Do you have a physical store and want to open an e-commerce site? Wait, first consider these 6 key points.
- Redazione
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
It all started with a one-star review on Google. Not from a disgruntled customer, but from a business owner we turned down.
He wanted to promote an e-commerce site for herbal medicine: we explained to him that it wasn't sustainable. The next day, a star.
But the truth is this: not all stores can (or should) sell online.
And an agency's job isn't to sell you a service, but to help you understand whether it makes sense to do it.
In recent years, many retailers have approached digital with the belief: “If I sell well in my store, I will also sell online.”
But digital isn't a natural extension of the store. It's a market with different rules, margins, and logic .
Before opening an e-commerce site, there are 5 aspects to honestly evaluate, plus one final one, which often completely changes the perspective.
Summary
Margin: Math Before Marketing
At the point of sale, customer acquisition costs are fixed: rent, staff, window display.
Online, however, each sale has a variable cost , because you “buy” each customer with advertising, platforms and logistics.
The real formula to know:
Online Net Margin = Selling Price – (Product Cost + Shipping + Platform Fee + Average Return Cost + Average Advertising Cost per Sale)
Where:
Platform fee: 2–3% of the price (Stripe, PayPal, marketplace)
Shipping: €6–12 per order
Average return: 10–20% of product value (especially fashion and furniture)
Average advertising cost (CAC): €15–60, with higher peaks in competitive sectors
💡 Basic rule: Average cart should be at least 4–5 times CAC , and gross margin should not fall below 50% .
If you sell products with low margins or high logistical burdens (such as cosmetics, supplements, or herbal products), the model is unlikely to hold up. Marketing doesn't solve a flawed economic equation.
An e-commerce site is not a digital showcase, but a business model in itself : if the numbers don't add up, no campaign will be able to save it.
Purchase path: in the store they buy you , not just the product
In your store, customers trust you . Your advice, the way you listen, the time you dedicate. They don't buy a product, they buy your experience .
Online, that trust doesn't exist from the start. The user arrives, looks, evaluates, and decides in less than eight seconds. They can't hear the tone of your voice or be guided by your advice. Their objections go unexpressed: they translate into silent abandonment.
Offline vs. online
This difference is crucial: online, trust must be artificially rebuilt with content, reviews, storytelling, and social proof. A sequence is needed: make yourself known, make yourself understood, make yourself remembered. Only then, make yourself chosen.
Effective e-commerce doesn't replace the seller: it replicates their method , with different tools. Are you willing to create this wealth of content?
Differentiation: If you're not unique, you're invisible.
In the physical market you can survive thanks to location, relationships, and word of mouth.
In digital, however, position does not exist : what matters is the reason why someone should choose you over someone else.
If you sell a product similar to one found on Amazon, at the same price, the one with the most reviews and free next-day shipping wins. And if your product is undifferentiated, customers have no reason to discover your site.
How to understand it in practice
Search for your product on Google . If dozens of identical alternatives appear, you're in a saturated category.
Check Amazon : who dominates the results? What reviews do they have?
Analyze vertical marketplaces (Etsy, ManoMano, Tannico, etc.): if there are strong players, ask yourself what unique value you can offer.
If you can't clearly answer the question "why should they buy from me?", e-commerce risks being just a useless duplication of the market.
How to truly differentiate yourself
Make your service unique. Personalization, packaging, customer care, and consulting.
Create a proprietary narrative. How you select or produce your products is your added value.
Specialize. A micro-positioning (e.g., organic herbalist for athletes, not "generic herbalist") is worth more than a thousand SKUs.
In digital, simply being there isn't enough: you need a clear reason to exist .
Brands: Algorithmic Trust (and the Cost of Anonymity)
In the store, trust is personal. Online, it's algorithmic : it's not just what you sell that matters, but how trustworthy you are by people and search engines.
How it really works
Google and advertising platforms don't "see" the quality of your product. They measure authority, consistency, and online reputation through:
quotes and links from external sites,
Google reviews and third-party portals,
brand mentions in content,
real engagement on social media,
naming and domain consistency.
Those who accumulate coherent signals are rewarded in SEO, Ads and generative AI . Those who don't have them... simply don't exist .
Why it matters economically
A well-known brand converts at an average rate 3–5 times higher than an unknown one. And it has a CAC (acquisition cost) up to 60% lower , because trust pre-exists the click. An anonymous e-commerce site, on the other hand, must:
pay more for each user,
discount to convince,
wait months before getting credible reviews.
👉 In practice, the brand is the sum of the money you no longer have to spend on advertising .
What is needed today
solid SEO and authoritative content;
Digital PR and real-world collaborations;
brand awareness campaigns, not just sales;
public reviews and case studies.
Branding isn't just aesthetics: it's a conversion asset . And without it, every click costs twice as much. Do you have this budget?
Logistics: The hidden cost that can destroy margins
Every online sale triggers a chain of invisible costs which, when added together, often completely erode the margin .
The four voices that change everything
Shipping: €6–€12 for an average order (up to €15 for food or furniture).
Returns: between 10% and 40% of orders — fashion 30–40%, beauty 15–25%.
Customer care: 1 hour for every 15–20 orders, equivalent to an average cost of €20–25.
Delivery errors and breakages: 1–2% of orders, with direct and reputational impact.
Combined effect
Example: €60 product with €25 gross margin.
Shipping: -€8
Platform fee: -2€
average return (20%): -€5
Customer care: -3€
👉 Real margin: €7 . And if the average CAC is €15, you're losing €8 per sale.
This is why many e-commerce businesses close down even though they “sell a lot”.
How to make it sustainable
Raise your medium cart (free shipping above threshold).
Automate logistics and customer care .
Centralize the warehouse.
Reduce returns with clear product descriptions and realistic photos .
Logistics is not a detail: it is the margin that disappears if you don't control it .
Reality check: the numbers (that agencies don't say)
According to the Netcomm 2024 Observatory :
78% of Italian e-commerce turnover is generated by large marketplaces (Amazon, Zalando, Unieuro, etc.) ;
only 6% come from SMEs with fewer than 10 employees;
the average conversion rate is 1.5% (1 order every 67 visits).
the average cost per online sale, including ads and fees, is €67 .
Margins by sector (source: Casaleggio Associati)
The net margin after advertising and logistics often drops below 10% . Only those with high volumes or a solid brand remain profitable.
The demographic factor
Italy has:
average age 46.5 years ,
only 55% of the population makes regular online purchases,
over 35% are over 55 and have little confidence in digital payments.
👉 So the real potential market is much smaller than it appears in the reports.
And exports?
Yes, but:
shipping +50/70%,
multilingual customer care,
marketplace fees up to 20%
Many start exporting and realize that each international sale costs more than a domestic one .
E-commerce isn't an extension of a store, but an industrial model: it requires processes, data, and structure, not just a website.
Bonus – The right goal: using digital to grow your body
The most useful question is not “how do I open an e-commerce site” , but “what role should digital have in my business model?”
In many cases, the answer is not to “sell online,” but to use digital to make offline work better :
make the shop and products known,
collect contacts and build customer loyalty,
manage reservations or requests for advice,
create communities and content that strengthen the brand.
A well-built website, an email marketing system and a targeted advertising strategy can double your offline sales , without the costs and risks of a full e-commerce.
It's the logic of the Connection Funnel : understanding where the customer is in their purchasing journey and using digital tools to accompany them, not force them.
Digital shouldn't replace the physical: it should amplify it.
In summary
Opening an e-commerce site isn't a modern gesture, but an economic and strategic decision . Before investing, ask yourself if you have :
sustainable margins,
a differentiated product,
a recognizable brand,
solid logistics,
an integrated strategy.
If the answer is “no,” it’s not a failure, it’s awareness.
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