Understanding E-Retailing (E-Tailing): What is It & How Does It Work? 

As an increasing number of sellers are leveraging digital platforms to expand their market, electronic retailing is becoming the preferred business model. It enables businesses to negate the costs of maintaining an offline store and reach out to a larger audience, thus increasing sales. 

So, for emerging businesses, it is crucial to understand what e-retailing is, its working mechanism, types, and benefits.

Keep reading to learn more!  

What is Electronic Retailing: A Brief Overview

Electronic retailing (also known as e-tailing or e-retailing) refers to the sale of goods or services via digital platforms. This business model enables easy sales opportunities for sellers by offering quick and easy access to a wider customer base. 

Now, there are two major models of e-retailing:

• Pure-Play E-Retailing: In pure-play e-retailing, sellers solely use digital platforms to sell their products. They create an online storefront to display their inventory, handle customers, and process payments.  
• Brick-and-click E-Retailing: In case of brick-and-click e-retailing, sellers have an online storefront along with a traditional physical store. The digital space helps expand customer reach, while the brick-and-mortar storefront encourages customer loyalty and attracts casual passersby individuals.  

Decoding Electronic Retailing: How Does It Work?

Here is an overview of how electronic retailing works:

• Creating an Online Storefront: Sellers need to create an online storefront, which can either be a website or an app, or both. It will act as the medium by which they can interact with customers and conduct sales. 
• Uploading Inventory: Next, sellers need to upload their product catalogues, which include product images, descriptions, and pricing. 
• Setting up a Payment Systems: Hereafter, they need to set up a payment system that will enable them to accept payments from clients.   
• Processing Customers Orders: Next, they need to process customers’ orders. To do so, they can either physically stock inventory or go for drop shipping, in which they only display items, while a third party takes care of the order fulfilment, packaging, and delivery.  
• Facilitating Customer Support: Sellers need to offer customer support by resolving their order-related queries and handling their feedback across multiple channels like email, text messages, phone, etc.
• Devising a Digital Marketing Strategy: Now, to attract customers, e-retailers need to create a digital marketing strategy. This includes advertisements in social media, search engine optimisation, email marketing, influencer marketing, etc. 
• Leveraging Analytics Tools: Once the sales start rising, sellers need to leverage analytics tools. It will enable them to analyse customer behaviour, preferences, market trends, etc., and make informed decisions to increase profitability.  

Some real-world examples of e-retail include:

• Amazon: Amazon is the world’s biggest electronic retailing platform, offering products, payment services, and OTT subscriptions. It enables sellers to showcase their products and sell them across a global customer base.   
• Alibaba: Alibaba is the largest e-tailer in China that has an international customer base. It operates on both B2C and B2B commerce business models, along with connecting Chinese exporters to global companies. What’s more, Alibaba’s Taobao program enables rural sellers to sell agricultural products to people living in urban areas.   

Exploring the Various Types of E-Retailing 

Here are the most common types of e-retailing business models in the market:

• Business-to-consumer (B2C) E-Retailing: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e retailing entails companies selling finished products to customers via their app or website. In this case, the goods can either be shipped directly from the manufacturer or from the company’s warehouse. 
• Business-to-business (B2B) E-Retailing: Business-to-Business (B2B) e retailing involves organisations selling products or services to other companies online. They may include wholesalers, consultants, freelancers, software developers, etc. 

How Electronic Retailing Enhances Your Shopping Experience?

Check out the advantages of e-retailing for both consumers and businesses:

• Being an internet-based model, it is pretty easy to set up, making it ideal for new sellers. 
• Negation of overhead costs like sales staff, store rent, etc.   
• Online platforms make it easier to reach out to the international market. 
• Consumers get to choose from a wide array of products and even purchase items that are not available in their country. 
• Sellers can launch tailored marketing campaigns based on their target audience. 
• They can also leverage analytics tools and make personalised recommendations to clients based on their shopping behaviour.   
• Customer reviews help build trust in the seller’s business and brand, boosting consumer satisfaction and loyalty, thus increasing revenue. 
• Online platforms facilitate efficient order management, making it easier for sellers to provide faster deliveries, and enhancing customer satisfaction.     

Comparing the Pros and Cons of E-Retailing

Before opting for an electronic retailing business model, it is crucial for sellers to consider its pros and cons:

Simplify Your E-Retailing Logistics Process: Choose Our Comprehensive Solutions

Now, before you embark on your electronic retailing journey, you must also take measures to handle your last-mile delivery needs.

For that, Porter Enterprise can be your ideal partner. 

We offer flexible transportation solutions for a wide array of items like e-commerce merchandise, electronics, FMCG, pharma, agricultural goods, and more. 

What’s more, our services are available in 20 cities across the country, enabling you to handle a pan-Indian supply chain with ease. 

Thus, you can focus on handling the core activities of your business, while we cater to the supply chain aspects. 

Choose Porter Enterprise and make handling your e-retailing business’s supply chain a breeze!