The 5 best e-commerce sites for retailers

Best e-commerce websites logo images.

The best e-commerce sites for retailers will vary by your industry. But there are some big names which you should really consider if you’re trying to sell more products online…

And, in today’s world, you really should be:

You no longer need a real brick and mortar store to sell your products.

Online selling platforms like these are letting franchisees, franchise owners and small business owners grow their businesses and reach more customers on top of – or without having – an actual store:

1) Amazon

No e-commerce website list these days would be complete without Amazon.

Jeff Bezos’s mammoth company might be getting a lot of bad news headlines in 2019 about the amount of taxes it manages to not pay.

But it is also one of the go-to places for the modern online consumer. Perhaps half of all online retail sales go through Amazon.

If you’re not on Amazon as a retailer, you should definitely think about having a presence there.

2) eBay

It may once have been a name more associated with sellers of unwanted junk rather than being one of the best online shopping websites.

These days, however, eBay is a solid choice if you are looking for an online sales platform as a retailer. There are a huge number of large, reputable businesses selling their goods via eBay.

You can create your own branded custom eBay storefront very easily. Do make sure you understand and choose the best way to pay fees for your type and scope of business though. There sure are quite a few of them.

3) Etsy

Different e-commerce websites focus on different things. Etsy has something of a market niche. It’s aimed primarily at individuals and businesses selling handcrafted or handmade items and artwork.

If this sounds like your sort of business, an Etsy store is almost certainly a good idea.

The downside is that there are fees to list each item – and you don’t get these back if it doesn’t sell. There are also transaction and processing fees.

4) Shopify

Shopify might come in at the head of many top 10 lists of e-commerce websites.

Its numbers are certainly impressive. Plus, it tends to be on the more affordable end of the spectrum as far as fees are concerned. While it’s not free, there are at least a few different levels of entry to choose from.

5) Create your own

Although all of the must-consider online sales platforms in this list are big household names these days, they didn’t start off that way…

Amazon was an online used book store. eBay had a distinct “90s phase” before it really became the global titan it is today.

Plus, e-commerce website design is no longer as expensive as it used to be. There are many companies which provide these kinds of services.

Best of all – you don’t need to give any of these massive online sales platforms a slice of your own pie in the form of fees.

You will need to:

1. Promote and market your website properly.

2. Arrange the logistics so that they work smoothly – and, ideally, with minimal input from you.

But, for many companies, it might be worth it. Whether you are making it your main store

– or an additional channel on top of your presence on one or more of the larger platforms

– is down to you.

One of the best e-commerce sites for retailers might just be your own.