How to Select the Best E-Commerce Software for Your Business
E-commerce software is the engine behind an online store as it helps a business manager to handle several processes such as order and customer management, calculating taxes, setting up and processing online payments, managing inventory, product listing etc.
In addition to using ecommerce solutions, you can list your products and services on an external site for promotional purposes. Usually these sites are well known, control a lot of traffic and could be a great way to gradually begin to grow your business online. Managing an online store could prove a herculean task, but the ecommerce software makes it a lot easier.
The online store is made up of so many complex components and functionalities, which the ecommerce software simplifies with a user-friendly interface that non-technical personnel can operate easily. This system can also be integrated with third-party business tools and services such as customer relationship management systems (CRMS), enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), payment gateway services, digital marketing systems, to name a few.
The ecommerce industry is fast becoming one of the largest business industries because of the huge amount of revenue generated from online sales. The worldwide internet sales from online stores is projected to amount to 4 trillion USD by 2020.
More than ever before, consumers are opting to make purchases online rather than go to an actual store. In fact, statistics show that more than 50% of buyers prefer to patronize online stores as opposed to buying from physical stores. Although ecommerce solutions can handle most of the tasks involved in successfully running an online store, it often integrates with other services and applications to help with some important processes.
With large features and functionality combined with strong integration capabilities, ecommerce software is used to simplify marketing, improve consumer experience, manage products and inventory and automate product shipping.
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
What are E-Commerce Software
E-Commerce Software manages a customer's order from product selection, to payment, to checkout and delivery. E-Commerce platform that gives business insight to engage customers in a singular commerce platform that unifies channels and interactions.
Digital Commerce Platform helps businesses to manage and maximize Selling Opportunities across Multiple Channels. Digital Commerce Platform is a type of e-commerce used by an organization that delivers and sells products online. Digital Commerce Platform is a software application that allows online businesses to manage their website, sales, and operations.
What are E-Commerce Software
E-Commerce is the activity of buying or selling of products and services online or over the internet. Electronic commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing.
E-commerce may take place on retailers Web sites or mobile apps, or those of e-commerce marketplaces such as on Amazon or AliBaba. Those channels may also be supported by conversational commerce, such as live chat or chatbots on Web sites. Conversational commerce may also be standalone such as live chat or chatbots on messaging apps and via voice assistants.
The importance of an e-commerce software is highlighted by its many features. The e-commerce software is built with a wide range of features and functionalities that support all the aspects of the internet selling. Some of its important features include centralized database, automation, website builder, search feature, Third-party software integration, Analytics and reporting, advanced marketing tools, Sales order management system, Inventory management system, Easy to use shopping cart, secure payment platform, Online support, search engine optimization capabilities, Upselling and Cross selling features.
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
- Upselling Features: The upselling feature allows you to suggest to a customer, a product with greater value to the one they are currently assessing for purchase.
- Cross-Selling Features: This is the feature that allows you to recommend to a customer, a product that is complementary to the one they are currently evaluating.
- Secure payment platform: E-commerce systems are developed to process internet payments; The ecommerce system could have an inbuilt payment platform or customers are redirected to an external payment gateway service that is secure
- Search Feature: The E-commerce software features advanced search abilities that allows your customers to search for goods and services of their choice.
- Flexibility: One important functionality of an e-commerce software is the ability to add new product listings with product descriptions, customer reviews and feature listings.
- Centralized Database: E-commerce software completely eliminates the need to integrate with other database systems as important business data such as inventory, order and browsing histories, payment status is hosted on a single, centralized system.
- Third-party Software Integration: To ensure efficient business transactions, ecommerce systems often integrate with other systems such as connecting with and external payment gateway to facilitate payments.
- Analytics and reporting: Most ecommerce systems have comprehensive reporting systems that provide important reports on customers buying habits, referrals, links, clickstreams that allows you identify the most effective way boost leads conversion
- Automation: Online selling processes such as checkout, pricing, upselling and cross-selling are automated to provide customers with a fast and efficient shopping experience.
- Inventory Management system: This important feature allows you to monitor and manage your stock inventory in real time.
- Sales order management system: The sales order management system allows you to manage sales and effectively review quotations, this system also helps to save expenses by reducing credit card fraud.
- Search engine optimization capabilities: Ecommerce tools often feature search engine optimization capabilities that allows you to optimize key website metrics to improve your visibility on the internet.
- Advanced marketing tools: Many Ecommerce Software features marketing capabilities that provides you with a wide range of promotion tools that makes your site more visible to potential buyers.
- Easy to use shopping cart: This is an important feature of any ecommerce system that allows you to add and remove products they hope to purchase
- Website Builder: IF you do not previously have an online store, an e-commerce system allows you to build one for your business from scratch. It is also equipped with various website templates to assist you with the process.
- Financial Integration: Ecommerce systems allows you to monitor and manage the accounts of your business in real time. Information monitored with this feature includes credit, payment data and sales.
- Feedback system: this feature allows you to access and manage customers inquiries, feedbacks and complaints are they are very important in any business
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
What are the Benefits of E-Commerce Software
The ecommerce software is fast becoming very important tool in retail and wholesale businesses alike, because of its usefulness in different areas of business. Some of the primary benefits attached to the use of an ecommerce system include:
What are the Benefits of E-Commerce Software
- Easy Payment Solutions: After setting up your online store and installing a payment gateway, it becomes extremely easy for customers to pay for goods and services purchased in the comfort of their homes.
- Increased Customer base: the ecommerce software allows you attract new customers with search engine marketing and optimization features. The digital marketing features of the ecommerce software redirects potential customers to your store.
- Reduced Inventory Management Cost: You can save significant cost on operations, by automating your inventory management systems with ecommerce solutions.
- Monitoring Consumers Buying Habits: You can easily monitor a consumer buying habit with an ecommerce system, this way you can tailor their offer suit to customer needs and ensure a lasting relationship with them.
- All-day access: This is one of the most important benefits of an ecommerce system, it ensures that consumers have access to your online store 24/7. With an ecommerce system you can improve sales by increasing the number of orders received.
- Broader Marketing and Advertising Reach: Ecommerce solutions have the most sophisticated digital marketing strategies that allows you to get across to a larger audience
- Increased Business Revenues: Easy payment solutions, increased database, better marketing and advertisement all lead to more sales, which means more revenue for your business.
- Improved Customer Service: Ecommerce tools deliver the most convenient and pleasing customer care service to consumers. Many times, the customer care agent is usually an intelligent agent built to communicate and proffer shopping solutions to customers.
- Improved Efficiency: The centralized system of the ecommerce software allows you conduct your business operations with improved efficiency. Operations such as categorization, pricing, tagging, and calculating expenses can be performed effectively.
- Help and support services: Most of the companies that develop ecommerce systems offer flawless help and support services to their customers in case they experience any complications in using the software.
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
What are the Types of E-Commerce Software
Ecommerce solutions are always classified based on the way they are deployed for use and there are two common classifications of ecommerce tools. They are:
- Open Source Ecommerce Software: Open Source ecommerce software has the source code available and these are adopted by online sellers because they allowed for greater hands on management and development.
- Proprietary Ecommerce Software: Propriety ecommerce software where source code is not available for modifications.
What are the Latest trends in E-Commerce Software
The ecommerce industry is growing at an alarming rate. According to a research 2290 billion USD worth of revenue was generated from internet sales in the previous and a growth rate of about 19.11 percent is expected this year. These number speak for themselves and for the growth of ecommerce globally. This alarming growth has resulted in a lot of developments. Below are some of the recent trends in ecommerce software
- Machine Learning: A lot of ecommerce software vendors are integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into their systems to create a perfect and customized user experience.
- 3-D Visualization: With Augmented reality, customers can visualize the products they are considering for purchase in 3-D.
- Voice Integration: It is predicted that the use of voice enabled buttons can lead to more conversions, increasing business sales in the process
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
How to choose the right E-Commerce Software
Here are some of the vital things to consider when deciding upon an ecommerce software to buy.
- Budget: You should have a budget for an ecommerce software, and it is important to buy one that is within your budget. The last thing you want is overspending on a software that does not yield returns or advance your business. It is worth noting that the fact an ecommerce software is low cost does not make it inferior and the fact that an ecommerce software costs more does not make it the best.
- Scalability: All ecommerce companies always look to scale, and it is important to consider a software that is robust and can perform well at scale.
Top Free & Open Source Digital Commerce Platforms ( E-Commerce Platforms)
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
Top Digital Commerce Platforms ( E-Commerce Platforms)
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
You may like to read: Free, Top and Open Source E-Commerce Software (Digital Commerce Platforms)
What are E-Commerce Software?
E-Commerce Software manages a customer's order from product selection, to payment, to checkout and delivery. E-Commerce platform that gives business insight to engage customers in a singular commerce platform that unifies channels and interactions. Digital Commerce Platform helps businesses to manage and maximize Selling Opportunities across Multiple Channels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Thanks for sharing this kind of informative blog post. Are you looking for ecommerce shopping cart software? Purchase Commerce will be the right choice for you to start your online store business.