What does E-Commerce mean?
Electronic commerce, also known as E-Commerce, is the buying and selling of goods and the transfer of money over the internet. E-Commerce works in all business models. Business-to-business (B2B), a business sells goods to another business, business-to-consumer (B2C), where the sale is between a business and a consumer, and consumer-to-consumer (C2C), a consumer sells goods to another consumer.
There are different ways to do E-Commerce. Below are some examples:
- Retail: Sales are made without intermediaries and directly to the consumer.
- Wholesale: Products are bought in bulk and resold to a retailer who in turn resells these products to the consumer.
- Dropshipping: The sale of products that are shipped to the consumer via a third-party provider.
- Digital products: Items that can be downloaded, such as e-books, courses, templates and software that must be purchased in order to be used.
- Services: Skills offered by professionals, e.g. influencer marketing, coaching and writing, that are paid for online.
- Subscription: A recurring purchase of products.
E-commerce market shows very good growth rates
During the Covid 19 pandemic, the E-Commerce market experienced significant growth in 2020. The global E-Commerce market grew by 18.4% and reached a turnover of around €3,411 billion (3.41 trillion). In 2020, E-Commerce accounted for 16% of total sales, an increase of 19% compared to 2019.
The E-Commerce market in Africa has also been growing strongly for some time. This fuels expectations that it will have an accelerating effect on Africa's economic growth.
In 2020, the E-Commerce market revenue in Africa was approximately €22.4 billion, representing only 0.5% of the global E-Commerce market. However, with an average growth rate of 17.19% per year, the market is growing steadily and significantly faster than the global average (6.3% per year).
How you can profit from the E-Commerce market
It's no secret that E-Commerce can help with your sales growth. E-Commerce allows your business to have a faster buying process that is more convenient for your customers. It allows your buyers to quickly browse through your online shop's catalogues and choose what they want to buy. This saves customers the time of having to walk through the aisles in a physical shop to find the product they want.
Advantages of a digital store
As a seller, you can create product listings. Product listings are what customers see when they search for a particular product. The seller can add pictures, descriptions, prices, shipping costs and delivery dates/times, giving your customers all the information they need. Having a physical shop is expensive: As a seller, you have to pay for rent, repairs, inventory and shop design.
With E-Commerce, the seller can reduce the amount he spends on the maintenance of the shop and use his money for other important purchases that benefit his business. Using an E-Commerce shop provides the seller with favourable advertising and marketing opportunities. For example, a seller can promote his shop or a product he is selling through online marketing campaigns on Google Ads, improve the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) ranking or place banner ads.
Accessibility
Another advantage of E-Commerce is that your customers can access your shop 24/7, which allows the seller to sell at any place and at any time. Research has shown that customers are more inclined to shop online because of the convenience they receive (discounts, free shipping, etc.). Reviews left by customers can help sellers identify their best-selling products and build trust in the seller's shop. Moreover, an E-Commerce shop allows multiple payment options like Cash on Delivery, UPI, EFT, Net Banking etc.
Analytics
An E-Commerce shop gives your company access to your customers' data. This data includes what device the customer used to access your site, age, gender and some basic interests. This allows you as a business to create customised advertising based on the customer's interests. This can help drive the buyer to successfully purchase a product from your shop.
In addition, an E-Commerce shop offers a new kind of outreach for your business. It allows potential customers to discover your brand online instead of showing up in person at your shop or on a billboard. The more people who see your shop, the more likely you are to make more sales.
Conclusion
E-Commerce offers a range of possibilities and advantages for companies in the B2C as well as the B2B space. These days it is important for companies to offer this feature because the trend is shifting towards more digitalisation.
Not having an online presence and digital sales channels can result in companies not realising their full potential as todays buyers expect these digital solutions from businesses.
In conclusion, major advantages of an E-Commerce platform are amongst others:
- Faster buying process
- Store and product listing creation
- Cost reduction
- Affordable advertising and marketing
- Flexibility for customers
- No reach limitations
- Product and price comparison
- Faster response to buyer/market demands
The Enterprise Africa E-Commerce platform
With Enterprise Africa International, you can offer your products in an E-Commerce shop that specialises in bringing quality brands to Africa. This is a great way to enter the African market in a risk-free way and benefit from the potential. Please do not hesitate to contact us via email at sales@enter-africa.com.