What are the steps to create an online project and profit from it?

The volume of e-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa region has grown from $18.6 billion in 2016 to $41.5 billion in 2020. The latest studies indicate that the purchase of goods and services is growing in Arab countries at a rate of approximately 45% annually, compared to 20% in Europe and 35% In Asia.

Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are among the largest Arab online markets, with a huge turnover of several billion annually.

And because this success of e-commerce raises questions and curiosity of many business owners about how to trade via the Internet, work with it, and achieve success like those who succeed in it today, and whether there are conditions or secrets for starting a profitable electronic project. trade in 2021.

All these questions and more, we are keen to answer them in the coming lines in today’s article on the “Istanbul Bazaar” e-commerce blog.

We start now with the definition, then move on to everything related to e-commerce, work and succeed in it, and benefit from the presence of millions of customers who are users of the Internet and social media platforms around the world.

What is electronic commerce?

We can define E-commerce in a simple way as any commercial activity that takes place via the Internet, so that all transactions take place via the Internet, whether it is the sale, purchase or trade management process.

Let us explain it to you more clearly

For you as a merchant, the concept of electronic commerce is the completion of the process of displaying goods or services through any electronic means of sale such as the online store or social media channels (Facebook, Instagram). This is in addition to following up on all online commerce transactions such as tracking orders, sales reports, customer reviews, and so on.

As for the concept of e-commerce for the shopper, it is the completion of the steps of the process of purchasing goods, whether products or services, completely via the Internet, starting from visiting the store and selecting the product, through confirming the purchase process, and ending with the payment process if you choose to complete it electronically as well.

Now that we know the purpose of the e-commerce process for the merchant and the customer, and before you start your business steps in online commerce.

You must get acquainted with the most prominent types of electronic commerce in order to complete your knowledge and know-how about the type that you would like to choose and work through, and these types are as follows.

What are the types of electronic commerce?

In the trade sector, there are more than one type and form of electronic commerce worldwide, due to the criteria for classifying the types of online commerce transactions.

We find that the classification is divided according to more than one standard, but below we will address the most important and prominent two types, given their importance and their relationship to us in this guide on how to start working in e-commerce.

So let us follow and display these types.

First: the types according to the two parties to the e-commerce transaction

The two parties to the transaction are the seller and the buyer, and they are one of the criteria for determining the e-commerce system depending on who is selling and who is making a purchase, and this type is divided into more than one classification as follows:

1. B2B - Business To Business

B2B trade is a trade between two parties of merchants or sellers of products and services of different categories. That is, the seller’s party is a merchant and the buyer’s party is also a merchant or an independent business owner.

For example, a brand that offers office supplies products for sale, and the customer is another brand as well, such as companies and workers' organizations.

2. B2C - Business To Customer

This type is one of the most popular types of e-commerce, which attracts a large number of individuals when thinking of starting their business, whether traditionally or via the Internet.

It is between two parties, the party of the merchant or the seller who sells goods or services to the other party, which is the buyer, that is, between the company and the consumer as two parties.

For example, a brand offers clothing products for sale, and the customer is an individual shopper.

3. C2B - Customer To Business

It was not popular to work in this type of trade until recently, and perhaps e-commerce was a major reason for its popularity and rapid development.

This trade takes place between two parties, one of whom is a company or a brand who is the buyer, and the other is an independent person who is the seller, but how?

Some of the most famous examples of this type of trade are:

Self-employment platforms on which an independent individual registers in order to sell his services to the beneficiaries of the owners of companies and institutions.

For example, a freelancer writes articles and offers his services through an electronic platform, and then magazines and newspapers start agreeing with him to buy and benefit from his services.

In this case, the freelancer is the seller and the newspaper institution is the buyer.

Learn more about freelancing platforms through this article:

4. C2C - Customer To Customer

This type of e-commerce is that the buying and selling transaction takes place between two parties of individual consumers, and there is no presence of any brand or company in the transaction.

Perhaps the most famous example of this type is electronic stores and Facebook groups that offer products for sale to other individual consumers, and the site or group collects a commission for each sale.

For example, eBay Global, it allows individual consumers online shoppers to subscribe to the site and offer their products to others.

5. B2G - Business To Government

Some may believe that government institutions are self-serving or have their own sources of access to resources and services.

But this is not true, even governments are looking for suppliers and companies to offer them what they are looking for, and this is exactly the type of B2G e-commerce.

It takes place between a brand and government institutions, and this brand works to market and promote what it offers to government institutions in particular or to all consumer customers in general.

For example, a web design company is designing a website for a government organization for citizens to complete government transactions through.

6. G2B - Government To Business

Here, however, the opposite is the case, which is government institutions providing services or products to companies and brands, and this is done via the Internet.

For example, the provision of electronic payment services or the service of managing a person's tax system via the Internet through the website of the government organization responsible for this task.

Second: Types according to e-commerce business models

1. Wholesale business model

This model of electronic wholesale trade relies on the sale of wholesale product commodities to the buyer, who in turn is one of the merchants or owners of online retail stores.

One of the most famous examples of this form of e-commerce transaction is the "Aliexpress" site that offers a huge number of different products for wholesale to any retail merchant.

Please be aware that you will be charged the cost of purchasing, storing, and caring for a large number of products, unlike retail or dropshipping, which dumps this task on you.

2. Retail business model

One of the most popular and common types of e-commerce is the retail trade, which is through setting up an online store or owning any electronic sales channel to sell goods or services.

For example, the Amazon store is the largest and most famous retail store around the world, along with many other stores such as “Market, Noon, Jumia.”

3. Dropshipping business

Dropshipping is a new form of e-commerce that has been trending rapidly lately. It is about owning an online store as a third intermediary that buys products from the wholesale store and then sells them as if you were a retail store.

As we can see, there are a lot of different types of e-commerce that are categorized into different categories and formats.

So, as easy as it is to start working in online commerce and selling, you have to study all the forms and choose what suits you and what suits your business plans and goals to choose to start your business through.

And if you are thinking of getting to know the dropshipping system more broadly, read this article:

Istanbul Bazaar provides work with the dropshipping system for any individual who wants to start his business online and does not own any products and has difficulty obtaining them, click on the following link and own a dropshipping store for free

Trading and selling online has many advantages and benefits, and this is of course an important motive for many flocking to start their online business.

Therefore, it is necessary to address a special paragraph and present the most important advantages and benefits that electronic commerce gives us.

What are the advantages of e-commerce over the Internet?

A lot talks about the famous advantages of e-commerce in terms of quick and a lot of profit, but e-commerce has another aspect of the gains that is no less important than the above. This is what we will discuss in the next paragraph:

1. No need for large capital

It is considered one of the most important advantages of working via the Internet is that the business owner does not need to own a large capital compared to what he needs to own the traditional commercial store, as you need to prepare it and equip it with a lot of money and pay the costs of electricity, management, workers, and others.

But with electronic commerce, you do not need a lot of money to pay any of these costs, because they do not exist in the first place.

All you need to own an online store are simple costs related to domain reservation and hosting for the store, along with some other costs related to the products and services that you trade with, and these will return to you again after selling and earning profits.

Read more about projects that do not require capital from this article: Profit from the Internet without capital

2. Ease and flexibility of work

E-commerce takes a lot of work, details, and administrative matters off your shoulders that take the time and effort of the business owner and traditional stores.

For example, you will not have to manage your workers or employees now, as you work and own the management of your store through a control panel and with one click of a button you can control anything.

As for managing the number of products or inventory of goods, with recording and entering all this data on the control panel of the online store, you can track inventory management without having to do an inventory or any manual trouble like what used to happen when owning a shop.

It will also save you the trouble of communicating with the customer and helping him choose what suits him. Once the customer visits the store, he can roam and search for what he wants in terms of sizes, colors, or designs, and then choose what he wants and complete the purchase process without your interference in any details.

This is in addition to savings on online shipping and payment, as you will not need accountants or administrators to calculate any cost or calculate the sales percentage and separate profits from the cost.

Because all these complex and heavy administrative steps can now be managed through the control panel of your store very easily, without trouble or effort.

Thus, work and trade via the Internet becomes better in many respects compared to traditional trade, whose owners incur business, administration, accounts and many other annoying details.

To gain more information about the flexibility of online home business, read the article: Work from home via the Internet

3. Rapidly improve and scale your business

Instead of owning a store in a commercial market in a province or town, you can work online and own Electronic shop Reaching consumers around the world.

This opens up a new market for your brand, and also gives you the opportunity to reach the global level, develop and expand your business over time.

And according to the trade and the amazing successes of the electronic stores, it is much easier to achieve this via the Internet than to achieve it on the ground, especially with the annoying government red tape that varies from one country to another.

Information that interests you

Worldwide retail e-commerce sales by 2021 will increase by 28% % or nearly $4 trillion. (eMarketer)

4. Contribute to community development

Indirectly, and the merchant may not touch it, but we cannot ignore it, which is that electronic commerce contributes to the development and development of societies and the development of the commercial and economic field in particular.

This is due to its many and flexible advantages that provide opportunities for many individuals with different sexual, age, psychological and social characteristics.

For example, one of the benefits provided by electronic commerce is the uniqueness of an amazing solution for a woman who wants to work, but her family circumstances or community habits do not allow her to work easily in any field. Online commerce makes it easier for women to work from home without having to go through many societal challenges that hinder their work and success.

In addition to supporting women and girls to start their work, there is another support provided by e-commerce to another segment of society, which is the youth.

It allows young people of any age and in any situation to work easily without the need for them to graduate from a university qualification or to have some kind of social security.

As any young man can own his business via the Internet, whether through commission marketing, working in dropshipping stores, or by owning his own online store.

In the event that you dream of starting your own business, dear, you should read the following article

Inspirational women in the world of e-commerce.. Learn about their projects and the secret of their success

5. Ease of communication with your customers

Through modern e-commerce techniques and tools, you can communicate with your customers easily and professionally. In addition to strengthening and improving the relationship between you and them, by knowing their opinions about your service and about the products and goods you offer.

All this saves you from doing a lot of surveys and analyzes that may take months when done through traditional methods.

With the presence of the Internet, everything has become easy and immediate thanks to technology and artificial intelligence that enables you to anticipate the opinions of your customers and quickly meet their needs professionally, which guarantees you their loyalty and confidence in your brand.

Some of the most important tools that will help you achieve this are:

Social media platforms.
Automated chat application on your online store or chatbot.
Customer reviews and opinions on the store.

To learn how to apply a chatbot to ensure easy and fast communication with your customers, read the following article

Top 10 chatbots that support the Arabic language for your online store

Istanbul bazaar expert advice

Choose the shipping companies that your customers need and provide them with what they are looking for, such as shipment tracking service, as many customers now want to track their shipments and know when they will leave and be delivered in real time. So try to make this service a priority when choosing the international or local shipping company that you will contract with.

6. Achieving higher sales rates

There are 2.14 billion global digital buyers by 2021. Statista is waiting for you to offer your products or services to sell to them.

This number increases continuously at every moment, and with it the sales rates of your trade and the trade of any electronic brand in its various fields and activities.

So, be sure that your sales and profits will constantly double when selling online and you will achieve more, unlike selling in traditional commercial markets.

With these numbers and these amazing achievements of the world of online commerce and selling, we believe that there is no way for another successful business without electronic commerce.

Istanbul bazaar expert advice

Cash or payment upon receipt?

In order not to lose one segment of the audience against another, it is better to provide more than one different payment system. Thus, you will provide your audience with the best and easiest shopping experience, and support them so that they do not find any obstacle when completing the purchase process from your store.

Take a look at Top 10 strategies to increase sales for your online store and the most important tips for implementing them professionally

Everything you may need to learn about e-commerce is now available for free in the e-commerce book From Beginner to Professional, you can download the book and learn more about how to run your online business successfully.

There are many reasons that drive many today to choose e-commerce in order to start their own business to achieve a high and guaranteed profit.

And if you are in this article with us, then your goal is to create a website to sell products or services over the Internet, that is, you need a professional online store.

Therefore, we recommend to you the following e-commerce platform “Istanbul Bazaar” as the most important and largest e-commerce platform in the Middle East, to start your business through it.

So let's get to know the steps together:

How to profit from e-commerce with the Istanbul Bazaar?

Creating and fully preparing an online store - selling products on the Internet - displaying products on the Internet

Before getting acquainted with the steps and method of starting your activity in e-commerce with Bazaar Istanbul, it is necessary to answer an important question, which is how to start in e-commerce and why the Bazaar Istanbul platform is the ideal choice for you to start your business online through it?

The Istanbul Bazaar platform is characterized by providing many modern and different services and e-commerce solutions to support your trade and provide you with the easiest and most profitable e-commerce experience.

Perhaps the most important of these features is the opportunity to create a free integrated online store for you, without any hidden fees or bank charges.

The rest of the features provided by the platform in the free package are:

Providing a professional control panel, with full support for the Arabic language.
The ability to apply more than 7 different languages in the store.
The ability to add up to 300 different products for free.
Flexibility of linking with the most prominent different electronic payment gateways.
Connecting with the best and most prominent international shipping companies around the world.
The possibility of expanding sales channels through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
Provide a free SSL certificate (https) to protect your store from hacking and fraud.
More than 50 different and varied templates and designs for you to choose what suits your business field.
The ability to activate Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel.
Comprehensive reports and analyzes about the performance of your online store, such as the source of store visits, sales rate, and advertising campaigns.