A Beginner's Guide to Building an eCommerce Store for VARs

Introduction

The eCommerce segment has extended its reach in almost every field across the world. Throughout the world, brands have shifted or are starting to shift from physical or brick-and-mortar stores to full-blown custom online stores. The global B2B
eCommerce market size is forecasted to be valued at $20.9 trillion by 2027,expanding at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.5% Hence, every VAR must build an eCommerce store to grow their business and go with the latest trend. Despite this, not everyone is well versed with the know-how of how to build an online store. One of the most important aspects in the 2021 era
can be to have the support of the right eCommerce platform.

Basics every VAR should be aware of before building their eCommerce Store

1. Choose your Niche

The very first thing which is amongst one of the most important decisions is to correctly identify and select the niche you feel you are good at selling or have proper knowledge of. What is a niche? It is a specific (or special) segment of the industry
that focuses on the specific customer sector. More than 42% of the startups fail due to the lack of a niche that is not only profitable but different as well.

There are a few questions one must ask themselves before selecting a niche:

1. Am I passionate about selling anything?
2. Does that niche have a great market value?
3. Does that niche have enough products to sell?
4. What is the profit margin for that niche?
5. Most importantly, looking at the past and present of that niche. Is it profitable? Is it facing any issues?

2.Picking your Supplier

Unless you are in connection with an uninterrupted flow of product supply, it would be difficult for you to run an eCommerce store. Being a part of eCommerce store management, not only do you have to ensure that the products provided by your suppliers are of good quality but they should also provide them at competitive rates.
Do not forget to enquire about the customer service provided by them in case of difficulties and their damage control processes.

3. Know your Competition

Before building your eCommerce store, do not forget to research your competition. This sometimes proves to be the gamechanger. Find out how they attract their customers and have a thorough watch on their website metrics like traffic volumes,
traffic demographics, bounce rates, etc. 
No matter which segment you are in or how innovative you are, you are bound to have direct and/or indirect competition. Properly analyze these facts to do better than your competitors with proper planning and strategy.
One of the ways you can outperform your competition is by having the support of great marketing tools such as SEO, SEM, email marketing, coupons, and discounts. You can also have the customers provide their feedback or reviews on your store along with ratings to improve your presence as an online seller.

4. Decide on your Payment Gateway

It is a third-party payment system between merchants and customers. Every eCommerce business must have a risk-free or secured payment gateway or combination of payment gateways to have a successful and profitable business. If we go by statistics, about 10% of the customers abandon their shopping cart due
to the absence of a preferred payment method. In terms of numbers, this percentage can affect your business in a negative sense. Have the facility of integration with multiple payment gateways.

Conclusion

It is not very difficult to create and build a successful custom online store as long as you know where and how to get that support. It is very important to have the guidance and support of an eCommerce solution that can help build a custom eCommerce store for VAR irrespective of the size of the business.