Nowadays, digital commerce platforms have gained traction in recent years globally and the United States. eCommerce, M-commerce, and social commerce have evolved to meet customers’ demands. Several factors are essential for choosing eCommerce platform for business during 2024.
E-commerce platforms provide channels for companies to have their operations online. Together with end-to-end capabilities, they interconnect sellers and buyers. In addition, business owners can monitor their businesses remotely through these platforms.
There are many eCommerce platforms out there. So, selecting the most efficient one to power your online retail business is very important. This will help you in running your day-to-day operations and fulfilling your business needs.
Features to consider for selection of eCommerce Platforms
What are the eCommerce platform selection criteria? Here are crucial factors to look upon for choosing eCommerce platform. Taking care of these aspects is necessary for your business in 2024.
- Platform Security
- Subscription Price
- Mobile-Friendliness
- Scalability
- Available Features
- Payment Options
- Navigation Ease
- Data Analytics
- Technical Support
- Higher Visibility
- Clear Policies
Now, it is time to discuss the factors that facilitate choosing eCommerce platform for online retail business.
Platform Security
One of the most significant issues in the world of e-commerce and mobile commerce is security. You need to ensure that your customer details and other confidential information you are handling are safe. Buyers are wary of entering sensitive information on sketchy platforms. For example, financial credentials like credit cards, and personal data like contact information, etc.
This makes security among the top concerns of customers. The platform you select needs to have robust security measures. So, the eCommerce platform should have proper security measures.
Electronic commerce platforms need to have a reliable data backup, fraud prevention, and PCI compliance. Having an HTTPS domain with an SSL ensures that any interactions with the platform are secure and encrypted. Doing your due diligence and making security a priority in your business helps you avoid major headaches in the future.
Therefore, it ensures that your company’s good reputation is preserved. In case, you are looking for a premium SSL brand that offers unparalleled protection at cheap prices. Then, you can look upon Comodo SSL certificates confidently. They offer a multitude of SSL products at unbeatable prices.
Subscription Price
The price of the E-commerce platform is an important thing to consider. The platform may have several attractive features. But if the price does not fall within your budget, it may be a pass.
Businesses whether with a physical store or having an online presence, need to know how much they need to pay. Electronic commerce platforms have varying monthly fees.
The fees could vary depending on whether the platform is hosted or self-hosted. There may be other processing fees with the platform. It is best to go for choosing eCommerce platform whose costs are within your budget without sacrificing crucial features. Try to find a balance between efficiency and cost.
Tip: Follow best Inventive online Retail Trends for success
Mobile-Friendliness
More than 50% of searches and purchases are done using mobile phones. As a business, your bottom line is making profits and realizing sales. Picking a mobile-friendly eCommerce platform ensures that you don’t lose out on the customers that prefer to shop with phones.
You are likely to get more sales when you cater to everyone, mobile users and computer users alike. Therefore, you must consider choosing eCommerce platform that presents a user experience that is mobile optimized. This will make online shopping convenient and seamless for users through 2024.
Scalability
With any business, as small as it may be, there is always the hope for more growth in the future. Although, you may be unsure of the extent of the expansion of your business. But you must anticipate choosing eCommerce platform that will allow your business to grow.
You need to select a space that does not limit the number of products you can have in the marketplace. That will complement the growth of your business. Granted, when you are starting, you may not want to pay for extra storage in anticipation of future growth.
Try to opt for an electronic commerce platform that is flexible enough to scale your business when need be. It should not be a website that gets unresponsive or has slow speeds when the traffic increases. Because that is a sure way to send customers to your competition. The e-commerce platform needs to handle peak traffic, big orders, and maximum page visits effectively.
Available Features
Another essential thing to look at when choosing eCommerce platform for your business is the plugins and integrations available. Select a platform that has multiple tools to help you run your business. Your business needs will determine what features on a platform are a must-have.
Various e-commerce platforms have basic online retail functionality. Also, they have other marketing tools like newsletters, and reward programs, etc. Identify the tools that you will use in your business and find electronic commerce platforms that offer those additional tools.
Some of the plugins to look out for are accounting plugins to assist with taxes, profits, sales, and revenue. Moreover, email marketing plugins help you establish communication with your customers, creating the much-needed communication channel. Platforms with Apps to assist with shipping are also great.
Payment Options
The E-commerce platform you select should support the payment methods your target audience appreciates. It helps if the platform has various payment options such as Amazon Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. Likewise, should be easy for your customers to pay for goods or services on the platform.
The characteristics of your target audience are a huge indicator as to what payment methods they will prefer. Older people tend to prefer the more traditional payment methods. They may not be willing to risk or try out payment gateways they have not heard of before.
On the other hand, younger audiences tend to be more open to innovative payment gateways like bitcoins. Knowing your customer base is an essential part here. This will facilitate you in deciding on the payment options to consider.
If your business targets an international audience, contemplate choosing eCommerce platform that allows for international payment options. The payment options available should also be one whose transaction costs do not stack up too much. Because that can end up skyrocketing the price of your products or services.
Further Reading: eCommerce Trends for Dropshipping Business
Navigation Ease
Speaking of 2024, electronic commerce is quite competitive worldwide and in the USA. One of the best ways to stay on top of the game is by offering the best customer experience. Anyone shopping online appreciates a hassle-free and straightforward experience on the platform.
The experience your customers get from the platform could either make or break your business. Thus, you must elect choosing eCommerce platform with a simple and easy navigation interface. It helps if the user interface is pleasing to look at, as that will draw more customers.
The platform you select should not have too many steps before checkout. That can discourage customers who might end up leaving goods in their carts and opting for other sites. Use an e-commerce platform with a seamless checkout process.
Furthermore, don’t coerce customers into creating accounts before purchasing. Reassure your customers about the safety of their information, like card details. Also, it helps to enhance the user experience greatly.
Data Analytics
The ultimate goal for any business is to make profits. To know the best practices to employ to realize a profit, you will need to analyze the business performance regularly. Some E-commerce platforms offer the option of displaying analytics. This will help you, the business owner, get a clearer picture of the performance of your business.
Your e-commerce site can collect data and use statistics to help you understand any changes in consumer behavior. Even, you will know which practices bring in more sales. You can make sound decisions on how to increase sales when the said decisions are based on actual numbers.
More information: Guide for creating eCommerce Websites
Technical Support
While choosing eCommerce platform, decide on one that provides multi-channel technical support. Full technical backing offers great value for your business. The kind of support you will need majorly depends on your business needs.
Top eCommerce platforms deliver full-time support. Whereas, other platforms provide support only during business hours and in their specific time zone. Again, your choice will depend on the requirements of your business. The kind of support offered is also important.
Some platforms only have options for online and chat support. Others have FAQs and tutorials that are an excellent form of self-service support. So, it is important to select a platform that enhances optimal communication and support to clients.
Higher Visibility
Most people shopping online usually rely on search engines to find the products or services they need. Hence, the E-commerce platform you select for your business must have an SEO feature. An E-commerce platform with proper SEO optimization strategies is excellent for increasing online visibility with the search engines.
You want customers to find you. More visibility means that there will be more traffic to your business. Additional traffic then translates to more conversions and sales for the business.
Clear Policies
With any retail platform, be it brick & mortar or online, the policies governing the platform need to be precise. The policies are put in place to protect both the platform and the business. For instance, having a clear shipping policy communicated with the customers that your business is reliable.
Other policies, like terms of service, privacy policy, terms of use, and disclaimers, need to be precise. The actions prohibited on the site should be communicated effectively. The platform you select needs to have clear policies and regulations to govern operations. It makes it easier to avoid any legal issues between the site and your business.
Conclusion
Starting and growing a business can be a Herculean task. There are many challenges to overcome and achievements to celebrate. Moving your retail business to an online platform can be daunting.
Because there are usually too many things to consider. Figure out your business potentials and consider the essential factors that impact these. This will make choosing eCommerce platform for business a lot easier.
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