Launching an e-commerce business for remote customers seeking hard-to-find products

Online Store

Business

CONCEPT

TYPE of Business: More consumers than ever before are jumping online -- and buying online. That's because more consumers are comfortable buying goods via Web sites. In fact, recent studies indicate that even consumers with three or fewer years of online experience feel at ease making Internet purchases. My business idea is an online store.

DESCRIPTION of Business

What type of business are you starting? Is this a new business, or the purchase of an existing business?

A eCommerce is still quickly gaining popularity among Web users young and old. It is particularly appealing to people in remote areas who can now visit their favorite stores online with just the click of the mouse. Shopping online is fast, convenient and buyers can shop in the comfort of their own home. For the following reasons, my business idea is an online store which will offer to its customers a wide variety of the best quality brand-name electronic and other merchandise.

Although big shops like Ebay and Amazon already exist, my online store still has a big potential. I will focus on a small niche of customers, specifically those who reside in remote areas and sell hard-to-find products that are usually obtained from other countries. Since there will be lower cost of setup, I will be able to compete with traditional shops by offering the same products at lower prices. This is the main advantage of an eCommerce business over a traditional one.

Why have you chosen this particular type of business? How did you determine that this business would be appropriate and possible for you?

A chose eCommerce due to its ease-of-use, convenience and scalability. Once the store has been completely set-up, it's very easy and convenient for customers to buy items from the website. They can choose among various products, pay electronically, and have these delivered at their doorsteps. I can charge less than traditional shops because there are no actual stores to construct and no employees to maintain. The whole business concept is scalable because as more and more customers visit the site, I only need to increase the bandwidth and coordinate with more suppliers. This is much easier to scale up than traditional stores where you have to build more shops and hire more employees as your customers become larger.

In addition to this, the business idea seems to be a very good match for my skills and interest. Coming from it industry, I would bring the technical and analytical skills necessary to run this business. I think my computer programming background (Bachelor of Applied Computer Science, Ryerson University) will allow me to build my business idea and make the right choice on the way. I don't consider this as career change but rather a next step, to utilize the skills that I already posses and succeeding at this new challenge. I am confident that the combination of my practical work experience (3 years) and solid educational background gave me the skills necessary to plan, setup, market and continually maintain an eCommerce site and business.

Does your business have a seasonal peak? What will you do during the off season?

Generally, it is not a seasonal business. The items I will be planning to sell are those that can be obtained throughout the year. Electronic gadgets, unlike food, can be manufactured any time of the year. On the other hand, some seasons could be more profitable than others for example holidays such as Christmas, where people buy electronic stuff as gifts. In general, I'll be able to generate profit for the whole year.

Maximum Score: 10

RESEARCH

Describe the steps you have taken to research your business. Please be very specific with your answers.

Library research what did you find - books, articles, statistics?

Web:

A what did you ask them?

Did you shop online? How many times? What was your experience? Were you satisfied with the transaction? Were you satisfied with the product? Why do you shop online? What products do you buy online? What website do you use when shopping online?

A what did you find out?

According to my findings, although online shopping is already a multi-billion dollar industry, electronic commerce is still in its development stage. About 56% of people that I talked to prefer to 'feel' and 'touch' the product they buy. The other 44% of people describe online shopping as fast, convenient and the biggest plus was the ability to shop in the comfort of their own home. Interesting part of my findings was gender please see table below.

A how many are likely to buy?

By conducting a short survey of 18 people (9 male and 9 female), I was able to present the following trends of online transactions. Although the diffusion of innovation line of research would tend to suggest that younger or better educated subjects would be more likely to adopt this innovation, statistical testing of these variables was not significant. There were differences, however, on gender. As table below shows, more male respondents report that they buy online than female respondents.

GENDER TABLE

Female %

Male %

Online Purchases

Yes %

No %

Other people how many have you talked to?

By random approach and interaction, I talked to about 20 people.

A what did you ask them?

Do you have a computer at home? Do you have access to the internet? Did you shop online? How many times? What was your experience? Were you satisfied with the transaction? Were you satisfied with the product? Why do you shop online? What products do you buy online? What website do you use when shopping online?

A what did you find out?

The general response was consistent with my findings in part b). All respondents reported to have a home PC with access to the internet. A little more than 44% of overall respondents reported making at least one purchase online. Remaining respondents are considering doing it in the near future. Their biggest concern was security of the online transaction. Keeping this in mind I'll put a lot of emphasis on making my online store very secure by using services such as HackerSafe.

Competitors how many have you talked to?

I don't know anyone that have this kind of business, however I research organizations like Amazon.com, CDnow and online travel agencies such as selloffvacations.com. One of the strongest benefits of their service which I noticed was the availability of information about products and services they provide, which reduced my uncertainty in the purchase decision process. For example, travel sites allow potential customers to research flight alternatives and make fare comparisons, as well as read hotel reviews and check rates on accommodations. Moreover sites like Amason.com allow their consumers to listen to new artists and preview sound clips before making a purchase. This kind of approach I'm planning to incorporate into my online store.

A what do they sell?

Books, Movies, Music & Games, Digital Downloads, Electronics & Computers, Home & Garden, Grocery, Toys, Kids & Baby, Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry, Health & Beauty, Sports & Outdoors, Tools, Auto & Industrial, Travel tickets and hotel packages.

A what price do they charge?

Compare to physical stores the prices are on average 10 to 25% cheaper. This is due to the fact that online stores don't require physical shops and don't need as much employees. Since they have lower costs, they can sell