Ecommerce FAQs

Fuelled by continued growth in recent years, the UK has hundreds of thousands of ecommerce-only businesses, but online sales also provide a crucial additional source of income for many UK businesses that also sell offline. Some are “bricks-and-mortar” retailers, but many other businesses of all sizes, types and sectors also now sell online.

11 Ecommerce FAQs

1 What is ecommerce? 

2 What are the key benefits of ecommerce? 

3 What are the main ecommerce channels? 

4 How do I choose the right ecommerce channel? 

5 How much does it cost to sell on marketplace websites? 

6 How do I start selling online? 

7 How can I build a good ecommerce website? 

8 What ecommerce payment options should I offer? 

9 What about shipping when selling online? 

10 How can I build customer loyalty online? 

11 What should I bear in mind when selling online to customers overseas?  

UK online retail rales were worth an estimated £127bn in 2024, while global retail online sales were expected to reach £4.8 trillion in 2025 (source: The Federation of Small Businesses). British Chambers of Commerce research published in 2025 suggested that UK businesses that sell offline and online expect their digital sales to increase from 20%–26% come 2028, while those selling just to consumers predict exceptional growth of 31%–38%. 

Online sales now make up almost 30% of UK retail sales, when that figure was 3.3% in 2007 (source: Office for National Statistics). About 52m people in the UK (77% of the population) were expected to make online purchases in 2025, confirming the UK's position as one of Europe’s most digitally active consumer markets. 

Ecommerce can be a gamechanger for UK SMEs. If you want to set up an ecommerce business or your current offline business wants to start selling online, here are the answers to 11 ecommerce FAQs (frequently asked questions). 

1 What is ecommerce? 

Ecommerce (short for electronic commerce) describes buying and selling products, services and subscriptions online (ie via the internet). Goods and services are bought via websites or apps, with customers paying by credit/debit cards, digital wallets or other online means. Orders are delivered physically (usually by courier or post) or digitally (eg software or subscriptions).  

2 What are the key benefits of ecommerce?

Ecommerce potentially offers many advantages over selling offline. It can give you the opportunity to sell to a vast number of customers elsewhere in the UK and in countries all over the world. Selling online can be much cheaper and you can sell 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Selling digitally also enables you to market your business more successfully, because you can accurately track your results and better understand customer behaviour, so you can do more of what works. 

3 What are the main ecommerce channels?

You can sell via your own website (if it can accept payments and process orders) or create a separate ecommerce website (using Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, etc can make the task easier). You can also sell via Amazon, eBay, Etsy and other online marketplaces, as well as social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. 

4 How do I choose the right ecommerce channel? 

Your choice should be determined by what you are selling, who you want to sell to, costs (eg marketplace fees, website building/hosting fees), your knowledge and skill, as well as your overall marketing strategy. Many UK SME retailers use a mix of online marketplaces (which provide great reach), social platforms (which can be brilliant for engagement) and their own website (which gives them total brand control). 

5 How much does it cost to sell on marketplace websites?

You should know what fees you will pay before you start selling on online marketplaces and social media websites. Factor them in when setting your prices. Selling on UK marketplace websites typically costs between 5% and 15% of the sale price, plus listing or subscription fees, depending on the platform. If you plan to use online marketplaces, read their free advice on how best to sell via their platform.  

6 How do I start selling online? 

• Identify your target market: Decide who you aim to sell to, find out what they want/need and how they buy. Carry out market research – including speaking directly to target customers. Ask what they think of your products, services and prices. 

• Research your competitors: Find out what they sell online, how they sell it and what they charge. Read online reviews to find out what their customers think. Work out how you can be better.  

• Choose your ecommerce channels: Sell via your own website, a separate ecommerce website, online marketplaces such as Amazon, social media platforms or a mix of a few?  

• Decide what to sell and set your prices: Knowing your target market should guide your choice of products/services and how much you should charge, which should give you sufficient profit.  

• Use digital marketing to drive sales: You must let customers know you exist, what you sell and why they should buy it from you. A mix of digital marketing tactics can be used, including SEO (search engine optimisation), digital advertising (including pay-per-click), social media marketing, email and mobile marketing.  

• Analyse key metrics and improve: Closely assess the analytics data of your website and ecommerce channels to judge your performance. Find out what is working and what isn’t. Learn lessons and find ways to improve.  

  
  

7 How can I build a good ecommerce website?

If you lack experience, popular website-building options such as Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, Squarespace, etc, could provide a solution. Some offer free trials, so you can better understand what building your own website involves. Using predesigned ecommerce website templates can make things easier and quicker, while giving you a professional-looking website that offers good ecommerce functionality.  

Budget permitting, getting help from an experienced ecommerce website builder could provide more impressive results, but get detailed quotes before agreeing the work. To limit costs, you could still use a template from a popular website-building solution.  

• Your website should be fast and mobile-friendly.  

• Navigation should be clear, check-out should be quick and easy, while your images should be engaging and attractive.  

• Include sufficiently detailed descriptions that sell your products or services.  

• Keep it simple. Avoid too many pages and too much text. 

• Your shipping, exchange and return policies should be clearly stated, as should any taxes applied to sales.  

  
  

8 What ecommerce payment options should I offer?

You should provide a range of secure online payment options and they should be quick and easy for customers. This helps to build trust, which can ensure that they have a pleasant experience, leave you positive reviews and keep coming back for more. Get it wrong and it can lead to shopping cart abandonment (ie where customers begin the buying process but leave your website without completing the purchase). 

• Popular ecommerce payment options that customers want and expect include debit/credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Buy Now, Pay Later (eg Klarna), bank transfer and Direct Debit.  

  
  

9 What about shipping when selling online?

Once again, you need to offer a range of options, which can include flat rates, higher rates for quicker deliveries, free shipping thresholds (ie “Spend more than £50 and delivery is free”), alternative carrier rates and free local delivery or pickup. Get it wrong and it can lead to cancelled orders, lost customers and damaging online reviews. 

10 How can I build customer loyalty online?

Offering cost-effective rewards, deals and exclusive offers can build customer loyalty when you sell online. Make valid returns as easy as possible for your customers and always provide great customer service. If you get it wrong, apologise and make amends. It is cheaper and easier to sell to existing customers, so look after them. 

11 What should I bear in mind when selling online to customers overseas?

Before you start selling online to customers overseas carry out thorough research. It can be wise to target one or two countries with high demand and low barriers, possible English-speaking countries, before targeting other territories. 

You need to display your prices in other currencies on your website. You may also have to add pages in other languages or optimise for overseas search engines. Your products may need tailoring for other countries or you may need to sell completely different products with greater local appeal. Moreover, you may need to localise your marketing messages, images and packaging, too.

You must also be able to accept payments in other currencies (using international payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Worldpay can help). All transactions should be seamless, secure and cost-effective for both parties. 

The couriers you use should be reliable, while having to pay for international shipping can add significantly to your prices for overseas customers – which may put off some. Similarly, your customers may have to pay tariffs, local sales taxes and customs duties, which can make your products more expensive than local alternatives. This could be a big consideration when pricing your products and services for other territories. 

Some products may require export licences or be restricted in certain countries. Other countries have their own consumer protection laws with which you must comply. You may need to protect your trademarks and other intellectual property. You may also need to answer customer enquiries in other languages, outside of normal UK trading times.