Have you always dreamed of setting up a new business on social media from home? You may want to market cosmetics and beauty products. Or you might already be selling products on your social media and thinking, ‘Is it legal to sell online in the UAE?’ Dubai has focused on being the leading e-commerce centre and has initiated new schemes and projects to foster economic growth. One such scheme was the e-commerce license in Dubai, introduced in 2017, which supports home-based entrepreneurs on social media.
E-Commerce Business in the UAE
Online selling is what almost all of the businesses are concentrating on these days. Many people often use online sites to offer their services, and online purchases are not limited to goods/products only. In order to be competitive in online sales, you need to consider from the customer’s point of view, so delivering or specifying the product to the customer’s specifications would bring success. According to a joint report by Dubai Economy and Visa, e-commerce transactions are expected to rise by 23 percent on average annually between 2019 and 2022. E-commerce penetration in the UAE is not only higher than the MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) country average of 1.9 percent and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) average of 3 percent of the overall revenue.
To simply put, e-commerce is a marketplace where the vendor and the consumer make an offer directly in exchange for a fixed or adjustable fee to an e-commerce supplier. In essence, the idea of e-commerce is subtly different – you’re selling the goods you own.
E-Commerce License
The e-commerce license in Dubai has been launched by the Department of Economic Development (DED) and is targeted at home-based entrepreneurs doing business on social media. The e-commerce license could make it easier for people or companies to market their services and goods on social media. This would also strengthen the confidence of consumers as they buy online. The announcement of DED’s e-commerce license was followed by attempts to clamp down on illegal and counterfeit goods sold on social media sites such as Instagram. The object of the license is to control the selling of goods and services via social media in Dubai.
Why Sell Cosmetics Online?
The emergence of the e-commerce market has helped independent online retailers to flourish, with social media sites giving individuals the chance to expand their beauty business and build their brand name. Three key drivers helped the emergence of the beauty industry within e-commerce and made selling makeup online an attractive venture.
The first driver is technology. Rapid technological developments have helped companies to connect and engage consumers in interesting new ways, and smaller businesses are able to make use of this to flourish like never before. For example, with shoppable content on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, you don’t need a big sales budget.
Social media is the second and most powerful driver. Social media networks help you to build a distinctive brand identity, reach out to new customers and markets, and expand your impact. Essentially, it forced companies to step away from conventional marketing models and encouraged them to adopt a new form of social marketing.
The third driver is Interactive Digital Content. Technological advances and the growing power of social media have drastically altered the way cosmetics companies sell their products. More focus is also being placed on content – such as web reviews, blogs, vlogs, and video guides – as a way of marketing the product. And because e-commerce technologies have evolved, it’s easier than ever to go from seeing a product marketed online to make an order. What it takes are a few taps/clicks.
Tips for Selling Cosmetic Products Online
Now that you understand what it takes to start selling beauty products online, we thought we’d give you a few tips to help make your business a success.
- Know Your Product Inside Out
To effectively sell makeup and skincare online, you need to know what you need to know about your products. Customers will come to you for accurate product information; you will have to give them the best responses to win their confidence and attract potential purchases. As a consequence, you should know what goes into your goods, where they are manufactured and how to use them.
- Always Consider Your Audience
If there is one piece of advice that applies to companies of all shapes and sizes, it is ‘Know Your Client.’ This will decide what goods you store, the channels you use to communicate with consumers and how you advertise your business. If you don’t grasp your target market and forget to understand your audience while making critical decisions, you can miss attention and guidance and lose customers easily.
- Check Out the Competition
Keep telling yourself that you’re up against other businesses. Customers are continually making distinctions between sellers, and they will weigh up choices before parting with their hard-earned cash. It’s your responsibility to persuade them to purchase your goods instead from someone else. You’ll need to scope out the rivalry to do this.
Beauty forums and Facebook groups are perfect ways to find out what the rivals are up to, and to see how users communicate with them. Look at the questions the consumers are posing and the brands they list on these pages to get a more accurate view of the competitive environment. Learn from your rivals, and you will improve your business; disregard them, and you will end up making the same mistakes.
- Keep Tabs on the Latest Beauty Trends
As an online store, you need to stay up to date on the new beauty trends. Not only does this ensure that your business remains relevant; it also helps you to take advantage of new trends before rivals hop on the bandwagon to saturate the market. This is especially important if you’re engaging in social sales when you’re using online advertising to draw buyers, establish connections, and generate sales. If your content is out of date, you will draw less traffic, and your profit margin will suffer.
- Make an Inventory
It is necessary to make a detailed inventory of your stock. This will help you to track and handle orders, so you won’t be advertising out of stock products and frustrating customers. Inventory will also let you know what’s doing well and what’s not, and you’ll be able to highlight new trends as they arise.
Why the UAE is the Right Place for Selling Cosmetics Online
The UAE is one of those countries with more than 150 different nationalities residing as citizens, of different cultures and varied histories. So, there might be different ways to sell goods from all these countries here in the UAE. The government of UAE has set up a number of free trade zones, innovative zones to promote e-commerce, marketing and consulting industry in the region. And without a tax policy, it makes online business more favourable. If you are new to online retail and new to the market, it would be advisable to go with the popular e-commerce websites that are already developed in the UAE. Such websites allow the new company to display a whole variety of items on a single platform. Displaying your products on well-established e-commerce platforms not only helps to sell your goods but also to promote and market your brand.
Riz and Mona Consultancy
There is no questioning that creating your own online beauty business is a challenge. However, it is also incredibly satisfying and, if done properly, also profitable. To overcome the obstacles you face, it’s a smart idea to seek advice and support from our advisors at Riz and Mona Consultancy. The knowledge and experience you will gain are invaluable, particularly if you are new to the industry. Book your appointment today and start your own online cosmetic business!
