FEASIBILITY STUDY

ONLINE E-COMMERCE STORE

Todays Most Common Business is online

business which is trending day by day in
small to medium entrepreneurs. In this feasibility
report I have cover all basic components to initiate this project. With competitive
pricing strategy along with advanced marketing and excellent customer service, I
believe, we can make our business one of the most successful online business in near
future.

Prepared by :mirzagulraiz
Table of Content:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. DEFINING E-COMMERCE

3. MARKET ANALYSIS

4. MARKET ANALYSIS (STORES)

5. MARKET ANALYSIS (PRODUCTS)

6. MARKET ANALYSIS (SERVICES)

7. FEASIBILITY SUMMERY

8. BUSINESS PLAN

9. MARKET PLACE

10. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

11. MARKETING STRATEGY

12. ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING

13. TECHNICAL CONSIDRATIONS

14. SCHEDULE

15. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

16. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

E-Store Feasibility Report Analysis by mirzagulraiz Page 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Today, E-commerce has defied the traditional structure of businesses trading with
consumers bringing to the fore various business models which has empowered
consumer. There are alternative e-commerce platforms available (instead of the
traditional physical platforms) for almost every aspect of our lives, starting from
purchasing of everyday household items to online brokage. Mail order or catalogue
shopping has been in existence in the United States since 1980. This was the
predecessor of online commerce, which started in Pakistan post 2005.

Though there is no standard definition for the term e-commerce, it is generally used
in the sense of denoting a method of conducting business through electronic means
rather than through conventional physical means. Such electronic means include
click & buy methods using computers as well as m-commerce which make use of
various mobile devices or smart phones. This term takes into account not just the
act of purchasing goods and / or availing services through an online platform but
also all other activities which are associated with any transaction such as Delivery,
Payment facilitation, Supply chain and service management.

This report addressed thorough feasibility analysis of the project addressing

business entities, major products, services provided, technical issues, economical
and organizational study.
The next section takes an account of system requests such as business needs,
business requirements, business goals, marketing strategies, organizational
structure, reasons they are attainable, plans for reaching them, business value and
constraints.

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DEFINING E-COMMERCE

E-commerce refers to the process of buying or selling products or services over the Internet.
Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular because of speed and ease of use for
customers. E-business activities such as selling online can be directed at consumers or other
businesses. Business to Consumer (B2C) involves the online sales of goods, services and
provision of information directly to consumers. Business to Business (B2B) refers to the online
exchange of products, services, or information between businesses.

An E-store allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using
a web browser. Alternative names are: e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop,
web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. Mobile commerce (or m-commerce)
describes purchasing from an online retailer's mobile optimized online site or app.

In its simplest form ecommerce is the buying and selling of products and services by businesses
or consumers over the World Wide Web.

Common Types of E-Commerce are

B2B (Business to Business) This involves companies doing business with each other.
B2C (Business to Consumer) B2C consists of businesses selling to the general public through shopping
cart. This is the most common type of e-commerce trade and most people think this is the only E-commerce.
C2B (Consumer to Business) In C2B e-commerce, consumers post a project with a set budget online, and
companies bid on the project. The consumer reviews the bids and selects the company.
C2C (Consumer to Consumer) This takes place within online classified ads, forums or marketplaces where
individuals can buy and sell their goods.

E-commerce website structure:

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MARKET ANALYSIS:

E-commerce activities altogether are not amongst the 5 most common online activities in Pakistan.
Users engaged in buying a product online account for 6% of all e-commerce activities. 45% of
the users felt that shopping is very convenient via internet. Furthermore 33% believed that online
store prices are lower as compared to physical stores. Cash on delivery (71%) was chosen by
online buyers as a payment method while 22% chose Credit Cards.

The field of e-commerce in Pakistan is growing on path with modern world. Although its tracking
can be traced with Tohfay by delivering gifts to Pakistani citizens from their relatives or friends all
over the globe. Second famous name was TradeKey that was a B2B which connected the small
and medium enterprises at global scale. On patterns of Tohfay and Tradekey, many other sites
established later, like Daraz-pk with aim of fashion oriented export to the world. Other one
engaged in similar B2B was Labels in partnership with DHL for international delivery of products
from Pakistan . Today a number of small and medium scale online stores are conducting business
across Pakistan with delivery of purchased items at door step of their consumers, like iShopping-
Pk, Symbios, Kaymu-pk etc.

As modern e-commerce strategies across the globe are a result of the online activity of consumers
and the resulting data record, it is a good idea for current as well as future e-commerce
entrepreneurs to study this report and consequently craft effectual strategies for their online
businesses. The market dynamics mentioned in the report are at the epicenter of key
developments that we believe, define the e-commerce trends for the modern day and provide a
sound basis for future forecasting.

The e-commerce industry is profoundly impacted by the rise of social networks and the
proliferation of mobile devices at an enormously large scale. Since mobile devices such as smart
phones and tablets have made a vast number of choices and plenty of information available at
fingertips, consumers are leaving behind traces and records of their behaviors, preferences and
interests; and this report aims to capture and analyze all these trends as below mentioned:

Age:

Through the facts collated, it can be observed

that the younger population - between 18-34
years - is most actively involved in e-
commerce trade, as compared to the rest of
population. Moreover, those falling between the
age brackets of 25-34 years account for the
highest number of users, with the 18-24 bracket
falling at second place.

Gender:

If we look at the overall e-commerce activity in

terms of gender and compare the males vs
females ratio for e-commerce in Pakistan, we
can observe that out of the total e-commerce
activities carried out, 70% comprised of males,
with females involved in only 30% of the total.

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Geographic Trends

Lahore being the capital city of the

province of Punjab and the cultural
heart of Pakistan, prevails the list of
yearly e-commerce activity in the
country with 21% of total traffic, and is
closely followed by Pakistans largest
metropolitan city Karachi at 20%.
Islamabad (the capital city of
Pakistan) and Rawalpindi, which are
collectively less populated as
compared to Lahore and Karachi,
stands at third place with 15% of the
countrys total e-commerce activity
each year. Other cities with the
highest inclination towards e-
commerce following Lahore, Karachi
and Islamabad include Gujranwala,
Sialkot, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar
and Rawalpindi respectively.

More than 50% of the e-commerce transactions are carried out in three major areas of Pakistan.

- Lahore
- Karachi
- Islamabad & Rawalpindi

In-Market Segments

E-commerce trends across Pakistan pertaining to in-

market segment have remained much inclined
towards electronics and mobile phones lately. The
facts show that online customers in Pakistan are
mostly interested in searching about and purchasing
Consumer Electronics & Mobile Phones, followed by
Employment Queries, Online Education &
Counseling, Sale / Purchase & Information Gathering
for Autos & Vehicles, Computers & Accessories,
Financial Services, Laptops & Notebooks, Motor
Vehicles by Brand, Test Preparation & Tutoring and
last but not the least, Apparel & Accessories.

1. Consumer Electronics / Mobile phones

2. Auto Vehicles / Motor Vehicles
3. Auto Vehicles / Motor Vehicles by
Brand/Suzuki
4. Computers / Accessories & components
5. Computers / Laptops / Notebooks
6. Apparel & Accessories
7. Employment
8. Education / Post-Secondary Education
9. Education / Tests preparation & Tutoring
10. Financial Services

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Traffic Sources & Segments

Free channels are, however more conversion oriented because unpaid visitors have somehow
themselves initiated the buying process, or showed interest to know more about the product(s).
The interest is initiated by subscribing to the newsletters, establishing connection with the
website's social pages, or specifically searching for a product on search engines. Search engines
publish paid advertisements
on search engine result
pages (SERPs), but, organic
results are considered more
trustworthy and authentic as
compared to the paid ads;
this, in turn, results in better
conversion rate for organic
traffic as compared to the
paid search ads.

Google Paid
Facebook Paid
Other Paid Channels
Organic
Direct
Referral
Social Media
Others

Payment Methods

The top payment methods in Pakistan are Cash on Delivery, Bank / Wire Transfer, EasyPaisa /
MobiCash and Debit / Credit Card.

E-commerce Conversion Rate: The percentage of website visitors that actually buy online. For
example, if hundred visitors landed on a website and only two of them purchased the product, the
e-Commerce conversion rate would be 2%.

There is no formal estimate on online retail sales in Pakistan. That is because most payments are
settled through cash on delivery or third-party payment gateways in the case of international sales.

There is known name of online store from Faisalabads E-store exportleftover.com. It was
established in 2013 to sell its export leftover stocks to local market, but now it has expanded its
product range widely. Its major products are Tees, Polo Shirts, Uppers, jackets and Denim.
Recently they have added more products like home textile and other fashion wear to their store. At
the time being, it has almost 1500 unique visitors and 200 customers each day. Its average daily
sale is now PKR 0.3 million.

Home-palettes.com is also interesting E-store for to study for us as its products are home textiles
and made-ups. This online store was started in 2012, along with facebook shop. Combined
monthly sale of these stores are 1 million rupees only due to its specific product.

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MARKET ANALYSIS (STORES):
Currently there are hundreds of online stores in Pakistan which are increasing day by day, but
here we will focus only a few stores which are considered as the Top online stores of Pakistan,
which are as below:
(These stores ranked by search engines, users reviews, Google analysis, page fans and other
features):

Store Name Business Type Store Name Business Type

www.daraz.pk B2C + C2C www.brandsego.com B2C
www.kaymu.pk B2C + C2C www.telemart.pk B2C
www.shophive.com B2C + C2C www.payless.pk B2C + C2C
homeshopping.pk B2C + B2B www.pakstyle.pk B2C + C2C
www.symbios.pk B2C www.labelsestore.com B2C
shopdaily.pk B2C www.woowbrands.com B2C + C2C
techcity.pk B2C + C2C www.fashionsouk.com B2C
www.umall.pk B2C + C2C www.brandkonnection.com B2C
www.ishopping.pk B2C www.pakrobe.com Clothing & lifestyle

* B2C = Business to Consumer, B2B = Business to Business, C2C = Customer to Consumer

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For better overview of the market, we will discuse the above listed stores with a little details to
analyse our findings for feasibility of an online store.

As a market topper, we will discuse draz.pk for analysis. This online store is doing better than all
others so far. Its overall friendly website experience, product categories, brand variety, Facebook
fans and online advertisement campaigns speak for themselves. Apparently the website delivers
products worldwide. Customer reviews and experiences imply swift delivery, reasonable prices
and satisfactory return services. The website also has reward points system for customers. In
terms of absolute numbers, Daraz is delivering over 1,000 items daily, though theres no indication
of how much people are spending or how many orders those represent.

The 2nd top online store in pakistan is kaymu.pk. Kaymu probably has the most product
categories (from tech gadgets to perfumes) in store but that does not mean all its categories have
huge variety of products. The portal is maturing some 1,000 transactions daily with an average
turnover of Rs1.2 million per day. This website is working on the similar model of eBay in Pakistan
whereby anyone can buy or sell all kinds of goods but the transactions take place through Kaymu.

The 3rd best online store for pakistanies is shophive.com. The fact that Shophive was revamped
recently is one of the major reasons this site secured the third spot on our list. With its new
optimized web design and its amazing discount/deal section it is attracting a lot of Pakistani e-
shoppers. The service also offers an installment plan to its customers making it easy for them to
pay for the more expensive items. However, this option is available for the customer in Lahore
only, so far. Shophive is quite active on its social media pages and although most of their posts
are promotional, the service does reply to the fans queries timely.

The 4th position in this category is held by homeshopping.pk. This store provides improved
customer feedback services and has physical outlets in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and
Peshawar offering wide category of products ranging from local merchandise to popular
international brands. The website gives potential customers an interactive section for each product
with ready-and-active staff that gives quick feedback to all queries. The website gets almost 1000
orders and more than 15,000 visits per day, majority of whom are returning customers.
Homeshopping offers cash on delivery in more than 40 cities in Pakistan with own delivery staff as
well. It has a low profile on social networking sites compared to other leading online stores.

The 5th online store is symbios.pk. They sell wide range of tech products, providing discount
deals known as Jadoo Offer everyday. This online store turned into serious business from a
startup in a basement car garage. Symbios needs little improvements in information quality for
products. Symbios attracts over 30,000 visitors daily. Of these, about 1% or 300 people place
orders and 600 products are sold in a day on average. It has a good presence on online social
networks which suggests good things about the store.

The 6th position is holded by shopdaily.pk. The overall website experience is good but it loses
score when it comes to brand variety. Their investments in advertising campaigns suggest they
are going to be here, competing. This online store is owned and run by the owner of other known
projects like tohfay.com and Dealsdaily.pk.

The Last store in our list is techcity.pk. Customer reviews and personal experiences suggest not-
so responsible product dispatch team and poor return facilities for clothing category but
nonetheless techcity.pk is a major tech store with wide product variety and 12 years of team
experience.

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MARKET ANALYSIS (PRODUCTS):

A thorough study of online stores in Pakistan, we found the most selling products online are below
respectively top on 1st position:

1. Ladies ready to stitch suits

2. Gadgets & Electronics
3. Ladies stitched suits
4. Mens garments
5. Mobiles & Tablets
6. Footwear & Jewelry
7. Home textiles & Home decoration
8. Computer & Accessories
9. Sportswear
10. Furniture

Online Retailers Comparison: Products

Online shopping in Pakistan, saw 150% growth in interest from the consumers in the year 2013 to
2015 in comparison to only 30% growth in 2011 to 2013, making 2015 the tipping point for online
shopping in Pakistan. In terms of product categories, consumer interest on Google search for
apparels & accessories (30%) emerged as the second biggest product category after consumer
electronics (34%).

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MARKET ANALYSIS (SERVICES)

Online Retailers Comparison: After-Sale Services

Reviews, Reviews,
Reviews, Reviews, Reviews, Reviews, Reviews,
Comments, Comments,
Products Products Products Products Products
Products Products
Comments Comments Comments Comments Comments
Comments Comments

7 Days Repair & 7 Days 7 Day

7 Day Return Free 10 Day 7 Day Return
Replacement Replace Return Replacement
Policy Return Policy
Policy services Policy Policy

Online Retailers Comparison: Major Payment Methods

Online Retailers Comparison: Shipment & Delivery

Online Retailers Comparison: Physical Store

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FEASIBILITY SUMMERY

The e-commerce sector in Pakistan is increasingly looking to global markets.

Indeed, it started in 2002 with tohfay.com specializing in delivering gifts to Pakistani
residents from their relatives or loved ones around the world. Daraz.pk has just
opened its cupboard to the international market, while Labels has been delivering
internationally since inception last year. So many online stores have started working
in last 2 years in Pakistan who provides products at very cheap prices where quality
does matter or does not.

Despite all hurdle, theres still a lot of scope for domestic and overseas growth.
Thats why Pakistan is Asias next frontier for entrepreneurs and investors.

In a nutshell, the idea is to put up an online store, which sells clothing and made-ups
with affordable prices, straight to the consumers. The products will be ordered
straight from site visitors of all over Pakistan. The head office will be located in
Faisalabad Unit, for the best delivery and distribution possibilities. The product
range will be wide including everything a user need for household, office and
personal use. Key elements of the company will be great customer service, fast
delivery time and a good price quality ratio. The online store will also be made so
that the consumer will find it simple and easy to navigate.

For the first time in the country's history, we are seeing online brands deploying
significant advertising budgets for mainstream media advertising. Deep pocketed
general classifieds sites like OLX, funded by the South African mega media group
Naspers, and Asani, a Schibsted funded company from Norway, have embarked in
our online industry's first media war with ads competing for our eyeballs. Rocket
Internet, which runs Daraz and Kaymu in Pakistan, recently completed an $8.2
Billion IPO in October of this year. Daraz and Kaymu are well funded and will be
pouring capital into the Pakistani e-commerce market in a magnitude not seen here
before. Several other Pakistani online players will be launching their TV ads in the
coming months, giving new credibility to the online medium and e-commerce.

All of these developments will lead to a rapid increase in trust as first time online
shoppers experience e-commerce and generate acceptance through word-of-mouth.

E-commerce in Pakistan will grow more; the only uncertainty is the speed at which it
does. We all know how fast china and India has grown. We also know that Pakistan
is generally 5 years behind India in terms of growth and development.

So now is the right time to start building our startups and investing in information
technology within country.

E-Store Feasibility Report Analysis by mirzagulraiz Page 12

BUSINESS PLAN

At Our, We are one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of quality fabrics &
made-ups in Pakistan. We also owns most modern stitching unit where various
kinds of bedsets & made-ups are being made.

Our being a premium exporter of home textile products want to tap in the online
market opportunity by launching an online store selling exclusive range of made-
ups, clothing and other feasible products.

We are an E-commerce startup with a long term goal of having our presence in
major cities of Pakistan and delivering a wide range of products from globally
recognized manufacturing brands at rock bottom prices they can hardly get from any
retailer.

Our will run 24 hours a day and 7 day a week online shop, with effective and timely
delivery system. Our payment platform will highly secured and flexible as per
customer ease. Our payment platform will readily accept payment from credit cards,
debit cards, smart cards, electronic fund transfer via banks website and other
modes of electronics payment as well as cash on delivery and moneygram.

Our inventory management of products will be automated, our portal will be

designed such that its reports get generated instantly when required and our product
inventory management will very efficient and easy to maintain. We will have a robust
business relationship with shipping companies and we are going to be ship goods
for our clients at a highly discounted price. Our plan of strategically positioning our
warehouses will makes it easier for us to deliver products on time whenever our
clients make orders.

At Our, our team members will highly competent and dedicated to the company;
they will be trained to go the extra mile to resolve any complain from our customers.
Our phone lines will open 7 days a week, with highly trained call center agents
manning them and also customers can freely chat with us via our website at any
time of the day.

Vision

During the first year of operation we want to gain a good reputation, through
affordable prices, fast delivery and great customer service and Accomplish a steady
cash flow and long term business partners.

Mission

Our mission is to be a trusted and reliable online store, known throughout Pakistan
and to provide the good clothing & made-up products at good price using the
Internet to lower the consumer's cost.
E-Store Feasibility Report Analysis by mirzagulraiz Page 13
MARKET PLACE

We will have available in our warehouses a wide range of durable goods and non
durable goods at affordable prices. We will deal in goods such as clothes, sports
equipment, beauty products, jewelry, childrens toys, baby stuffs, home furnishings
and home appliances et al. Just for clarity purpose, we will have various items from
world class brands in the following product categories:

Clothing
Electronics & Gadgets
Home & Living
Watches & Jewelry
Mobiles & Tablets
Computers & Laptops
Toys, Kids & Babies
Footwear
Misc Categories

Our, will be a Pakistan based international online shopping website that will offers a
wide range of quality products such as electronics, computers, groceries, fashion,
home appliances and kids items to a wide range of customers. We are in business
to retail a wide range of products to the following groups of people from our online
store;

Households
Corporate Executives
Business People
About to wed couples
Housewives
Sports Men and Women
Students
Tourists

With our initial Categories of easily available products, we will be looking to target the following
consumer segment:

Age: 17-35
Social Media Savvy: Voraciously active on popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr
Fashion Forward: With a keen eye on their day to day wear, these male and female
fashionistas dress to impress
Addicted to Mobile: They Instagram their food, check their Facebook status while waiting
in line, and tweet every traffic disruption they experience.
Eco-Friendly: They feel a pinch everything they know their clothes were manufactured
unethically or are aware of the eco-footprint they have by consuming clothes made with
regular cotton
Location: The beachheads for the company will be Faisalabad, however, with the ability to
shop online, well heavily promote ourselves throughout Pakistan.

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

At Our online store we aim to have following categories and products available for customer for
online shopping:

Clothing Electronics Home & Living

Men's Western Clothing Cameras Kitchen Appliances
Mens Eastern Clothing Audio Home Appliances
Women's Western Clothing TV & Video Home Decor
Womens Eastern Clothing Home/Office Electronics Furniture
Men's Accessories Gaming Kitchen & Dining
Women's Accessories Power Banks Miscellaneous Household
Kid's & Baby's Clothing Gadgets Gardening
Other Electronics Home improvements
Smart Watches

Watches Mobiles Toys, Kids & Babies

Men's Wrist Watches Samsung Toys
Women's Wrist Watches Nokia Baby Products
Kids' Watches Q Mobile Outdoor Games
Huawei Gifts
HTC
Other brands
Mobile Accessories

Footwear Computers Other Categories

Men's Shoes Laptops Collectibles
Women's Shoes Tablets Food & Beverages
Kids & Babys Shoes Tablet Covers & Cases Sheesha, Cigarettes &
Storage Devices Lighters
Printers & Scanners Stationery
Monitors Islamic Products
Desktop PCs Pets Supplies
Computer Accessories Travel
Vehicle Accessories
Everything Else
Personal

All above products will be in online retailing of a wide range from world class brands along with the
following services:

Feasible Payment Method (COD, Credit Card, Bank Wire, Cheque, EasyPaisa & etc)
Variants and choices in products
Delivery to Doorstep (Courier Services for delivery)
After Sales Services (Return / Replacement, Reviews, Wishlist & etc)
Facility to collect from physical store
Security, insurance, Fraud-less system and other safety measures

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MARKETING STRATEGY
Our marketing efforts will be directed toward executing the company strategies of building
awareness and driving traffic to the site. The combination of strong creative marketing and
partnerships with traffic generating sites is expected to result in many visitors who will become
loyal, repeat customers. The Company expects to use a variety of marketing tools including
guerilla/grassroots marketing, Web advertising, affiliate marketing programs, public relations, and
key strategic alliances to drive traffic.

Our marketing strategy will also focus on pricing, secured payment platform, and above all
excellent customer service. We will ensure that whenever our customers order goods from our
online store, they will get it delivered to them within the stipulated time frame. We know that if we
are able to put the above stated in place, we wouldnt have to struggle to retain our old customers
and at the same time win over new customers.

One thing is certain about online store, it has a wider reach and with the proper strategy and
structure in place, we will be able to get our own share of the available market. We are aware of
the power of the internet and we will do all we can to maximize the internet to market our
business. In other words, a larger percentage of our marketing effort will be directed to internet
users since our business is based on the internet; our website will become our number one
marketing tool. In summary, Our Online Store will adopt the following sales and marketing
strategy;

Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residence, business owners and
organizations
Advertise our business on magazines, TV stations and radio stations
Leverage on online forums to attract customers to our online store
List our business on yellow pages and newspapers ads
Leverage on the internet to promote our business
Direct marketing
Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Our Online Store will leverage on all available platforms to promote and advertise our business.
We know the power publicity which is why we have a rich budget to handle the publicity of our
business. We will be very aggressive when it comes to promoting our business especially within
the first 12 months of operations. With effective publicity, we are likely going to hit the target that
we set for the business. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise
Our Online Store:

SEO (Listing in internet directories and search engine optimization)

Recruit affiliates or initiate referral programs (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Yahoo Ads)
Place adverts on both print (newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
Sponsor relevant community programs
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Google+, Badoo,
Facebook , twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn to promote our brand
Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations
Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
Do Product placements (support local community events)
Create videos and post on you tube
Run online and offline promotions
Engage in public relations and publicity

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

Optimizing ecommerce site for ease of use and search engines is the first step in
marketing an ecommerce business
Email blasts and newsletters are a great way to spread the word about sales,
promotions, and company news
The addition of a blog to an online store can significantly help with marketing an
ecommerce business
Link building is process of getting external pages to link to a page on your website
and your links on other's websites
Depending on what youre marketing, pay per click (PPC) is a good option
Sharing news with the world about your business is a cost -effective strategy for
marketing an ecommerce business
Content marketing is a hot new marketing buzz word for something that every
business should have already been doing sharing information with customers

Paid Marketing
Pay-per-click this typically involves using Google Shopping campaigns and managing a
product data feed
Affiliate sale 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.

Organic Marketing
Social media (Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest etc.):
Search Engine Optimization (Indexing and directory listing)
Blogger networks could be organic or paid through affiliate sale programs.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is facilitated by multiple channels, As an advertiser one's core objective is to find
channels which result in maximum two way communication and a better overall ROI for the brand.
There are multiple online marketing channels available namely;

1. Affiliate marketing
2. Display advertising
3. Email marketing
4. Search marketing
5. Social Media
6. Social Networking
7. Game advertising
8. Online PR
9. Video advertising

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SWOT Analysis

Starting an online store comes with some challenges, especially when it comes to managing the
payment portal, shipping goods to various locations and ensuring that goods are sold cheaper
than is obtainable in physical stores. Our Online Store is launching an international e commerce
business which is why we decided to model successful brands. In doing that, we decided to
conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and write an e-commerce marketing plan.

This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Our Online Store;

Strength:

No doubt the fact that we have a robust relationship with a wide range of manufacturers of various
products will definitely count as a strength for us. We will have a well-coordinated shipping system
and our customer can be rest assured that they will have their goods delivered to them in record
time. Other areas of our strength are;

Sufficient Capital
Already existing growing business
Pre-Employed Staff
Secured payment platforms,
Wide range of products
Excellent customer service culture
Shipment & Delivery Ease

Weakness:

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new online retail store and
we dont have the financial capacity to compete with multi billion dollars online stores like;
daraz.pk, kaymu.pk and symbios.com. This is when it comes to wider reach and selling products
at rock bottom prices. Another threat is the proven strategies for developing online visibility are still
being tested, it is currently trial and error.

Opportunities:

The opportunities available to online retail stores are unlimited; as a matter of fact customers can
make purchase from any part of the world. We will ensure that we position our warehouses in
targeted cities of Pakistan so as to enable us cut cost of shipping and maximize the opportunity
that are available to us. Other opportunities are efficient business model within a growing industry
and provide differentiation through enhanced convenience and service attributes.

Threats:

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face as an online
retailing store is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power.
Another threat that may likely confront us is unfavorable government policies.
Aggressive competition from other online stores is the major threat from the business compotators
in Pakistan. As it is a part of Pakistani culture that if someone do remarkable thing, all other who
can do, follow the same act without knowing its pros and cons, and hence generate low level
perfect competition.

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ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING

Our Store will be an international online store that wants to become a global brand and compete
favorably with the leading brands in the industry hence we will ensure that we put the right
structure and processes in place that will enable us build the business of our dream.

At Our, we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are
ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the
owners, workforce, and customers). As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made
available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of
three years or more. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to
occupy the following positions;

Admin / Manager
Warehouse Manager
Warehouse Assistant
Business Developer / SEO Expert
Transport and Logistic Manager
IT Specialist / Web Developer
Accountant / Sales Agent / Record keeper
Call Center Agent

Admin / Manager

Responsible for providing direction for the business

Creating, communicating, and implementing the organizations vision, mission, and overall
directions
Leading the development and implementation of the overall organizations strategy.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
Evaluates the success of the organization
Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of tasks for the organization
Defines job descriptions for staff
Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of staff
Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities

Warehouse Manager:

Interfaces with third party providers (vendors)

Keeps proper records of available goods and make recommendations for re stocking
Works in collaboration with the merchandize manager to ensure that goods are always
available in the warehouse

Warehouse Assistant:

Stock taking & Inventory

Manage vendor relations, market visits, and coordinate warehouse Manager
Helps to ensure consistent quality of goods and products on our rack
Responsible for Goods-in-transit

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Transport and Logistic Manager:

Manages the shipping of goods from warehouse to customers

Negotiates deals with shipping companies
Collaborates with the Warehouse Manager in transporting goods from the manufacturer to
our warehouses and warehouse to customer

IT Specialist / Web Developer:

Develop /Design / Maintain/ Upgrade / Manages the organization website

Responsible for additional plug-ins / modules development of our online store
Ensure that our payment platform is secured 24 / 7
Manage logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS
(point of sale) systems related to web store
Responsible for continuous upgrade and maintenance of online store
Handles any other technological and website related duties.

Business Developer / SEO Expert:

Execute tests, collect and analyze data, identify trends and insights in order to achieve
maximum ROI in paid search campaigns
Manage campaign expenses, staying on budget, estimating monthly costs and reconciling
discrepancies.
Optimize copy and landing pages for search engine marketing
Perform ongoing keyword discovery, expansion and optimization
Research and implement search engine optimization recommendations
Research and analyze competitor advertising links
Develop and implement link building strategies and advanced SEO strategies
Recommend changes to website architecture, content, linking and other factors to improve
SEO positions for target keywords with the help of web developer
Utilize basic programming and web design skills to enhance SEO.
Evaluate product offering, traffic, landing page quality, content, design, security, payment
options, shipping options, demographics of prospective customers when determining
keywords and campaigns.
Accountant:

Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for store
Responsible for managing retail accounts. Conduct Internal Audits and Inventory Control
Handles all financial transactions for online store
Working independently and sorting out all the Tax Submissions, Legal Documentations,
Bank Reconciliation, Book Keeping, Record Keeping

Call Center Agent:

Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, SMS or phone) provides the client with a
personalized customer service experience of the highest level
Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build clients
interest in the companys products and services
Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the companys products, promotional
campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they
make enquiries
Handles enquiries via e-mail, chat and phone calls for the organization
Handles any other duties as assigned by the line manager
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TECHNICAL CONSIDRATIONS

Hosting Service

First of all, we need a place to host our website, called a hosting server. There are many hosting
companies we can use, but we need to make sure our shopping cart software is compatible with
the hosting server. For e-commerce website, a cloud based hosting is preferred due to its speed,
performance, reliability, redundancy and security aspects. Top cloud hosting providers are
RackSpace, Cloudways, InMotion, Arvixe, Just Host, Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy.

Website

Then we need a website. This can be an existing website to which we can add eCommerce
capabilities or we can build the site from
scratch. Our online store will be CMS
based and there are plenty of CMS
available for online E-commerce stores.
Some top of these content management
systems which provide selling facilities
are:

Magento
Shopify
Prestashop
OpenCart
Wordpress / WooCommerce
osCommerce
Opencart
CS-Cart
Virto Commerce
BigCommerce

Merchant Account

Merchant accounts aren't the same as ordinary bank accounts even though ordinary banks
provide them. These accounts allow a business to accept credit cards as payment for goods and
services. In a way, merchant accounts act as a contract between the business owner and the
bank. Rules defining how products will be bought, sold and paid for are set; any violation of these
rules is considered fraud. A few years ago, there was no such facility in Pakistan, but currently
many banks are providing E-merchant accounts for online stores.

Payment Gateway

A customer enters credit card information to purchase your product or service. This data is passed
to the merchant web server and a payment gateway through a secure socket layer (SSL)*. Once
the payment gateway receives the transaction data, their software verifies all of the credit card
information and then accepts or declines the credit card. The payment gateway sends an email
receipt to the merchant web server and to the customer. Along with the email receipt, the payment
gateway sends the order to the merchant bank. The money is subtracted from the purchaser's
credit card account and placed in a 30-day holding merchant account owned by your business.

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Security & SSL

Make sure the hosted software provides an SSL certificate to encrypt and protect credit card data
as it is sent to your site. SSL is a web certificate that tells our visitors about the security of our
website. Almost all Ecommerce Services uses 128-bit secure digital certificates. A secure web
page is recognized by the lock symbol at the bottom of the browser window (SSL symbol), or by
https:// (not http://) in the URL address line. SSL is must for all payment transactions.

Search & Filters in website

If you want customers to find what they need on your store, you should be able to design a search
tool that will work really well for them. In general, the broader the product catalog, the more
complicated IA can get, though the complexity is not necessarily directly related to inventory size.
Some stores sell a huge number of the same kind of product -- t-shirts, for example -- so rather
than many unique category landing pages, subsets of products, or varieties of product detail
pages, they just need good search and filtering tools. The big, generalist stores struggle with
information architecture because theyre relying upon one interface to contain a huge number of
different kinds of products. To create one store that even makes it possible for customers looking
for books, music, electronics, clothing, office supplies, tools, toys, jewelry, sports equipment, auto
parts, food (and on and on and on), to all find what theyre looking for requires a shotgun
approach: menus, sub-menus, filters, search, and featured widgets galore.

Product Detail Pages

Youve shopped online enough to know exactly what a product detail page needs. And yet, many
of them lack those very things or get them very wrong. Much of this stuff is really straightforward,
so rather than explain it in great length, Im going to list out the essential attributes of a product
detail page in order of importance:

Product Name
Images
Price
Buy Button
Description
Other Details
Quantity
Delivery Information
Related Products
Social Media

Checkout

The shopping experience is obviously important, but so is the buying experience. Unfortunately,
this is often where online stores fall apart, or at least default to generic settings that dont always fit
the product or customer well. Here are just a few things to consider as far as the checkout process
is concerned:

Cart Detail
Order Adjustments
Progress Indicator
Chat Support
Make it as simple & easy as possible

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SCHEDULE

All businesses have a life cycle. They start with an idea of providing a service or a product. When
an entrepreneur writes the idea on paper, the idea begins to take form and shape. However, it only
blossoms into reality when the entrepreneur takes a risk, i.e., invests money, gets a loan, quits his
job, etc. At that point, the business is born. And just like a living being, it goes through different
stages. I have grouped the various stages of a E-commerce business life cycle into four major
phases: Start-Up, Ignition, Selling, and Gaining. We will divide each phase into 6 months. The total
maturity tenure will be of 2 year having 4 phases.

PHASE I (START-UP)

This is initial phase of ecommerce business in which we will start our business. We will cover all
planning, designing, development and setup in this phase.
This is development phase and will consist of first 6 months.

Decide type of business, services & products

Set up the legal structure of the business
Staffing and recruiting
Register domain name and set up web hosting
Obtain necessary licenses
Research and obtain financing
Open a bank account for the business
Plan the strategy for growing the business
Website designing & development
Additional modules and plugins development
Payment Gateways and Shipment modules integration
Products posting & inventory management
Content management according to SEO needs
On-page SEO, directory listing, search engine indexing
Link building Off-page SEO
SMM on all social media
Paid Campaigns on Google and Facebook

PHASE II (IGNITION)

Once we have the infrastructure of our store, we will need to develop your business. We will
probably have some sales, but there is still much to do.
The hard work is just starting. This may include many of the following:

Refine market niche

Branding the company
Establish a track record
Networking to expand customer/client base
Match staff to volatile needs
Increase operational financing
Forecast sales
On-page SEO, directory listing, search engine indexing
Link building Off-page SEO
SMM on all social media
Increase in Paid Campaigns on Google and Facebook

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PHASE III (SELLING)

Now we have been in business for a while, almost 1 year and all the hard work is starting to pay
off. Now is the time to think of the direction of the company and establish formal procedures and
policies for our business.

Listed below are some characteristics of businesses in the 3rd phase.

Focus on customer satisfaction

Product expansion
Focus on Quality & services
Establishing partnerships
Organizational structure
Responsibility to investors
Mergers and Acquisitions for growth
Networking to expand customer/client base
Focusing on building value, not profits
Establishing institutional excellence
Exploring continuously your organizational options for change
Developing effective and flexible production systems responsive to change
Building strategic partnerships: tapping into complementary resources of others
Develop realistic marketing concept
Reinvent marketing, advertising and selling strategy
Unleash the power of service-profit chain to gain more loyal customers
Develop innovative product selling customer relationship chain
Access new markets through exporting technology, joint ventures, or franchising.
Reinvent your global sales network

PHASE IV (GAINING)

We have grown the business and we are known in the marketplace and the community. we have
loyal customers and a significant high volume of repeat business. There are still challenges to
meet and decisions to make.

Listed below are some characteristics of businesses in the gaining / maturity phase.

Sustaining growth
Declining in sales
Management succession
Merger and acquisitions
Develop a systems roadmap that shows technology breakthroughs needed in short- and
long-term products/services to meet customer needs.
Establish a technology intelligence and a technology forecasting system; conduct regular
technology audits
Maintain a purposeful and organized search for new opportunities and ventures
Divest from the low priority segments of your business to concentrate on the areas of your
core competence
Conduct both short-focused and strategic R&D; explore benefits of new technology
Set strategic priorities and actions and develop a corporate strategy supporting continuous
innovation
Identify competitive factors and critical technologies and formulate a technology strategy
Introduce modern techniques to motivate your staff be innovative on a continuous basis
Adopt business systems approach to managing projects aimed at development of new
projects/services, or manage innovation separately

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FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

Online Store Expenses Projection (in PKR)

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Startup Expenses
3rd party website Designing 50,000 - - -
Paid Modules for Store CMS 150,000 - - -
Continuous Expenses
Domain & Web Hosting 450,000 - 450,000 -
Salaries 700,000 900,000 1,100,000 1,100,000
Local Marketing 300,000 100,000 50,000 50,000
Bank Charges 50,000 - 50,000 -
Shipment Charges (Est) 60,000 60,000 80,000 80,000

Total Expense 1,760,000 1,060,000 1,730,000 1,230,000

Online Store Revenue Projection (Based on ads posting in PKR)

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4
Marketing
Marketing budget 720,000 800,000 500,000 500,000
Average cost per click 200 150 120 120

Visits
Paid 3,600 5,333 4,167 4,167
Organic 800,000 1,200,000 1,500,000 1,800,000
Visits 803,600 1,205,333 1,504,167 1,804,167

Sales
Conversion rate 1.0% 1.5% 2.0% 3.0%
Sales 8,036 18,080 30,083 54,125

Revenue
Average basket value 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
Revenue 8,036,000 27,120,000 60,166,667 135,312,500

Other revenue
Other 20,000 25,000 30,000 30,000
Sundry 60,000 80,000 50,000 95,000

Other revenue 80,000 105,000 80,000 125,000

Total revenue per Phase 8,116,000 27,225,000 60,246,667 135,437,500

E-Store Feasibility Report Analysis by mirzagulraiz Page 25

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

It's cheaper and easier to get into the e-commerce business than ever before. But that doesn't
mean it's easy to succeed in the e-commerce business. Once youve made the decision to start
your own E-commerce business, the process of launching it can be confusing and overwhelming.
There are a lot of decisions to make, and focusing your efforts in the wrong areas can lead to
months of wasted effort.

Recommendations

DO test your product.

DON'T assume that people will just find your site.
DO set aside a budget to test marketing.
DON'T bank on raising more money.
DO listen to your customers.
DON'T try to be everything at once.
DO build a solid foundation before launch.
DON'T give up quickly.
DO have a business model that makes money.
DON'T spend 12 hours a day sustaining your company.
Niche now, evolve later
Remember, people cant touch what youre selling
Design is important, but dont forget performance
Dont chase trends, focus on community building
Collect as much data as you can and personalize
Dont expect to make money (at least not right away)

Check List / Milestone for startup

Business Name Availability Check

Business Registration
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts
Securing Point of Sales (POS)
Opening Online Payment Platforms
Application for SSL, business license and permit
Leasing of warehouse facility and remodeling the facility
Conducting Feasibility Studies
Generating start up capital from partners
Writing of Business Plan
Drafting of policy documents and other relevant Legal Documents
Design of The Companys Logo
Graphic Designs, branding and Printing of Marketing / Promotional Materials
Recruitment of employees
Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office
appliances, delivery vans and delivery bikes
Creating Official Website for the Company
Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community
Opening party / launching party planning
Compilation of our list of products that will be available in our online store
Establishing business relationship with manufacturers and wholesale suppliers of products
we intend retailing

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