Who doesn’t crave ice cream? Everyone enjoys ice cream, which is why, regardless of the weather, ice cream remains popular. So, if you own a traditional ice cream shop, now is the time to establish an ice cream business online.
You can sell your ice cream online by creating your own online store, selling on online marketplaces, and selling on social media platforms.
Continue reading to learn more about how individuals and small businesses can sell their ice cream products online.
Creating your own online store
After studying your market research, it’s time to build your own online store for your ice cream business. An online store connects you to more customers, increases brand awareness, and allows you to sell across more channels.
Creating an online store might be daunting. But we’ve listed a few key steps to creating a website with an online store.
- Choose a name and purchase a domain
Before you can start creating your online store, you must first choose a name for your business and purchase a domain name. We suggest doing both since you’ll want a domain that customers will associate with your business.
Another factor to consider is where you will purchase your domain. Eliminating unnecessary costs is an important part of having a profitable online store. Having said that, you should still ensure that your information is secure. So, if a sketchy service is giving the lowest price for the name you desire, don’t register your domain with it.
- Choose your eCommerce platform
Your eCommerce platform should serve as a complete business main base, allowing you to manage everything from inventory to marketing. It should allow you to handle payments while also providing you with easy access to all of the tools you need to sell online, including your own web store.
Selling a product online is easier when you utilize an e-commerce platform or an online marketplace, which assists small businesses in setting up shop and selling their products. You can also develop standalone online stores on your own website.
How To Promote Your Ice Cream Brand
Here’s a list of some of the top eCommerce platforms to help you decide which is ideal for your business:
- SHOPIFY
Shopify is perhaps the greatest eCommerce platform. It includes supplementary tools and capabilities for multi-channel selling, allowing you to sell directly through your website, at your retail location, on social media and third-party marketplaces, and everywhere in between.
Furthermore, Shopify manages all areas of your business. You can establish an entire business hub using the best-in-class array of business tools. Shop Pay provides payment processing, Shopify POS handles in-person transactions, and Shopify Fulfillment may assist you in getting things into the hands of customers. And these are just a few of the numerous strong tools and apps that function in unison as part of the Shopify ecosystem.
- WIX
Wix is an easy-to-use drag-and-drop website that also provides web hosting and domain name registration. You can create a basic website for free, but to use Wix’s eCommerce features, you must switch to a premium plan.
Wix includes a few tools that can aid with eCommerce functionality. Merchants can use the platform to track orders, accept online payments, sell across different channels, and develop abandoned cart campaigns.
It does, however, lack certain aspects that are critical for product-based enterprises in particular. The absence of low stock warnings and other essential inventory management capabilities is one of the shortcomings.
- BIGCOMMERCE
BigCommerce is an enterprise-level software business eCommerce platform. BigCommerce, like Shopify and Wix, provides site hosting as well as several customization possibilities. However, you cannot register a domain name through BigCommerce, so you must purchase and register it elsewhere before transferring it over.
International selling, SEO tools, and multichannel selling on social and third-party marketplaces are all useful aspects. These tremendous features, however, bring with them complexity.
How To Advertise Your Ice Cream Shop
Selling on online marketplaces
In addition to starting your own online store where you may sell your products directly to customers, it’s a good idea to list your products on huge online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy, or any other platform related to your product or niche. While these third-party platforms may charge a fee or commission, they provide a lot of exposure, allowing your business to get in front of customers and make sales.
Selling on social media platforms
Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram allow you to get your products in front of potential customers. For instance, you can create a Facebook shop to promote your products to its users. Those who are interested can then add your products to their cart and check out straight on the platform.
However, if you choose to construct your own eCommerce website, Facebook still provides various options for selling online, including using your Facebook Business Page, running ads, and selling things in Facebook groups.
You can collaborate with influencers through social media. Influencers can be given samples of your products in exchange for shoutouts.
Conclusion
You can sell your ice cream online by creating your own online store, selling in online marketplaces, and selling on social media platforms. Selling online isn’t just simple; it’s also becoming the norm. It is not difficult to set up an online store, and once you have done so, you will most likely find eCommerce to be extremely advantageous.
You can accomplish anything from home and reach out to anyone, anywhere, at any time. This ease of use is one of the main reasons why internet buying is growing more popular among consumers. When you sell online, you meet customers exactly where they are looking for you and have the opportunity to grow your business.
How To Start Your Own Ice Cream Brand
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding your market demographics is essential when selling things online. You must define your product and demonstrate that there is a market need for it. Begin by learning the things consumers are currently purchasing online. Some things that are currently popular may not be viable for online sale.
You certainly can. You can, for example, construct an online store utilizing dropshipping plugins, an Amazon affiliate store, or an eBay-like marketplace. You can also utilize the same web store to offer both external and your own products.
To learn more on how to start your own ice cream/gelato business check out my startup documents here
This blog post is provided for informational purposes only. The information contained is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney.
Hi! I am Shawn and I am a happy individual who happens to be an entrepreneur. I have owned several types of businesses in my life from a coffee shop to an import and export business to an online review business plus a few more and now I create online ice cream/gelato business resources for those interested in starting new ventures. It’s demanding work but I love it. I do it for those passionate about their business and their goals. That’s why when I meet a ice cream/gelato business owner, I see myself. I know how hard the struggle is to retain clients, find good employees and keep the business growing all while trying to stay competitive.
That’s why I created Ice Cream Business Boss: I want to help ice cream and gelato business owners like you build a thriving business that brings you endless joy and supports your ideal lifestyle.