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Whether you own a small local store or you have just established a brick-and-mortar retail shop, leveraging the potential of eCommerce can help your business grow and develop. 

After all, selling online allows you to tap into a national and international market. In turn, this may give you the chance to expand much further and bypass the boundaries set by your store’s capacity, number of local customers, and competition. 

At the same time, today, the eCommerce industry is worth 5.5 trillion US dollars, and it is expected to grow to a whopping value of 7.3 trillion US dollars by 2025! This incredibly fast rate of adoption and unprecedented growth makes eCommerce features a must-have for any store looking to thrive in future years. 

But how can you get started and build a solid customer base? Here are 4 tips to keep in mind when developing your store’s online platform. 

Consider Opening a Shop on Established eCommerce Sites

If you are not an eCommerce expert, the prospect of having to create a website from scratch, develop your online store, and market your products can be overwhelming. 

Luckily, you don’t need to do all this by yourself. For example, you might consider opening an online store within already established marketplaces. These might come with fierce competition, but they also allow you to tap into an audience of millions of daily viewers. Plus, you can find the tech support needed to create an SEO-friendly online shop and an appealing and discoverable online storefront. 

While you can certainly open more than one online shop, make sure to choose wisely between the three main giants of eCommerce: Etsy, Shopify, or Amazon. While you might need to pay for subscription services and commissions, building an online store on one of these platforms can help you understand the basics of selling online and build a reputation. 

Expand Your Website With an eCommerce Platform

If you already have a website, you might consider using WooCommerce plugin services such as nestify.io to add an eCommerce platform directly onto your existing website. This allows you to avoid commission and third-party fees, and you’ll receive your orders directly into your inbox. 

However, if you are considering this option, you should already have an established website with a significant number of monthly views. Consider working with an expert website designer to ensure that all aspects of your website are optimized to help you reach your business goals. 

Partner With Marketing Experts

Whether you are just getting started with eCommerce or looking to expand your online business, selling online is not different from growing a brick-and-mortar store – it all depends on marketing!

When it comes down to marketing your eCommerce platform and the products within it, you will need to be ready to write hundreds of SEO-friendly product descriptions and take professional photos of each item. 

Sounds like much? Consider hiring a marketing expert! While this might seem like an unnecessary cost at first, it can truly help you expand your business at a much faster pace – while you can free up more time to dedicate to crafting a long-term growth strategy!