What is e-commerce and how to learn it and profit from it 2022

 E-commerce: It is simply a new method of selling based on the Internet and modern technology. Through e-commerce, the owner of the product or service can display it on the Internet through his online store or other intermediary e-commerce platform. Buyer the product at his own home address.

There are billions of dollars traded every year through e-commerce, and this is not globally but only in the Middle East region, yes this is true and according to reliable statistics.

Below, you will find me including more of these statistics for you to realize the size of the opportunity and the possibilities available through e-commerce.

Whether you want to win a part of the e-commerce cake by creating your own professional store, or you want to enter the world of e-commerce in the simplest and easiest possible way and even completely free, or even you are curious to know for the sake of knowledge, in this article you will find what you want and more.

Above all this, and as usual in the winners, you will find me referring to many important sources of the winners about e-commerce, and you will also find me sharing a wonderful group of professional global sources for the perfection and professionalization of e-commerce.

What is e-commerce?

Definition of E-commerce: The original term in English is E commerce or Electronic Commerce, and it refers to every business activity that can be completed based on modern Internet technology, and what is meant here by business is not just buying and selling tangible goods and products.

But e-commerce also includes the buying and selling of intangible services as well as digital products, and it includes auctions that take place through the Internet, booking travel tickets and electronic banking transactions.

Simply, every business depends on the Internet to complete all or some of these tasks: (reaching the customer, offering the product or service to the customer, completing the sales agreement, receiving the price of the good or service..etc), it belongs to the field of e-commerce.

But in order for the idea to become clear and easy to understand for everyone, let us address it according to its popular idea for everyone, which is represented by global electronic stores such as Amazon and eBay, which we have models similar to in the Arab region such as Jumia and Namshi.

E-commerce is represented in professional electronic stores: they are websites in which a variety of products are displayed, which the customer can choose from, and by having a payment method accepted by the store, he can complete the purchase process in a few minutes, and then the store sends the product to the customer’s address .

In general, we can say that e-commerce is a product of the marriage between traditional commerce on the one hand and the Internet and modern technology on the other, and based on this, even the twenty-year-old girl who owns a group on Facebook to sell makeup to her friends, is in some way working in the field of e-commerce.

And because I seek to generalize the benefit of this guide to the largest possible number of Arab youth, so I will address the professional level of the idea of ​​e-commerce in detail, but I will also address a set of simple ideas that anyone can apply to enter the world of e-commerce and make profits from it.

Very important statistics and facts about e-commerce

1. The number of shoppers worldwide through the Internet by the end of 2021 has reached 2.14 billion online marketers (that is, we are talking about a field in which a quarter of the planet’s population participates).
2. The total global sales volume of electronic retail stores is expected to exceed $6 trillion during the next year 2023.
3. The growth of e-commerce has exceeded the countries of the West, and there has been rapid growth in almost all countries of the world, including the Arab countries, and the best example of this is Amazon’s entry into many Arab markets, the last of which was Amazon’s entry into the Egyptian market.
4. Most online shoppers tend to buy from websites in their local language and currency.
5. 61% of online shoppers use mobile phones to complete their purchase. (Accordingly, the advantage that the online store is responsive to the mobile interface has become an inevitable feature).
6. 68% of online shoppers search Google for the products they want to buy before completing the purchase (this may give you a good idea about the importance of content marketing in the world of e-commerce).

Types of e-commerce

Here we will discuss the classification of e-commerce according to the target type of customer:

1. B2C (business-to-consumer)

It means consumer-oriented business. In this type, the electronic business (for example, an online store) sells goods or services to the consumer directly, and the sale here is by the piece (retail), this type is almost the most popular in the world of e-commerce.

Example: Amazon store or Jumia store to sell products to the public..

2. B2B (business-to-business)

It means a business directed to another business. In this type, the online store sells goods or services to another type of business. In the first type, the sale is from a business to the consumer for direct consumption, while here the sale is to another business for resale, or using the product or service to generate profits in some way.

Example: An online wood chipper shop, which sells to woodworking workshop owners.

3. C2C (Consumer-to-consumer)

It means a consumer-to-consumer business. In this type of e-commerce, the consumer sells a good or service to another consumer like him, and the buying and selling operations that take place between consumers and each other, are under the management of a third party that organizes and manages the issue and guarantees the right of both parties in return for a specific commission.

The participants in this type of e-commerce are both consumers and sellers.

Example: the famous site eBay, and the Fiverr site that specializes in the trade of services.

Advantages of e-commerce

There are many advantages of e-commerce, which mainly depend on the strength and effectiveness of the Internet and modern technology, and here when we talk about the advantages of e-commerce, we address it from the perspective of comparing it with traditional commerce.

1. Infinity

Trade on the ground is limited by many physical factors, such as working hours, limited supply in front of the buyer, ..etc.

As for e-commerce, it is 24 hours a day throughout the year, through which the sales process can be completed from anywhere, and under any circumstances.

It also allows the buyer to browse a large number of alternatives in record time, and to purchase any quantity, whatever its size or number. In short, e-commerce represents a genius model that is free from the barriers of time and space, and provides unlimited selling opportunities.

2. Low cost

Cost is an extremely important element for the success of any business, and the facilities and savings offered by e-commerce in many aspects give great opportunities to reduce costs.

The lack of a point of sale, and the ability to transfer the product directly from the store to the buyer, is one of the clearest examples of the advantages of e-commerce in reducing costs.

Of course, there are many other advantages that contribute to reducing the cost, including reducing the percentage of labor, and reducing the percentage of waste due to the presence of a smart inventory system linked to demand directly through an immediate update.

3. Precision and order provided by technology

E-commerce, as mentioned above, is based on a smart and innovative technological system. Technology helps save a lot of time and effort, and provides a high degree of accuracy.

For example, the smart link between the website and the inventory management system, on the one hand, reduces the incidents of product damage due to the increase in the storage period, and on the other hand, it ensures that there is sufficient stock for the expected purchase order level.

4. Get the most out of digital marketing

There is no doubt that digital marketing has become a very important component of every business, but when it comes to a business that is primarily based on the Internet, digital marketing takes on another dimension of importance.

Through the targeting system offered by digital marketing, it is possible to achieve huge levels of sales.

For example, after watching the marketing advertisement, the buyer only has to make a few clicks through a computer or a smartphone, and the sale is complete.

5. Speed ​​and efficiency in management

Imagine with me there are two stores specializing in gifts, one on the ground and the other electronic, and here comes Valentine's Day, and each of them has to prepare for this event that will raise the level of sales significantly.

The store that is on the ground may need days or even weeks to prepare and organize the store, so that it is attractive to lovers.

As for the online store, it can only do a set of software commands that may be ready in one day (for example, putting the red heart icon on all pictures of gift products with a 10% discount applied).

This is just an example to illustrate the idea and you can apply it to everything.

Just as e-commerce has advantages, it also has disadvantages, but here we will not call them disadvantages, but rather we will say challenges:

e-commerce challenges

1. Strong competition

There is great competition in the world of e-commerce, especially with the presence of transcontinental sites such as Amazon and Ali Express.

But of course this competition can be overcome through specialization, high quality products, and more marketing efforts.

2. Handling customer complaints

When you own a store on the ground, the buyer will come to you and inspect the product himself, and then make the purchase decision with conviction.

In the world of e-commerce, many things are not completely clear, and this creates a lot of problems, which require more effort and understanding to solve from those in charge of the store.

3. The world of e-commerce is a very changing world

E-commerce is based on modern technology, and technology is characterized by being very changing, and every day there is new in it. This change exposes many entities to big problems if the necessary measures are not taken to keep up with it.

Therefore, those in charge of the online store must follow the market and be aware of all technological developments and new solutions that can make a big difference in the future.

What do you need to get started in e-commerce?

In this part, we will discuss in detail the answer to the question of what do I need to start in e-commerce, you can also name this part the components of e-commerce or the aspects that underpin e-commerce.

Note: In some scenarios some of the components below are unnecessary, but here we are talking about a professional model that is ideal for an online store like Amazon Global Store.

1. Product

In our example here, Amazon sells a lot of products, including tangible ones such as electronic devices (computer, camera, TV, electronic accessories…etc), and intangible ones such as e-books.

In any case, the world of e-commerce is like the real world, there is more than one strategy that can be followed in choosing a product, including specializing in a certain type of product, or specializing in a wide range of products, or combining many specialties in one store.

Choosing the product here should be based on a well-thought-out basis, including:

• Production versus resale.
• The ability to have a competitive advantage by lowering the cost of production or purchasing from the source.
• The ability to provide the required quantities when needed.
• The size and strength of competitors.
• level of demand.
• For the quality for the price.

2. Online Store Interface

The online store here represents the website that buyers can visit to place purchase orders, the online store is supposed to have an integrated system to manage everything like:

• Interface for displaying products (the name of each product, pictures and its own specifications).
• A software system for managing buyers' accounts, according to which each purchase order is linked to the customer who made it.
• A smart system to link the store to the payment gateway, the product delivery company, and the stores.
• At first, you have to have good web hosting, and you have to choose a domain name that represents your online store.

As for the way the store works, there are many ways to build online stores, and this is what we discussed in detail in a separate guide, and in another guide we also discussed in detail the steps for creating a professional online store.

But in any case, one of the most important and best ways to create online stores and the most professional, is by relying on specialized e-commerce platforms, and one of the most famous of these platforms is the global professional Shopify platform.

But if you want to rely on one of the Arab e-commerce platforms, I recommend you to the Matjar platform, because of its ease of use, and its many advantages.

Such as:

1. A store platform that is characterized by ease and speed of use, and you do not need technical skills to deal with it (in addition to being available in Arabic), through which you can create an integrated online store in an easy, simple and in record time.
2. Matajer platform has a completely free package, through which you can create an integrated online store with a special identity, completely free of charge.
3. She has an excellent educational database through her YouTube channel and her blog, in which you will find a lot of useful information and explanations that will help you succeed.
4. It provides you with the ability to make applications for your online store, and the platform itself has applications, through which you can manage your store and make modifications to it through your mobile phone.
5. Despite the modernity of this platform, it is one of the Arab platforms that have witnessed great growth in a very short period, and it is constantly witnessing development and growth, and it periodically adds updates and developments.

It is worth mentioning here that relying on one of the Arab e-commerce platforms such as the Matajer platform has many advantages. Here you will deal with an Arabic platform in your mother tongue, and you can get support in the Arabic language for everything you need.

You, as an online store owner, must determine your acceptable payment methods, and you must have an online payment management system, such as contracting with a payment gateway, that enables you to receive and manage payments.

Among the best payment gateways suitable for Arabs, which Arab online stores rely on to receive and manage payments:

• PayPal for business
• Amazon Payment Services

Do not forget also to provide the possibility of cash on delivery, which facilitates the purchase decision a lot, especially in the Arab countries and the countries of the Middle East.

4. Stores to store products

Stores represent a very important element in the world of e-commerce, it is important to take the decision of the geographical distribution of stores wisely and based on a study, this decision of course depends on the target customers to purchase the products.

It is also important to study the expected demand accurately and to prepare the stores to cover the demand rate. As we mentioned above, it is necessary to link the stock to the interface of the website.

When someone enters the page of a product and starts the buying process, then you must make sure that the product is in stock and ready to be sent.

5. Email Marketing

Marketing is an essential element for the success of any business, and because we are talking about e-commerce, e-marketing must prevail, a strong marketing plan must be possessed, and an appropriate budget be set in order to run paid advertising campaigns.

E-marketing includes studying the market to take appropriate decisions for the success and expansion of the volume of e-commerce. It is worth noting that email marketing is one of the most important e-marketing channels for e-commerce.

As it represents a very effective means of communicating with old customers, introducing them to offers and discounts, and providing them with lists of products they are interested in based on their purchase history.

Here is a collection of very important articles on winners about marketing e-stores and achieving more sales:

1. 16 Effective Ways to Market Your Online Store and Increase Sales
2. The best and most effective marketing channels for e-commerce
3. How to use Pinterest to double the sales of your online store
4. 9 ways to increase your online store sales through Facebook

6. A way to send the product to the buyer

Although the electronic aspect dominates the scene here, there is a very important physical aspect that must be carefully planned to satisfy customers, which is transporting the product from the stores and delivering it to the buyer, to complete the entire sale process.

There are two main options here:

• Contracting with independent professional companies specialized in shipping.
• Carrying out the delivery of the product to the customer under the management of the same online store.

In any case, it is very important to give special attention to the stage of delivering the product to the customer: owning or contracting with a strong and intelligent system, efficiency and punctuality, and the ability to face and solve problems, are the main elements here for the success of this stage.

7. Team work

Of course, e-commerce needs a distinguished work team to implement human tasks, manage and supervise the system. Although there is a large role in e-commerce on the automated and technological system, the human element is the one who makes the system and invents it in the first place.

This point, like the previous points, contains a lot of details, which are impossible to summarize in a few lines, but here I would like to say that for the success of e-commerce there must be a team characterized by innovation and creativity, here the tasks must be distributed and separated with a thread of cooperation and communication between them.

Another important point in this regard is; The ability of the e-store owner or its manager to determine the aspects that the project should implement directly, and the aspects that it should outsource to complete (such as using specialized shipping companies to deliver the product to the buyer).

Now let's move on to one of the very important points in our topic, through which many young people can start in this field with the simplest possible resources.

Simple and easy ways to enter e-commerce with simple resources

We discussed above at the point what do I need to start in e-commerce a lot of elements that may seem difficult to many, but in this part we will put a group of excellent solutions to enter the world of e-commerce in a simple and easy way, and with the least possible resources.

1. Drop shipping

Drop shipping is simply an innovative model in the world of e-commerce, it allows anyone to own an online store without owning a product, payment gateway, or shipping company.

This is a simplified explanation of the shipping paths in steps:

• Owning an account in one of the large electronic stores that offer the drop shipping system, such as Ali Express.
• Online store design.
• Choosing one of the types of products from the main store (Ali Express), placing links to them in the store, and setting their price with a specific profit margin.
• Start promoting the products placed in the store.
• Customers enter the store and when they start to complete the purchase process, the purchase is made through the main store (on Express).
• Express sends the product to the customer directly, keeps the value of the product and sends the profit margin to you.

2. Facebook Marketplace

The Facebook Store is a relatively new service that Facebook provides to its users, through which anyone can offer any product for sale, and obtain purchase orders from Facebook users.

It is worth noting here that Facebook will only allow you the feature of adding a product and displaying it for sale in the market. This will be done professionally in terms of adding product images, price, description, etc., and it also provides a special system for communication regarding the purchase and sale of products.

But Facebook is not responsible for delivering the product to the buyer, and is not responsible for managing payments or anything like that, so this method is successful in the case of selling in a narrow geographic range that allows communication between the buyer and seller on the ground.

3. Display your products on a large online store

This method is perfectly suitable for everyone who owns a product, and wants to start selling this product, but does not want to go into the details of creating a special online store.

There are many large online stores that allow anyone who owns a product to place this product on the store and start selling it, and in return the store gets a commission as a result of each successful sale.

All you have to do in this method is to go to one of the large stores such as Amazon or Jumia, open a seller account, and enter your product details.

It is worth noting that some of these stores provide a phone support service for product owners, for example, once you create a seller account on Jumia, you will find someone who will talk to you over the phone to guide you about all the details.

4. Affiliate Marketing

You do not have what enables you to make your online store, or even do your dropshipping store, and you do not have a special product to sell through Facebook Market Place or through other stores…….What to do? It's okay, affiliate marketing may be your way to enter this world.

Many online stores offer a profit-sharing system, as they allow any marketer to have a commission marketing account, choose a product and market it, and receive a commission whenever a buyer makes a purchase through it.