In this article, I will detail the different steps you can follow to start a profitable e-commerce business in Nigeria. Also, you will gain insights into e-commerce business ideas in Nigeria.


Step 1. Find Hot-Selling Products


Knowing what product you want to sell is the first step in starting an e-commerce firm. When selecting your product, there are a few factors that come to mind. You might be interested in learning about global market demand, excellent margins, and how easy it is to warehouse and deliver to your buyers.


Google Trends, Amazon Best Sellers, and eBay Top Products are just a few of the free tools available to help you identify trendy products. You can use these tools to learn about the latest and greatest things. Experts in the field of ecommerce know how to recognize a trend early on.


Because you will be investing a lot of time, energy, and resources to build up your ecommerce website, the general rule of thumb is to pick a niche and product that you will be interested in. The more passionate you are about the product, the easier it will be for you to succeed selling it.


Step 2. Find Reliable Suppliers.


Your may have a wonderful product, business strategy and a lot of internet traffic, but if your supplier can't keep up with demand, it's doomed from the start. Excellent communication is critical to your success, especially if you're working with a foreign supplier you found on Aliexpress.


The first step is to compile a list of potential suppliers with whom you'd like to collaborate. Then proceed to ask them specific questions in order to learn more about their potential to supply. Anyone who cannot answer those questions should be removed from the list.


By the end of the process, you should have a half-dozen vendors with whom you can work more closely. Cost should not be the sole determining factor; communication should play a larger role in the process. As a consequence, you will have complete trust in the vendors with whom you will eventually sign a contract.


Step 3. Choose a Business Name and Create your Business Logo


Aside from deciding what to sell and who should be your supplier, another difficult issue is naming your company or brand and selecting an appropriate and available web domain name.
Your company name should not only be easy to remember and appealing to your customers, but it should also be available as a domain name and have social network handles. It's always better to go with the dot-com version, even if it means paying a premium to a domain flipper.


It's preferable to have the dot-com address ready, as well as all of the social media channels you want to use to market your company online. The brand name will be finalized once this is confirmed. You're likely to have trouble deciding on a business name; in this case, Shopify's business name generating tool can help.


Step 4. Create Your Ecommerce Website.


It's time to start working on your website.


If you've been paying attention, you've probably noticed that an online shop is a prerequisite for starting an e-commerce business in Nigeria, or anywhere else in the world. Because you require an internet presence via which clients can transact with you. You can start with a free WordPress site and upgrade to a pro version as your business grows if you can't afford to hire a web developer.


Platforms like Shopify, Bigcommerce, and WooCommerce allow you to build an online store from the ground up without any prior web design knowledge. As a result, you can also start there. Established e-commerce marketplaces in Nigeria, such as Jumia, Konga, and Kara, provide a platform for you to start your online store. You have access to marketing and other logistics through these sites.


See Also: How to Create an e-commerce website with your Phone for Free


Step 5. Set Up a Fast Delivery and Shipping Sysem.


One of the advantages of running an e-commerce business is that you may offer your goods to customers in different parts of the world at the same time. However, having a good distribution system is required.


Your delivery method has the ability to determine your company's market credibility. On-time delivery encourages clients to leave positive reviews for the company, which in turn encourages more people to do business with you.


As a result, partnering with reputable and well-established logistics businesses is critical. Investing in your own delivery motorcycles and hiring employees to ride them is one of the best moves you can do. This method is more cost-effective especially when you are running a payment on a delivery model for the business. In such a situation, you do not need to bother about how to get the payment at the point of delivery.