If you’re looking to start selling products online in Ireland then for this article I will assume you have an idea of what types of products you would like to sell and how to source them. To get your products online then there are a few things you will need to do such as competitor research, product photography, pricing structure and content for each of the products you would like to start selling online. I will go into more detail about all of these things later in the article.
You will have to set up an eCommerce website – I recommend Shopify as it offers you the biggest scope and will easily grow with your business. You will need to connect your website to a payment gateway. A lot of customers prefer when there are a few options to choose from as it makes them feel more secure when shopping online. Payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe and Google and Apple pay are all great options for your website.
Next, you’ll need to choose a shipping method for your products. If you’re selling physical goods, you’ll need to find a way to get them to your customers. You need to ask yourself questions on whether you are going to send them with courier companies like Fedex or DPD or are you going to use other methods of shipping. Many of these companies will structure their postage costs around weight and size of the parcel. So make sure you have these price variations organised for each of your products.
With these three things in mind, you’re ready to start selling products online!
Competitor research is important because it tells you exactly what types of businesses you are up against. You should look at things like their price points, their shipping costs, the promotions or offers they run and how active they are within their marketing campaigns.
By doing this research before starting to sell your products online you can see whether this is going to be a viable business for you. If your competitors are able to sell products at half the price you can sell them at then you may have to rethink your pricing structure, where you are sourcing your products from, your unique selling points which would allow you to sell them for a higher price then your competitor.
eCommerce is growing quickly and has become extremely competitive. Your products will need to stand out from the crowd. By doing your competitor research you will be able to form ideas around how your products will stand out from the crowd.
Product photography is important because photography is what is going to make customers WANT your products. I have seen so many brands putting up images of poorly cropped and pixelated images. If your customer cannot see your product properly why would they want to buy it?
If you think of any of the top eCommerce brands – Zara, ASOS, H&M their imagery is all incredible. You go onto their website and everything looks beautiful. This is what you should be aiming for with your own products. If you have products that will be resold numerous times over the period of a few months then I would recommend getting a professional photographer to take photos of them.
Images should be formatted with a resolution under 20mb and a file size of 1-3mb. Anything bigger and 1) Shopify will say your file size is too big and 2) It will slow down your website
Your pricing should always make sure that you are in profit. I know that sounds obvious but a lot of people forget the overall cost of the product when they first buy it for wholesale to when they sell it online. There are a few factors then just the initial cost.
There are several things to consider when setting the price for your products, including the cost of production, shipping, labour and taxes. You’ll also need to decide whether you want to offer discounts or free shipping. Also remember you want your business to pay you – so try figure out an hourly wage you’d like to recieve from your business and what the cost of your products would need to be to achieve that!
The most important thing is to make sure that your prices are competitive. Take a look at what other businesses in your industry are charging for similar products and services. Once you have an idea of what the going rate is, you can set your own prices accordingly.
If you’re just starting out, it’s often best to keep your prices on the lower end. This will help you attract more customers and build up a loyal customer base. As your business grows, you can slowly start to increase your prices.
Your profit margins should take into consideration the shipping cost of the product from your wholesaler and also the shipping cost to the customer IF you are going to offer free delivery. Some businesses offer free delivery when your spend X. If you are going to do this then you need to make sure your products are priced to accomodate this.
Whatever pricing structure you decide on, be sure to clearly list all of your prices on your website or online store. This way, customers will know exactly how much they’ll be spending before they make a purchase.
Shopify has a really good article about pricing structure
SEO is super important when writing content for your products. Make sure to use keywords that people use for that product. For instance I have seen a lot of eCommerce websites title their products as things nobody would ever call it. I know you may want to name your items something unique but you need to ask yourself – is anyone actually going to type this into a search bar?
Example: You are selling a green occasion dress online. You decided to call it the “Lucy Dress”. I’m a customer looking for a green occasion dress I can wear to a wedding. When I go to Google I am going to type in “green dress I can wear to a wedding”. The list of results are going to be from brands who cleverly named their green occasion dresses something like “Green wrap satin occasion dress”. See what I mean?
Now you can still include “Lucy Dress” in the title but you should still phrase it something like “Green Wrap Satin Dress | Lucy Dress”
This is the same when you are writing content for your product. You need to make sure you are giving your product the love it deserves so it can be found within search engines. You should make sure to include information such as the purpose of your product, where it can be used, it’s sizes or dimensions, what size the model is wearing in the photo (if you sell clothing), the material it is made from, it’s alternative use (if any).
By giving your product descriptions time and love you make sure they start to rank within search engines.
This is completely up to you and how confident you are building websites. I have seen people with no eCommerce experience build websites that work for them. However as your business progresses and grows if you are not able to develop your eCommerce website to keep up with the demands then yes it is time to hire someone who specialises in eCommerce.
The other thing about websites is that you want to make sure they look good. If you also have a retail outlet then make sure you are putting the same love and care into your website as you do into your physical store. You want to make sure people have the same experience with you no matter where they shop.
For instance if you were to walk into Louis Vuitton and see how everything is laid out beautifully. The products are all lit up, the customer service is amazing. You feel like you have walked into a luxury store and you want to buy something. However you forget your wallet. So you think – that’s ok I will just go onto their website later and buy something there… Later that evening you sit down and log onto the Louis Vuitton website and it is awful. The images are piexelated and cropped. The text is hard to read. You cannot naviagte your way around the website and EVERYTHING is loading way to slowly. It’s crap. So you decide no way I am not purchasing something here and leave.
This is why you should invest in your eCommerce website. Over 60% of people will now research a brand online before making a purchase with them and if your website is awful then you are risking losing a potential customer.
Selling online can be a great way to increase your customer base and reach new markets. With the right preparation, you can get started quickly and easily. We hope that these tips have given you some guidance on how to prepare yourself for selling online in Ireland. If you need more help setting up your eCommerce business, there are plenty of resources available online to help get you started or feel free to get in contact..