Online shop - is it a business that pays off?

There has been a lot of talk recently about activity in the e-commerce which is growing at a dizzying pace. Running your own online sales platform opens up many opportunities for growth and access to an unlimited audience. However, many questions arise in the mind before opening a business. How much money can you make from an online shop? Is it even profitable?

E-commerce - what do Poles buy?

Although online trading has been around since the 1990s, its rapid growth in recent years may come as a surprise to many. At the same time, it poses quite a challenge for traditional trade and entrepreneurs with stationary shops. Fewer and fewer shoppers want to stand in queues and confine their purchases to designated opening hours. For the younger generation, buying online is not unusual - they even order groceries this way. Market research indicates that the under-35s are the largest group of online shoppers, although the over-50s also account for about a quarter of shoppers. Perhaps in some time we will be shopping exclusively online, which would significantly change our everyday life. According to market research, the most popular items that Poles buy online include clothing (and accessories), footwear, and cosmetics and perfumes. Also in the top ten are cinema tickets, computer equipment, smartphones, tablets and GSM accessories, jewellery, building and finishing materials, car parts and airline tickets and trips.

Running an online shop - why is it worth it?

There are many reasons why opening your own sales platform makes sense:

1. Doing business online is easier than ever

Are you worried that you will fail because you can't cope with all the tasks involved in online business? Not at all! Creating an online shop is very easy if you use ready-made software that you simply download from a website of your choice and install on your own server. If necessary, you can also purchase additional modules or an attractive and professional template for a small fee. Online shop software created from scratch is generally easy to use and intuitive, so no specialist IT knowledge is required. There is also paid software with greater capabilities, as well as services offering both software and hosting.

2. By selling online, you can reach a huge number of new customers

Traditional trade is naturally limited to local consumers who have the opportunity to physically reach a shop. The situation is completely different online. Regardless of the location, an online shop has the chance to gain customers all over Poland and even abroad. At the same time, it does not incur the significant costs of renting premises in an area that is attractive to shoppers. This offers both the possibility of almost unlimited growth and the opportunity to trade in niche goods for which it would be difficult to find a market outlet on the local market. In addition, as already mentioned, more and more people are buying online and there is no indication that this trend will change in the next few years.

3. The online shop is a great additional sales channel

E-commerce is also an attractive proposition for those already trading on a stationary basis who do not intend to give it up. Starting an e-commerce business allows them to multiply their revenues. An online shop is an excellent additional channel for selling products, but it does not involve hiring new staff or investing a significant amount of money. At least in the beginning, because as the online part of the venture grows, this may change. Having a stationary shop also gives customers the opportunity for free pick-up and easy return and exchange of goods at the outlet.

4. Online trading means low business costs

An analysis of the expenses associated with a particular business determines whether it will be profitable in the long term - and this is no different for online sales. Starting a ready-made online shop in a simple model, e.g. SaaS type, will not be burdened with high costs. This is an expense of just a few tens of zlotys. Of course, medium and large companies should invest in larger dedicated platforms.

How much money can you make from an online shop?

The question of earnings is not easy to resolve. Their amount depends on many factors: the product itself, the attractiveness of the offer, as well as the marketing and promotional strategy. It should be remembered that customers will not find out about our e-shop if we do not conduct regular advertising activities. Website positioning (SEO), i.e. performing tasks aimed at achieving the highest possible position of the platform in search results, is also very important. We must also remember that building a position in the market takes time - consumers will not immediately put their trust in our brand. Only over time will the business start to grow. After a few months, it is already possible to start earning satisfactory money. The amount of income is directly influenced by customer satisfaction - the better service and speed of dispatch we offer, the higher income we will achieve. In e-commerce, you cannot forget about efficient logistics. Both small and larger businesses should be interested in establishing cooperation with logistics companies. Attractive prices for parcel shipping is one of the many benefits offered by Subscriptions for Business. Choose a subscription, complete the form and then we will contact you to discuss the details of the partnership."

Earnings of an online shop - how to increase them?

Sometimes it happens that income does not grow as quickly as we would expect. In such a situation, it is not worth delaying - it is better to take immediate action. It is always good to look for new solutions and experiment with your website. Perhaps all you need to do is fine-tune it a little and introduce a few functionalities? Remember that the so-called path to purchase should be simplified to a minimum - the customer should have no problems finding the goods on the website. Also, work on the design of your online shop - high-quality images and a clear layout can really do a lot.