E-commerce and Your Internet Business Model: Making It Work

Lately, eCommerce has been gaining a lot of traction especially since the COVID-19 Pandemic hit the world. 

In the initial stages, when eCommerce sites started out their businesses, people were a bit reluctant about buying from such platforms, as there was a shadow of doubt with regards to the legitimacy of these sites. 

However, now a majority of people prefer using online shopping over the normal way, since it is much more convenient and cheaper to do one’s shopping via the Internet. 

The rising popularity of e-Commerce sites worldwide, especially in large volume countries like the U.S. and India, can be substantiated by the fact that the total number of eCommerce orders in India rose by 36 percent in the last quarter of 2020, and the segments which sold the most were personal care, beauty, and other wellness products. Most people are very excited to start an eCommerce business.

If your goal is to make money, then the major aim must be to build a profitable and yet sustainable business model that lasts a long time. It is important to have a long-term vision of building an asset that brings the best value to the market.

What is an eCommerce Business?  

ECommerce, also known as trading via the internet, refers to buying and selling goods online and building an online store with tools such as websites, social marketing, and other related marketing. 

This type of business has become an important part of our respective modern life. Being able to navigate many products without leaving the comfort of your home makes eCommerce an easy way to shop in the modern world. 

eCommerce has grown significantly and so have the tools used by entrepreneurs in eCommerce. Now you can track your package, you can add an online payment method, you can view different stores at the same time, and so on. There are different types of eCommerce businesses as well, so let us discuss them in detail.

Business to Consumer (B2C): A business selling products to a consumer

Business to Business (B2B): One business selling goods to another business (A manufacturer selling to a wholesaler)

Consumer to Consumer (C2C): In this model, a consumer sells to another consumer for example selling your old phone, bike, and so on. 

Consumer to Business (B2C): Under this particular model, a consumer sells their respective product or any of their services to another business or any sort of an organization. 

Delivery Methods for your eCommerce Business

You may have an effective eCommerce business model in place, however, it would be ineffective if you do not have a solid delivery method for the business. 

Consider an example of a car and its engine. In this case the car is your eCommerce business and the engine is the delivery method. 

• D2C – Direct to Consumers: This is often the case for manufacturers who intend to cut the access of middlemen. A new generation of consumer brands have adapted to this model and have seen rapid growths.
• White Label & Private Label: You can add your name and brand to a standard product purchased from a ‘white label’ distributor. Although it is a ‘secret label’, the seller hires the manufacturer to create a unique product to sell exclusively.

By choosing ‘Private Label’, you can rely on your investment in construction and production and look for a leverage or find an edge on marketing and other relevant sectors.

• Wholesaling: In this way, the seller offers his product in bulk at a great discount. Wholesaling, however, is a common b2b practice, but many retailers have offered it to budget-conscious consumers in a B2C context.
• Dropshipping: One of the fastest growing ways of eCommerce business is dropshipping. These advertisers sell items which eventually get fulfilled at a very cheap rate by a third-party supplier, such as AliExpress. Dropshippers act as an intermediary or mediator middleman by connecting manufacturers and consumers.

• Registration Service: Back then, publishing companies used to have a subscription model to deliver letters, books, editorials, magazines and so on to their customers on a monthly basis. With the rise of eCommerce, businesses are leaning towards monthly subscription clubs. 

Today, every industry or genre has chosen subscription services to bring better comfort and savings to their customers and also earn a loyal customer base by that practice.

How does the eCommerce Business Work 

There are certain steps involved in order to make sure that your dream goal of having an eCommerce Site and a Sustainable Business is successful:

• A fool proof mechanism to accept orders: Once a customer has browsed your online store and decides what they would like to buy, then comes the process that would accept their order. 

It initiates with software that uses a shopping cart. In addition to processing orders and updating the database, the shopping cart also looks at various functions such as tax calculations, Processing discounts, and coupons, Adding a reserved payment address and customer delivery, Ensuring acceptance of terms and services and other conditions in the event of sales and more.

• A proper payment mechanism: In most cases, an eCommerce transaction involves a purchase and a transaction. This process is done with the software called a payment gateway. 

The payment gateway offers a variety of payment options that accept identity information, such as credit card numbers, and authenticates customers using a password, CVV code, and other verification features 

• Delivery: We truly agree when people say that functional things are the key to any successful eCommerce business. 

Therefore, it is important to choose the right logistics partner who can help you deliver goods to take care of the products in the store, which will help you save extra time and costs. In fact, a great delivery partner is one of the most essential elements of eCommerce fulfillment.

• Round the Clock Customer Service: All customers need to be provided with advanced customer service, from pre-sale to after-sales. Prior to purchase, your customer may have product-related queries not mentioned on the website. 

And after purchase, the customer may have questions about use, upgrade, or repair. The entire customer service process will determine whether the customer will remain committed to your platform or look after another vendor.