How to set up and manage an online store

Online retail is exploding in Australia and apparel is now one of the quickest growing categories, according to independent research commissioned by Australia Post. This research showed that over the last two years online apparel sales have grown 11.8 percent, beating electronics and gardening goods to be the boom sector of the online retail space.

While you may already have a website and social media pages, adding the ability to buy and sell on your website through setting up an online store is now surprisingly easy.

An online store gives you the ability to reach customers 24/7, which is great, and it is no longer such a hassle to manage a live chat feature which can increase sales and reduce bounce rates.

Now a good tip is to consider building shipping costs into your pricing as, according to a study by Synchrony Financial, 75 percent of shoppers say that they are more likely to purchase a retailer with free shipping.

Where is comes to platforms. now there are plenty of products out there to choose from including BigCommerce and Shopify. But you can do some research online and find a solution that is right for you.

Next you need to think about how the delivery method and packaging can have a huge impact on your customer’s experience and reflect your brand. So keep in mind that your package should look great and even offer a surprise to your customer.

Managing your online store

Kochie chats to Dirk van Lammeren from Australia Post