How to sell online: simple steps to get started with Netcash Shop

In a world where online shopping has taken over, there’s never been a better time to start selling on the internet. Make the jump from a brick-and-mortar store to almost endless opportunities at your fingertips by learning how to sell online.

While all of that sounds like a dream, it’s actually easier to achieve than ever before. That’s where this insightful guide comes in. We’ll cover everything you need to know to get started, from a step-by-step guide to apps that make things easier.

Whether you want to sell clothes or health and beauty products, there is a space for you to start selling today. If you’re ready to enter the digital landscape and grow your business or brand, then keep on reading.

Why you should start selling online

More and more people are shopping online, and this is true for South Africa as well, with the rise of online retailers like Takealot, Bash, Shein, and Amazon. The eCommerce sector is growing significantly in South Africa, with sales value reaching a record R71 billion in 2023.

South Africans are spending more time on their phones than ever before, with over 76 percent of the population using the internet in 2023. All these numbers indicate that eCommerce is not slowing down any time soon, giving you more motivation to start selling online.

With all that in mind, it’s now time to look at some of the benefits and challenges of online selling.

The benefits of online selling

Here are some of the main benefits of selling products and services online.

1. Lower costs

Selling from online platforms rather than a physical store means you don’t have to worry about paying expensive rent, utilities, and staff. While there are costs involved with setting up and running an online store, these are generally much lower and flexible since there are so many options.

2. Easier to set up

Online stores are much easier to set up, especially with platforms like Netcash Shop, WooCommerce, and Shopify. These platforms simplify the processes and are usually beginner-friendly, allowing you to customise your eCommerce website with ease. Nowadays, you don’t even have to build a website from scratch.

3. Reach a wider audience

Traditional brick-and-mortar stores rely on local foot traffic, whereas the Internet allows you to sell to customers worldwide.

4. Increases sales

You can sell more products online compared to brick-and-mortar shops due to a wider reach and accessibility, which can increase sales significantly.

5. Allows for 24/7 availability

Having an online store means that customers can shop whenever they want, which can help increase profits.

6. Access to data and analytics

Most eCommerce platforms provide valuable insights into sales trends, customer behaviours, and more that can help optimise your business strategy.

Online tools such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and email marketing allow you to target your ideal audience better. This can significantly improve the success of your marketing campaign and also provide insights into buyer behaviour to improve future strategies.

7. Convenient for customers

Your customers can browse your products and complete their purchases from the comfort of their homes. This not only encourages more sales but also increases customer satisfaction.

8. Allows you to build a brand

One huge benefit of selling online is being able to build and grow your brand. A well-designed online store and a strong social media presence allow you to curate a recognisable brand that customers associate with your products/services.

Your unique brand helps you appear more credible online, building trust between your business and potential customers. You can use social media posts, videos, and content to establish your brand further and position yourself as an expert in what you’re selling.

Challenges faced by online sellers

What are some challenges you could face on a daily basis? Let’s have a quick look.

1. Shipping and logistics issues

Managing inventory and fulfilment efficiently is not always a walk in the park. Things like unpredictable demand, inaccurate tracking or forecasting, and overstocking make it such a challenge. Then, lost packages, delays, or high shipping costs can further frustrate both you and your customers.

2. Payment processing and fraud

Online fraud and chargebacks (when a customer disputes a charge) can seriously damage profits. If scammers use stolen cards to purchase on your site, it can lead to financial losses.

3. High competition

It’s hard to stand out with powerhouses like Amazon or Alibaba taking up plenty of space in the market. These bigger online retailers operate at a larger level, offering way more at a far cheaper price with faster shipping. But once you provide an excellent service with niche products, you’ll be able to follow a “Blue Ocean” path with little to no competition.

4. Customer trust

Building trust between your brand or business and potential customers can take time and is usually a massive challenge for new or small businesses.

5. Technical setbacks and cybersecurity risks

Running an online store requires secure payment systems and consistent maintenance to ensure a smooth operation. If you fall behind on security and maintenance, you risk having a slow-loading website with checkout issues that can drive customers away.

Speaking of security, cybersecurity risks such as phishing scams and data breaches can be a huge setback, harming your business and customers.

6. Marketing costs

Advertising on platforms like Google or Facebook can be very costly. And if you aren’t able to shell out thousands on advertising, building an audience and getting consistent sales can take time and effort.

Learn more: How to sell on Google.

7. Platform dependence

If you sell from an eCommerce platform, you must adhere to its rules, adapt to changes in policies, pay increased fees, and more.

12 features to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform

When it comes to looking for the right features in an eCommerce platform, Netcash Shop ticks all the boxes. But to give you a full picture of what you need, it’s only fair to dive deep into all the features to look for when choosing the right platform.

1. Multiple payment options

One of the most essential features to look out for when choosing an eCommerce hosting platform is the payment options it offers. Doing so can significantly boost customer convenience, increase conversion rates, and build trust, which leads to better customer experience and higher sales.

It also allows you to cater to customers with different preferences and various economic backgrounds. For instance, not all online shoppers can or want to use credit cards to purchase, so offering them Buy Now, Pay Later, voucher payment options and other solutions gives them that flexibility.

2. Good security measures

Look for security features like an SSL certificate, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) protection, malware scanning and removal, and regular backups. If high-quality security measures aren’t part of the package, then you risk having your customers’ personal and financial data breached.

This leads to a loss in trust (which equals a decrease in sales) and also financial loss, as you’d be responsible for recovering the stolen funds.

3. Easy to use

Consider whether the platform is beginner-friendly or easy to navigate. The last thing you want to do is spend hours figuring out how to get started with your website. Some eCommerce hosting platforms require advanced skills and technician know-how, and others are more straightforward, with no coding skills required.

Keep an eye out for things like user-friendly control panels, one-click installations for WordPress, Joomla, etc, and easy-to-use website builder tools such as Elementor.

Learn more: How to sell on WordPress

4. Offers customer support

The right platform won’t leave you in the dark. Instead, it’ll provide 24/7 customer support in the form of live chat, phone, or email. It would be very straightforward to get in touch with a click of a button rather than jumping through multiple hoops.

Your host should also offer other resources that are helpful, such as a knowledge base and community forums.

5. Shipping and fulfilment options

Figuring out shipping logistics can be time-consuming, so having a platform that automates and handles certain shipping logistics for you is a great benefit. Find out if the hosting platform provides things like real-time rates and label printing, and if it integrates with shipping carriers.

6. Allows you to scale

Scalability is one of the most important factors to consider as you want to allow your business to grow without any hiccups. It allows your online business to handle increased traffic, user demands, and transactions without any performance issues or operational breakdowns.

A scalable solution can also help you adapt to any evolving needs, such as changing customer demands, entering new markets, and expanding product offerings.

7. Offers good performance and speed

Offering fast and reliable service is crucial to customer satisfaction and trust. Slow loading times, difficulty completing transactions, site crashes, and other similar frustrations lead to lost sales.

Therefore, you need a fast, reliable, performing platform with fast-loading pages and guaranteed uptime (99.9% or more).

8. Offers multi-channel selling

The host you choose should allow you to sell on multiple channels, from Amazon to eBay. This not only allows you to reach more customers but also sell to people from other countries with multi-currency, multilingual options, and international tax handling.

9. Have eCommerce management tools

Other eCommerce features to consider are inventory, product, and order management tools. These will automate daily manual tasks for you, allowing you to save money and avoid human error.

Inventory management includes real-time inventory tracking and stock alerts. Order management tools, on the other hand, allow you to view, process, and update orders efficiently.

10. Has built-in SEO and marketing tools

Any eCommerce platform with built-in SEO and marketing tools can help your business grow. SEO tools like custom URLs, meta tags, and sitemaps are great for search rankings, leading to increased traffic.

Email marketing tools and integrations like Mailchimp or Klavio can help with your marketing campaigns, such as informing existing customers about discounts or seasonal specials.

11. Has design and customisation options

You want your website to stand out and showcase your unique brand. In that case, it’s best to look for a solution that provides various themes and professional, responsive templates. Along with customisation flexibility, you can design a storefront that is distinctly yours so that customers can relate to your brand.

You should have the freedom to modify the storefront layout, branding, and user experience. If these are not built into your chosen eCommerce platform, it should, at the least, be able to integrate seamlessly with apps and platforms that offer extensive customisation.

12. Offers analytics and reports

While this may not be essential, it’s highly beneficial for any online store to have access to valuable insights and analytics. These reports reveal customer insights and behaviours, to better target your marketing efforts.

How to start selling online with Netcash Shop: a step-by-step guide

Now, if you want to know how to sell items online, this step-by-step guide will go into all the details of setting up your store and then selling in no time.

1. Sign up with Netcash Shop

The very first thing you want to do is visit the Netcash Shop website and click on “Sign up” to get the registration process started. After signing up with Netcash Shop, you can start looking at the various plans on offer that best suit your business’ needs and goals.

Netcash Shop offers four flexible eCommerce shop pricing plans:

• A free 30-day demo: Explore the platform’s powerful features for free. You can remain on the free plan and decide if you want to upgrade after 30 days.
• Venture plan: Starting at R296 p/m ex VAT.
• Business plan: Starting at R606 p/m ex VAT.
• Unlimited plan: Starting at R1479 p/m ex VAT.

2. Set up your online store

After registering and choosing a plan, you can get started with the process of setting up your store. Use ‘Instant Site’ to create a free website. You’ll get access to the store setup interface, where you can customise your storefront by playing around with different colours, themes, and branding elements.

We provide a range of pre-designed templates that match your style, and you can adjust the images, buttons, text, information, and other features to your liking. Note that it’s essential to create a storefront that reflects your branding and aligns with your identity and goals.

Happy with the way your store looks so far? Great, because now you can start adding your products to set up your secure online store. When listing your products, add high-quality images, detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and pricing.

Netcash Shop allows you to add various product options and variations in different sizes, colours, or other attributes, which enhances the shopping experience for customers.

3. Set up payment and shipping options

Netcash payment gateway can fully integrate with your eCommerce shop, allowing you to offer customers multiple secure payment options. These include Ozow Instant EFT, Payflex, Scan to Pay, Credit Card, Retail Payment, Payflex, and a Buy Now button that can be added almost anywhere.

With this integration, you can accept online payments on the go, send payment requests, and run subscriptions. It’s truly an all-in-one solution that your business needs to automate and simplify payments to ensure a convenient checkout process for your customers.

Figuring out the shipping logistics comes next. This is when you should define your shipping methods and rates based on your delivery capabilities. Netcash Shop has partnered with shipping apps like BobGo, Droppa and Fastway that make things easier for you, from automating waybills to setting you up with local couriers.

4. Launch your store and start promoting

With all the logistics and details out of the way, you can finally go live with your store! Use digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimisation (SEO), social media, and email marketing to drive traffic to your website. Promotional strategies like discounts or specials could also draw in new customers and retain/bring back previous buyers.

You can connect to marketplaces to reach new audiences as Netcash Shop integrates seamlessly with Google, eBay, and Amazon. Then, you can connect your Netcash Shop to your Facebook Business page and Instagram professional account to sync your product catalogue and start advertising.

5. Run your store like a pro

You’ve done all the hard work to build and launch your store, but things do not end there. Just like any brick-and-mortar store, the real key to success is how you manage and evolve as a business.

With Netcash Shop’s control panel or dashboard, managing everything from one place has never been easier. Manage inventory, process orders promptly, update a customer’s order status, and more. Plus, any changes made in your central dashboard will sync to all integrated platforms automatically.

Start building strong relationships with your customers, which will lead to repeat business and positive reviews. This means you should respond to inquiries quickly, handle negative reviews with care, show interest in positive reviews, always reply to questions if possible, and address issues as they arise.

Top apps to use with Netcash Shop

So, if you want to get the most out of your Netcash Shop, there are some apps that we’ve partnered with to optimise your store. These apps can make running an online store that much easier, automating certain processes and daily tasks for you.

Let’s have a look at the top choices:

1. Bob Go Smart Shipping

Bob Go is an app that gives you full control over your store’s logistics. It fully integrates with Netcash Shop to simplify and help you manage the shipping aspect of your online shop.

Bob Go offers accurate, real-time, and competitive shipping rates, order updates for you and your customers, and automatic waybill creation. You’ll also have easy access to some of the top courier companies in South Africa, including The Courier Guy, SkyNet, and RAM.

2. Droppa Shipping

Droppa Shipping is another smart app that streamlines order management and shipping logistics for you. Since smooth shipping and delivery processes are essential to retaining customers, using an app like this makes everyday tasks much easier.

The app fully integrates with Netcash Shop to give you automatically calculated shipping rates, track orders, create shipping labels, send collection requests, and provide order updates to both you and your customers. Droppa is an on-demand delivery hub that has partnered with Skynet Worldwide Express to deliver goods across the country.

3. Storehub.io

Need an innovative solution to automate and simplify daily financial tasks for you? Meet Storehub.io, a Netcash Shop integration partner that provides accounting-integrated eCommerce tools. It’s the middleman between accounting software like Sage and Netcash Shop eCommerce.

Storehub.io syncs prices, stock, and orders between the two platforms to automate the management of your Netcash Shop-hosted online store. It features user-friendly integration tools to ensure efficiency and eliminate the need for manual interventions.

4. Fastway Couriers

The Fastway Couriers app has 300 franchises across South Africa and has partnered with Netcash Shop to help you manage order and shipping logistics. You will have full control over your orders, tracking, costs, packaging, and shipping zones from one control panel.

The app also calculates delivery costs for your customers at checkout, automates order updates, prints shipping labels, and more.

The best places to sell online

There are various channels you can sell through online. While it may feel like you can basically sell from anywhere, some channels are better than others and more suited to your needs. If you want to know where to sell products online, consider these top places to start the process.

1. Your own website

Now that you’ve established your online store with Netcash Shop, you can start selling on the internet. Selling from your website allows you to be in full control and have a unique brand. Plus, it’s excellent for long-term growth since it’s scalable.

You can control the design, layout, and messaging of your storefront and tailor your website to your target audience for a more enjoyable shopping experience. You also have complete control over the customer service policies, returns, and delivery fees.

That said, running an online store will require plenty of time and effort, and as your business scales, you may need to invest in more integrations or tools to keep up.

2. Online marketplaces

Online marketplaces are fairly easy to join and are a great alternative for merchants who do not have the time and resources to set up an online store.

Well-known marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Takealot, or Facebook Marketplace are excellent for fast exposure with their already built-in audience. So, you can get started quicker and easier. Marketing is also something a marketplace pretty much handles for you.

While it may seem convenient and easy to enter marketplaces, the one setback is not having full control. You’d have to adhere to their standards, rules, and evolving regulations. You also have to pay certain fees, and your profit margin won’t look as good when compared to selling from your own online store.

3. Niche platforms

Depending on the product you wish to sell, joining product-specific or niche platforms could be a great way to break into online selling. This is where your products will get exposed to niche-specific buyers, so you’re almost guaranteed sales.

Some examples of these in South Africa include: The Local Edit, Sneaker Shack, Hello Pretty, CyberCellar, Yuppiechef, and Pet Heaven.

The one setback with these niche platforms is how they operate on a much smaller scale and have limited exposure compared to eCommerce giants like Takealot or Amazon.

4. Social media platforms

Social media is a great way to reach new audiences. While Facebook and Instagram no longer have shoppable pins in South Africa, you can still use these platforms to market your brand/business and increase sales that way.

You can create a fully customisable page using LinkUp, our free link-in bio tool, that features all your products and links. Then, you’ll add your LinkUp page to the bio section of your social media pages, allowing you to sell directly from your social profiles.

10 top tips for selling products online

Want to make the best out of your online business ventures? If you’re going to start selling online, you might as well start implementing these best practices.

1. Use SEO to your advantage

You can use search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques and strategies to drive more traffic to your website. A simple way to improve your site’s SEO is by adding relevant keywords to your product pages.

You’ll do this by using keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Semrush to identify relevant keywords. Then, place these in your page title, meta description, headings, URLs, image alt text, and product descriptions.

2. Provide a smooth shopping experience

The more frustrated an online shopper is when using your site, the fewer returns and sales you get. It’s really that simple: consumers want a fast, effective, and mobile-friendly website when shopping online. If not, chances are they’ll opt for a different site and may never return again, especially if you’re not selling very niche products.

The first thing you want to do is offer your customer multiple payment options. Then, simplify the check-out process, which reduces cart abandonment. Lastly, choose a reliable host that regularly updates its software and plugins with fast loading speeds and advanced UX design for a seamless experience.

3. Build trust and maintain customer relationships

Trust is key to retaining customers, and one of the most effective ways to achieve this is through honest customer reviews and trust badges like SSL and secure checkout.

Consumers are more likely to buy from a business or trust a brand if they see others have done the same. That’s because these reviews often reveal satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a product or service and many other insights, such as how it looks or feels in person, if something works properly, and so forth.

So, encourage your customers to leave a review through thank-you emails, follow-up emails, on your websites, direct links, or order confirmations. Another way to gain loyalty is through excellent customer service. Respond fast, take complaints seriously, utilise chatbots, provide easy returns, and make the communication channels open and simple.

You can use email marketing to stay in touch, informing customers about specials, new products, or seasonal deals. Finally, don’t be shy to offer them a small discount or free gift when reviewing your customers or for their first purchase, for example.

4. Know your target audience

Knowing exactly who you are selling to can be a powerful weapon. Things like age, interests, pain points, and buying behaviour can give you insights to make better business decisions. The platform you use should be able to give you this data, allowing you to adapt your strategies accordingly.

You can tailor your products/services, marketing efforts, and branding to resonate with the right people, leading to stronger customer relationships. This allows you to focus your marketing resources on the most receptive individuals, leading to a return on investment (ROI) and less wasted efforts.

If your hosts do not provide these insights, you can use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, and surveys.

5. Use only high-quality product photos

You want to showcase your products in the best light possible. Close-ups, different angles, size comparisons, and real-life usage are all good techniques to consider. You also want clear, detailed, and well-lit images otherwise, your products could end up looking cheap, low-quality, and even untrustworthy.

6. Nail your product descriptions

Your product descriptions shouldn’t just be a list of the features. In fact, it’s better to focus more on the benefits and to use storytelling to convey a message, whether that’s exclusivity, luxury, or sustainability.

You could also use these descriptions to answer potential objections and to include strong, relatable keywords to improve your website’s SEO.

7. Use reviews for social proof

Social proof is the biggest currency in online shopping since people are often influenced or validated by others to purchase something. Once they see positive reviews or testimonials, their resolve to go ahead with a purchase intensifies since now they know of someone who’s experienced the product or service in person.

Social proof also builds trust and boosts conversions, so do your best to get some interactions from your customers.

8. Streamline shipping

Make sure your delivery times are always realistic. Don’t promise your customers a one-day waiting period if it’s only possible to reach them in three days, for example. You also want to offer reliable shipping options and provide tracking to make customers feel at ease about the shipping process.

9. Optimise the checkout process

The checkout process is the final step in securing a sale. But this is also often the step where most businesses lose out due to a confusing or frustrating checkout experience. While people abandon their online cart for several reasons, be it financial or personal, one big deterrent can be prevented from your side.

Find out why customers are leaving without making a purchase and try to fix that by optimising your checkout process. It could be that your website slows down during this process, or you don’t offer enough flexible payment options.

Whatever the case, optimising your checkout can instantly boost conversion rates and enhance customer experience.

10. Manage your inventory efficiently

This won’t apply if you’re selling digital products or services but mastering your inventory management could be the final piece to unlocking a successful online business. Why is this so important? Inefficient inventory management can seriously hurt your business financially and operationally. For example, understocking can lead to lost sales, whereas overstocking takes up too much space and racks up warehousing expenses.

Other issues include sending out damaged or expired goods, sitting with heaps of unsold inventory, or struggling with fulfilment delays. This can waste you so much time and money, which can be avoided with proper management.

FAQs about selling on the internet

If you want to know a bit more about selling online, then have a look at these FAQs.

1. What are the best things to sell online?

The best things to sell online depend on the latest trends, profit margins, and demand. Globally speaking, smart gadgets, pet products, fitness and health products, skincare, make-up tools, personalised gifts, and custom goodies tend to sell well.

For South Africa specifically, the online trends aren’t much different, with beauty products, clothing, electronics, home and kitchen goods, and baby and toddler products doing well.

2. Is it worth selling on Takealot?

Selling on Takealot can be good for your business if you’re looking to reach a wide customer base and leverage their user-friendly eCommerce infrastructure. However, there are some things to consider, such as fees, logistics, and regulations as a merchant. And if you cannot adhere to these, you won’t be able to utilise the platform.

3. Where to buy products to sell online?

Apart from making your own products, there are a few local places where merchants can buy from to start selling online.

• Dropshipping suppliers: Some well-known dropshipping suppliers in South Africa include Dropstore, Shopstar, Trendsi, Men’s Republic Distributors, and CJ Dropshipping.
• Wholesale and bulk suppliers: You can buy goods in bulk from places like Buy Bulk or Makro. Massmart owns wholesalers like Game and Makro that offer B2B bulk sales. The wholesaler offers a wide range of goods for general stores.
• Niche suppliers: If you want to sell more unique items, you can reach out to niche suppliers. For all things beauty and skin care, Cosmetix is a good place to start. Green Home has eco-friendly products and packaging. Faithful to Nature is a wholesaler known for natural/organic food and wellness products.
• Takealot marketplace: Local marketplaces are a great option for merchants looking to buy specials and resell them elsewhere.
• International suppliers: If you can’t find what you’re looking for in South Africa, consider international suppliers such as Alibaba, AliExpress, and Temu.

5. How to start an online store in South Africa for free?

It’s possible to create your online store for free using Netcash Shop’s free plan. We offer a Forever Free plan that allows you to set up a professional eCommerce store without any monthly subscription fees.

However, after the initial 30-day trial, you will have to activate the built-in Netcash eCommerce Payment Gateway in order to start receiving orders and processing payments. This payment gateway activation incurs a fee of only R54 per month (excluding VAT).

You’ll have access to free hosting on a Netcash subdomain and an Instant Site builder that lets you design a professional website without any coding skills needed.

Our free plan comes with secure checkout options, unlimited product categories, integrated payment options, social media integrations, and a free SSL certificate.

6. How many items should you start an online store with?

There’s no one-size-fits-all number, as it depends on your business type and goals. That said, in a best-case scenario, 5 to 25 different products should be enough for your online retail store to start off with.

This manageable range of products allows you to test what sells, focus on quality instead of quantity, set up your store quickly, and avoid feeling overwhelmed in the beginning stages.

This number can be lowered to 5 -10 products if you’re just starting out with very niche, handmade or limited items. These products take time to create or source, unlike generic ones, and so you want to give yourself the breathing room to manage inventory and fulfilment efficiently.

Wrapping up how to sell products online

You’re all set to get started. You now know how to create an eCommerce website and to start selling online with Netcash Shop. There are simply too many benefits not to consider expanding your business onto the online market. From various platforms to sell from to apps that make things easier, and endless marketing opportunities to reach new customers.

If you are ready to start selling online today, then waste no more time signing up with us to start your eCommerce journey for free.