E-commerce grew faster than ever expected in 2020, and online selling doesn’t look like it’s slowing down any time soon. More people are selling more products online than ever, and that means that entrepreneurs are gaining rapid access to some increasingly important tools and resources. One of those is the wide range of selling platforms that can be used to make sales. As consumer trends and tastes evolve, so too have those platforms. If you’re planning to launch an e-commerce brand in 2021, or if you’re already set up and not making the sales you hoped for, here’s a look at some of the platforms you should be taking a closer look at in 2021.
Your Website
This will be your bread and butter platform. When you sell a product on your own website, you control all of the costs. If you’ve built your website from scratch, there will be no fees to pay either, which is great for your profit margins. The challenge is, of course, getting consumers to that website. Website building e-commerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce make this a lot easier for you by using apps and add-ons that can help boost your marketing, but those platforms do take a small percentage of what you sell. However, whether you’re on Shopify or your own custom-built website, this should be your priority platform to focus on.
Amazon
Far too many entrepreneurs overlook the fact that they can also sell their products on Amazon. Just because you can make sales on your own website doesn’t mean that you can’t be selling across multiple channels, and there are lots of benefits to selling on Amazon. Not only do you get visibility on the biggest e-commerce website in the world, but you also get access to a growing number of optimization and selling tools. The latest, Amazon Posts, acts as a form of Amazon social media and could be the key to generating more profits over a shorter amount of time. If you’re selling online and you’re not yet utilizing Amazon, you could be missing out on sales.
eBay
It used to be that eBay was all about auctioning off your unwanted, second-hand goods, but those days seem like a distant memory. Now, even big brand names are visible on eBay, and it’s worth considering. The problem with eBay selling is that it can become very stressful, and the platform itself offers very little in the way of resources. From shipping issues to customer returns, it sometimes feels like eBay makes the process as awkward and as time-consuming as it can. Combine that with their famously high fees, and it’s no surprise that e-commerce business owners are increasingly wary when it comes to using eBay as a selling platform. You can check this eBay selling manager software in this regard.
Etsy
Ideal for those smaller e-commerce brands that focus on handmade arts, crafts, and fashion, Etsy has become an incredibly popular platform. As a result of that growth, the platform now includes a lot of resources that make it easier to market your products, optimize your content for search engines, and even fine-tune your pricing. There are fees to pay on Etsy, but so far, they are much lower than eBay. Etsy is far more popular in the US than in international markets, but it is growing. However, if you do decide to sell your products on Etsy as well as your other platforms, it’s worth bearing in mind that there is a small cost for every listing that you make. That means if you have lots of product variations, those costs can quickly add up.
Social Media
Of course, it didn’t take long for social media platforms to integrate shopping into their feeds. Now, shoppable posts on Facebook and Instagram make it very easy for a consumer to see a product, click on it, and get taken straight to the product page on one of your selling platforms. Instagram is proving particularly valuable for e-commerce brands, largely due to the image-based posts that are ideal for making your products look as good as possible. There are no fees to set up an Instagram business account either, but it’s worth noting that people go to their social media pages for a lot of reasons other than shopping. So using social media platforms to sell should not be a priority but rather a way to boost brand awareness and encourage impulse buys.
Not every selling platform is going to be suitable for every business. Take the time to look at the pros and cons of each, and assess them in terms of your brand, your products, and the costs. Remember to think about your target audience, too, because there’s little point in paying a listing fee on Etsy if your target demographic rarely uses it. Do your research and budgeting, and you could be selling on more platforms to more people than ever.
