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About 86% of individuals in India have been reported to utilize an online method of shopping during the pandemic period, as mentioned by Business Insider. They prefer to use this means to purchase home equipment, apparel, and a lot more consumable items that require daily use. Rather than purchase products from offline stores, these consumers are more comfortable with doing online purchases. The pandemic has been one of the reasons so many people moved their businesses online, and it has come to stay, encouraging others who are yet to do the same to put it into considerable options. Here is a comprehensive step to set up an online business in India.

1. Choose the Best eCommerce Platform

Nowadays, it has become a trend to transition an offline business to a digital platform, to attract more consumers, while also looking forward to launching an online domain of a management system that is satisfactory. So, ensure that you choose a business platform that will make an easy online transition. Consider a payment gateway operation, smooth website setup, high performance, security, and managerial systems.

To identify the right platform you can try to do the following:

• Find out the most important need of your company
• Look into the services and functionalities that should be provided to the shoppers
• Research on e-commerce platforms that provides the chosen features
• Try to compare a table of the listed e-commerce platforms
• Calculate the resources available for the setup and the amount that will be spent
• An e-commerce website builder can help you set up a free trial of the chosen e-commerce before launching it fully

2. Pick a Domain Name for Your New eCommerce Business Model

Pick a domain name the moment you have decided on what e-commerce platform you will be running with. Make sure the chosen name of your e-commerce website is not different from the name of your corresponding offline store business. Choosing a relatable domain name is important, to provide a straightforward access platform for the consumers. It will also help you in managing the e-commerce platform perfectly.

You may also want to follow these tips when picking a domain name for your business:

• Let your brand name be the similar, both offline and online
• Include .com as your priority since it is used broadly as an important domain extension
• Try not to use hyphens and numbers
• If you are looking forward to extending the business locally, then choose .in. This means the business will only be explored in India
• Do not use trademarked domains, to avoid getting into trouble.

3. Choose the Market Product You Want to Sell Online

Carry out an intensive survey or an assessment of the market need of consumers, and prepare a befitting catalog before transiting your business from offline to online. You will find out from your market research, the products that are likely to sell more easily when considering the online consumers. Doing this will be a great way to perfectly pull the right market audience to your business.

The following tips can help you in choosing the commodity you want to sell online:

• Have a look at the sales from your offline store, and carry out an analysis on online market sites that are selling the same product you are about to offer your online audience
• Take a look at some Google trends, to help you see what customers are searching for online
• Check out a few businesses in the same category and note down their products and how they are sold, use the clue to enhance your sales in a wider perspective
• Find out about the product in the offline market, with the topmost sales, and carry out an analysis to compare the customers’ data, both from the online and offline perspective.

4. Plan Product Inventory and Take Stock

After everything has been set, and you are ready to launch your online product, you must ensure that the inventory and stock of the product are significantly managed. This means you have to keep a centralized record and look into the list on several occasions. If you must run a smooth business, it is important for you to set up a proper stock and inventory system, to help in managing, reviewing, and running the business ideally.

5 Sort Legal Permissions When Doing an Online Business

Your business will not be recognized without proper legal formalities being put in place. So, ensure that you complete all legal compliances and requirements for a smooth e-commerce business in India.

Be informed of the following legal steps to take:

• Bank account
• Company or LLP Registration
• Payment gateway
• GST Registration
• Legal documents

6. Be Ready With Your Product Information

When you are operating an offline store, it is easy for customers to see, touch, feel and even try the product before buying. The case is different with online operations so, to make your product visually captivating, you must go a little extra. You can use high-quality photographs and videos to show your items online. Also, provide your consumers with information based on the products you sell.

7. Plan Your Website

Make a list of the website pages you will require for your business to run smoothly, and ensure that the information you have provided on your web page is understood and defined. You can contact an e-commerce website builder to help you work this out.

8. Add Contents to Your Website

You need to have the following pages on your online e-commerce platform: an online store builder can help you with the homepage, product page, about us page, exchange page, contact us page, refund page, and product page.

9. Plan Payment Methods

Look into the mode of payment by your offline customers and choose one method to enable online payments also.

10. Locate a Trustworthy Shipping Partner

Look for a trustworthy shipping partner to make sure delivery is done accurately, quickly, and safely to the locations of sales.

11. Announce Your Online Move

The moment you launch your e-commerce business with everything intact, announce the move online. Announce on social media, WhatsApp, emails, and text messages, and do not forget your store walk-ins.

Conclusion

While you make plans to take your offline business to another, or start up an e-commerce business, ensure that you follow all the required steps before launching it.