business plan for e commerce startup pdf

How to Make an Ecommerce Business Plan for Your Startup

Darren DeMatas

February 28, 2024

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So you’ve decided that you want to quit your day job and start your very own ecommerce empire. That’s great!

But before you become the next Jeff Bezos  (and definitely before you quit your job!), it’s worth spending some time thinking about a business plan. In this article, we’ll dive into the key elements of an ecommerce business plan, which is very different than writing traditional business plans.

Why You Should Create a Business Plan

We know that starting an ecommerce business is exciting, and it can be tempting to jump right in without constructing a business plan. READ: PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.

If you haven’t put your ideas, questions and concerns on paper, then you haven’t given your business model enough thought .

Taking the time to write a business plan might seem like a lot of work, but it can save you a lot of time and money in the long run by better preparing you for potential challenges and opportunities that you’ll face as a first-time entrepreneur. Think of it as a roadmap for your new business venture.

It’s exciting to start your own ecommerce business. However, you want to be well prepared and not jump into anything without having a solid, foolproof ecommerce business plan in place.

After all, you wouldn’t jump out of a plane without a parachute, so why start a business without a safety device in place? That safety device is your business plan.

The business plan is the brainstorming process that ensures your concept and goals are realistic.

This is more than just mental notes. True business plans take your ideas , questions, and concerns and put those in writing.

As you start creating your business plan, you’ll soon understand that it’s more than a single piece of paper with handwritten details on it. It’s a clearly constructed format of how your business will be created, how it will operate, and what you hope the future holds in terms of a successful ecommerce business.

When you write your business plan, be sure to have a target audience in mind. Are you going to look for investors or put a Kickstarter campaign into motion and use this as your descriptive platform? If so, make sure that your business plan contains everything the audience would want to know about your business (and more!). Many traditional funding solutions require a business plan in order to give you capital. However, there are alternative solutions, such as  Payability  that specialize in ecommerce and don’t require credit checks, a business plan, or any complicated paperwork. They can also get you approved in as little as 24 hours.

When your business plan is completed, you should have achieved the following goals:

• Knowledge:  A greater sense of knowledge of the business aspects.
• Resources:  The resources you’re going to need to make your business successful, such as partners, money, employees, etc.
• Road Map: Have clear set goals to take you from the very beginning of your business and onward.
• Viability: In other words, is your business possible? Will you have enough profit margins to keep the doors open long-term?

Now that you know why you should create a business plan, it’s time to move on to how you can create your business plan and get started putting your ecommerce business into motion.

How to Start an Ecommerce Business Plan

At the very beginning of the planning stages, it’s a good idea to develop a framework for your business model. This business model will continue to evolve as you create each section of your ecommerce business plan, so don’t strive for a perfect completed plan on the first try. You will be making tweaks to the plan of certain steps along the way.

There are many ways to sell products online and different business models  to pursue. Research and learn from successful ecommerce business examples in the market. The exact business model you follow will be one that makes the most sense with your resources, skills, and interests.

In order to create the best online business plan with your product in mind, you need to figure out the following things:

What are you selling?

The first step to creating an online business is to learn the absolute basics of what you can sell.

• Physical products: Clothing , shoes, home goods
• Digital products: Software as a Service products, ecourses, ebooks
• Services: Consulting services, home cleaning

Who are you selling to?

• Business-to-Business (B2B): You are selling to organizations, corporations, and non-profits rather than individual customers
• Business to Consumer (B2C): This means you are selling to individual consumers rather than businesses
• Marketplace: You are acting as a middleman by bringing businesses and (B2B or B2C) customers to one website.

How are you sourcing your product?

• Manufacture in-house: You make your product or service in-house
• Third-party manufacturer: You outsource the manufacturing of your product or service to a third-party manufacturer
• Dropship: You partner with a dropship manufacturer. Basically, this means that they make your product, package it and ship it directly to your customer while your company handles the entire customer relationship.
• Wholesale : You buy goods or services from other companies in bulk and re-sell those products on your online store

Additional References

• Entrepreneurship: Business & Marketing Plans
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship Resources
• Business Plan Resources

Executive Summary

The executive summary will be written according to your goals, and it’s recommended that this is done at the very end of your business plan completion. This will ensure that you include all of the important factors about your business and present your ideas in a concise and complete way.

Some of the features you’ll include in the executive summary include information showing that you’ve done your research, you have concrete sales forecasts, and the main details about your brand.

Business Model

When you’re figuring out your business model, you have to consider four different areas:

• Monetization strategy
• Product/industry
• Target market
• Sales channel

Monetization Strategy

The monetization strategy delves into the methods you are going to use to sell your products.

This strategy will look at different product monetization methods, including white label, private label , affiliate marketing, wholesale, dropshipping, and even selling ads.

Product/Industry

The product industry section is where you summarize your main niche.

For example, “Vegan Skincare Products.”

Target Market

In the target market section, you will write a sentence or so on who your target market, or ideal customer, is in the community.

If you’re selling vegan skincare products, your target customers might be women who embrace the vegan lifestyle and use natural skincare products in their daily beauty regimen.

Sales Channel

The sales channel refers to where you’re going to sell your products.

For example, you might be selling your products on your own website, and this should be entered in this section.

Business Overview

This next section covers your company overview.

This section of your business plan will cover various features of your company, including the following:

• Company type
• Domain name
• Value proposition
• Brand traits

The brand name section lists your business name or brand name.

This is an extremely important aspect of your business plan as it’s what will set the tone for everything that follows.

Pick a brand name that’s simple yet unique and is something that can be used in a wordplay manner, if desired, but not pun-worthy.

Company Type

The company is how your business operates. For example, you might label your business as an LLC , S-corporation, sole proprietor, or some other type of business organization.

The best way to determine how you should categorize your company is to speak to your accountant. There are various tax and legal aspects to forming your business in a certain way.

Speak with the professionals in the company and corporation formation field to determine how to label your company and which company type best benefits your business in a variety of ways.

Domain Name

This section is where you list your domain name.

Choose a domain name that is memorable and embraces the overall traits and features of your business.

And, when choosing a domain name, be sure to think of SEO aspects when doing so. You’ll find out just how much all of these things tie together and ensure a frequently-visited website is the end result.

Keep in mind that with ecommerce, the domain name is just as important as the brand name. Maybe even more so!

Value Proposition

A value proposition is a short, crisp statement that will gauge how clear your idea is. Write this section as if you had one minute to explain your business to a potential investor or customer and then practice it over and over again.

The value proposition can be used on your ecommerce store as your company description.

Here’s a good example: Say you’re looking to start a hiking company called Atlas Hiking Co. which sells premium performance hiking shirts. A possible company description could be the following:

Atlas Hiking Co. is a lifestyle hiking company that produces high-performance hiking shirts for outdoor lovers. Our proprietary SPF40 fabric is one of the lightest fabrics on the market, providing mountain lovers with maximum comfort, both from a breathability and sun-protection standpoint. Our product is made in the U.S.A. and a portion of our profits are donated to preserve national parks around the country.

Pay special attention to all the sensory words !

The mission statement in your business plan is the “why” of it all.

For example, why you started the business, why you are selling the products you are selling, etc., can all be added to this section of your business plan.

You can make this portion as simple or detailed as you like. Just make sure to properly and clearly explain your business mission.

The vision part of the business plan is your “how” in the grand scheme of things. It is the dream you have for your company and the path you’re going to take to realize that dream.

When you write the vision portion of the business plan, think long-term. What are you hoping to achieve, not just in the near future but for the long haul of the life of your business?

Look into the future and plan out where you see your business in 5, 10, even 20 years from now.

This will help you construct the rest of your business plan if you know where you want your business to head, now and in the future.

Brand Traits

The brand traits section is a short section in your company overview.

Basically, in the brand traits section you’re going to want to list three to five words that describe your brand.

Think of your brand personality and describe it using a few separate powerful words.

The personnel section lists all individuals, including yourself, who will be involved in the daily operations of your business. You can create a separate section for a full operations plan or add that later.

Some business owners choose to handle all duties on their own or with a partner, while others will hire individuals to fill the following roles:

• CEO (usually the business owner)
• Management team
• Customer service/logistics
• PR/Social media specialist
• SEO manager
• Advertising manager

Competitive Market Analysis

Here’s a fact you can bank on: there has never been a successful e-commerce entrepreneur that didn’t understand his/her target market cold.

That’s why this section is one of the most important in the entire business plan. It will force you to understand the industry in which you operate, the overall industry analysis and outlook, the existing competition, and your target customer demographic.

Market Segment

The market segment portion of the business plan will help you to put your ideas down on paper, make them more focused, and get your team together.

This area will include your niche selection, target market, and competitive analysis.

Niche Selection

The niche section  provides an overview of your niche, why you selected it, whether there’s a micro niche included, and the type of niche you’ve chosen.

The purpose of this section is to crystalize the ideas that you have and make sure they are understandable and viable.

The target market section covers an overview of your target market plus describes your market segments.

Ask yourself who your  target customer  is (population size, age, geography, education, ethnicity, income level) and consider whether consumers are comfortable with buying your product category online.

When listing the target market information, make sure to mention your target audience size as this is important for ensuring that your audience will be adequately covered.

Competitive Analysis

With the competitive analysis portion of your market analysis, you want to list your market leader and direct and indirect competitors.

After you mention who these entities are, you need to list the characteristics of each one, such as domain name, business model, monthly traffic, and pricing range.

However, before you even get started in writing this section, you need to spend several hours researching your target market.

Here are some of the most efficient ways to research a particular market:

Industry reports

Google is your best friend. Look for any recent industry reports on your market of choice. This will give you a good sense of how much growth the industry is experiencing, why this growth is happening, and what are the largest customer segments. In our example of Atlas Hiking Co., we should research the outdoor apparel market.

Let’s say that through our research of the outdoor apparel industry, we discovered that there was a huge boom in youth hiking apparel. Perhaps parents were increasingly concerned about their kids’ exposure to UV rays while hiking, so they began to spend more money on their kids. We could use this valuable information to guide our business strategy.

There’s only so much you can read online. Go to a nearby store that sells similar products to yours and interview the store representative. The store rep has interacted with hundreds of interested customers, which can lead to thousands of valuable insights! It’s amazing how these insights can translate into a meaningful business opportunity.

Here’s an example:

If I were going into Billy’s Outdoor Store to research the outdoor apparel market, I would probably ask Billy the following:

• What are your best-selling products?
• What are your worst-selling products?
• Find products similar to yours and ask the representative his/her favorite features on products similar to yours.
• How much are customers generally willing to spend on these types of products?
• Do customers make repeat orders of any of these products?
• Do you get a lot of customers that are looking to buy last-minute hiking gear before they go on a hike?

Competition

Create an Excel spreadsheet of all of your competitors. In your spreadsheet, you should have the following columns:

• Competitor Name
• Price point
• Product Description
• Key Features (e.g., fabric, waterproof, slim fit, etc.)

What is the competition missing? Is there a gap in the offering? Where you can add some additional value?

After conducting the competitor analysis, Atlas Hiking Co. might find that the competition’s hiking shirts offer very few features at a low price point, but no one offers a luxury hiking shirt with additional features at a higher price point.

This is just an example of the types of insights one can gain from market research which can drastically alter your business model.

Keyword Research

By using Google’s keyword planner  and trends pages, you can get a good sense of how in demand your product is and whether it’s trending upward or downward. Google is great for a general idea, just don’t bank on it.

Some other keyword tools you can use for keyword research include Ahrefs, JungleScout, and Viral Launch. Check out this list  for more ideas.

Trade shows

Are there nearby trade shows that you can go to? Again, creating connections with other people in your industry is a surefire shortcut to countless hours of reading on the internet. Trade shows are also a great opportunity to talk to competitors, meet manufacturers, and better understand where things are heading in your industry.

Once you finish researching the relevant industry, you should summarize your findings by answering the following questions:

General Industry

• How big is the overall industry?
• How big is the specific sub-industry in which you intend to operate?
• Where has most of the historic growth in the market come from?
• Why is this the right time to enter this market?
• What are the sub-segments that are poised for future growth (e.g., youth apparel)?
• How crowded is the product category with competition?
• How is your competition distributing its product (online, retail, wholesale, etc.)?
• What’s missing from the competition’s product offering?

Products and Offers

So we know we want to sell hiking shirts, but how do you research specific products?

But for some of us, we’re not quite sure what we should sell. To succeed in online retail, you need a product that is trending upwards in a growing niche.

Different types of products

Some of the different types of products include the following:

• Convenience products: Frequent purchase products, little effort on buying
• Shopping products: Less frequently purchased in between purchases, little more effort and planning, shop around
• Specialty products: Strong brand preference and loyalty, will buy no matter what the price

The various types of niches include the following:

• Hobby niches
• Lifestyle niches
• Problem niches
• Weird/embarrassing niches

Existing products

Come up with detailed specifications for each product or service you intend to sell. If it’s a hiking shirt we’re selling, we would want to have:

• Detailed sketches of the shirt
• Fabric weight, materials, type
• Key features (e.g., pre-shrunk, water-proof, SPF 40)

Future product pipeline

What are other products that you have in the pipeline? Perhaps once you’ve successfully sold hiking shirts, you’re able to leverage your manufacturing relationships to provide hiking socks and shorts. Include that information in this section.

The products and services section will cover the various selling categories of items.

These product offerings will include the following:

• Core product

Each product group will have its own purpose in your sales catalog. For example, tripwire is the product that brings customers to your ecommerce store or online marketplaces  while the core product is your main seller.

Knowing what products you’ll include within each section allows you to have a firm grasp on what your main product will be and how the other types of products will work alongside your main product.

This section will also cover the search volume and Amazon pricing range.

You’ll need to calculate your true costs. You have to make sure you don’t overestimate your margins.

To tabulate your total true costs, you need to write down the costs in the following areas:

• Target price
• Supplier cost of the product
• Total cost per unit
• Net profit per unit
• Profit margin per unit

Once you complete the pricing portion, you’ll have everything on one sheet and readily accessible whenever you need it.

Marketing Plan and Operations

So, now you’ve concluded that you have a great business idea, and it’s in a growing market. That’s fantastic – but how are you going to drive traffic to your ecommerce website and get customers to buy it ? And how much can you afford to spend on your product?

Marketing  is everything. It’s important that your marketing efforts match your business model.

If you have a website and no marketing, your site won’t have any visitors. With no visitors, you will make no sales. Then how do you grow and sell your ecommerce business (if that’s your long-term goal)? Even with the best possible products, nobody will buy them if they aren’t directed to them in some way.

In order to come up with a marketing strategy, you need to first know your customer inside out. You should be able to answer such questions as:

• How old is your customer?
• Where does your customer live?
• What is the population of your customer base?
• What is their education level?
• What is their income level?
• What are your customer’s pain points?

With so many channels to reach your customer, which one is best for you?

Once we know pretty much everything there is to know about our target customer, we can shift focus to our marketing strategy. You want to choose marketing strategies that equal positive conversion rates. What channels should you use to grab the attention of your customer demographic? Some of the key marketing channels include:

Paid Marketing

• Pay-per-click – this online marketing typically involves using Google Shopping campaigns  and managing a product data feed.
• Affiliate sales networks – Allowing other blogs and websites to sell your product for a cut of the revenue. List the different affiliate sale networks that you plan to promote through.
• Facebook ads ⎯ Ads posted on Facebook to draw in buyers through social media means.
• Influencer marketing ⎯ Hiring industry influencers to get the word out about your product through their social media platforms and contacts.

Organic Marketing

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram , Pinterest, etc.): What is your strategy for social media, and where will you dedicate your attention?
• Search Engine Optimization : Create and promote awesome content so people find your product organically through search.
• Content marketing: Figure out how you’ll use content marketing in your business. Consider various article topics that will persuade your target audience to buy your products.
• Blogger networks: could be organic or paid through affiliate sale programs.
• Key bloggers: Develop a list of the key bloggers in your product category. For Atlas Hiking Co., this might be an influencer that blogs about the best hiking trails in America.

Finding the optimal mix of these advertising tools depends 100% on your customer segment as well as your product type. For example, a SaaS product targeting millennials will require an entirely different marketing strategy than an e-commerce physical product targeting baby boomers. Perhaps that should be a post on its own for another day!

How much should you spend to acquire a customer?

In order to understand this, we need first to discuss a concept known as customer lifetime value or LTV. In essence, this is a formula that helps you better understand how much an average customer will spend over time.

Here’s  a good read on how to calculate LTV.

It’s important to remember that for new businesses, you don’t have a lot of data on customer purchase habits so it’s a good idea to be more conservative with your assumptions in calculating LTV.

Let’s say, for Atlas Hiking Co., I determine that the average LTV per customer is $300. This means that over time, the average customer will spend $300. Let’s say, on average, if I receive $300 in revenue, $100 of that will translate to gross profit before I factor in my marketing costs (basically, I’m just subtracting the cost of making the shirts).

Knowing that my gross profit is $100 per shirt is a critical piece of information because it tells me that I can spend up to $100 in marketing to acquire a customer and still be profitable!

Some of the marketing options include social media marketing and content marketing.

Think about your business model and then line up your marketing budget. Your marketing budget may include the following items:

• Sales/branded content
• SEO/blog content
• Facebook/Instagram ads
• Influencer marketing
• Marketing tools
• Niche advertising

Choosing The Right Technology

With so much technology and SaaS products out there, it’s important to understand the various moving parts and diagram how they all integrate with one another.

Some of the different elements include:

• Shopping Cart Platforms  – e.g., Shopify , BigCommerce , WooCommerce , or any open-source platform
• Hosting – Nexcess , BigScoots , Kinsta , WPX
• Payment Processo r – e.g., Stripe, Paypal
• Fulfillment Center – e.g., Amazon, ShipBob
• Apps – e.g., Zipify, BuildWooFunnels, Gelato
• Accounting & Taxes  – e.g., Quicken, Xero
• Marketing Automation – e.g., Klaviyo , Mailchimp
• Marketing Tools – e.g.  Buzzstream, Ahrefs
• Customer Loyalty Programs  – e.g., Antavo, Smile

Come up with a detailed list of the different products and services you need to run your business as well as the monthly and per-transaction cost of each of them. This will be important in understanding the impact of these services on your margins.

Matching your business model to your technology is essential, too. Certain website platforms are better suited for specific sales models.

Email marketing is another type of technology that should be carefully considered and matched up correctly with your business model.

Keep in mind that it takes, on average, 6-7 interactions with a brand before someone makes a purchase, so you need to keep using technology to get them back to your website.

As you explore the technology options and find out ways to draw potential customers in and keep them happy while they’re there, here are some key points to keep in mind:

• What you say about yourself and your products with your website content
• How you respond to questions on live chat and email support
• How to make use of chatbots
• How you connect on social media
• The information you send through email marketing
• What bloggers and influencers say about your brand
• How existing customers review your company
• How you advertise
• How you establish loyalty beyond sales

After you figure out your technology methods, you have to come up with a technology budget.

The business plan must also include the operations side of things. Determine who will be your manufacturer, secondary manufacturer, and shipping and fulfillment  provider.

When looking at supply chain costs and options, ShipBob  is an ecommerce fulfillment provider you can consider.

Financial Plan

When figuring out your financial plan, evaluating and pinpointing your startup costs  is essential.

The focus of the financial plan is how long it will take for you to make your money back. You also need to figure out if you need a business loan .

Traffic and conversion rates will help you determine how long it will be until you start making money back.

You’ll also want to use an income statement to detail financial information.

This section is used for financial projections, such as forecasting sales, expenses, and net income of the business. Ideally, you’ll want to create a monthly Excel balance sheet showing the following:

• Projected revenue:  First, come up with your projected number of units sold and then come up with your projected revenue (Projected Revenue = # of Units Sold * Average Sales Price).
• Fixed expenses:   these are expenses that are fixed no matter how much you sell. Typically, these relate to monthly SaaS subscriptions, employee salaries, or rent.
• Variable expenses  – these expenses change in direct proportion to how much you sell. Common examples include the cost of goods sold and credit card payment processing fees.

This helps business owners better understand what they need to achieve to hit their profit goals. In reality, projections are usually always off the mark, but it’s good to give yourself some measurable goals to strive for.

This section should aim to answer the following questions about your product offering:

• How much product do you need to sell per year to meet your income goals for the business?
• What are the margins on your product? If you sell one hiking shirt for $50, how much do you make after paying your supplier, employees, and marketing costs?
• What is the lifetime value of a customer?
• How much can you spend to acquire customers? If you conservatively project that the average customer will spend $300 over time on your shirts, then you can afford to spend an amount less than $300 to acquire that customer using the paid marketing channels described previously.
• Do you have any big capital expenditures early on that would require you to need to bring in investors?
• Can you improve gross margins by making bigger orders from your suppliers?

There are various acquisition channels that will help your traffic to convert including:

Your revenue plan will contain a 12-month revenue forecast plan to help you map out each month of earnings.

There are different business earning models you can go through to determine how much you can make with your business.

You want to calculate how much traffic costs. This all depends on the methods you use to gain traffic to your site.

As you determine what your profit might be with your ecommerce business  or ecommerce businesses, there are certain math formulas to use:

• The profit equation
• Break-even analysis
• Units needed to achieve the profit target

You should also consider how you will use fintech companies in your ecommerce business.

What are the key elements of an ecommerce business plan?

The main components of an eCommerce business plan include the executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management structure, product line or service, marketing and sales strategy, financial projections, and funding request, if applicable.

How do I create a budget for my ecommerce business?

Start by estimating your initial startup costs and ongoing expenses. Consider costs like website development, inventory, marketing, shipping, taxes, and any necessary licenses or permits. It’s also important to factor in a contingency plan for unexpected costs.

How do I find the right product to sell?

Research is fundamental. Look at market trends, customer needs, and competitor products. Use tools like Google Trends or social media platforms to understand what customers are currently interested in. Always consider your passion and knowledge about the product too, as this can drive your business forward.

How can I differentiate my product from competitors?

Differentiation can come from unique product features, superior customer service, better pricing, or a compelling brand story. Understand what your competitors offer and how you can do it differently or better.

Wrapping Up Your Business Plan

Careful planning is crucial to get your e-commerce business from the planning phase to the launch phase and to ensure its successful future.

Going through the exercise of writing a business plan will cement your own understanding of your business and your market. It will also position you to take advantage of lucrative opportunities while mitigating harmful threats to your business down the line.

Your turn! Have you written a business plan for your online store? Do you have anything to add? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

Published: April 03, 2024

If you have a promising idea for an online e-commerce business , it’s important to create an e-commerce business plan to ensure your vision has enough stock to be profitable.

Having a business plan for your online store will help you define your target market, establish your monthly and quarterly sales goals, and increase the likelihood of long-term e-commerce success.

In this post, we’ll go over an online store business plan and how you can create one for your e-commerce startup. Let’s get started.

What is an e-commerce business plan?

An e-commerce business plan is a document that outlines your business and its goals, analyzes your industry and competitors, and identifies the resources needed to execute your plan. It also lists the e-commerce retailers you’ll use to distribute your products and the marketing strategies you’ll use to drive sales.

Whether a company operates as a startup or has years of operations and growth under its belt, an e-commerce business plan is essential for evaluating a business and determining areas of improvement.

An e-commerce business plan is essential, with increasing numbers of shoppers conducting business online. It's estimated this number has reached over 2 billion . An e-commerce business plan keeps you organized and is useful when seeking investors who need to understand your company.

So, let’s dive into some examples of e-commerce business plans and what goes into writing one using our free template .

Free Business Plan Template

The essential document for starting a business -- custom built for your needs.

• Outline your idea.
• Pitch to investors.
• Secure funding.
• Get to work!

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

E-commerce Business Plan Template

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How to Write an eCommerce Business Plan + Template

Noah Parsons

10 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

Free Download:  Sample eCommerce Business Plan Templates

If you’re starting an online eCommerce business , it’s tempting to dive right in and set up your digital shop. After all, eCommerce businesses are often less expensive to start than physical businesses and the risk may seem lower. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. There’s still risk involved and money you may lose if you don’t start your business the right way.

So if you want your business to be successful you’ll want to start with a business plan first. Not having a business plan is one of the primary reasons businesses fail and it’s an easy first step that you can start for free.

Businesses that do take the time to plan are actually proven to be significantly more successful than those that don’t.

• Why write an eCommerce business plan?

If you’re looking for funding from investors for your eCommerce business, you’ll definitely need a business plan. But, business plans aren’t just for entrepreneurs who are looking to raise money for their business. There are many other reasons why you should consider writing a plan.

• Strategy. Writing your plan down will help you clarify your business strategy and figure out key aspects of how your business will run. You’ll think about your marketing plan, fulfillment, sales strategies, and more.
• Test ideas. Business plans can help you figure out if an idea will work. A plan will help you figure out which ideas will be profitable and which will struggle to make money.
• Know your numbers. Developing your financial plan as part of your business plan will help you understand what it’s really going to take to start an online business. Running the numbers will help you determine profitability and what it will take to get your business up and running.
• Market research. Your business plan will help you answer questions about who your customers are and how you can best get your product in front of them.
• Marketing and advertising. Getting your eCommerce business running online is just the first step. Now you need to bring customers to your website . Having a plan and knowing how much it will cost you before your start will improve your chances of success.
• Business plan competitions. An often overlooked way of getting money for your eCommerce business is business plan competitions. There are thousands of them every year that include cash prizes. With a solid business plan, it’s usually free to enter.

A business plan can help you develop your strategy, test your idea , figure out how much money you’ll need to get up and running and identify potential roadblocks. It’s a critical step that will ensure that you don’t waste time or money as you get your business off the ground.

• How to write an eCommerce business plan

Every business plan follows a fairly standard format, but for eCommerce you will need some extra detail in the marketing and fulfillment sections. Here’s an outline of what you should include. 

If you’re ready to get started you can also download a free template for your eCommerce business plan .

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Executive Summary

Every business plan needs an executive summary . Usually, you write the summary last, after you’ve fleshed out all the details of your plan. The executive summary isn’t a repeat of the full plan—it’s really just a brief outline that should be 1-2 pages at the most. 

When you’re getting introductions to investors, you’ll probably just share your executive summary to start, and then share the full plan if an investor is interested. 

Your executive summary should summarize your vision for your online business, the products you’ll be selling, a short description of your target market, and highlights of your management team and financials. If you did a market analysis, don’t get into tons of detail, but cover enough that a casual reader will understand what you’re trying to accomplish.

Opportunity: Problem and Solution

The first chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes your opportunity. That’s a description of the business you are building and the problem you are solving for customers. 

Every business needs to solve a problem for customers. For your business to stand out and be successful, you’ll ideally fill a gap that other companies haven’t filled yet. 

Even if you’re selling the same types of products as other companies, your eCommerce business could offer a better shopping experience, lower prices, or better customer service. The problem you are solving then is that customers can’t get good customer service or low prices from other companies in your industry. They will come to you, instead, because you do offer those things.

You can also solve problems for customers by offering a product they’ve never seen before. Perhaps you’ve developed a new line of kitchen utensils that are designed for older hands and wrists. Or maybe you’ve invented a new line of soap that is more sustainable than traditional hand soap.

Target Market

Arguably, the target market section of your eCommerce business plan is one of the most important components. Your target market describes the types of customers you hope to attract. Trying to please everyone is bound to be a failure—instead, focus on a specific group of people or type of person and build from there.

For example, maybe you’re trying to sell to young professionals who value good design. Or, maybe you’re targeting new families who are looking for sustainably made, affordable kids toys.

When you’re writing the target market section of your business you’ll describe exactly who your ideal customer is, what their demographics are, and how large your target market is.

There are a lot of details that you can include in your target market section of your eCommerce business plan, and we’ve got a great article that covers everything you might want to include .

Marketing and Advertising

For an eCommerce business, getting the word out about your business is critical. Unlike a physical storefront that potential customers might walk or drive by, an online store needs to figure out how to get customers to its virtual doors.

In the marketing and advertising chapter of your business plan, you’ll want to detail your marketing plan for your business – how are you going to get customers’ attention? How will they know you exist?

Here are a few tactics you may want to consider:

• Content marketing. Start writing blog posts that your potential customers may find interesting so that you can attract prospects to your business. Also, consider guest posting on other blogs that your potential customers might read.
• Social media. These days, most consumers expect that the companies they shop at will have some form of social media presence. Pick the networks that you plan to be active on and determine a strategy that will engage your potential customers.
• Traditional PR. Traditional PR isn’t dead. If you can get popular publications to cover your company launch and your products, you’ll be able to drive new customers to your door.
• Advertising. Online advertising will almost certainly be in your plans. The good thing about online advertising is that you can measure its effectiveness and fine-tune things as you go. Depending on your business and how much cash you have on hand, you may consider traditional off-line advertising as well.
• Email marketing. For many eCommerce businesses, email is a core strategy for driving sales. If you have a content marketing plan, you can use that content to drive email subscriptions. You can also offer deals to build your email list, such as free shipping or discounts on orders.

Successful eCommerce businesses are all about ensuring that their operations are running smoothly and efficiently. Use your business plan as your chance to figure out what your operations plans are ahead of time before you jump in and get started. This is where many businesses can get tripped up, so taking the time to get your operations set up properly is worth the up-front investment of time.

Areas you’ll want to cover include:

• Locations. Even though your business may be online, you’ll still need to run the business from somewhere. Perhaps you can run the business entirely remotely, but potentially you may need some office space for employees or warehouse space for product storage. Think about where these locations are located and what it will cost to keep them running.
• Suppliers. You’ll need suppliers for raw materials if you’re making products and you will also need suppliers if you are reselling products. Use your plan to figure out who you’re going to work with, what their purchase terms are, and what kind of delivery timeframes they can provide for you.
• Production. If you’re assembling raw materials into products, you’ll need to know how and where you will be producing your products.
• Storage & fulfillment. If you’re not drop-shipping from products from a supplier, you’ll need to store and ship your own products. Your business plan should detail where and how storage and fulfillment will take place and what the costs will be. Don’t forget to think through how you’ll handle returns and exchanges.
• Technology & payment processors. All eCommerce businesses need technology to function. You’ll want to think about the platform you’ll use for your online store, what functionality you need, and how you’ll accept payments. 

Company & Management

This chapter of your eCommerce business plan describes the structure of your business and who is running it. If you’re going into business with other people, you should establish a partnership agreement. Your plan will need to explain how your business is structured and who owns what portions of the business. 

You’ll also want to include a company description that includes details on the management team and the highlights from their resumes. Potential investors will be looking for experienced owners and managers to get an eCommerce business up and running, so this section of the plan should explain why your team is qualified to build the business into a success.

If you aren’t looking for outside investment, this section of your eCommerce business plan is still important. You should think about the different positions you’ll need to fill and who is going to do each job in the business. Even if you don’t plan on hiring employees right away, having a plan for who you’re going to hire and when will be enormously helpful when the time comes.

Financial Plan

Finally, your eCommerce business plan will need to include a financial plan . Investors will want to see a sales forecast , income statement (also called profit and loss statement), cash flow statement , and a balance sheet. If you use a tool like LivePlan , you’ll be able to build out your financial forecasts relatively quickly, even if you don’t have experience with business numbers.

Even if you’re not working with investors or getting a bank loan, you should run your numbers. This is arguably the most important part of your business plan. You need to know if the numbers work for your business based on your forecasted sales and planned expenses . 

It’s much better to find out if you need to make changes to your business model while it’s all just an idea on paper rather than a business that you’ve already invested money in.

If you need additional help, we’ve created a guide to creating the financial statements you need to include in your business plan .

• Ecommerce business plan templates and examples

If you want to see how other eCommerce businesses have created their plans, check out our free library of eCommerce business plans . You can download all of them in Word format so you can jump-start your own business plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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Ecommerce business startup guide: checklist & business plan | ecommerce ceo, e-commerce & retail.

Are you one of the ambitious eCommerce startups and want to have your own business someday? Or even like to be your own boss and start whatever business you are passionate about?

The first thing you have to do in order to start your startup company is to make a business plan , so it is important to know about business plan writing and the rest follows.

This guide will be your blueprint; you should take a look at it before launching your startup eCommerce company.

Before Launching Your eCommerce Business

There are a variety of business models out there; however, they might not be “the one” for everyone. At first, you want to save time and energy besides finding the perfect business model that suits you best.

You do not need to rush into a specific business model because someone said this was best for them, as mentioned earlier, what fits others might not fit you.

However, this guide covers the top 5 popular eCommerce business models, research them and take a  good look just to make up your mind, and they are:

• Research Private Label Business Ideas
• Research Amazon Affiliate Marketing
• Research Dropshipping
• Research Print On Demand
• Research Selling Digital Products

Related Guide: The Guide to Dropshipping 101: Ecommerce Without Inventory

Create Your Ecommerce Business Plan

So, you have got your business model after you’ve researched the, what’s next?

Here are the main points to know that you should bear in mind while building your eCommerce startup;

• Research Product Ideas and Target Markets: Once you have this you can implement various business models.
• Competitive Market Research: To do this you have to have an idea about your product and market niche when you do, you need to know who your competitors are.

For this one, KW Finder can help you find accurate results for the most difficult keywords in the market.

• Initial Brand Development: You can use your competitive market research to create a brand that establishes points of parity and points of differentiation.
• Set up a Business and Complete Plan: It is time to make your brand official after you got it established.
• Email Marketing Automation : You need to consider this phase – adding email automation to your marketing; this is the phase where most people selling products fail.

Download the full guide and get a full eCommerce Business Plan for your eCommerce startup

The Table of Content of “Ecommerce Business Startup Guide: Checklist & Business Plan”:

• Before you start
• Research product ideas and target markets
• Competitive market research
• Initial brand development
• Set up a business and complete plan
• Plan your website content and launch
• Email marketing automation (As needed)
• Ecommerce business plan
• Marketing and operation plan
• Financial plan
• Additional notes

Number of Pages:

Affiliate marketing, dropshipping, ecommerce business, ecommerce market.

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• What business models are legit?
• Should I sell on Amazon or my own website?
• Should I use Shopify or WooCommerce?
• How will I get traffic and sales?
• How will I manage fulfillment – Amazon or ShipBob?
• How do I avoid bad business investments?

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As the saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” So, if you wish to build your own eCommerce empire, having an eCommerce business plan is crucial to your success.

Why Should You Continue Reading This Article?

But maybe you have no idea where to start. Of course, you don’t want to leave out something important. In this article, we’ll show you how to build an eCommerce business plan and discuss how to write it in a well-crafted, simple way from scratch, for your eCommerce small business and what are the key elements that should be included in it.

Let’s get started!

Why You Need an eCommerce Business Plan

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” So, planning is almost everything you should start with.

Although it can be hard work to put together a comprehensive eCommerce business plan, it’s such an important step for the below-mentioned four reasons:

• Establishing a Clear Roadmap:  Well-written strategic planning will help you set clear goals and set an action plan to reach them. It will also help you to set priorities and realistically estimate the time and effort needed to achieve them.
• Being Ready for Any Sudden Changes:  Change in the eCommerce business world is happening quicker than ever before. And this increases the value of planning. Having a data-driven business plan gave managers a dashboard to work with navigated sudden change.
• Securing Funding: If you are looking for a loan or an equity investment for your startup, getting a business plan document right is essential because an organization that will provide the money wants to make sure that you know what you are doing and have a clear path to profit.
• Avoiding Costly Mistakes: If you are considering setting up a small business with limited resources, having a startup business plan helps you know exactly what resources are needed to avoid wasting resources down the drain and to make the most of them.

Before You Start Planning: 3 Key Questions to Answer

To build a well-written online business plan sample, you need to answer the following questions:

• What Are You Selling?  Are you selling physical products (i.e apparel, home appliances, etc.), digital products (i.e online courses, ebooks, software, etc.), or services (i.e marketing services, consulting, car repair, etc.)?
• For Whom?  Do you sell to individuals (B2C) or organizations, corporations, and non-profits (B2B) or are you are a part of a marketplace acting as a broker just like affiliate marketing?.
• Who Are Your Suppliers? Do you manufacture your products in-house, or outsource a third-party manufacturer? Do you partner with a dropshipping manufacturer or do you depend on wholesale?

With great data comes a great business plan. Answering this line of questioning will give you an initial overview of what your business is and it’ll be like a starting point.

How to Structure a Business Plan for Your Online Store

Let’s agree from the start that the business plan will not be perfectly completed on the first try. It will continue to evolve as you create each of the planning stages and you’ll be making edits along the way.

For an eCommerce business plan example, there are six basic sections it should include, Let’s delve deeper…

Let’s delve deeper…

1. Executive Summary

Any e-Commerce business plan should start with an executive summary of just one sheet summarizing each section of your business plan. Although it is placed at the beginning, it should be the last section to be written.

The executive summary is the first thing your prospect investors would read, and it creates the first impression of your project. So, make it simple, easy to understand, and attractive.

The executive summary should include:

• Business ideas presentation
• Business model
• Products and services
• Target audience and target market
• Management team
• Success factors or the points that differentiate your company
• Financial strategy

2.  Company Overview

This is the next section that includes detailed information about your business and identified the competitive advantage of your online store. It covers some features such as:

• Brand Name and Founder’s Name: Your online store name and who is behind it.
• Brand Traits: List just 3 to 5 words that describe the brand that you want your online store to be identified with.
• Domain Name: It’s the URL. It should be short, simple, memorable, and doesn’t include numbers.
• Company Type: How your business operates.
• Value Proposition: It’s a brief statement that shows how clear your idea is.
• Mission Statement: The reasons behind your business’ existence.
• Vision: The goals that you want to reach long term. They must be realistic and ambitious so they can be motivating.

3. Market  Analysis

Conducting market research around your eCommerce small business idea is essential. It tells you whether or not people will buy what you’re selling.

Market analysis is broken down into 3 main sections:

A. industry analysis:.

Industry analysis outlines the industry size facts and statistics bode well for your eCommerce business. It answers questions like:

• What does the market look like for your industry overall?
• Has it grown or changed over the years?
• Are there any expectations of growing up or slipping down in the future?
• Are there factors that could impact its growth?

Industry analysis is likely to be one of the toughest parts of your eCommerce business plan, but fortunately, research and white papers are abundant in almost all industries, besides free tools like Google Trends .

B . Market Segment:

The market segment or audience segmentation helps you to create your “Buyer Persona” which represents your target audiences’ various demographic sets (gender, age, geography, education, income level, ethnicity, etc.). The market segment includes both your target market and niche selection.

It’s important to provide an overview of your niche, whether there’s a micro-niche included, and why you chose it.

C. Competitive Analysis:

Competitive Analysis provides an overview of who is your market leaders are and direct, indirect, and potential competitors. It also identifies your competitors’ key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, focusing particularly on where you can defeat the competition or add unique value to your business.

Creating a comprehensive competitive analysis includes 4 key phrases that are:

• Identify Your Competitors
• Select a Competitive Analysis Framework
• Collect Data on Your Competitors
• Write Your Competitive Analysis Report

4.  Marketing Plan

By now, you’ve covered almost all your company-related aspects, your customers, and your competitors as well. It’s time to talk about how you’re going to reach your customers and drive traffic to your eCommerce website.

The marketing plan describes the planned promotion strategies, business growth strategies, pricing strategies , sales strategies, and how much can you afford to spend on your marketing efforts. To come up with a well-defined marketing strategy, you need to deeply know your customer inside out.

It’s important to keep in mind that every potential customer is different, and there are many organic and paid marketing techniques that you can use to reach each of them. From SEO, social media, content marketing, and email marketing to influencers, these proven techniques will surely  acquire customers and drive traffic to your online store .

So, this stage is all about defining:

• Which marketing channels are best for you to reach your customer?
• How much can you afford to acquire customers to your online store?

5. Operations Plan

Operational planning reflects the task flow of your eCommerce store and how they’ll be divided. It includes your daily tasks as an online store owner. Some basic things should be established, such as your work schedule, your daily tasks timetable, your location, and your product stock.

Your tasks will include:

• Offering support
• Managing the stock
• Managing returns
• Negotiating with suppliers
• Dealing with unforeseen events
• Promoting your store
• And much more

List all of your daily tasks and how your routine will be to make sure that everything in your business plan will be under control. If you are a startup and you’re the only person in charge, it’d be hard to manage all tasks. So, it’s important to have initial planning on paper, and then make small modifications down the line to hire a staff and management team.

6. Financial Plan

For many people, this is the most difficult part of a business plan. However, it’s extremely important. It outlines the major costs for an eCommerce business that include the cost of goods, internet connection fees, salaries of the staff, etc.

If you’re seeking to get outside funding, your financial statement should contain the following documents:

• Summary of Funding Requirement: It’s an outline showing why you are applying for a loan, the cost for raw materials and operational machines, and how much money you need.
• Use of Funds Statement / Income Statement: It shows how profitable your business would be during a given period and describes how you plan to use the funds you’ll get.
• Business Budget: This displays cash inflow and outflow statements over a specific period of time.
• 3-Year Profit and Loss Projection: It’s assumptions that are stated clearly and in detail to communicate your vision of the company’s future and how you anticipate achieving that vision.

5 eCommerce Business Plans’ Mistakes to Avoid in 2022

As for eCommerce owners ( whether it was for fashion, services, etc.), there are some methodologies they use to approximately estimate future turnover, profitability, and more.  But unfortunately, most of these estimations and expectations are frequently distant from market reality.

ExpandCart gathers the most common mistakes that usually happen when you put an eCommerce marketing plan into work, Let’s show you around! 

Mistake #1  |  Selecting the Improper eCommerce Platform

Whether you’re just getting started with your eCommerce shop or have been running one for a while, a not-suitable eCommerce platform can boost your eCommerce business plan or awfully put it to an end! 

After you’ve created a sample business plan for an eCommerce startup, you’ll need to think about several things when selecting an eCommerce platform, including:

• Your financial situation
• Whether you prefer a template or bespoke design, we can help.
• What type of experience do your consumers want?
• What items do you intend to sell?
• How do you intend to grow your company?
• What tools your platform needs to integrate with?
• How much control do you desire over your website?

The last thing you want is to pick a platform that restricts your company’s development, doesn’t interact with your existing systems, or doesn’t provide the amount of control and flexibility you want.

An improper eCommerce platform can result in a variety of problems, including income loss, decreased conversions, less traffic, security difficulties, bad design, and more. This major error might force you to spend even more time, money, and effort modernizing your platform or moving to a new one entirely.

Take your time while deciding on the best eCommerce platform for your online eCommerce as this will affect the whole performance of your eCommerce business plan. 

Mistake #2  |Skipping Environment Check

Before drafting an eCommerce business plan to launch or boost your e-commerce website, it’s a crucial step to start assessing the viability of your ideas before anything!

And here, we don’t mean broad market studies, but rather a comprehensive test using a limited version of your site, that will assist in ensuring in the field that you are gaining traction in your market. You must be able to tie your business strategy to the fact that you have already made your first sales even before you daft your eCommerce business plan. 

Aside from the checking and validation component, an initial test will help you to get useful feedback from your consumers and discover for yourself the major roadblocks or places for progress in your business.

You’ll be in a better position to carry out your company plan and generate realistic and plausible financial projections once you’ve completed it.

Mistake #3 | No Clear Brand Message or Identity

A good product alone won’t perform as good branding! 

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your things will sell themselves. To build a successful business, you’ll need to develop a strong brand identity that is both approachable to your target audience and favorable to viral brand awareness. If you’ve done your research, you should have a good notion of what your target audience wants and how to communicate with them. Then it’s only a matter of maintaining a consistent and firm message.

A strong brand identity boosts client loyalty and your chances of gaining global brand recognition.

Mistake #4 | Shallow Website Content 

If your eCommerce business relies on organic traffic to attract clients, then the material on your website should be crafted with the user and SEO in mind.

Many organizations make the mistake of considering content as an afterthought, failing to see that each piece of content represents a chance to increase traffic and convert clients.

You need to provide content that is relevant to your target audience, optimized for search engine traffic, and entices consumers to buy your items, from your homepage to your product descriptions.

Investing in SEO and CRO-friendly content is worthwhile, whether you engage with an SEO service or do it yourself. This entails using the correct high-quality keywords for your niche and crafting material that is designed to convert.

Mistake #5 | Mistargeted Audience 

What else could you possibly require? You have items, a company strategy, and a website. Unfortunately, having an offer and a venue to pitch it isn’t enough to be a true eCommerce success.

One of the most common blunders a business owner can make is failing to precisely define their target demographic and spend time learning what makes them tick. You’ll need to do some serious market research to make sure that:

• Your target audience has a genuine necessity for your product. 
• You know how to express your offer in a way that they will comprehend. 
• You may create a marketing plan that prioritizes your target audience.

Identifying and specifying your target audience can help you develop an atmosphere that they will remember and a brand message that will tempt them to buy and re-buy, and hence, a successful eCommerce business plan! 

Final Notes

We are living in a world of fast-paced digital transformation. Almost all businesses are thinking of building a strong online presence. Being prepared and having a well-crafted business plan for your dream eCommerce website helps you focus on what exactly you want your business to be in the future and provides a map of how to get there in no time.

Remember! Creating your own eCommerce business plan won’t be that easy, but success comes to those willing to put in the work and if you did it right, you will witness a great increase in sales and revenue . You can seek help from experts who can help you plan your business effectively.

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Ecommerce Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Business Plan Outline

• Ecommerce Business Plan Home
• 1. Executive Summary
• 2. Company Overview
• 3. Industry Analysis
• 4. Customer Analysis
• 5. Competitive Analysis
• 6. Marketing Plan
• 7. Operations Plan
• 8. Management Team
• 9. Financial Plan

Whether you are planning to start a new ecommerce business or grow your existing business, you’ve come to the right place to create your plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their own ecommerce company.

Below are links to each section of a sample ecommerce business plan to help you write your ecommerce business plan:

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Ecommerce Business Plan FAQs

What is an ecommerce business plan.

An ecommerce business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your ecommerce business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your ecommerce business plan using our Ecommerce Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Ecommerce Companies?

An Ecommerce business can really be anything that is able to be sold on the internet, it is an online business. Ecommerce companies range from virtual clothing websites, furniture store websites, electronic devices and accessories, toy stores, etc. These companies can have a warehouse where they store and ship their own inventory or utilize a dropshipper who is a third party company who receives the order straight from the website, fulfills the order, and ships directly to the consumer.

No matter what type of online business you will operate, you will need to know how to make an ecommerce business plan. An ecommerce business plan template is key to creating a solid business plan.

What Are the Main Sources of Revenue and Expenses for an Ecommerce Business?

The primary source of revenue for an ecommerce company is the products that are sold on the website.

The key expenses for an ecommerce company are the costs to maintain a warehouse and shipping costs. There are also payroll costs that need to be factored in for the personnel who will be handling all product fulfillment and shipments. If utilizing a dropshipper, a key expense is the fees that will need to be paid to the dropshipper for fulfilling the orders and shipping directly to the consumers.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Ecommerce Company?

Ecommerce businesses are most likely to receive funding from banks. Typically you will find a local bank and present your business plan to them. A major source of funding for an ecommerce company are angel investors, crowdfunding, or funding from friends and/or associates.

An investor will want to see a solid business plan complete with a strong financial plan (income statement, balance sheets and cash flow statements).  It should also include a comprehensive marketing strategy, details of your business model, an overview of your management team and  market research on your target market. You can quickly complete your plan using our Ecommerce Business Plan Template here .

Where Can I Get an Ecommerce Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free Ecommerce business plan template PDF here . This is a sample Ecommerce business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Other Business Plan Templates

Clothing Line Business Plan Template Clothing Store Business Plan Template Beauty Supply Store Bookstore Business Plan Template

How to Create a Business Plan for Launching an Ecommerce Website

• Business Plan for eCommerce Startup

Last Updated: June 30, 2023 By TRUiC Team

This guide will show you how to create a business plan to launch an ecommerce website. It will also offer tips on what to do to increase your chances of success. Here’s what you need to know.

Business Plan Benefits

A business plan is a document which contains all the information about the business in order to help make decisions for the future. It can be used to assess how an organization is performing and to identify any areas that require improvement.

Key benefits of making a business plan are:

• Provides clarity of direction
• Helps identify potential risks
• Assists in executing strategy
• Allows assessment of performance (current or projected)
• Assists in planning for future growth/opportunities
• Aids communication internally and externally

Sections in a Business Plan

There are important sections to include in a business plan. When starting an ecommerce business, you’ll want to ensure your business plan contains the following:

• Executive Summary
• Vision and Mission Statement
• Products and Services
• Market Introduction and Profile
• Competition Section: 
• Company background
• Strategic plans
• Competitive analysis
• Marketing and Sales Strategy: 
• Key opinion leaders
• Marketing objectives
• Market segmentation
• Target market
• Goals of the company
• Marketing strategy
• Marketing activities to achieve marketing objectives
• Various other factors such as  marketing strategies
• Financial: 
• Current or projected  balance sheet
• Income statement
• Cash flow statement  
• Customer information
• Business credit building strategy

Recommended: Use our free business plan generator to master each section of the business plan.

Write a Business Plan

A business plan will help you get your company up and running and prevent you from making costly mistakes. Here is how to create a business plan for an ecommerce company.

1. Start by asking and answering some typical business plan questions:

• What is your company's mission?
• What is your company's vision?
• What is your company's business model?
• What is your company's differentiation strategy?
• What are you selling or offering?
• What is your company's competitive advantage?
• Who are your clients and what value do you provide to them?
• How does your company make money and spend it?
• What is your daily method of operation to generate sales?

2. Next complete the plan:

After answering some vital questions, structure them in a formal business plan arrangement to help your plan take shape.

Questions jumpstart your thinking, while writing helps bring your plan together.

Five Business Plan Attributes

There are five business plan attributes that should be included in your ecommerce business plan to help you define your goals and provide your business with a concrete direction. These attributes ensure that your business plan will help you create a daily method of operation, plan the business’s financials, and develop a forward-thinking exit strategy should you someday want to sell your business.

Business plan attributes:

• "Vision" attribute, which is about defining your goals.
• "Road map" attribute, which includes how you're going to get there.
• "Operations" attribute, which includes how you're going to run the company’s day-to-day operations.
• "Financial" attribute, which includes projections and analyses on cash flow and profitability.
• "Exit strategy" attribute, in case you ever want to sell or go public with your business.

Ecommerce Business Planning Costs

There are many factors that determine the costs of an online store . The type of business, where you are based, and what you sell are all pieces to consider. Here are some steps to help you calculate and manage your ecommerce costs.

1. Start by Understanding Types of Cost.

We can break down costs into two main groupings:

Fixed costs refer to expenses which do not change over time. For example, setting up your website domain name or designing your logo might fall into this category. You will have to pay these expenses upfront before starting your business even if you don't generate any revenue. Fixed costs may also include hiring a lawyer for drafting contracts with suppliers.

Variable costs are ongoing expenditures that vary month to month. These types of expenditures are more challenging to manage. For example, paying utilities or a metered hosting plan would vary monthly.

A good strategy for determining variable costs is to estimate a range. Then factor this range into your business plan.

2. Decide What Products and Services You Need to Purchase

When starting an ecommerce business, you will need a good hosting plan for your ecommerce website. There are a lot of choices to pick from. To help you decide, we've reviewed the best hosting options available.

You may also need additional services:

• Business planning software
• Business bank account
• Business credit card
• Building business credit
• Business phone line
• Accounting software
• Business formation service
• Payroll service
• SEO services
• Tax software
• Registered agent
• Business license
• Annual filing service
• Business insurance

3. Add Up All Costs

Once you know what your ecommerce business needs and know what you want to buy, you should add up all your proposed costs. This is simple math — take the price of each item and add it to the next. 

4. Manage Costs

After you make your purchases, start managing your finances with a business accounting software. 

Managing your costs will help you with future business decisions, make filing taxes easier, and improving the financial side of your business plan.

Keep Your Ecommerce Store Running Successfully

Staying on top of your ecommerce store is a lot of work. However, if you stay on top of your business and put in the effort, you can keep everything running smoothly.

Below, we've listed just a few ways that you can keep your store in tip-top shape and ensure it's always running efficiently and has the best chance of succeeding:

• Keep up with inventory : Keeping up with inventory is an important part of keeping your store running smoothly — and it's important because if something isn't there when someone tries to purchase it, then you may find yourself with an upset customer and a lost sale.
• Keep costs down: Ensuring you manage costs effectively will better help ensure you have more money coming in than going out. The old saying is: Only buy what you need!
• Focus on money producing activities: Running an online business is different from operating a forward-facing business like a brick-and-mortar boutique. For one, you’re typically working remotely where it is easy to get sidetracked and find yourself doing activities that don’t necessarily help your business.
• Keep your store clean and marketing working: Your job is to make sure your online store is clean, inviting, and fully stocked with items your customers want and need and that your marketing is working for you and not against you.
• Stick to your ecommerce business plan: There’s nothing worse than taking time to create a business plan only to never look at it again. The business plan should be something you are constantly looking at to keep you on track and focused on growing your business. Inside your plan, you may have a daily method of operation where you have listed those money producing activities you’ll do everyday to ensure your success. Let’s stick to the plan!

Main Takeaway

Starting an ecommerce business requires planning just like any other business. Start with a good plan. Ask questions that get you thinking about your business and the directions you want for it. Use a business plan template to create a business plan that works for your vision. Factor in financials, deciding what you will need to get started and then to maintain your business. Then transition over to the day-to-day operations and decide what you must do to run a nimble ecommerce business successfully. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the disadvantages of not making a business plan.

Insufficient planning can stop a company from growing. It can also cause the company to fail without any comprehensive strategy.

Things to consider:

• Without a comprehensive strategy, any marketing campaign will fail to have an impact on consumers.
• A business plan will help maintain focus on goals which are achievable and measurable.
• New problems will arise and a business plan is an important tool for assessing how to best tackle complex problems.

Who should I involve in my business plan?

The focus of a business plan is to provide a roadmap for the future of the business. It should detail what the company will do, how it will be financed, and what return on investment investors can expect.

Business plans are often written by entrepreneurs outlining their own vision for the company. But, it is important to involve other parties in the process as well. This includes investors, stakeholders, and customers. They can offer valuable insights into your product or service that you may not have considered before.

How do I know if my business plan is successful?

If you are thinking about creating a business plan, it is important to know what qualifies as a successful one. There are many different aspects of a business plan that can qualify it as successful. These aspects include the competition, the market, the financials, and more.

The best way to know whether or not you have created an effective business plan is to assess it at periodic intervals. At each benchmark, decide if you are where you want to be or not. If you are meeting or exceeding benchmarks, consider your plan successful. If you are not meeting your goals, you may need to reevaluate your business plan.

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How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan

If you’ve got an exciting concept for an e-commerce venture, it’s crucial to develop a business plan tailored to your online store. This plan will play a pivotal role in ensuring that your vision has the necessary resources to thrive and generate profits. By crafting a comprehensive business plan for your online retail operation, you can effectively pinpoint your target audience, set clear monthly and quarterly sales targets, and significantly enhance the prospects of achieving long-term success in the e-commerce industry.

As a business plan writer and consultant , I’ve authored over 15,000 business plans for various enterprises, many of which have gone on to achieve substantial growth and success. In this article, I offer insights based on my experience and expertise in creating an e-commerce business plan.

What is an ecommerce business plan?

An ecommerce business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the goals, strategies, and financial projections of an online business. It serves as a roadmap for the business, guiding entrepreneurs in making informed decisions and attracting investors.

How to Write an E-commerce Business Plan Step By Step

• Provide an executive summary.
• Business overview.
• Explain your offerings.
• Analyze the market.
• Develop your marketing strategy.
• Establish a sales plan.

l. Provide an executive summary

An executive summary serves as a succinct, one-to-two-page overview of your business, meticulously crafted to inform stakeholders about the essential elements of your comprehensive business plan. It’s a window into your business’s aspirations, strategies, and financial projections, providing a clear roadmap for decision-making and attracting potential investors.

An ecommerce business plan executive summary can look something like this:

Here’s a complete guide on how to write an effective executive summary with examples.

ll. Business overview

Business overview section beckons for meticulous attention to detail, as it showcases the very essence of your business – your product or service. It’s the stage upon which your offering takes center stage, captivating the audience with its unique value proposition and compelling features. Begin by painting a vivid overview of what you’re bringing to the market, piquing the interest of potential customers and investors alike.

A business overview of Pet Planet online store may look something like this:

Here are 14 profitable eCommerce business ideas you can start today!

lll. Explain your offerings

Having established the foundation of your business and its purpose, it’s time to embark on a deeper exploration of your plan. The spotlight now falls upon the products and services that will form the cornerstone of your venture. Begin by meticulously listing each offering, accompanied by a clear explanation of its purpose. Address the fundamental question of ‘why’ – why have you chosen to offer these specific products and services ? What unique value do they bring to the market?

Once the products and services have been comprehensively described, it’s time to illuminate the pricing model that will govern your offerings. Assign a clear cost to each service, considering factors such as production costs, market demand, and competitive pricing. Determining pricing, especially for a startup, can be a complex endeavor. Fortunately, sales pricing calculators can serve as valuable allies in identifying the optimal pricing strategy .

A explain your offerings of smart home products may look something like this:

• Business Plan Template

For your E-store business, download this ecommerce business plan template now.

lV. Analyze the market

A comprehensive market analysis serves as a compass, guiding your business through the intricate terrain of the marketplace. It begins with a deep understanding of your target audience, delving into their demographics, preferences, and purchasing behaviors. This knowledge empowers you to tailor your products, services, and marketing strategies to resonate with their needs and aspirations.

Here is how analyze the market in our ecommerce business plan.

How to Write Products and Services Section of Business Plan

Your perfect Ecommerce business plan is just a click away.

You have a great business idea. We can help you turn it into a perfect business plan..

V. Develop your marketing strategy

An ecommerce business’s marketing plan is its secret weapon, guiding it towards brand awareness, target audience reach , and enhanced sales and revenue. This plan revolves around positioning strategy, acquisition channels, and tools and technology. Positioning strategy determines how you will differentiate yourself in the market, while acquisition channels identify how your target audience discovers your business.

Finally, tools and technology harness the power of innovation to enhance your reach, automate tasks, and gain valuable insights into customer behavior. By crafting and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan , you can effectively build brand awareness, attract your target audience, and drive growth and profitability for your ecommerce venture.

How to Write the Marketing Plan in Ecommerce Business Plan?

Vl. Establish a sales plan

Importance of an ecommerce business plan.

The significance of an ecommerce business plan cannot be overstated. It plays a pivotal role in:

• Defining Your Business Goals: Clearly articulating your business objectives provides a sense of direction and ensures that your actions are aligned with your overall vision.
• Identifying Your Target Market: Understanding your target audience's needs, preferences, and behaviors is crucial for tailoring your products, services, and marketing strategies effectively.
• Developing Effective Marketing Strategies: A well-defined marketing plan outlines the strategies you will employ to reach your target audience, generate leads, and drive sales.
• Securing Funding: Investors and lenders often require a comprehensive business plan to assess the viability of your venture and the potential return on their investment.

Tips for Writing an Effective Ecommerce Business Plan

• Conduct Thorough Research: Gather comprehensive data and insights into your target market, competitors, and industry trends.
• Set Realistic Goals: Establish achievable and measurable goals that align with your business's resources and capabilities.
• Update Regularly: Review and update your business plan periodically to reflect changes in your market, strategies, or goals.
• Quantify Your Financial Projections: Back up your financial projections with sound assumptions and calculations.
• Seek Feedback: Share your business plan with trusted advisors and mentors for constructive feedback and suggestions.

Revenue projections can be determined by conducting market research, analyzing industry trends, evaluating your target market size, and considering your pricing strategy. Additionally, factors such as marketing efforts, customer acquisition rates, and competition should be taken into account.

Managing operating expenses effectively involves careful budgeting, identifying cost-saving opportunities, negotiating with suppliers, optimizing operational processes, and regularly reviewing expenses. It’s important to strike a balance between controlling costs without compromising the quality of your products or services.

Funding options for an eCommerce business may include self-funding, loans from financial institutions, angel investors, venture capital, crowdfunding platforms, or partnerships. Consider your business’s financial needs, growth plans, and potential risks when exploring funding options.

The break-even point is the point at which your total revenue matches your total expenses, resulting in neither profit nor loss. It can be calculated by dividing your fixed costs by the contribution margin (selling price per unit minus variable costs per unit). This calculation helps you determine the minimum sales volume required to cover costs.

Tracking CAC and CLV is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your marketing and sales efforts. CAC helps determine the cost of acquiring a new customer, while CLV estimates the value a customer brings to your business over their lifetime. By analyzing these metrics, you can optimize your marketing strategies and ensure that the cost of acquiring customers aligns with their long-term value.

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Ecommerce Business Plan Sample

Oct.12, 2016

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Table of Content

Ecommerce Business Plan for starting your own online store

Are you looking for startup ideas that can easily be initiated and run from home? Well, you must then consider ecommerce business as after the prevalence of coronavirus pandemic internet sales have really shot up.

E-commerce business is based on selling things through the Internet. The line of products may vary from electronic possessions such as e-books or audio/videos to actual physical entities including clothes, furniture, toys, vehicles, etc.

To guide you about each and every aspect of this business, we are providing here a sample business plan for ecommerce of a recent startup ‘TradeE’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

TradeE will be a licensed B2C ecommerce startup that will be run through its ecommerce website. The online enterprise will be owned by Diana Blunt.

The business will sell downloadable products throughout the world, however, delivery services for physical items will be provided in just three cities, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland.

2.2 Management of Online Retail Store

Management is an important aspect of business as it ensures that everybody clearly knows what they have to do and there is a check on every employee to ensure a perfect workflow.

Starting an online business usually seems easy since you don’t have to personally interact with customers and employees. However, this too can end up in a mess if you are failed at managing it.

Online management is a challenge because your ecommerce site and online transactions are always prone to hackers, frauds, and copycats. To make sure that your and your customer’s data is protected and everything goes like you intended, you must write a detailed business plan.

If you are looking for how to write a business plan for online store you can take help from here.

Diana will govern the business herself. To manage the online store , the company will be hiring social media manager, digital marketing director, virtual assistants, IT specialists, and delivery personnel.

2.3 Customers of Online Retail Store

The groups that are expected to be our major customers will mostly comprise of young, adults, and senior citizens. We believe that college students, working moms and dads, and senior members of households will surely find many things to buy from us.

2.4 Business Target

Our target is to become a renowned online store in our service areas. We believe in generating profits by serving our customers with our best.

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Diana Blunt is the owner of TradeE. She has recently completed her MBA from the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business.

During the years of her graduation, she was constantly involved in learning emerging disciplines and skills such as graphic editing and ecommerce management.

Besides being tech-savvy she is also a great communicator, leader, and tourist.

3.2 Why the online store is being started

Diana had always wished to start a business that can be expanded or contained whenever she wants. Viewing her digital skills and interests she decided to go for an online shop.

Another factor that helped her in this decision was her extreme love for traveling. She wanted to start a business that she can govern without being actually present there.

From this sample business plan ecommerce you can see how the online business TradeE was planned and executed.

3.3 How the online store will be started

Before starting the business, the company owner will do research on which product line should be chosen to get the most recognition. The company will also collaborate with other online businesses to buy their products and sell them on the company’s platform.

Since the business will mainly sell toys, clothes, bags, and accessories, a storage room will be taken on rent to keep the things.

Following the making of business plan ecommerce template, the company will hire the required personnel. TradeE will seek the services of a web developer and IT specialist to create a website that fulfills the criteria of secure transactions, foolproof client database, and copy-protected access. It will be ensured that the web design is user-friendly and descriptive.

The business owner aims at hiring the digital marketing team and director two weeks before the launch so that ecommerce business marketing plan could be executed.

Products and Offers

Deciding your line of products is the most important part of your startup as it depends on your surroundings, budget, and target customers as well. Rather than being just fashion ecommerce or specifically jewelry ecommerce TradeE has decided to introduce itself as a multiple product line company.

The large range of products offerings by TradeE includes:

Clothes: We will provide all departments of garments for men, women, and children ranging from casual dresses, suits, daily wears to sports & swimming outfits. All the dresses, shirts, T-shirts and suits offered by us will be branded and designer-made.

Bags & Accessories : We will offer branded bags and clutches and a range of accessories including wristwatches, jewelry items, hats, sunglasses, keyrings, mobile covers, socks, gloves, umbrellas, hair accessories, and stationery.

Household Items : We will offer small household items such as home linens, baking dishes, baby items, and kitchen essentials.

Gifts: We will also provide packed as well as un-packed gifts to be given to people of all age groups.

Downloadable Products: We will also be selling e-books, audio and video files, games, movies, stock images, etc.

Marketing Analysis of Online Retail Store

If you are planning e commerce business you must not ignore the fact that market analysis is equally important like all other aspects of a business. Before setting out for a new ecommerce venture, you must analyze where and how you can find the most people to turn into your customers.

Especially if your online business is based on physical products you must figure out which areas for delivery services will be suitable and which cities can help you in getting a maximum number of customers.

Analyzing and discovering your target people is also essential in the case when you are making decisions about social media campaigns. Your approach to promote your startup can only be effective if you know the age groups and the mindset of your target customers.

5.1 Market Trends

Ecommerce businesses are flourishing day by day because people found it convenient to have their favorite thing in their hands by a mere click. Another reason for increased sales is that many people avoid visiting shops personally after the pandemic has hit the earth.

The figures reported by IBISWorld supports the fact that one can’t be at a loss if they devise a comprehensive and workable ecommerce project plan before starting. According to the market research company, 234,699 online businesses are successfully running in the United States. A 10.2% growth rate in the ecommerce businesses has been observed in the past five years and a 6.9% growth rate has been predicted for this year that is 2020.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

TradeE has categorized its target customers into three groups so that their corresponding choices, preferences, and needs could be thoroughly studied. It is advisable to also classify your intended clientele when you are writing a business plan for ecommerce startup.

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Young & Adults: Our major target group will comprise of young people. They are expected to avail most of our downloadable products such as e-books, music, games. Moreover, we also believe them to be the biggest buyers of our clothes, bags, and accessories.

In addition, moms, the homemakers are also included in this category. Thus, we are confident that the major customer of our home items such as house linens and eating utensils will also be catered for in this category.

5.2.2 Senior Citizens: Our second target group comprises of senior citizens. They are expected to avail all of our services. The elderly persons will also purchase household items as they usually are devoted to homemaking.

Moreover, we expect this respectable category of our customers to be the biggest purchaser of our gifts, as grandpas and grandmas are the ones who want to make kids and grandkids feel special on various events.

5.2.3 Teens & Kids: Our third target group is comprised of children and teens. They are expected to purchase accessories such as wristwatches, mobile covers, stationery, and jewelry items. We also think that they could be the major consumers of our audio and video files and games.

5.3 Business Target

Business targets as specified by TradeE to be achieved over a certain period of time are given here:

• To maintain an average rating above 4.65 throughout the year
• To increase our marketing qualified lead by 30% every four months
• To improve our lead conversion rate by 10% every month
• To reduce the time we take for delivering items by 15% by the first six months
• To earn a net profit margin of $10k per month by the end of the first six months
• To achieve customer repeat rate of 40% by the end of the first year

5.4 Product Pricing

Our prices are in similar ranges as those of our competitors. However, we will keep on providing several discounts to our repeat customers.

Marketing Strategy

If you are going to start any ecommerce company such as an online boutique you must focus on your marketing plan because that’s what makes an ecommerce site successful.

Without a detailed and perfect marketing strategy, it would be very difficult for you to reach out to people who are most likely to purchase your products.

Considering its importance, TradeE will start executing its sales strategy plan two weeks before the launch.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Our biggest competitive advantage is that we are providing a very vast product line so to increase the niches of our target groups. All our products will be authentic, and replaceable within 2 days. Moreover, we’ll be offering several discounts in the startup phase to attract more and more customers.

And finally, another thing that will be in our favor is that we will be able to deliver items fast as we are offering delivery services in the three cities that are really close to each other.

6.2 Sales Strategy

• We’ll run a campaign through social media & ensure a strong web and social media presence
• We’ll advertise our startup through local newspapers
• We’ll send gifts to our first 200 customers
• We’ll offer a 15% discount on every shopping above $60 for the first three months

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 sales yearly, 6.5 sales forecast, personnel plan.

Your planning for electronic commerce couldn’t be justified as ideal unless you include in it the ways you will adopt to hire the most competent persons.

Since most of the employees of TradeE will be freelance workers, the company will conduct rigorous online interviews to find the most suitable employee.

7.1 Company Staff

The company’s owner will perform the duties of CEO and HR Manager. The list of company’s required staff, as well as their jobs descriptions, is given below:

• 1 Co-Manager to manage company’s store and delivery operations
• 1 Digital Marketing Officer to manage company’s graphic team
• 1 Social Media Manager to run company’s web pages and social media pages
• 2 IT specialists/Web Developers to maintain and update company’s website
• 1 Graphic Designer to create graphic for company’s site
• 1 Content Writer to write products description and general content for website
• 10 Drivers to ensure quick delivery
• 1 Customer Care Representative to manage client’s requests

7.2 Average Salary of Employees

Financial plan.

One of the biggest advantages of online businesses is that even if you starting an ecommerce business from scratch you won’t need a huge amount to invest. Your major spending will be the salaries of your employees and rent of your storeroom.

So in order to analyze expected profits or future investments and identify the resources that are available or could be needed in the coming days, you must prepare a financial plan.

Your financial plan should also include the details of at what financial status you would prefer to contain or expand your product line or service area.

The financial plan for TradeE is given as follows:

8.1 Important Assumptions

8.2 brake-even analysis, 8.3 projected profit and loss, 8.3.1 profit monthly, 8.3.2 profit yearly, 8.3.3 gross margin monthly, 8.3.4 gross margin yearly, 8.4 projected cash flow, 8.5 projected balance sheet, 8.6 business ratios.

Download Ecommerce Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGS capital professional writers specialized also in themes such as quality retail business plan, stationery business ideas , corner store business plan , unique retail business plans , pharmacy business plans , underwear line business plan and many others.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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