what is an ecommerce business plan

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

Published: April 03, 2024

If you have a promising idea for an online e-commerce business , it’s important to create an e-commerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable.

Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term e-commerce success.

In this post, we’ll go over an online store business plan and how you can create one for your e-commerce startup. Let’s get started.

What is an e-commerce business plan?

An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you’ll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you’ll use to drive sales.

Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an e-commerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement.

An e-commerce business plan is essential, with increasing numbers of shoppers conducting business online. It's estimated this number has reached over 2 billion . An e-commerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company.

So, let’s dive into some examples of e-commerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template .

Free Business Plan Template

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• Outline your idea.
• Pitch to investors.
• Secure funding.
• Get to work!

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E-commerce Business Plan Template

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HubSpot's template provides clear steps to structuring one for your ecommerce business. Throughout this section, I’ll use the example of a photography company specializing in online photo editing.

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan

• Give an executive summary.
• List and describe your business.
• Detail your products and services.
• Conduct a market analysis.
• Strategize your marketing plan.
• Create a sales plan.
• Outline legal notes and financial considerations.

1. Give an executive summary.

An executive summary is a one-to-two-page overview of your business. The purpose of an executive summary is to let stakeholders know what the business plan will contain. HubSpot‘s free template offers some tips on how to write one, as I’ve done below:

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How to Make an Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Startup

Darren DeMatas

August 21, 2024

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In addition to receiving commissions generated through affiliate marketing, we are able to fund our independent research and reviews at no extra cost to our readers. Learn more.

So you’ve decided that you want to quit your day job and start your very own ecommerce empire. That’s great!

But before you become the next Jeff Bezos  (and definitely before you quit your job!), it’s worth spending some time thinking about a business plan. In this article, we’ll dive into the key elements of an ecommerce business plan, which is very different than writing traditional business plans.

Why You Should Create a Business Plan

We know that starting an ecommerce business is exciting, and it can be tempting to jump right in without constructing a business plan. READ: PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.

If you haven’t put your ideas, questions and concerns on paper, then you haven’t given your business model enough thought .

Taking the time to write a business plan might seem like a lot of work, but it can save you a lot of time and money in the long run by better preparing you for potential challenges and opportunities that you’ll face as a first-time entrepreneur. Think of it as a roadmap for your new business venture.

It’s exciting to start your own ecommerce business. However, you want to be well prepared and not jump into anything without having a solid, foolproof ecommerce business plan in place.

After all, you wouldn’t jump out of a plane without a parachute, so why start a business without a safety device in place? That safety device is your business plan.

The business plan is the brainstorming process that ensures your concept and goals are realistic.

This is more than just mental notes. True business plans take your ideas , questions, and concerns and put those in writing.

As you start creating your business plan, you’ll soon understand that it’s more than a single piece of paper with handwritten details on it. It’s a clearly constructed format of how your business will be created, how it will operate, and what you hope the future holds in terms of a successful ecommerce business.

When you write your business plan, be sure to have a target audience in mind. Are you going to look for investors or put a Kickstarter campaign into motion and use this as your descriptive platform? If so, make sure that your business plan contains everything the audience would want to know about your business (and more!). Many traditional funding solutions require a business plan in order to give you capital. However, there are alternative solutions, such as  Payability  that specialize in ecommerce and don’t require credit checks, a business plan, or any complicated paperwork. They can also get you approved in as little as 24 hours.

When your business plan is completed, you should have achieved the following goals:

• Knowledge:  A greater sense of knowledge of the business aspects.
• Resources:  The resources you’re going to need to make your business successful, such as partners, money, employees, etc.
• Road Map: Have clear set goals to take you from the very beginning of your business and onward.
• Viability: In other words, is your business possible? Will you have enough profit margins to keep the doors open long-term?

Now that you know why you should create a business plan, it’s time to move on to how you can create your business plan and get started putting your ecommerce business into motion.

How to Start an Ecommerce Business Plan

At the very beginning of the planning stages, it’s a good idea to develop a framework for your business model. This business model will continue to evolve as you create each section of your ecommerce business plan, so don’t strive for a perfect completed plan on the first try. You will be making tweaks to the plan of certain steps along the way.

There are many ways to sell products online and different business models  to pursue. Research and learn from successful ecommerce business examples in the market. The exact business model you follow will be one that makes the most sense with your resources, skills, and interests.

In order to create the best online business plan with your product in mind, you need to figure out the following things:

What are you selling?

The first step to creating an online business is to learn the absolute basics of what you can sell.

• Physical products: Clothing , shoes, home goods
• Digital products: Software as a Service products, ecourses, ebooks
• Services: Consulting services, home cleaning

Who are you selling to?

• Business-to-Business (B2B): You are selling to organizations, corporations, and non-profits rather than individual customers
• Business to Consumer (B2C): This means you are selling to individual consumers rather than businesses
• Marketplace: You are acting as a middleman by bringing businesses and (B2B or B2C) customers to one website.

How are you sourcing your product?

• Manufacture in-house: You make your product or service in-house
• Third-party manufacturer: You outsource the manufacturing of your product or service to a third-party manufacturer
• Dropship: You partner with a dropship manufacturer. Basically, this means that they make your product, package it and ship it directly to your customer while your company handles the entire customer relationship.
• Wholesale : You buy goods or services from other companies in bulk and re-sell those products on your online store

Additional References

• Entrepreneurship: Business & Marketing Plans
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship Resources
• Business Plan Resources

Executive Summary

The executive summary will be written according to your goals, and it’s recommended that this is done at the very end of your business plan completion. This will ensure that you include all of the important factors about your business and present your ideas in a concise and complete way.

Some of the features you’ll include in the executive summary include information showing that you’ve done your research, you have concrete sales forecasts, and the main details about your brand.

Business Model

When you’re figuring out your business model, you have to consider four different areas:

• Monetization strategy
• Product/industry
• Target market
• Sales channel

Monetization Strategy

The monetization strategy delves into the methods you are going to use to sell your products.

This strategy will look at different product monetization methods, including white label, private label , affiliate marketing, wholesale, dropshipping, and even selling ads.

Product/Industry

The product industry section is where you summarize your main niche.

For example, “Vegan Skincare Products.”

Target Market

In the target market section, you will write a sentence or so on who your target market, or ideal customer, is in the community.

If you’re selling vegan skincare products, your target customers might be women who embrace the vegan lifestyle and use natural skincare products in their daily beauty regimen.

Sales Channel

The sales channel refers to where you’re going to sell your products.

For example, you might be selling your products on your own website, and this should be entered in this section.

Business Overview

This next section covers your company overview.

This section of your business plan will cover various features of your company, including the following:

• Company type
• Domain name
• Value proposition
• Brand traits

The brand name section lists your business name or brand name.

This is an extremely important aspect of your business plan as it’s what will set the tone for everything that follows.

Pick a brand name that’s simple yet unique and is something that can be used in a wordplay manner, if desired, but not pun-worthy.

Company Type

The company is how your business operates. For example, you might label your business as an LLC , S-corporation, sole proprietor, or some other type of business organization.

The best way to determine how you should categorize your company is to speak to your accountant. There are various tax and legal aspects to forming your business in a certain way.

Speak with the professionals in the company and corporation formation field to determine how to label your company and which company type best benefits your business in a variety of ways.

Domain Name

This section is where you list your domain name.

Choose a domain name that is memorable and embraces the overall traits and features of your business.

And, when choosing a domain name, be sure to think of SEO aspects when doing so. You’ll find out just how much all of these things tie together and ensure a frequently-visited website is the end result.

Keep in mind that with ecommerce, the domain name is just as important as the brand name. Maybe even more so!

Value Proposition

A value proposition is a short, crisp statement that will gauge how clear your idea is. Write this section as if you had one minute to explain your business to a potential investor or customer and then practice it over and over again.

The value proposition can be used on your ecommerce store as your company description.

Here’s a good example: Say you’re looking to start a hiking company called Atlas Hiking Co. which sells premium performance hiking shirts. A possible company description could be the following:

Atlas Hiking Co. is a lifestyle hiking company that produces high-performance hiking shirts for outdoor lovers. Our proprietary SPF40 fabric is one of the lightest fabrics on the market, providing mountain lovers with maximum comfort, both from a breathability and sun-protection standpoint. Our product is made in the U.S.A. and a portion of our profits are donated to preserve national parks around the country.

Pay special attention to all the sensory words !

The mission statement in your business plan is the “why” of it all.

For example, why you started the business, why you are selling the products you are selling, etc., can all be added to this section of your business plan.

You can make this portion as simple or detailed as you like. Just make sure to properly and clearly explain your business mission.

The vision part of the business plan is your “how” in the grand scheme of things. It is the dream you have for your company and the path you’re going to take to realize that dream.

When you write the vision portion of the business plan, think long-term. What are you hoping to achieve, not just in the near future but for the long haul of the life of your business?

Look into the future and plan out where you see your business in 5, 10, even 20 years from now.

This will help you construct the rest of your business plan if you know where you want your business to head, now and in the future.

Brand Traits

The brand traits section is a short section in your company overview.

Basically, in the brand traits section you’re going to want to list three to five words that describe your brand.

Think of your brand personality and describe it using a few separate powerful words.

The personnel section lists all individuals, including yourself, who will be involved in the daily operations of your business. You can create a separate section for a full operations plan or add that later.

Some business owners choose to handle all duties on their own or with a partner, while others will hire individuals to fill the following roles:

• CEO (usually the business owner)
• Management team
• Customer service/logistics
• PR/Social media specialist
• SEO manager
• Advertising manager

Competitive Market Analysis

Here’s a fact you can bank on: there has never been a successful e-commerce entrepreneur that didn’t understand his/her target market cold.

That’s why this section is one of the most important in the entire business plan. It will force you to understand the industry in which you operate, the overall industry analysis and outlook, the existing competition, and your target customer demographic.

Market Segment

The market segment portion of the business plan will help you to put your ideas down on paper, make them more focused, and get your team together.

This area will include your niche selection, target market, and competitive analysis.

Niche Selection

The niche section  provides an overview of your niche, why you selected it, whether there’s a micro niche included, and the type of niche you’ve chosen.

The purpose of this section is to crystalize the ideas that you have and make sure they are understandable and viable.

The target market section covers an overview of your target market plus describes your market segments.

Ask yourself who your  target customer  is (population size, age, geography, education, ethnicity, income level) and consider whether consumers are comfortable with buying your product category online.

When listing the target market information, make sure to mention your target audience size as this is important for ensuring that your audience will be adequately covered.

Competitive Analysis

With the competitive analysis portion of your market analysis, you want to list your market leader and direct and indirect competitors.

After you mention who these entities are, you need to list the characteristics of each one, such as domain name, business model, monthly traffic, and pricing range.

However, before you even get started in writing this section, you need to spend several hours researching your target market.

Here are some of the most efficient ways to research a particular market:

Industry reports

Google is your best friend. Look for any recent industry reports on your market of choice. This will give you a good sense of how much growth the industry is experiencing, why this growth is happening, and what are the largest customer segments. In our example of Atlas Hiking Co., we should research the outdoor apparel market.

Let’s say that through our research of the outdoor apparel industry, we discovered that there was a huge boom in youth hiking apparel. Perhaps parents were increasingly concerned about their kids’ exposure to UV rays while hiking, so they began to spend more money on their kids. We could use this valuable information to guide our business strategy.

There’s only so much you can read online. Go to a nearby store that sells similar products to yours and interview the store representative. The store rep has interacted with hundreds of interested customers, which can lead to thousands of valuable insights! It’s amazing how these insights can translate into a meaningful business opportunity.

Here’s an example:

If I were going into Billy’s Outdoor Store to research the outdoor apparel market, I would probably ask Billy the following:

• What are your best-selling products?
• What are your worst-selling products?
• Find products similar to yours and ask the representative his/her favorite features on products similar to yours.
• How much are customers generally willing to spend on these types of products?
• Do customers make repeat orders of any of these products?
• Do you get a lot of customers that are looking to buy last-minute hiking gear before they go on a hike?

Competition

Create an Excel spreadsheet of all of your competitors. In your spreadsheet, you should have the following columns:

• Competitor Name
• Price point
• Product Description
• Key Features (e.g., fabric, waterproof, slim fit, etc.)

What is the competition missing? Is there a gap in the offering? Where you can add some additional value?

After conducting the competitor analysis, Atlas Hiking Co. might find that the competition’s hiking shirts offer very few features at a low price point, but no one offers a luxury hiking shirt with additional features at a higher price point.

This is just an example of the types of insights one can gain from market research which can drastically alter your business model.

Keyword Research

By using Google’s keyword planner  and trends pages, you can get a good sense of how in demand your product is and whether it’s trending upward or downward. Google is great for a general idea, just don’t bank on it.

Some other keyword tools you can use for keyword research include Ahrefs, JungleScout, and Viral Launch. Check out this list  for more ideas.

Trade shows

Are there nearby trade shows that you can go to? Again, creating connections with other people in your industry is a surefire shortcut to countless hours of reading on the internet. Trade shows are also a great opportunity to talk to competitors, meet manufacturers, and better understand where things are heading in your industry.

Once you finish researching the relevant industry, you should summarize your findings by answering the following questions:

General Industry

• How big is the overall industry?
• How big is the specific sub-industry in which you intend to operate?
• Where has most of the historic growth in the market come from?
• Why is this the right time to enter this market?
• What are the sub-segments that are poised for future growth (e.g., youth apparel)?
• How crowded is the product category with competition?
• How is your competition distributing its product (online, retail, wholesale, etc.)?
• What’s missing from the competition’s product offering?

Products and Offers

So we know we want to sell hiking shirts, but how do you research specific products?

But for some of us, we’re not quite sure what we should sell. To succeed in online retail, you need a product that is trending upwards in a growing niche.

Different types of products

Some of the different types of products include the following:

• Convenience products: Frequent purchase products, little effort on buying
• Shopping products: Less frequently purchased in between purchases, little more effort and planning, shop around
• Specialty products: Strong brand preference and loyalty, will buy no matter what the price

The various types of niches include the following:

• Hobby niches
• Lifestyle niches
• Problem niches
• Weird/embarrassing niches

Existing products

Come up with detailed specifications for each product or service you intend to sell. If it’s a hiking shirt we’re selling, we would want to have:

• Detailed sketches of the shirt
• Fabric weight, materials, type
• Key features (e.g., pre-shrunk, water-proof, SPF 40)

Future product pipeline

What are other products that you have in the pipeline? Perhaps once you’ve successfully sold hiking shirts, you’re able to leverage your manufacturing relationships to provide hiking socks and shorts. Include that information in this section.

The products and services section will cover the various selling categories of items.

These product offerings will include the following:

• Core product

Each product group will have its own purpose in your sales catalog. For example, tripwire is the product that brings customers to your ecommerce store or online marketplaces  while the core product is your main seller.

Knowing what products you’ll include within each section allows you to have a firm grasp on what your main product will be and how the other types of products will work alongside your main product.

This section will also cover the search volume and Amazon pricing range.

You’ll need to calculate your true costs. You have to make sure you don’t overestimate your margins.

To tabulate your total true costs, you need to write down the costs in the following areas:

• Target price
• Supplier cost of the product
• Total cost per unit
• Net profit per unit
• Profit margin per unit

Once you complete the pricing portion, you’ll have everything on one sheet and readily accessible whenever you need it.

Marketing Plan and Operations

So, now you’ve concluded that you have a great business idea, and it’s in a growing market. That’s fantastic – but how are you going to drive traffic to your ecommerce website and get customers to buy it ? And how much can you afford to spend on your product?

Marketing  is everything. It’s important that your marketing efforts match your business model.

If you have a website and no marketing, your site won’t have any visitors. With no visitors, you will make no sales. Then how do you grow and sell your ecommerce business (if that’s your long-term goal)? Even with the best possible products, nobody will buy them if they aren’t directed to them in some way.

In order to come up with a marketing strategy, you need to first know your customer inside out. You should be able to answer such questions as:

• How old is your customer?
• Where does your customer live?
• What is the population of your customer base?
• What is their education level?
• What is their income level?
• What are your customer’s pain points?

With so many channels to reach your customer, which one is best for you?

Once we know pretty much everything there is to know about our target customer, we can shift focus to our marketing strategy. You want to choose marketing strategies that equal positive conversion rates. What channels should you use to grab the attention of your customer demographic? Some of the key marketing channels include:

Paid Marketing

• Pay-per-click – this online marketing typically involves using Google Shopping campaigns  and managing a product data feed.
• Affiliate sales networks – Allowing other blogs and websites to sell your product for a cut of the revenue. List the different affiliate sale networks that you plan to promote through.
• Facebook ads ⎯ Ads posted on Facebook to draw in buyers through social media means.
• Influencer marketing ⎯ Hiring industry influencers to get the word out about your product through their social media platforms and contacts.

Organic Marketing

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram , Pinterest, etc.): What is your strategy for social media, and where will you dedicate your attention?
• Search Engine Optimization : Create and promote awesome content so people find your product organically through search.
• Content marketing: Figure out how you’ll use content marketing in your business. Consider various article topics that will persuade your target audience to buy your products.
• Blogger networks: could be organic or paid through affiliate sale programs.
• Key bloggers: Develop a list of the key bloggers in your product category. For Atlas Hiking Co., this might be an influencer that blogs about the best hiking trails in America.

Finding the optimal mix of these advertising tools depends 100% on your customer segment as well as your product type. For example, a SaaS product targeting millennials will require an entirely different marketing strategy than an e-commerce physical product targeting baby boomers. Perhaps that should be a post on its own for another day!

How much should you spend to acquire a customer?

In order to understand this, we need first to discuss a concept known as customer lifetime value or LTV. In essence, this is a formula that helps you better understand how much an average customer will spend over time.

Here’s  a good read on how to calculate LTV.

It’s important to remember that for new businesses, you don’t have a lot of data on customer purchase habits so it’s a good idea to be more conservative with your assumptions in calculating LTV.

Let’s say, for Atlas Hiking Co., I determine that the average LTV per customer is $300. This means that over time, the average customer will spend $300. Let’s say, on average, if I receive $300 in revenue, $100 of that will translate to gross profit before I factor in my marketing costs (basically, I’m just subtracting the cost of making the shirts).

Knowing that my gross profit is $100 per shirt is a critical piece of information because it tells me that I can spend up to $100 in marketing to acquire a customer and still be profitable!

Some of the marketing options include social media marketing and content marketing.

Think about your business model and then line up your marketing budget. Your marketing budget may include the following items:

• Sales/branded content
• SEO/blog content
• Facebook/Instagram ads
• Influencer marketing
• Marketing tools
• Niche advertising

Choosing The Right Technology

With so much technology and SaaS products out there, it’s important to understand the various moving parts and diagram how they all integrate with one another.

Some of the different elements include:

• Shopping Cart Platforms  – e.g., Shopify , BigCommerce , WooCommerce , or any open-source platform
• Hosting – Nexcess , Kinsta , WPX
• Payment Processo r – e.g., Stripe, Paypal
• Fulfillment Center – e.g., Amazon, ShipBob
• Apps – e.g., Zipify, BuildWooFunnels, Gelato
• Accounting & Taxes  – e.g., Quicken, Xero
• Marketing Automation – e.g., Klaviyo , Mailchimp
• Marketing Tools – e.g.  Buzzstream, Ahrefs
• Customer Loyalty Programs  – e.g., Antavo, Smile

Come up with a detailed list of the different products and services you need to run your business as well as the monthly and per-transaction cost of each of them. This will be important in understanding the impact of these services on your margins.

Matching your business model to your technology is essential, too. Certain website platforms are better suited for specific sales models.

Email marketing is another type of technology that should be carefully considered and matched up correctly with your business model.

Keep in mind that it takes, on average, 6-7 interactions with a brand before someone makes a purchase, so you need to keep using technology to get them back to your website.

As you explore the technology options and find out ways to draw potential customers in and keep them happy while they’re there, here are some key points to keep in mind:

• What you say about yourself and your products with your website content
• How you respond to questions on live chat and email support
• How to make use of chatbots
• How you connect on social media
• The information you send through email marketing
• What bloggers and influencers say about your brand
• How existing customers review your company
• How you advertise
• How you establish loyalty beyond sales

After you figure out your technology methods, you have to come up with a technology budget.

The business plan must also include the operations side of things. Determine who will be your manufacturer, secondary manufacturer, and shipping and fulfillment  provider.

When looking at supply chain costs and options, ShipBob  is an ecommerce fulfillment provider you can consider.

Financial Plan

When figuring out your financial plan, evaluating and pinpointing your startup costs  is essential.

The focus of the financial plan is how long it will take for you to make your money back. You also need to figure out if you need a business loan .

Traffic and conversion rates will help you determine how long it will be until you start making money back.

You’ll also want to use an income statement to detail financial information.

This section is used for financial projections, such as forecasting sales, expenses, and net income of the business. Ideally, you’ll want to create a monthly Excel balance sheet showing the following:

• Projected revenue:  First, come up with your projected number of units sold and then come up with your projected revenue (Projected Revenue = # of Units Sold * Average Sales Price).
• Fixed expenses:   these are expenses that are fixed no matter how much you sell. Typically, these relate to monthly SaaS subscriptions, employee salaries, or rent.
• Variable expenses  – these expenses change in direct proportion to how much you sell. Common examples include the cost of goods sold and credit card payment processing fees.

This helps business owners better understand what they need to achieve to hit their profit goals. In reality, projections are usually always off the mark, but it’s good to give yourself some measurable goals to strive for.

This section should aim to answer the following questions about your product offering:

• How much product do you need to sell per year to meet your income goals for the business?
• What are the margins on your product? If you sell one hiking shirt for $50, how much do you make after paying your supplier, employees, and marketing costs?
• What is the lifetime value of a customer?
• How much can you spend to acquire customers? If you conservatively project that the average customer will spend $300 over time on your shirts, then you can afford to spend an amount less than $300 to acquire that customer using the paid marketing channels described previously.
• Do you have any big capital expenditures early on that would require you to need to bring in investors?
• Can you improve gross margins by making bigger orders from your suppliers?

There are various acquisition channels that will help your traffic to convert including:

Your revenue plan will contain a 12-month revenue forecast plan to help you map out each month of earnings.

There are different business earning models you can go through to determine how much you can make with your business.

You want to calculate how much traffic costs. This all depends on the methods you use to gain traffic to your site.

As you determine what your profit might be with your ecommerce business  or ecommerce businesses, there are certain math formulas to use:

• The profit equation
• Break-even analysis
• Units needed to achieve the profit target

You should also consider how you will use fintech companies in your ecommerce business.

What are the key elements of an ecommerce business plan?

The main components of an eCommerce business plan include the executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management structure, product line or service, marketing and sales strategy, financial projections, and funding request, if applicable.

How do I create a budget for my ecommerce business?

Start by estimating your initial startup costs and ongoing expenses. Consider costs like website development, inventory, marketing, shipping, taxes, and any necessary licenses or permits. It’s also important to factor in a contingency plan for unexpected costs.

How do I find the right product to sell?

Research is fundamental. Look at market trends, customer needs, and competitor products. Use tools like Google Trends or social media platforms to understand what customers are currently interested in. Always consider your passion and knowledge about the product too, as this can drive your business forward.

How can I differentiate my product from competitors?

Differentiation can come from unique product features, superior customer service, better pricing, or a compelling brand story. Understand what your competitors offer and how you can do it differently or better.

Wrapping Up Your Business Plan

Careful planning is crucial to get your e-commerce business from the planning phase to the launch phase and to ensure its successful future.

Going through the exercise of writing a business plan will cement your own understanding of your business and your market. It will also position you to take advantage of lucrative opportunities while mitigating harmful threats to your business down the line.

Your turn! Have you written a business plan for your online store? Do you have anything to add? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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How to Write the Ultimate eCommerce Business Plan

• by Lightspeed

minute read

Writing an eCommerce business plan is one of the first steps you should take if you’re thinking about starting an online business. Whether you’re opening an online-only shop or adding an eCommerce component to your brick and mortar store for an omnichannel retail experience, there’s never been a better time to sell online. 

The numbers don’t lie: since 2014, the number of digital shoppers worldwide has grown from 1.32 billion to 2.14 billion. That’s a 62% increase! Currently a $4.28 trillion market, eCommerce is forecasted to make up a fifth of all retail sales by 2024. If you want a slice of the climbing profits, now is the time to get involved.

An eCommerce business plan can help you steer your online shop in the right direction. Fortunately, you don’t need a business degree to create one. Read on to:

• Learn what a business plan is and why your eCommerce company needs one
• Discover how an eCommerce business plan is different from business plans for other business types
• Learn how to write an eCommerce business plan step by step
• Get access to our free eCommerce business plan template

All your eCommerce questions answered, and more

Learn everything you need to know build, launch and grow an online store with this free guide.

What is a business plan and why does your eCommerce company need one? 

A business plan is a document that outlines the goals of a business and how the business will achieve those goals. While there is no standard format for a business plan, such documents typically cover what the company will do, what problem it will solve, how the business is structured, who the target market is and how the product or service stands out from the competition.

A business plan serves as a roadmap for your company and helps you stay focused. Having one is also useful for attracting investors and business partners, as it shows you’re serious about your business, have done your research, know your industry and have considered the challenges you may face along the way. 

How is an eCommerce business plan different from a business plan for other company types?

While the structure of a business plan for an eCommerce business won’t differ much from a business plan for any other type of company, the business strategy at the core of the plan may differ greatly from that of a traditional retail store.

For example, a traditional retail business plan might describe plans for leasing and designing a storefront. An eCommerce business plan, in contrast, would focus on the company’s digital storefront: its website. One of your business goals for the first year might be identifying the best eCommerce software , rather than finding the perfect space to lease.

Another notable distinction: while a traditional retail business plan might include an organizational chart with many front of house staff members, an eCommerce business plan would emphasize roles in online customer service , fulfillment and marketing.

Now, if you already run a brick and mortar business and are adding an online selling component, you’ll want to cover all of the topics listed above.  

How to make an eCommerce business plan

Now that you understand what a business plan is, why you need one, and what differentiates an eCommerce business plan from a traditional retail business plan, it’s time to get into the good stuff. Read along to learn exactly how to write an eCommerce business plan.

Summary 

This section concisely introduces everything that you’ll be covering in your business plan. Write it last, so that you can source inspiration from the rest of the document.

Company introduction

Explain what your company does and what makes it stand out. Use the company introduction to answer the following questions:

What does your business do?

What problem does it solve, and how?

• What is your business model? (i.e., Who are you selling to and how? Are you a B2B or B2C eCommerce business? Are you direct to consumer, or do you sell products from other manufacturers? Do you rely on a subscription service or traditional sales model?)
• What is your mission statement?
• What are your values?

Going through the exercise of considering these questions and putting your answers into writing will sharpen your focus as a business owner. When opportunities present themselves that don’t align with your values or help you solve your customers’ problems, then you can say no without doubts — or, conversely, you can enthusiastically accept opportunities that align with your vision.

Market research

Get to know your customers and competition. Do some soul searching and conduct market research to uncover:

• Who your ideal customer is. Make this specific. When your brand is distinct enough to “repel” a certain type of customer, it’s also strong enough to make your ideal customer really excited about your products, and to turn them into lifelong customers.
• How big your market is. While there are various ways you can research this figure , rough estimates will go a long way. Let’s say you wanted to start an online care package subscription business for U.S. college students. A quick online search indicates that there are nearly 20 million college students in the U.S. If the average student spends four years in college, that means there are roughly 5 million new students every year who could be receiving care packages. That’s a large market!
• Who your competition is. What other companies are offering similar products and/or to a similar audience?
• What makes your business different from the competition? 
• What advantages and opportunities do you have to be more successful than the competition?

Company structure

Now it’s time for the less sexy stuff. In this section of your eCommerce business plan you should explain:

• What the legal structure of your business is. Is it an LLC, an S-Corporation, a partnership or something else? If you haven’t incorporated your business, do you have plans to do so?
• Who is in charge of the business? List founders and officers and their contributions (in terms of both capital and expertise) to the company.
• Who works for the company? Include an organizational chart that illustrates who currently works for the business, and the roles you plan to hire for.

Products and services

Explain what makes your eCommerce shop shine: its products and services. Describe, in detail:

• What products and services you sell.
• How much you charge for these products and services, and your profit margins on them.
• Where and how you manufacture and source your products.
• How you plan on fulfilling orders. 
• Intellectual property you have ownership of (if any), including trademarks, patents and copyrights.

Marketing strategy

Having great products is fantastic, but that in itself is useless if people don’t know about your products. Include your marketing strategy in your eCommerce business plan to show your team and investors how you’ll get your products in front of customers. 

Your marketing strategy should include:

• A SWOT analysis that explores your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• The marketing channels and tactics you plan to use. Some useful strategies for eCommerce businesses are search engine optimization (SEO), social media commerce , email marketing, partnerships and influencer campaigns.
• Marketing goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure them. How will you measure growth? 

This is the juiciest section of your business plan. It helps you set sales and fundraising goals that will let you explain to investors where you stand financially and why you need their investment. 

If your business is pre-revenue, include:

• Revenue projections
• Funding information
• Expected costs

If your business already exists, include information like:

• Historical and forecasted revenue
• Investments
• A profit and loss statement
• Expenses (supply chain, labor, website hosting, etc.)
• Budget vs. actuals 

The ultimate eCommerce business plan template

Now that you know everything there is to know about how to start an eCommerce business, it’s time to craft your business plan. Follow the template below to set yourself up for success.

Executive summary 

Company name:

Founders/leadership team:

Products/services:

Target market:

Marketing strategies:

Business model:

Mission statement:

Company values:

Ideal customer:

Market size:

Competitive analysis:

What makes your business different from the competition? What are your advantages and opportunities?

Legal structure:

Leadership team:

Organizational chart:

Product/service 1:

Product/service 2:

Product/service 3:

Pricing, positioning and profit margins:

Manufacturing/supply chain:

Intellectual property claims:

SWOT analysis:

• Weaknesses:
• Opportunities:

Marketing channels:

Marketing goals and KPIs:

Revenue (projected or actual):

Profit or loss:

Investments:

Budget vs. actuals: 

eCommerce business plans turn dreams into action

When you record what you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it, you’re more likely to turn your vision into a reality. Take the time to think about your business, find out what makes your products different, and be thoughtful about how you’re going to find customers.

When you’re ready to build your eCommerce shop, turn to Lightspeed’s eCommerce platform.  Watch a demo to learn more.

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Lightspeed is a cloud-based commerce platform powering small and medium-sized businesses in over 100 countries around the world. With smart, scalable and dependable point of sale systems, it's an all-in-one solution that helps restaurants and retailers sell across channels, manage operations, engage with consumers, accept payments and grow their business.

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How To Create The Perfect Ecommerce Business Plan (Examples & Templates)

Carl Torrence is a Content Marketer at Marketing Digest. His core expertise lies in developing data-driven content for brands, SaaS businesses, and agencies. Carl’s work has been featured in Famous Bloggers, The Inspiring Journal, and AllTopStartups.

Expert Evidence

Sean is the Senior Editor for The Ecomm Manager. He's spent years getting to know the ecommerce space, from warehouse management and international shipping to web development and ecommerce marketing. A writer at heart (and in actuality), he brings a deep passion for great writing and storytelling to ecommerce topics big and small.

The ecommerce market is full of innovative ventures that started as an ecommerce business plan. This guide tells you how to convert your vision for an ecommerce company into a strategic plan.

Click and Cart Revolution: Ecommerce is massively expanding, now a $6.31 trillion market, expected to rise above $8 trillion by 2026. Online sales are booming, making now a ripe time for starting an ecommerce venture.

Blueprint for Success: An ecommerce business plan is essential, serving as a detailed roadmap for starting, running, and growing an online store. It includes market analysis, product details, and financial strategies to achieve business goals.

Investor's Compass: A well-crafted ecommerce business plan is crucial for attracting investment, showcasing your business model, revenue generation plans, and overall strategy to build brand value and equity in the competitive market.

DIY Business Plan: Creating an ecommerce business plan involves outlining your vision, analyzing the market, and detailing operational strategies. An essential step includes drafting an executive summary that encapsulates the company's mission, history, and unique selling points.

Ecommerce is rapidly growing around the world. We love to buy our little treats and trinkets on the internet.

The industry has reached a market valuation of $6.31 trillion worldwide and is expected to cross $8 trillion by 2026.

In 2023, ecommerce accounted for 20.8% of all retail sales .

The contribution of ecommerce is expected to grow even further to cover 24% of retail sales in 3 years.

This seems like a good time for anyone thinking about starting an ecommerce business. Despite many companies enjoying pieces of this $6 trillion pie, starting an online store is not a piece of cake (pause for laughter...).

As with any other business, you need research and careful planning before jumping into action. That’s exactly what this guide is about.

I will shed light on some basic business concepts, discuss examples, provide insights with statistics, and give you ready-to-use templates for various stages.

But first, let’s begin with the fundamentals.

What is an Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a document containing the roadmap for initiating, maintaining, and expanding an online selling company.

This document contains several details that are crucial for establishing your ecommerce business.

It serves to guide the formation of a company and draw insights to make business decisions to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

The ecommerce business plan also contains information about the market, competitors, products, pricing strategy, company finances, supply requirements, etc. The more details you can add to an ecommerce business plan, the better you can execute it.

Why Do You Need An Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan acts as a roadmap for your online business, helping you navigate the market and scale your brand. It's your ecommerce north star, so to speak.

It helps you analyze the market systematically and develop strategies to stand out from the competition. This plan covers various aspects of your business, such as your goals for marketing, operations, and finances, and shows how these parts are connected.

For example, it can help you see how your marketing budget affects your overall cash flow. You’ll get these insights from the market research and financial sections of your business plan.

If you’re looking for funding, a business plan is essential. Investors use it to assess the feasibility of your business. It outlines your business strategy and makes a strong case for why you need investment.

Entrepreneurs can highlight their operational plans and budget to show how they will run a successful ecommerce store.

Most importantly, it demonstrates the value proposition to potential investors, showing how the company will generate revenue, build brand value, and increase equity.

How To Create The Perfect Ecommerce Business Plan

Let’s look at the step-by-step process for creating an ecommerce business plan.

Each of these stages will help you get a deeper understanding of your business. It'll also help you define your vision through organizational structure and processes. Let’s begin with the executive summary.

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Step 1: Draft an executive summary

Although this is the first part of an ecommerce business plan, it's better to tackle the executive summary after completing the entire document.

The executive summary gives an overview of the business plan on a single page.

The executive summary presents a company overview and highlights of the most important parts of the document.

It gives a brief overview of what the new business is about and what it sets out to achieve. You will discuss these points in-depth later in the document.

You can use the below template to draft your executive summary:

You will have better clarity regarding some of these aspects after you complete the entire ecommerce business plan.

For instance, you can provide a more accurate competitive analysis after conducting market research.

Similarly, you will have a clear understanding of financial projections and investment requirements after you source potential suppliers.

You can create a rough draft of the executive summary at the beginning. Then you can circle back to it when you have more clarity.

Tips for an effective executive summary:

• Conciseness: Keep it brief yet comprehensive. Aim for one to two pages.
• Highlight key points: Focus on the most critical aspects of your plan, such as your business model, market opportunity, and financial projections.
• Engaging language: Use clear and engaging language to make a compelling case.

Step 2: Company description

In this section, you provide details about your brand. At this point, the ecommerce business plan begins to take shape.

Start filling out the details in the template below to describe your company using the examples to help give it some shape.

In this section, you'll outline what your company will look like and what it'll do.

You'll detail the types of people needed to run the company, along with the resources you already have and the ones you'll need.

For example, if you've already purchased a domain name and registered your company name as a trademark, you can list these as existing resources.

If you still need to develop an ecommerce website, list that under required resources (and find the right ecommerce platform to make your job easier).

This section also provides an overview of your company’s hierarchy and management team. Describe the different departments in your company and the key team members for each one.

You should also specify which operations will be done in-house and which will be outsourced to external agencies .

This part of your business plan will give you a clear picture of your current status and help you identify what you’re missing. Keep in mind, this section may change as you do more research and discover new requirements.

Need expert help selecting the right tool?

With one-on-one help, we guide you to your top software options. Narrow down your software search & make a confident choice.

Step 3: Describe your products and services

In this section, you'll define details about the products and services your ecommerce brand will offer. You'll describe what you're offering to your customers.

It includes both products and services. You can use the ecommerce business plan template below to define these aspects.

While you might only sell products on your ecommerce platform , you could also be selling services (which many ecommerce platforms allow you to do).

For each product, include a short description and pricing information. Specify whether you're selling physical or digital products, and explain how customers will receive them.

Describe any services you provide, such as digital subscriptions or in-person consultations. Specify how customers will access these services and any relevant pricing information.

Step 4: Conduct market analysis

This is the most important part of an ecommerce business plan. You must analyze several factors concerning the market segment, competing brands, and competitor products. 

You must understand how your products, services, and brand perception compares against the competition .

Use the template below to create a detailed overview of the market you will compete against.

This analysis will affect several other aspects of your ecommerce business plan.

At this stage, you must analyze the market and decide what place your company can take in the competitive landscape. You can also use other methods for market research, such as SWOT analysis or Porter’s Five Forces analysis.

Regardless of the method, you need an accurate understanding of what your competitors offer and how you can differentiate your ecommerce brand.

This brings us to marketing.

Components of a strong market analysis:

• Industry overview: Provide updated statistics and trends in the ecommerce industry. For example, global ecommerce revenue is expected to reach $4.1 billion USD in 2024 .
• Target market: Define your ideal customer with specific demographics and psychographics.
• Competitive Analysis: Analyze your direct and indirect competitors. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can provide insights into competitor strategies and performance.

Step 5: Draft your marketing plan

The marketing plan for an ecommerce business primarily depends on three factors.

These are the target audience, customer segmentation, and market forces. You will draw relevant insights from the market analysis to define your marketing plan.

Here's a template to help you define the marketing strategy for your online store.

Your marketing plan should clearly outline how you'll position your brand in the market.

Define the channels you'll use at different stages of the sales funnel. For example, you might use Facebook ads to raise awareness and email marketing to engage existing customers.

Include sections to define your ideal customers using buyer personas. Create different personas for various types of potential customers, associating each persona with a specific product and its use cases.

Finally, list the ecommerce tools you'll need for your marketing efforts, such as automation tools, CRM software , and SEO tools.

Once you know how to attract your audience, the next step in your ecommerce business plan is to define how you'll convert them into customers.

Step 6: Define sales and customer service processes

At this stage, you will define several aspects concerning your customers.

These include purchase journeys and after-sales services. This strategy serves as an extension of the marketing plan.

See the template below to define your sales and customer service strategy.

With this template, you are essentially defining customer experience with your brand. You'll create a strategy for selling the products on different channels.

These include ecommerce websites, marketplaces, affiliate websites, social media, etc. You'll have to define the sales process for each channel.

You must also draft a plan to create memorable customer experiences. This is crucial for developing a community.

It also has a direct impact on sales and revenue. Repeat customers spend 67% more than first-time buyers. Once you have a strategy for acquiring customers, you must build a strategy for delighting and retaining customers.

Step 7: Create a supply chain strategy

The supply chain strategy includes the journey of the product from the supplier to the customer.

It includes procurement, manufacturing logistics, warehousing , distribution, order fulfillment , and reverse logistics . Use the template below to create your supply chain strategy. 

In this section of the ecommerce business plan, you will outline how the product will make its way to the customer.

Supply chain management involves everything from sourcing the products from a supplier to shipping the products to the customer. 

Alongside the strategy, you also need to define the stages that you will outsource. Creating your supply chain is quite resource intensive.

That's why ecommerce businesses outsource certain aspects to 3PL companies . Some of the commonly outsourced services include distribution and logistics (42%), manufacturing (37%), product finishing (29%), and packaging (23%).

This process accounts for a significant portion of ecommerce expenses. It will also impact several customer-facing aspects of the business. This includes the availability of stock, shipping charges , delivery time, and more.

Hence, you should define a supply chain strategy for speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

Step 8: Identify legal frameworks

In this section, you will also cover the applicable legal frameworks for running the ecommerce business .

These include business registration, taxation, permits, legal structure, trade laws, etc. Use the template below to define the legal obligations in your ecommerce business plan.

You must understand the laws applicable to running an ecommerce business in your region.

If you plan to ship products internationally, you must also understand international shipping laws, customs clearance requirements, import/export regulations, and trade laws in the target market.

This section ensures that your company always remains on the right side of the law.

Step 9: Define financial requirements

The final section of an ecommerce business plan is concerned with finances and legal compliances.

The preceding sections will give you estimates regarding different aspects of your ecommerce business.

These include operations, marketing, procurement, logistics, and so on. 

Based on these estimates, you will define the financial projections for your ecommerce business. This includes both revenue and expenses.

You can use the template below to define the financial aspects of your business.

If you pitch the ecommerce business plan to an investor, you must add other details to this section.

These would include funding requirements, funding stages, value offerings, etc. This section of your business plan also sheds light on a company’s assets and liabilities.

You must also clarify what you offer the investors against the funds. This can be equity stake, debt, dividends, and so on.

This helps potential investors conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

You can go a step further and present key elements of cost-benefit analysis for the ecommerce company. This should highlight the short-term and long-term gains for the new business.

You can use this section to show potential investors how your new business will grow in market value based on milestones. These milestones can be defined based on sales, inventory size, revenue, market acquisition, etc.

With this section, you conclude your ecommerce business plan.

You need to revisit the executive summary and ensure it aligns with the rest of the document. It is best to review the entire document a few times to ensure you present a unified vision for starting and running your ecommerce business.

Start on the Right Foot With The Best Ecommerce Platform

With your fresh business plan in hand, you're ready to get moving on the foundational parts of your ecommerce journey.

To start strong, you want to choose an ecommerce platform that has all the essential features that ensure your business will be a success.

You can also take a peek at what we think are the top ecommerce platforms for a variety of brands, from big to small. Here's our shortlist of the best ones out there:

• 1. Subbly — Best for subscription-based ecommerce models
• 2. Wix eCommerce — Best for non-technical users
• 3. Shopify — Best for a range of integrations
• 4. Ecwid by Lightspeed — Best for social media selling
• 5. Adobe Commerce — Best for data-driven companies
• 6. Sana Commerce Cloud — Best ecommerce platform for B2B sales
• 7. Volusion — Best customer service
• 8. Shift4Shop — Best free template library
• 9. ShopWired — Best for buy-now-pay-later purchasing
• 10. WooCommerce — Best ecommerce plug-in for Wordpress

Use The Ecommerce Business Plan to Guide Your Actions

The purpose of creating an ecommerce business plan is to represent your vision systematically.

This document will shed light on several aspects of your ecommerce business idea. It will also serve as a guide, philosopher, and friend when you launch your company.

If you are pitching your idea to investors, this document will show them the value that your ecommerce business idea can generate for them.

The next step for you is to turn the ecommerce business plan into a company. 

You should subscribe to The Ecomm Manager newsletter for more news, trends, tips, and guides related to ecommerce. These articles can help you optimize and expand your business further.

Ecommerce Business Plan FAQs

There are always more questions for the end of the post. So, here we are, answering some more questions.

Is ecommerce a profitable business?

The profitability of ecommerce businesses depends on several factors. This includes market condition, business structure, product demand, revenue model, etc. You can understand the profitability of your ecommerce business idea by checking brands selling similar products. When first starting out, you can cut costs by leveraging tools like free inventory management software . This can help ease the financial burden of being a new business.

Do I need a business plan for an ecommerce business?

A business plan gives structure to an ecommerce business idea. It is a really helpful document for business owners and entrepreneurs. This document helps you measure the viability of the business model, products, marketing strategy, financial plan, legal structure, operations, and other aspects of the company.

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How to Write an E-Commerce Business Plan (Step-by-Step)

Dream of being your own boss? So do lots of other people, including 64 percent of the UK workforce and 65 percent of Americans . And I’m sure you’d see similar figures across a bunch of other countries.

I get it—after all, I did it myself.

But sadly, not every business is destined to become the next Amazon, Google, or Sleeknote.

Much-quoted data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that about one in five new businesses survive for 12 months or less , while only half make it to the five-year mark:

So what separates the successes from the also-rans and the never-weres?

While some people will tell you the secret to “making it” lies in adopting a rise-and-grind mentality , truth is there is any number of reasons why some businesses thrive and others fail. 

But I can categorically tell you there’s one thing every successful startup has in common, and that’s a killer e-commerce business plan.

Basics of Writing an E-Commerce Business Plan

What is an e-commerce business plan, why do i need an e-commerce business plan, how to write an e-commerce business plan.

E-commerce business plans are roadmaps that plot the route to achieving your business goals. They set out who you are, what products you sell, and how you plan to operate (among many other things).

Just like a real roadmap, e-commerce business plans also highlight potential hazards, helping you plot alternate routes well in advance.

No one expects you to stick precisely to your original plan throughout the entire lifespan of your business. But by gathering business-critical information like cash flow, sales projections, and marketing budgets in a single place, your business plan can help you build a persuasive pitch to win backing from investors, which can be absolutely vital at the start of your journey.

And even if you’re not looking for external funding, figuring out your strengths, weaknesses, and objectives early on will save you a lot of pain down the line.

I know what you’re thinking: “I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm; why should I spend days or weeks writing a business plan? Why can’t I just get on with it?”

You’re not completely wrong. Honestly, if you think buying a house or having a baby is stressful, try starting a business.

One study claims the biggest challenge founders face in the first three months is building a customer base, but there are countless others.

From dealing with suppliers to building a website and chasing invoices, it’s one headache after another, and you never feel like you have enough time to give each problem your full focus.

But you really can’t afford to overlook your e-commerce business plan. Here are five benefits to creating one.

1. Understanding the Competitive Landscape

You might like to think of yourself as a visionary, but I can pretty much guarantee that someone, somewhere has had a similar business idea to yours.

They might have been doing it for years, or they might be gearing up to hit the market at the same time as you.

Either way, you need to know about them, and the research you carry out while building a business plan will naturally help you do that. Which means you’ll be better placed to differentiate yourself through marketing.

2. Getting to Know Your Audience

Another key element of creating a business plan is assessing the market you’re trying to reach. That means digging into who you’re selling to, where they hang out online and “in real life”, and what they’re looking for in a product like yours.

Why would they buy it? When would they buy it? How much would they spend on it?

All of that will help inform your messaging .

3. Locating Potential Investors

Unless you have a metaphorical (or literal) gold mine to fall back on, money is definitely going to cause you a few headaches in the early days of your business.

Even successful e-commerce companies struggled to keep the lights on when they were just starting up.

Building a business plan will help you identify potential sources of financial backing, like angel investors, business loans, venture capitalists, or wealthy business partners.

4. Finding Your Niche

There’s a reason Amazon started out as an online bookstore, rather than immediately selling every product you could ever imagine.

As an e-commerce startup, you need a niche . Ideally, you need to go further and find a niche within a niche. Rather than founding a womenswear e-commerce site, launch one that’s 100 percent sustainable and carbon-neutral. Or instead of selling regular sunglasses, sell sunglasses made from hemp (I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here).

My point is, all the other research you’ve done at this stage—studying your competitors, understanding your audience, figuring out your pricing strategy—will naturally guide you toward the best niche with the biggest opportunities.

5. Sourcing Fresh Talent

Admittedly, recruitment might not be on your immediate agenda.

But if things go well, you’re going to need a little help in the not-too-distant future. You might need people in the warehouse, a customer success agent or two, a marketing team, a developer, someone to handle the finances… The list is huge.

Problem is, a lot of other businesses want to get their hands on those people, too.

If you don’t want recruitment to constrain your growth, start reaching out to potential candidates early, using the information in your business plan to get them bought into your project.

Hopefully, by this point, I’ve demonstrated the value of creating an e-commerce business plan. Now, let’s dive into how to do it.

There are no hard-and-fast rules to how long a business plan should be. The more complex the business, the more in-depth the plan. But as a minimum, your business plan should include these seven sections:

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Market analysis
• Products and services
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations plan
• Financial plan

You might want to add a few more too. For instance, if you’re entering a largely untapped niche, you might want a section dedicated to the audience you’ll be targeting.

But for most e-commerce businesses, those seven categories should do the job.

Section 1: Executive Summary

Think of this as the “elevator pitch” element of your business plan.

Your goal here is to sum up the rest of your business plan in no more than one page, communicating key information to time-poor reviewers, and (hopefully) tempting them to read on.

Generally, you should look to answer the following questions:

• What does your business do?
• What do you want to achieve?
• What do you sell?
• Who will you sell it to?
• What sets you apart from the competition?
• How will you raise awareness among your target audience?
• What is your current monthly/annual revenue?
• What is your projected revenue for next year and the following years?
• Who’s currently on your team?
• What are their backgrounds and skills?
• How much money are you asking for (if you’re looking for financial backing)?

Section 2: Company Overview

Again, heed the word “overview”. Like the executive summary, this is a concise section that demonstrates who you are, what you do, and why people should care.

Whether you’re seeking investment or planning your e-commerce marketing strategy , it’s vital you get all this information down in one place. Make sure to include your:

• Company name
• Business structure (e.g. sole proprietor, partnership, LLC)
• Vision, mission statement, and value proposition
• Product or service
• Business model (e.g. direct to consumer, dropshipping, wholesale)
• Team members, including their roles, backgrounds, and salaries
• Short and long-term business objectives

Section 3: Market Analysis

A bad product in a good market stands a chance of success.

If you don’t believe me, check out your own purchase history—if you’re anything like me, you’ll have bought your fair share of useless products that sounded amazing when you saw them online.

But a good product in a bad market doesn’t have a cat in hell’s chance. You might be completely changing the game; solving a problem that’s never been solved before. But if no one’s prepared to spend money on it, you’ve not got a business—you’ve got a hobby.

The market analysis stage of your e-commerce business plan should help you find the right market: one with lots of customers who have an immediate need for the “thing” you’re selling (and enough money to buy it). Your market analysis should incorporate the following elements:

The Size of Your Market

It’s impossible to come up with a meaningful financial projection without first estimating the number of people who are potentially interested in buying your product.

Of course, to do that, you first need to figure out who your customers are.

The more demographic and psychographic information you have on them, the more accurately you’ll be able to gauge the scale of your market.

At the same time, remember to factor in broader industry trends. If you’re starting an e-commerce store that exclusively sells gas cans, you might have some early growth potential, but bear in mind there’s a good chance we’ll all be driving electric cars within a decade—in which case your whole market will have dried up.

Your Competitors

No e-commerce brand is an island.

To stand out against the competition, you need to find some way to differentiate yourself. That could be through:

• Segmentation: Focusing on a very specific (and, ideally, underserved) niche within a larger market.
• Pricing strategy: Do you plan to undercut your rivals? Or create demand through exclusivity by pricing yourself higher?
• Distinctiveness: Ideally, there’ll be something unique that distinguishes you from the current market leaders.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analyses are about assessing your business’s:

• Strengths: The things you do best.
• Weaknesses: The things you’re not so good at.
• Opportunities: Gaps and advantages in your market.
• Threats: External challenges you need to tackle.

Typically, a SWOT analysis is presented as a simple, four-section grid, with bullet points under each heading. Here’s a beautifully presented example from the creative geniuses at Asana :

Section 4: Products & Services

In a sense, your whole e-commerce business plan will be centered on your products and services.

However, given their importance to your business prospects, a section of your plan should be dedicated solely to outlining what you’re selling.

If you only sell one product or plan to launch with a very small range, give plenty of detail on each. But if you stock a wide selection of products, stick to general features and benefits such as price, unique selling points, and materials.

Additionally, be sure to reference any new products you’re planning to launch in the near future, along with any intellectual property you own.

Section 5: Marketing Plan

We know who you are and what you’re selling.

Now’s your chance to explain how you’re going to sell it.

As a marketer, I’m well aware that a marketing plan could easily run to thousands of words, and it can be hard to know where to start—you’ve likely got a lot of ideas about positioning and messaging. To make your life a little easier, use the so-called “four Ps of marketing” as the backbone of your marketing plan:

• Product: How does it meet the needs of your customers? What are its unique selling points?
• Price: How much does it cost? What is its value?
• Place: Where are you selling it?
• Promotion: Which channels will you use to reach your target audience? What messaging will you use?

Discuss the first three relatively briefly, as you’ll cover them in greater depth in other parts of your e-commerce business plan.

Reserve the most detail for that final “P”: promotion. That’s the real meat and drink of your marketing strategy.

Section 6: Logistics & Operations Plan

This might not be the “sexiest” part of your e-commerce business plan, but it’s important to discuss the systems and processes that will help you reach your goals. Specifically, you’ll want to cover:

• Suppliers: Who are they and where are they based? What are their payment terms?
• Production: Are you manufacturing your own products, using a third party, or going down the dropshipping route? Can you efficiently scale up or down to cope with changing demand?
• Shipping and fulfillment: Are you handling fulfillment in-house or using a third party? Will you ship internationally? How long will it take for products to reach customers?
• Inventory: How much will you keep, and where will you store it? How will you manage and track it?

Section 7: Financial Plan

Whether you’re seeking backing from an external investor or simply trying to understand your projected revenue and costs, a financial plan is a crucial element of your e-commerce business plan. Most are broken down into three elements.

Income Statement

Designed to demonstrate your revenue sources and expenses over a month, quarter, or year, the income statement also highlights your all-important bottom line. Subtract expenses from revenue and you’ll see whether you’re in profit or loss.

Of course, if you’re yet to launch your e-commerce business, these figures can be projected.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is used to calculate the level of equity in your business—that is, the amount you’d be left with if all debts were paid and assets cashed. To work it out, subtract liabilities (things like loan repayments, wages, and accounts payable) from assets (such as stock and equipment).

Cash Flow Statement

Lastly, your cash flow statement is like a real-time version of your income statement. That’s because it takes into account when cash goes in and out of your business, based on when payments are received and debts settled.

Calculating and projecting cash flow should help you identify periods when you’re likely to be in surplus or short on money, which gives you time to prepare.

Sure, an e-commerce business plan requires a whole lot of work.

But as Abraham Lincoln supposedly said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

All that time spent analyzing your audience, honing your messaging , and crunching the financial numbers will give you a better chance of making it through those tough early days and scaling effectively when the time is right.

And honestly, no one ever said starting a business is easy.

Emil Kristensen

Emil is the CMO of Drip. When he’s not busy writing awesome content and building the Drip brand, he spends his time reading blog posts and listening to podcasts.

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How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + Template

Noah Parsons

10 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

Free Download:  Sample eCommerce Business Plan Templates

If you’re starting an online eCommerce business , it’s tempting to dive right in and set up your digital shop. After all, eCommerce businesses are often less expensive to start than physical businesses and the risk may seem lower. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. There’s still risk involved and money you may lose if you don’t start your business the right way.

So if you want your business to be successful you’ll want to start with a business plan first. Not having a business plan is one of the primary reasons businesses fail and it’s an easy first step that you can start for free.

Businesses that do take the time to plan are actually proven to be significantly more successful than those that don’t.

• Why write an eCommerce business plan?

If you’re looking for funding from investors for your eCommerce business, you’ll definitely need a business plan. But, business plans aren’t just for entrepreneurs who are looking to raise money for their business. There are many other reasons why you should consider writing a plan.

• Strategy. Writing your plan down will help you clarify your business strategy and figure out key aspects of how your business will run. You’ll think about your marketing plan, fulfillment, sales strategies, and more.
• Test ideas. Business plans can help you figure out if an idea will work. A plan will help you figure out which ideas will be profitable and which will struggle to make money.
• Know your numbers. Developing your financial plan as part of your business plan will help you understand what it’s really going to take to start an online business. Running the numbers will help you determine profitability and what it will take to get your business up and running.
• Market research. Your business plan will help you answer questions about who your customers are and how you can best get your product in front of them.
• Marketing and advertising. Getting your eCommerce business running online is just the first step. Now you need to bring customers to your website . Having a plan and knowing how much it will cost you before your start will improve your chances of success.
• Business plan competitions. An often overlooked way of getting money for your eCommerce business is business plan competitions. There are thousands of them every year that include cash prizes. With a solid business plan, it’s usually free to enter.

A business plan can help you develop your strategy, test your idea , figure out how much money you’ll need to get up and running and identify potential roadblocks. It’s a critical step that will ensure that you don’t waste time or money as you get your business off the ground.

• How to write an eCommerce business plan

Every business plan follows a fairly standard format, but for eCommerce you will need some extra detail in the marketing and fulfillment sections. Here’s an outline of what you should include. 

If you’re ready to get started you can also download a free template for your eCommerce business plan .

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Executive Summary

Every business plan needs an executive summary . Usually, you write the summary last, after you’ve fleshed out all the details of your plan. The executive summary isn’t a repeat of the full plan—it’s really just a brief outline that should be 1-2 pages at the most. 

When you’re getting introductions to investors, you’ll probably just share your executive summary to start, and then share the full plan if an investor is interested. 

Your executive summary should summarize your vision for your online business, the products you’ll be selling, a short description of your target market, and highlights of your management team and financials. If you did a market analysis, don’t get into tons of detail, but cover enough that a casual reader will understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

Opportunity: Problem and Solution

The first chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes your opportunity. That’s a description of the business you are building and the problem you are solving for customers. 

Every business needs to solve a problem for customers. For your business to stand out and be successful, you’ll ideally fill a gap that other companies haven’t filled yet. 

Even if you’re selling the same types of products as other companies, your eCommerce business could offer a better shopping experience, lower prices, or better customer service. The problem you are solving then is that customers can’t get good customer service or low prices from other companies in your industry. They will come to you, instead, because you do offer those things.

You can also solve problems for customers by offering a product they’ve never seen before. Perhaps you’ve developed a new line of kitchen utensils that are designed for older hands and wrists. Or maybe you’ve invented a new line of soap that is more sustainable than traditional hand soap.

Target Market

Arguably, the target market section of your eCommerce business plan is one of the most important components. Your target market describes the types of customers you hope to attract. Trying to please everyone is bound to be a failure—instead, focus on a specific group of people or type of person and build from there.

For example, maybe you’re trying to sell to young professionals who value good design. Or, maybe you’re targeting new families who are looking for sustainably made, affordable kids toys.

When you’re writing the target market section of your business you’ll describe exactly who your ideal customer is, what their demographics are, and how large your target market is.

There are a lot of details that you can include in your target market section of your eCommerce business plan, and we’ve got a great article that covers everything you might want to include .

Marketing and Advertising

For an eCommerce business, getting the word out about your business is critical. Unlike a physical storefront that potential customers might walk or drive by, an online store needs to figure out how to get customers to its virtual doors.

In the marketing and advertising chapter of your business plan, you’ll want to detail your marketing plan for your business – how are you going to get customers’ attention? How will they know you exist?

Here are a few tactics you may want to consider:

• Content marketing. Start writing blog posts that your potential customers may find interesting so that you can attract prospects to your business. Also, consider guest posting on other blogs that your potential customers might read.
• Social media. These days, most consumers expect that the companies they shop at will have some form of social media presence. Pick the networks that you plan to be active on and determine a strategy that will engage your potential customers.
• Traditional PR. Traditional PR isn’t dead. If you can get popular publications to cover your company launch and your products, you’ll be able to drive new customers to your door.
• Advertising. Online advertising will almost certainly be in your plans. The good thing about online advertising is that you can measure its effectiveness and fine-tune things as you go. Depending on your business and how much cash you have on hand, you may consider traditional off-line advertising as well.
• Email marketing. For many eCommerce businesses, email is a core strategy for driving sales. If you have a content marketing plan, you can use that content to drive email subscriptions. You can also offer deals to build your email list, such as free shipping or discounts on orders.

Successful eCommerce businesses are all about ensuring that their operations are running smoothly and efficiently. Use your business plan as your chance to figure out what your operations plans are ahead of time before you jump in and get started. This is where many businesses can get tripped up, so taking the time to get your operations set up properly is worth the up-front investment of time.

Areas you’ll want to cover include:

• Locations. Even though your business may be online, you’ll still need to run the business from somewhere. Perhaps you can run the business entirely remotely, but potentially you may need some office space for employees or warehouse space for product storage. Think about where these locations are located and what it will cost to keep them running.
• Suppliers. You’ll need suppliers for raw materials if you’re making products and you will also need suppliers if you are reselling products. Use your plan to figure out who you’re going to work with, what their purchase terms are, and what kind of delivery timeframes they can provide for you.
• Production. If you’re assembling raw materials into products, you’ll need to know how and where you will be producing your products.
• Storage & fulfillment. If you’re not drop-shipping from products from a supplier, you’ll need to store and ship your own products. Your business plan should detail where and how storage and fulfillment will take place and what the costs will be. Don’t forget to think through how you’ll handle returns and exchanges.
• Technology & payment processors. All eCommerce businesses need technology to function. You’ll want to think about the platform you’ll use for your online store, what functionality you need, and how you’ll accept payments. 

Company & Management

This chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes the structure of your business and who is running it. If you’re going into business with other people, you should establish a partnership agreement. Your plan will need to explain how your business is structured and who owns what portions of the business. 

You’ll also want to include a company description that includes details on the management team and the highlights from their resumes. Potential investors will be looking for experienced owners and managers to get an eCommerce business up and running, so this section of the plan should explain why your team is qualified to build the business into a success.

If you aren’t looking for outside investment, this section of your eCommerce business plan is still important. You should think about the different positions you’ll need to fill and who is going to do each job in the business. Even if you don’t plan on hiring employees right away, having a plan for who you’re going to hire and when will be enormously helpful when the time comes.

Financial Plan

Finally, your eCommerce business plan will need to include a financial plan . Investors will want to see a sales forecast , income statement (also called profit and loss statement), cash flow statement , and a balance sheet. If you use a tool like LivePlan , you’ll be able to build out your financial forecasts relatively quickly, even if you don’t have experience with business numbers.

Even if you’re not working with investors or getting a bank loan, you should run your numbers. This is arguably the most important part of your business plan. You need to know if the numbers work for your business based on your forecasted sales and planned expenses . 

It’s much better to find out if you need to make changes to your business model while it’s all just an idea on paper rather than a business that you’ve already invested money in.

If you need additional help, we’ve created a guide to creating the financial statements you need to include in your business plan .

• Ecommerce business plan templates and examples

If you want to see how other eCommerce businesses have created their plans, check out our free library of eCommerce business plans . You can download all of them in Word format so you can jump-start your own business plan.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to create a defensible eCommerce business plan

• 10 min read

In order for your online business to survive its first precarious years—and to thrive beyond them—you need a solid ecommerce business plan.

Most eCommerce websites  are built on a dream, a passion or a noble goal of fixing something that lacks a proper solution.

But unfortunately, many businesses don’t last more than a few months. A discouraging truth about eCommerce is that 90% of startups fail  in the first 120 days.

After all, some of the most common reasons why businesses fail include lack of capital, inadequate management, and a faulty business model. Much of this is a symptom of poor planning. Here’s how you can better plan for your brand’s future and create a strong eCommerce business  plan in order to bring your eCommerce business ideas  to life.

What is an eCommerce business plan?

A business plan  is a roadmap for how to structure, operate, and manage your business. It includes the important elements that define your company—such as your name, description, capital needs, product categories, target market characteristics, and business goals.

A thoughtful ecommerce business plan can prepare your store for a successful launch and/or help it to scale in the right ways. In the latter case, an annual business plan review and revision can help you adapt to industry changes and anticipate new trends or consumer behaviors.

In a nutshell, an ecommerce business plan helps you to:

Secure funding: By having a business plan that details the who, what, where, when, and hows of your business—you’ll enjoy an easier time building trust with investors and piquing their interest.

Filter distractions: New trends and distractions crop up all the time in eCommerce, making it especially important to have a plan that holds your business accountable to (read: focused on) particular goals.

Do your due diligence: When you’re first figuring out how to start a business , it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and act on gut feelings. But building a business plan requires you to slow down and perform more thorough research on your target market, product(s), financial plan, and more.

Plan for the long term: Your business plan will help you to better gauge where your business should be in both the short and long terms. It can also act as a compass, estimating the steps you need to take to get from where you are today to where you want to go.   

Grow your team: An ecommerce business plan not only gives you a sense of who to hire and when, but serves as the glue binding your team to one, clearly defined vision.

Grow your operations: Between your tech stack, staff, supply chain, website, and more—there’s a lot that needs to be put into motion before your eCommerce business can take off. Your business plan should outline all of these moving parts, helping you strategically build out your operations.

How to create an eCommerce business plan

An eCommerce business plan is structured similarly to a traditional business plan. However, it will detail things like your website builder, eCommerce merchandising methods , sales channels, fulfillment process, ecommerce metrics and goals that are distinct to building an online store  and running it successfully.

Here’s a breakdown of what you should include in your plan and how to create it:

Write your executive summary  

Include your company name, description, and domain  

Perform eCommerce market analysis  

List the products you’re selling and why  

Plot your operations plan  

Set out your marketing and advertising plan  

Lay out your financial plan  

01. Write your executive summary

Though this is published at the beginning of your business plan, your executive summary should be written last.

This summary is exactly as it sounds. It connects and introduces all the components of your document for readers who want a brief overview of what your business is all about. It’s similar to a hook or an elevator pitch that compels readers to continue scrolling.

Keep this summary short. Do not exceed one page, and include a brief description of your product or service, growth opportunities, and why your business is set up for success. What do investors or teammates need to know right off the bat?

02. Include your company name and description

In this section, you’ll want to outline the who, what and why of your business. Rather than going into details about the products you plan to sell (this comes later), talk about your vision for the company. Share your motivations, values and problems that you plan to solve.

Your description can include things like:

Brand name: Selecting a meaningful name is particularly important for eCommerce businesses since your website domain will be closely associated with your brand. Jeff Bezos famously named Amazon after the world’s largest river because his goal was to create the world’s largest bookstore, but also didn’t want to be tied to books. Similarly, you’ll want to pick a name that you won’t outgrow. If you need some inspiration, give Wix’s store name generator  a whirl or check out this guide to eCommerce business names .

Domain name : At this point, you’ll want to have registered a domain name. Use Wix’s domain name search  to check if your preferred domain is available. If the domain is taken, you can take one of several steps: contact the site owner directly, tweak your domain (e.g., add a verb like “get” to the front of your name), use a different TLD than .com, or use an abbreviated form of your name.

Background: Your description is a great place to share why you started your ecommerce business in the first place. What inspired you to create your brand? Who do you plan to serve? What do you plan to accomplish? While you want to avoid waxing poetic here, it’s worth giving your readers an inside look into the history of your company.

Vision: Your vision statement  should capture the ideal state of your business. In other words, what is the future that you’re building towards—not just now, but five or 10 years from now?

Mission: Your mission statement , on the other hand, should express what you’re striving and able to achieve now. While your vision statement provides the 30,000 foot view of your company, your mission statement acts as a compass for your team and keeps them motivated to do their best.

Business structure: Be clear about whether your company is a sole proprietorship, an LLC , s-corporation, c-corporation or partnership . If you’re not sure which applies to you or which one to pursue, consult a lawyer or accountant.

Key personnel: Name key team members like your cofounders, CEO, partners, and upper management. There should be no question about who owns the company and who is responsible for managing what. This is not something just meant for appearances—your team should be well-structured to ensure efficiency and growth.

Core values: Your values should represent how you plan to run your ecommerce business. Investors and employees will want to know that they’re backing the right horse, not just from a financial perspective but from a human perspective. Your values will naturally make an appearance in your vision, mission, and background, but make sure that your values are clearly stated for readers to refer back to.

03. Perform eCommerce market analysis

Your ecommerce business plan should include extensive information about your industry and the people you plan to serve. The last thing you want to do is enter the ring blindly or operate based on assumptions alone.

This section should describe everything from the barriers to entry, to how your business fits into the existing landscape, to how much opportunity exists. Remember that you’re the expert here. Not everyone who gets their hands on this doc will have as much insight into the industry—nor the time to research it on their own—so you’ll want to provide all the essential information up front.

Target market: Estimate the number of consumers who need your product (based on real independent research) and how often they may make a purchase. Revisit your buyer personas  and describe who you’re planning to target. Is the need for your product growing, based on the climate of your industry? What consumer behaviors have you observed? Are there any doubts or questions that you should address?

Competitive analysis: Identify your top competitors and perform a deep dive into their strengths, weaknesses, top products, pricing strategies, and more. You should know how your business stacks up against these players. For example, many companies manufacture and sell hair and body care products but Lush built its reputation by taking a stand against animal testing, over packaging and harsh synthetic ingredients. The company has a clear niche of eco-friendly products within the cosmetics and bath products industry. They create unique, memorable products that are easy to differentiate from competitors (and fuel brand loyalty). The most important thing at this stage is to be honest in your assessment. Don’t turn a blind eye to areas where your company needs to improve or any risks that you run. At the same time, zero in on any product gaps or niches that your company can effectively target to get ahead of competitors.

Special considerations: As an eCommerce business, you may not simply sell D2C  from your branded site. You may also choose to sell on third-party marketplaces like Amazon, sell wholesale, or open brick-and-mortar locations. Each of these may involve a different set of competitors and buyers. Take the time to look into each of these channels separately. Understand how you plan to compete on all of these different fronts (or perhaps now is a good time to define which is most important to start off with).

04. List the products you’re selling and why you’re selling them

By now, you’ve likely mentioned your product several times within your ecommerce business plan. Still, you’ll want to have a section that clearly lists out your products.

In this section, describe your pricing, product positioning , margins, product life cycle , and key differentiators. You can include pictures and product reviews if you’ve already tested your items in the market. Or, if you’re still in the research and development phase, describe your timeline and progress in detail.

It should be clear whether your products are private label  or sourced elsewhere. If you only sell a few items, provide a more detailed description of each. Alternatively, if your catalog is too large to list out, give a more general overview of each product type, plus the strategy behind them.

05. Plot your operations plan

If your ecommerce business plan is meant to serve as an internal doc for your team to use (or even if you want investors to see where your capital is going), include a section that describes how you plan on tackling logistics and operations. There are tons of things to keep track of on this front, from the suppliers you’ll need to work with to the storage space you’ll require.

Here’s a breakdown of information you can include.

Suppliers: List out your suppliers for raw and/or finished goods. Where are they located? How do you plan on connecting with and managing them?

Production: Are you dropshipping , manufacturing, hand-crafting, or buying your products wholesale? Include details like lead time, contingency plans (for when demand spikes), and other essential details about your supply chain.

Equipment: What hardware and software will you need to conduct business? Include your website builder and other subscription-based tools that you’ll need.

Warehousing: Explain where you plan on storing your products—whether that be your own warehouse or a third-party logistics (3PL) provider.

Facilities: Do you plan on opening a brick-and-mortar location or will you have a designated office space? Include where your team members will be operating out of and how that might change as you grow.

Personnel: You’ll want to be clear about the chain of command and which roles are filled or need to be filled. Don’t forget to think about any legal or accounting needs, in addition to board members, consultants, and employees.

Inventory: How do you plan on handling inventory management ? This is an area where lots of ecommerce businesses stumble, so you’ll want to have a clear strategy (and the necessary technology) to keep this in check across all of your sales channels.

Shipping and fulfillment: Do you plan on fulfilling orders on your own or will you outsource this responsibility? Moreover, how will you handle international shipping if your brand plans on selling overseas?

06. Set out your marketing and advertising plan

It’s no secret that you need a good marketing and advertising plan to grow your eCommerce business .

But you may be surprised to know that a staggering 37% of surveyed startup owners  said that poor online marketing caused their businesses to fail. Of this cohort, 35% said that a lack of online search visibility was the top reason.

That’s why you don’t want to haphazardly build your eCommerce marketing strategy . Think of—and document—the various components of your strategy:

Social media ads

Content marketing/SEO

Organic social media

Email marketing

Influencer marketing

Promos/discounts

Affiliate marketing

Loyalty programs

Events/pop-ups/ flash sales /trade shows

Radio or TV

Brand partnerships

A strong marketing plan  doesn’t necessarily require a big advertising budget. But you’ll want to name your top channels upfront and specify whether these things will be handled in-house or with an agency’s help.

07. Lay out your financial plan

So you’ve got big plans for your eCommerce business. How will you fund them?

This is where you reassure readers that your head isn’t just in the clouds. While this is probably the least fun to write, the viability of your online business (and your reader’s confidence in you) relies on having a firm grasp of the numbers.

If you plan to seek financing, then investors and lenders will want a sales forecast along with your list of expenses (this includes both fixed costs and variable costs) to ultimately ensure that they’re making a sound investment.

Or, if you don’t plan on seeking third-party funding, a financial plan still tells you how much money you’ll need to run your business and helps to protect you from unwelcome surprises. The last thing you want is to run out of money before you can establish yourself—which is one of the top five reasons that eCommerce startups failed in the same survey mentioned above.

Consider including these elements within your ecommerce financial plan:

Startup cost

Income and expenses

Balance sheet

Cash flow statement

Break even point

Customer acquisition cost

Key assumptions

Financial projects for next five years

Whether you’ve just dipped your foot in eCommerce or have been in business for years now, you’ll need an up-to-date business plan to run a tight ship. Download our free business plan template  today and build a solid foundation for your brand.

Ecommerce business plan FAQ

Why do i need an ecommerce business plan.

Having an eCommerce business plan is essential for several reasons. It serves as a roadmap that outlines your business goals, strategies, and tactics, helping you navigate the complexities of starting and running an online store.

What are the main steps included in an eCommerce business plan?

Related posts.

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What are eCommerce KPIs and how to track them?

28 best eCommerce tools to power your online store’s growth

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By 2026, almost 24% of all retail purchases will take place online.

As these numbers suggest, today is unarguably the best time to start an ecommerce business. However, if you want to get a slice of this $8 trillion pie, you’re going to need to do some preparation first.

In this blog, I’m going to give you a step-by-step guide to creating an ecommerce business plan. This will not only help you set clear goals but also help you attract investor funding.

Let’s get into it 👇

An ecommerce business plan is a strategic document that outlines your online business’s goals, objectives and operational details. It helps you and your investors understand the business’s direction, competition, marketing strategies and financial requirements.

Simply put, an ecommerce business plan is a structured way to lay out your business idea . It makes it easier to share with investors and people who can help your business succeed. The more details your ecommerce plan has, the better you can accomplish your goals.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of creating an ecommerce business plan, let's clarify why it's crucial. A well-constructed ecommerce business plan helps you realise the following benefits:

• Get clarity on your overarching strategy - decide a clear direction of travel for your ecommerce business
• Set goals - monitoring ecommerce business metrics allows you to track your progress and stay focused
• Mitigate risks - by conducting thorough market research and risk analysis, you can identify and address potential pitfalls
• Allocate resources - effectively budget to ensure your online store doesn't run out of steam before reaching the finish line
• Attract investors - if you're seeking funding, a well-crafted ecommerce business plan can be a powerful tool for convincing investors and banks to support your online business

Now, let's journey into creating your comprehensive ecommerce business plan!👇

1 - Create an executive summary

The executive summary introduces people to your vision, mission, objectives and key metrics, piquing interest in your business.

Vision and mission

Your vision is the North Star you want your ecommerce business to follow. It's the big picture or the end goal.

Your mission is your compass. It directs your daily efforts towards achieving that vision.

For instance, for your ecommerce store, your vision could be to create an online retail empire that revolutionises the shopping experience.

Your mission could be to provide a wide range of high-quality products and services and deliver them with exceptional customer care.

Business objectives

Goals are the milestones on your journey to success. Make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART).

For instance, you might aim to generate $100,000 in annual revenue in the first 12 months of your ecommerce business. You could use the SMART framework to achieve this goal like so:

• S - I need to register a 20% average monthly revenue growth to hit my goal
• M - I need to track performance metrics like cost per acquisition, average order value (AOV) and customer lifetime value (CLV). I want to ensure we’re trending in the right direction
• A - I have a deep understanding of the customer base I’m serving and the problems I need to solve for them, meaning my goal is attainable
• R - I need to scale my user base if I want my ecommerce business to be sustainable
• T - I need to split my yearly website visitor goal into quarters to track my progress

Key metrics

These are the measurable data points that will show your business performance. Some examples include customer acquisition cost (CAC), churn rate and user satisfaction scores.

These metrics will be your guide throughout the journey, informing your decisions and strategies.

For your ecommerce business, you'd want to track:

• CAC - aim for $20 or less
• CLV - maintain an average of $100 or more
• Monthly revenue growth - target a 20% month-on-month growth rate
• Churn rate - keep churn below 20% per month

2 - Company overview

This section of your ecommerce business plan describes exactly what your company does. Here, you’re introducing your business to your potential investors and partners, telling them how it is different from your competitors or other ecommerce companies.

You’ll also need to explain what makes your business unique, your business model, ownership and management structure.

This section should include:

Company description

A company description explains what your company does and how it aims to fill the gaps in the current marketplace. Here, you should include the most compelling benefits of your business and how they’ll bring in customers.

Your company description also includes your company’s history, target market and audience, while also describing how you plan to evolve with changing customer preferences.

Business model

A business model outlines whether:

• You’re planning to use a traditional sales model or a subscription model
• You’ll sell directly to customers or source products for other manufacturers
• You’ll operate a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-customer (B2C) ecommerce store

Unique selling proposition (USP)

This section explains how your business will stand out from the competition and what your plan is to become a leader in the industry. It also answers how your product or service will fulfil the needs of your customers and what problems you’re trying to solve.

Management structure

The ownership and management structure provides background on your business’s leadership and details about the composition of your workforce.

3 - Describe your product and services

Now that you’ve described your business and its goals, it’s time to go deeper into your ecommerce business plan. In this section, you’ll describe the range of products or services your online store will offer.

If you plan to offer a wide range of products, then provide a brief description for each product line. Or if you want to sell a select few items, then provide more details about each product, like the cost of manufacturing and selling price. This ensures that potential investors gain a thorough understanding of your product offerings and business ethos.

Product and service descriptions should also clarify for investors whether you manufacture the products, dropship them or source them from a wholesaler. This section is a good place to tell them how your products are superior to the competition and what advantages they provide to your customers.

Finally, mention the payment gateways, courier services or third-party aggregators you’re partnered with to provide the shopping experience to your customers.

4 - Conduct competitive analysis

Understanding your competitors is essential for any ecommerce business. A thorough competitive analysis helps you:

Identify direct competitors

Identify online stores that are similar to yours, offering comparable services or products. Then analyse their strengths and weaknesses, their market positioning and their user base.

As an ecommerce business, an obvious competitor would be Amazon. After performing a competitor SWOT analysis, you might find the following information:

• Strengths - vast product selection, efficient logistics and a strong brand
• Weaknesses - intense competition, limited personalisation
• Opportunities - expanding into new markets and verticals
• Threats - regulatory challenges, reputation management

Identify indirect competitors

Aside from your direct competitors, alternative solutions may also be competing for your target audience's time and attention.

For your ecommerce store, you need to consider brick-and-mortar stores as part of your competitive analysis. After researching them, you might find the following information:

• Strengths - in-person experience, instant gratification
• Weaknesses - limited product selection, restricted operating hours
• Opportunities - ecommerce integration, enhanced customer service
• Threats - ecommerce competition, evolving consumer behaviour

Uncover competitive advantages

With this information, you can determine what sets your online store apart. It could be a better pricing strategy or a niche focus on a specific user segment. Only by understanding your competitive advantage can you gain clarity about your online business's unique value proposition.

Building on who your competitors might be, you could consider these as your competitive advantages:

• Curated product selection
• Personalised shopping experience
• Superior customer support
• Streamlined mobile shopping
• A loyalty rewards program

5 - Develop a marketing plan

Your marketing plan should outline four main topics:

Positioning strategy

• Acquisition channels

Tools and technology

Goals and evaluation.

A positioning strategy is a distinct image or perception of a product or service in consumers' minds.

A positioning strategy's goal is to differentiate your product or service from the competition. It aims to create a clear and distinct value proposition for consumers.

To create a positioning strategy, you must:

• Define the personality and characteristics of your brand
• Position your products based on the perceived value they offer in relation to their price
• Develop messaging that communicates your unique value proposition
• Ensure consistency across all touchpoints, including messaging, colours, logo etc.

An effective positioning strategy allows you to occupy a distinct and favourable place in the minds of your consumers. This makes it more memorable and appealing.

For example, footwear brand Crocs was once considered unappealing. But over a period of time, they transformed their brand image by changing their positioning.

Tapping into the rise of ugly-chic fashion trends, Crocs decided to collaborate with luxury brands and influencers in order to reach new audiences.

Today, Crocs has become one of the hottest fashion brands in the world, selling over 850 million pairs of shoes .

Marketing channels

In this section, you highlight the marketing channels you’ll use to acquire customers. These are the specific methods that your business will use to reach out to and engage with potential customers.

• Paid advertising - use Google Ads for targeted keyword advertising and product listings; alternatively, you can invest in paid advertising on social media platforms
• Content marketing - develop content that addresses the challenges and needs of your target audience; you should also create informative content about your products and industry trends
• Social media marketing - choose social media platforms where your target audience is active
• Email marketing - create personalised email campaigns for each segment of your target audience
• Influencer marketing - find influencers whose audience matches your target market, collaborating with them to promote your products
• Events and trade show marketing - network and build brand awareness at industry-specific events, trade shows and conferences

Here, you’ll shed some light on the tech stack you’re going to use to execute your marketing campaigns.

Many different tools and technologies can help you execute your marketing campaigns. Some of the common tools include:

• Marketing automation software - automate repetitive tasks, like scheduling social media posts and managing email marketing
• Customer relationship management (CRM) software - manage and analyse data to create personalised customer experiences; you can also track customer’s history of interactions with your brand
• Social media management tools - they help you plan, schedule and analyse social media performance with one platform

These are the metrics you typically use to evaluate your marketing efforts. Here, you also need to define the goals you want to achieve through marketing.

Some of the key metrics that you need to consider are:

• Revenue and sales - use metrics like average order value, total revenue or conversion rate
• Traffic and engagement - look into page views, website traffic or social media followers
• Brand awareness and perception - use metrics like net promoter score (NPS), brand recognition rate or customer satisfaction
• Customer acquisition and retention - for retention look into churn rate, customer lifetime value (CLV) or customer satisfaction

6 - Plan your finances

The clarity of your financial data, including your costs , budgets and revenue projections, is a dealbreaker when it comes to securing investor funding. And while you may need to amend them over time, presenting a clear picture is crucial.

Here’s how you can start to do that:

Online store development costs

Estimate the cost of labour, technology, software licences, equipment and other resources. Be detailed in your estimates to avoid unexpected financial surprises.

Operating expenses

Forecast your ongoing expenses, such as server hosting, marketing, customer support, maintenance and any other operational costs. A well-prepared budget will help you manage your resources effectively.

Revenue projections

Predict your revenue based on user growth and your chosen business model. Don’t be too outlandish with your estimates and consider multiple scenarios, including best-case and worst-case, to understand the range of potential outcomes.

Break-even analysis

Determine when your online store will start generating enough revenue to cover all its costs. The break-even point is a crucial milestone that indicates the financial sustainability of your ecommerce business.

7 - Use the ecommerce business plan to secure funding

Once you have your ecommerce business plan, it’s time to use it as a tool to get you the funds you need to develop your online store.

Choosing the right funding source depends on your online store's development stage, funding needs, and the trade-offs you're willing to make in terms of control and equity.

Here are the various avenues you can follow to raise capital for your ecommerce business:

Personal savings

If you have personal savings, this can be an initial source of funding for your ecommerce business. Using your own funds can give you more control and flexibility.

Bootstrapping

This involves building and growing your ecommerce business without external funding. Bootstrapping may require you to invest your own money, work with a small team and focus on organic growth.

Angel investors

Angel investors are individuals who provide capital to early-stage startups in exchange for equity in the company. Finding the right angel investor can bring not only funding but also valuable expertise and connections.

Venture capital

Venture capital firms invest in startups with high growth potential. They typically provide larger amounts of funding in exchange for equity. Venture capital can fuel rapid expansion, but it also involves giving up a portion of ownership.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding platforms, such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, allow you to raise funds from a large number of people. They believe in your ecommerce business idea and thus invest in you. In return, backers may receive rewards or early access to your online store.

Traditional bank loans can provide capital for your ecommerce business, but they require repayment with interest. Ensure you have a solid business plan and financial projections to secure a loan.

Grants and competitions

Some governments, organisations and startup competitions offer grants or prizes for innovative business ideas. These opportunities can provide non-dilutive funding.

1- Create your online store

Now that you’ve used your ecommerce business plan to secure funding, it’s time to actually start your ecommerce store . Here are the key steps you need to follow:

Find the right development team

Depending on your ecommerce store’s complexity, you might need developers, designers, quality assurance experts, project managers and more. Choose individuals or teams with the skills and expertise to execute your vision.

Choose the platform

Select the right platforms (e.g., website, app or web app) and technologies that align with your store's objectives. Different platforms offer different advantages and cater to distinct user bases, so choose wisely. Additionally, consider the technology stack and tools required for your ecommerce store development .

Select features and functionalities

Define the core features of your online store. For instance, you might need:

• Secure payment processing
• User-friendly product search and filters
• Product recommendations
• Customer reviews and ratings
• Wish lists and shopping carts
• Order tracking and customer support
• User profiles and loyalty program integration

Set development timeline

Set milestones and deadlines for your ecommerce store's development phases. A well-structured timeline helps you track progress, manage resources and launch your store on schedule. Be realistic and account for unexpected delays that can occur during development.

2 - Perform an internal SWOT analysis

To ensure the long-term success of your online store, you need to update your business plans as well as your store’s features and functionalities.

Here, a SWOT analysis can help. This is a simple yet powerful strategic planning tool, helping you evaluate your store’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

This analysis helps you gain a better understanding of your business’s current position in the market. It also helps you make informed decisions about its future development and capitalise on market developments.

The first step to conducting a SWOT analysis for your ecommerce business is to identify its current strengths. This involves taking an honest and comprehensive look at what your store excels at in its current state.

After identifying your ecommerce business’s strengths, it’s time to acknowledge its weaknesses.

This involves pinpointing areas where your online store needs improvement, allowing you to enhance the overall user experience, usability and value propositions.

Opportunities

Opportunities refer to the external factors and circumstances that you can leverage to your online store’s advantage. This section focuses on recent trends and favourable conditions so your ecommerce business can gain a competitive edge and expand its user base.

Threats have a tendency to lurk in the corner and haunt. Don’t fear them, get them in the front and tackle them individually. Threats can stem from external risks like market risks, financial risks, legal and compliance risks that we need to account for and vary.

By now, you have all the information you need to create a killer ecommerce business plan and a good idea of how you can use it to secure funding.

It’s important to remember, though, that you can’t just set and forget the work you do in this exercise. Instead, you need to continually evolve your plans to meet emerging customer needs. You also should capitalise on any opportunities the market presents.

If you want more ecommerce inspiration, hit the banner below 👇

Want to build your online store?

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By proceeding you agree to Builder.ai’s privacy policy and terms and conditions

Ananth Ramanathan runs Studio Store business at Builder.ai with a mission of digitising a 1M+ micro SMEs in the next 5 years. He oversees the commercial, product, and customer success functions to rapidly scale Studio Store globally. Ananth's an experienced tech business operator, a failed entrepreneur, and an active angel investor.

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How To Start an Ecommerce Business in 2024

Want to learn how to start an ecommerce business? This is a complete blueprint for launching a new ecommerce store.

Many people dream about starting an ecommerce business, but the realities of building an online store can be daunting.

In this article, you’ll learn the five basic steps to launch an ecommerce store, how much it's likely to cost, and extra tips for starting your business.

Start an ecommerce business in 5 steps

• Find product opportunities and choose what to sell
• Thoroughly research your competition and write a business plan
• Choose a logo and name and set up your online store
• Choose your shipping strategy and set sales and marketing goals
• Launch your business

1. Find product opportunities and choose what to sell

Finding a product to sell

The first step to building an ecommerce store is knowing what products you want to sell direct to consumer. This often is the most challenging part of starting a new online business. In this section, we’ll highlight strategies you can use to find products with great business opportunities , explore the best places to find product ideas, and look at trending ecommerce products to consider.

• How To Find a Product to Sell Online
• 17 Places to Find Profitable Products
• Trending Products to Sell Right Now
• How to Start an Online Business

💡 Learn more: What is Ecommerce: A Definition and Guide with Examples

Evaluating your idea

Once you have an online business idea , how do you know if it will sell? In this section, we’ll cover a few approaches that active entrepreneurs have used to validate their product ideas and potential markets.

• How to Validate Your Product Ideas
• How To Find And Validate Winning Products

Obtaining your product

After landing on a solid product idea, your next step is figuring out where and how you’re going to obtain your products. The next four posts cover the various methods for acquiring your products, along with the pros and cons of each model.

• From Dropshipping to DTC, Here Are the Most Popular Types of Ecommerce Business Models
• How to Find a Manufacturer or Supplier for Your Product Idea
• How to Source Products for Your Online Store: Top Apps and Tips
• Print on Demand: A Low-Risk Way to Sell Custom Products

Sell your retail products online

Shifting your brick-and-mortar business online can help you generate cash flow and build a more resilient business model. You’ll need to find a good ecommerce solution to build your store on, like Shopify.

• Bricks to Clicks: How to Move Your Brick-and-Mortar Business Online
• Sell Gift Cards for Your Brick-and-Mortar Business with a Simple Online Store
• Local Delivery: Add Local Delivery to Your Store to Increase Sales
• The Ultimate Guide to Curbside Pickup (With Examples of Local Retailers Doing it Right)

2. Thoroughly research your competition and write a business plan

Research your competition

You’ve found your product, evaluated its potential, and sourced a supplier. Before you get into that, you’ll need to thoroughly research your competition so you know what you’re up against and how you can differentiate your business model from theirs.

• How to Conduct a Competitive Analysis for Your Business (Plus a Free Template)
• SWOT Analysis: A Simple Way to Find Your Competitive Edge (Plus a Free Template)

Writing a business plan

With your competitive research complete, it’s time to write your business plan . A business plan is a roadmap that helps bring your ideas and thoughts together. It’s vital in determining what to prioritize, especially if you plan to run your online store as a side hustle . A business plan also highlights your company’s mission statement to show investors and employees the core values of your brand.

• 7 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own
• Business Plan Template: A Practical Framework for Creating Your Business Plan

3. Choose a logo and name and set up your online store

Choose an online business name

Aside from finding actual products to sell online, another challenging decision is determining your business or brand name and choosing an appropriate and available domain name . This blog post will help you tackle these important tasks.

• Need a Catchy Online Store Name? Find Ideas With These Tips and Free Name Generators

Creating a logo

Once you’ve selected a memorable name and registered a corresponding domain, it’s time to craft a simple logo. In these resources, we’ll show you several options for creating a great logo for your new business.

• Shopify’s Free Logo Maker
• The Top 10 Paid and Free Logo Makers Online
• How to Design a Memorable Logo

Understanding search engine optimization (SEO)

You’re almost ready to begin building your online store. However, before you jump into it, you should understand the basics of search engine optimization so you can properly structure your site and pages for Google and other search engines.

• The Beginner’s Guide to Ecommerce SEO
• Want to Rank Your Store? Get On Page One With This SEO Checklist

Building your store

With a better understanding of search engines, it’s time to build out your store using a website builder . There are many crucial elements to consider. Below, we’ve listed our essential reads to help you build high-converting product pages, write captivating product descriptions, shoot beautiful product photography, choose your ecommerce color palette, and much more.

• 50 Exceptional Shopify Stores to Inspire Entrepreneurs
• How to Optimize Your Product Pages For More Sales
• Product Description Examples and Tips to Inform and Persuade Your Customers
• A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Sales: A DIY Guide to Beautiful Product Photography
• Customizing Your Shopify Theme: How To Use Images, Colors, and Fonts
• 10 Must-Know Image Optimization Tips
• How to Create a Coming Soon Page and Start Marketing Before You Launch

Don’t forget, if you run into any problems getting your store set up, you can always hire help from Shopify Partners .

Choosing your sales channels

One of the best ways to reach new customers is to choose sales channels where they already shop. The right mix of sales channels will depend on your products and your target market, but there are a number of great options that can complement and support your self-hosted store.

• Etsy and Shopify: How Three Makers Used Both to Grow Their Businesses
• Scaling Sales on eBay: How One Business Balances Growth, Customer Service, and Life
• How a Jewelry Business Generates 76.8% of Orders Selling on Amazon with Shopify

4. Choose your shipping strategy and set sales and marketing goals

As you get close to the launch of your new business, there are several shipping and fulfillment elements you need to prepare for. In this section, you'll find comprehensive guides on how to set your shipping strategy.

• Ecommerce Shipping and Fulfillment: A Complete Guide
• International Shipping: Everything You Need to Know to Deliver Beyond Your Borders
• Shipping Strategy: Get Packages to Customers Without Cutting Into Your Bottom Line
• How to Reduce Shipping Costs for Small Businesses: 6 Helpful Ways

It’s also a good idea to define your key performance indicators upfront so, once you launch, you know what measures of success to track.

• Top Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Ecommerce
• What Are the Basic Ecommerce Metrics I Need To Focus On First?

As a final checklist, this post covers the most essential things you need to do before launch:

• Starting up Starts Here: The Shopify Store Launch Checklist

5. Launch your business

Acquiring your first customer

Now that you’ve launched, the hard work of marketing your products begins. While many new store owners should consider selling their physical products in person, the rest of digital marketing relies on doing one thing well: driving targeted traffic. Next, we’ll share a variety of marketing tactics that will help you in your first months.

• How to Get Your First Sale in 30 Days: A Marketing Checklist for New Entrepreneurs
• Need Traffic? Here’s How to Get Visitors to a New Website (Even If You Don’t Know Where to Begin)
• Customer Acquisition: How to Calculate It and Create a Profitable Strategy For Your Business

Marketing your store

You’re well on your way now and likely have a few sales under your belt. It’s time to get serious and invest in marketing your store . The following posts will help you zero in on your top-performing ecommerce marketing tactics or expand into new ones for driving traffic and converting that traffic to sales.

Email marketing essentials

• Learn Email Marketing: Everything from List Building to Advanced Lifecycle Automation
• Automated Email Campaigns That Win Customers and Keep Them Coming Back
• How to Write Engaging Welcome Emails (+ Examples to Inspire Yours)

Driving traffic from social

• Go Beyond Likes and Follows: How to Create a Social Media Strategy That Sells
• How to Get More Followers on Instagram: Reliable Ways to Grow Your Audience
• Pinterest Marketing 101: How to Successfully Promote Your Business on Pinterest
• How to Start a Successful YouTube Channel
• Find The Best Fit: Your Beginner’s Guide to Influencer Marketing

Driving traffic and conversions from paid ads

• How to Advertise on Facebook: A No-Nonsense Facebook Ads Guide For Beginners
• The Google Ads Playbook: Top Campaign Types And What to Expect From Them

Optimizing for higher conversion rates

• The Complete Guide to A/B Testing (Tips from Google, HubSpot, and Shopify)
• How to Find and Plug the Leaks in Your Conversion Funnels
• Drive More Ecommerce Sales with Live Chat Without Being Trapped at Your Desk
• Growth and CRO Experts on Increasing Revenue Without Increasing Traffic
• Top Ways to Earn Customer Trust When You Have Zero Sales
• The 39-Point Store Trust Checklist: How Trustworthy Is Your Online Store?
• Driving Traffic but No Sales? Here’s How to Diagnose and Improve Your Store

Using analytics to uncover insights

• The Beginner’s Guide to Analyzing Shopify Reports and Analytics
• Google Analytics Segments (and How to Use Them to Increase Revenue)
• Google Analytics Custom Reports by the Experts (and How to Use Them)
• Facebook Custom Audiences 101: A Starter Guide for Ecommerce Businesses

How much does it cost to start an ecommerce business?

Starting an ecommerce business costs as little as $100, which is spent on a subscription and purchasing a theme for your store. Ecommerce companies cost less than brick-and-mortar stores because they don’t require the same amount of licenses and permits, and you don’t need to pay rent for a retail space.

If you operate as a dropshipping business model, for example, it’ll likely cost less to start because you don’t need to pay for raw materials, inventory, or manual labor. You only pay for products after a customer purchases them. If you’re creating your own products by hand or working with manufacturers, you’ll need to pay for equipment, materials, and labor upfront.

Many ecommerce entrepreneurs learn how to start a business on a shoestring budget. To get a better idea of upfront costs, we surveyed 150 entrepreneurs and 300 small business owners in the US to find out.

According to our research , new ecommerce store owners can expect business costs to total up to $40,000 in the first year, which is paid back to the owner through profit margins.

Expense categories include:

• Product: raw materials, inventory, supplier, manufacturing, patents, etc.
• Operating: incorporation/legal fees, additional software, business insurance , accounting, etc.
• Online store: website/platform subscription, hosting/domain, contract developer/designer, etc.
• Shipping: packaging, labels, etc.
• Offline: stall/table fees, rent, gas, etc.
• Team/staff: salaries, benefits, perks, etc.
• Marketing: logo, branding, ads, printed materials, business cards , etc.

In the first year, business owners spent:

• 11% on operating costs
• 10.3% on marketing costs
• 9% on online costs
• 31.6% on product costs
• 8.7% on shipping costs
• 18.8% on team costs
• 10.5% on offline costs

Now, this doesn’t mean you will definitely spend $40,000 opening up your ecommerce store. The amount spent in the first year varied significantly, depending on industry and ecommerce business model , whether the business had employees, or if it was a full-time gig.

You also don’t need to find $40,000 in cash before you can begin thinking about how to start an ecommerce business. While many (66%) entrepreneurs use their personal savings to fund their business (respondents could choose more than one funding source ) , they also used financial support from friends and family (23%) and personal loans (21%).

5 tips for starting an ecommerce store

• Forget about year-one profitability
• Know your target audience
• Sell an in-demand product
• Experiment with marketing and advertising
• Invest in outreach and link building

1. Forget about year-one profitability

The project of starting an ecommerce business is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t measure business success by profitability in your first year. Give yourself a runway of 18 to 24 months for your business to get off the ground. Spend your first year testing, reiterating, and reinvesting your sales back into your business using the above budget guidelines.

2. Know your target audience

Outside of developing or sourcing products, you’ll spend a majority of your time getting the attention of customers. The challenge? You want to get your products in front of the right customers—the ones who will actually buy on your site. Understanding these people, a.k.a. your target audience, can help you reach them faster and make more sales.

💡 Read more: Finding Your Ideal Customer: How to Define and Reach Your Target Audience

3. Sell an in-demand product

Create or sell an amazing product with proven market demand. Take a look at the top retailers today—Allbirds, Tushy, Bombas—and you’ll notice they all sell top-tier products. “Product quality is critical because a good product sells itself,” says Eric Even Haim, CEO of upsell and cross-sell app ReConvert . “When you marry a great product with an audience who’s hungry for it, your marketing becomes 10 times easier.”

Eric explains that new products don’t need to be the “next big thing.” You just need to look for growing trends and markets where customers are underserved.

“Then step in with an excellent product and give them what they want,” Eric says.

Two places to find market demand are:

• Google Trends , where you can research topics people search for
• Trends.co , which uses data to predict trends and business opportunities before they become popular.

When you marry a great product with an audience who’s hungry for it, your marketing becomes 10 times easier. Eric Even Haim, CEO, ReConvert

4. Experiment with marketing and advertising

It’s important to get the word out about your new business after launch. You’ll want to try different marketing strategies to understand where your audience hangs out and best responds to your content.

Test different online marketing tactics like:

• Affiliate marketing
• Instagram ads
• Website pop-ups
• Checkout upsells and cross-sells
• Organic search
• Content marketing
• Loyalty programs

“Success depends on your ability to experiment, test, and analyze your ad and marketing strategies,” says Stephen Light, CEO and co-owner of mattress company Nolah . “Experimentation is the best way to avoid falling into any assumptions about your audience that could end up hurting you rather than helping.”

Stephen suggests being open to getting things totally wrong, especially when you’re just starting out. Use the data you collect to create more effective campaigns that drive traffic and profit.

“Plus, optimizing your ad campaigns and gathering data regarding how your customer base responds to them can help you shape your website’s features,” says Stephen.

Experimentation is the best way to avoid falling into any assumptions about your audience that could end up hurting you rather than helping. Stephen Light, CEO, Nolah

5. Invest in outreach and link building

Another tip for new ecommerce stores is to have an outreach and link-building plan in place. These tactics can help boost your SEO rankings in Google.

“The sooner you have an approach to link building and driving authority into your site in place, the sooner search engines will recognize your website as an authority in its niche,” says UK-based SEO consultant James Taylor .

“Search engines see a link from an authority source as a vote of confidence towards your website, so the more links you have from trusted websites, the more search engines are going to trust you as an authority.”

James recommends new ecommerce store owners and marketers invest in digital public relations and link-building campaigns early on. This sets the stage for long-term SEO success, so you can rank higher in Google, earn more organic traffic, and make more sales.

“The sooner you have an approach to link building and driving authority into your site in place, the sooner search engines will recognize your website as an authority in its niche.”

Start your ecommerce store

Building your own successful ecommerce business is as exciting as it is challenging. You’ll learn about choosing a product, evaluating its viability, figuring out how to get it produced, building an ecommerce website, and marketing and selling to new audiences. At times, you may feel like you’re solving a head scratcher of a puzzle, but it’s rewarding all the same.

We hope this ecommerce business guide provides you with a roadmap on your journey. As always, the best advice anyone can give is to get started and enjoy yourself along the way.

Illustration by Cornelia Li

Million-dollar ideas start here

Learn how to build an online business from the ground up with Shopify’s new free course, First Day to First Sale. You’ll develop a winning product, build a brand, launch a marketing strategy, and more.

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• AliExpress Dropshipping- How to Dropship From AliExpress
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• What is Shopify and How Does it Work?
• 130+ Dropshipping Products To Sell for Profit
• How to Build a Business Website for Beginners
• Amazon Dropshipping Guide- How To Dropship on Amazon (2024)
• How To Get a Business License in 3 Simple Steps
• Trimming It Down- How to Create a Lean Business Plan

Ecommerce business FAQ

What is ecommerce business.

Ecommerce is the buying and selling of goods or services online. Ecommerce business is conducted through an ecommerce store or online marketplace, social media, or a mobile app. Ecommerce enables businesses to offer convenient shopping to a global audience.

How to start an ecommerce business?

Research what products you’d like to sell or can source to sell, select a business name, register your business with the government, obtain permits and licenses. Then choose an ecommerce software and create your website, load your products onto the site, launch, and start marketing your business.

What are the 4 types of ecommerce businesses?

• Business to consumer (B2C): When you sell a good or service to an individual consumer (e.g., you buy a jacket from an online retailer).
• Business to business (B2B): When you sell a good or service to another business (e.g., a business sells wholesale products for another business to use).
• Consumer to consumer (C2C): When you sell a good or service to another consumer (e.g., you sell vintage clothes on Facebook Marketplace to another consumer).
• Consumer to business (C2B): When you sell products or services to a business (e.g., an influencer or affiliate offers exposure to their audience in exchange for a fee).

Is ecommerce a profitable online business?

Yes, the ecommerce industry is profitable. Successfully starting an ecommerce company is a marathon, not a sprint. It can take 18 to 24 months for your business to get off the ground. It’s critical that you don’t measure the success of your business by your first-year profitability.

Is it hard to start your own ecommerce business?

No, starting an ecommerce company is easy, with platforms like Shopify enabling brands to go online in just a few days. Starting a brand consists of hard work and continual market research to improve your business. We encourage you to read our guide on how to start an ecommerce business before you set up a store.

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How (and Why) to Write Your Ecommerce Business Plan

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December 22, 2021

This article is Tax Professional approved

Visions of becoming a successful ecommerce entrepreneur may have you browsing domain name ideas and virtual storefront websites. After all, what’s easier than launching an online business from your living room in just a few clicks?

I am the text that will be copied.

The truth is that prospective ecommerce business owners who don’t have a step-by-step plan can face major challenges later on. An ecommerce business plan can help you anticipate future growth and avoid common obstacles.

Why you need an ecommerce business plan

You may wonder why a business plan is even necessary if you’re just going to have an online store.

Even though you won’t be selling products out of a traditional brick-and-mortar shop, you still have to clarify your goals, finances, suppliers, and marketing strategies. More importantly, you can use the plan to convince prospective lenders and investors to back your ecommerce company financially.

Without a roadmap for planning your online shop, it’s easy to lose direction and focus. The ecommerce business plan serves as your guide on your journey from a small start-up to a potentially profitable venture. A solidly written business plan will not only help you get your business off the ground, but it will also be an indispensable tool to help with future expansion.

An e-commerce business plan can help you:

• Validate your business idea.
• Define your target audience and which products and services to sell.
• Detail the financial, physical, and human resources you need to get the business off the ground.
• Create a game plan, including measurable goals, for sales and future expansion.
• Understand who your competition is and how you will gain the upper hand in the marketplace.
• Convince investors and lenders to help you establish your business and expand later on.

What an ecommerce business plan includes

An ecommerce business plan will act as the guide describing the how’s and why’s of your future business.

The plan should include the following:

• Values that the business will offer to customers and clients. These can include finances, time, convenience, and customer service.
• How and when your ecommerce business will be profitable.
• Any resources necessary to operate the business, such as funding, employees, and equipment.
• Plans for expansion, including new products or services you plan to offer in the future.
• How your business stacks up against the competition.
• Current financial reports and projections.

Writing your ecommerce business plan

Now that you know what to include, you can begin writing your formal ecommerce business plan. There are many free business plan templates available for download, but we like this easy-to-follow ecommerce business plan template from the Shopify website .

Templates and formats will vary, but there are five main components you should always include in your ecommerce business plan:

1. Executive summary

Think of the executive summary as an introductory short story about your business that should draw potential investors into the rest of the plan. This first section sets the stage for your small business and should leave readers with a strong impression.

Make sure you address the following factors:

• The business name and domain name, both of which should be easy to remember and accurately reflect what you’re marketing.
• The products and services your business will provide.
• The target market for your business.
• If the ecommerce site will be run from your home or from a rented office space.
• Short and long-term goals of the business.
• What marketing strategies you plan to use.

For example, say your business is going to specialize in sugar-free candy. You’ll can use your executive summary to introduce the business with an easy-to-remember name—something like “The Low Sugar Shop,” maybe—with a similarly catchy domain name to go with it.

2. Company overview

This section, also known as the company description, could be considered a biography of the company. Be sure to include in-depth details, such as:

• The history of the company, including how you came up with the idea for the business.
• The legal structure of the business (LLC, S corporation, C corporation).
• If you are a B2B or B2C ecommerce business.
• The management team, as well as any partners.

The company overview should also include your mission statement, which is the reason you are starting the business. It can be a simple statement or a more detailed description.

A sample mission statement

For your sugar-free candy shop, a mission statement might look something like this:

The Low Sugar Shop is dedicated to offering a wide variety of the highest quality, low and no sugar candy at affordable prices. At the Low Sugar Shop, we believe sugar-free candy should be just as satisfying as its high-sugar counterparts. That’s why we offer a complete line of the most popular low and sugar-free candy available today.

3. Market research and analysis

Every business needs a market—without customers, your business won’t succeed. How you identify your market is key to your ecommerce business’s success. The more information you have about your potential customers, the more faith your investors and lenders will have in your business.

Recent industry reports can usually be found online, and they’re a great place to research growth in your target market. These reports include information such as how much growth there is in the industry, what may be causing this growth, and the demographics of the industry’s largest customer segments.

The market analysis section should include:

• The demographics of your target market, such as population size, age, education, and income level. If it’s a niche market, is there enough demand for your business to be successful?
• The needs and search habits of your target customers, as well as your ability to meet these demands.
• Your anticipated competitors, as well as what will differentiate your business from theirs. This requires some competitive analysis to uncover their key product features, pricing strategy, monthly website traffic, mission statement, and business model.
• Once you know what you’re up against, you can strategize ways to stay ahead of your competition, such as offering unique products, concentrating on specific in-demand items, and offering more attractive discounts.
• Your marketing plan, including the marketing channels you plan to use.
• Your marketing strategy will be informed by your previous work in this section since the shopping behaviors of your target personas will impact where you choose to advertise. This will include social media and any paid advertising methods, such as pay-per-click ads, affiliate marketing, and influencers. You can also include other unpaid strategies you may use, like email marketing or writing SEO-driven blogs and articles to help increase traffic to your website.

Market research for the Low Sugar Shop

To continue our example, in conducting your industry research for the Low Sugar Shop, you discover there is tremendous growth in this area since many people are cutting down on their sugar intake for health reasons. The taste and quality of sugar-free candy have also improved significantly in recent years, adding to the demand and appealing to more consumers.

Your research also indicates that your target demographic will be relatively well-educated, health-conscious consumers in their 40s and 50s.

Your candy business can start by looking into the popularity of specific brands of other low-sugar and sugar-free candy products. This information gives you an idea of how to stock your ecommerce store so that you meet that demand.

Include how you will target your advertising, which in this case may be in publications and websites that cater to healthy eating.

4. Logistics and operations

If your business will be selling physical products, your logistics and operations plan will describe how your ecommerce business will manage product inventory and deliveries. This is where you can demonstrate a thorough understanding of your supply chain, including contingency plans for any issues with timelines and raw materials.

If you are only selling digital or virtual items, this will not be an issue. However, you must still specify how these items will be delivered, such as via email or by navigating to a download website. This assures your stakeholders that your products will be readily available for your customers upon request.

This section of your business plan should contain the following information:

• Where you will obtain your inventory from, and how much lead time is needed to ensure adequate stock of all your products. Include who your suppliers are along with their costs. This includes any wholesalers to purchase products in bulk for resale or if you plan on using a dropshipping service.
• The amount of inventory you will have on hand and how it will be stored.
• Any restrictions for shipping to international customers.
• The projected packing and shipping times of your products from your wholesaler and estimated shipping time to your customers.
• Any contingency plans you have in place for peak demand periods.

5. Financial plan and projections

Prospective stakeholders will go over your financial plan with a fine-tooth comb. After all, they want to be assured that they are making a wise investment in your ecommerce business.

This section shows potential investors how long it will take you to make your expenses back and help determine if you need a business loan.

You’ll need to include the following supporting documents in this section:

• Income statement : Your income statement includes all of your projected startup costs, including supplies, licenses, fees, and deposits, as well as costs for creating the business structure. Be sure to include additional fixed expenses, such as domain name registration and server fees. Your variable projected expenses are the cost of products sold and credit card payment fees.
• You can calculate your projected net income by subtracting all of the above expenses from your projected total revenue.
• Startup balance sheet: Your balance sheet lists the business’s assets, such as inventory, equipment, supplies, on one side and liabilities, such as taxes and loan repayments, on the other.
• Subtract the liabilities from the assets to arrive at a projected amount of shareholder equity.
• Cash flow statement : The cash flow statement documents your projected cash inflow and outflow. Here you will list the amount of money you plan on having at the beginning of each month, total sources of cash from sales, loans, lines of credit, and expenses you plan on incurring.

How Bench can help

A detailed projection of your start-up costs and revenue assures investors that you’ve carefully considered every possibility, which makes your ecommerce business a better bet. Stakeholder confidence soars when you can provide professionally prepared financial statements to prove that you already have a solid bookkeeping system in place.

Bench can help by assigning a dedicated bookkeeper to handle your pre-revenue startup tasks, including preparing your projected financials.

After your e commerce business is off and running, your Bench bookkeeper keeps your books in order so you can focus on the day-to-day responsibilities of your new business. Learn more .

Putting it all together

We get it: writing up a business plan may not be the most exciting activity, but it can save you time and money in the long run and help prepare you for the challenges ahead. The plan puts all of your ideas, questions, and concerns with their solutions in writing, providing a roadmap that guides you throughout your business start-up journey.

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Home » Building Online Stores » Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make a Business Plan

Ecommerce Business Plan Template: How to Make a Business Plan

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Written and researched by:

As the Benjamin Franklin quote goes, “by failing to plan, you’re planning to fail” – and it’s a sentiment that’s just as relevant today just as it was in the 1700s.

Particularly if you’re managing an ecommerce site .

After all, one research project (a collaboration between Forbes, Huffington Post, and Marketing Signals) suggests that a whopping 90% of ecommerce businesses fail in the first 120 days of their existence. So how can yours avoid being part of that short-lived majority?

With an ecommerce business plan, that’s how.

So read on – we’re walking you through what ecommerce business plans are, and why you need one. You’ll find a complete ecommerce business plan template below, too – so you can start planning for your own online enterprise’s future, today.

What is an Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a document that outlines your online business’s objectives and strategy. That’s a summary of both your goals and how you plan to achieve them.

A good ecommerce business plan should identify all the potential challenges your online enterprise will face as you chase profitability, scalability, or simply sustainability. They’ll lay out the groundwork, too: including an analysis of the market you’re planning to enter, and the customers you’re intending to target.

And, of course, an ecommerce business plan should get specific. How will you source your products? Which tactics will you use to market them? How will you fund your fledgling business, and maintain cash flow when times get tough?

Though they’re also useful for keeping you on track with your goals, ecommerce business plans are vital for attracting and securing outside investment, too – so it’s important you get yours right.

Food products are an excellent option for selling online, and you find a list of examples here . But remember, you need to factor regulations and food safety requirements into your business plan.

Why Create an Ecommerce Business Plan?

There are plenty of benefits to creating a comprehensive business plan for your online store:

• Gaining a deeper understanding of your business – your blockers, biggest assets, and most lucrative opportunities.
• Understanding the state of the market, and where you want to position your ecommerce store within it.
• Planning for what’s ahead – getting to grips with industry trends, and how they might affect your burgeoning business.
• Testing how viable your ecommerce store’s idea and concept is, and any weak points inherent in the premise.
• Assessing the outlay required – be it time, effort, or money, this is useful for understanding the scope of the work that lies ahead.
• Obtaining funding – business plans are, after all, super useful for selling the idea of your online store to potential investors.
• Clarifying your strategies for marketing, logistics, and finance, as well as exactly who your target audience is. Making your business idea a little more tangible – it’s starting to feel real now!

Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Ready to start penning your plan?

Read on – the ecommerce business plan template below offers a handy framework to get you started.

Executive Summary

Like a blurb on the back of a book or an abstract at the start of an academic article, an executive summary is designed to give time-poor readers a concise, compelling overview of your ecommerce business plan’s contents.

While your executive summary should take pride of place at the top of your business plan, you shouldn’t write it until the end. That’s because you’ll figure out more about your ecommerce store’s plans, ambitions, audience, and strategies as you flesh out your plan – and you’ll want these to be reflected in that punchy, persuasive first statement.

So what should an executive summary include for an ecommerce business, exactly?

Here’s a quick (non-executive) summary:

• What your business does
• What goals you want to achieve
• What product or service you’re selling
• Where you’re selling
• Who you’re targeting
• Who your competitors are
• How you plan to make money
• How you’ll implement the business plan that follows

Remember, an executive summary needs to be crisp, clear, and to the point. Don’t waffle on with overlong or unnecessary analysis – you’ll lose your reader’s interest!

Company Overview

With your reader now hooked, it’s time to explain exactly who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

A company overview should include:

• Details of your products/services – what are you planning to sell?
• Your company’s key details – your name, tagline, logo, and any top-level branding information.
• Your key individuals – your founder(s), CEO, and COOs.
• Its legal structure: have you set up as a partnership, or a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
• Your vision, mission , and values. Beyond making money, what does your ecommerce store stand for? What do you believe in – and what higher purpose gets your staff up and out of bed in the morning?

Market Analysis

Next up in your ecommerce business plan, you’ll need to provide a detailed analysis of the market you’re entering into. This is crucial – after all, if there aren’t any existing market gaps for your business to service, it’ll struggle to make an impact.

Your market analysis should include an exploration of:

• Market size
• Current competitors
• Any gaps, opportunities, and threats

To do all this, a SWOT analysis is a pretty good place to start. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a form of situational analysis that can help you understand the nature of your business vis a vis the competition.

Customer Research

Who are you planning to sell to? It’s a key question you’ll need to know – and that any potential investors will demand to know – before your ecommerce business gets off the ground.

So, your ecommerce business plan needs to get specific about that sweet slice of the pie you’re targeting. That includes a deep dive into the demographics – specifically, your prospective customers’:

To gain this info, you can conduct market research into the portion of the market most interested in – or most likely to buy – your products or services. That could involve running focus groups, or sending out incentivized surveys.

Advice from the Experts

Top tip: for an even more granular way of conceptualizing your potential customers, create buyer personas . these are fictional depictions or real consumers, with pain points, goals, likes, dislikes, and demographic info all fleshed out..

By tailoring all your messaging to one or more of these personas, you can increase the effectiveness of your comms.

Marketing Plan

Next up? Details about how you plan to spread the word of your business.

This will include which communication channels you intend to prioritize, which marketing strategies you’ll implement, and which milestones and metrics you’ll use to measure it all.

Your marketing plan should make clear:

• Your marketing goals
• KPIs: such as engagement rates, traffic, conversion rate
• Key channels: email, SEO content, paid SEM marketing
• Your key marketing tactics: will you focus on social media, or plow your resources into influencer marketing? Perhaps a blend of both?

Need some digital marketing tips to add clarity and clout to your marketing plan? Our comprehensive guide has you covered.

Logistics Plan

You know how you’re going to entice your customers to buy from you – but how will you actually get your products to their doorstep once they do?

This is what your ecommerce business plan’s logistics section aims to explain. It’ll include:

• Where you’ll source your products
• How (and where) you’ll store those products
• How you’ll deal with orders
• How you’ll fulfill orders – in-house, or via a 3PL (third-party logistics) supplier?
• How you’ll handle deliveries, and which shipping provider you’ll partner with
• How you’ll deal with returns

3PL suppliers like ShipBob store, sort, pick, pack, and ship your goods – so they can be a fantastic option if you’re a growing business, and outsourcing the fulfillment process makes sense.

Financial Plan

As it so often does in the world of commerce, your business plan all boils down to this –  the money .

Your financial plan describes how you’ll first fund your business, then keep it afloat. Here, you’ll set out your fiscal stall with a series of projections around cash flow and income. The goal? To convince investors (and, on some level, yourself!) that your business has legs.

Your ecommerce business plan’s financial chapter should include:

• How you’ll fund your store’s start-up costs
• How you’ll price your products
• How much profit you’ll make on each product sold
• Financial projections
• Income statement
• Balance sheet

Do I Need a Business Plan?

Yes. Yes, you do.

It can be easy, as a business that only exists online, to get complacent – to assume that you don’t need a business plan.

‘Business plans are a traditional document,’ you think. ‘They don’t have a place in the world of modern ecommerce businesses.’

Well, guess what? They do – regardless of what you call, or how you classify, your business. But there are certain types of ventures where a comprehensive business plan will be especially useful. Among these are:

• New ecommerce stores
• Businesses seeking investment
• Businesses looking to expand into new markets
• Ventures attempting to increase their share of an existing market

Even if your ecommerce store falls into none of these categories, a business plan is always a good idea. It’ll clarify and crystallize your professional goals, hold you accountable to your ambitions, and keep you on track to making your dreams a reality.

In this article, you’ve learned exactly what a business plan is, and why it’s vital for commercial success – particularly for brands of the ecommerce persuasion.

You’re also well-versed in the structure and contents of an ecommerce business plan:

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Market analysis
• Customer research
• Marketing plan
• Logistics plan
• Financial plan

What now? Well, it’s time to get researching and writing. So remember – keep it simple, keep it tight, and make sure it reflects the heart and soul of your business (and all that passion you feel for it, too!).

Putting together a business plan is exciting. It’s that tangible, real expression of your goals and vision for your ecommerce store – so it shouldn’t be a chore. Go enjoy it!

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How to Create an Ecommerce Business Plan in 2023

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Do you need to launch an ultra practical online business? It all starts with a pre-meditated ecommerce business plan. At first glance, this feels like a superficial blueprint for most starters.

But here's the deal.

You need an executive summary of everything you're about to do in order to convert your objectives into actual results. From the onset, you must put your thoughts on paper. It doesn't matter how smart you are. I'm pretty sure that Jeff Bezos of the retail giant, Amazon, sat down to sketch his master plan at some point during the initial stages.

What does this imply?

If you sort all the salient pointers for your online business accordingly, this will undoubtedly, funnel your future goals towards the right direction.

Goes without saying that any ecommerce business ought to have an online store that matches its precise niche . As long as you have a product to sell, drafting a roadmap to your ecommerce store's success isn't that much of a hassle.

So let's cut the chase.

In this article:

Is an ecommerce business plan worthwhile, do a product market research, choose the right sales channel, streamline your order fulfillment process, shape up your marketing campaigns, create a sound financial plan, identify your business model.

Absolutely Yes!

Let me persuade you further. Any business startup, no matter small or big, needs some sort of manifesto, for lack of a better phrase. In actual sense, a sound ecommerce business plan helps you mitigate any future shortcomings. You should think of it as a pacesetter. It provides you with the most appropriate pointers on how to run a successful online enterprise.

A well-articulated ecommerce blueprint is a practical idea if you don't have adequate funding to start off your business. Still not convinced?

Let me explain how.

Provided that your business plan is distinctive and logical, you can pitch it to financiers or make arrangements for crowdfunding if the idea requires an immense capital input. If making your prospective ecommerce startup your full-time job is within the bounds of possibility, then a sensibly analyzed business plan is a must-have for any newbie.

More often than not, an online business operates in the same fashion as brick and mortar stores. The only disparity is it may not need a physical location. Bear in mind, the fact that the merchant needs to do some extra logistics planning and marketing as well.  So there's absolutely no excuse for not having a manageable business plan in check.

So what needs to be done?

This guide is fine-tuned to illustrate all the qualities of a money minting ecommerce business masterplan .

👉 To give an executive summary, here's a painstaking breakdown of the rightful pointers we'll shortly look at:

• Carrying out a scrupulous market research
• Marketing your business
• Financial Planning
• Choosing the right sales channel
• Identifying the appropriate business model

Let's take a look.

To get things started on the right foot, you need to plan ahead before spending a penny on whatever demands that your online business has. With the prevalence of brilliant research tools, a merchant can now do an intensive market analysis without any constraints. How else would you know your suitable target audience?

Let's face it.

Whether you're a small business or an enterprise-level setup, the need to identify the most accurate demographics is pretty inevitable. Above all, the acute competition in the ecommerce industry is never easy. As stiff as it tends to be, there are techniques to help you cut all corners. In fact,  in a competent, or rather, proficient manner.

No matter the kind of niche you want to hang on, there are salients tools you ought to upskill yourself with. As a matter of fact,  that's a rule of thumb while structuring your business plan. So here are some of the elementary hacks to use for your market analysis;

Use Google Trends

To put it into context, Google Trends is, unquestionably, a feature-rich tool that hooks you up with the winning keywords. It calculates the popularity which a particular key phrase has garnered over time. Google Trends generates this graphical data in real-time and filters the same information as per the preset demographics.

So that begs the pertinent question.

How exactly do I make best out of this exceptional tool? As a merchant looking forward to starting a new ecommerce business, this is a means to fetch potential customers.

Please allow me to illustrate.

Suppose you want to sell some type of ‘ sportswear ‘on your online store, this tool allows you to view its interset by a value between 0-100. It has options that help you filter data according to the region and duration of time, respectively.

The logic here is that Google Trends uses search queries to sort the trending products and services. That aside, there's a comparison feature that contrasts several search phrases. With such data-driven information at hand, a merchant gets to make well-informed decisions while creating SEO focused content to market their products or services.

Google Trends feeds you with industry-focused reports that abundantly, help you out with marketing campaigns. So long as you catch sight of most applicable keywords, boosting your ads engagement is absolutely a no-brainer.

Do a Small Physical Survey

There are lots of bricks and clicks stores selling a wide range of products in the market. By Bricks and Clicks, I mean those that do have both physical and online stores. There's so much to learn from such retail setups.

In a resourceful way, this strategy gives you a smooth learning curve while inventing your ecommerce business plan . That way, you get to bank on sharp insights that help you make realistic prospects for your future online business. Doing a survey is as easy as walking in a storefront that owns an online store and asking the requisite questions.

👉 Practically speaking, here's what should be on your checklist:

• How often does a specific product get returning customers?
• Which are the best selling products in their online store?
• Find out the worst-selling products as well.
• What's the average order value for this category of products?

Make the perfect use of Google Analytics

Yet another instrumental tool that you need to incorporate while figuring out what your ecommerce business plan ought to entail.

So what's the deal with Google Analytics ?

Well, there's so much to bargain on. This tool keeps you conscious of where exactly to keep more focus on. Once you set up your online marketing campaigns, this tool feeds you with exclusive data as regards to how each ad performs.  Otherwise stated, Google Analitycs allows you to find out which audience reacts to your campaigns. It integrates with your sales channel ( Shopify , Volusion , WooCommerce , and others) via a Google ID.

This tool shows you the stats in reference to where exactly your online store gets its traffic from. Along the same line, you get to discern between those ads which convert as well as those that don't.  The Keyword planner, on the other side, gives you a projection report of high ranking keyphrases.

The Keyword planner helps you make good strides for your B2C website. In particular, you get to boost your sites SEO via your blog.

👉 In other words, Google Analytics is, without fault, the most idealistic tool that helps you with:

• Calculating the total number of new visits to your online store
• Shows the average session time. This is the duration which a visitor spends on your ecommerce site.
• Allows the user to view the location where most visits come from. You get to push your campaigns to the right demographics(target audience).

Know who your competitors are

Needless to say that this part is quite inevitable in any kind of online business. You're not alone in the market. That being the case, you need to what your rivals do best.

And not only that.

👉 Your quest to come up with the most accurate results need to be inclined to the following:

• Have a deep run on how your competitors sort out their product descriptions
• You need to compare their pricing techniques.
• How responsive are their product pages? Do they load quite fast?
• Consider having a snippet of the feedback from customers

Thereby, your business model operates on a great volume of descriptive information. That gives you the roadmap to fill the market gap. Making such a fundamental exercise sort of oversimplifies your strategy to beat the already existing competition.

At the moment, there are so many avenues to count on. The list is actually endless. Indeed, this is the most fascinating part of running your online business.

Forget about the retail giants such as Amazon, eBay or even Alibaba. There are other suitable 3rd party salse channels on taking center stage.

But don't get it twisted.

Not that there's anything wrong with Amazon and the likes. Which we'll look into shortly, as a matter of fact. But just in case Amazon sounds thrilling to you, you'll have to part with $39.95 each month to get hold of an Amazon seller account . The deal is, you need to consider what your specific needs are.

👉 Choose a sales channel that allows you to:

• Import products in bulk together with their descriptions
• Connect to the most prolific and niche-oriented themes
• Run an actionable blog section
• Sell on social media platforms
• Work with real-time reports
• Do marketing  campaigns

Surprisingly, there are a couple of shopping cart channels that are built to streamline such needs.

So let's briefly touch on some of these notable sales options:

As things currently stand, Shopify seems like the quintessential ecommerce platform for starters. The reason being that Shopify's pricing model works out for merchants looking to open up small online stores. It has plans starting from $9 to $299 per month. It's still a competent cart solution for retailers who deal with massive volumes of sales. The enterprise plan allows you to reach your maximum potential in a far-reaching way (have a look at our Shopify reviews ).

While sketching your online store's plan, you don't want to crack your head over any sort of web development tasks. I'd recommend Shopify to a newbie who's not alive to any coding skills. Unlike other tangled solutions such as Magneto or WordPress, Shopify's user interface, is sort of plug and play.

What strikes me most is its integration prowess. Shopify's marketplace makes you want to sit back and wait for your financial projections to mature up in an automated manner.

If you have vested interests in dropshipping , for instance, this is the way to go. In fact, there are lots of Shopify dropshipping apps that will let you make a decent ROI. The DSers app (full DSers review ), for example, allows you to sync products together with their descriptions and variants to your Shopify store. DSers allows you to import products from the popular AliExpress .

💡 Other significant apps include Spocket (full Spocket review ), Printful (full Printiful review ), Spreadr App , and much more.

WooCommerce

If you've used or at least, heard of WordPress , then probably WooCommerce shouldn't sound strange to you. Technically, it's a WordPress plugin that is e-commerce oriented. Since it syncs with the WordPress CMS system, this gives you full autonomy over your online store.

That's the bright side part of it.

However, WooCommerce requires some extra skills while dealing with hosting, domain, theme adjustments, and the likes. (read our full WooCommerce Review )

Aside from the basics, this sales channel allows you to;

• set shipping rates
• import products in bulk via a CSV file
• Integrate with payment processors like Stripe

I'd recommend this channel if you really want to boot up your SEO. The reason is pretty simple. WordPress is a champ at it. For B2C setups, you can never go wrong with it's blogging functionality.

Weebly is a pretty solid alternative to work with more precisely if you want to run a simple online store. Well, it's not as versatile as Shopify or Magneto , but it's a good starter pack if you're working on a low budget.

This website builder has drag and drop tools that are quite easy to learn for a beginner. Weebly's pricing is notably budget-friendly and has plans that meet various types of demands. The price for the plans starts from $5 – $38  per month if paid annually.

Other well-built 3rd party sales channels include;

• BigCommerce ( full review)
• PrestaShop ( review )
• Squarespace

This is what builds or breaks your ecommerce business. If you don't deliver ordered items to your customers on time, the aftermath could be sickening. You don't want to deal with chargebacks and derailing reviews from frustrated clients.

The ingredient to always have to customers return to your checkout button is having a sensible order fulfillment criteria in place. The good part about it is that there are well-founded companies to help you deal with that. While picking the most reliable sales channel, it's thrifty and forehanded to pick one which integrates with remarkable carrier companies.

Let's presume that you're dropshipping products from AliExpress , which is, as you may know, based in China. In this case, you may want to work with reliable carrier services. Moreover, the shipping speed is of great essence here. You need to bank on big carriers such as;

Alternatively, you can try out predominant 3rd party order fulfillment services such as ShipBob (read our ShipBob review ), ShipWire, or ShipMonk, just to name a few verified solutions. Besides that, here's another tried and tested approach to a successful order fulfillment process;

This is a robust channel that a merchant can use to potentially make revenue that is up to the mark. With over 6 million 3rd party sellers , there's definitely more to decipher about these numbers. This guide will actually teach you everything from scratch. Needless to say that it's one of the most pressed on fulfillment services in the world.

The Amazon FBA which stands for ‘Fulfillment By Amazon' is an option you can put to test. Basically, this model is designed to process all customers' orders on the retailer's behalf. For this to happen promptly, you need to send your products to Amazon's warehouses, or if you like, fulfillment centers. Thereafter, Amazon picks, packs, and sends the ordered items to your customers.

What makes Amazon FBA a choice for most serious merchants, is the convenience it sets forth whenever one needs to scale their business. Amazon has multiple warehouses which makes it feasible to ship ordered items globally. That's a huge plus for your business and future revenue prospects.

In order to beat your competitors, you need to boost your store's visibility. But that just doesn't happen by doing the bare minimum. A merchant needs to do a conclusive analysis and figure out which marketing options draw more attention to the target audience.

A marketing campaign is one of the most purposeful and resolute technique to drive immense traffic towards your online business. And not just ordinary traffic. The end goal is to have insightful traffic that translates to fulfilling conversions.

For that to happen, you need to ask yourself the right questions. This should be on  your checklist;

• Where do most of my customers come from? (location)
• What's their age demographics
• Do they prefer online shopping over a storefront?
• How much are they willing to spend on my products?

Such kind of information allows you to tweak your marketing techniques. As you may know, a merchant can custom-make their target customer base. Hence, you end up with potential visitors who are most likely going to make a purchase.

Without further ado, let's have a look at some of the conventional marketing techniques;

Email Marketing

I wouldn't term it at the most reinforced marketing option per se, but email marketing still scores fairly well in the world of advertisement. Email marketing is now an automated method you can try out to keep customers in your pockets.

Choosing the best service for your email campaigns can turn out to be a bit daunting. Before jumping into any emailing tool, you need to have these specifications in your mind;

• Choose one that automates your customers' subscription notifications.
• Has a dashboard with email editing features.
• Comes with flexible plans that allow scalability.
• Has professional reporting and analytics tools.
• Gives you access to incredible CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools.

For this to happen, I'd recommend that you choose any of these tools;

• ActiveCampaign
• GetResponse

Please read this guide to get an overview of the newfangled email marketing services.

The gladdening part about Google Ads is that it allows you to set your own budget. This tool creates visibility for your business. Customers who search for related keywords get to see what your online store has to offer.

For as low as $150 per month, this solution allows you to reach out to relevant customers. You get to choose a specific period which you want your targeted ads to run. Just like other marketing campaign tools, Google Ads allows you to customize how you want the ads to appear.

Instagram & Facebook Advertising

I must say that there's so much potential from these two ends. However, be careful not to spend up to the last coin only to end up with sluggish results.

These two social channels are good with marketing no matter how small your brand is. Thankfully, you can create shoppable posts at the convenience of your sales channel.

There are two avenues that you can explore here. You can either opt to go with paid ads or work with influencers. Choose an influencer who's crafty enough to tap into your audiences' emotions. Potential shoppers need to get the impression of how your product solves their problems.

These two channels allow you to run an array of ads ranging from photos, videos, stories, and much more. If you don't know how to go about these options, then your bait will certainly miss the fish. If you can spare some time to make some eye-catching videos and post them on your store's accounts.

As another option, a merchant can choose to run organic posts on the site's official page. This alternative is absolutely free. You only need active internet for that.

Customer Loyalty Program

This is one of the most common ways to maintain repeated customers. You can decide to create promo codes, do retargeting ads, offer discounts if customers refer their friends to make a purchase, and so on. A stable customer loyalty program can help your business be operational for decades.

Print Marketing

This is an easy strategy to start off with if you feel like paid ads are somewhat expensive. It's as simple as branding merchandise with your brand's logo and using creative promotional inserts.

Organic Marketing

This method doesn't need you to invest so much to achieve any projected outcome. You can run a blog and produce SEO focused content to reach your target audience. Although this might take so much of your time, it equally boosts your conversions in a far-reaching way.

To run a successful blog, you don't just need an ordinary CMS (Content Management System) . It must be one with essential tools to help you strikingly rank high on the search engine. An all-inclusive software like WordPress is a perfect example in such a scenario.

What does a blog have to do with my online store?

You might ask yourself.

Well, running a blog is one of the most promising channels a merchant can use to introduce a ‘call to action'. It's an easy peasy way to persuade readers to buy your products.

Practically, you can put ‘buy buttons' in your articles to direct customers to your online store. You need to create good content to convince your readers. That comes to fruition only if you know how to engage your audience with what they can actually relate to.

I'm pretty sure that you must be alive to the fact that WordPress is free to use and also an open-source platform. This means that you can actually joyride a couple of its functionalities. To improve your site's SEO, you can set noticeable meta descriptions, insert backlinks, and set appropriate keyphrases.

If you intend to target a population from the younger demographics, you ought to run a marketing strategy which they're more affiliated with. In this case, Instagram tends to be more associated with Millenials.

I don't necessarily need to emphasize the fact that you need to work with a budget. If this is left unattended to, your business is more likely going to crumble in the near future. A merchant ought to be sharp about the start-up costs and any extras that they might have to incur in the long run.

Assuming that you're going to run your online business alone, setting a budget that fits your wallet shouldn't be a demanding exercise. You need to maintain a streamlined cash flow in your business dealings. To keep off from discrepancies, it's doubtless that you need a high-standard accounting tool.  Most of this software charge a few bucks for its services. Not much, that I can give you some sort of guarantee.

As a matter of fact, the likes of Intuit Quickbooks and Xero are ideal for bookkeeping and any other accounting needs. By use of such tools, you get to stay ahead of your priorities by maintaining a sound financial plan.

So let's see what you should put into deep consideration;

Projected Earnings

This gives you a sneak peek of the amount of revenue you should anticipate. But you just can't take a wild guess to know exactly how much you'll generate over time. Since you're the CEO of your e-commerce business, you need to be a wise bookkeeper. Act like you have 10 years experience as a professional accountant, even though you're not close to being one. But if you are, that's a huge plus.

Figuring out what your gross revenue amounts to isn't enough. There's more work to be done in order to narrow down to accurate projections. Once you do the math and come up with the total sales, it's pretty obvious that you need to deduct all expenses. Finally, you get to know the actual profit yield.

And that's how a viable financial projection works.

To make a more intelligible projection, you can use business planning software to remove all forms of complexities. Small businesses can use apps like LivePlan , Bizplan or Enloop to account for their business forecasts.

Recurring Expenses

If you're going to depend on 3rd party SaaS services to run your business, then it's patent that you need to pay for the monthly plans. An online business owner must factor in what the sales channel charges on a periodic basis. Shopify, for instance, charges $29 each month for its Basic plan.

But that's not all.

There are extra plugins which integrate with your store to boost its overall perfomance. Some of these extensions have premium plans. That aside, you'll have to set a budget for your marketing campaigns as discussed earlier on. Besides, a merchant whose business is at an enterprise level requires elite-level services from the marketing tools.

Paid advertising, in particular, is often a recurring expense that needs to appear in your financial books of accounts.

You don't expect to thrive over your rivals by clinging on a free trial plan. With the acute competition in the ecommerce setups, there's more to making huge revenue than merely putting basic efforts to your online store.

If you want to run a winning online business, you better use a theme that's sort of intertwined to your niche. Furthermore, you need to brace yourself with some extra bucks so as to access a fully functional theme. Realistically,  a professional WordPress theme would roughly cost you about $200 or even more.

Magneto, on the other hand, is a sales channel that needs some tender care. It has a knotty learning curve since it's designed to run ecommerce businesses that have scaled to an industrial level. In order to make adjustments on Magneto's functionality, you might have to spend on web development experts.

Payment Processing

Since you'll be running an online business, thus handling payments from customers, you need to work with a cloud-based POS system. One which integrates with processors such as Stripe , PayPal , Square, just to mention a few notable ones. A merchant service provider like Shopify has its own POS app which works perfectly well for all their retail needs.

This solution uses a tiered technique on each of its plans to calculate the processing fees. The pricier the plan, the lesser the processing fees.

To further illustrate, Shopify's Basic plan charges 2.9% + 30 cents per sale transaction. Its counterpart WooCommerce charges the same amount for all the credit card transactions.

No matter how old this phrase is, here's the moral of the story.

To get your business into good financial shape, you need to be mindful of the processing fees. Be keen to choose an ecommerce platform which has multichannel functionality yet with low processing fees. This allows you to greatly maximize your profit on each sale transaction.

Fulfillment Expenses

As noted earlier, there are a couple of ways to go about this process. If you want to offer free shipping to your customers, pick a solution that rewards you the most. Most drop shippers tend to include the shipping costs in the selling price. If that's the case, choose reliable carrier services to avoid future chargeback claims.

Also, go with one that has an efficient management team. Amazon's FBA can serve as a pretty solid order fulfillment service. The same goes for services such as ShipWire or ShipMonk.

If you decide to do premium shipping, then you'll have to elevate your pricing index formula. Contrastingly, if your products are somewhat expensive, customers might shy off from making a purchase.

Other Operational Costs

Just like a brick and mortar store, you'll definitely incur some extra expenses while running your online business in a bid to boost productivity. If you're running a large online store, it's prudent to have some technical assistance. That costs money. Depending on the size of your ecommerce business, you might incur some accounting expenses and business taxes too.

Not to mention hosting services if you go with a sales channel that isn't self-hosted. Besides that, there are premium integrations which come with monthly recurring costs.

The earlier you realize which category your ecommerce business plan falls into, the better for your future projections. The trendsetting business models are not the same as those that used to reign a couple of years ago. Many thanks to the cumulative progression in technology and shopping trends.

For an online merchant, this brings on board, diverse ways of doing business across borders.

The end result?

Your online business setup generates more revenue like never before. With such kind of innovation in the realm of running an ecommerce business, numerous opportunities are created. It's no wonder that there is an uncountable number of niches which potential online store owners can venture into.

Before we even delve further into these ecommerce oriented business models, let's have a recap of the long-established, or put differently, the traditional ones;

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

B2C setups are those which sell products and services, or both, to the end buyer. That simple. It's one of the most prevalent methods in the sphere of ecommerce. Most merchants use this method to sell products to consumers since it requires fewer efforts than B2B(Business-to-Business).

The Business-to-Consumer approach is highly preferable for products that have a lower market value. Under ordinary circumstances, it's easier for buyers to make up their minds on a pair of shoes over an accounting software. At least, owing to the fact that the latter is a recurring expense, which they have to incur periodically.

The B2C model is mobile-friendly and helps you optimize your online store's perfomance.

Business-to-Business(B2B)

Unlike B2C, B2B transactions occur between two businesses entities. In other instances, the buyer is usually the end-user. But most-predominantly, the buyer makes the purchase and later on resells the products to the consumer at a retail price.

This framework is now more focused on B2B ecommerce businesses which are well versant with niche markets.

Consumer-to-Business(C2B)

This structure allows individuals to sell products and services to companies. In ecommerce, a business buys such a product or service so as to aggressively compete in the market.

Let's use a typical illustration. Consumers who let's say own blogs can allow companies to advertise products in their sites. Of course, this comes with a price.

Moreover, there are Business models that focus on ecommerce setups.

They include;

Direct-to-Consumer(D2C)

If you want to cut the middleman, this is the right model to use for your ecommerce business. It's a tried and tested technique that connects businesses to customers in an unconventional manner.

Subscription services

In e-commerce, this is the kind of business that offers a type of service to consumers. Examples include; online magazines, streaming services, online classes, gym and club memberships, the list is endless. In return, the merchant collects recurring payments on a periodic basis and at a preset date from the consumer.

Wholesaling

As the name suggests, the wholesaler sells products to a retailer in bulk. A perfect marketplace to source wholesalers is Alibaba. The same goes for AliExpress, which is its subsidiary retail site. The latter is compatible with both the B2B and B2C model since consumers can make a direct purchase from AliExpress. A merchant can also opt to open a seller account here.

Dropshipping

This model is on the mainstream in the e-commerce industry. A merchant, otherwise known as a drop shipper, markets a product that is later fulfilled to the customer by a 3rd party supplier. The drop shipper, who is more of a middleman, virtually displays the products via a sales channel and adjusts the pricing to make a small profit on each sale.

Everything considered it's rightful to say that coming up with a detailed e-commerce plan isn't baffling whatsoever. The catch is, a merchant needs to make some sort of fusion between their business needs and the above-discussed blueprint. So long as you have an idea of what products to sell online, the initial stages of launching your business should be a no brainer.

Also, you don't want to go a little overboard with your startup costs. As you may know, that might slow down the launching process. To kick off with bargain-priced e-commerce sales channels, you can try out plans from solutions such as Shopify , WooCommerce , or even BigCommerce.

In a nutshell, having a full-proof e-commerce business plan sort of guarantees you systematic progress towards your future goals. This guide gives you a comprehensive analysis of what you need to have in your bucket list. If you feel unbalanced while sketching your plan, don't feel shy to drop a query in the comment box below.

Compare the best ecommerce platforms

Bogdan Rancea

Bogdan is a founding member of Inspired Mag, having accumulated almost 6 years of experience over this period. In his spare time he likes to study classical music and explore visual arts. He’s quite obsessed with fixies as well. He owns 5 already.

Comments 4 Responses

Thanks for in depth guide. Really wonderful article.

You’re welcome Sanjay!

Thanks Meaghan Brophy for your very detailed guide. I also would like to add a quick point as my takeaway. It all starts with a pre-meditated ecommerce business plan. At first glance, this feels like a superficial blueprint for most starters. But here’s the deal. You need an executive summary of everything you’re about to do in order to convert your objectives into actual results. From the onset, you must put your thoughts on paper. The key is to start it. Planning is very important. But be aware to not overdo it.

Thanks for sharing you thoughts, we’re really glad you liked the article!

Comments are closed.

How To Create an Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Online Store

Our culture thrives on instant gratification. Streaming media, medical appointments, and online shopping are all just a point and click away.

Online sales are booming, and more people are launching ecommerce businesses than ever before. The best way to prepare for success is with a business plan for your ecommerce store.

That’s true. Breaking into ecommerce is easy. Being successful, however, takes a bit of work – so pair your enthusiasm with preparedness.

A 2019 study from Startup Genome found that 90% of ecommerce startups fail within their first 120 days of operation. Some of the reasons for failure include poor search engine visibility, a saturated market, and financial issues — all of which could have been addressed ahead of time with an ecommerce business plan.

It may seem like a headache, but learning how to create a business plan is the best step you can take to ensure long-term success.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• Why you need an ecommerce business plan.
• What the elements of a business plan are.
• How to create a business plan for ecommerce.

What is an ecommerce business plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a roadmap to profitability – a document that outlines your business idea, what you want to achieve, how you’re going to get there, and everything in between . It's just like the business plan you’d put together for any other business.

Potential investors may have questions about your business, and your ecommerce business plan answers them. It also lays out goals, discusses operations strategy, plans for growth, and anticipates issues. It’s a summary of how you plan to achieve success — because a successful business turns a profit.

Who needs a business plan?

If you’re in commerce, you need a business plan. Brick and mortar, ecommerce, B2B, B2C, nonprofit, for profit, lemonade stand, door to door salesman – everyone running a business needs a business plan.

Communicating your goals and methods is part of being a business owner. You’re bringing consistency and accountability to the table, because your plan isn’t just for you. You’re likely working with investors, bankers, employees, partners, even customers. Your objectives need to be clear to the people you’re working with and working for.

A business plan benefits everyone involved in a business. Not every ecommerce brand launches with a formal business plan, but there is value in taking time to step back and study the market you’re looking to enter. That way, you can formulate a strategy to launch and grow a successful ecommerce site.

Why do I need a business plan?

Outside of keeping your business operations on track and organized, ecommerce businesses need business plans because they need capital. Like most businesses, if you’re not already rolling in dough you will need financing.

There are a few options. You could find investors or you can secure a business loan. Either way, having a business plan for your ecommerce store increases your chances of getting financing . Investors and banks don’t just throw money at strangers who ask for it – they need proof of business viability. That viability depends on the plan you’ve created.

A solid business plan empowers you to:

• Develop a strategy for growing your business
• Determine potential obstacles
• Identify the human, physical, or financial resources needed
• Evaluate the viability of your business idea

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What do I need to start my ecommerce business plan?

If you’re figuring out how to create a business plan, you’ll need to consider all the details of building your business, including:

• What products and/or services you’ll be offering
• Financial models for your business
• Operations plans
• Staffing plans
• An expected timeframe for achieving your goals

You can find templates online, but it’s important to understand the relevance of each component and how it relates to your business.

You should also consider that templates may be geared toward brick and mortar businesses and not everything may apply to your individual situation.

For example, if you’re a dropshipper, you won’t need to think about factoring in overhead costs.

What is in an ecommerce business plan?

Think of your startup’s ecommerce business plan as Cliffs Notes for your company. The high level components are detailed, but day-to-day decisions aren’t. You’ll outline your marketing strategy, not what your social media manager tweets out on Thursday.

Not every business plan is exactly the same. All businesses have different needs. All business plans contain a few key parts:

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Market analysis
• Products and services
• Marketing plan
• Operations plan
• Financial plan

Let’s explore what each component of an ecommerce business plan entails.

Business plan template: how to create a business plan for ecommerce

Writing a business plan is not as complicated as people assume it will be. Here’s how to create a business plan for your online business.

1. Sum up your plan with an executive summary

The executive summary outlines the key points discussed in the rest of the ecommerce business plan. The executive summary is often the last section to be written, but it should be the first thing someone reading your plan sees. Keep it brief — an executive summary shouldn’t exceed one page.

The executive summary is where you identify your products and services, describe your target audience, and communicate how you solve customers' pain points.

You will also detail where you expect your business to go in the future. If you’re planning on expanding offerings, developing new products, or adding new delivery methods, you should mention that in the executive summary.

Executive summary example Colleen’s Cookie Keepers is a sole proprietorship that sells specialized cookie containers that features proprietary cookie preservation technology ensuring fresh baked cookies stay soft and pliable for up to 3 weeks. It offers a premium cookie experience, expanding the niche market of plastic food storage serving home cooks and bakers who encounter inferior storage options for baked goods. Colleen’s Cookie Keepers’ ideal customer is a woman who has children or grandchildren and considers herself a “home baker.” Given the focus parents place on healthy options for their children and the trend of moving away from processed foods, there is a renewed market interest in high quality home preservation options. While canning and vacuum sealing attempt to meet needs, the underserved market of baked goods shelf-life leaves a gap in the market. Colleen’s Cookie Keepers offers airtight cookie containers in 5 sizes and are available exclusively online at ColleensCookieKeepers.com. Our products range from $6.99 to $129.99. Production costs are $0.73 for the smallest size and scale up to $14.32 for the largest size. The company’s sales projections for the year are $650,000, with an expectation of 35% growth over a period of five years. By year three, we project 80% gross margins. The business is run by Colleen F. Snickerdoodle, founder, who has extensive home baking experience and a degree in Advanced Plastics Engineering from the Harvard School of Tupperware.

Your executive summary is your 30 second elevator speech. You have to sell your readers right away to keep invested parties reading through your plan. They’re forming impressions about your capacity for success – so now’s your time to shine.

Make sure to include:

• A brief overview of what your business does
• What your company sells, or what services you provide
• Who your customers are
• Where you plan to sell your products
• Goals for growth
• Financial considerations (think how participants explain their valuation on Shark Tank)
• How much financing your business will need
• Who leads the company

Being told to simultaneously be brief but include all these important details feels like conflicting information. You’re giving the reader a taste of why your business is worth financing. Touch on the major points — the more substantial information is fleshed out later in the plan.

Some instances do not require the amount of detail a full business plan goes into. A “lean” business plan is usually a one-pager and will contain the information from your executive summary and your company overview.

2. Introduce your company with the company overview

Your company overview breaks down why your business exists – and when you’re seeking financing, you need to present your business in a manner that inspires confidence.

By the time a reader finishes this section of a business plan for your ecommerce startup, they should understand the fundamental aspects of your company.

Your business is one of likely hundreds they’ll review this year. When you’re creating an ecommerce business plan for your startup or existing business, you are essentially forming a very detailed marketing document.

The company overview will be defining your company’s identity. This gives you room to be creative while also defining your mission, values, and vision. It gives you the chance to tell your company’s story and introduce the major players.

This section should provide an overview of your business in terms of:

• Company and brand name
• Brand mission, vision, and values
• Business history: How did your company start?
• Business structure: Are you a single proprietorship, partnership, corporation?
• Business model: Do you sell products directly to consumers? Will you get into affiliate marketing ?
• Value proposition: What makes your company unique?

Company overview example

Company name Colleen’s Cookie Keepers Company history Our founder Colleen F. Snickerdoodle grew up making countless batches of cookies for her family, but would often have many left over. They’d often go stale or grow mold. Knowing there had to be a better way, she developed the initial prototype and launched Colleen’s Cookie Keepers… Mission, vision, values Colleen’s Cookie Keepers offers specialized containers that keep home baked cookies fresher for longer… Our vision is to have a world without stale cookies…  Colleen’s Cookie Keepers promotes a culture of health and safety Business structure Colleen’s Cookie Keepers is a sole proprietorship led by Colleen F. Snickerdoodle. The company employs 14 staff… Business model At this time we are a direct sales company that offers one product, but in the future we plan to introduce an affiliate rewards program, additional products, and gift cards. Value proposition We are the only science-proven cookie preservation device on the market, guaranteed to safeguard your cookie from the elements, mold, and even Uncle Randy. Goals Move 100,000 units by Q4 2023. Introduce 3 variants in 2024. Team CEO: Colleen F. Snickerdoodle Business Manager: Chip Florentine

The company overview is where you get to tell your company’s story. How did it start? What do you offer? Where did the idea come from? What pain point does your business solve? Tell stakeholders why your company is unique and marketable.

If you’re finding it difficult to come up with your mission, vision, and values – think about why you’re in business in the first place. Did you want to make things easier for a specific group of people? Were you sick of products that didn’t really achieve the results they promised so you built a better mousetrap?

You should cover what type of company your ecommerce business is (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, LLC, etc) as well as which business model you are operating.

When we say value proposition, we’re talking about why your business brings value. Why should people buy from you? What are you doing great or unique?

If you have not developed goals for your ecommerce business, it’s a great time to start. If you’re presenting a business plan to investors, partners, staff, or customers, it is very important that they know where you expect your company to go.

A note about goals

If you have not developed goals for your ecommerce business, it’s a great time to start. If you’re presenting a business plan to investors, partners, staff, or customers – it is very important that they know where you expect your company to go.You might be familiar with S.M.A.R.T. goals already. It’s a framework for goal development that stands for:

• Specific: Saying you want to do better next year is a goal, but it’s vague. Spell out what you want to happen. Increase revenue? Expand capacity? By how much? Define the goal as clearly as possible.
• Measurable: Goals require tracking. Determine what data needs to be tracked and analyzed each quarter and set up spreadsheets to monitor your progress.
• Achievable: Understanding what your business can afford to re-invest, how much product is on hand, and factoring in availability/supply chain issues can help you develop an attainable goal. If you can’t stock 1,000 items, you won’t be able to sell 10,000.
• Relevant: Does your goal align with your company’s mission and purpose?
• Timebound: Goals are projects. Projects have deadlines. Setting deadlines gives you the boundaries in which you can measure if your goals are successful.

S.M.A.R.T Goal Examples

• Increase sales by 10% between Q2 and Q3.
• Create and launch an ad campaign for Black Friday in one week.
• Decrease returns by 15% by Q4.

Finally you should outline who the key staff are that are involved in running your business.

The contents of your company overview is information you’ll likely be able to repurpose. When developing copy for your ecommerce site – your “About” page, for example – you should be able to pull from your company description.

3. Study opportunities by conducting a market analysis

When you’re running a brick and mortar store, a lot of your success will depend on location. It’s common to believe that ecommerce totally removes that barrier to success when anyone, virtually anywhere, can visit your online store.

Despite access, there’s still plenty to consider from an analytical standpoint. As such, it’s important to do some market research.

This section of your business plan should discuss:

• Market size: How big is your potential market?
• Market share: What percent of the market have you captured?
• Industry trends and growth: Explore other trends that may arise over time and other markets you can branch out to. A SWOT analysis can identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
• Competitive analysis: How do you fare compared to your competitors? What strategies are you going to adopt? Will you differentiate, segment, or offer competitive pricing?

Studying the market you’re breaking into allows you to determine if it is oversaturated and where you can fill gaps. Knowing the size of your potential customer base helps you to figure out inventory needs. It helps define your target audience, ensuring that you’re focusing your intent on customers that want to buy your products.

Analyzing the market is beneficial for ecommerce business planning, because trends develop and change fast. Looking into industry trends and analytics can help you identify new market opportunities, as well. Some great, free resources for market analysis can be found here .

A well-prepared business owner doesn’t stop at a market analysis. They also conduct research on their competitors. For ecommerce startups, you should also include the following when doing a competitor analysis :

• Website metrics
• Social media engagement
• Customer service

The better you understand the market you’re entering, the better prepared you are to run a successful ecommerce business.

4. Get into more detail about your products and services

You will mention your products and services in other parts of your ecommerce business plan, but you can dig into the particulars in this section.

A products and services section is crucial if you sell niche products or provide a unique service.  If you sell a variety of items, you can include general descriptions of each here.

It’s a great idea to include images of your products so potential investors and stakeholders can visualize them. It’s also important to showcase how your product is new, different, or better than what is already available to consumers.

If you’re providing a service, include detailed descriptions of what each service entails, how the service is delivered, and what benefits the customers will experience. Since you do not have a tangible product, you must effectively make the case for why someone would hire you for this specific service.

Whether you’re manufacturing products yourself or reselling items, this is a great area to talk about sourcing components, who your vendors are, where products are manufactured, assembly operations (if that applies) and other product-specific logistics.

If you’re providing services, it is useful to note what credentials you possess that make you the ideal service provider.

Whatever you’re selling – or intend to sell in the near future – make sure you include everything you’re offering. If you’re a large retailer selling thousands of different items, it may be more helpful to list product categories.

5. Convince your target audience to buy with a marketing plan

Once you establish that you have a winning product to sell to a promising market, it’s time to determine how you’ll convince customers to buy. This could involve working with bloggers and influencers, sharing branded quips with market leaders on LinkedIn, or by signing up as a retailer with Amazon.

A marketing plan discusses your strategy to advertise your business and reach potential customers. Your plan will highly depend on the profile of your target market. Your ideal customer is the foundation of your marketing plan. Visualize what kind of person you want to buy your products or services to create a buyer persona.

Go back to your market research and use your findings to outline your ideal customers. You should also consider their specific behaviors — how do they spend their time and money?

For instance, a stay-at-home mom has different interests and spending habits compared to a college student.Come up with a set of general demographic characteristics such as:

• Education level

You can use the Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) approach to fine-tune your marketing plan. Our partners at HubSpot have a great resource on STP marketing . Anticipating who your customers are, where they live, what their spending habits are, and what their values are can help you make better marketing decisions.

Once you’ve determined what you’re selling and who your target audience is, you’ll need to decide how you want to market your products or services. Consider your budget, and determine what is feasible.

If you’re opting for paid campaigns, this is where you detail your strategy for advertising, email nurtures, commercials (if you’ve got that kind of budget), etc.

Organic marketing strategies include content creation like blogs, videos, and social media posts. When you’re using keywords strategically in your content, it’s easier for customers to find you in search engine results pages.

Talk about how you will utilize paid, organic, or both strategies to attract customers and increase sales, or whatever is relevant to your business goals.

Most ecommerce marketing strategies include information on what Neil Borden calls the 4P’s :

• Price: How much do your products and services cost? Why did you price it that way?
• Product: What are the product’s features? Why should people buy it? What makes it different from competitors?
• Promotion: How are you getting the word out? Are you going to do it through social media advertising? If so, what platform?
• Place: What ecommerce platform will you use to sell your products?

Your investors may like your products, but even great products don’t always sell. Developing a solid marketing plan for your ecommerce business helps show financiers that you’re prepared on all fronts for success.

6. Share your ecommerce startup’s day-to-day with an operations plan

The operations plan details how you’ll run your online business. This section should demonstrate to potential investors that there are contingency plans in place if difficult situations arise. It should also define the specific nature of your ecommerce store, such as whether it involves dropshipping or print on demand.

Think about everything you need for your business to run. You may have an office or retail space. You may need various types of equipment. You’ll almost definitely need computers, internet access, bookkeeping software – the list is exhaustive. Outline what you need, the procedures operations will require, how packing and shipping will be handled, etc.

Your operations plan should cover every aspect of the supply chain:

• Suppliers and service providers: Where are your products sourced or produced? What about any raw materials production requires?
• Production: Are products made, bought, or will they be dropshipped ? Are they physical products or digital products? Facilities and equipment: Do you plan to have an office, physical retail space, or warehouse?
• Sales channels: Aside from your chosen ecommerce platform , will you also be selling on social media?
• Inventory: How much product will you have on hand? Where will it be stored?
• Delivery fulfillment: What is your delivery lead time? Will you offer both local and international shipping ?

Over the past few years, more ecommerce retailers have experienced shortages due to supply chain issues. Knowing how to mitigate these issues ahead of time helps to prevent issues should anything arise.

If you’re using WooCommerce, there are built-in backorder options. There are also plenty of backorder management plugins that add even more options, making maintenance easy.

Use the operations section to detail contingency plans, productions operations, timelines, and anything else vital to your company’s day-to-day business operations.

7. Demonstrate profitability with a solid financial plan

The time or effort you invest won’t matter much to potential investors if you don’t have a demonstrable history of financial health. Their top consideration is a business’s financial feasibility.

Your financial plan is one of the most critical sections in your ecommerce business plan. With 82% of companies failing due to cash flow problems , potential investors want to know if a business will be worth their while. Digging into the financials will also help to determine how to fund initial startup costs.

No two businesses are identical, so the specifics vary depending on your particular business needs. That being said, most financial plans include:

• Income statement: This includes revenue sources and income statements which show whether the business was profitable or not.
• Balance sheet: This provides a snapshot of your business’s equity, which is the difference between the assets and liabilities.
• Cash-flow statement: This is similar to the income statement but provides a real-time report of your revenue and expense flow. More income than expenses indicates a positive cash flow, while the opposite indicates a negative cash flow. Aim for the former to keep your business solvent.

Why is a financial plan important when you’re asking for funding? Investors and banks do not want to invest in a company that feels risky. If you demonstrate financial literacy, they’re more likely to trust you with their money. Detailing the fiscal health of your budget adds to the viability of your company.

Final thoughts: how to create a business plan for ecommerce

An ecommerce business plan facilitates your business’s success by providing direction for where it should go. Writing an effective plan for your online store does not have to be complicated.

If you spend time gathering information on your company, competitors, and future plans, then your business plan can be a roadmap to achieving your business goals. Then, after you've established your store, the next step is focusing on your ecommerce growth strategy .

You handle the business plan, and we’ll handle your website. Jumpstart your ecommerce company with Nexcess’s managed WooCommerce hosting packages .

This blog was originally published in July 2021. It has since been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Nexcess, the premium hosting provider for WordPress, WooCommerce, and Magento, is optimized for your hosting needs. Nexcess provides a managed hosting infrastructure, curated tools, and a team of experts that make it easy to build, manage, and grow your business online. Serving SMBs and the designers, developers, and agencies who create for them, Nexcess has provided fully managed, high-performance cloud solutions for more than 22 years.

How to Create an Ecommerce Business Plan

If you’re thinking about launching an ecommerce business or taking your current venture to the next level, a great business plan can help you in several ways. From upping your chances of getting increased funding to simplifying the decision-making process, an ecommerce business plan might be what you need to step up to the next level.

This guide demystifies ecommerce business plans, and will help you create one for your business!

What is an Ecommerce Business Plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a document that defines your business and lays out its goals, provides data and analysis around the industry you’ll operate in and who your competitors are. It also details what you need to execute your objectives in terms of investment and resources, as well as what your ecosystem of partners and supporting services will look like.

Having this document will help you validate your business idea and plan your next steps in detail, while also serving as a concrete piece of evidence that you can put in front of potential business partners and investors—in fact, studies have shown that having a formal business plan can actually boost your chances of success.

If your ecommerce venture is still in formation or it’s a side hustle that you think could turn into a full-time business, a good business plan will paint a clear picture of how viable it is and what sort of risks are involved. At the very least, this’ll give you some peace of mind as you prepare to take the leap!

Benefits of Creating an Ecommerce Business Plan

When you come up with a formal business plan, it gives you a chance to go through your business ideas with a fine-toothed comb. You’ll find yourself identifying weaknesses in your plans and remedying them, and it gives you an excellent opportunity to fill in any gaps you might have left in your planning.

Ultimately, a business plan helps to lay out a clear path forward and make the decision-making process easier. It’ll let you plot your way through those crucial early stages of business, and make the most of your starting capital.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Ecommerce Business Plan

Now that you know how and why an ecommerce business plan can benefit you, let’s get right on with how to create one!

#1. Draft Your Executive Summary

An executive summary gives the reader a clear but concise way to understand your business plan, and while it has a broad remit doesn’t need to be any longer than a couple of pages. The ideal executive summary will take the reader through several clear areas, including:

What Your Business Does

This section’s right on top because it’s important—this is where you get to state the entire basis of your ecommerce venture, from the business opportunity you’re positioned to take advantage of to how exactly you plan on doing so, along with what the existing business landscape looks like. Here’s a detailed glimpse of what you ought to put down.

• Problem statement This is where you get to outline exactly what sort of market gap you’re going to fill. Be as detailed as possible here—if you’re going to show your business plan to investors or partners, this is something they’ll need to be sold on.
• Business idea Now you can describe how you’re going to go about filling that same market gap, solving the problem from the previous step.
• History to date If you’re already doing business or have some experience in the area, you can detail where your company is at right now.
• Market analysis In this section, you can describe the market relevant to the problem you’re solving, including the market sizing and trends in the industry you’re looking at.
• Competitor analysis It’s likely that there are already some players in your niche even if it’s a fresh opportunity, so outline what they do and don’t do well here as well as how your ecommerce business will differentiate itself.
• Projected milestones In this section you can look forward, projecting your path forward a few years and outlining any significant plans. Include things like entering adjacent markets or new geographies, going public with an IPO, and so on.
• Financial plan Here you can provide details about your financial situation, including what sort of funding you might need to realize your plans. This one’s crucial if you’re going to be doing any fundraising.

Your Business Goals

Now that a lot of the key information is out of the way, your executive summary can move on to the different short, medium, and long-term goals of your business. If you’re not sure exactly what sort of goals to include here, don’t worry—they can be as high level or detailed as you wish. As long as your goals are realistic and achievable, you can set them down here.

The Makeup of Your Team

One of the most crucial things that investors especially want to see from your executive summary is the makeup of your team. It’s likely that you’re the company owner and plan on holding the chief executive role, but list whoever else you’ve got in your corner and identify their exact roles. If you have people earmarked for those spots but they’re not on board yet, note that down too—once you’re up and running, having the right team is vital, so this section of your executive summary can serve as a reminder of their importance.

Your Ideal Customer Profile

The next element in your executive summary needs to be your target customer or audience profile. Not having an understanding of their ideal customer is one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make, so it’s well worth putting the research in. Through this section, you can show that you understand your customer not just through a demographic lens, but also in terms of what really drives them and makes them tick.

From a demographic perspective, you’ll want to build a profile that includes their age and location, gender, relationship status, and crucially, information revolving around their education level, occupation, and income. On top of that, psychographic data includes things like interests, hobbies, attitudes, behavior, and values. Put together, all of this data will help you understand how to best sell your product to your customers.

What You Sell and Where

Last but definitely not least, make sure to include details about your products and through which platforms or channels you plan on putting them in your customers’ pockets. You’ll also need to touch on your supply chain here, describing exactly how you’re going to source your products and what the logistics of the operation will look like.

It’s also important to underline your value proposition in this section. You already described how your business will differ from your competitors, but here you can go into more detail about why your customer is likely to choose your product over those from another brand. You can also touch on your revenue model here, as well as any intellectual property issues that may come up.

#2. Define Your Company

Once you’ve got your executive summary sorted out, it’s time to go into detail about the various aspects in that section, starting with your company itself—this is where you can start to tell the story of your company and brand.

Name and Branding

You might already have a company name in mind here, but it’s worth taking a moment and thinking about it a bit longer. It’s really difficult to change the name of your brand once it’s up and running with an established audience, so it’s one of those things you’ll want to get right from the outset—and it’s well worth doing so, given how powerful a catchy brand name is.

There’s also the consideration of domains and websites when it comes to branding. You’ll need a significant online presence for your ecommerce startup, and that means at least one main website and multiple social media accounts. Make sure you can actually get yourself a domain that makes sense—many entrepreneurs have had to make embarrassing U-turns on branding after finding out that they couldn’t acquire a domain matching their company name.

You can also use an online generator to come up with a brand name if you’re struggling for inspiration. Whop , for example, has a handy brand name generator for you to use when you create a digital store on the platform!

Company Structure

One big consideration when setting up your company is the legal structure of your business. Sure, you can go ahead and start up an ecommerce store as a private individual, but that can have several disadvantages including the fact that you’d take on all business liabilities yourself.

So, spend some time figuring out whether you want to stay as a sole proprietorship or whether it’s worth switching to a structure like a partnership, S-Corp or LLC. The structure you choose will affect the administrative side of your business quite a lot, but the benefits might outweigh the added work. If you want to know about LLCs, one of the most popular structures for creators and entrepreneurs, check out this guide .

Vision and Mission

The last key element of this section is detailing your company’s vision and mission. All successful companies do this, and it can serve as a guiding light or set of principles to follow as you go.

Your vision statement will look at why your company exists and summarize its philosophy into a neat phrase, while your mission statement encapsulates more achievable goals. For example, Google’s vision statement is “to provide access to the world’s information in one click” while its mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

#3. Assess the Competition

Not many successful entrepreneurs have ever described their entry to a market as “just winging it”, and it pays to analyze the industry you’re going into in minute detail. All of this research can then go into your ecommerce business plan, because it’s going to underpin exactly how you operate, especially in the early stages of doing business. There are several elements to this:

Market Analysis

We’ve already mentioned the importance of creating a customer persona or profile in the executive summary, and you can take that a bit further here along with an in-depth analysis of the market itself. One of the big things you’re looking for is the total addressable market size, which you can grab from a variety of market research providers. Size your market, then drill down and see what proportion of that market fits in line with your ideal customer, and work from there.

Competitor Analysis

Now that you know all about the market, it’s time to look at the other players. Identify who your potential competitors are, direct or indirect, and figure out what exactly they’re doing in terms of market segmentation, product ranges, pricing strategies, and generally why customers buy from them. 

You can also get as hands-on with this research as you want—if it’s doable, you might even consider visiting your competitors’ digital stores and going all the way through with a purchase to understand exactly how they do things. This’ll help you understand weaknesses and gaps in their approach, whether it’s design, pricing, UI, customer service, or anything else.

Armed with all of this analysis, you should now be able to set out exactly what makes you different and how you’ll go about solving the market’s problems. You can fit your products into areas or price tiers that your competitors don’t serve, or build out a brand identity serving different segments.

#4. Create a Marketing Plan

All of the research and analysis you’ve done up to this point will now help you craft a go-to-market approach and marketing strategy that best utilizes what you know about the market and your customers. You’ll need to build awareness about your business and leverage social media, and this section will go into detail on all of that.

Choose Your Channels

With all of your information gleaned pertaining to your target customer, you should be able to decide what marketing channels match them best. If you understand what their day looks like, you can figure out where to target them—are they more likely to check Facebook frequently or do they doom-scroll Reddit? Simply insights like that can help you pick the right channels.

Once you know where your customers are, you can decide on your marketing mix. Even with paid advertising, there are so many options to choose—PPC ads on your customers’ platforms of choice could work, but don’t discount options like influencer marketing. A coupon given to the right social media personality could go a whole lot further than a Google ad, for the right customer profile.

Organic marketing is also worth thinking about and building into your ecommerce business plan. If you’re able to optimize your website, digital store pages and social media posts for search engines you’ll be seen by lots more customers without having to spend any extra—although you may want to invest in areas like content marketing rather than doing it all yourself.

#5. Get Serious About Your Financials

Finally, your ecommerce business plan needs to contain accurate financial information. This can give you a great idea of what’s possible and what’s not if you’re just starting out, and as your idea gets more fleshed out it’ll be something you leverage hard when it comes to investment. There will be at least three documents you need to populate this section with:

Income Statement

This document projects (if you don’t already have a running business) your revenues and expenses across a certain period. This document is crucial because it shows your profitability, also known as the bottom line. You may not expect to make a profit immediately, especially if you need significant starting capital, but you’ll want to show a profit before too long.

Balance Sheet

This document looks at your assets, equity and liabilities, essentially giving you a picture of your company’s net worth. Whatever things of tangible worth your company owns goes down as assets, your liabilities are things like business loans, and the difference is your shareholder equity.

Cash Flow Statement

This final document helps you understand the level of cash generation and usage for your business across a given period of time. It’s especially important because your business will need cash to survive—it’s all well and good having some hefty entries in accounts receivable, but you’ll need cash to pay for various expenses including whatever salary you take from the business!

Ecommerce Business Plan Best Practices

Drafting a formal business plan isn’t quite kids play, but getting it right can be extremely positive as you move forward with your ecommerce business. So, here are some tips to help you create the perfect ecommerce business plan !

One of the most powerful analysis tools and also extremely easy to do, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) can really help to pinpoint key areas both in terms of your own company as well as your competitors. A competitor SWOT can help you identify things that they’re doing right that you can emulate as well as negative aspects and weaknesses that you can correct and even capitalize on with your own.

Concise Plan

As much information as you’re packing into this ecommerce business plan, you’re best off keeping it as concise and clear as possible. Too much content will make it hard to read, and potential partners and investors might not glean the information you’re trying to convey if it’s too wordy or packed with jargon. That being said, don’t prioritize “short” over “effective”. If there are appendices or especially images that can help, don’t worry about including them and bloating your page count. 

Clear Objectives

Clarity is just as important as being concise, and if you develop your business plan with clear objectives and checkpointed milestones, you’ll do well. Your company isn’t going to take over the world on day one, so be realistic, and plot out your path step by step in the business plan.

An Example of a Great Ecommerce Business Plan

This sample ecommerce business plan for a company called 'My Grocery Needs' is an excellent example for you to follow because it features all of the different elements we’ve gone through in this guide. It starts off with a two-page executive summary, pictured below:

It might look a little long at 58 pages, but a lot of information is conveyed via imagery and graphical representation.

The plan also goes into extensive detail with its research, including multiple tables on market research and a section exploring the total addressable market.

It also features multiple analyses, including SWOT, and generally covers all of the advice we’ve given you in this guide.

Scale to New Ecommerce Business Heights with Whop! 

If you want to get serious about your ecommerce business and maximize its potential, drafting a great business plan is only the first step. You need to start getting all the pieces in place, from the right platform to sell from and help you with marketing, all the way through to the fulfillment of your digital goods.

So, do yourself a favor and check out Whop ! Whop has everything you need to manage a successful ecommerce business, from opening you up to new customers, to taking care of fulfillment, providing best-in-class customer service, and lightening your own workload to allow you to focus on your product. Get in touch with the team or visit Whop today.

Druvi Storer

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How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

If you have a promising idea for an online e-commerce business , it’s important to create an e-commerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable.

Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term e-commerce success.

In this post, we’ll go over an online store business plan and how you can create one for your e-commerce startup. Let’s get started.

What is an e-commerce business plan?

An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you’ll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you’ll use to drive sales.

Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an e-commerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement.

An e-commerce business plan is essential, with increasing numbers of shoppers conducting business online. It’s estimated this number has reached over 2 billion . An e-commerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company.

So, let’s dive into some examples of e-commerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template .

E-commerce Business Plan Template

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How to write an effective ecommerce business plan [2024]

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Updated Jan 15 2024

In recent years, ecommerce businesses worldwide have collectively created an industry that's expected to pull in $4.11 trillion worth of revenue in 2023, with a projected annual growth rate of 11.51%. If you've got a great idea for an online shop, this is a great time to jump in on the action!

But not so fast - before you quit your day job and sign up for an Etsy account , it's essential to take the time to create an effective, comprehensive business plan. While some people write a business plan designed to attract potential investors, there are plenty of reasons to draw one up, even (and perhaps especially ) if you plan to finance your own ecommerce business.

Simply filling in an ecommerce business plan template can help you familiarize yourself with the ecommerce business model, set goals, and make plans to help you avoid unfortunate surprises. We'll show you how to create a solid business plan that details everything from your target market and company description to your sales channels and marketing strategy.

Main takeaways from this article:

An ecommerce business plan is a valuable asset that can help you avoid the common pitfalls of online retail.

From selecting the perfect target market for your products and services to nailing down which marketing channels to utilize, starting an ecommerce business involves plenty of considerations.

We'll walk you through what you need to know to create an ecommerce business plan to help you achieve long-term success.

How to write a successful ecommerce business plan

Few of us would select a random destination we'd like to travel to, hop in the car without knowing how to get there, and hope for the best. Yet plenty of would-be ecommerce business owners fall prey to the same mentality when attempting to start an online store.

Don't let it happen to you! We'll walk you through everything you need to consider when mapping out ecommerce business plans designed to chart your route to success as an online business owner.

1. Write an executive summary

While you'll usually find the executive summary on the first 1 -3 pages of an ecommerce business plan template, don't feel pressured to nail it on the first draft. Some people even wait until after filling in the other sections to come back and draft an executive summary.

An executive summary is a collection of highlights from your business plan. It will include an overview of things like:

Your mission statement.

The products or services your ecommerce company plans to sell online.

An overview of your target market (who your products and services are designed for).

Your market research and competitive analysis.

Any unique market gaps your business idea is designed to fill.

An overview of your business model, including a logistics and operations plan.

The sales and marketing channels you plan to utilize.

The short and long-term business goals you hope to achieve.

If you create a formal business plan to attract potential investors, you'll also want to include information on your funding requirements. Additionally, ensure you introduce your management team or business partners if you have them.

2. Provide a business overview

A company overview is all about the business aspects of your ecommerce store. This is where you'll get incredibly specific about exactly how your ecommerce business will work by nailing down several key considerations.

Business name

What do you plan to call your online business? Try to come up with a business name that's catchy, memorable, and relevant to your target audience.

Company purpose

What type of products and services do you plan to sell, and to whom? What are the defining characteristics of the potential customers who make up your target market?

What will give your company a competitive advantage over other ecommerce companies and brick-and-mortar business competitors? Taking the time to find a unique selling proposition can be one of the key elements to success.

Mission statement

If you haven't already, this is where you'll develop a mission statement that summarizes why your business idea is an awesome one. Explain your company's purpose, goals, and values briefly and concisely.

Feeling stuck? Wix has a great collection of example mission statements from real companies to help give your creative gears churning.

At this point in your business plan, take some time to think about the type of values that are important to you and your company. At Gelato, for example, sustainably is at the heart of everything we do.

Throughout our business plan, we explored ways to make the print on demand (POD) business model more environmentally friendly for creators and entrepreneurs worldwide. What are your values, and how will you work them into your business model?

Business model

Now it's time to think about your business structure and model. If you plan to make a significant income from your online store, you may want to set up shop as an LLC or S-corp for tax purposes.

Do you plan to go it alone or hire employees to help? If you intend to hire employees, you'll definitely want to look into registering as a business, which you can do online through companies like IncFile or ZenBusiness .

3. Describe your products

Now it's time to get into the product section of your ecommerce business plan. This is where you'll describe what type of products and services you intend to offer.

Do you want to sell custom t-shirts or turn your original artwork into wall art or custom phone cases ? Consider the type of products trending among your target audience and start to think about the price points at which you'll offer them.

4. Perform a market analysis

Taking the time to get to know your target audience will provide essential clues for success when it comes to everything from product selection to marketing strategies. Conduct market research into a few key areas to get to know your ideal customer and your direct and indirect competitors.

Research your target market

Your target market, aka "target audience," is simply the type of people most likely to be interested in your product. They generally share specific traits such as age, life stage, occupation, interests, common challenges, or other demographics.

For example, if you decided to sell performance tank tops , your target audience might be "female athletes who live in warmer climates." If your shop focused more on "urban-dwelling parents who care about the environment," you might choose to offer custom organic t-shirts for kids instead.

Create customer personas

A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer that you develop to help you get to know them better. For instance, say you created a persona called "Jan the yoga fan" who was in her mid-20s, lived in an urban environment, and cared about doing eco-friendly shopping.

By targeting this persona, you might offer products like reusable water bottles , custom tote bags that Jan could use for shopping or even 100% biodegradable phone cases . Hubspot has a great persona creator that you can use for free!

Get to know the competition

Now it's time to do a little competitive analysis to determine who you're against! Conducting a competitive analysis involves studying other businesses that sell products similar to your own to get an idea of what they're selling, at what prices, and how they're attracting customers.

By studying everything from their marketing strategy to their product, you'll be able to analyze what's working and what isn't. This can give you valuable insights into everything from potential gaps you may be able to fill to what is and isn't working among your shared target market.

5. Create a marketing plan

If there's one section you don't want to skip when writing a business plan, it's this one. No matter how much better your product is than your competition's, it's unlikely to matter if potential customers have never heard of you.

Marketing efforts are incredibly important when it comes to getting the word out about your business. A marketing plan includes a detailed summary of all the marketing strategies you plan to use to reach your audience and may include ideas like:

Conducting organic and paid social media marketing campaigns using software like SproutSocial or HootSuite .

Collecting emails to set up a newsletter or email marketing strategy with tools like ConstantContact or MailChimp .

Using your own blog or webpage for content marketing.

Using search engine optimization ( SEO ) to rank higher in search engine results.

Learning to use free tools like Google Analytics or Google Trends to measure the results of your marketing plan and conduct market analysis.

6. Establish a sales strategy

Your ecommerce business plan should also detail your sales strategy, such as whether you plan to offer subscriptions or operate on a traditional sales model. Equally important is deciding where you're going to set up shop.

Do you plan to start an ecommerce business on an online marketplace like Etsy or build your ecommerce site using tools like Shopify or WooCommerce ? Take the time to research here, as each approach comes with its own business and financial considerations.

7. Devise a logistics plan

Now comes one of the most potentially tricky parts of starting an online business - figuring out how to source materials, fulfill orders, and deliver them to your customers. Do you and your staff plan to handle all business operations and shipping aspects, or do you plan to work with a print on demand service like Gelato?

In case you're unfamiliar, print on demand is a business model that involves partnering with a reputable POD provider like Gelato. After you sign up for a free Gelato account , you simply upload your custom designs and let us know which of our high-quality products you'd like to feature.

Use one of our easy integrations to connect your Gelato account to your online store, and when a customer makes an order, we'll handle everything from order fulfillment to delivery. POD can be a cost-effective way to launch an ecommerce business without ever having to worry about managing inventory, dealing with shipping, or investing in pricey product creation tools.

8. Plan your finances

Now that you've got a better idea of your ecommerce business plan, it's time to make a financial plan. This is where you'll take into account everything from the cost of your company's digital storefront and marketing plan to any overhead costs or POD service charges.

By outlining realistic costs and financial projections, you'll avoid surprises on your income statement down the line. While it tends to cost much less to launch an ecommerce business than a traditional retail store, it's vital to ensure you can factor your overhead costs into your retail prices.

Start an ecommerce business with minimal effort

Creating your business plan is the first step in becoming a successful online retailer. Want to launch a competitive online store with minimal startup costs?

Learn more about how partnering with Gelato can help you make your business plans a reality. We make it possible for creators everywhere to launch their own online business without ever having to buy any materials until a product is already sold.

Ecommerce business FAQs

How profitable is an ecommerce business.

While market research indicates that ecommerce will make up 24% of all retail sales by 2026, how much profit each retailer can make is a little trickier to nail down. Much like traditional businesses, the profit margins of individual sellers can vary widely.

How much money you're able to make from your ecommerce business will largely depend on everything from your business plan to your marketing strategy. That's why developing detailed ecommerce business plans is important before launching your online business.

Do I need a business plan for an ecommerce business?

While there are no rules that say you must create a business strategy before launching an ecommerce business, it will make your life a lot easier. Making important decisions in the early stages will save you a great deal of time and money, not to mention help you dodge potentially costly mistakes.

Where can I find a free ecommerce business plan template?

There are now several great templates out there that can help guide you through creating your own ecommerce business plan. Hubspot offers a great one, and Canva has a wide variety of choices if you're looking for something snazzy.

What Is an E-commerce Business Plan and How to Create One?

Creating an eCommerce business plan can seem daunting if you are an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start an online business. 

But it doesn't have to be! In fact, an eCommerce business plan is a great tool to help you grow your e-commerce business. 

So, why should you create an eCommerce business plan? After all, just writing down your business idea and hoping for the best won't work in today's fast-changing world.

Creating a comprehensive business plan is the most crucial step in starting an e-commerce business. Without writing a solid business plan first, you'll have no idea where to start or what steps to take next.

In this article, we will explain how to create an eCommerce business plan and its importance.  

Why Does Your E-commerce Company Need an eCommerce business plan?  

You can't just start an e-commerce business and hope it will succeed. You need a plan, which is why e-commerce companies need an eCommerce business plan.

Here are the reasons why your e-commerce company needs an eCommerce business plan:

Saves You A Lot Of Time And Money

A well-crafted eCommerce business plan will help save both time and money for your company as it takes away some of the guesswork involved with making critical decisions during the early stages of your business's life cycle. 

This will allow time for staff members to focus on other tasks so that they can continue growing their businesses without having to worry about day-to-day operations at all times.

Makes You Financially Well-Prepared

The business plan lays out your goals and strategies for achieving them. 

It also lists your financial projections, including the costs of starting up and running the company, as well as any capital investments you'll make in the near future. 

The business plan will also help you determine how much money you'll need to get started and where that money should come from.

A Clear Set of Goals

E-commerce businesses need an eCommerce business plan because it helps them ensure they're on track with their goals and strategies while starting up or growing their business. 

The more detailed your plan is, the better equipped you'll be when you start making decisions about how your company's digital storefront will operate once it's up and running.

How Does an eCommerce business plan Differ From a Business Plan For Other Company Types?

E-commerce has become one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and it's about to become even more popular. 

E-commerce companies have been able to use technology to streamline their processes and make them more efficient than ever.

Regarding eCommerce business plans, there are some critical differences between a traditional business plan and digital business plans. Here are some of the most important ones:

• Rather than leasing a physical storefront, you create a digital storefront. You can use any web platform to create a storefront for your company, including Shopify and BigCommerce.
• Rather than hiring house staff members, an eCommerce business plan would emphasize roles in online customer service, fulfillment, and marketing.

Ecommerce Business Plan Template

An eCommerce business plan is an essential document to have in your e-commerce business. It helps you to know the direction of your business and how it can be improved. 

An eCommerce business plan template can help you write the contents of your plan correctly. Here is how you can go about it-

Draft an Executive Summary

Your Executive Summary is a brief overview of the business plan that summarizes your entire business plan. 

It should be written in a way that allows investors to quickly understand what you are trying to accomplish and how you will achieve it. 

What does your business do?

In this part of the business plan, you will have to introduce yourself, your company, and your story. 

You can also include information about your industry and why you choose that niche. 

For example, if you are a fashion designer, you can tell about yourself and why you decided to start a new line of clothes online instead of going into a traditional retail store or brick-and-mortar stores.

What goals does your business want to achieve?

The first section of this section should include a description of your company, its mission, and its goals. 

All e-commerce businesses start with huge goals, but you must set realistic goals and ensure you achieve them.

What products do you sell?

The third section should explain how you plan to achieve your company's goals in the next five years. 

You can break this into two parts: (1) what products or services will be sold, and (2) where the company plans on selling those products or services.

Who is your audience?

Identify your target market and mention your audience. Choose your product wisely so it sells quickly in the target demographic. 

For example, if you want to sell trendy clothes, better to target GenZs, who are always looking to be fashionable. 

Identify Your Company Overview

Write the brand name of your company in your business plan. 

This will help you create a memorable brand, one of the most important factors for gaining customers' trust. 

Having a strong brand name is also vital because it will help you get your products on shelves and attract new clients and investors.

Business structure

Include all the details about your company's structure or business model, including its legal status and whether it is a private or a public company. 

You should also mention what kind of business entity has been chosen for your company and how many employees currently work for it.

Domain name

Include the domain name for your website in this section of your business plan and any other vital details about it, like who registered it and where it can be found on the Internet (URL). 

You should also include any other relevant information in this section, such as its geographical location.

Your company's mission statement is an integral part of your business plan. It should describe the company's purpose, what it does, and how it will benefit society. 

It should also include a description of how the company can help customers and clients, as well as its goals for the future.

This is a concise statement of what you want to achieve shortly, such as becoming profitable, expanding into new markets, or creating more products and services that are unique to your company.

Background information and Your team

This section should include information about your management team members, their educational background and experience within their fields, skillsets, past work experience, and any other relevant information that will help readers see them as real people rather than just names on a page.

Conduct Market Research

Conducting market analysis and research can help you understand your competition and what it will take to get competitive advantage and succeed in your industry.

Market opportunities

For a business plan to be successful, it must be based on sound assumptions about what will happen when it's launched. Market research allows you to identify potential customers, determine their needs, and determine how to meet them. For example:

• Who are your customers? 
• What do they want from you? 
• What are their problems?
• How much can you charge for the products or services you provide?
• What is the demand for your product or service? 
• What is the supply?
• How many people are interested in buying it? 
• How many people can buy it right now? 
• How many people will buy it in the future?

Competitive analysis

Competition is one of the most critical factors that impact your success as an e-commerce retailer. 

Before launching any new product or service, understanding how other companies compete with yours will help guide pricing and marketing strategy decisions. 

All in all, competitive analysis and market analysis helps identify potential. With this information in hand, you can plan how to better compete against them.

Products and services

Once you've determined all the things people want and need, it's time to figure out how you will provide those things for them through e-commerce sales. 

For anyone to buy anything from an e-commerce store, they have to have information about what they're buying so they know whether or not they should buy something!

Write about your product, how it solves the problem, benefits buyers, and why they should buy it. 

Develop a Marketing Plan

Marketing channels

It would be best to have a marketing plan when making an eCommerce business plan to build brand awareness, reach your target audience, and boost sales and revenue. 

It should contain your marketing strategies, and acquisition channels, tools, and technology to market your various products and services.

In marketing channels, you can mention all the platforms and ways you are willing to use in your marketing efforts, like:

• Direct mail campaign: A direct mail campaign is a great way to target your ideal customers and build brand awareness. It is a very low-cost marketing channel allowing you to reach many people simultaneously.
• Social media: social media can be used to engage with your customers, grow your audiences, and promote your brand.
• Email marketing: email marketing can be used to send out newsletters, product updates, event invitations, etc. Email marketing is also relatively inexpensive compared to other marketing channels.
• Website : the website is an excellent way to promote your business and build trust with potential customers. You can use the website as a digital storefront for products or services sold online only (i.e., digital products). 

The website should contain all relevant information about your company, including sales & services information, testimonials from happy customers, contact information for essential people in the organization such as managers & executives, etc. 

Your website should also be search engine optimized (SEO) to rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs) when people enter keywords like "company name" into the Google search bar or Bing. 

Acquisition channels

Next, let's talk about customer acquisition channels. These are ways of finding new customers without investing money in advertising or promotions. 

The most common ones are search engine optimization (SEO), paid social media ads like Facebook Ads or Google AdWords, guest posting on blogs relevant to your niche, and other organic search engine optimization (SEO).

Tools and Technology

Finally, let's talk about tools and technologies you can use to develop your marketing strategy. 

Many free tools are available online, but if you're serious about growing your business, it's worth investing in some paid ones, such as Offeo, Hubstaff, Semrush, etc.

Establish a Financial Plan

Your company must set up a financial plan detailing all its revenue streams and expenses. 

Income statement

The income statement is a summary of the company's sources of revenue and expenses. 

The income statement shows how much money the company made in a given period, usually one year. 

You can also use it to calculate the company's EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and its Net Profit.

Balance sheet

The balance sheet gives you an overview of the company's assets and liabilities, plus any accumulated earnings or losses since the last time an accountant audited it. 

You can use it to calculate a company's cash flow and net worth.

Sales Forecast

The sales forecast is also included in this plan. It shows how many customers are expected to buy from your store each month or over the next year/quarter and how many of those customers will be repeat buyers. 

This information helps ensure that your business has enough money coming in to continue growing and expanding.

Cash-flow statement

Finally, a cash-flow statement helps you understand how much money comes in and goes out each month. 

Any unexpected expenses or costs that come up during the year (like taxes) should also be included in this statement!

Create a Sales Plan

The sales plan is a crucial part of the e-commerce business, as it will determine the company's success. 

The goal of this plan is to show the sales channels you will use, as well as how you define your customers and what they will need to make a purchase. 

You should also include metrics that indicate how well you are doing in terms of making sales.

Here are some things to consider when creating your sales plan:

• What channels will you use to promote your products? 
• Do you want to use social media, or is email better?
• How long do you expect it to take to reach your first customers? If you're going after new customers, how much time do those customers need to take from their lives before they purchase from you?
• What kind of pricing structure will you use for each channel? Will it be fixed or variable? What about the cost of shipping? 
• All three questions are important because they can impact whether or not your customers will buy from you.

Outline Legal Notes and Financial Considerations

In this section, we'll include any legal notes or financial considerations important to your business. This can include things like trademark concerns, privacy policies, and more.

1. Outline Legal Notes

• a. Name of entity
• b. Purpose of entity (to what extent will the entity be used?)
• c. Ownership structure
• d. How do you plan to obtain legal counsel?
• e. Are there any specific laws you are aware of that might affect this project? If so, identify them and explain how they could impact your business plan.

2. Financial Considerations

• a. How will the money be raised? What is the estimated cost of running each part of the business?
• b. What are your expenses related to raising capital? For example, do you need to pay for an accountant or lawyer, or does your company have one? How much does it cost for each person involved in this process?  
• Do you charge for services upfront or based on milestones achieved? Do you consider any other costs associated with starting a new venture?  

For example, if you're hiring someone new, do you need to pay them more than usual during their first few weeks at work because they've been transferred from another department temporarily while this project gets off the ground?  

What other costs might come into play during this phase of development? For example: what would happen if one investor backed out after signing on

FAQs: Ecommerce Business Plans

Who needs an ecommerce business plan.

An eCommerce business plan is a great way to understand the costs of starting an online store. You may not need a formalized business plan if you already have a website or blog. 

But if you don't have any existing clients or customers or have no idea what to expect when launching your e-commerce store, this will help you create a structure that can help guide your decisions along the way.

What are the benefits of creating a business plan?

The benefits include:

• Helping you make intelligent decisions by laying out all the details of your online store in one place;
• Creating a roadmap for your company from start to finish;
• Allowing you to analyze different options for building an online presence; and
• Providing you with an opportunity to find out what others are doing well and how those ideas might work for you.

How do I start an e-commerce business with no money?

E-commerce businesses are built using the internet, which has two parts: content and commerce. 

You need to create content, be it a blog or a website, and then figure out how to get people to buy your product or service. Content can be videos, images, music, etc. 

Is e-commerce a good business to start?

It is an excellent business to start, but only if you have the right experience and skills. 

What are the 6 major e-commerce business models?

The six major e-commerce business models are 

• Business to Consumer (B2C)
• Business to Business (B2B)
• Business to Government (B2G)
• Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C)
• Consumer to Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer to Business (C2B)

Conclusion: Ecommerce Business Plans

Many e-commerce businesses are in the market since the internet has brought the world to one place. 

While some are doing great, most need help with the right eCommerce business plan for success. 

Developing an eCommerce business plan is a tricky task and must be done carefully. This blog is based on creating an eCommerce business plan template. 

You can find an eCommerce business plan template in this thread. It has many necessary sections, like the executive summary, marketing strategy, and sales forecasts. 

The blog has details about various sections to get a good idea of how to start your research, what to include, and important clauses on managing finances and budgets. 

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Ecommerce Business Plan in 2023: What Is It and How to Create One?

Table of contents

The idea of starting a business has always been tempting to aspiring business owners, and Covid-19 has fueled the eCommerce trend to the next level.

However, starting a new business can be tough, and maintaining one is much more challenging. It’s not surprising that around 20.4 percent of new businesses had to close after their first year in operation, considering all the risks, challenges, and financial burdens involved in running a business.

So how to avoid business failure after only a short period, even when you believe your business idea is so great and one-of-a-kind in the online market? The secret lies in a solid eCommerce business plan with a clear description and strategy from the start.

In this article, we will guide you through everything you need to know about eCommerce business plan and how you can create a perfect one for your exceptional business idea today.      

What is an eCommerce business plan?

eCommerce business plan is a document that contains every detail contributing to the business’s success.

There is no standard format for an eCommerce business plan, but it normally covers a predefined set of goals and how businesses can achieve these goals by describing in detail business products or services, financial situation, operation model, and many other factors.

Why do you need an eCommerce business plan?

Traditionally, an eCommerce business plan helps investors evaluate your future business and its feasibility when you want to get a loan or raise funds. However, even if starting your online business doesn’t involve funding, creating a comprehensive eCommerce business plan is still essential to lay down the ground and draw a clear direction for your business to follow. 

• Better understand and plan your business 

Every business idea sounds brilliant at first glance, but many turn out to be a huge mistake or a huge debt once you make it into a real business.

No matter how you came up with your eCommerce idea, it’s essential that you thoroughly understand every aspect of it before jumping into the competition.

Drafting an eCommerce business plan is a perfect occasion to help you do that. While fulfilling and completing some documents might sound like a daunting task at first, researching and brainstorming can help you dig deeper into your business idea, plan for the future, and note down a list of what should be done step by step.   

• Identify resources

Once you are sure that your unique idea can turn into a profitable business, it’s time to gather the resources you need to run your business.

eCommerce business plan helps you identify your business’s financial situation and how you will allocate your human resources if you don’t want to run your business solo.

• Know your competitors

When making an eCommerce business plan, you have a great chance to do comprehensive research on the market, as well as other competitors selling the same product or sharing the same business niche. You can learn from their mistakes, advance your product or come up with some idea to compete with them once you are done with your business plan.                                       

Step by step to create an effective eCommerce business plan

1. executive summary.

If you are seeking investors, the executive summary is the most important part of the document as it summarizes your whole business idea and plan. It is also the last section you should write once you have thoroughly reviewed every element of your business plan. 

This part is often one page long, and it contains a high-level summary of your business, but don’t go into details yet. In this section, you might want to give an overview of your business idea, your plan and vision, and how this business is projected to develop soon. The executive summary should be concise enough for a casual reader to understand your business, and attractive enough for investors to keep reading your complete plan. 

In order to write a promising executive summary, here are some common statements you should include along with some examples we have taken from Liquid Culture’s business plan to help you get a better idea of how to write this section:

• Business concept

Liquid Culture will offer creative women’s outdoor clothing, online, that is both functional and beautiful.  

• Objectives and vision

Liquid Culture’s mission is to present consumers with designs, styling, and clothes that energize any outdoor activity. Whether it be snowboarding, running along the beach, or drifting down a river, Liquid Culture has comfortable, durable clothing that will look and feel wonderful.

• Target audience/market

Women’s outdoor wear has grown into a billion-dollar niche in the clothing industry. The popularity of the Internet has launched a number of online stores for women’s outdoor wear but no women’s outdoor company we know of is exclusively selling their products online yet.

• Marketing strategy

The key is amplified word of mouth via social media, with emphasis on content and opinion leaders related to outdoor fashion and women’s health and fitness sites .

• Current and projected financial state

Our projections here indicate we are generating unrealistically high cash balances. We leave that here for now, but with the certainty that actual results will emerge using a lot more expenses than what we project here.

• The team and key people

Larry Wilson and Maggie Granger, co-owners of Liquid Culture, have fifteen years of experience between them in the outdoor garment industry. Maggie has been a senior clothing designer for Manic Woman Clothing for the past seven years.  Larry has been the website administrator for South Face for the past eight years.

In case you are writing this eCommerce business plan for personal use only, you can skip this part since it’s all about summarizing what you have written.       

2. Business description

A business description provides an introduction of your business and dives into the details of everything about your company. In this section, you need to clarify why your business exists, what your plan is for the future, and what you hope to achieve with your business. Some components you should include to do so are:

– Business structure : 

A business structure refers to the legal structure that affects the day-to-day operations of a business.  There are four main business structures that are most common with businesses today. It’s noted that you can change your business structure later as your business grows and expands, though this might require some additional administrative steps.

• Sole proprietorship: This is the most straightforward form of business structure and the simplest to set up and manage, as it involves only one individual – normally the owner who is responsible for all business operations. This business structure is preferred by many new eCommerce startups and businesses with a low finance base and low risk of liability. 
• Partnership: A partnership is a business that contains two or more owners contributing to the company through many factors, such as funding, property, skill, or labor. They work together and share the profits from the company.
• Corporation: This is a complex and expensive business structure to set up since it separates the legal entity from its owners. Two main types of corporations are C-corporation and S-corporation. 
• Limited Liability Company (LLC): LLC is a hybrid business structure with the characteristics of partnerships and corporations.

– Business model: 

This is the company’s core framework for making a profit and delivering value to customers. Common eCommerce business model types are Business to consumers (B2C), Business to business (B2B), Consumer to consumer (C2C), and Consumer to business (C2B).  

– Mission: 

A mission statement defines your company’s purpose or answers the question of why your company exists. It contains one to two sentences and clearly emphasizes your passion and your inner motivation to start this business.

– Vision:

A vision statement helps your reader understand how you want your business to grow, scale, and evolve and how customers can travel with you on the road to success. Your vision statement can be longer than the mission statement, but try to keep it short and to the point. 

Honest Tea seeks to create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages. We strive to grow our business with the same honesty and integrity we use to craft our recipes, with sustainability and great taste for all. HonestTea ’s vision

– Background information:

How did you come up with that spectacular idea, and how has your business changed, and grown with you since day 1? A short yet realistic business biography is a practical weapon to gain trust and evoke readers’ emotions. 

– Business goal:

You should include a clear business goal in both short and long term, as well as how your business is projected to develop in the future. This section should include as many numbers, figures, and charts as possible. Try to establish goals that are S.M.A.R.T .: s pecific, m easurable, a ttainable, r ealistic, and t ime-bound. 

– Team and key people:

If you plan to run your business solo, probably this part can be left out. In case your business involves other people, you should list out their position in your company, such as company owner, CEO, manager, etc. 

When you are done writing your business description, you have gained a deeper understanding of your own business, especially some intangible facets like your business principles and cultures. 

3. Market research & analysis 

At this stage, you should be focused on analyzing the potential market. This is a key section of your plan as it helps you identify how big is your potential market, the estimated position of your business, and the competitiveness of this business segment as well. Market research helps you validate your eCommerce business idea and help you pick the right marketplace that can help your e-business not only survive but thrive as well. 

• Market opportunities

In order to create sales, choosing the proper market can surely be something you should think about first. Even when you have an excellent product idea, it’s possible that you might struggle to get sales if your market is not yet appropriate. Therefore, market analysis with solid data from reliable sources, such as government statistics, industry reports, and official business sector projection reveal roughly how big and potential your market is. By carefully analyzing these numbers, it’s possible that you can get a general overview of how the industry will grow or decline over the next few years, and make some guesses on the trend if possible.

For example, suppose your product or service is related to the tourism industry. In that case, there is a huge possibility that it will expand and grow in the next few years when Covid-19 has been contained, and the cross-border travel and tourism are more flexible.  

• SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis identifies the most important factor of your eCommerce business – S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities, and T hreats. This kind of analysis helps you quickly look at factors that can affect your business positively and negatively, as well as the opportunities your business can seize when facing industry challenges. 

A SWOT analysis is often broken down into 4 boxes, and each box contains bullet points with the most relevant information, so don’t bother to write full sentences or paragraphs. While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors that come from within your eCommerce business, opportunities and threats rely more on external factors, such as market competitiveness or your competitors.  

• Competitive analysis

When you start your eCommerce business with a unique idea, it’s too easy to think that there will be no competitors on the market since no one has sold this item before. However, even when you enter the market without any direct competitors, keep in mind that there are many indirect ones – those that sell products that can substitute for your items. Therefore, never start a business without doing a thorough competitive analysis. This is essential in identifying the market’s leaders, determining their strategies and success, and what resources your business can utilize to take advantage of them.

Once you have identified all your competitors, list down some baseline for a deep competitive analysis:

• Company name
• Main offerings
• Primary sales channels
• Competition category

You can use this Free competitive analysis template from BigCommerce to keep an organized list of your direct and indirect competitors while making this analysis.   

4. Products and services

This section can be excluded if you believe your product information in the executive summary is enough to help readers visualize your product in detail. However, if you plan to present your eCommerce business plan to find investors, it’s essential that you provide a separate section to describe your products or services in greater detail. 

• Product description: Going into every aspect of your product and service, such as price, quality, and uniqueness if your business focuses on only one product or service. If you sell a wide range of items, include general information about each product. You can describe some future plans on how these products will be upgraded, or how new items on the same line can improve the profitability of the current ones.
• Product sourcing: Where are your products coming from? Do you make them with an in-house team? Are they handmade crafts? Or do you drop ship products from some suppliers ? 
• Life cycle: How long will your product last? Is it a seasonal or daily product? The product life cycle is essential to decide when and how often you will acquire new stock, and what you can do with the old ones. 

Language in this section should show confidence in your products and services because, after all, this is still the core of your eCommerce business idea. You can show off your expertise and experience in this field if you have some. 

5. Customer analysis

Analyze your customer groups to craft an ideal customer profile – the foundation of your marketing plan. Your ideal customer profile should be as specific and descriptive as possible, as many strategic decisions in your business operations will be made based on this profile. Building a customer profile, or buyer persona requires you to think carefully about some of the traits and details of potential customers so that you can divide them into demographic groups. Customer segmentation often includes:

• Their age range
• Neighborhood/ Where they live
• Education level
• Average income
• Behavior patterns
• Values and beliefs

You should gain as much information about your ideal customer as possible. Though this information range can vary greatly depending on your target market and products you sell,  keep the number of buyer persona you create to a minimum because it takes time to craft each persona, and building a customized marketing strategy for each one can cost a huge amount of money. Along with customer general information, you can note down some specific aspects that can hugely influence their decisions to purchase your product or service, or factors that help you build your eCommerce marketing plan better, such as:

• Preferred communication style
• Job responsibilities
• Their goals and objectives
• Their challenges
• Their pain points

HubSpot provides us with a free tool to create a buyer persona that is super easy to use and visualize. You can even download a comprehensive buyer persona’s guide and template here to utilize and access anytime.   

6. Marketing plan

As you have on your hands a great product idea and a detailed picture of your potential customers, an effective marketing plan will be the catalyst to kick off your online business. Your marketing plan is built in close association with your customer analysis and outlines your current strategy, as well as your future plans to expand the market. This is one of the most critical parts of your eCommerce business plan. 

If you find it hard to start as you have never run any marketing campaigns before, start with the basics. 

With any good or service, there are always 4Ps – or the Marketing Mix by Neil Borden that can help you identify key factors of your online business marketing campaign:

• Product: What are you selling and how your product or service can fulfill an existing customer demand?
• Price: How much does your product or service cost? Do you plan on offering some discounts to draw customers? 
• Place: Where will potential customers look for your product?
• Promotion: How will you make your product appealing to consumers?

After having a general idea of how your marketing plan will look like, you should dig deeper into each factor involved.

– Marketing channels : Which channels are you going to utilize to acquire, convert and retain customers? You should explain in detail how these channels are a great match for your plan. All marketing channels fall into two major categories, paid and organic marketing channels. 

• Social media marketing
• Content marketing
• Pay-per-click (PPC)
• Email marketing
• Video advertising
• Affiliate marketing

– Marketing tactics: Which strategy are you going to apply? This is essential to explain how these marketing strategies can go well with your marketing channels to generate massive leads for your business.  

=>> Read more: eCommerce Marketing: Best Practices to Drive Sales

– Marketing technology: Be sure to account for the investment into software and skills you may need to make. Marketing technology can go from eCommerce systems, to social media tools, to for instance CRM with email marketing . Luckily, you can start small and there are tools for each growth stage.

– Marketing goals and KPIs:  KPIs are quantifiable measurements that help evaluate the overall progress of a business. Establishing specific eCommerce KPIs for your marketing plan is essential to gauge the successes and shortcomings of your business over a period of time. Some key KPIs you should pay attention to are:

• Conversion rate
• Site traffic
• Traffic source

7. Logistics and operations 

This section focuses on the supply chain – how you deliver products from suppliers/manufacturers to your customers and plans on how you can prepare for some uncertainty related to logistics issues. If this eCommerce plan is for your own planning purposes, you don’t have to illustrate details in every section as if you are seeking investments. But you need to make solid decisions of many factors, from supplier, warehouse to shipping that impact your day-to-day business workflow. It might seem easy to manage when your business is just starting with a few orders per day, but once you receive massive leads and sales, your operation process should run smoothly and make sure you have everything under control.  

Your logistics and operations plan should cover the following:

• Facility: Where will your business operate? Do you plan to have your own physical locations, or does your business can function online? What equipment (computers, printer, camera, etc) will you need?
• Production: Will your products be produced in-house, or will you rely on a third-party manufacturing company? If you work with a dropshipping company, how long does it take to get your products? What is your plan for the busy holiday season? 
• Suppliers: Where are your products produced? Did you find the source to get the raw materials yet?
• Shipping and fulfillment: eCommerce fulfillment can be an issue if your online business handles a large volume of orders. So will you go with self-fulfillment, or will you use a third-party fulfillment partner? 
• Inventory management: How will you manage and track all your inventory? Do you plan on keeping stocks in-house, and where do you plan to keep them? 

We will calculate the cost later, but this section should be able to give you a solid foundation on your business operations, and which key factors will ultimately affect your budgets. 

8. Financial plan

Here comes the last part and also the backbone of your eCommerce business plan. Your business survival depends greatly on its financial health. Planning your finances is essential to anticipate expenses and profit margins, as well as have a clear view of how to manage your cash flow. If you are in search of investors, this part should contain the highest degree of detail as at the end of the day, everyone wants to work with a business having a foreseeable future. Normally, your financial plan has to include four main sections:

• Income statement

This part illustrates your revenues and expenses over a specific period of time – a month, a quarter, or a year, which helps readers see your company’s bottom line (your profit or loss) during that period. If your online business is not yet launched, you can place a forecast of the same information. 

• Balance sheet

A balance sheet helps you calculate the equity you have in this business. Your business assets (cash, stock, inventory, etc.) should be noted down one column. The other column is your liabilities (debts, accounts, and wages payable, current borrowing, share capital, etc.). If you subtract your liabilities from your assets, you will get your business’s shareholder equity.    

Equity = Assets – Liabilities

• Cash-flow statement

A cash-flow statement is like your income statement but happens in real-time. It indicates exactly when your revenue and expenses go out and come in. Keep a record of your company’s cash flow to adjust the way you do business when you have more money going out than coming in.    

• Financial projections

If your online business has operated for a while, it might be appropriate to include a financial projection. This one is the same as the cash-flow statement, but instead of focusing on your business finance during a specific past time, financial projections help you expect how much money comes into and out of your business during a specific time period in the future. This is a reliable indicator of whether your business can afford to pay off a loan. 

Making a financial plan can be painful and time-consuming, but it is a vital part of any eCommerce business plan. It decides how your business will thrive or go down in the future, so you should spend the most time on this task. You can refer to this financial plan example and template from Shopify when doing this task. 

eCommerce business plan templates

Even when you have learned by heart every section of an eCommerce business plan, creating your plan from scratch can be a daunting task. Therefore, we have collected for you the most easy-to-use yet still comprehensive templates to utilize. These templates offer step-by-step guidance in plain language to help you fulfill the whole template even when you haven’t learned anything about business before. Each template might contain different parts, but the core content is the same. You can either edit them on Google Docs or download a copy on Microsoft Word to edit offline.

• Business Plan Template by Shopify
• Business Plan Template by Hubspot
• Business Plan Template by Sage

eCommerce business plan examples

It’s possible to get lost when planning your eCommerce business, so you should stick with some plan examples and use them as references. Below are some of the best plan examples that we have collected for you from Bplans . Though all companies in these sample plans are made up, they still give you some ideas on how a real eCommerce business plan looks like:

• NoHassleReturn.com business plan sample
• Gaian Adventure Fabrics business plan sample
• Country Crockery business plan sample
• ExpectingU.com business plan sample

Common eCommerce business plan mistakes

Making an eCommerce business plan is the very first step before you start working on your business, so you should try to make it as good as you can.  There are some mistakes you should avoid when making your plan:

• Unrealistic plan: This is one of the most common mistakes you can make when creating your plan. Many aspiring business owners often overvalue their business ideas or underestimate how competitive the market can be. Therefore, try to create a plan that sounds possible with your ability and resources. You can adjust and refine your plan with your upgraded skills and experience as you learn more as an entrepreneur. 
• Missing financial planning: This is a big hole in any business plan if there isn’t a proper financial plan. The numbers are actually the most important part, as they will speak for your business idea and the market it can thrive in. Without calculations and projections, all your plans are considered unrealistic.    
• Bad business ideas: When you are fueled with a new idea, it always sounds great until you discover that the market doesn’t actually need it, or there is no market for you to sell your products. Therefore, in order to make sure you have come up with a sound business idea, it’s essential that you do some serious research, even before you start working on your business plan.  
• False assumptions: If you do not have enough information about the background and characteristics of potential customers, it’s easy to make false assumptions about them, which leads to an invalid business plan.  
• Unbalanced team: Having a great product is not enough to excel your business. A great team does. Many founders think they can handle everything by themselves while they actually lack skills related to business or administration, for example. Gathering a balanced team from the start can help your business plan work smoothly in operation.   

C reate your own eCommerce business plan today

Creating your own eCommerce business plan might require hours of brainstorming and research, but it gives you a comprehensive understanding of your own business and the market. Also, it helps identify clear steps on how to start your business and sets out a solid foundation for success. We hope that this article can help you and other aspiring business owners start working on the ideal plan for your dream eCommerce business today.   

How long should my eCommerce business plan be?

A business plan often ranges from 15 to 50 pages depending on your business situation and personal purposes. For instance, your plan can be around 15 pages if you write it for your own usage, while it can range up to 50 pages if you are trying to find an angel investor. Though there is no requirement for business plan length, it’s advisable that you keep it concise and focus on the most pivotal aspects. 

What is a good eCommerce business plan?

A good business plan should be able to go through all sections that we have mentioned in this blog with an easy-to-understand language. It should be filled with as many numbers and charts as possible, rather than assumptions and hypotheses only.  

How can I know if I need an eCommerce business plan?

A business plan is beneficial for everyone who is running or going to run a business. No matter if you are a start-up, or you have been running your business for a period of time, an eCommerce plan can give you an overview of your own business and discover aspects that need improvement. 

How is an eCommerce business plan different from a business plan for other company types?

An eCommerce business plan shares the same structure as a business plan for other company types. However, the online business strategy and plan might differ greatly from a brick-and-mortar store. For instance, a traditional retail store has to take care of a physical store, while an eCommerce business focuses on its digital storefront – the website.   

Should I write an eCommerce business plan even if I don’t need funding?

Yes. As we have mentioned quite a lot during our article, you still need to write an eCommerce business plan even if it’s for personal purposes only. 

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How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan for Your Startup

Jane Vyshnova

The Basics and Purpose of Business Plan for Online Store

1. start with a summary, 2. describe your company, 3. add illustrations of products, 4. analyze the marketing opportunities (target audience), 5. operations in your business, 6. assessment of your finances, 7. proposal for funding.

A business requires proper planning before implementation and any further development. eCommerce business planning makes things easy for startup owners who would also perform the strategy in real life. Sure, an organization plan might sound easy, at first, but there are certain rules to follow once you get going.

Have a project in mind?

Lets talk about it

eCommerce has risen rapidly in 2022. It almost feels like homework or an assignment to write an agenda of your enterprise. Of course, the plan is different for an offline establishment than the online startups.

There is a plan for a venture that consists of all the characteristics in a particular format. Mostly, bank provides a loan based on this write-up to set up the industry. In the U.S., it is recommended to provide a proposal of about 40-50 pages in order to be effective at convincing the authorities.

Such plans are quite formal, detailed and accurate. They may also contain financial analysis with forecasting. A merchandising strategy gives you a direction to follow and helps you analyze whether the idea is profitable or not.

Building a strategy and strictly implementing it is crucial. Listed below are some other points that will explain its importance:

• Funding - the scheme will ease your way to get a credit from a bank or funding from stakeholders. You should be affirmative that you build your financial report very well to convince the stakeholders of the required funding.
• Figure out the destiny - it will provide you the right direction to follow if you want to grow your already established online company. An entrepreneur never stops, they always want to expand, and a plan helps in the expansion. It will assist in figuring out the issues, making any necessary changes.
• Find new ways - when all the doors seem locked, the strategy will open up a few to provide you some challenges. If you feel like there are no challenges, the scheme will come in handy. It is not necessary to create the plan beforehand. You can make this proposal in five or ten years (and as many times as you want).
• Discover problems - sometimes, when your company is suffering hefty financial losses and you make common changes (that you can see visually) in the commodities or marketing ideas, you still may not see any different outcomes. It is time to make a comprehensive business plan.
• Before starting - got an idea and have enough motivation? Great! But first, make a plan. It will decide the immediate objectives, resources, and set a proper sequence of actions.

Business Plans for Online Stores

An online store business plan consists of various parts, including a checklist of your business. All these parts can be further subdivided based on the size of the shop and the stuff offered. You must remember that, while describing them, you need to be specific, thorough, and honest. Now, let us go through the components one by one:

An executive summary will elucidate your business in short and will consist of a quick analysis. It also involves the main points of the other parts of the later-described plan. Some of the things that must be included are:

• The main purpose of the business;
• The people who are involved and the date when it started or intend to start;
• The points that differentiate your company, and
• How your commercial business has flourished.

This part will include detailed information of your business. Details that may be a part of this point can be the manufactured items or services that the company is dealing with, the target audience, and the benefits that the company will have (in the form of a brief financial report). In this synopsis, you must include:

• The person who owns the company and if there is a group (all names should be stated);
• A short description of the background which might encompass schooling, university, and the work experience;
• The operations that take place in the company, including the costs for the same;
• The resources required for the starting or expanding the business; and,
• The representation of your business type (B2B or B2C).

You already provided a brief synopsis of your company, so you must have mentioned the amenities which you are going to provide. Now, this segment will provide a detailed view of the service within the company. The major points you must incorporate are:

• The place to source your products - you will also provide an explanation of, for example, the business stereotype. For example, whether the things will be produced in your factory or bought from a wholesale market.
• A detailed analysis of the costs that you will require to produce or buy the stuff - you may provide costs of the required resources.
• The lifecycle of the products - you might want to mention how long the products will last or if they can be recycled.

This is an important component that should be written carefully. You must perform deep research regarding your targeted clientele. The supply method should also be included in the scrutiny. This part requires you to give finer details concerning the clients who will buy from you.

The main wings to be covered are:

• A segmented analysis of the audience along with their demographic, age range, economic status, and personality.
• An assessment of the industry - an analysis of the current situation which you can perform based on the survey of your rival companies forms the main portion.
• You must also study the companies that are in your competition - their performance, strategy, and their current financial status will be important to consider.

You need a plan for your operations to work properly. There are different directions in which your work will be distributed and you have to make sure everything goes smoothly. The agenda will organize all your operations based on priority and departments:

• You must mention the hours that people in different departments will work per week.
• Staff members are also important. If you did not begin yet, you can mention the intended number of staff in each department.

A financial report of your past sales or a report of your investments should be included. This is important for stakeholders, as they must be convinced that this deal will bring them profit. The following should be considered:

• The cost for raw materials and operational machines;
• The current funds that are present;
• Previous profits and future prognosis;
• The costs that you will spend while attracting a customer;
• The funds for advertising and different promos; and,
• The rate at which you intend to make changes or scale-up in business.

If this report is meant for you to receive funding from stakeholders, you should provide a brief paragraph stating how important it is for your enterprise to receive the finances, as well as a reason why they should give you the funds (on what basis):

• Mention the reasons to believe and trust in you;
• Describe the profits that the executive board investors can expect;
• Outline the steps to be taken in case of crisis (risk assessment);
• Go over the things you have achieved in the past or intend to achieve in a particular time-frame.

Examples of an eCommerce Business Plan Template

It is not enough to know the points that must be considered. Visual memory has been said to be the best. We will show you some examples that will assist you to understand the exact structure.

Preparing the plan by just writing it out makes it look boring, so you may add some color to it by adding figures. It makes understanding the financial stuff easier. Also, such a presentation is visually attractive and more preferred. In your financial analysis section, you can add several figures using a special online chart tool that will explain what is going on with your company.

Here is an exemplar of a business plan for an online shopping website - you may go through the whole business plan template by clicking here . It is this plan, for Instant, that also provides solutions related to software.

Your financial report should look something like this. You should divide your budgets into several parts like past financial status and projections, and present it in such a tabular form. Of course, some figures within those tables will also prove to be helpful.

Here is a perfect business plan for eCommerce startup that was intended for an investor to finance the organization. It is quite detailed and well presented, and it is also a startup plan. They mentioned their requirements in point with the costs, which makes it clear how important the funding is to the company and how much profits can be earned. A full version of the template is available here .

Here is a PDF version of a perfect business agenda by pipedream.com. It is well explained and quite detailed with more points and some other details. You can just click the link and review their plan.

Read more in our blog The Best E-commerce Books for Online Entrepreneurs in 2023 .

Once you perceive the importance of an agenda and how to develop one, the important points might change according to size and the merchandise you are selling. A business plan for an online shop will show you the right direction and performance. Some of the extra pieces of a business plan can include competition, strategic partners, website and technology, and an overview of the management team.

If you encounter any questions regarding your plan, you can contact Dinarys to get assistance with these types of solutions. If you are stuck when starting from scratch on the plan, rest assured that the team will show you the right direction. Just contact us to write your scheme and get going!

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How To Start An Ecommerce Business In 2024?

Are you interested in launching your very own eCommerce business this year? You’re not alone—eCommerce sales in the United States are projected to surpass $1 trillion by the end of 2024, according to eMarketer. 

We’ve all been there—dreaming of our own online store where we can sell our products. 

Many have envisioned starting an eCommerce business, but only a few have turned that dream into reality. If you’re looking to build your online store but aren’t entirely sure where to begin, this article is your perfect guide. Hopefully, this step-by-step guide will help you to understand the best knowledge you require to start your eCommerce business. Ready to explore in depth and detail how to create one? 

Here’s the perfect eCommerce website development guide to help you start an eCommerce business. 

What is an Ecommerce Business? 

Before we initiate on how to build an eCommerce store , you need to understand what an eCommerce business is. eCommerce refers to purchasing and selling products and services online. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau , online sales accounted for 15% of total retail sales in 2023, a figure that’s steadily increasing.

In the simplest of terms, an eCommerce website is your virtual storefront. It allows your customers to purchase what they want from the comfort of their desktop or mobile device. 

Even though a store may have a brick-and-mortar presence, an eCommerce business operates solely through the Internet, making it the easiest and fastest way to make a quick purchase online.

What Are the Different Types of eCommerce Businesses? 

Generally, there are four different types of eCommerce businesses: 

• B2B (Business to Business): A B2B model involves selling products or services to other businesses. This model is ideal for handling bulk orders or managing recurring transactions. 
• B2C (Business to Consumer): In a B2C model, businesses sell directly to individual consumers. The best example of a B2C eCommerce store is one that also has a physical retail presence, like Target or Walmart.
• C2B (Consumer to Business): In this model, individuals sell their products or services to businesses. An example is consumers offering feedback, content, or services to businesses in exchange for compensation. Websites like Fiverr are great examples of C2B transactions.
• C2C (Consumer to Consumer): This model enables consumers to sell products to other consumers. Etsy and eBay are prime examples of C2C platforms where people sell handmade crafts, vintage items, and other goods directly to other consumers.

Things You Need to Know: Starting an eCommerce Business in 2024

1. choose your niche.

This step is essential to follow if you’re going for a business-to-customer (B2C) website. If you already have a physical store or you’re looking to create a marketplace, then you can skip the following step.

In the case of a brick-and-mortar presence, your niche is already determined by the products you’re selling in your store. However, in an online marketplace, it’s the customers who drive the sales by listing their products.

First things first, if you’re planning to launch your eCommerce store, it’s crucial to know what type of products you wish to sell online. Whether it’s home decor or apparel, your product selection will shape your brand. To ensure profitability, focus on products that are best-sellers in your chosen niche. Conduct competitor analysis to see what’s trending. For example, “athleisure” has been a booming niche, with sales increasing by 36% in 2023, according to Statista.

Once you’ve identified the right niche, consider your audience. It’s important that your target market feels passionate about purchasing from you. A strong connection with your niche can significantly increase customer loyalty and repeat business.

2. Choose a Business Model

For every eCommerce presence, there are three different business models through which you can sell products online. Your choice will depend on how much control you want over the store.

• Dropshipping: Dropshipping is a model where you sell products without holding inventory. When a customer places an order, you purchase the item from a third-party supplier who ships it directly to the customer. This model requires minimal upfront investment but can result in lower profit margins. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global dropshipping market is expected to reach $557.9 billion by 2025, driven by its ease of entry and low risk.
• Wholesaling: Wholesaling involves purchasing products in bulk from manufacturers at lower prices and then selling them at retail prices. This model requires upfront capital for inventory and storage but allows for higher profit margins per sale. With wholesaling, you have greater control over product selection, pricing, and inventory management. However, it also carries the risk of unsold stock, which can impact profitability.
• Manufacturing: In this model, you create your own products and sell them directly to customers. Manufacturing offers complete control over product design, quality, and branding, giving your business a unique edge. However, it requires substantial investment in production facilities, materials, and research. The rewards can be significant, with higher profits and stronger brand loyalty, but the risks are also greater due to the complexities of managing the entire supply chain. 

Many custom eCommerce development services offer store solutions built on any of the above-mentioned business models. 

3. Register Your Business

According to Harvard Business Review , a strong, memorable business name can increase brand recall by up to 70%. Once you have decided on the type of product you’re going to sell and the business model you’ll use for your eCommerce store, your next task is to select the best business name.

Your business name will reflect on your website’s domain and across other online platforms, including review sites and social media. Choose a name that’s unique, easy to remember, and available as a domain. Make sure to register your business legally and obtain the necessary licenses to operate.

This step not only legitimizes your business but also protects your brand.

4. Picking the Right eCommerce Platform

Choosing the right eCommerce platform is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make for your online business. 

Also Read: BigCommerce vs WooCommerce: Which is the Best for eCommerce Website?

While there are plenty of options available, it’s essential to choose a platform that satisfies your business needs. Here are some popular platforms:

• Shopify: Known for its ease of use and extensive app ecosystem, Shopify is ideal for beginners and small to medium-sized businesses. It offers a range of customizable themes and integrates with various third-party tools, making it a versatile choice.
• WooCommerce: If you prefer flexibility, WooCommerce is a great option. As a plugin for WordPress, it offers robust customization options and scalability, allowing you to grow your store as your business expands.
• Magento: For larger enterprises with more complex needs, Magento offers unparalleled customization and scalability. However, it requires a higher level of technical expertise to manage effectively.

When choosing your platform, consider factors like ease of use, scalability, and customization options. If you anticipate rapid growth, ensure the platform can handle increased traffic and sales without compromising performance. 

A study by Statista found that 29% of eCommerce businesses experienced significant platform-related challenges due to scalability issues, so make sure your choice can grow with you.

5. Designing Your Website

Your website is the digital face of your brand, and first impressions matter. A well-designed, user-friendly site can boost your conversion rates.

Here’s how to create a compelling eCommerce website:

• Choose a Theme or Hire a Designer: If you’re using platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce, you can select a theme that suits your brand. Many of these themes are customizable, allowing you to tweak colors, fonts, and layouts. For a more unique look, consider hiring a professional web designer who can create a custom design that reflects your brand’s personality.
• Make It Responsive: With over 54% of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it’s important that your website is responsive. It means your website can deliver seamless results on smartphones, tablets, and desktops. A responsive design not only improves user experience but also boosts your site’s search engine ranking.
• Essential Pages: Your website should include key pages like Home, About Us, Shop, Contact Us, and Privacy Policy. These pages not only provide important information but also build trust with your customers. According to a Nielsen Norman Group study, clear and easy navigation can increase user retention by 40%, so ensure your site is easy to explore.

6. Setting Up Payment Gateways

A smooth payment process is vital for customer satisfaction and can be a determining factor in whether a shopper completes a purchase.

Here’s how to set up payment gateways: 

• Integrate Popular Payment Options: Customers expect flexibility in payment methods. Integrate options like PayPal, Stripe, and credit card processors to cater to a wide audience. PayPal, for instance, is trusted by over 400 million active users worldwide, making it a reliable choice for your store.
• Ensure Security: Payment security is non-negotiable. Implement SSL certificates to encrypt transactions and protect customer data. A study by the Baymard Institute found that 18% of customers abandon their carts due to concerns about payment security, so prioritize a secure checkout process.
• Ease of Use: Simplify the payment process as much as possible. Allow guest checkouts and minimize the number of steps required to complete a purchase. The smoother the process, the less likely customers are to abandon their carts. According to a study by Barilliance, the average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%, so a streamlined checkout can improve conversions.

7. Adding Products

Once your website is set up, it’s time to populate it with products. How you present your products can make or break your online store’s success.

Follow these tips to ensure your products shine:

• High-Quality Images: Invest in high-quality images for each product. Clear, detailed photos can increase sales by 30%, according to a Shopify report . Consider multiple angles, zoom options, and even 360-degree views to give customers a comprehensive look at your products.
• Detailed Descriptions: A good product description does more than just list features; it tells a story. Describe the benefits, materials, and uses of the product. Incorporate keywords naturally to improve search engine visibility, but keep the tone conversational. 
• Organize into Categories: Properly organizing your products into categories improves navigation and increases the shopping experience. Categories should be intuitive, allowing customers to easily find what they’re looking for. A well-organized store not only improves user experience but also encourages more browsing, increasing the likelihood of multiple purchases.

8. Implementing SEO Strategies

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the backbone of your online store’s visibility. Without it, your beautifully designed website might as well be invisible.

Here’s how to implement effective SEO strategies:

• Optimize for Search Engines: Start by identifying relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs can help you discover high-traffic keywords related to your products. Integrate these keywords naturally into your website’s content, including product descriptions, titles, and meta tags.
• Meta Tags and Descriptions: Meta tags are like a sneak peek of your webpage. Ensure each page on your website has a unique meta title and description. These not only help search engines understand the content but also entice users to click on your site from search results. According to Moz , well-crafted meta descriptions can increase click-through rates by up to 5.8%.
• Quality Content: Content is still king. Regularly update your site with high-quality content, such as blog posts, product guides, and customer testimonials. Content marketing can drive organic traffic to your site, improving both your search rankings and customer engagement.
• On-Page and Off-Page SEO: Don’t just focus on what’s happening on your website. On-page SEO involves optimizing individual pages, while off-page SEO focuses on activities outside your website that impact rankings, like backlinks from reputable sites. According to Backlinko , websites with high-quality backlinks are 3.8 times more likely to rank higher on Google.

9. Setting Up Shipping Options

Shipping is a critical component of your eCommerce business, directly impacting customer satisfaction and your bottom line.

Here’s how to set up effective shipping options:

• Choose Shipping Methods: Decide which shipping methods you’ll offer. Will you provide flat-rate shipping, or will you offer free shipping to encourage more sales? A study by Invesp shows that 93% of online buyers are encouraged to purchase more products if free shipping is available.
• Integrate with Shipping Carriers: Partner with reliable shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS, or USPS. Many eCommerce platforms offer easy integration with these carriers, allowing you to automate shipping calculations and print labels directly from your website. This can save you time and reduce errors in the shipping process.
• Set Clear Shipping Policies: Transparency is key. Clearly outline your shipping policies on your website, including delivery times, costs, and return processes. Customers appreciate knowing what to expect, and clear policies can reduce cart abandonment. According to Statista, 56% of U.S. shoppers abandoned their carts due to unexpected shipping costs.

10. Testing and Launching Your Site

The moment of truth is here—your site is ready to go live. But before you hit that launch button, thorough testing is crucial.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure a smooth launch:

• Perform a Full Site Audit: A comprehensive audit checks for any technical issues that could affect your site’s performance. Use tools like Google Search Console or SEMrush to identify broken links, missing meta tags, or slow page load times. A study by Kissmetrics found that 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, so addressing these issues is vital.
• Test User Experience: Navigate through your site as if you were a customer. Test the product search, navigation, and checkout process to ensure everything is intuitive and glitch-free. Don’t forget to test the mobile version of your site—mobile shopping accounted for 72.9% of global eCommerce sales in 2021, so mobile responsiveness is a must.
• Payment Process: Run multiple test transactions to ensure that the payment process works seamlessly. Check for any delays or errors, as these could frustrate customers and lead to lost sales.
• Launch and Promote: Once you’re confident everything is working perfectly, it’s time to launch. Announce your site through social media channels, email marketing campaigns and online ads. Create a buzz around your launch with promotions, discounts, or even a giveaway to attract initial traffic.

Concluding Thoughts

Starting an eCommerce business in 2024 offers incredible opportunities, but success requires careful planning and execution. When it comes to choosing the right platform, you want an eCommerce website which is user-friendly, follows the best SEO marketing strategy , and offers easy payment & shipping options. Always remember, the key is to stay adaptable, continuously optimize, and keep your customers happy and at the heart of every decision. Ready to turn your eCommerce dream into reality? 

The time to start is now. 

Branex is a premier custom website development company specializing in top-tier eCommerce solutions. We deliver high-end eCommerce websites tailored to your needs, utilizing platforms such as Shopify, Magento, and other bespoke software platform solutions.

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Ashad Rehman

Ashad is a tech-savvy wordsmith. He translates complex topics into clear, engaging narratives, empowering readers to navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape with confidence. Read his informative articles and get an enjoyable journey in the heart of the tech world.

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