If you plan to sell cosmetics online, the first thing you need is an online platform to serve as your store. To answer the commonly asked question How to sell cosmetics online in India?

Your four options are

1.  Your own website
2. E- Market place / Specialised sites
3.  Social Media
4. SaaS based platforms

Your own website

To build your own website, first choose your website hosting provider (make sure it supports e-commerce) and register your domain. I would recommend BigRock or GoDaddy. The next crucial step is your website design. You may hire a designer or design it yourself using templates and the drag and drop editor. Next get an SSL certificate, upload hi- res images of your products. Tie up your logistic partner and set up your merchant account (A merchant account is a bank account through which you can accept payments by debit or credit cards). Lastly drive traffic to your website by promoting it. 

Marketplace

You could also sell through popular e-marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart.   First register your seller account  with the marketplace. For this you will need your GST number, PAN and your bank account details. Once you receive a confirmation, upload your product listing and you are ready to sell. When the marketplace gets an order for your products, it notifies you, pick up products from you and delivers to the customer. Alternately , you may choose to have the marketplace do the “Fulfilment”. Then the marketplace will take care of storage, picking, packing and shipping as well.  If your cosmetic products are of the premium category, you can choose specialised sites/marketplaces like Nykaa.com or Purple too.

Social Media

Nowadays, we findbrands selling through Social sites too. Facebook is a popular social site used by these brands. To sell on FB , open a FB business page, add a FB store section to your page. Next add your product details to help customers browse through. Lastly set up your payments options and your shipping option.

SaaS based Platforms

An easy way to sell cosmetics online is to use an ecommerce builder like Shopify. These are not only reasonably priced but they also save money and time. SaaS ( Software as a Service) based online selling platforms have customisable themes, basic product information management features & marketing capabilities and basic shopping cart functionality built into them. So you save on hiring an IT team to manage or maintain. Besides you get to the online market real quick. The best part is that these platforms are scalable. In the case of Shopify, you just have to set up your Shopify account, enter your domain address, select the theme, add products, install apps to extend functionality and you are ready to sell. You can use Shopify to not only sell your products in an online store but also on social media and online marketplaces.

Now that you have the information , consider both the pros and cons of each of these platforms to suit yourbusiness.

Interested in selling cosmetics online?  email sheela@fourthwave.co.in.

Author : Sheela Iyer