eCommerce best practicesfor starters

eCommerce – starting steps

Technical options on the market

Infrastructure

eCommerce solutions

Payments landscape

Logistics integrations

Legal aspects

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Complete dedication to learning as a life philosophy

Developer background: C#, Siebel CRM

Product owner on multiple platforms and passion for product management

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Complete platform for managing internet domains and other product integrations

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Payment platform for 5 countries supporting multiple payment methods and multiple bank integrations

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Product manager for the eMag mobile app – payment features and recurring shopping

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Business Intelligence platform for integrating key sustainability information about companies for strategic investors.

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Internet domain..

• Watch out for hidden costs

• Automatic yearly renewal

• Ideally combine with full-package options from hosters

Infrastructure

and hosting…

• Simple, low-requirements – blogs, presentation sites: shared hosting, perhaps even free hosting

• Some hosters offer dedicated Wordpress hosting

• Fast growing eCommerce sites: virtual private servers that you can manage and adjust according to needs

Infrastructure

VPS options: quite a large variety to choose from

iPage

Dreamhost

Infrastructure

Magento-based ecommerce – currently dominating the market

• Med-high technical complexity and hard to configure for complex features in the future. Strong dependency on plugins.

WooCommerce – second dominating platform

• Leaner setup and installation

• Low performance and scalability for fast growth

eCommerce solutions

Shopify – SaaS solution that covers all needed areas: domain and hosting management, facebook integration, component-based configuration.

• Low starting cost

• High customization options based on numerous templates

• Low number of developers who know the system

• Low number of built-in local integrations

Costs of hiring a partner to cover the technical area: from 2K$ to 10k$, depending on the custom features. A basic version based on existing templates, with custom graphics could be delivered in a few days.

eCommerce solutions

…

Wallet

Wallet

Transaction 1… VISA

Transaction 2… Wallet

……

VISA

Payout every 2-3 days

Technical integration

Payments landscape

There is a dialogue between banks, PSP and store when clarifying frauds and other situations. The customer is always protected.

Offers merchants/PSPs multiple APIs that enable the main financial operations for payments

Authorization: funds are blocked on the bank account for a certain period, ensuring that the payer has a valid payment instrument and has enough funds

Complete: the merchant lets the bank know it just began delivering the needed product, and the funds begin transfer

Reverse/Refund: customer/merchant decided to cancel the transaction and the money is unblocked/sent back. But after some time (big customer experience issue).

Payments landscape

Euplatesc.ro

Payu.ro

Librapay

Mobilpay

Pricing: very variable, depends on negotiation. Can range from 2-3% per transaction to 1% per transaction + fixed cost or even completely fixed cost for low monthly volumes.

Pricing depends also on the payment method.

Payments landscape

Available payment methods:

• On delivery - 70% of payments

• By card• Focus on installments: large adoption among RO users, but custom installment plans for each bank• Saving cards: useful for mature websites with high levels of engagement

• Rarely used and usually not worthwhile:• Wallet integrations (Masterpass, Paypal etc) – at least in Romania• SMS payments: quite expensive and not so used. Probably useful for very specific products and

maybe towards customers that are hard to reach (countryside)• Bitcoins: not a lot of volume in RO and a very low # of customers

Process of onboarding usually should take 3-7 days.

Integration resources and support vary from nothing to good SDKs for major eCommercebuilders (WooCommerce, Prestashop, Opencart).

Payments landscape

Weakest link in the delivery chain: delivery speed, delivery times and weekend deliveries (optional Saturdays).

Advantage - libraries for managing transports for most eCommerce solutions (not Shopify though)

Startup doesn’t require complete integration – logistics could be covered in online work.

Cost comparison (3 kg delivery, Bucuresti -> Galati)

• 27 RON UrgentCargus

• 23 RON Fan Curier

• 32 RON DPD

• 21 RON Sprint Curier

Logistics integrations

Legal entity setup

• Commerce Registry – containing also the actual registered domain

• town hall

• Environment, Sanitary and Veterinary authorization

• Personal data protection authorization – if storing customer accounts. Free of charge.

• Work protection authorization if hiring someone

• Contracts with the banks who will be processing the payment, with the PSP, with the logistics companies

Transparency – displaying key company information so that customers are aware who you are. Mandatory to display a link towards the Consumer Protection Authority on the main page.

Terms and conditions – eventually copy paste from other mature websites from the same industry. T&C actually represent a generic “contract” that is valid for every user who consents to buying from your site and must contain all details of how the sales process works (dates, timelines, warranty, conditions of return etc.) .

No need for generating a bill in case no cash is involved: cash could be managed by the logistics company and you would get money through bank transfers from your PSP.

Legal aspects

Example: 2015 eCommerce site of the year – presents and jewellery

Example: 2015 eCommerce site of the year – presents and jewellery

Example: 2015 eCommerce site of the year – organic foods

Example: 2015 eCommerce site of the year – organic foods

Does all this guarantee final success?

So to recap. Starters need to:

1. Set up the basic infrastructure for getting business validation with real customers and technical development

2. Set up the legal entity

3. Choose a mid-term technical infrastructure and a partner for development

4. Manage integrations with the PSP, logistics and a basic supply chain

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5. Analyze next objectives: online marketing and setup business intelligence

Thank you everyone!