Web shops – a new market opportunity

Thanks to the continuous digitalization, availability, speed of the internet, and the increasing number of devices with its access, the web shop has experienced a significant transformation in recent years. As internet access and adoption has increased, so has the number of digital customers worldwide. It is estimated that in 2019., 1.92 billion people bought goods or services online, and in the same year, global e-commerce sales exceeded 3.5 trillion $. The share of e-commerce in 2015. in total retail in the world was 7.4%, and in 2019. it was almost twice as high and amounted to 14.1%. It is estimated that in 2023., of the total retail sales, the share of internet commerce will be as high as 22%.

Of course, the popularity of shopping through web shops was further fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Croatia, the data of the HGK show that in the first six months of last year, the web shops increased to 13.9% compared to the previous year.

In the year when we stayed more at home, reducing the risks of contacting others when part of the stores was closed, we quickly became convinced of the importance of web shops. The shares of the online shopping segments that dominated in previous years, such as ticket sales for concerts, sporting events, cinemas, business and tourist travel, and accommodation, have drastically decreased or almost disappeared. Despite this, the total volume of web sales in Croatia has increased significantly. Many retailers who were oriented only to physical sales quickly turned to online sales and thus adapted to global trends that were visible even before the Covid-19 crisis. Regardless of the current situation, due to new customer habits, but also the cheaper and increasingly popular trend of online sales, a further decline in the number of physical shops and the emergence of new websites is expected in the coming years. It is clear that the future is in web shops because there are numerous advantages for the retail, but also for the customer.

Some of the benefits for retailers are:

• Easier to start/open
• Lower costs (no rent, labor, and utilities)
• Working hours 24/7/365
• Unlimited number of customers
• Possibility of higher earnings
• Easier targeting of the target group

As mentioned above, online shopping is much simpler and more cost-effective to start, and in addition to these benefits, an unlimited number of customers, and thus higher earnings, certainly further motivate.

Sales are not limited in time and last every day from 0 to 24 hours without the need to be there physically. You can be anywhere, do anything and make money at the same time. We’re sure a lot of people dream about such a job.

In addition to the benefits for retailers, customers also have a lot of them and that is why they opt for this type of purchase. Ease of purchase, time savings, and flexibility are advantages over classic physical stores. Apart from the fact that the customer can choose the moment when he wants to make a purchase and make it in a few steps, most web shops will also offer the delivery to the wanted address. It is much easier to find products online than to walk around the store looking for a product or saleswoman. Price comparisons are also much easier to do online, with just a few clicks we find out the information we need, instead of spending time walking from store to store.

1. Selecting the right product/service for your web store

The first and most important step that is actually the foundation of your success is choosing the right product/service that you plan to sell. In order to know this, it is necessary to conduct research and find out which companies (web shops) offer similar products and at what prices. You have to ask yourself why your product is better than theirs and who are your potential customers.

Kako biste izbjegli početničke greške važno je  kod prodaje putem interneta djelatnost registrirati pod nazivom – usluge informacijskog društva. Potrebno je definirati radno vrijeme web shopa, znači stavljamo radno vrijeme od 0 do 24h. Također vrlo je važno detaljno proučiti ovih 6 zakona kako bi sve bi vaše poslovanje bilo u  skladu sa zakonom:

2. Company registration /Opening

After you have studied well what you will do, or what you will sell, it is time for more concrete steps. The first of them is the opening, i.e. registration of the business activity. Opening today is very simple and compared to previous times, it takes less money and time.

The retailer is obliged to enter the activity in the court register at the competent Commercial court (according to the seat of the legal entity), and the craftsman enters the activity in the crafts register kept by the competent state administration Office in the County. In order to avoid beginner’s mistakes, it is important to register the activity under the name – information society services when selling via the internet. It is necessary to define the working hours of the web shop, so we set the working hours from 0 to 24 hours. It is also very important to study these 6 laws in detail so that all your business is in line with the law:

• Trade Act
• Consumer Protection Act
• Act on alternative Resolution of Consumer disputes
• Obligatory Relations Act
• Electronic Trade Act
• Electronic Communications Act

3. Fiscalization

Online shops are required to connect to the fiscalization system if the payment is in cash, and that includes all card payments. If you make a bank transfer or payment via PayPal, you are not obliged to implement it. Article 2. and item 5. stipulate “Cash turnover is payment for delivered goods or performed services with banknotes or coins considered as means of payment, cards, check or other similar methods of payment, except for a payment to a transaction account with banks, if this Law does not arrange differently”. Once we have clarified this, it is necessary to obtain an application certificate for fiscalization that is purchased at FINA, and the choice of a fixed cash register depends on your type of business. Penalties for non-implementation of fiscalization are large so this is a very important item for online stores that need to be strictly adhered to. For more information on fiscalization and how to obtain a certificate, visit the FINA website.

4. Minimum technical requirements – MTU

Minimum technical requirements are also one of the very important items to look out for. If you sell services or if you send products directly from a supplier (dropshipping) it is not necessary to have a warehouse, and in all other cases, it is. If you already have a physical store with the minimum technical requirements met, you can sell them on your web shop without any additional permits.

Some of the conditions that need to be met for MTU are:

– The minimum warehouse area for retail must not be less than 6 m², and for wholesale less than 25 m².

– A sign with the name of the company, the address of the registered office, and the name of the legal or natural person registered for the purchase or sale of goods and/or the provision of services in the store should be placed in a visible place.

Also, it is important to note that the conditions depend on the product you are selling and the County State Administration Office will give you the items you need to meet, and when you do, you will receive an MTU certificate.

5. Web hosting and domain

Before creating your website, you need to pay attention to two important items, and that is web hosting and domain.

The domain actually represents your web address, i.e. the name of the link. You can only select a name that is not already registered. This can be checked through search engines that have specialized companies that deal with it. A domain consists of a domain name and an extension. Take for example the name of the shop.com site where shop represents the name of your company/site and com represents the extension. It is possible to use other extensions such as hr., net., biz. and many others. Domain selection is an important item for your trading because it helps customers find you.

Web hosting is a so-called space on a web server that allows you to even have your site. It is desirable to be as fast as possible because if potential buyers need more time to load your site, it can only distract them from buying.

6. CMS platform selection

CMS (Content Management System) is specialized software used to manage the content and functions of a website. There are many CMS platforms on the market and it is difficult to choose the right one because there is no one universal solution for everyone, but depending on what is important to you and what are your possibilities, you choose the right platform. When choosing, certain things should be taken into account, and these are:

• Price
• Previous technical knowledge
• Whether the platform offers hosting or not
• Ease of use
• How much time are you willing to spend on creating a web shop

Some of the most famous platforms used today are WooCommerce (WordPress), Shopify, Magento, Drupal and Joomla.

WordPress was originally designed only for writing blogs, and today it is used by a very large number of people because of its simplicity and quick installation. WooCommerce is an additional WordPress tool that turns your site into a web shop. We get access to many crafting tools and we can create our own unique design.

The Shopify platform is also easy to use and does not require maintenance, we have technical support 24/7, but the downside is that we do not have as many design options as with WooCommerce.

Magento specializes in web commerce and is used by large and developed web shops.

Drupal is the most complex platform made for those with programming experience and is the best option for more complex websites.

Joomla has an easy setup, it’s better for more complex websites, but the downside is that it doesn’t have a lot of themes.

7. Marketing

Depending on the target groups and products you sell, it is essential to choose ways and channels for advertising. For web shows, it is crucial to use digital marketing, because only one click brings a customer to your shop. At first, you certainly can’t get a good position on search engines like Google, so make sure you invest in paid advertising. The position on search engines is important for successful sales. Different platforms function for different target groups, so if you sell tractors you certainly won’t go to Facebook or Instagram, but if you offer products like personalized mobile masks or sports clothing for young people, social networks can help you increase sales. Digital advertising can be measured at any time and optimize the campaign in the short run, focusing on the media that bring us more customers and thus make it more successful.

How can Virtual Office help you to start a web shop?

With a number of laws, regulations, and steps that need to be taken to start a web shop, everything will surely seem quite complicated at first glance. However, if you go systematically and patiently step by step and use the help we offer you in creating your new earning opportunities, you will quickly realize that you have already solved a good part. Namely, the Virtual office Croatia team has prepared a special E-COMMERCE package that facilitates your business and organization and offers services that help you a lot in running a web shop.

The package includes the documentation needed to start an e-commerce service, which includes a lease agreement and MTU without which it is impossible to open a web shop, then a wholesale and retail warehouse with a shelf of 6 m² for use, package download (up to 50 pieces per month), their record-keeping services, packaging and sending, and a fixed telephone number to which calls can be received by your virtual secretary.

Also, the secretary can take care of tedious administration so that you can dedicate yourself to more important things, and for slightly more complex tasks you can also choose the services of a virtual assistant. To save time and nerves on all the organization and preparation, make your path to success easier and let us solve it for you.

Information taken from:

• https://tilio.hr/pokretanje-web-shopa/
• https://edukacije-appa.hr/novosti/poslovanje/kako-otvoriti-svoju-web-shop-u-sest-jednostavnih-koraka
• https://ecommerce.hr/skladiste-za-webshop-sve-sto-trebate-znati-o-mtu/
• https://virtualna-tvornica.com/pokretanje-web-shopa-zakonski-propisi/
• https://www.ucionica.net/internet/skladiste-za-webshop-istrazili-smo-mtu-i-pravila-u-2019-20-7823/
• https://www.netokracija.com/kako-pokrenuti-web-trgovinu-146082
• https://godigital.hrvatskitelekom.hr/sto-je-ecommerce-i-kako-postati-web-trgovac/https://www.netokracija.com/kako-pokrenuti-web-trgovinu-146082
• https://www.aplikacije.hr/kako-otvoriti-webshop-vodic-2020/
• https://www.ucionica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/u-10-koraka-internet-i-web-shop.pdf
• https://sites.google.com/site/pametnokupovanje432/online-kupovina/prednosti-i-mane
• https://www.markething.hr/kako-zapoceti-s-online-prodajom-u-2020-godini/
• https://itom.hr/fiskalizacija-web-shop-racuna/
• https://redcode-web.design/blog/pokretanje-web-shopa-u-8-koraka
• https://tilio.hr/pokretanje-web-shopa/
• https://www.ucionica.net/internet/skladiste-za-webshop-istrazili-smo-mtu-i-pravila-u-2019-20-7823/
• https://virtualna-tvornica.com/wordpress-web-shop/
• https://minimalnitehnickiuvjeti.hr/prije-pocetka-rada-ishodenje-rjesenja-minimalnim-tehnickim-uvjetima/
• https://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2013_06_79_1633.html
• https://www.zakon.hr/z/548/Zakon-o-fiskalizaciji-u-prometu-gotovinom
• https://www.ucionica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/u-10-koraka-internet-i-web-shop.pdf
• https://www.plus.hr/blog/2021/02/09/koja-je-razlika-izmedu-domene-i-hostinga/
• https://geek.hr/clanak/pregled-cms-platformi-wordpress-joomla-drupal/
• https://dominant-core.hr/blog/cms/wordpress-vs-joomla-vs-drupal-vs-magento/