E-retail and its specific features: follow the guide!

42 million French people buy on the Internet. According to FEVAD (2023), we're on the podium: France is 2nd in Europe for online purchases, behind the UK and ahead of Germany.

For businesses, this is a golden opportunity: but before taking your first steps in sales 2.0, you need to understand this universe. E-retail, e-commerce, marketplace... What's the difference? What are the different types of e-retail? Follow the guide!

1. What is e-retail? Definition

E-retail is a specific activity: the sale of products and services online. And this in the BtoC world (Business to Consumer). A company specializing in e-retail offers products and services to individual consumers.

This is also known as e-retailing. The principle is simple: buyers purchase goods or services directly from a seller on a website.

This form of connected commerce establishes a new relationship between brands and consumers. Booming since the Covid-19 crisis and the confinements, it enables individuals to buy "ATAWAD": anytime, anywhere, any device. In other words, anytime, anywhere, on any device (computer, tablet, smartphone).

From the e-retailer's point of view, sales 2.0 also offers numerous advantages: there's no longer any need to limit oneself to fixed times, or to a restricted geographical and local area. Selling products or services from an online store is made easier. Your ability to reach new buyers is multiplied, as is your visibility... and your sales.

 

2. E-retail vs e-commerce: what are the differences?

Remember: e-retail concerns the sale of B2C products and services. It's a form of e-commerce. In fact, e-commerce (or electronic commerce) encompasses all commercial transactions carried out over the Internet. For example:

• BtoC sales (Business to Consumer)
• BtoB sales (Business to Business)
• CtoC sales (Consumer to Consumer)
• CtoB sales (Consumer to Business)

In fact, e-commerce covers a wide range of audiences and activities. These include

• The sale of retail products over the web (e-tail)
• Electronic financial services (such as online transfers and transactions)
• Online supply chain management
• Mobile commerce (mCommerce)
• Digital marketing
• Data collection systems

And much, much more!

So you see: e-commerce is a big family, and e-retail is part of it. But do you know the different types of e-retailers?

 

3. The different types of e-retailer

Among the main forms of e-retail that appeal to customers are :

A- Pure players

A pure player is an e-tailer who operates exclusively online. This type of online retailer has no physical point of sale, or place to receive customers. The business plan of these companies encompasses a single digital strategy.

The advantages are many: lower costs for companies (no store, so no rent and no sales staff), rapid website set-up, sales opportunities multiplied by digital... These advantages appeal to retail professionals: according to the CPPAP, the number of pure-players has increased by 70% in 5 years!

B- Brick and Click

Brick and Click" companies are retail professionals with both a physical and an online sales outlet. These companies offer complementary sales processes, combining traditional and digital distribution.

Also known as click and mortar. These companies generally offer in-store collection, click & collect or online booking. In other words, this complementarity offers customers greater flexibility, thanks to a phygital shopping experience. Companies benefit from greater visibility, thanks to this multi-channel distribution strategy.

C- Marketplaces

At Rakuten France, we're very familiar with this third form of e-retail: marketplaces! A marketplace is a digital marketplace that facilitates contact between buyers and sellers. Marketplaces don't sell their own products directly: they're a digital shopping mall, hosting different e-shops.

More and more merchants are choosing marketplaces to market their products: their number has risen by 31% in 2022, according to a study by Mirakl (2022). For brands, the advantages are numerous: an existing, qualified customer base, traffic already well established by the marketplace that guarantees high visibility, little investment in marketing and communication, less logistical effort, ultra-secure payments...

 

4- How do you get started in e-retail?

You've made up your mind: you want to go into e-retailing? Congratulations! To ensure a successful launch, here are 4 e-retail golden rules to follow:

• An attractive product

Unlike a traditional store, consumers can't touch, smell or hold your products. Through the screen, the senses are limited. So what's your mission? Make the product for sale attractive, even from a distance!

To start with, make sure your photos are of high quality, well-sized and representative of reality. 3D photos are a real plus. When a product page loads, 56% of Internet users look first at the photos, images and visuals presented (source: Baymard Institute).

In addition, remember to take care with the description texts on the product page, to provide clarity and precision. 86% of customers will not buy from an online store if the product page is of poor quality (source: Shotfarm Product Information Report).

To optimize all aspects of this essential sales page, here's our complete guide to creating an outstanding product sheet.

 

• A captivating e-shop

To attract buyers, an attractive product and an optimized product sheet are not enough. The entire e-commerce site (or your entire e-shop on a marketplace) must be captivating! To achieve this, take the time to choose the right e-commerce platform: Shopify, Prestashop, Wix... Or perhaps Rakuten France, to facilitate the creation of your e-shop, thanks to a marketplace strategy?

To make your online store captivating, here are a few key tips:

• Propose a simple, seamless online shopping experience.
• Enhance social proof throughout the shopping experience (average rating on home page, customer reviews on product pages, etc.).
• Plan attractive promotional offers to arouse customer interest.
• Develop a digital marketing strategy

To attract visitors to your website and convert them into buyers... Communication and digital marketing are your allies! Have you considered deploying an e-Retail Media strategy?

E-Retail Media brings together the marketing and sales activations that users encounter throughout their online journey. The retailer highlights products from its supplier brands, or its own products. But also campaigns to promote them! Activations to explore include :

• Momentary discounts, to be planned for commercial highlights. Display them on the home page of your website, with banners created for the occasion.
• A presence on social networks: to develop the visibility of your online store or distributors, and promote your products... Social networks are indispensable. Creating content on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Pinterest or YouTube (depending on your target customers) is essential.
• Advertising on other merchant sites: Retail Search Marketing is the term used to describe the purchase of a sponsored presence in the internal search engine results of merchant sites and other e-commerce applications. In recent years, this Retail Search Media strategy has grown by +66%! (Source: TRYGR study, 2021.)

 

• Data analysis

For long-term success, make data analysis a priority. In the first month of launch, what is the traffic on your website and product pages? Which products are the highlights, and which are not? What's the click-through rate? What about cart abandonment rates? What is the average basket value? How many products have you sold? What's your turnover?

All these questions (and more!) will help you analyze the initial impact and performance indicators following your e-retail launch. With better visibility of your ROI and these KPIs, you'll be able to implement the right actions for continuous improvement. Dedicate time every month to this data analysis.

 

5- E-retail on Rakuten France

92% of e-buyers see buying on the Internet as a way of saving time (Source: FEVAD, 2023). The good news is that e-retail also means financial savings (fewer expenses)... While reaching more buyers, on the web!

This liberating experience, full of opportunities to develop and grow serenely, is what we offer at Rakuten France. Our marketplace is an e-retail platform, serving both brands (who can sell their products directly) and retailers (who can distribute from our marketplace).

Our customers benefit too: more product references, simpler online shopping... And always a maximum of commercial offers to make the experience memorable, all year round.

Are you an e-retailer? A retailer? Whether you're a pure player, a brick & clicks company or a brand just starting out... At Rakuten France, come as you are. And benefit from a community of over 12 million buyers, ready to discover your products.

So, are you ready to create your e-shop on our marketplace, in just a few clicks?