If you are an online store owner, you’d have a million questions on how to to go about setting up a successful online store and get it running. And it always pays to draw insights from experts.
We spoke with Sebastian Hamann who is a passionate designer and a pioneer in bringing more emotional shopping to German eCommerce.
He founded Shopware at the age of 15, along with his brother, and as the creative head of the company, Sebastian spilled the beans on what new online store owners should do in order to shape the future of retail.
What inspired you to start Shopware? Tell us the story.
At the tender age of 16, my brother Stefan founded Hamann-Media GmbH as a classic internet agency. After the firm was founded, I, at the age of 15, joined him and our different skills formed a strong symbiosis of technology and design.
In 2003 we received an order from www.arktis.de to develop an individual shop system.
The solutions on the market at that time were both technologically and visually inadequate at that time, so we developed a shop system that set new standards in technology and design terms.
We then made the decision to market the system as a standard product – and Shopware was born.
What are some major changes taking place in the eCommerce industry and how can first-time sellers be prepared for it?
People evolve and change their behavior. It’s the same people that decide which products stand the test of time. In a world of rapidly increasing complexity, simple solutions for complex problems point the way to success.
That’s why it’s important for first-time sellers to use software that gives them more flexibility and opportunities for growth on different levels, whilst simultaneously reducing complexity as much as possible.
If a store owner was only able to focus on 1 aspect of their website in order to boost sales, what would it be and why?
Availability. The location of the customer touchpoint will no longer be of major importance in the future, so a store owner has to effectively reach their customers wherever they prefer shopping.
What resources would you recommend for someone focused on improving conversions on their eCommerce site?
Transform online shopping into an experience to remember. Design your shop to rouse the emotional component of online shopping, increase customer involvement with your brand, motivate interest for buying and secure your competitive edge – your customers will remember how your shop made them feel.
What are your future plans for Shopware?
In 2020, we will focus on our new solution, Shopware 6. Shopware 6 is built on an entirely new technical basis and has been developed from scratch following an approach that allows the implementation of any conceivable form of an eCommerce project.
Focussing on maximum freedom through automation and networking, Shopware has effectively evolved from a “shop system” to a comprehensive “eCommerce system”.
We want to provide retailers with a platform that acts as a technological hotbed for diverse business strategies and open up previously untapped growth opportunities.
