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Hi, that's a fantastic idea to develop India, and it's good to hear when someone says they're going to open an e-commerce store using many platforms. But when they start, they don't know what to do and how to do it. Let's understand or clarify all the problems that smaller e-commerce businesses face in their startups while starting an e-commerce business.
From 2014 to 2018, Flipkart and Amazon were both in high demand for e-commerce shopping. Several companies like Snapdeal and many more also worked similarly, but after 3 years, only Amazon won the market. We will understand that in this blog.
The boom of eCommerce in India came from COVID-19 because there was a lockdown, and nobody could go out of their homes to get anything. At that time, Amazon started a big move. Firstly, Amazon delivers to places with lower risk. Then everybody started buying even small things from Amazon. Flipkart was also a very good e-commerce platform. Due to some reasons, Flipkart went down compared to Amazon, but it is still alive in the market after Walmart acquired it.
After or during COVID, Indian businesses went down. That’s why many people started thinking about launching their e-commerce stores. After COVID, it sped up in India, and the government started new programs like Digital India and many more services for business owners, which are very helpful. Now, let’s understand how to start an e-commerce business from scratch.
Step 1 – Choose Your Niche
First, understand the market and what you are selling. This is the first point because if you don't understand the market and what you're selling, nobody will buy your service or product. So first, decide your niche and audience—what you’ll sell and who may buy your product.
For example, if you're selling kitchen accessories, you need to target females aged 24 and above. Find out where women’s purchase rates are high. Target that market and run paid campaigns. That’s the first step to start.
Make your product comfortable for them. If you want to try it, start by analyzing your product/service with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). It’s a small version to analyze the pros and cons of your product, and then you can improve it day by day and launch it in a production model. But there’s one question: are you selling everything or a specific product?
Don’t sell everything—focus on solving a specific problem.
That’s a major factor for every business. Many start with everything, face problems, and then shut down. Just look at the era when Amazon and Flipkart started. They began with basic products, like books, and grew step by step. You should do the same—start small and solve a problem.
For example, we discussed kitchen accessories for women. If your product solves a specific kitchen problem, they will buy it. But if the same product is already available, why should they purchase yours? So, solve a problem and sell the solution.
Step 2 – Market Research & Competitor Analysis
As everyone knows, market research and analysis are very important for every business. It helps you understand whether your product will be profitable, how many competitors you have, and why they are selling more (e.g., they have better websites, run ads, and use all services).
If you're going to start, this may create problems. You should get a business consultant in the e-commerce market, like Bugsbon.
Our team analyzes your market (offline and online) and provides a trusted, detailed report on whether you should sell the product or not. We suggest what problem you can solve to get higher profits. There are many tools to research and check your website analysis. You also have to do SEO locally or globally with our SEO services. It’s a core part of growing your business.
Many business owners think, “Why should we do SEO? It’s expensive,” but that’s a very important factor for getting organic traffic and increasing product sales online. Use tools like Google Trends, Amazon Best Sellers, etc., to find what's trending.
Step 3 – Choose Your eCommerce Platform
While going online, you need to choose your e-commerce platform, like Shopify or WordPress. These are ready-to-use CMS platforms where you can start at a lower cost.
Follow our previous blog: Shopify vs WooCommerce.
If you don’t want to go with a CMS, you can go with custom coding. We at Bugsbon can help you create a customized eCommerce solution. The benefit of custom development is that you can scale all tools made by code with no limitations. It may cost a little more, but it is more powerful and controllable. It takes about 1 month to build. It's a fantastic option if you have a good budget; otherwise, CMS is also a good way to start.
Step 4 – Register Business, GST & Legal Setup
Before launching your business, you must complete legal formalities like registration, GST, and MSME.
If you have a physical shop, you’ll also need a shop license and other documents. Register your business as a sole proprietorship, private limited, or partnership.
If you have a website, you must register your logo or name under the appropriate TM class.
To check if your name or logo is already registered, use the IPIndia website. If not, register it. A CA or Advocate can help you with this.
Legal Setup Overview:
Trademark: Registered via an online portal or advocate. Fees in India are around ₹6,000 to ₹10,000 per class.
GST: A chartered accountant can help. It costs around ₹3,000 to ₹5,000.
Step 5 – Build Your Online Store
To build your eCommerce store, there are two options:
Start by yourself using CMS tools like WordPress or Shopify.
Let Bugsbon build it—whether you want CMS or coded solutions.
Start with a clean theme, use high-quality, low-size images, and make SEO-optimized product titles and descriptions to rank your website. A good SEO strategy will help you sell more.
Payment Gateway:
One of the main challenges is online payment. Use trusted gateways like Razorpay or Stripe. Razorpay supports all kinds of UPI, Google Pay, PhonePe, etc.
Step 6 – Shipping & Logistics Setup
Another major problem is order shipping. When you start getting orders, you need the best courier solution. You can integrate tools like Shiprocket.
There are issues like delivery charges, etc. If you need help reducing them, contact us.
Also, you must add all the government-required policies to your website for customer satisfaction.
Step 7 – Set up Marketing Channels
Once you start selling, marketing becomes the top priority.
Target your audience and run ads. Use:
SEO, WhatsApp Marketing, Instagram Ads, Google Ads
As a software company and digital agency, Bugsbon can handle this for you (paid service).
Launch & Track
After launching, track your traffic and analytics. Focus on products that sell more, run ads, and launch new offers. Use tools like Google Analytics GA4 (a free tool) for better tracking and insights.
More Help?
Visit our Contact Page to connect with us and start selling now!