Latest Posts Under: Ecommerce

by BSO on July 27, 2020

History & Growth Of Alibaba

Alibaba is to the People’s Republic of China what Amazon is to the USA. Alibaba was founded on 4th April, 1999, by a perennial failure named Jack Ma and his 17 close friends, who scraped together just US$80,000 from 80 small investors to start what was possibly a Third Revolution for China. Alibaba was China’s first online marketplace for Chinese companies. Today, the Revenue from Alibaba has topped US$56 Billion, with a Net Income of US$12 Billion. Jack Ma himself became the richest man in China, with a personal worth that exceeds US$47 Billion on Nov. 19, 2019. All this acquired in a span of just Twenty Years or less. And this is what makes the story of the History And Growth Of Alibaba so fascinating to follow.

Who is Jack Ma?

In a sense, the story of Alibaba is the story of Jack Ma. It is the story of a man who never gave up, whose herculean efforts are now legendary. Even during the beginning of his childhood days, he had failed in his exams for Primary School, twice. During his Middle School exams, he failed three times. Entrance Exams to Universities were failed thrice. He wrote and applied Ten times to Harvard University, only to be rejected every time. Finally, he joined Hangzhou Normal University and did his Bachelor’s degree in English. Then came a protracted period, when he desperately tried to land a decent job, failing each time. Typically, KFC rejected his application, after accepting 23 other candidates. Even the Police Force refused him 5 times. But Jack could not be stopped. Even failing in two of his early Entrepreneurial Enterprises failed to damp the Spirit of Jack Ma. Overcoming his obstacles was second nature to him by now, and in 1995 he finally visited the US, for a Govt Project on Highway Building. In the US, he first came in contact with the Internet. He realized that while China’s economy was burgeoning on all aspects, the Internet Market was being sadly neglected. Ever the Dreamer, Jack Ma decided to change the scales of balance in his own country’s favor.

The Beginnings

Alibaba began life as an eCommerce startup after Jack managed to convince 17 of his friends to join him in 1999. Trust was the key. Jack managed to build trust in the Chinese people on an Online System that promised Online Delivery of Packages and Payment, purely based on trust. Investment was still low, but at the age of 31, Jack Ma was on his way. All this was without knowing anything about computers or the Online, or ever selling any goods or services. Without a cent in external investments, only the US$80,000 they had scraped together initially from around 80 small investors, operating just from Jack’s Hangzhou apartment as an office, Alibaba took off like a space rocket to the skies. SoftBank invested US$20 Million. Then another investment of US$5 Million was made by Goldman Sachs. Alibaba now had more or less captured the Chinese Market, having seen off biggies like Amazon already. The never failing courage and optimism of Jack Ma’s personage rubbed off on the now vast organization, as well as the courtesy of all members of this fraternal company. Alibaba was now ready to look outside China for more business.

Reaching For The Stars

Alibaba now expanded across the globe, rapidly shedding the China shell, and venturing on to center-stage in the USA itself. With total assets of US$144 Billion, Alibaba has been welcomed with open arms by Wall Street, and regularly feature in Sensex, Nikkei, Dow Jones and all major Share markers, along with Sensei. As far as online traffic their ecommerce assets rival even the largest source of online traffic which of course is adult sites (click here). The fact that adult dating sites and other adult content is rivaled by high converting ecommerce destinations is astounding.

In Charge On Top

Alibaba is not just China’s largest online eCommerce Company, it is on certain measures the World’s biggest. There are literally hundreds of millions of users on their roles. The Empire is divided into three sites: Alibaba.com, Tmall, and Taobao. Together, they handle more businesses than any other eCommerce company in the World. Incidentally, Taobao City is the main corporate campus for Alibaba Group, at Xixi, Handzhou. The History And Growth Of Alibaba can be summed up very simply, in Jack Ma’s own words: “We keep fighting. We keep changing. We don’t complain.”…

by BSO on April 30, 2020

Setting Up Ecommerce Sites

How To Set Up An Ecommerce Site

Step By Step

The following Steps, in answer to the question, How To Set Up An Ecommerce Site, are recommended:

Domain Name: A brand new Ecommerce site is often characterized by the Domain Name. This may be the first step towards a Brand Name. It is therefore worth considering very carefully. A vast number of Domain Names are always up for purchase, but the Domain targeted by the new Ecommerce site must be visualized very early on the game. If the target is local only, a single Domain Name may be fine. But if the target is multiple, or in different localities, regions or countries, then purchasing several Domain Names may well be in order. Of course, some organizations or individual entrepreneurs plan to deliver all their products and services through a single, international door (or brand), then a suitable single Domain Name may just be the right approach.
Secure Certificate: Ecommerce starters not using a pre-packaged service, will also need an SSL certificate. This is to secure communications between a visitor’sweb browser and the web server hosting the User’s website. For this, one needs to approach one of the several SSL certificate providers in action right now. Some of the most popular are Symantec and Thawte. Other options also exist, such as inclusive hosting companies who take care of a number of requirements for a new Ecommerce website, such as purchasing SSL certificates. Costs vary from provider to provider, but it is not prohibitive.
Hosting Package: OfferIng a choice of Domain Names often comes wrapped in an all-inclusive Hosting Package , together with necessary services like obtaining an SSL certificates. But the main areas to select the Package wisely are often as follows:

Uptime and Performance: The ability and record of the hosts to support continuous usage, especially times of high demand, is sn essential feature of the decision to choose one host over another. The host is the true support of an Ecommerce site, and it is their reliability in providing quality support continuously that can determine the performance and hence the future of a budding Ecommerce site.

Shared hosting environments: This is clearly not a good idea, as there is no choice in the matter of who is co-hosting. Both the Control and Security of the User’s site is at stake here, and if and when the site takes off, this may become an insurmountable hurdle. New Starters would be well advised to steer clear of this option. You may be sharing hosting with a company or site that is completely unrelated to yours. You wouldn’t necessarily wanted to be hosted with a sex site like free fuck book or another adult site for example if you have products that aren’t geared toward that same demographic.

Website Speed: The website speed can vary relative to the time difference between the location of the Site and the buyer’s location. This may involve different countries altogether. Of course, if the locality is the same, the website may be rapidly loaded. In general, however, its best to use a CDN (Content Delivery Network)to help localize the Owner;s site to different target countries. No visitor can then be lost in this way.

PCI: Most hosts can offer PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant hosting for Ecommerce customers, thereby making payments for purchases more customer-friendly and also easy for the seller.

Platform: Ecommerce is extremely dependent on the Platform selected for access to the right customers. Of course, it is possible to change Platforms later as the business ripens, but it is a very time consuming process to move large numbers of products, sometimes numbering in the thousands. SaaS (Software as a Service) storefronts offer a vast range of Ecommerce Platforms, with many offering customized solutions. Benefits and drawbacks should be carefully considered before choosing the right Platform.
IMA: An Internet-ready Bank account is necessary for Ecommerce transactions online. This IMA (Internet-ready Merchant Account) have a number of requirements and information that the Bank may need in order to set an account up for the Owner of the Site (or “Merchant”). These accounts are different from normal accounts in that the Merchant has no direct access to the funds collected until they are cleared by the Bank.
PSP: Ecommerce Merchants must next secure a PSP (Payment Service Provider) or a gateway for processing the payment. The rates for PSPs vary widely, so a shrewd Merchant shops around for a PSP before making the final choice.
PCI SSC Compliance: The PCI SSC (Payment Card Industry Security Standard Council) has an International presence, and ensures the best practices for security of online card processing for Ecommerce transactions. Each online Merchant needs to satisfy the level of compliance dictated by this worldwide organization, which creates a safety net for all the parties concerned in each online transaction.
Digital Marketing: Ecommerce Merchants must actively promote their website to draw customer attention to the products and services advertised online. Professional help is available, but again, careful selection of the appropriate expert is essential.

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by BSO on November 14, 2019

Online Businesses Worth Getting Into

If you search for online business ideas, you will be flooded with a lot of information. Every friend, relative and online portal will have individual opinions about it and it’s not unusual to be confused about it. Ultimately your dream business will always evade you not for a lack of idea but for so many ideas.

Don’t fall into this trap. We have covered you at such a crucial hour. Take a look at these best online business ideas and invest in these. And you won’t have to look back ever again.

Affiliate marketing is in

One of the best and perhaps easiest ways to make money online is affiliate marketing. This refers to someone who gets a commission for allowing other companies to sell their products through their portal. The best part about it is that you don’t have to put much effort and develop any product yourself and you can simply earn money by selling others’ products.

For example, Amazon has an affiliate marketing portal. Here you can sign up as an affiliate and start selling any company or individual’s products through a referral link. Once someone purchases the items, you will get a commission. The highest commission is 8%. Also remember that gardening and household are the best product to derive high commission.

Sell your brand

If you have a passion to do something new, then you may start your brand. Here you have to invest a few bucks during the initial phase to set the brand. You may create designs for books, t shirts, calendars, greeting cards, hats, bags and posters and start selling these through your portal. Once the brand gets higher visibility and reputation you can earn substantial amount from these. Some of the significant sites to sell products and earn some bucks are Lulu, Teespring, Zazzle etc.

Develop apps

App development is so much in trend because of its requirement and craze among several e marketers. Google app store and Apple store are filled with numerous apps and the number is increasing everyday. Leveraging such an audience and gaining some bucks is a great opportunity for the app developers. Take some time and develop an app. You may also take assistance from an app development company. Here you can earn bucks in two ways. Firstly, you may seek to develop app for other companies and start earning substantial amount. Or you may want to develop your own app and sell it in the market. Here you can sell the app and get the audience to use your app and make built in purchases. App development can seem intimidating or too large of a pursuit. Contrary to that attitude, there are so many niches, sub niches, and even micro niches in the app development space that allow for great profits. Many online entrepreneurs build multiple apps in multiple different niches and verticals. It may come as a surprise, but when it comes to app development the adult space is a very fertile testing ground for many internet entrepreneurs. Companies like Friend Finder Networks have built a large app empire stemming from their adultfriendfinder app. Startup companies start with adult apps like Local Sex App to test their success in the adult space because of the sheer amount of online traffic. They then transfer their successful strategies to other markets.

Sell domains

Buying and selling domains can be a good marketing strategy. You can leverage this opportunity. Initially it will take some time and investment but you can definitely get that money back i due time. You have to purchase a domain with registration price at a cheap price and then establish it as a reputed site. Then several companies or start-ups would like to buy your domain at a much higher price. So you can earn a substantial amount with this. You may try reputed sites like Sedo.co.uk, Afternic.com, or expired domains.net to buy domain. Simply search with your keyword or the type of domain you want to buy. And you will get a lot of options in the above mentioned sites. Now buy your preferable one with a little registration fee and start earning.

Create an e commerce portal

Woocommerce, Shopify, Bigcommerce – all these platforms have made it easier for everyone to develop an e commerce site. You can easily build up an e commerce portal with little investment. If you are facing any trouble, you may take assistance from any mobile app development company. Don’t consider this to be a spending as the investment will readily pay you back.

You can sell any product or lend the portal open to other companies or affiliate marketers to sell their products. Whatever revenue they earn, you can get a commission for each sale.

Become a consultant in social media

Business firms or large corporations often hire full fledged staff coordinator to operate their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account. But small businesses need to manage their marketing in social media portals.

However, this is an overwhelming task for the small business owners since they need to be preoccupied with all the aspects of enterprises. You may avail this opportunity and become a consultant for these in social media. Make sure not to charge too much for this. Of course we don’t ask you to do this as a social service at free of cost. But if you charge less price for being a consultant, chances are that these small companies will appoint you.

Try these innovative and creative online business ideas and start earning money in no time. …

by BSO on January 17, 2019

Learning From Top Online Consumer Goods Websites

When we think about the retail market, the major trend we can see is online shopping. Compared to sale at brick-and-mortar stores, online shopping is leading in sales and it is growing significantly. This trend is seen globally and it is growing in each and every country in the world. Today, the largest and biggest internet companies are considered to be the biggest e-commerce companies. Even for small businesses, it has become mandatory to have an online footprint.

Largest E-commerce Companies in the world

Before listing out the best, largest e-commerce companies, you should understand the term e-commerce. The term e-commerce in the broadest sense means all kinds of transactions of goods which happen over the internet. More specifically, e-commerce transactions are all about buying something online and making the payment electronically. Here the customer makes use of digital wallet service or debit card, or credit card. Some of the big e-commerce companies are Amazon, Alibaba’s TMall, Walmart’s online store, and JD.com. eBay is also one of the top companies along with these giants.

Alibaba

This e-commerce giant was started in 1999. They first launched Alibaba.com and ten 1688.com. The flagship site that is Alibaba.com is operating as a global marketplace whereas 1688.com is meant for handling similar work in China. They also include Tmall, Taobao, and AliExpress in their core commerce business.

The success of Alibaba’s major depends on Taobao brands and Tmall. Alibaba is considered to be an absolute giant and one of the biggest e-commerce company compared to all other giants. So, Alibaba is the biggest and largest e-commerce company all over the world.

Amazon

When we consider e-commerce companies in the US, Amazon is the largest among all. They belong to online retailer companies and this company was originally started as a bookstore. But later Amazon expanded itself to all sorts of verticals and today it includes home goods, accessories, fashion, and even electronics.

When we think of online retails there is a major and successful contribution by Amazon and its Amazon Prime. This is a subscription and because of which customers get free shipping for a limited period of time.

JD.com

This e-commerce company is very similar to Amazon but the only thing is it operates in China. They are popular for their unparalleled logistics network. This company owns over 500 warehouses and more than 7000 delivery stations. The best part of this company is, it operates entire logistics on its own. They never handle their packages to any third-parties even when there is last-mile delivery.

So, JD is operating as a first-party retail segment similar to Amazon. But there is one change and that is JD has a partnership with international brands as well. They are merged with Walmart and many other brands. They help all these brands in reaching to Chinese consumers.

eBay

eBay was actually started as one of the online auction houses in the 90s. Initially, it was the place where people started selling used goods and collectibles to another customer. But today, over 80 percent of the items present in this website are new and more than 89 percent of the goods are purchased for a fixed price.

Bottom Line

These are the world’s top e-commerce companies which are very popular. …