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24 NovEcommerce

Next Gen Ecommerce Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2024

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Verginiya

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The world of e-commerce is continuously changing with new technological advancements and market dynamics, where the future of online retail is poised to take on exciting new forms. In this digital landscape, consumers can shop anywhere at any time. Today, not Genz or millennials prefer to shop online, everyone does. In this competitive landscape consumer behaviours and patterns continuously evolve to change, So in order to compete with the top brands, it’s essential to outshine your competitors. As we approach 2024, it’s crucial for business owners and entrepreneurs to know about the e-commerce trends. In this blog post let’s explore the top transformative e-commerce trends that promise to shape the e-commerce landscape in 2024.

📌Top Ecommerce Trends to Watch Out in 2024

 

✅Voice Commerce: Optimizing for Voice-Enabled Online Shopping

In recent years voice searches have become more popular with the rise in digital voice assistants. Voice-activated devices like smart speakers and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular. According to Narvar, 51% of online shoppers use voice search to research products, while 36% use shopping ads to add their products to relevant shopping lists.  E-commerce businesses are integrating voice commerce into their platforms, allowing customers to place orders and get product information using voice commands.

voice commerce

Businesses should focus on optimizing their product pages for voice search. Pro tips to optimize voice search,

  • Focus on natural language patterns and conversational queries
  • Integrate Long tail keywords for voice search queries
  • Implement schema markup
  • Optimize for Local SEO

Embrace voice commerce within your e-commerce marketing strategy to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

✅Mobile Commerce: Dominating the online sales with Mobile Shopping

Mobile shopping has been on the rise for years, but in 2024, it will become even more crucial. Customers always prefer to purchase anywhere at any time. It’s important for business owners to optimize their websites for mobile devices to provide an excellent customer experience. Because delivering a great mobile shopping experience helps customers to purchase the products in just one tap. 

mobile commerce

Make your website mobile-friendly by streamlining the checkout process, reducing the page loading speed and optimizing your content fit for smaller screens. Investing in Mobile commerce will be a solid long-term return to the businesses.

✅Augmented Reality: Embrace AR to visualize purchases

One of the biggest challenges for online customers is that they can only try out the product after they make a purchase. Mostly consumer behavior depicts that a consumer gets satisfied when he/she can touch, feel and try before making a purchase. But it’s not possible in eCommerce nevertheless, Augmented Reality is revolutionizing the way consumers shop online. Augmented Reality allows shoppers to get an immersive shopping experience by trying the products before purchasing as if they were in a  brick-and-mortar store.

augmented reality

AR is more popular in the fashion, beauty and home decor industries. With Augmented Reality, shoppers can virtually try on clothing, visualize how furniture would look in their homes, or even see how makeup products will appear on their skin. For example, Shopify AR allows customers to get an immersive shopping experience, they show their products in a virtual environment before buying to make sure whether the products fit or not.  In 2024, we can expect to see more e-commerce platforms incorporating AR features to enhance the shopping experience, reduce returns, and boost customer confidence.

✅Tapping into Online MarketPlaces

Marketplace has already set a trend and dominated the e-commerce industry. For example, Amazon and eBay have already established their presence in e-commerce and continuously deliver the digital experience to their customers. These platforms provide businesses with a huge customer base and more selling options which can save and earn more money for businesses.

tapping into online market places

Moreover, these platforms help businesses to bridge gaps between physical retail and digital stores. Tap into the marketplaces to leverage your customer base and revenue.

✅Q Commerce Growth – Enhance Customer Experience with Quick Delivery

Quick commerce is more popular after post covid. It focuses on last-mile delivery which is transforming the online business. The best example of this trend is online grocery or food stores. It’s driven by customer demand for quick and convenient delivery options. This trend aims to enhance customer experiences by offering quick delivery of products, foods, or any other item.  Most customers preferred to receive anything less than an hour. 

qcommerce

Today online users prefer Quick commerce businesses to buy products and services. For example with the rise of Uber, and Pickme customers expect to receive orders within an hour. So,  businesses should take advantage of this trend and are expected to join hands with local delivery services to provide quick deliveries to their customers and to gain more revenue. 

✅Green Commerce – Focusing on Environmental Sustainability

Consumers are continuously concerned about the environment, they truly care about the ethical and environmental impact of their purchases. They focus more on eco-friendly products and ensure that they are purchasing from a brand that is conscious about the environment. 

As per Nielsen’s study, 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for products from brands committed to positive social and environmental impact. So to align with these environmentally friendly practices businesses should focus on sustainable packaging (recyclable and biodegradable), lower carbon emissions, and ethically sourced products from suppliers.

green marketing

In 2024, it’s crucial for businesses to focus on sustainable goals to attract environmentally conscious customers and to stand out from the competitors

✅Social Commerce – Prioritizing the Power of Social Media

As you all know, social media is the next big thing that revolutionize the industry. Social media platforms are evolving into powerful sales channels. Nowadays most consumers spend more time on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, they browse to search e-commerce marketplaces or to buy directly products on these platforms. 

social commerce

Social Commerce allows users to get a shoppable experience by allowing them to purchase without leaving the platform. Building a strong social presence will hello businesses enhance their brand identity and awareness which drives more leads to the business.  Social media strategy is a core part of your marketing strategy. Create attractive visuals, videos, and engaging content to build your identity on social media. E-commerce businesses are expected to leverage social commerce more in 2024 by integrating shopping features and advertising options.

✅Embrace AI and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning will continue to play a pivotal role in e-commerce. By analyzing customer data, AI can provide highly personalized shopping experiences. Al continuously gathers vast data about customers such as how they shop, which items they purchase most, which pages and platforms they use and what emails they open. Machine Learning analyzes these data and provides tailored product recommendations, customized marketing messages, and even chatbots that can provide real-time customer support.

ai commerce

E-commerce businesses that invest in AI will not only enhance customer engagement but also boost sales.

✅Subscription Services – Rise of Subscription-based model pricing and membership programs

Subscription-based models are becoming increasingly popular. Customers love the convenience of regular product deliveries, whether it’s meal kits, clothing, or skincare products. E-commerce businesses that offer subscription services can build loyal customer bases and predictable revenue streams.

subscription services plan

🔔Future of Ecommerce in 2024 and Beyond

In conclusion, the e-commerce landscape in 2024 will be shaped by technology, sustainability, and changing consumer preferences. 2024 promises to be an exciting year for the e-commerce industry, with these trends shaping the way businesses operate and consumers shop. To stay competitive, e-commerce businesses should remain adaptable and keep an eye on emerging technologies and consumer preferences. By embracing these trends, businesses can continue to provide innovative, convenient, and personalized shopping experiences for their customers while staying ahead of the competition in the ever-evolving world of e-commerce.

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Verginiya

Hey, this is Verginiya Patrick, Senior Manager - Enterprise Digital Marketing and Operation, with extensive experience in developing data-driven marketing campaigns and strategies, successfully managing marketing teams, and monitoring the performance of digital marketing campaigns.

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09 OctDTC eCommerceEcommerce

DTC eCommerce: How to Win Over Customers and Drive Sales in 2024

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Introduction

The direct-to-customer (DTC) model business is growing tremendously and it has revolutionized the retail industry. According to eMarketer’s study by 2024, the DTC market is predicted to grow by over $160 billion.

However, there is no doubt that 2024 will likely provide more challenges for DTC businesses seeking to expand. In this article, we will cover What is DTC E-commerce, its pros and cons, examples of successful DTC brands and their strategies to overcome common challenges and stay on top.

What is the Direct to Consumer (DTC) E-commerce model?

what is the direct to consumer

The direct-to-consumer e-commerce model is an online retail model where brands sell their products directly to their customers through their online platforms rather than using third-party intermediaries or brick-and-mortar stores.

In the traditional retail business model, the product reaches the consumer through the manufacturer to wholesaler to distributor to retailer and finally in the hands of consumers but the DTC model bypasses the traditional distribution channels and builds a direct connection with their audience.

The main goal of the DTC business model is to build long-lasting relationships with customers by understanding their needs and delivering personalized experiences to satisfy their needs. DTC’s business model is solely responsible for the entire customer journey starting from product development, marketing, sales and customer support.

Benefits of the DTC E-Commerce Model

benefits of the DTC E Commerce model

DTC E-commerce model offers numerous benefits to the brands to compete in the digital landscape. Let’s look into the key benefits;

  1. Build Strong Customer Relationships & Deliver Personalized Customer Experience

DTC e-commerce allows for more personalized interactions with customers, you have full control over your customer’s experience. DTC Brands have the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of who are their customers, interests, preferences and their purchase behaviour. By analyzing this valuable customer data, brands can tailor their marketing efforts to individual preferences, fostering stronger customer retention and customer loyalty.

  1. Increased control over brand messaging

Unlike traditional retail, DTC has full control over pricing, customer data, product, marketing, sales, brand and reputation which makes them stand out from the competitive landscape. The main core advantage of DTC is to craft their own brand’s voice.

  1. More access to Customer Data

For many years manufacturers relied on retailers to get access to customer data, but in the age of e-commerce, customers purchase directly from the stores, where you are able to gain valuable insights about your target audience. So based on the insights you can plan your marketing efforts and satisfy the customers’ pain points.E

Top 5 Examples of DTC Brands That Are Excelling

Let’s look at some rocking DTC brands and their successful marketing strategies to

Allbirds

Allbirds 2

Allbirds is well known for producing eco-friendly fashionable footwear for men and women. They prioritize direct sales through a user-friendly online shopping experience. Recently they have launched their own app where they have created a space to have direct communication with their customers and deliver bespoke experience overall.

Warby Parker

Warby Parker

Warby Parker has been a market leader in the eye industry for more than 10 years and revolutionized the traditional eye industry by offering affordable elegant glasses through their online platform. Warby believes that it’s unnecessary for you to make repeated visits, to the optometrist to find the frames that suit you, so to improve customer experience, their in-house team decided to make chic frames for contemporary consumers, where they can try those frames from home and they ship them for free. This unique feature allows them to build a convenient shopping experience for their customers.

Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club has transformed the male grooming market by delivering men’s razors and grooming products directly to customer’s doors through a subscription-based model. DSC is well known for its witty marketing campaign, the brand has grown out through a viral YouTube funny video that targeted men. They eliminated the intermediaries and supply chain costs and delivered razors at an affordable price. Also, to improve customer retention they targeted a subscription model where the customer receives the product regularly.

Casper

Casper

Casper disrupted the mattress industry by delivering the mattresses directly to customers with return policies. This brand has simplified the mattress-buying process and enhanced the customer experience

Glossier

Glossier is a beauty brand that has built a cult-like following. Glossier focuses on building a strong brand identity through social media and customer engagement. By leveraging user-generated content and influencer partnerships, they created a community-driven brand that resonated with their target audience.

Proven DTC Marketing strategies to grow your DTC brands

proven DTC marketing strategies
  1. Build Your Strong Brand Identity

If you are looking to expand your business into a DTC business model, you must have a strong brand identity to hook your customers. Your brand image is the core of building an emotional connection with your customers. Generally, customers don’t trust the products available online, they always look at whether this brand is trustworthy or not. So it’s vital for brands to build trust among the customers with a strong brand identity. However, if you have a strong brand image you must ensure that it’s consistent across all marketing channels which will make customers recognize you.

Building a strong brand identity is essential. With fierce competition in the DTC E-commerce market, brands must stand out by creating a compelling brand story and values that resonate with their target audience. This will help build customer loyalty and differentiate the brand from competitors.

  1. Speak to your customers

Continuously engage with your customers through surveys, feedback forms and social media to identify the customer interests, pain points and expectations. Providing outstanding customer service can set DTC brands apart. Quick responses, helpful support, and hassle-free returns build trust and loyalty.

  1. Expand and Diversify your marketing mix

Market your brand through a diversified marketing mix such as social media, connect with influencers (influencer marketing), content marketing and paid advertising to build brand exposure and reach a larger audience.

One of the proven ways to build trust with your target audience is through user-generated content. Encourage customers to share their reviews and experiences about the brand which will help to enhance trust and credibility.

  1. Personalize Customer’s experience

Personalization is the biggest weapon to build a closer connection with customers. DTC brands should invest in personalization to stay ahead of the competition. Customers want to feel them as special. So to improve their customer experience offer product suggestions based on their individual preferences, which makes them unique and feel that they are getting what they want.

  1. Collect Customer reviews

Encourage customers to post positive reviews and leave testimonials on the website and other online platforms. These reviews create a positive image of the brand and influence the prospect to make a purchasing decision.

  1. Establishing strong logistics

DTC brands can greatly benefit from collaborating with e-commerce logistics providers and utilizing technology to ensure inventory management, efficient order tracking and quick delivery.

  1. Offer multiple shipping and payment options

Don’t restrict your customers with limited payment options and shipment methods. Offer various shipping methods from express to standard and provide more secure payment options.

Elevate your DTC experience in 2024

In summary, DTC E-commerce is not just a trend, it’s a transformative approach that reshapes the retail market. It empowers brands to build a direct connection with customers, fostering customer loyalty through delivering personalized shopping experience and leading to improved revenue.

 If you want to improve your DTC marketing experience and scale your business in 2024? DTC brands continuously need to innovate, embrace creativity,  data-driven strategies into their business model to stay ahead of the curve.

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Verginiya

Hey, this is Verginiya Patrick, Senior Manager - Enterprise Digital Marketing and Operation, with extensive experience in developing data-driven marketing campaigns and strategies, successfully managing marketing teams, and monitoring the performance of digital marketing campaigns.

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25 OctResearch

Top 10 Ecommerce Platforms of 2017 Compared

More than 45% of all online purchases are initiated with a Search Engine Query. Thus making Search Engine Optimization, one of the most important factors for Ecommerce Businesses. You need to ensure that your products are found easily on Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Today, we will be comparing the Top 10 Ecommerce Platforms 2016, not only because of their SEO friendliness but also due to a lot of other factors that we shall discuss each one of them.

Where most online marketers fail to make the right decision is by sticking with the first Ecommerce Solution that comes to their mind, only to realize that the platform they have chosen does not have all the features that they require to sell their products online. There are some Ecommerce software that offers a full array of SEO features, while there are some that offer them at a cost, and there is also a breed of software that does not offer any SEO friendliness at all.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into our Top 10 Rankings for Ecommerce SEO Software in 2017, taking into consideration the Alexa Rankings (which show popularity) as well.

First up on the line is definitely the Magento Platformâ€Ķ

Magento

Magento is an eCommerce platform based on open source technology, which provides online merchants a scalable and flexible online store with full control over the content, look, and functionality of the shopping cart system as well as it offers search engine optimization, robust marketing, and catalog-management tools.

Magneto-1

Pros:
  • Flexibility – The architecture of Magento allows you to customize templates and to develop functionality according to your needs as this is an open-source platform.
  • Feature-rich – Magento’s community version allows you to manage multiple storefronts, multi-location, multi-currency, multi-language with a user-friendly UI and easy navigation.
  • Pricing – The community version is free for small to medium-sized businesses. Magento Enterprise costs $18,000 per year for enterprise business solutions.
  • Community – Magento has large community users, who have developed many plugins and extensions, which will help you in real-time. Apart from that, it has a simple back-end and organized store that can be easily manageable.
Cons:
  • Hosting – Magento needs a dedicated server that is specialized in Magento. Normal hosting platforms cannot handle it due to its bulkiness and that results in a slow and irritating user experience.
  • Pricing – The enterprise version will cost you around $18,000 a year, and it’s more for a customized premium enterprise.
  • Developers – Magento developers are very hard to find because of extremely large database, and if you find one, their charges are exceptionally high.
  • Time – Even on having a flexible architecture, customization are hard to make because of its loading speed on different platforms.

Shopify

Shopify is an all in one eCommerce solution, which allows you to set up an online store to sell your goods, and provides customers with a great user experience. It features customizable templates, an organized storefront, ‘Buy Button’ functionality, which allows you to use Shopify as a Point of Sale (POS) option and let customers buy your goods anywhere online.

Shopify-1

Pros:
  • Speed and security – Shopify is integrated with payment providers, and its built-in speed checkout allows customers to pay with minimal load time.
  • Marketing – Shopify allows custom Title tags, meta descriptions on every category page for SEO purpose and also allows you to build customized landing pages for marketing purposes.
  • Design – Shopify offers multiples free themes and numerous custom-built premium themes along with the option to customize and add features for Developers.
  • App Store – Shopify App store has all the features that you need to run an online business. It provides various free and paid Apps and adds flexibility for the brands having an online presence all around the web.
Cons:
  • Pricing – Shopify’s basic plan starts from $29 a month; the average plan is for $79 a month, and advanced Shopify is for $299 a month.
  • Customization Hacking – Shopify uses a different setup to customize their themes rather than using PHP for their templates. It might be a problem for first timers on Shopify.
  • Content Marketing – Shopify’s blogging platform is not as great as WordPress as it provides a basic layout for blogging.
  • Lock-In feature – Lock-in features to delete your online store permanently. Shifting from Shopify to another online store may not be a very smooth journey.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a One-stop solution to build an online store. It provides you customizable storefronts with control of the database.

BigCommerce-1

Pros:
  • Integrated Knowledge – BigCommerce provides you tons of learning materials (In-depth videos, how to – guides, automatic email series, setup wizard,) that helps you to learn and implement.
  • Good Speed & Security – BigCommerce allows you to divest the technical issues (without spending $ on developers) and easy POS gives your customers a hassle-free shopping experience.
  • Distinctive Built-in Features – BigCommerce is integrated with Alibaba, the world’s largest marketplace for wholesalers, which is the intuitive feature of BigCommerce. Apart from that, it has a transparent technical insight, which is a plus for any business.
  • In-built Marketing Feature – It is integrated with Google Shopping, eBay Store, SEO set up and AdWords ad generator.
  • Cooperative Customer Service – BigCommerce has support via Facebook, active forums, learning modules and much more that helps you understand the platform.
Cons:
  • Pricing – For new and Emerging businesses, it costs around $29.95/mo. (Standard) and $79.95/mo. (plus). For fast growing and established brands, it’s around $199.95/mo. (Pro) & for                         Enterprise, Charges are higher for customization packages.
  • Lock-in – If you are switching hosting platforms, then chances are high to lose all your content while shifting due to Lock-in feature of it or you would be facing pretty high switching charges.
  • List Management – List is accessible throughout the screen instead of having it’s a dedicated area.
  • Functional Customization – It is not an open source platform. So, if you want to do few tweaks to your functionality, it’d be difficult for you.

WooCommerce

NOTE: WooCommerce is not actually a platform, it is a Plugin for WordPress, which is again an open source Content Management System. It is free of cost.

You might not have heard about Magento or Shopify, but you have surely come across WooCommerce. It is one of the leading e-commerce platforms worldwide. WooCommerce Plugin turns your website into a robust Online Store in a matter of minutes.

WooCommerce-1

Pros:
  • Pricing – It’s free! This is one of the biggest advantages of WooCommerce. All you have to do is to download the plugin in WordPress and build an online store with this toolkit without spending a single penny.
  • Familiarity – WooCommerce is familiar to those who have been working on WordPress or have a website on the platform as it is just a plugin to be installed to get started.
  • Customizable Toolkit – WooCommerce provides you various customizable standard templates for free.
  • Security – WooCommerce is a very secured platform with its updated POS.
Cons:
  • Frequent Updates – WordPress keeps updating its software frequently to avoid bugs, but the plugins aren’t too quick to adapt to changes. So, the plugins won’t be compatible with the changes and might leave you slow and frustrated User Experience.
  • Expensive Customizable theme – WooCommerce is an open-source platform that lets the developers play with the themes, and as each theme is programmed differently, it might cost you a lot to hire a developer to get done what you want.

OsCommerce

OsCommerce is a popular eCommerce platform having thousands of community members including developers and support forums. It has an open source technology and is free of cost.

osCommerce-1

Pros:
  • Large community – The osCommerce community has over 1.5 million individual posts with hundreds of thousands of members. So, if you stuck at anything, you can always find a way out with the help of this forum.
  • Easy Modification – osCommerce comes with an easy modification panel even if you are doing it by yourself without any knowledge of codes.
  • Plugins & Add-ons – osCommerce provides a wide range of plugins and add-ons to enhance the features of your site.
Cons:
  • Error Prone – osCommerce can be prone to malware and bugs as most of the times, website breakdown while checking out.
  • Manual Involvement – Instead of having built-in features, it requires manual interference to manage the site. This makes osCommerce more time consuming than other platforms.
  • Not so scalable – This platform is only good for small to mid-size businesses. Not a great option for Enterprise Businesses.

Squarespace

Squarespace is a drag and drop web development site that delivers riche-imagery and a great user experience to users. All in all, if you want your website to look visually engaging, professional, and classy at the same time, Squarespace is surely a platform to consider. It is not free.

Squarespace-1

Pros:
  • Mobile Responsive – All Squarespace templates are mobile responsive across all the devices, which is a huge advantage as mobile usability has increased a lot today.
  • Professional Templates – Squarespace provides you with clean, elegant, and rich template designs with a sophisticated feel to make your website stand out.
  • Customizable Features – It provides you extensive styling options to choose from. You can easily do tweaks to your site without even knowledge of heavy coding.
Cons:
  • Different Design on Mobile – Although Squarespace templates are mobile responsive When you hit the publish button, the design differentiates from the website.
  • Wide-ranging styling options – Due to the extensive styling tools, provided by Squarespace, choosing a fixed design can be a tough task if you don’t have the creative eye. Basically, you have to go for trial and error method to find out suitable design for you.
  • Single Integration – Squarespace’s eCommerce platform only integrates with one payment processor (Stripe). Even though stripe is a secure platform, but we would love to see more Payment gateway integrations in the platform in the future.

Volusion

Volusion is also a popular name in the Ecommerce Software arsenal. When you use Volusion, it is more like leasing an online store. As a business owner, you can take care of all the merchandising, marketing, sales and growth, and leave all the dirty work like security, updates, and maintenance to the owner.

Volusion-1

Pros:
  • Built in On-boarding Materials and Training – Paying a little extra for the Volusion Platform totally justifies the cost because not only do they have a library of troubleshooting guides, but every store comes with a Volusion Account Specialist, who will take special interest into setting up the store exactly the way you want.
  • Speed and Security – When you are hosting your own Ecommerce Website with WordPress and WooCommerce for example, two of the most common challenges you will face is optimizing the Speed and Security. With Volusion, that will never be a problem because their trained staffs will take care of all those factors.
  • Search Engine Optimization – Through Volusion does have some SEO hurdles to avoid like duplicate pages and wrong HTTPS redirects, other than that it does have a robust array of SEO functionalities inbuilt into the platform.
Cons:
  • The Pricing Is Ultra Complex – The pricing of Volusion is a pain to figure out as they have multiple point of charges. First, there is the recurring monthly fee that you have to pay for the Selected Package, then there are the platform transaction fees, credit card transaction fees, and your add-ons and extra features fees.
  • Separate Mobile Site Setup – Volusion Stores mobile version is not the responsive version of your website. Customers are redirected to the m.yoursite.com version of your store, which will not be able to offer the exact same or even close experience as your web store.
  • Not Many Add-ons Available – Unlike BigCommerce, Shopify and WordPress, Volusion fails to impress in the functionality end. Most eCommerce store owners would prefer to have modern features in their website, but Volusion does not have a massive list of add-ons, unlike its other competitors.

Prestashop

Prestashop surely makes it to our Top 10 List of Ecommerce Software in 2016. We believe that this platform has great potential. With its roots in France, Prestashop is considered the European answer to “Magento.” The platform is open-source, and it also gives businesses the resilience and ease to build an inexpensive but modern and updated eCommerce Store.

Prestashop-1

Pros:
  • Official Market Place – Prestashop has an official marketplace with over 3500 themes and customizations to choose from.
  • Intuitive and User-friendly Interface – Not only does this platform pack a punch of innovation, but it gives users the ability to customize each and every nut and gear on the platform.
  • Free of Cost – Being an open source platform means it is free of cost, which provides a low entry barrier for online merchants who want to get the feel of starting an Ecommerce Website.
  • Multiple Currencies and Languages – It supports multiple currencies and over 41 Languages and counting.
Cons:
  • Expensive Add-ons and Modules –  Though the platform is itself open source, you need to pay a hefty sum for getting additional modules and plugins from the marketplace.
  • Not Scalable – The platform is suitable for Small to Mid-sized businesses as it doesn’t have a multi-store feature, which is the biggest requirement of large projects.
  • No Options for Cross-selling – There is no option to up-sell or cross-sell, which is a common feature in most other Ecommerce Platforms.

Open Cart

Open Cart is an online software dedicated to eCommerce businesses to make life easier for wholesalers and buyers by providing them open source environment. Its user interface is intuitive and the experience of working in Open Cart is great.

Opencart-1

Pros:
  • Advanced Features – Open Cart offers a good set of features, including organized manner for order processing and robust catalog functionality.
  • Pricing – It is free to use unless you want to download and install multiple paid extensions, which is easily manageable by small to mid-size businesses.
  • Documentation – Open Cart comes with its own documentation modules with ‘How to’ guides and step by step tutorials including videos and screenshots.
  • User-Friendly Interface – Open cart’s interface makes it more user-friendly even for beginners with its easy and simple dashboard.
Cons:
  • Not Proving Cache – Open cart doesn’t provide you Cache, and in order to improve your website performance, you will need to install extensions.
  • Complex Customization – Store customization is a complex process in the Open Cart, which might be a big constraint for some businesses.

Zen Cart

Zen Cart is an online eCommerce platform designed solely for online merchants. It is based on PHP, MySQL and is an open source technology built by developers, designers, and shop holders for creating a simple solution for eCommerce businesses.

Zencart-1

Pros:
  • Multiple Add-ons & languages – Zen Cart comes with multiple additional features, which are downloadable from the website itself. The Add-ons range from adding various languages to adding extra administrative tools.
  • Secure Platform – Zen Cart has a great product management system, and its automated features lessen the manual struggle. And, when it comes to security, the Zen cart won’t let you down.
  • Scalable Software – Zen Cart offers a wide range of professional templates that allow you to customize your website to make it stand out for your customers.
  • Community support – Zen Cart has a robust forum and community, which supports you in real time with quick response and step by step tutorials.
Cons:
  • Average Templates – You must be thinking after bragging about its free and paid templates, why am I listing down this as a con. Well, the reason is their templates are not so appealing and do not stand in a competition where Magento and Shopify provide a classy look to your website.
  • Complex Upgradation – Once you settle down with your website modification you can forget about getting any upgrades shortly. In case you want to do so, you have to start from scratch, thanks to the complex Add-on Integration of Zen cart.
  • No Formal Support – There is no formal support for Zencart. But users in the forum are pretty active and they will help you out in most cases. Even their newsletter and autoresponders are unreliable.
  • Basic Reporting – The reporting of Zen cart is pretty basic, which means that apart from the number of products purchased, you won’t have much statistics at the end of the month.

Concluding Remarks

If you are choosing an eCommerce platform for your online business, then you should always tread carefully. While you might think that going with a top class solution like Magento or Prestashop might do the trick, but it might not be a feasible option for your business scalability in the long run.

Take, for example, if you make a hurried decision today and select a platform that is not able to convince and convert your visitors, just because of the limited functionality on the platform, you will be at a point of no return.

WooCommerce is my most favorite Ecommerce Platform because of a variety of factors. It is open-source, most plugins are really cheap, and themes too. So all in all this is the best bet for anyone looking to host a self-hosted store online.

If you need any help with Setting up your Ecommerce Store, you can always get in touch with me through the comment section of this blog, or you can also put up a request on our Official Facebook Page.

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