Ecommerce is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. According to the Hellenic Electronic Commerce Association (GR.EC.A), in 2022 e-commerce in Greece reached 10.3 billion euros, an increase of 23% compared to the previous year.
This trend is expected to continue in the coming years as more and more people turn to online stores for their purchases.
So if you’re thinking about setting up an online store, you’re in the right place. With the following article we will give you a comprehensive guide to creating a successful eshop.
1. Choose the right product or service
The first step in creating an online store is to choose the right product or service to sell.
If what you are marketing through your ecommerce store is a product, then it is important to choose something that people are looking for and need. It would be helpful if it were a product that you could get easily and cheaply.
In terms of services, it is also important to provide services that users are looking for and need.
Finally, in both cases – goods or services – it is good to choose what you really like and are excited to sell.
2. Do market research
Once you have settled on your product or service, you need to start a market research in order to learn more about the competition in it as well as the needs of your customers. This will help you come up with the best pricing, marketing and promotion strategy for your products or services.
Tip: A very good (and free) tool to do your research is Google.
Search for your product or service on Google and find where it says “Related Searches”. There you can find frequently asked questions that people ask on Google about what you want to sell.
We use this tool very often in the market research we do for our clients (see our previous post “SEO Techniques to Increase Organic Traffic – A Beginner’s Guide”).
3. Build an online shop
The next step is to create an eshop. There are many ways for this to happen. You can do it yourself using some platforms and a ready-made template or contact a web development company.
If you have no experience in web development, it is better to talk to an expert so that you can create a more professional and functional eshop. Start a market research and look for a company that builds websites and online stores.
Tip: Ask to see completed work and projects of other clients of the company you choose. This will make it easier for you to decide more quickly!
4. Promote your eshop
Once you have created your eshop it is important to promote it to attract customers. You can do this in a number of ways, including:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Content Marketing
5. Customer service
Customer service is one of the most important factors for the success of an online store. For this reason, ensure that your customers receive excellent service from the beginning to the end of the buying process.
Give as much information as possible about the product or service you are selling, show photos of your products or results of the service you provide. Add to your online store additional ways of contact such as phone, email or chat. Respond immediately to your customers’ calls and messages and solve any questions they may have.
This way you will build a relationship of trust with them and this will encourage them to return to your eshop to make more purchases.
6. Stay up to date with new technologies
The e-commerce market is constantly changing. It’s vital to stay up to date with new technologies and trends so that you can continually improve your customers’ experience.
7. Invest in safety
The security of your customers’ payments and personal information is one of the most important factors for the success of an eshop.
Invest in reliable security systems to protect your customers’ data and their money.
If you do not know how to do this, contact your hosting company or the company that has built your eshop and ask them to inform you about the security measures they take in your online store.
8. Make sure you have excellent customer support
If your customers have questions or problems with your eshop, products or services, you should provide them with support. This can be done by phone, email or live chat.
Answer their questions promptly and thoroughly and you’ll see an increase in users choosing your store for their purchases.
9. Invest in advertising
Advertising is an important way to promote your online store and attract new customers. You can advertise it through various channels, such as:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Ads
- Instagram Ads
- YouTube Ads
- Native Advertising
10. Evaluate the results
It is vital to measure and evaluate the results of your actions to see if the strategy you have followed is working or not. Adapt your actions to the means and purposes needed each time. Improve the user experience and save money on actions that don’t benefit you.
This will help you to make your eshop more effective and gain ground from your competitors.
In this section we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions that users ask us about setting up an online store.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers for Online Stores
Operating an online shop is subject to certain legal and tax requirements. These requirements include registration with the GEMI, the Tax Office and starting a business.
It is necessary to issue legal documents for sales (invoices or retail receipts), payment of taxes and everything else necessary for the operation of a business.
It is also important to know that online shops are subject to certain consumer protection rules set by the Greek Ministry of Development and European Union consumer protection directives.
Yes, it can be done! You can create an online store without a physical store.
That is, without having to have a place where customers can visit and make their purchases. However, it is important to emphasize that this space must be a business space and must be registered with the Tax Office as a place of business activity.
You should also have a place where you can store your products and prepare them for shipment to your customers.
Online shops are subject to sales taxes, just like other businesses.
The rate of VAT imposed on online shops is the same as for other businesses and is proportional to the products they sell.
If you have products that belong to a reduced or zero vat rate then this should be calculated correctly in your online store.
If you want to open an online clothing store, you need to carefully select the products you will sell.
It is important to choose products that are in demand and that can be easily and ideally cheaply sourced. Also, you should have a well-designed online shop that is easy to use and that encourages customers to buy.
We will analyse more in our future article the online shops with clothes, shoes and accessories as they have many parameters that we would like to examine.
There are a number of subsidies that can help you set up an online shop. These subsidies are granted by the state or the European Union.
To find out more about the grants available for setting up an online shop, you can visit the website of the Ministry of Development and Investment or the European Commission.
For online businesses is exactly the same as for other businesses. If you start an online shop, you will have to register with the tax office, start a business and file a tax return.
The tax return you have to file will depend on the income you receive from your online store.
The cost of creating an online store varies depending on your needs. However, you can set up a simple online store at a very low cost to start with.
Tip: You should choose an e-commerce solution that can be expanded in the future. Some affordable ecommerce platforms do not have the possibility of future extensions or have limited capabilities so that when you need to expand your online store it will be impossible.
To create a more sophisticated online store, you need to invest in a more advanced e-commerce platform.
We for example develop online stores with Woocommerce and Shopify and have completed projects from small eshops with few products to very large online stores with more than 50.000 products.
To create an online store, you will need:
A domain name e.g. toeshopmou.gr
A company to provide you the web hosting of your website
An e-commerce platform or an e-commerce management system
At least one method of payment
At least one way of shipping
And finally, certainly a well-designed online shop
If you don’t have the necessary knowledge, experience and time, you can contact a web development company (or talk to us) to help you create a professional and functional online store.
Don’t waste your time, start your own online store today and discover the world of ecommerce!
