How to Figure Out Where to Sell Your Products — Complete Guide

23 min read

As an ecommerce business owner, deciding where to sell your products can feel overwhelming. With so many sales channels available—each offering unique opportunities—it’s easy to get stuck wondering which one is best for your business.

The good news? You don’t have to choose just one!

From selling on your own website to leveraging social media or online marketplaces, each platform caters to specific types of businesses, products, and goals. This blog post will explore the pros and cons of various sales channels and how you can make each option work for you.

Plus, we’ll introduce the power of omnichannel selling, and how an ecommerce platform like Ecwid by Lightspeed can help you simplify the process and find your customers—wherever they are.

An Ecommerce Website

In 2023, ecommerce made up over 19.4% of global retail sales, according to Statista. By 2027, it’s expected to reach nearly a quarter of total retail sales worldwide.

An ecommerce website is an online store where you can easily sell your products directly to customers.

Having your own website with an online store is like having a digital storefront that’s open 24/7. It puts you in complete control—no sharing profits with other platforms or adjusting to their rules. Platforms like Ecwid make it easy for small businesses to set up beautiful, customizable stores in minutes.

Benefits of Selling Through Your Own Website

There are several advantages to selling via an online store:

Higher margins: No commission fees for each sale (if you use Ecwid.)
Ownership: If you sell through social media or a marketplace, all the traffic you generate is helping the platform. But when you own your own store, you own the traffic, too. This gives you more opportunities for marketing and monetization. Plus, it helps you build brand equity and makes your business more resellable down the line.
Data collection: Having your own store allows you to gather valuable customer data, such as email addresses and website activity, providing deeper insights into their behavior. This information helps you create a tailored customer experience that drives higher sales and fosters stronger connections.
Control: An online store allows you to sell whatever you like, however you want. There is no need to follow a marketplace’s rules.
Branding: When you use a marketplace or social media, your brand is tied to the platform and its limitations. With your own store, you can create a unique customer experience that reflects your brand values.
Marketing: Owning your store makes marketing easier. You can direct visitors to dedicated landing pages and create custom offers.
Customer expectations: Customers expect brands to have their own online stores. Even if they’re shopping with you on marketplaces or social media, they’ll likely check out your store for more products or special discounts.

By the way, you can have a website up and running in under an hour with one of these 70+ ecommerce website templates.

Using a pre-designed template is the quickest way to set up your ecommerce site

Challenges of Selling Through Your Website

Selling via an online store offers many advantages, but there are also some challenges:

Attracting customers: It’s up to you to bring traffic to your website. Unlike social media or big marketplaces, no “built-in” audience is waiting for you.
Learning curve: Running an online store has a slight learning curve. The more control you have, the steeper it gets. This is why marketplaces, with limited control, are easier to start selling on.
Maintenance: Managing your website requires updates, hosting fees, and potential troubleshooting.
Legal responsibilities: As the store owner, you are in charge of handling any legal matters. Ensure you follow your country’s privacy and data collection laws.
Shipping: Some marketplaces, like Amazon FBA, handle shipping for their sellers. With your own store, though, you take care of shipping the product to your customer.

Is This Right for Your Business?

An online store is perfect for businesses that want to build a lasting brand, sell products directly, and scale long-term. It works well for various products and services.

Having your own online store is a must-have in your ecommerce strategy. It’s the ideal place to guide all your customers, whether they discover you through marketplaces or social media.

Owning your traffic and data helps you understand your customers better and create products they’ll love. Plus, a sleek, professional website makes your brand feel more trustworthy.

An example of an ecommerce website you can create with Ecwid

No matter where you start selling, setting up your own store is worth considering sooner rather than later. That said, it’s okay to put your online store on hold if you’re just testing the waters, don’t have much technical experience, or are navigating industries with tricky legal, shipping, or payment rules.

For example, if you’re trying to gauge interest in your handmade crafts, a marketplace like Etsy might be a more practical choice than building a full online store.

Selling on a Blog

If you already have a website and it’s your blog, you can place a Buy Button on nearly any page, including your blog posts. This lets readers shop for products without leaving your blog. Plus, with all the space a blog gives you, it’s the perfect place to share the story behind your product and highlight its benefits.

Consumers can buy directly from the blog post while engaged with the content and interested in the product

Selling on your blog is an excellent option if you don’t want to run a full online store or if you like educating your customers before they make a purchase. That said, a blog might not be the best fit if you have many products or are aiming for a more traditional ecommerce setup.

Online Marketplaces

A marketplace is like a virtual mall where different sellers come together to offer their products.

Online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy are bustling hubs of activity. These platforms boast millions of active buyers who are ready to shop.

With 4.8 billion monthly visits, Amazon is the world’s most popular online marketplace. eBay comes second with 1.2 billion visits. Selling on marketplaces allows you to tap into that massive audience with minimal setup effort.

Amazon is one of the top online marketplaces where global shoppers recently made their latest cross-border purchase (Source: Statista)

Advantages of Selling on Marketplaces

Selling on marketplaces provides retailers with distinct benefits, including:

Low startup costs: Selling on a marketplace costs little beyond your inventory (though fees vary depending on the platform). Anyone can jump in as long as they have something to sell.
Built-in audience: Marketplaces come with a ready-made crowd of eager buyers. Instead of struggling to attract traffic on your own, you can tap into their audience and start making sales immediately.
Trust factor: Shoppers feel safer sharing their payment info with big names like Amazon or eBay than with a brand-new online store. As a new seller, using a marketplace can help you build trust right off the bat.
SEO-friendly: Big marketplaces are search engine powerhouses with optimized site structures, making it easier for customers to find your products online.
Easy to use: Marketplaces handle all the tricky stuff—payment systems, site design, layouts—so you can focus on selling. It’s perfect for anyone who’s not super tech-savvy.

Challenges of Selling on Marketplaces

Selling on marketplaces has its perks, but it also comes with a few challenges to keep in mind:

High competition: With so many sellers and a big audience, competition can get intense—especially in popular product categories. To stand out, you might need to lower your prices (which can eat into your profits) or focus on niche categories to attract customers.
Fees: Marketplaces take a cut of your sales or charge listing fees. These fees can shrink your profit margins and make the already tough competition even trickier.
No ownership: Any traffic or audience you build belongs to the marketplace, not you. If you ever leave the platform, the audience and any brand loyalty you’ve worked hard to create will stay behind.
Limitations: Marketplaces decide what you can sell and what kind of data you can access, which can limit your marketing options and customer insights.

Is This Right for Your Business?

Marketplaces are ideal for businesses:

selling niche, high-demand items
testing new product ideas to gauge demand
who want to start selling quickly without the hassle of setting up a store (like dealing with domains, design, SEO, and more).
working in an industry with trust challenges or limited customer demand (like niche handicrafts).

While marketplaces can be a great way to get started, it’s essential to build your audience in your store as soon as possible. Since you don’t fully own the traffic or have access to detailed customer data, relying only on marketplace sales might be tricky in the long run.

Keep marketplaces as a part of your omni-channel strategy. When you’ve got the resources, it’s worth prioritizing your own store.

Using Ecwid as your ecommerce platform, you can sync your online store with marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, and more.

Social Commerce

Social commerce involves selling directly through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest. These platforms have evolved to offer ecommerce features like shoppable posts, in-app checkout, and personalized recommendations.

One-third of shoppers discover a new product or brand through social media, compared to 60% of Gen Z consumers. Gen Z is also twice as likely as the overall consumer base to find products through influencers and make a purchase.

Share of Gen Z vs. total shoppers who found and bought a new product or brand on social media (Source: Statista)

Advantages of Selling on Social Media

Selling on social media platforms offers several benefits:

Targeting: Social networks like Facebook have loads of information about their users. You can tap into this to create super-targeted ad campaigns.
Ease of use: Social selling is relatively easy to start. Most platforms offer simple tools and options for setting up an online store or shoppable posts.
Discovery: Social networks are a fantastic way to help customers discover your products. Their visual nature makes them perfect for showcasing items, especially if your product is highly visual or works best when demonstrated.
Trust factor: Just as with marketplaces, people often feel comfortable purchasing through social media due to the platform’s well-established credibility.

an instagram post with a blond woman sitting in the chair with instagram tags

Platforms like Instagram let you make your content shoppable

Challenges of Selling on Social Media

Social commerce also has its challenges:

Platform limitations: Each platform has its rules and guidelines for selling products and posting content, so you may need to adjust your marketing and content strategies accordingly.
Limited data access: While social platforms have tons of data on users, they might not necessarily share it with retailers. This can make it harder to track customer behavior and optimize your strategies.
Fees: Selling on social media platforms can come with additional fees or charges, which can eat into your profits.
Changes in algorithms or policies: If a platform suddenly changes its policies or algorithms, it can significantly impact your sales.

Is This Right for Your Business?

Social selling may be a good fit if you:

have a highly visual product that lends itself well to social media
target younger demographics who are more likely to discover products through social networks
want to tap into the targeting capabilities of social media platforms.

However, like marketplaces, it’s important to also focus on building your own online store and audience. Social commerce can be unpredictable and relies heavily on algorithm changes, so it’s essential to have a backup plan and a strong presence on your own website.

With Ecwid, it’s easy to connect your online store to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Snapchat to sell your products through a shop or reach your audience with targeted ads.

Offline Commerce

Brick-and-mortar stores, pop-ups, and local markets provide a tangible, personal experience that online selling cannot replicate. The key is integrating offline efforts with digital tools, such as POS systems, which allow tracking of both online and offline inventory and sales.

While 43% of US consumers enjoy shopping online more than in-store, shoppers in other countries still prefer the experience of physical stores—like in Austria, Finland, and New Zealand.

Benefits of Selling Through a Physical Storefront

Offline commerce provides unique advantages:

Customer experience: A physical retail space gives you full control over how customers experience your brand. They can touch and try your products while enjoying an environment that reflects your brand’s values. Plus, certain products, like clothing or furniture, benefit from being experienced in person.
Personal touch: Building customer relationships through in-person interactions can help foster loyalty and trust.
Instant gratification: Customers can purchase and take home a product immediately, which can appeal to those who don’t want to wait for shipping.
Targeted audience: Pop-ups or local markets allow you to target specific demographics or locations that align with your brand.
Walk-in customers: Retail stores naturally attract walk-in shoppers, and a great location can help you grow your customer base.

Challenges of Offline Selling

Offline commerce also has its challenges:

Higher upfront costs: Renting or buying a retail space, designing and decorating it, and purchasing inventory can involve significant upfront costs.
Limited reach: You are limited to selling to customers who visit your offline store or pop-up location. A location with limited accessibility or low walk-in traffic can make things tough for a store.
Legal requirements: Running a physical store means obtaining permits and licenses from local authorities. This can quickly add to the already high startup costs.
Seasonal business model: Some businesses may only have success during certain seasons or times of the year (e.g., holiday markets).

Is This Right for Your Business?

Running an offline store can work well in certain situations, such as:

You have access to affordable retail space in a great location
Your product needs an in-person experience to shine
You want customers to connect with and experience your brand vision firsthand.

However, if you’re just starting, don’t have a big budget, or aren’t sure about the demand for your products, opening a physical store might not be the best first step. Instead, it’s smarter (and less expensive!) to test the market online before investing thousands of dollars into a retail space.

If you sell online with Ecwid, you can sync your product catalog with Lightspeed Retail POS. Your product details will transfer smoothly, making it easy to take online and in-store orders without worrying about overselling.

Mobile Apps

Think of a mobile app as your online store’s handy sidekick, made just for phones. Instead of opening your website in a browser, customers can simply download your app and easily shop from their phones.

Mobile phones are at the heart of digital shopping, driving most website visits and online orders. In 2024, smartphones made up 77% of retail site traffic and brought in 68% of online purchases.

Advantages of Selling via a Mobile App

Mobile apps make online shopping easier and more enjoyable for customers—and they’re great for business owners, too:

Better experience: A mobile app is built specifically for mobile devices, giving customers a smoother, more user-friendly experience than using a website through a browser. Plus, you can tailor the shopping experience to fit mobile users’ needs with features like larger images and bigger buttons for easier navigation.
Customer loyalty: Mobile users don’t like cluttering their phones with too many apps. If you convince them to download yours, they’re less likely to turn to your competitors. It’s a great way to build a more loyal customer base.

A mobile app makes it easy for customers to shop using smartphones

Challenges of Selling via a Mobile App

However, mobile apps aren’t without their challenges:

User acquisition: Customers need to install the app, which can be an obstacle. Some people are downloading fewer apps and opting for mobile websites instead. This makes it tougher to convince them to install your app.
Development and maintenance: Building an app isn’t always budget-friendly for smaller businesses. Plus, running a dedicated mobile app is another platform to manage. It can get pricey and take up a lot of resources.
Little advantage over websites: These days, mobile websites can do everything a native app can. For most businesses, having a mobile app isn’t a priority.

Is This Right for Your Business?

Mobile apps work for brands with loyal customers. They’re particularly effective for subscription boxes or repeat-purchase products like coffee beans or skin care. They can also be an excellent choice for businesses with younger customers who shop on their phones.

Skip the mobile app if your customers are older, aren’t big on smartphones, or your product catalog is very small. In these cases, a mobile-friendly website will do the job just fine.

Omnichannel Selling Is the Future

Why limit yourself to just one sales channel when your customers are everywhere? That’s where omnichannel selling comes in.

Omnichannel selling means offering your products through multiple channels and connecting them seamlessly.

The benefits of omnichannel selling:

Enhanced customer experience: Meet shoppers wherever they are—online, offline, or mobile.
Brand consistency: Ensure a consistent shopping experience across all channels to build trust and loyalty.
Increased sales: Reach more customers through multiple channels, maximizing your sales potential.
Streamlined operations: With the rights software, you can manage inventory and orders from a single system while avoiding overselling.

Simplify Omnichannel Selling with Ecwid

Choosing the right platforms to sell your products shouldn’t be complicated, and managing those channels shouldn’t be, either. That’s why hundreds of thousands of small business owners trust Ecwid by Lightspeed.

With Ecwid:

Sell across multiple platforms, including websites, marketplaces, social commerce, and in-person POS.
Manage all your products, orders, and customer interactions from one simple dashboard.
No tech skills? No problem! Ecwid is user-friendly and built for small business owners ready to grow.

So, whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your business, omnichannel selling with Ecwid can help you reach more customers and grow your sales.

Wrap Up

When deciding on your business’s best sales channels, consider your target audience, product offerings, and budget.

While physical retail stores may still be necessary for certain businesses, online selling channels like websites, mobile apps, and omnichannel platforms offer endless growth potential.

Remember, with the right tools and strategies, you can reach more customers and boost your sales no matter where they shop. So why limit yourself?

Embrace the power of multiple sales channels today with Ecwid by Lightspeed. Its user-friendly platform allows you to sell your products on multiple platforms while managing everything from one simple dashboard.

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Selling Online

Dec 5, 2024

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.