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eCommerce is a profitable option for many retailers. Last year, global eCommerce sales amounted to $5.2 trillion. Experts predict that this will grow to $8.1 trillion by 2026. It’s no wonder then that more people are entering the online selling industry. Aside from its profitability, it also reduces your processing costs and increases your reach.
With that being said, setting up an online shop is exciting, but it can also be daunting. For one, there are multiple processes involved in successfully running and growing your brand online. Optimizing listings, analyzing reports, fulfilling orders, and retaining customers can be overwhelming for new entrepreneurs.
Fortunately, there are eCommerce software tools that can help you navigate the online selling industry. These tools can automate tasks and processes so that you can focus on more important things. More than that, they can help you create an effective customer journey.
12 Best eCommerce Tools and Solutions to Grow Your Online Store:
What Are eCommerce Tools and Solutions?
Essentially, eCommerce tools and solutions help you manage your online store. They usually automate store processes, including inventory, listings, tax calculation, shipping, and payment processing. Their purpose is to streamline the process of running and growing your online store.
The typical eCommerce tools are online store platforms and site builders, analytics and intelligence solutions, inventory management software, and marketing tools.
Best eCommerce Tools and Solutions
Pacvue is a marketplace advertising, sales, and intelligence solution. It helps brands stay ahead of the competition within their category by putting together actionable retail data and leveraging AI-powered recommendations. With Pacvue, you can manage your entire eCommerce business in a single dashboard. Its end-to-end automation can even save you as much as 20 hours per week on reporting. Pacvue helps businesses grow on a variety of marketplaces, including Amazon, Walmart, Instacart, and eBay. It has an average return on ad spend improvement of 40% per month and an average conversation rate increase of 30%. To get started, simply define your marketplace goals. Then create your retail page and promote your product. Finally, focus on the platform’s top recommendations to improve your sales performance. Pricing is available upon request. Pros Cons Useful hands-on and visual learning content Integrations can be slow Easy to navigate Platform’s aesthetics can be improved Quick reporting features In 2011, engineer Tomer Tagrin created Yotpo after a bad experience buying a camera online. Yotpo’s mission is simple—to help businesses create winning customer experiences from start to finish. Yotpo powers the entire customer journey, which includes loyalty and referrals, user-generated content, and SMS marketing. Highly scalable, Yotpo accommodates businesses of any size. It has five products, including highly converting text campaigns, AI-powered review prompts, customized rewards and referral programs, visual marketing, and easy-to-add subscription offerings. This Forbes Cloud 100 company has worked with forward-thinking brands, including Steve Madden, MVMT, GoPro, and Pura Vida Bracelets. SMSBump Reviews Loyalty and referrals Subscriptions Visual UGC Pros Cons Scalable Limited options for photo sizing Easy to manage and navigate Different plans and pricing levels Seamless integration with other platforms Analytics could be more in-depth Good customer support PipeCandy is a market intelligence platform. It mixes machine learning and artificial intelligence with human expertise to build accurate insights and datasets about eCommerce companies. You can create your lead list, look up companies, grow your data, and compare your performance against competitors. The platform improves lead effectiveness by 30%. PipeCandy has insights into over 6.5 million online retailers. It has four products. One is Analyzer, which provides accurate sales estimates for millions of Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs). On the other hand, Researcher offers digestible and relevant sales metrics reports. Prospector offers fresh lead lists, while Firehose allows you to enrich and engage with these leads. Available upon request. Pros Cons Highly flexible Connects only to two CRM software Great customer support Limited integrations Easy to use Square began as a platform to help business owners take credit cards easier. Now, it offers a complete lineup of tools and loans that provide funding to businesses. With Square, you can manage both your online and physical store in one place. That includes inventory, booking appointments, engaging customers, and paying staff. You can even receive real-time reports at your fingertips. Square believes that every business should have an opportunity to thrive in the economy. It emphasizes templates and features that are unique to each industry. The eCommerce platform has also partnered with businesses of every size. It supports sellers in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, and the United States. Pros Cons Straightforward user interface Limited integrations Aesthetically pleasing designs Features for large sellers may be limited Affordable Founded in 2009, BigCommerce is a leading commerce solution provider. Its goal is to help businesses sell more, whether they’re start-ups, mid-sized businesses, or large enterprises. The platform takes pride in putting customers first. In 2022, The Forrester Wave named it the most trusted commerce solution provider. Additionally, business technology review site TrustRadius awarded it the Top-Rated eCommerce Platform, based on merchant reviews alone. BigCommerce claims to be the most versatile solution for innovative eCommerce. For one, its open software-as-a-service solution helps brands integrate and customize faster. Notably, top brands earn a lower total cost of ownership when they’re with BigCommerce. The platform currently has tens of thousands of merchants in over 150 countries. Pros Cons Scalable and highly flexible No multi-lingual store options 99.99% uptime More expensive than other eCommerce solutions No transaction fees Limited content editor Built-in automatic search engine optimization (SEO) features Jungle Scout offers comprehensive tools for selling on Amazon. In 2015, it was founded by entrepreneur Greg Mercer as the first product research tool for Amazon. Today, it offers a full suite of solutions for business management and market intelligence, which helps entrepreneurs grow their business on Amazon. This includes finding products and suppliers, managing inventory and sales, and optimizing listings. Jungle Scout currently supports 500,000 brands and entrepreneurs. It has more than 300 Amazon experts around the world. Leading software marketplace G2 included Jungle Scout in its Top 50 Commerce Products of 2022. Jungle Scout also supports charities and offers scholarships to students pursuing entrepreneurship, computer science, or business. Pros Cons Precise database A steep learning curve, especially for beginners Manageable dashboard No phone support Excellent customer service Comprehensive tools Shopify started as an online shop for snowboards. Now, it’s an all-in-one commerce platform for businesses to launch and grow their brands. It caters to businesses of all sizes, whether they’re selling online or in retail stores. Shopify’s goal is to help brands run and grow their stores independently by reducing barriers to business ownership. Millions of businesses in approximately 175 countries trust Shopify. Some of its notable clients include PepsiCo, Gymshark, and Allbirds. Shopify’s total global economic activity amounts to $444 billion. Additionally, the platform is committed to sustainable commerce—two of its initiatives, for example, are Sustainability Fund and Social Impact. Pros Cons Good platform to begin with Limited free themes Award-winning support Additional transaction fees Wide range of features and themes Scalable WooCommerce is a free eCommerce platform on WordPress sites. Before directing its focus on eCommerce in 2017, it designed and developed themes and plug-ins for WordPress. Now, its goal is to empower small and medium-sized businesses to build their online store however they want. As an open-source platform, WooCommerce is true to its mission to democratize commerce. You can design a complex store from scratch, manage your business on the go, and receive real-time feedback on your campaigns. WooCommerce is currently being used by over 3.4 million companies, and it powers 27% of the top 1 million eCommerce sites in the world. WooCommerce is open-source software, which makes it free to use and download in perpetuity. Pros Cons World-class support No centralized support Simple user flow Some external extensions may not work A wide selection of themes Thorough set-up process In 2015, Helium 10 was founded with the mission to help meet the evolving needs of online sellers. Now, the all-in-one platform claims to be the most complete Amazon sales software and solution on the market. From product research and marketing to analytics, Helium 10 can help you manage and grow your Amazon store at every stage of your journey. Helium 10’s 450 million ASIN database helps you not only find products but also validate your product’s success. Moreover, the eCommerce solution supports over 20 marketplaces and has more than 1 million users worldwide. It has a monthly Amazon gross merchandise volume of $4 billion. Pros Cons Fast and easy integration Limited customer support Useful training materials Steep learning curve Comprehensive suite of tools Affordable Wix eCommerce is Wix.com’s answer to online commerce. The online store builder provides professional tools and services that help brands manage their online and in-store business at every step of growth. You can set up multiple sales channels and track everything, from inventory and order fulfillment to payment. Creating a WiX eCommerce account involves seven easy steps, starting with registering for a free WiX account. The platform has free templates fit for any business. At present, it has powered over 1 million sites with eCommerce capabilities. With over 180 languages, as well as localized pricing and payment methods, WiX eCommerce can help you grow your reach and offer a seamless international customer journey. Pros Cons Intuitive interface Can be heavily reliant on third-party tools High flexibility Fewer tools than other eCommerce solutions Affordable than other platforms ShipStation is an online order management and shipping software. It helps eCommerce brands process, fulfill, and ship their orders more efficiently. From handling orders and managing inventories to communicating with customers and updating tracking, this web-based shipping solution helps online retailers streamline their order fulfillment process. ShipStation’s presence in three continents helps the company fulfill orders more quickly. Moreover, the platform integrates with over 100 top carriers—you can get up to 88% off from UPS, DHL Express, and USPS. By providing a memorable customer experience, ShipStation is helping brands focus on other important areas of the business. Currently, the company caters to over 130,000 merchants. Pros Cons Easy integration with shipping services and online sales platforms Customer service response time can be improved Cost-effective Some technical limitations with print features Saves a lot of time with export documentation Intuitive dashboard Squarespace is an all-in-one platform where millions of people can build an online store and transact with customers. This eCommerce tool allows brands to grow in three steps—create a website, set up an online store, and market the business. Whether they’re budding brands or large enterprises, businesses can sell anything on Squarespace’s eCommerce platform. With Squarespace, customers can browse your products, add items to their cart, and check out. Aside from showcasing your product, you can also manage your inventory more efficiently with the platform’s quick view feature. Set up flexible shipping and pickup options. Squarespace’s simple payout process and email campaigns can guarantee customer loyalty and retention. Pros Cons Has a ton of eCommerce features Can be difficult to navigate Award-winning customer support Costlier than its alternatives High-quality design
1. Pacvue Commerce
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2. Yotpo
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3. PipeCandy
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4. Square Online
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5. BigCommerce
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6. Jungle Scout
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7. Shopify
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8. WooCommerce
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9. Helium 10
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10. WiX eCommerce
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11. ShipStation
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12. Squarespace
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Final Thoughts
Make your online store flourish using the 12 best eCommerce tools and solutions presented in this article. The best platform, coupled with the right shipping solution and marketing strategy, can help you expand your business and exceed your sales goals.
