sent by a courier service.

It is mainly shops that are considered to be marketers of packaging or packaged products that should apply for entry in BDO. This definition applies to retailers who package their goods themselves.

Internet sales within the European Union

If you are planning to expand your business and start selling online outside Poland, you need to check the commercial law in the target country. In the case of expansion into EU countries, the Polish entrepreneur is free to do business.

The customs union within the EU guarantees the absence of customs duties or charges similar to them. In addition, it prohibits quantitative restrictions on the import and export of goods between member states. However, it should be borne in mind that the products offered must be legally authorised in EU countries.

How to advertise your online shop - which channel to choose?

The choice of channel to promote your shop should depend on who your target audience is. Nowadays, there are many different methods of advertising, as both traditional (e.g. television or radio) and modern (mainly online) media work well in marketing. In the case of the latter, social networks deserve special attention as they provide an excellent platform for online presence. How to promote a shop in social media?

Social media and running an online shop - how do you start promoting yourself?

Social media are not only inclusive platforms and meme mines, but also great promotional channels. Instagram or Facebook bring together huge numbers of users, among whom may be potential customers. Therefore, it is worth taking advantage of the space and opportunities offered by social media and reach new audiences precisely through the portals. How can you do this?

The best way to start is by setting up a corporate account on your chosen platform. Remember that you don't have to enter every existing medium right away. Find out which portals are most used by your target audience - you can find reports on the web on this subject. This will save you both time and money spent on social media promotion.

Once a shop profile has been created, it is still necessary to encourage users to follow this account. You should therefore start publishing interesting and engaging content that can attract their attention. For this purpose, it is a good idea to use various forms of communication.

Social media primarily enable the publication of text content, video and graphics. However, these are not the only forms of contact that can be used for promotion. You can also host a live broadcast, create an interactive survey, add a report or set up a group or event.

All these forms of communication should serve you to build a relationship with your audience. This objective is important because it is the human factor and the correlated emotions that mainly influence consumers' purchasing decisions.

Sometimes, however, simply running a profile may not be enough to stand out online. To increase your reach, bet on paid promotion of posts and publications. Sponsored content displays to more users, so you can reach people who haven't yet reached your shop's account themselves.

What is more, such social media campaigns can be appropriately targeted - targeting an audience that matches the prospective customer's persona. Social media systems independently select users by age, gender, location or interests. They then display advertising to the most suitable profiles. This enables new followers to be acquired easily and quickly.

If you have sufficient resources, you can implement influencer marketing activities in addition to advertising campaigns. Sometimes working with a well-known online influencer will raise the profile of your product, shop and brand as such. Remember, however, that ambassadors must be chosen carefully. First and foremost, pay attention to whether the person gathers followers who fit the profile of your target audience.

Also, keep in the back of your mind the fact that an influencer's image translates into the company they are advertising. Therefore, before committing to a partnership, check the history of the chosen influencer. If he or she has a history of controversial statements or unfortunate mishaps, consider whether promoting with them will damage your brand.

What are the costs of running an online shop?

There are many different costs involved in running an online shop. When setting up an e-business, you need to invest first and foremost in the shop itself, i.e. the software or platform on which sales will be made. In addition to this, entering the world of e-commerce requires the purchase of a website domain.

Further costs arise when engaging with instant payment system providers. Such companies charge a commission, which needs to be factored into your budget if you want to ensure your customers are comfortable completing their orders.

If you do not run an online shop from your own home and do not have a garage where you can store goods, you will need to rent storage space. Costs will also be generated by packing and shipping parcels. These expenses can be consolidated into one fee - the fulfilment fee. For a successful shop that receives many orders per month, it may be more cost-effective to purchase such a service than to handle the orders yourself.

Funds will also need to be spent on accountant assistance and marketing. Promotion costs will depend on which activities you choose. If you decide on a Facebook Ads campaign or sponsored posts on Instagram, you will not spend a fortune. An influencer collaboration will definitely prove to be a bigger expense.