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E-commerce in Egypt occupies a very great position and has been able to reach a position and prospects that are very far, contrary to what was expected, helped by the spread of electronic devices and the Internet greatly.
It has been proven in some studies that Internet users in Egypt exceed 57% of its population, this percentage indicates the huge percentage of Internet users, and Egypt ranks 73 in the world in terms of the number of Internet users.
What is e-commerce?
E-commerce is the process of conducting commercial transactions such as selling goods and products on the Internet, and it refers to several other terms, including:
- Online shopping.
- E-trade.
- E-business.
- Electronic transactions.
It has developed greatly in Egypt in the last period.
E-commerce enables you to buy and sell products from all over the world, and this trade is the trade of this era, and whoever works in this trade is very lucky because of its many advantages, as it enables its owners to reach their audience with ease.
The history of e-commerce in Egypt
Egypt is one of the first countries to take the initiative to use everything new in the digital world and keep pace with technological developments.
In 2006, the site “Souq.com” was launched by the Syrian scientist “Ronaldo Meshwar“, who introduced e-commerce in many countries, including Egypt, and the number of users of this site reached 110 million users, which paved the way for the establishment of many other e-commerce platforms.
Then came in 2013, “Rocket International” launched “Jumia“, an e-commerce site in several countries, including Egypt, and despite the strong competition with Souq.com, Jumia was able to create a large fan base in Egypt.
E-Commerce Infrastructure
E-commerce infrastructure is the foundation upon which a business is built, and it is the collection of hardware, software, networks, and services that enable us to run e-business.
When the right infrastructure is in place, we will be able to do business very well.
Egypt qualified for e-commerce!
Egypt has witnessed great progress in the quality of digital infrastructure services since the nineties, so it was natural for e-commerce services to develop with it.
Egypt’s geographical location within the Middle East, its large and growing population, and the multiplicity of economic activities encouraged the improvement of e-commerce growth in the past period, In addition to the Egyptian people’s culture towards e-commerce increasing day by day, Egypt’s rank in e-commerce has risen globally several times, reaching number 13 in the Arab world, 109 globally, Although there are many companies operating in this trade in Egypt, most of them are start-up companies that are less than 5 years old, However, there are many international companies that have started their activities in several countries, including Egypt, which has led to an increased awareness of the importance of this type of trade.
The Egyptian government is always seeking to find a formula for legal recognition of this trade and is working to increase the number of safe and easy payment methods on the Internet.
All of these things make Egypt’s digital architecture a strong e-commerce potential.
Types of e-commerce
There are several types of e-commerce, and trade is always between two parties, the type of relationship between them varies according to the type of commerce, and the following are the most important 6 types of e-commerce in Egypt:
1. Business to Business “B2B”
This type is when the trade is between companies and some of them, that is when the process of buying and selling is from one company to another.
2. Business to Customer “B2C”
This type is when the sales process is from a company to a customer, and this type is the most famous, for example when the consumer buys a mobile from an online store.
3. Customer to Business “C2B”
This type is unlike the previous type, they are the same two parties, but the customer is the one who provides the company with its needs and requirements, for example, the company is looking for a person to make an advertising video or design a logo for the company.
4. Customer to Customer “C2C”
In this type, the trade is between a customer and another customer, for example, when a consumer sells a computer to another consumer without the intervention of any other party between them.
5. Government to Company “G2B”
This typically means the government’s dealings with the company, for example, the government’s supervision of a company.
6. Government to Customer “G2C”
This means the government’s dealings with the customer, such as fines or payment of road violations.
Advantages of e-commerce
In fact, there are many advantages of e-commerce in Egypt, most people talk about the advantages in financial terms, as e-commerce brings you increased sales faster than any other type.
But there are some other advantages that are equally important and even more useful, including:
Low cost
E-commerce enables you to start at a lower cost than other traditional means because other means require a lot of money to build the company or shop, prepare it, and equip it with building, finishes, electricity, water, and other necessary requirements, and other employees and workers.
But all you need in e-commerce is an online store, which requires only hosting and domain costs, and the costs of the products or services that you will sell.
Flexibility at work
E-commerce is completely opposite to traditional commerce, which requires a lot of work, time, and effort, managing workers and employees, and dealing with customers.
But e-commerce exempts you from all these matters, as it enables you to control all these matters from anywhere and at any time only through a control panel, with the clicks of a button you can solve all your problems and complete the trade process.
E-commerce raises your burden from other activities such as sorting products and others, as all your products are registered electronically, and all buying and selling operations are also done electronically.
It also saves you the responsibility of accountants and others to manage the sales and accounting, and calculate costs and all these things, it does all these things.
All these things made it very much better than traditional commerce because it saves time, effort, and flexibility to work from anywhere and at any time without resorting to the problems that you may encounter in normal trading.
Expanding your business
If you own a company or project in a country or region, it will be difficult for your business to spread in other regions or provinces, and the scope of your current activity is limited in this place.
Unlike e-commerce, when you have an online store that enables you to reach a larger audience, you can control it by targeting the audience interested in your business, whether inside or outside your province, it is much more than that, it also enables you to trade in the world in general and not only in your province.
Work permanently
The actual working hours in companies are always limited at certain times, unlike e-commerce, it enables you to sell 24/7, thus enabling you to increase your reach and increase your sales.
Improved relationship with customers
E-commerce improves your relationship with your audience by interacting with them, and knowing their opinions and needs, whether through the store, social media, or other means.
This saves you a lot of analyzes and questionnaires that you use in traditional methods, which take a lot of time and great effort.
Customer targeting control
E-commerce enables you to reach quickly and more professionally to customers interested in your product, whether using social media marketing or using search engine marketing.
It enables you to target your audience by age, gender, geographic areas or interests, and even more so, where you can target specific devices, for example, if you target the “rich” segment, you can target them through the “devices” they carry such as the “iPhone“, you are the one who controls in the end in targeting the audience.
How e-commerce websites work in Egypt
E-commerce websites like any other website work by:
1- Domain name
It is the address of your website, and when choosing this name, it must be easy and simple and related to the field in which you work and be one or two words at a maximum so that it is easy for the customer to remember.
2- Hosting
It is the place or headquarters where your website files are hosted on the Internet, and it can run on Windows or Linux and there are a lot of hardware features required in hosting servers to support e-commerce sites and work with high performance.
3- UX & UI Designs
The home page of your e-commerce site must be divided into an easy and simple section so that it is easy for the customer to make the purchase process, and a brief description of each product you offer to the customer must be added.
4- The management team
It is the team that manages the site, and it consists of 3-5 or 20 – 100 people, for graphics, data entry, accounting, delivery management, and site manager, and the number of people in this team depends on the workload.
5- Marketing plan
Which is one of the most important things for any website, how will customers recognize your store if you are not marketing, a marketing plan must be developed that includes Digital marketing or traditional marketing, or both.
How to start e-commerce in Egypt
1- Choose the product
E-commerce in Egypt has created intense competition between companies, forcing companies to provide a competitive advantage that sets them apart from other competitors.
This product may be a physical product or a digital product, physical products are the most used such as clothes, food, books, electronic devices, and many other products.
As for digital products, they are products that are sold via the Internet, and they are mostly educational services or contents such as courses, e-books, or subscription services, buying hosting services, domains, or graphics.
2- Build a business plan
Some believe that e-commerce is so easy that it does not require the development of a plan, this is completely wrong, as it requires the development of a correct and court plan in order to ensure the success of your e-commerce, so a complete strategy must be developed from financing, marketing, advertising and advertising for the business, this plan must include:
- Studying the market well.
- Studying the products, you want to sell.
- Competitor analysis.
- Determine and study the target audience.
All of this is important to provide the service in an optimal manner that distinguishes you from your competitors and meets the needs of your target audience.
3- Create an online store
After choosing the product you want to trade with, you then create your online store, and you must consider all the things that enable you to create an online store that is distinct and distinct from your competitors, as it is the interface for your business, as well as it must meet several conditions such as:
- Suitable for all devices.
- It must be very fast.
- The overall look of your store is visually acceptable.
- Use of product photographs.
- Pay attention to colors that are comfortable to the eye.
- Provide a unique description for each product.
4- Marketing for your online store
When you have completed all the previous steps of choosing the product, developing the plan, creating the store in an optimal way, adding all the products, and dividing them into sections to facilitate the customer in the search process, your online store is ready for promotion.
You can market your online store using many means such as:
- Social media marketing.
- Email Marketing.
- Search engine marketing.
- Google Ads.
If the budget is a bit small, you can use social media marketing, and if you want to publish your store more, you must use Google ads, whether through search engines, network ads, or YouTube ads.
How to create an online store
1- Choosing a way to create an online store
There are many ways that provide you with the ability to create an online store in order to display the products you want to sell and sell on the Internet, and it is preferable to be familiar with these methods and then choose the method that suits you in terms of budget and business plan, and the best way is to use companies that allow you to own An online store easily and in a more professional manner, such as Tech Village.
2 – Domain and hosting
You must choose a domain name related to your business name or related to your products, and it must be easy and simple for the customer to remember.
There are several sites that allow you to create your own domain, such as GoDaddy or Name.com.
3 – Choose the template
One of the very important things because it is the front of your business, it must be able to:
- Showing all your products professionally.
- Compatible with all mobile devices.
- very fast.
- Visually acceptable.
- easy to use.
4 – Display the products in the store
After completing the store creation, domain reservation, hosting, and template selection, the store is ready to receive the products and present them to the customer.
It is preferable when doing this process that the store is divided into many sections to facilitate the customer in the process of searching for the products he wants, bearing in mind that when the products are arranged and divided, the look is more professional and easier for the customer to encourage him to buy.
5- Choose the shipping company
One of the very important things that should be taken care of is contracting with a distinguished shipping company that deals professionally in order to deliver products to customers and meet their desires.
When selecting this company, it should be noted that it has a good reputation in order to satisfy customers and motivate them to deal with you and repeat purchases.
The shipping company that you will choose is a factor in the success of your online store, and it is one of the factors that will help build a good relationship with your customers, because they deliver products to customers to their doorstep, so it is very important to choose the company that maintains your reputation and your commercial identity in general.
6 – Choose an electronic payment method
Providing a secure electronic payment method that guarantees the satisfaction of your customers and attracts many other customers, and therefore your online store is the best and safe choice for them.
There are many electronic payment methods such as credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard, or from payment gateways such as PayPal or PayTabs.
After providing all these previous steps, the online store is ready to start selling.
But there are some factors that must be taken into consideration to ensure the continued success of your e-commerce in Egypt. Here are the most important of these factors.
How to make your e-commerce successful in Egypt
Many believe that their role ends once they own the online store and it is ready for sale, but there are many factors that will help you in the success of your store, including:
Product quality
The most important factor that guarantees the success of your e-commerce is “product quality” If you provide a high-quality service or product that meets the customer’s desire, this will help you in the success of your business.
In contrast to poor quality, it is the most important reason for the failure of your relationship with the customer and thus the failure of your online store.
And always remember “a high-quality product is the best way to market because in this case, it is the customer who does the marketing.”
Simple and easy menu
Having a simple and easy menu for the customer ensures that they stay in your store for a longer period, thus seeing more products, and thus making more purchases.
Therefore, the list should be easy and smooth and classified according to products for ease of browsing and spending as much time as possible, and not to be alienated and escape due to the difficulty of browsing.
Putting featured products in your store
The presence of products that have a high rating, and are more selling, helps to increase the customer’s confidence towards you and increase his motivation to buy.
Using sponsored ads
Paid ads make you reach more people interested in your product in a faster and more professional manner, which increases your reach and your audience base.
Description of each product
It is necessary to provide a description of each product in order to facilitate the search process for the customer and to provide him with sufficient information for the product he wants to buy.
Customer Reviews
This factor is an incentive to increase sales because positive customer reviews ensure that you increase sales by making potential customers feel safe for this product, and thus the purchase process is safe.
Market Watch
It is very important to monitor the market and analyze competitors and products in order to ensure the continuity of the success of your business and to research the needs of the customer and work to meet them.
Add share buttons on social media
Social media is one of the most important factors that ensure you increase sales; your online store must contain these buttons and encourage customers to share products on social media.
Exchange or Refund Policy
The presence of this factor makes the customer feel safe during the purchase process, and the guarantee of the return process if the product does not meet their desire motivates them to purchase.
Privacy policy
It is the document in which it explains how the sale process takes place and how the data provided by the buyer, such as name, email, phone number, and payment data, is used by the site for approval.
How to Manage Your e-Store Every Day
The success of your e-commerce in Egypt requires doing several activities daily, including:
Catalog on store
Each product must be entered with all its details, with the addition of a clear and attractive image for each product.
It is necessary to take into account honesty in all the details of each product, and that the image of the product is real without forgery.
Enter correct data
It is very necessary to write the data correctly, taking into account that this data is renewed on a daily basis such as orders, inventory, and other data so that there are no errors due to wrong recording.
make order
It is necessary to track and verify the customer’s orders by contacting him directly to track exactly what he needs, and to ensure his orders to send invoices and delivery vouchers.
Delivery
One of the most important things to consider is to make sure that the quality and speed of delivery are guaranteed, and then the storage site is maintained and organized.
This point is very important to maintain the good reputation of your business, and the first and primary goal should be to work on customer satisfaction.
proceeds
It is necessary to record and secure the returns from the products, to know the reasons for the return to avoid them in the future, to work on improving the quality of the product, and to work on developing it according to the customer’s desire.
Communication
All contact details must be provided in order for the customer to communicate with you directly and quickly while trying to avoid the causes of negative comments that harm your online store.
This is to satisfy the customer, save time and effort, gain a good reputation, and get a good rating.
e-Store Manager Skills
There are several skills that an online store manager must possess in order for this store to be successful, including:
1- Communication skill
One of the skills that must be available is communication skills, as the manager must be able to communicate with all employees, and communicate with the project owner as well. This skill strengthens the relationship with employees and owners of the online stores.
2- Leadership skill
The manager must be able to lead his team, be able to develop strategic plans, allocate tasks to employees, and oversee their implementation.
3- Listening skill
Also, a manager must be able to listen to his employees, identify problems they may face and work to solve them, and show interest in all points of view so that the employee is more loyal to the work.
4- Creativity skill
One of the very important skills that must be available in the online store manager, is because, in light of the fierce electronic competition, you need creativity more than superficial thinking.
E-commerce employee skills
There are many skills that any online store worker must have, such as:
1- Communication skill
The store worker must have the ability to communicate with customers, whether verbally or in writing, especially since written or online communication is lacking in facial expressions, so it is one of the highly required skills because it plays a role in the customer’s loyalty to your store when he feels you are interested in him.
2- Problem-solving skill
The problem-solving skill must also be available to be able to avoid any problem that he may encounter, such as the customer’s anger at the poor service or the lack of fulfillment of his desire, etc.
3- Computer skill
It is an essential skill that anyone who works in the online store must have because the nature of the work is entirely on the computer, so any store worker must be prepared for this skill through training courses, and he must be trained on the problems he may encounter and how to deal with them.
4- The skill of setting priorities
In light of a large number of requests, suggestions, or complaints, the store worker must be able to arrange the tasks from the most important to the most important and be able to work professionally.
5- Flexibility and openness
The open personality is always the most successful, the most persuasive to the client, and the more able to accept the client’s nervousness, and the skill must be flexible to adapt to work under any circumstances.
Tips for the success of your online store in Egypt
- Learn the strategies that are constantly attracting more customers to your online store, and how to convert these visitors into real customers.
- Pay attention to the design of the site and choose the appropriate and comfortable colors for the eye.
- Learn strategies for reaching your target customers through social media or through search engines.
- Attention to technical support to avoid falling into any sudden technical problems, or sudden slowdown as a result of pressure on the site.
- Providing many electronic payment options to suit all customer segments.
- Allocate a section to know the opinions of customers and receive their problems.
- Pay attention to aspects of SEO to improve your visibility on search results and accessibility.
- Building a strong relationship with customers, and working to increase their confidence in you through personal data for them.
Conclusion
In the previous points, I made sure of the event on everything you need to know about e-commerce in Egypt so that you can start this kind of commerce and earn more money.
The truth is that e-commerce is very profitable, so any company or business owner needs to improve and develop his business by moving from traditional commerce to modern commerce and selling through online stores.
And if you do not have enough experience in this type of commerce, and you want to develop your business, display your products on the Internet, and own an online store, this article will be a comprehensive guide for you that provides everything you need to know to start your e-commerce.
And the best way to create an e-store is to contact an E-commerce website company in Egypt such as Tech Village.
You can join our partners and start your e-commerce website in Egypt by contacting our support team and answering all your questions.
