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Why Your Business Needs Ecommerce [4+ Industry Approved Options]
First off what is Ecommerce?
The term Ecommerce refers to the buying and selling of services or merchandises over the internet, and the transfer of data and money to perform these transactions.
Ecommerce is mainly used to refer to online purchases of physical goods, but any form of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet can also be characterized as ecommerce.
Why you need to get on board with ecommerce before it’s too late
Ecommerce is growing extremely fast worldwide, and quickly becoming a necessity for retailers and B2B dealers.
The good news is that moving onto an ecommerce and taking advantage of it's numerous opportunities has never been easier.
If you're still on the fence? Here's 4 reasons that should change your mind!
Lower operating costs
Ecommerce is an efficient yet low-cost business model.
Several platforms are available to launch an ecommerce business with very minimal resources.
These service platforms let you build a mobile-friendly and attractive online store with money and inventory handling capabilities.
They can also be programmed to seamlessly connect inventory and sales management between your ecommerce store and your conventional brick and mortar operations.
Track your customers
Thanks to analytics, ecommerce lets you gather detailed knowledge about your customer.
You can track customer activity on your store, how they arrived at your store in the first place, and even determine the possibility of a repeat visit.
You can also get insights about product preferences, likes and dislikes, and high conversion products -- all with relative ease!
Improve your client experience
The number of online shoppers is increasing exponentially, though keep in mind most online customers still seek an in-store experience.
An ecommerce site capitalizes on this, and gives your customers the best shopping experience in both worlds.
It does so by allowing you to incorporate your business's professional advice in easy to access locations.
Most ecommerces also allow users to preview your product (akin to a touch and try experience).
Best part is your ecommerce is completely free from time and place constraints, and so your customers will be able to access your business worldwide 24/7!
Expand your reach
Ecommerce lets you expand your boundaries, and go completely beyond your competitors -- through geographical expansion.
With ecommerce you no longer have to settle on small region, as it allows you to direclty tap into national and foreign markets.
Finding the right ecommerce platform for your business
So now that we've touched on why your business needs an ecommerce, let's look at which platforms you should choose for your business!
We'll discuss top of the line ecommerce platforms, along with their pros and cons to help you decide which one will be the most appropriate ecommerce platform for your needs.
WooCommerce:
WooCommerce is one of the most popular open-source ecommerce platforms.
It's actually a plugin that installs into WordPress, and once professionally installed will provide your site very powerful ecommerce capabilities.
WooCommerce Pros & Cons You Should Consider:
Pros
- Highly customizable open-source platform.
- Both Administrator and customer account support with authentication features.
- A range of pre-designed themes available, both paid and free.
Cons
- Configuration is not very easy for users with basic knowledge.
- No central support is available.
Shopify:
A cloud-based ecommerce website, equally popular among new and seasoned businesses.
It’s a standalone platform, meaning there's no need for an additional hosting service.
This also means that you're using their platform as a service, and are billed accordingly.
Shopify Pros & Cons You Should Consider:
Pros
- Ease of use, the interface is very user friendly. A lot could be done with a few clicks.
- 24-hour professional support.
- A range of customizable themes available.
Cons
- It’s not free, and basic plan misses many functionalities.
- The recommended plan doesn't include some functionalities, these would need to be programmatically added instead.
- Some factors affect the speed of this platform and it’s not easy for a non-coder to troubleshoot.
BigCommerce:
Cloud-based paid ecommerce platform.
Comes with a wide range of customizable templates.
Easy to manage and has many attractive subscription plans.
BigCommerce Pros & Cons You Should Consider:
Pros
- A complete solution for beginner and seasoned users.
- No transaction fees.
- Simple and quick shipping setup.
Cons:
- Themes tend to be expensive compared to other platforms.
- No mobile variant is available for a business owners.
- Although there is no transaction fee it becomes expensive as your business scales.
Open Cart:
A PHP based simple ecommerce platform, well known for its speed and functionality.
Developed to make ecommerce easy for both merchants and buyers.
Open Cart Pros & Cons You Should Consider:
Pros
- Easy to integrate with shipping methods.
- More than 13,000 modules and themes are available, which makes it easy to run and manage.
- Easy multilingual storefront setup.
Cons
- Need to install additional plugins to perform basic product importing.
- Extensions and modules are not very stable (at times).
Next Steps: Your Stress Free Ecommerce Solution
Now that we've covered ecommerce extensively, the next step is to setup an ecommerce for your business!
Although some of these platforms allow a non-coder to start the process, typically it's encouraged to have a developer navigate the digital terrain, and handle all intricacies for you.
By leveraging an expert developer you can bring your business goals to a live digital audience, and take your ecommerce business to the next level.
In instances where complex issues arise, your developer should be able to handle everything, and remedy the issues at their source.
Like this, you can focus on your retail business while your developer completely takes care of your online ecommerce!
If you're interested in joining the other businesses that:
- have a professional online business
- bring in digital customers 24/7
- or just don't have time or experience to integrate a ecommerce yourself
Then let's get in touch. Once I'm on the job your business will benefit from an ecommerce in no time.