You may be reading this blog on a brand-new device, a sleek laptop, or a smartphone purchased just the other day from a popular e-commerce website. E-commerce transactions have become ubiquitous, to the point that we need to look hard to find what was the last item bought from a brick-and-mortar store!
Since its humble beginnings in the ’90s, e-commerce has come a long way, and today plays a defining role in how we shop, transact, and do business. From hotel bookings for your next vacation, scrolling Amazon for a uber-cool electronic gadget, or ordering a sumptuous meal to make the most of jaw-dropping discounts, every customer requirement, big or small, beautiful or bizarre, seems to have an online answer.
Overriding initial skepticism and cynicism, e-commerce has penetrated deep pockets of the globe and become an inalienable part of our modern lives.
Defining e-commerce
Simply put, it's the online buying and selling of products. It’s shopping in the virtual space, following a unified structure complete with secure payments gateways, logistics, and door-to-door delivery of ordered items.
Easy return policies, the power of online reviews to make or break a product's reputation, and pocket-friendly options like EMIs and cash on delivery make online shopping the preferred choice of millions-all these at the click of a button. Nasdaq reports that by 2040, 95% of all sales would be made through e-commerce.
The growing e-commerce market in the UAE
The Middle East is a growing market for online business. It caters to a wide range of demands, be it taste for luxury items or mundane requirements. With one of the highest internet penetration figures in the world, UAE is a good market for e-commerce businesses.
With 60% of buyers in the GCC coming from Dubai, UAE stands tall as the regional e-commerce leader. When was the last time you shopped from these e-commerce sites like Amazon.ae or Groupon.ae, known for their popularity in the UAE, for your everyday needs? They have everything on your mind, from electronics, gadgets, cosmetics, healthcare, interior, furniture, fashion accessories, pet food, and even car parts.
These massive integrated online markets, buzzing with visitors to grab crazy deals and seasonal offerings, have taken the e-commerce business to dizzying heights. Safer and fast payment gateways, seamless customer service, and on-time delivery have gradually but confidently build a fiduciary relationship between the seller and prospective buyer.
Bursting the myth of “e-commerce is for big businesses”
Businesses worldwide are experiencing substantial growth opportunities and challenges due to the turning tide of technology. It has transcended boundaries harnessing the power of the internet and leveraging it to put itself into the digital transformation orbit. Businesses that are slow to respond or have shown reluctance in adopting business optimization through digitalization stand to lose.
If you are wondering, only big companies can register their presence online with their deep pockets; it can be assuringly told that it's not the case. Any idea that must be marketed and shaped into a saleable product can be put online via an e-commerce store. And it can be done starting with a small capital.
Post-COVID, small and medium-sized businesses have carefully read the market insights, and some of them are converting their brick-and-mortar stores into online stores. The cost savings are impressive. As intimidating as it may sound for small businesses initially, an e-commerce website is bound to flourish and bring good returns in the long run.
The forecasts by The Dubai Chamber and Industry suggest that by 2025, sales output from e-commerce will soar to $8 billion, as the people with internet and smartphone access reach "near total" In Dubai. The largest share comes from the fashion segment, accounting for 38.7% of the e-commerce revenue.
Let’s consider what it takes to claim your stake in the digital space and build your e-commerce website.
Piecing together the vitals for a perfect e-commerce business
Launching an e-commerce business needs guidance and laying down the perfect roadmap. Before taking it up as a do-it-yourself kind of pursuit or approaching an e-commerce website development company, there are a few essential points that a business owner should have in mind. We have explained it here for you.
1. Finding out what you are going to sell
Every business rests on the concept of an idea. Before the foundation is laid, a unique idea must be clearly identified that will resonate with the buyers. With e-commerce, it's simply asking oneself, "what will I put forward to the prospective buyer that will bring business?" And it can be anything that firmly positions your brand in the market.
Before it, market research, performance analysis of existing businesses, marketing sentiment, and reception to a new idea must precede. A good understanding of the market can lead to good business decisions. This initial exercise would invariably include knowing your audience.
2. Base your e-commerce model
There are different e-commerce business models to suit various business needs. Most businesses fall into either of the two categories- Business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C).
A bit about them serves the context.
Business to consumer (B2C): Most online shopping occurs via a B2C site. The variety of products and merchandise available on Amazon sold directly to consumers is based on this standard model. This includes services too.
Business to business (B2B): This interconnection of business serves each other's needs. They do not open directly to the consumer. For the sake of better understanding, here, the customers are the business entities. You may have heard of a semiconductor manufacturing unit in Korea or China supplying its products to Apple. Clothing and car parts are other areas of the B2B business model.
3. Go for a unique business name
Some of the big names in the business have a crisp, snappy name that instantly connects to the audience. Brand identification is easy. Choosing a name that sounds like a copy of your competitor is risky. Your brand name should reflect your business goals. It's a good idea to settle for quirky names. Are you searching for names? Well, Quikr did well for itself!
4. Settle for a domain name and hosting plan
The fight for a domain name is very real. The immediate benefit of zeroing in on a unique and catchy business name is that it's easier to get the domain name of your choice. If .com isn't available, as it's hugely popular, you can settle for other TLDs(the final part in your website domain, after the "dot") such as .biz, .online, .shop. The proper URLs are instrumental in driving traffic to your e-commerce website.
5. Build a good website design.
Your website design is your identity, and much weighs on it. Your prospective buyer will be either repelled or attracted to how they experience the services on your website. The functionalities integrated into the website, whether the ease of navigation, search options, filtering customizations, or cart or shipment options, should all work to offer a seamless experience to the end user.
This key area can make or break the business of an e-commerce site. It's a sea out there, and if your brand cannot deliver a tender humanizing experience, it would be swapped with another offering it. These inputs can be discussed with the website developer or the e-commerce development agency for professional delivery.
6. The choice of the right e-commerce platform
The e-commerce platform is a software application that facilitates the online buying and selling process. It can manage web hosting, inventory, payment processes, orders, and marketing. The popular ones are Shopify, Magento (now Adobe Commerce), WooCommerce, and Squarespace. No matter which one you go for, look for these key elements when selecting one for your business.
Your website built using any platform should offer a seamless experience irrespective of the device used, be it mobile or desktop. It's the whole idea of responsive design. Product management should be hassle-free. A content management system (CMS) for the content on your website is essential. The other vital components, like the shopping cart, smooth checkout, and payment options, should come together to offer a satisfying customer journey.
7. Launching and maintaining your site
Once all the pieces have been neatly bunched together on your website, go for the launch. As traffic gathers and online sales pick up, based on how it's performing, the inputs received, the changes that need to be updated concerning products and inventory, promotions, and important announcements, which will be part of the maintenance, the analysis needs to be done.
Google analytics fetches the analysis to offer granular insights. SEO services provided by professional web development companies are an excellent way to keep the site up and ranking well. The content strategy can be fine-tuned to boost organic traffic—all these changes at the click of a button.
Why should small and medium-sized enterprises in Dubai go for an e-commerce website now?
E-commerce design is relatively more complex than a simple website. The reason is the range of functionalities that must be integrated into it.
If you are a small business and thinking of floating your e-commerce website and still not able to decide, we list down the compelling reasons why you should go forward and get one built.
- The most significant factor is Dubai's high internet penetration rate. With the exponential rise in the use of smartphones and a young technology-conscious population, e-commerce is gaining territory. Carrefour and Lulu group, the retail giants with enormous presence in the Middle East, sensing the shift, launched online portals to have a share in the e-commerce surge. The discernable pattern is true not only for big businesses but also for small or medium ones.
- The re-orienting potential of COVID- The world seems split into two halves. In the post-COVID world, things have changed massively. It relates to how we work, conduct business, and shop. It also affected small and medium-sized enterprises, many of whom have shifted their business online.
- Enhanced use of digital payment methods and their adoption has provided an impetus to e-commerce. Open banking solutions, biometric payments, and buy-now-pay-later modes are gaining popularity. There is a rising acceptance among people. Close to 90% of people used at least one of the emerging methods of payment in the preceding year [Mastercard, 2022]
Wrapping things up
This suggests the time is ripe for tapping into the vast market potential for setting up online businesses and building an e-commerce website. As of 2020, official figures indicate more than 350,000 MSMEs in Dubai.
With the tremendous digital churn, these segments can reap the benefits of going online. One can reach out to website development agencies. With clear-cut requirements laid out, the developers can erect the perfect online store for you. Building an online store in Dubai would require the meeting ground of your ideas and the technical understanding of a professional website development agency.
If you have a business idea with a USP that can meet customer demands and offer customer satisfaction, go ahead and showcase your products via a custom build e-commerce site with just the right functionalities. It's faster and more accessible. Get in touch with our team to get fully functional e-commerce built.
