With the advent of the internet and technology, the traditional brick-and-mortar stores have been replaced by online stores. This shift from purchasing products from physical stores to online stores has become a trend. Consumers now prefer to purchase products from online stores as it is convenient, easy and hassle-free.
According to stats, the global retail eCommerce sales is projected to grow from USD 3.53 trillion in 2019 and is expected to reach up to USD 7.39 trillion by 2025.
Moreover, migrating your brick-and-mortar store to an online store can help you reach a wider audience and make it easier to promote and sell your products. It can also help you reduce costs and increase sales, while also improving customer service.
For this, you need to choose an eCommerce platform to shift your offline business to online. Your platform will be the cornerstone of your digital presence, providing your customers with the means to access your products, as well as offering a system that drives your sales and ensures a cohesive user experience.
However, with endless numbers of eCommerce platforms available, choosing the right one is not easy. So, here are a few factors you should consider when choosing an eCommerce platform for your online business:
- User Experience: User experience—or UX—refers to how easy your eCommerce platform is to use. People will only buy from your store if they can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily. That’s why it’s essential that your eCommerce platform is intuitive and offers a seamless shopping experience.
- Hosting: When selecting a platform, make sure to look at what hosting options are available. Some platforms offer their own hosting, while others require you to find a third-party provider. There are pros and cons to each option, so make sure to do your research and find the one that meets your needs.
- Pricing: Most eCommerce platforms offer different pricing plans depending on the features you need. When it comes to pricing, it’s important to consider both the upfront costs and the ongoing costs associated with the platform. Some platforms may offer a free version but with limited features. Alternatively, you may have to pay a monthly subscription fee to access certain features.
- Security: Security is a key factor to consider when choosing an eCommerce platform. The platform you choose should have advanced security measures in place to protect customers’ personal information and payment details. Look for platforms that offer end-to-end encryption as well as other security protocols such as PCI-DSS compliance.
- Mobile Friendliness: Today’s shoppers are increasingly using mobile devices to make purchases. To ensure a satisfactory user experience, make sure that your eCommerce platform is mobile-friendly. Check to see if the platform offers a responsive design that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes.
- Checkout and Payments: Payment processing is an essential part of an eCommerce store. Look for an eCommerce platform that integrates with multiple payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, or ApplePay, to make it easy for customers to make purchases. Additionally, look for a platform which offers secure payment processing to ensure that all customer data is fully protected.
- Scalability: As your business grows, it’s important to make sure that the eCommerce platform you choose can handle any additional traffic. Scalability should be an important factor when weighing up your options. Look for a platform that can accommodate more customers, products, and features as your business expands.
- Speed and Reliability: Your customers expect a fast, reliable shopping experience when they visit your online store. Make sure your eCommerce platform is optimized for speed and can handle a high volume of transactions without any lags or loading problems.
- Analytics: Data analytics are important for understanding customers’ behavior and improving the performance of an eCommerce store. Opt for an eCommerce platform that provides detailed analytics reports and insights into customer actions such as view counts, purchases, and clicks.
- Third-Party Integrations: Third-party integrations can help you streamline your operations and make it easier to manage multiple aspects of your business. Make sure the eCommerce platform you choose has the ability to integrate with other applications, such as email providers, inventory management software, and accounting software.
- Customer Service and Support: Customer service and support are essential for ensuring your customers have a satisfactory experience when shopping in your eCommerce store. Make sure the platform you choose offers reliable customer service and technical support, so you can get help quickly and easily should you need it.
- Customization: When choosing an eCommerce platform, it’s important to consider how easily it can be customized to suit the needs of your business. The eCommerce platform you choose should offer you the flexibility to adjust and customize the design, features, language, and payment gateways to your specifications. Look for eCommerce platforms which offer either customizable templates or the ability to code your own design elements, features, and plugins into the platform itself.
- Marketing: Many eCommerce platforms come with built-in marketing and promotional tools, such as offering discounts, referral programs, email marketing, and more. Consider the marketing abilities of the eCommerce platform you are evaluating, and see if the features provided are enough to meet your needs. Additionally, make sure the platform allows for integrations with external marketing and promotional tools, for even greater flexibility and customization.
- SEO-friendly: You want your Shopify eCommerce website to be highly visible in search engine results. Is the platform SEO optimized to help your website rank highly? Check to see if the platform integrates with your chosen SEO tool or offers features such as optimizing product descriptions and meta tags. If you don’t know how to optimize your store, hiring the best Shopify SEO services is recommended.
The Bottom Line
Choosing the right eCommerce platform is a critical decision for any business. To ensure success, make sure to consider all of these factors when making your decision. With the right platform in place, you can create a powerful online store and grow your business.
If you are new to the eCommerce industry and don’t know how to migrate your brick and mortar store to an eCommerce store, you can seek help from a reputable CRO agency.
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