According to Statista Portal, the e-commerce industry in Singapore is expected to hit revenues amounting to nearly $5 billion by the end of 2019. This is expected to grow at a faster rate given the world-class ICT infrastructure, tech-savvy population, and government commitment to promoting digital business.
It also helps that online shopping is growing in popularity among young adults and higher-income households. In a study by Visa, it was found that 26% of Singaporeans participate in online shopping at least one a week. If you’re thinking about getting a piece of the pie – here’s how you can get started in setting up an e-commerce business.
Choosing your product to sell
Picking an e-commerce product is the first step to take, and it is also one of the challenging ones. There are many tools available today that specialize in product research so you can sort through the potential products to sell. They will report data such as monthly sales estimates, sales rank and reviews so you can weigh the demand and competition. Besides going for something that has decent sales volume and cost-efficient, being unique also sells – it could stand out more easily and be a source of value to a potential customer.
Going online and determining your brand persona
There are several popular e-commerce platforms that provide convenience for you to set up an online store almost immediately without having to deal with the technical aspect, so you can focus on your product and brand. Compare their pricing and features so you know what you’re getting for your money and what suits your needs best.
When starting an e-commerce store, shaping your brand personal is a crucial step. This includes your store name and logo that your target audience can resonate with. Draw on personality traits you identify with to shape your name, logo and marketing – this can go a long way to create a memorable impression with the public.
Work out the logistics of shipping
The logistical part of the business presents one of the biggest pain points for most people in e-commerce. You’ll be working with experienced manufacturing companies and suppliers to build your inventory – and the final product is most likely to be shipped from your end. For new e-commerce businesses, you can avoid the stress of delegating shipping to other parties during your company’s initial growing stages.
If you need a
small business space to rent so you can work more productively, our property at 680 Upper Thomson Road offers
ancillary offices as well as storage and work spaces. Located within Tagore Industrial Estate, this two-storey building also houses our subsidiary, Work+Store where you can find units starting from 78 to 462 sqft – fitted with lights, air-con, carpet flooring, glass door and powerpoint. With a
conducive working environment, you can work and store your inventory in the same space, allowing you to improve on order fulfilment to serve customers better. You can enjoy lump sum rent including facilities and utilities fees to keep your business costs low.
Scaling your business to meet higher demands
Once you begin to grow your brand and market your product successfully, hopefully you’ll see an uptick in sales. When there is expanded brand presence with high demand, get ready to scale and grow the operations side of your business. Keep track of various key performance indicators such as sales per month, visitor conversion rate, and average order size to help you make better decisions on scaling and growing your business.
As you grow your e-commerce store, there might also come a time to hire a bigger team to help with day-to-day operations. As such, you can offload menial tasks to concentrate on high-level actions and decisions on running your business. This also includes finding
warehouses for rent so you can expand your supply chain and improve your logistics operations.
Our property at 2 Soon Wing Road offers B1 warehouse and ancillary office rental, with unit sizes ranging between 400 to 1,100 sqft. Located along the main Aljunied Road, this 8-storey B1 industrial building has facilities that include 3 loading bays, in-house canteen, shower facilities, season parking and 24-hr access & security guard. Surrounded by complementary business trades, the building is also accessible via PIE and CTE so you can improve on your delivery routes for your incoming and outgoing shipments.
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