1. Research and what products to sell<\/strong><\/h3>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t already own a brick and mortar store and don\u2019t produce your own products, it can be quite difficult coming up with an idea to what to sell online. Trust me, I\u2019ve been there. So, how do you decide what to sell if you don\u2019t know?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nYou can start with research and find out what sells well in South Africa. The main thing here is to remember not to jump head first in to a competitive market like fashion.<\/strong> It is super competitive and you are going to struggle to beat the more established retailers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRather focus on a niche specific<\/strong> part of fashion like baby undies or baby boxers. This is very specific and it will help dial in your marketing strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDon\u2019t just jump at the first opportunity that comes your way, remember you are going to spend money for products and probably marketing too. Test the waters with friends and family, if they like it start with a small quantity of stock before releasing your store in to the wild.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nYou can always use <\/span>Google trends<\/span><\/a> to see what trends at the moment. This helps a lot to build stores around trendy products.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.webnomads.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screenshot-157.png\")
<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t want to follow trends and would rather focus on your passions, this is a great way to help you decide but you should still do enough research around the products.<\/p>\n
If you can sell products with high-demand and low competition, you have a winner. It does not matter if you have passion for the product and no one is looking for it<\/strong>\u00a0or the competition is so high your online store does not stand a chance of ranking on popular search engines like Google or Bing.<\/p>\n\nBuilding the store is not the issue here, it is the easy part. I will show you how in a minute. The main issue is for you to understand what you are selling and to whom you are going to sell it to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThis should be your main focus before worrying about technology.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cost and shipping<\/strong><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t undercut yourself, make sure you know your product in and out. The margins you have to play with when running promotions on your store and most importantly what shipping are you going to use and the cost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThere are multiple companies you can use in South Africa and the ones I can recommend and used myself are \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe choices are unlimited and some companies will give you a better rate when you reach minimum orders of R5000 or so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. What is the best platform to start an online store in South Africa?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that we are spoilt rotten when it comes to choosing platforms we can sell products on, some good and some not so much. I have been around the block a couple of times and I can honestly say you have two viable options here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nKeep in mind both will cost money and you get what you pay for especially if you go for a free platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Option 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
WordPress and WooCommerce.<\/strong> Both these platforms are <\/span>open source<\/span><\/a> and free to use. This option is great for someone starting out with a limited budget and the willingness to learn a new skill. I also have to add here, it will take some time getting used to as you will have to put in the hours to figure things out. Luckily, the community and the tutorials around WordPress and WooCommerce are very helpful, and I am pretty sure you will find what you\u2019re looking for by doing a quick search on YouTube.<\/span><\/p>\n
You can start with research and find out what sells well in South Africa. The main thing here is to remember not to jump head first in to a competitive market like fashion.<\/strong> It is super competitive and you are going to struggle to beat the more established retailers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rather focus on a niche specific<\/strong> part of fashion like baby undies or baby boxers. This is very specific and it will help dial in your marketing strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t just jump at the first opportunity that comes your way, remember you are going to spend money for products and probably marketing too. Test the waters with friends and family, if they like it start with a small quantity of stock before releasing your store in to the wild.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You can always use <\/span>Google trends<\/span><\/a> to see what trends at the moment. This helps a lot to build stores around trendy products.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t want to follow trends and would rather focus on your passions, this is a great way to help you decide but you should still do enough research around the products.<\/p>\n If you can sell products with high-demand and low competition, you have a winner. It does not matter if you have passion for the product and no one is looking for it<\/strong>\u00a0or the competition is so high your online store does not stand a chance of ranking on popular search engines like Google or Bing.<\/p>\n Building the store is not the issue here, it is the easy part. I will show you how in a minute. The main issue is for you to understand what you are selling and to whom you are going to sell it to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This should be your main focus before worrying about technology.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t undercut yourself, make sure you know your product in and out. The margins you have to play with when running promotions on your store and most importantly what shipping are you going to use and the cost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are multiple companies you can use in South Africa and the ones I can recommend and used myself are \u2013\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The choices are unlimited and some companies will give you a better rate when you reach minimum orders of R5000 or so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There is no doubt that we are spoilt rotten when it comes to choosing platforms we can sell products on, some good and some not so much. I have been around the block a couple of times and I can honestly say you have two viable options here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Keep in mind both will cost money and you get what you pay for especially if you go for a free platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Option 1:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n WordPress and WooCommerce.<\/strong> Both these platforms are <\/span>open source<\/span><\/a> and free to use. This option is great for someone starting out with a limited budget and the willingness to learn a new skill. I also have to add here, it will take some time getting used to as you will have to put in the hours to figure things out. Luckily, the community and the tutorials around WordPress and WooCommerce are very helpful, and I am pretty sure you will find what you\u2019re looking for by doing a quick search on YouTube.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
Cost and shipping<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2. What is the best platform to start an online store in South Africa?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Flatsome](\"https:\/\/www.webnomads.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Screenshot-158-1.png\")