Estimated time to read: 10 minutes
The rise of e-commerce is no longer to be proven. Every year, more and more people buy products and services online. While perfumeries and department stores were closed in 2020, consumers overwhelmingly turned to online shopping to continue their beauty routine.
Table of content:
- Do you want to sell cosmetics online?
- Has no idea how to get started?
- You don't know if, it would be better to sell the products of other manufacturers or to create your own brand?
- How much revenue can you generate in the first year?
- Is market research necessary?
- How can a business plan help you?
- What are the success factors of an e-commerce cosmetics shop?
- We answer all these questions in the rest of the article.
To open an online cosmetics store, you must begin by making a market study.
What is the status of demand? The market segments targeted by beauty brands differ according to the positioning and the products sold. For example, there are luxury brands that target consumers, with strong purchasing power, who are looking for a unique and privileged experience, and inexpensive cosmetic brands whose audience targets populations with purchasing power. less, like students for example. How do you make sure you are targeting a profitable audience? The purpose of developing a market study is to answer this question. Indeed, this work allows, among other things, to analyze the demographic criteria specific to your e-commerce cosmetics store. It is essential to clearly identify the type of profile that could be of interest to your cosmetic product offer, to offer it references, brands and prices that may suit it. For example, the results of a market research help define the right marketing messages, tailored to each market segment.
Do you have competitors?
Who are they? With market research, you don't just analyze the potential demand for your online cosmetics store. It also makes it possible to understand the competitive environment. Indeed, the study of competition is part of the market study. Do other e-commerce stores sell the same products? Do they generate a lot of traffic? What does their graphic charter look like? Are they doing promotions? What is their refund policy? Do they communicate on social networks? Doing market research for your cosmetics e-commerce store allows you to create a better value proposition than that of your competitors, for your target market.
What type of cosmetic products (organic cosmetics, cruelty-free, food supplements, creams, shampoos, etc.)?
The clean beauty trend has revolutionized the cosmetics market. Consumers are now looking for products that respect both their skin and nature. Therefore, favor the sale of products containing 100% natural ingredients and with 100% organic and / or cruelty-free formulations. Also add the famous solid cosmetics (shampoo, makeup remover, etc.) to your product range, thus strengthening your ethical and responsible approach.
Do you plan to manufacture your products yourself? Where to find suppliers?
If you plan to develop your own products, be aware that this requires a long and complex process. You will first need to define the type of product you want to create and then contact a laboratory for design and formulation questions. Only after the formula is validated can you move on to the creation step. You will then need to source the raw materials and find a reliable supplier for this purpose. Browse the green directories, you will undoubtedly find one or more suppliers of organic ingredients for the cosmetics market. If you prefer to go through a network of suppliers, you will probably launch your e-commerce cosmetics store more quickly. However, your gross margins per product sold may be less attractive and you will not be in control of the product.
How are you going to price your products?
When setting the price of your products, consider the price charged on the market, the quality of your products, but also the profit margin.
If, for example, you spend 3$ for the manufacture of a natural Turmeric soap for the face and body and offer it at a price of 6$, you will make a profit of 3$, which is a profit margin. by 50%. For a product designed for no less than 100$ that you will resell for 150$, you will make a profit of 55$ for a profit margin of 33% and so on. Your pricing policy must remain attractive to the market, while allowing you to easily reach your breakeven point.
What graphic charter for your online cosmetics store?
Work on the development of a clear graphic charter, and easily understandable for your visitors. Bet, for example, on a palette of soft colors such as aqua green or verdigris to underline a possible ecological positioning. The choice of typography also has an impact on how customers perceive your site. Also, opt for easily readable fonts, associated with an attractive layout and quality content. As for the development of your logo, do not hesitate to call on a professional who will know how to transcribe through a visual, your values and the spirit that animates your brand. Remember that it will then be affixed to all your products, so spend time there. It will also be used for all your communication media. So, choose a logo that people can easily remember.
What are the characteristics of a successful online shop?
A successful online cosmetics store has positioned itself as a leader in a niche market. It was able to highlight original products and respond to demand in a segment where supply was low or even non-existent. An online cosmetics store must also know how to gain the trust of its customers, whether through the quality of its products or its shipping policy. Know that to be successful, a cosmetics shop must adapt to new trends, such as m-commerce.
What techniques to increase your income?
To boost conversion and thus gain profitability, bet on a customer loyalty strategy. Submit a newsletter and send subscribers promotional offers, discount codes, free samples, free shipping, and more. Also take care of your content, present professional photos, with models and your products well highlighted. Support them with compelling and detailed product descriptions, a reliable and secure payment system, a good returns policy and efficient customer service. In short, work on the elements of reinsurance to strengthen the credibility of the shop and make you win new customers. Also strengthen your visibility with search engines, by investing in a web referencing campaign. Work on your online presence by signing up on social networks. Collaborate with influencers, who will have the task of promoting your online cosmetics store as well as your products. Finally, work as much on the personalization of the packaging of your products, to deliver a unique and memorable experience to your customers who will receive your products.
A business plan will be essential.
From the creation to the development of your cosmetics store, a precious ally who will know how to guide you. It is on this document that you will lay down your strategy for the coming years. You will think about a unique value proposition, the future competitive advantages of your online shop, a detailed development plan, a communication strategy to increase the turnover of your online store or the future major financial indicators of your cosmetics shop.
Thanks to the financial forecast of your online cosmetics store, you will know if your project can become profitable. When you build a financial forecast, you make estimates about the future financial data of your business plan. What is the maximum turnover that you can claim? This financial analysis will give you the answer. Also, it is during the construction of the financial forecast that you will identify all the expenses related to the management of an e-commerce cosmetics store. Finally, you will know your break-even point, or the level of turnover to be reached to be profitable.
Are you looking for funding for your project?
You will need a business plan for selling cosmetics online. It is an essential document to find funds for an e-commerce store. If written with care, it becomes an essential tool to convince an investor of the potential profitability of your project. Therefore, each entrepreneur must write a good business plan before embarking on a new entrepreneurial project.
Start online cosmetics shop.
To open your cosmetics shop, you will probably need to make some of these investments: development costs for the shop, designer fees, maybe an R&D budget if you design your own products, hardware for your operations. , establishment costs, marketing and communication costs for the opening of the store (for example a Google Ads budget, Facebook Ads or the remuneration of influencers), the starting stock of your products, bank contributions and subscriptions to insurance, registration fees for applications or a budget for registering in directories.
Finally, launching your online cosmetics shop means above all following and respecting all the steps. Carrying out a good market study seems essential to us to get off to a good start. It will allow you to know the state of the market, supply, and demand. Thus, you will be able to know which are the competing stores if you need to embark on a niche or which pricing policy to adopt. Once this work is done, you need to write a good business plan for your e-commerce cosmetics store. Once these steps are completed, you can move from theory to practice. The administrative and legal procedures are the first stages of creation. It also involves selecting a legal status for your e-commerce shop. The final preparation step is to identify all the initial expenses to start your cosmetic product sales business. When you have completed all these steps, you will finally be ready to open your online store. We wish you the best for this new entrepreneurial project!
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