Choosing an E-commerce Platform that will Increase overall Efficiency

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that followed to curb its spread came as a blessing in disguise for e-commerce businesses and start-ups providing e-commerce consulting services.

Many brick and mortar retailers scrambling to serve their customers effectively during this pandemic took their business online in order to serve them in the best possible way during this crisis of unprecedented nature. This also helped them to retain their loyal customer base and earn goodwill for their business. Besides this, those who were already engaged in online businesses ramp up their existing online channels to meet the accelerated customer demand during this trying time.

However, to run a successful e-commerce enterprise and make your presence felt around the web world is no child's play. There are multiple parameters such as your business model, e-commerce platform ( https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/services/e-commerce-online-stores/ ), marketing your product/service ideas on social networking sites, use of software, e-customer service etc., and all these need to work in tandem to get the maximum out of your online business.

To help you run a successful e-commerce venture we have put together the following points. No matter whether you are a start-up ( https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/ ), or physical storefront considering transitioning to e-commerce or an existing online business trying to scale up your sales, following these practices will help you drive more traffic to your online business, consequently increasing sales.

Choosing the e-commerce platform that will increase overall efficiency

Choosing the appropriate e-commerce platform ( https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/services/e-commerce-online-stores/ ) for your business goes a long way in determining the overall efficiency and functioning of your online business. An e-commerce platform is an all-in-one software that allows you to manage your online business functions such as sales, marketing and online transactions. It acts as a central hub of your online business. Nowadays, there are many e-commerce platforms available that can help you to scale up your business and reach new heights. Different e-commerce platforms available for hosting your business are:

1. SAAS ecommerce platform

SAAS is an acronym for software-as-a-service. It is a software distribution model where the service provider hosts the software centrally and makes it available for its end-users on a monthly or annual subscription via the internet.

SAAS ecommerce platform rolls out new features and updates from time to time. By implementing these new releases and updates you can always stay on top of your e-commerce business.

Since SAAS applications run on cloud servers it eliminates the need for organizations to install and run software on their in-house servers. This cut down the cost of acquisition, installation and maintenance of software.

SAAS e-commerce platform doesn't allow a user to access and alter/tweak its source code to suit his/her needs. So if your business needs flexibility and continuous customization then applications based on the SAAS platform can prove to be a hindrance.

2. Open-source e-commerce platform:

Unlike the SAAS e-commerce platform where you will be paying monthly/annual subscription charges to access it, an open-source e-commerce platform is free self-hosted software that you can download and own as long as you want

Since it is an open-source e-commerce platform its source code is available for everyone and anyone with a little bit of coding knowledge can access its source code and modify it to meet their business requirement. This feature will come in handy if you are building a highly customizable e-commerce website.

It can easily integrate with third-party software such as payment gateways, shopping channels, accounting software, CRM's etc. With most proprietorship platforms this can be a big issue.

Although it is free software, you will have to bear the cost of initial development, implementation, up-gradation and migration.

3. Build your own platform:

Both the SAAS e-commerce platform and open-source e-commerce platform come with some restrictions. If your business is niche-specific and has certain needs and requirements that can never be fulfilled by both of the above platforms then you can go with this option

It requires you to contact some internal or external e-commerce developer who is well versed with the latest technological developments or you can hire the services of an e-commerce start-up consultant ( https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/ ) to make a tailor-made platform for your business.

You can also take the advice of any e-commerce consulting service to choose the best ecommerce platform that will go well with your business model ( https://www.yourretailcoach.ae/services/business-model-development/ ).

Adopting customer-oriented approach

It is no hidden secret that the biggest shortcoming of online business is that customers can't touch, feel or try the products before purchasing. Such personal touch is important for businesses selling luxury items or technological products. Currently, there is no solution for this problem but you can satisfy the customer's sensory needs by compensating in other departments of the business. You can make 360-degree spin videos of your high-end products to show the customer how the products look from every conceivable angle. Additionally, you can also post reviews, give discounts, free delivery and offer easy return and exchange policy to provide them a multi-sensory experience of retail shopping.

Making your website device friendly: Online shopping statistics show that over the year's number of people shopping on mobile and other electronic devices has grown many fold. Hence it is imperative for the business owner to make their website responsive so that it can look good on all devices be it a laptop, mobile, tablet or desktop. A responsive website not only increases user experience but also has the ability to rank higher on search engines. Google ranks that website higher which is mobile-friendly. Higher SEO rankings mean more organic traffic to your website. Many e-commerce start-up consultants will help you make your website device friendly, consequently increasing ranking on Google and other search engines.

Integrate your business with social media: If e-commerce is the heart, then social media is the heartbeat of online business. Integrating your business website with popular social media sites gives your business a tremendous boost in terms of visibility. Here you can run contests to grab the attention of the potential buyer, share creative visual content, advertise your products, crack deals, run promo codes and many more.

Offer multiple payment options to your customer: Not everyone has a credit/debit card. Even if they do, that does not mean that they would prefer to make payments with it. This is because due to higher merchant transaction fees on the credit/debit card or their card may be maxed out. So it is good practice to offer your customer as many payment options as possible. There are also statistics to prove that your conversion rate increases dramatically when you offer multiple payment options such as bank transfers, mobile payments, e-wallets and PayPal to your customers. You can hire the services of a freelance e-commerce consultant to integrate multiple payment gateways to your software that enables the secure transfer of funds from the customer to your business account.

Key takeaway

As we can see, the start-up costs for setting up an e-commerce business are significantly lower than that of traditional brick and mortar shops. Thus the benefit of investing in e-commerce set-up far exceeds the costs and therefore it should be considered as a good investment.

Why choose YRC as your ecommerce consultant

The large pool of e-commerce knowledge that we have built up over the years at YRC will help you to scale up your business (B2B or B2C). Right from analysing an e-commerce business plan, to chalking out an e-commerce digital marketing strategy & budgeting, to launching a website and documenting SOP to run an online business. Whether you are an e-commerce start-up or transitioning to e-commerce or an established online business looking to expand its digital footprint, our e-commerce strategists are there to hold your hand and guide you at every stage of this online journey.

Get advise for E-commerce retail business : http://www.yourretailcoach.ae/contact-us/

YourRetailCoach Dubai
Marina Plaza
Al Marsa St
Dubai Marina
Dubai
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Phone: +91-9860-426-700
Email: consult@mindamend.net

YRC is a Management Consulting Firm with its presence across India & Dubai.

This release was published on openPR.