Finance for e-commerce businesses
Growth in online retail consumes cash: inventory and advertising both have to be paid for well before the revenue they generate arrives.
Request a callback- Commonly funded
- Inventory, ad spend, fulfilment
- Typical facilities
- Revenue-based and stock funding
- Lender focus
- Platform data and margins
This page describes what businesses in this sector typically fund and what lenders generally look for. It is not a recommendation, and what is available to you depends on your own circumstances.
About e-commerce
Online retailers face a version of the retail cash cycle with the difficulty turned up. Inventory must be bought — often from overseas, often paid up front — and advertising has to be funded before it produces a single sale. A business growing quickly can be profitable on paper and permanently short of cash.
There is usually no property and little equipment to offer as security, so lending here leans on data instead. Platform and payment processor records give funders a clear, verifiable view of sales, refunds and growth, and several lenders now underwrite primarily from exactly that.
What online retailers fund
- Inventory purchases, including deposits on overseas manufacturing runs.
- Advertising and customer acquisition spend ahead of a peak season.
- Warehouse racking, packing benches and fulfilment equipment.
- Photography, content production and website development.
- Import duties, freight costs and customs charges.
- Expansion into new marketplaces or territories.
What lenders assess
- Sales history from your platform and payment processor, usually connected directly.
- Gross margin after advertising, shipping and returns — not the headline margin.
- Return rates, which vary enormously by category and materially affect the numbers.
- Customer concentration if a single marketplace dominates your revenue.
- Inventory turn, and how much capital is sitting in slow-moving lines.
Frequently asked
Can I get funding with no assets and no property?
Yes. Revenue-based facilities and inventory funding are designed for exactly this position, underwritten from trading data rather than security. Expect a personal guarantee, which is close to universal at this end of the market.
How do lenders verify my sales?
Usually by connecting directly to your sales platform or payment processor with your permission, giving them a live view rather than a spreadsheet. It speeds decisions considerably and generally works in the favour of a genuinely growing business.
You might also want
Tell us what your business does
We will tell you which funders lend into your industry, and roughly what they are likely to say.
