Are you a stationary retailer and have had to close your store? And now you’re looking for new sources of revenue? Then why not move your sales online! Online business has decisive advantages, especially in light of the current situation: stores and marketplaces on the Internet are open 24/7 and reach a wide range of buyers.
On the first day of our Quick Start Academy, we showed you how you can build up another foothold online, what legal requirements you need to fulfill and what tasks and challenges await you when starting your online business.
Here you will find a compact summary of the most important content of the individual webinars as well as answers to the questions you asked our speakers.
Online business (also known as eCommerce) refers to the buying and selling of products via the Internet. Compared to bricks-and-mortar retail, this sales channel offers a number of special features and advantages:
Online business
Stationary trade
24-hour opening hours
Legally regulated opening hours
Customers “from all over the world”
Regular and walk-in customers
Presentation of products based on pictures and descriptions only
Customers can try on and try out goods immediately
Increased volume of returns (e.g. due to lack of haptic impression) [icon name=”long-arrow-right”] Returns management required
Usually no special returns management required
Shipping of products via a service provider
Delivery only in certain sectors or in certain situations
Flexibility of the company presentation (e.g. design of the online store can be changed quickly)
Change of the store atmosphere only via more extensive measures
Prerequisites for a functioning online business
Have you thought of everything? The following list gives you an overview of the requirements you need to fulfill in order to start as an online retailer:
Internet connection with sufficient speed
Apply for a meaningful URL for your online store (e.g. www.ihr-shop.de)
Reachable by phone and email, often at different times than in stationary retail
Geeignete Softwarelösungen
Unsere Empfehlung: Im Verlauf unserer Quick-Start Academy lernt ihr bereits verschiedene einsteigerfreundliche Produkte von JTL kennen.
Zusammenspiel mehrerer Dienstleister (Händler, Lieferant, Zulieferer), um reibungslose Prozesse zu gewährleisten
Unsere Empfehlung: Setzt auf etablierte Player im Markt und achtet darauf, welcher Service tatsächlich zu eurem Sortiment passt. (Versendet ihr eher schwere Artikel? Sprecht ihr internationale oder regionale Kunden an?)
Stimmiges Lagerkonzept
Unsere Empfehlung: Alle Grundlagen des Lagermanagements lernt ihr in Tag 5 unserer Quick-Start Academy kennen.
Für den Einstieg geeignete Sortimentsbreite und -tiefe
Unsere Empfehlung: Startet lediglich mit den sog. “Rennern” eures Sortiments und stellt erst nach und nach weitere Produkte online!
Functioning returns management
Euer Onlineshop muss als virtuelles Schaufenster einladend gestaltet und regelmäßig gepflegt werden.
Unsere Empfehlung: In JTL-Shop sind bereits viele Designvorlagen (Templates) integriert. Ebenso SEO-Einstellungen für URLs, Seitentitel, Metadaten und Bilder.
Your product presentation on other sales platforms (e.g. marketplaces or social media) also requires regular maintenance.
Special features of online business in video format
Would you like to watch the content of our webinar “Special features of online business” again at your leisure? You can find the video recording here:
Webinar:
What online sales options are there and what do I need to consider legally?
Online business offers you the opportunity to sell your goods via the following platforms:
Anyone selling via online marketplaces must comply with the specifications and rules of the respective provider. Here we have compiled the main differences between selling on marketplaces and selling in bricks-and-mortar stores as well as selling in online stores:
Marketplaces
Stationary trade
Online store
Greater reach, in some cases even internationally
Regular and repeat customers
International sales only with preparation (e.g. translations required)
Product presentation mostly standardized, therefore stand out via price or customer reviews
Individual product presentation possible
Individual product presentation possible
Already optimized for viewing on mobile devices (responsiveness)
–
Responsiveness must be implemented yourself
Already optimized for findability in search engines (SEO)
–
SEO must be implemented yourself
Search engine marketing (SEA) runs via the platform
–
SEA must be implemented yourself
Marketplaces set guidelines for return policy
More leeway for returns
Customers only check the product later, so always allow for returns
Payment can only be made later due to the online return authorization
Payments go directly to the cash register or to the account
Payment can only be made later due to the online right of return
Payment security and default risk secured
Payment security must be provided by the customer
Payment security must be provided by the customer
Basic fee
Rent and ancillary costs for store
Hosting fees
Sales fees
Rent and ancillary costs for store
Fees for SEO/SEA/payment service providers
Selling online - What do I need to consider?
Choose the payment methods you offer your customers carefully. Studies show that the bounce rate is highest here. It is advisable to tailor your listing of payment methods to your customers and your product range.
You should also choose your shipping service provider depending on your customer base and your products.
The topic of image rights harbors various pitfalls. Here, too, it is advisable to seek advice from an expert, as otherwise warnings and fines can quickly follow.
Especially in the legal field, it is worth getting help from experts. The following content was therefore presented to you by Yvonne Bachmann, lawyer at Händlerbund.
Legal requirements for online retailers at a glance
Because customers cannot see the purchased goods beforehand, a statutory right of withdrawal applies in online business throughout Europe.
As an online retailer, you must comply with statutory information obligations. Although the GTCs are not mandatory, they are “best practice” in order to include information on warranties, for example.
Whether marketplace or own online store: The retailer is always liable for legal violations!
Supposedly convenient solutions such as selling via Amazon or eBay have a number of legal pitfalls that can prove fatal, especially for smaller retailers. The right legal partner will help you to avoid them successfully.
You need the following legal texts for your online store:
Impressum
Das Impressum muss leicht auffindbar, unmittelbar erreichbar und ständig verfügbar sein. Folgende Angaben sind Pflicht: Name, ggf. Firma und Rechtsform und Vertretungsberechtigung, Adresse, Registereintrag, Umsatzsteuer-ID oder Wirtschafts-ID, Kontaktmöglichkeiten sowie Hinweis auf Streitbeilegungsplattform inkl. klickbarerer Link auf Online-Streitbeilegung. Letzteres ist derzeit der Hauptgrund für Abmahnungen.
General terms and conditions and customer information
Datenschutzerklärung
Die DSGVO stellt neue Anforderungen an die Datenschutzerklärung. Holt euch hier unbedingt Hilfe von einem Rechtsexperten.
Cancellation policy and sample cancellation form
Zahlungs- und Versandhinweise
Hier muss aufgeführt sein, in welcher Höhe Versand- und Lieferkosten anfallen. Die Informationen müssen leicht erkennbar und gut wahrnehmbar sein. Unser Tipp: In JTL-Shop ist die korrekte Platzierung dieser Inhalte bereits angelegt.
Brief legal overview: Article description
For low-value items for daily requirements, a short catalog-like description is usually sufficient. From a marketing point of view, more detailed information is recommended.
Special labeling requirements exist for: Textiles, household appliances, food and organic products, toys, batteries, cosmetics.
Tobacco, media and alcohol may only be sold to persons of legal age. Technical precautions for age verification must be taken!
Special labeling requirements also apply to hazardous goods: Hazard class or hazard category must be indicated.
Brief legal overview: Images and photos
Images and photos are almost always protected by copyright. Therefore, do not use manufacturer photos without being asked, but ask for written confirmation of the permitted use. Google finds, Google Maps excerpts etc. are also critical.
Photos must show the scope of delivery and correspond to the actual conditions. You should therefore avoid using pictures that show similar items. For example, do not use decoration or show the parasol without the parasol stand if it is not part of the listing.
We recommend the video recording of the webinar on the topics of price information, advertising with guarantees, advertising with newsletters, revocation, packaging and returns:
Do you need legal advice for your first steps in online business? Take advantage of the special conditions currently offered by the Händlerbund as part of our aid campaign for retailers.
FAQ
Yes. The obligation to provide information on whether or not prices include shipping costs applies not only to print advertising, but also to mere advertising with prices. However, it is not yet necessary at this point to indicate how high these actually are.
In this case, it is better to play it safe and ask the supplier for written confirmation of further use. The reason for this is that uploading to Amazon may involve the transfer of rights to the image.
In fact, the Regional Court of Cologne has ruled (decision of 30.08.2016, Ref.: 33 O 127/16) that the new low price may not be compared with the price charged in the store. You may therefore only compare a price charged online.
Webinar:
How does JTL make selling on the Internet easier?
The software solutions from JTL organize your online business in all relevant business areas: Purchasing, item and offer maintenance, sales and multi-channel sales, order processing and payments as well as warehouse and shipping organization.
At the center of our product cosmos is our merchandise management system JTL-Wawi. You can use this central software to manage all other products such as our online shop system JTL-Shop or our marketplace connection JTL-eazyAuction clearly and efficiently.
What is ERP?
With a merchandise management system, you can manage all your product, supplier and customer data in a central location. And you can do this for all sales channels that you use as an online retailer. This allows you to control which products are listed in which online store or marketplace and at which price in a simple and resource-saving way.
Why is it worth using an ERP system?
Master data that you maintain once in JTL-Wawi can then be used on many different channels. This saves you time and stress.
By maintaining your data in just one place, you can keep an optimal overview of all ongoing processes, especially as a newcomer to online business.
Would you like to learn more about how other JTL products such as JTL-Shop, JTL-eazyAuction or JTL-Packing Bench+ can effectively support you? Then we recommend our video recording:
Would you like to find out more about getting started in online business? Or do you need step-by-step instructions for installing certain JTL products? On the following pages you will find a wealth of information and further help:
Step-by-step instructions in text form: JTL-Guide
JTL users ask questions and get help from JTL employees and other merchants: JTL forum
Step-by-step instructions in video format: YouTube channel
Detailed basics of eCommerce for new sellers: Online course
E-learning on individual online business topics: JTL webinars
Outlook
In our second webinar day of the Quick-Start Academy, we will focus on the exciting topic of “online stores”. Learn all about the opportunities and risks of this sales channel and get to know key terms. In the afternoon, we will guide you through the initial installation of JTL-Shop and show you which functions you should definitely know at the beginning. Curious? Then take a look at our blog post for day 2.
