Many shops already sell online without calling it that. Customers send a photo on WhatsApp, the shop replies with a price, the customer pays by UPI and a delivery boy takes the parcel. An online store does the same job in a more organised way: customers see products and prices, choose, pay and get an order number, any time of day.
For a saree shop in Kanchipuram, a spice seller in Kochi or a stationery shop in Pune, an online store can bring customers from outside the neighbourhood. It also brings new work: photos, packing, delivery, returns and rules to follow.
01Own store or marketplace
There are two main ways to sell online:
- Marketplaces,
- such as the large shopping apps, bring buyers but charge commission and fees, set many of the rules, and own the customer relationship.
- Your own store,
- on your own web address, keeps the customer relationship and the margin, but you have to bring the visitors yourself.
Many businesses do both. A store of your own is where repeat customers, WhatsApp customers and people who find you on Google can buy directly.
02Start small
Do not put 3,000 items online on day one. Start with:
- Your 30 to 100 top sellers,
- items that sell steadily and are easy to ship
- Items you always have in stock,
- so you are not cancelling orders
- Items that travel well
- sarees, spices, books, hardware fittings. Glass, large furniture and perishables are harder.
03Products, photos and descriptions
For each product:
- Clear photos
- on a plain background, from two or three angles, in good daylight
- A plain description
- size, material, colour, weight, what is in the box
- The price including GST,
- as customers expect
- Stock status,
- so you are not selling what you do not have
A phone camera and a white sheet are enough to start.
04Delivery
Decide where you will deliver and what it costs.
- Local delivery
- by your own staff for nearby pincodes, often free above an order value.
- Courier
- for farther pincodes, with a charge based on distance or weight.
- Pickup from the shop
- for local customers.
Set delivery charges by pincode so that customers see the cost before they pay. A Jaipur handicraft shop might deliver free within Jaipur above ₹999, charge ₹80 elsewhere in Rajasthan and ₹150 in the rest of India.
Build delivery and packing cost into your pricing. A free delivery on a ₹400 order can wipe out the margin. See pricing and margins.
05Policies you must show
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 apply to businesses that sell goods or services online. As of October 2026, an online seller should clearly show:
- Your legal name, address and contact details
- Return, refund and exchange policy,
- including time limits and who pays for return shipping
- Shipping and delivery policy
- where you deliver, how long it takes, what it costs
- Terms of sale
- and a privacy policy
- Grievance officer
- name and contact
Under the E-Commerce Rules, a complaint should be acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within one month. The government has notified amendments to the E-Commerce Rules that take effect on 1 January 2027, so check the current rules with your lawyer or CA before you launch.
06Payments
Offer UPI and cards through a payment gateway, and decide whether to offer cash on delivery. Cash on delivery increases orders, but it also increases returns and refused parcels, which cost you two-way shipping. Many small sellers offer it only above a minimum value or only for repeat customers. See UPI payments for business.
07Customer data
Your online store collects names, phone numbers and addresses. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, use them for the order and the purposes you told the customer about, keep them secure, and let customers ask for correction or deletion. See the DPDP Act for small business.
08GST and online sales
Online sales are taxed like any other sale. If you sell through a marketplace, the marketplace collects tax at source and reports your sales, and the GST registration rules for sellers on marketplaces differ from those for your own store. Ask your CA what applies to you before you start, especially if you plan to ship to other states.
09Running it day to day
- Check orders twice a day,
- morning and afternoon.
- Pack and dispatch within one working day
- Send the tracking details
- to the customer.
- Update stock
- when items sell in the shop, so the store does not sell what is gone.
- Answer questions quickly
- An online customer who waits a day may buy elsewhere.
10The numbers to watch
Track a few figures every week for the first six months:
- Orders and average order value
- Conversion
- orders as a share of visitors, if your store shows visitor numbers
- Returns and cancellations
- as a share of orders
- Delivery cost per order,
- against what customers paid for delivery
- Repeat customers
- how many order a second time within 90 days
Say a Kochi spice seller works out that orders under ₹500 lose money once packing and courier are counted. A minimum order of ₹500, with free delivery above ₹999, protects the margin and nudges customers to add an item or two.
11For larger businesses
A brand with several shops can show stock across locations and send orders from the nearest one. Keep online and shop prices consistent, or explain the difference. Track online sales, returns and delivery costs separately for a few months to see whether the channel makes money.
In MatruOS, you can switch on an online store with policy pages, a cart and checkout, and delivery charges set by pincode.