Basics of becoming an online merchant

Online sales are on the rise due to the changing shopping habits of today’s consumers, those under 30 who were entering their teens or just graduated from college when the Internet flourished in the mid-1990s.

This is the generation that spends most of their time reading and posting Twitpics, shout-outs, reposts or jejespeak on their FB, Flickr, Tumblr and Blogspot pages, in their desire to be visible and look good on the Internet (now band wide and a powerful tool for business) that has become collaboration-friendly, thanks to Web 2.0 technologies.

Fast forward to an interesting question. Want to join the world of internet retail as a pure gamer for additional income from Net Geners, whose disposable income will remain ‘incredible’ until at least 2020? Do I hear a resounding ‘yes’? That means you are entering a winning arena.

Online retailing represents the greatest opportunity for all internet users to earn income from the web. After all, you spend more than 4 hours in front of your computer screens doing any or all of these: researching, working, playing games, chatting online or instant messaging, Skype.

Warning: you won’t get gold right away from your internet sales, but it will initially give you an additional income and one that will grow in due course.

Consider this data from the March 2010 ITIF (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation) report.

Over the past 10 years, the top 10 Internet companies in the world include those that have successfully sold products and services such as Amazon, eBay, Expedia, TD Ameritrade (in business services) and, of course, Yahoo, Google and AOL , which collectively earned $ 58-B in 2006. The leading e-commerce countries are the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, and Denmark.

E-commerce is also growing in Asia, where total B2C sales in Japan, China, Korea and India are expected to reach $ 115 billion this year. At 52% (in Asia), Japan has the highest percentage of online shoppers, followed by Korea with 45%. China, the world’s second-largest internet population with its 210 million internet users, is expected to see huge growth in its online retail sales – $ 18 billion in 2010.

In other parts of Asia, such as the Philippines, about 90 percent of 28-M Filipinos with Internet access visit social networking sites to chat, play games, and promote business and civic events. Social media has become a ubiquitous tool in any business marketing campaign.

To make your mark in online retail:

number 1: you must have products or services to sell

number 2: study the basics such as on-time deliveries and packaging (you don’t want merchandise to be crushed or broken)

number 3: you must know how to use new media.

It is advisable to focus on a small range of products first and to know where to find reliable suppliers. Your products or services must be able to be sold as mobile phones, gadgets, fashion and accessories, souvenirs, household items, health and wellness, appliances, travel reservation, insurance.

You can earn from your hobbies and interests like beading, cross stitching, photography, crafts, gardening, carpentry, used or antique items.

Internet gives you the global market, so there will be customers in Trinidad, Los Angeles, Glasgow, Shanghai, Puchong, Cebu who will like to have those items in their web store.

Here are some basic tips for becoming a trusted online retailer in the web world.

Build your website. If you can’t, ask your friends and family who can. It is an integral part of running an online business. Or you can buy e-commerce software that has a complete e-commerce platform that integrates payment gateways and logistics system for local and international deliveries. This way, you don’t have to worry about setting up payment and distribution broker services on your own. It is never too late to get your own website up and running and be one of the more than 80 million dot-coms in the world. By following their numbers, you are in great company.

Let yourself be discovered through social sites. Your Facebook friends and Twitter followers will be great starting points for engaging with consumers. You can advertise on popular social sites or you can create a Facebook fan page or Multiply product page. Be innovative in your spiels (but don’t go overboard) about the benefits of your products so that consumers can connect emotionally with them, regardless of their business agenda.

Waiting for workouts. Learn additional skills to create engaging customer content, photo editing, viral videos, SEO, etc. It will increase your confidence as a netpreneur and if you apply them wisely, you will be on your way to building a good customer base.

It’s usually in the first year when it comes to deciding what to sell, where to get your products, and building awareness for your online store. You need to keep your enthusiasm for your business and your customers intact so that, in the years to come, you can get ahead and stay ahead of the curve.

Now this is looking beyond 2020, Net Geners and their progeny, due to their online behavior, put a premium on time and convenience that online retailing meets 100% accuracy.