An online store is both a customer experience and an operating system. Discovery should connect those two realities before design begins.
Understand the catalogue
Document product types, variations, availability, pricing rules and the information customers use to compare options. Catalogue structure shapes navigation, search and product-page design.
Map the purchase journey
Clarify how customers discover, evaluate, pay for and receive products. Payment, shipping, tax and account requirements should be understood as one connected journey rather than separate plugins.
Design for the operating team
Record who updates products, handles orders, responds to customers and reviews performance. The management experience needs as much practical attention as the storefront.
Plan launch and handover
Define test scenarios, content responsibilities, access ownership and the support required after launch. A store is ready when both customers and the internal team can use it confidently.
Turn the points above into a short decision document your stakeholders can review before scope, design or implementation begins.