How to Start or Launch an Online FMCG Store?
May 24, 2020Have you ever wondered how customer purchase patterns will be in the post-pandemic world? Well, the current outbreak will have mega implications on consumers’ buying behavior leading them to embrace e-commerce.
- According to GlobalData, the current pandemic will accelerate the growth of India’s e-commerce market, pushing it to ₹7 trillion by 2023.
- As per Statista, the popularity of online stores, especially grocery and FMCG products is on a boom in western countries including the USA.
- The US online market for grocery and packaged food products has a sales forecast of 29.7 billion US dollars by 2021.
- Accenture estimates that towards the end of 2020, the ecommerce industry will get 13.5% of the revenue share. Hence, out of every 7 dollars spent on retail consumption; eCommerce will get about 1 dollar.
So while the current lockdown scenario might portray an overall decline in consumer spending, it is being partially offset by a steady rise in online spending. This also indicates that wary consumers prefer to stay at home and use online mediums to purchase almost everything – from groceries and packaged food products to medicines and non-essentials.
If you have plans on the cards to launch an online FMCG store then you have a promising market at every nook and corner of the world. Just imagine, hordes of people shopping for packaged food products online to munch between meals, while binge-watching or working from home. Hence, transforming your idea into an online store with the help of a readymade ecommerce platform is the right way to make huge profits.
So how to open an online FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) Store?
- Start an eCommerce Website and App
The first step in launching your online store is to have an outstanding website that would serve its purpose – to satisfy customers with easy navigation, convenient payment processes, and hassle free shopping. You might also want an app for your store to enhance the customer experience.
What are the benefits of having an app for your store?
You won’t stand a chance in the online world if you merely exist with a website. You must have to go mobile to gain more audience and take your business ahead in the race.
With a mobile app, you can enable your customers to shop your products at their fingertips and grow your brand dramatically. Besides having an app also gives scope for;
- Improved personalization
- Offline capabilities
- Improved visibility
- Benefit of speed
- Better conversion stream
Looking for the ready to launch ecommerce platform like Quick eSelling can help you build a fully managed ecommerce website and app and provide you with the helping hand in terms of all the features you need.
2. Reach out to Your Audience:
Customer identification is the key to any business model. This step begins even before you build your website and includes several steps such as;
- Picturing your potential customers
- Customer segmentation
- Identifying customer needs
- Re-evaluating your marketing strategies
A readymade ecommerce store builder enables you to narrow down your customer base and optimize your marketing strategies to target them and earn maximum ROI.
3. Decide your Delivery Zone:
What is yet another major factor to determine the popularity of your online FMCG store? Well, it all depends on how far you plan and can extend your reach.
Deciding your delivery regions early on can help you plan several things such as inventory stocking, tie-up with vendors, and hiring a fleet of professionals for delivery.
You can also have the arrangement of inventory in two ways – either stock up the products in your warehouse or tie-up with local stores to begin with.
For an online FMCG store, it is advisable to keep your reach limited to a specific city or a decided geographical area and then make the necessary arrangements
4. Select Delivery Model
A seamless supply chain and a clear-cut model for delivery will make your life easier and your customers satisfied. You might be interested to know that 76% of online shoppers prefer home delivery versus only 39% who want to click and collect. But this does not mean that you can neglect the in-store pickup option. Most of the time, customers want instant gratification and yet desire to do online cashless shopping.
Hence, you might want to offer both options – in store pickup and door-step delivery to excel customer satisfaction through a reliable ecommerce platform. You can also make the necessary arrangements for the delivery timelines for all your orders. Also, deciding your delivery zones before structuring the delivery model is advisable to ensure that supplies are regular and as per customers’ expectations.
Recommended Read: Identifying Challenges on Online Sales and How to Tackle Them
5. Integration of Payment Gateways
With the current Covid-19 pandemic, the e-tailing industry is encouraging more and more customers to opt for online transactions. However, the RedSeer research firm points out that winning customer trust is not so easy when it comes to digital payments and hence CoD will remain stagnant at 50%.
Just like you might provide your customers different delivery models, you can also offer different ways to make payments on your online store such as credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and cash on delivery.
Having a secured website with PCI DSS compliance can ensure your customers that their sensitive information will be protected and they can carry on with the shopping at much ease.
How to build your online FMCG store with Quick eSelling?
A global name in providing turnkey ecommerce platforms, Quick eSelling offers 360 support with a fully hosted and managed website and app. You can have Android and iOS apps within minutes.
Once you register on the platform you can use its DIY features and instantly set up your store. The custom options provide you to create an appealing product catalog, landing pages, and more. Also, the robust CMS helps you put everything in place, right from content to marketing strategies, and makes your store up and running. You can also integrate your store with different payment gateway companies and send push notifications to your customers for upcoming deals and discounts.
Currently, Quick eSelling is offering free access to its ecommerce website and app builder to encourage retailers and merchants to shift their businesses online. So if you want to grab this opportunity, all you need to do is get started!
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