Get Set Up For E-commerce Success

Three ‘treps tell us why they chose clicks not bricks, and how they set up their successful online shops...

Love Milo founders Nikki Ellis and Matthew Finch knew very little about e-commerce when they launched in 2003 but were passionate about their products – nature-inspired homeware using only eco-friendly and sustainable materials – and knew that the inexpensive route to market offered by going the e-commerce route rather than opening a brick and mortar store, would give their start-up the best chance of success.

“Setting up online meant we could keep overheads to a minimum, which was essential for our start-up. Also, what is great about e-commerce is that it allows us to focus on the process of making the best products that we can. There are of course challenges, such as people not being able to touch and feel the actual products, but our studio is in Gardens, Cape Town, and customers are always welcome to drop by. We also supply wholesale to retailers across the country as well as internationally,” says Finch.

Bespoke or niche products such as those produced by Love Milo are where small online retailers can really make a mark, says Andy Higgins, MD of uAfrica and Shopify. “Our most successful small merchants are those who target more unique product categories like fashion, jewellery, bespoke homeware, etc. They have identified a niche that isn’t serviced by the big players and where the margins are higher.”

Higgins says smaller retailers can use their passion for their products to build a rapport with their customers by offering personalised advice – something that the bigger names in the e-commerce sphere would struggle to do. “If you try to compete with the big guys by offering more commoditised products, you are going to really struggle,” he warns.

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