There are literally hundreds of ecommerce marketplace solutions available to businesses. Ecommerce technology continues to evolve, making more options available to sellers almost every day.
You want your ecommerce business to succeed, which means you need to pick the right ecommerce marketplace for your business.
In this post, we take a look at the pros and cons of having so many ecommerce marketplace solutions available. We then go a step further with tips and tools on how to make smart decisions for your ecommerce business.
Advantages of many ecommerce marketplace options
There are four main advantages to having so many options when it comes to ecommerce marketplace solutions:
Variety
Having hundreds of ecommerce platforms to choose from means you can shop around and select the one that is best for your business.
There are many resources available to help you in this process. Ecommerce Guide provides reviews of many platforms. It also offers guidance on the best platforms for small and medium-sized businesses. Be sure to use resources like this to save time and make an informed decision for your ecommerce business.
Competitive pricing
Competition helps keep prices down, which is a good thing for retailers. But you still want to make sure you spend your money wisely. There is no need to pay for services and features you won’t use.
Despite competition, pricing still varies considerably. Amazon offers an Individual and a Professional plan depending on how much you sell. Both charge referral fees and variable closing fees, but the Professional plan has a monthly subscription fee of $39.99, while the Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold. Shopify offers a free 14-day trial. From there you can select from three levels of service with prices ranging from $29 to $299 per month.
Evolving ecommerce technology
Ecommerce platforms are constantly adding new features in an effort to attract new retailers and draw them away from competing solutions. This enables you to leverage the latest ecommerce technology.
This technology can help you increase sales and make the selling process more efficient. Some examples of platforms with the latest ecommerce technology are listed below.
- WooCommerce offers many extensions that allow you to add more payment options, enhance the checkout experience, and more.
- Magento is staying current by offering a one-click checkout option for customers with previously saved billing and shipping details.
- Walmart has partnered with Google to power voice-assisted search.
Ability to reach customers through multiple channels
The plethora of options and competitive pricing means you may decide to sell on more than one ecommerce marketplace.Many retailers who sell on Amazon also sell on such sites as Jet and Walmart. Competitive pricing makes this possible.
Some ecommerce solutions also support multi-channel selling. Shopify, for example, supports selling through your website, Facebook, Pinterest, and more. This multi-channel approach means you increase your customer base and potentially sell more. It also helps you create a stronger brand awareness.
Disadvantages to so many ecommerce technology options
There are two disadvantages to a saturated market:
Making the right choice
You want to use the ecommerce marketplace that will help you increase sales, attract new customers, and work within your budget. How do you know which one (or ones) to pick?
Managing multiple ecommerce platforms
Many retailers now sell on multiple platforms. This can be great for sales, but hard to manage.
You need to make sure orders are filled quickly and that inventory is updated right away so you don’t sell an item on one of the platforms, even though it is actually out of stock.
Selling on multiple ecommerce platforms can be too much for some businesses. But if you have the right tools, it can actually be easy to manage.
Seamless integration with SAP Business One or any ERP system is key. There is an ecommerce tool to help you with this which we discuss in our final section below.
How to pick the right ecommerce technology for your business
There are several things to consider when picking an ecommerce marketplace:
- Type of product you are selling – Some ecommerce marketplace platforms are better suited for selling certain types of products, so you want to choose the ones that will help maximize your sales.
- How do you want to sell – If you want to take advantage of social selling on Pinterest and Facebook, then you need to select a vendor who supports that. You need to have a business strategy in place before selecting a platform so you know the answer to this question.
- Required features – Make a list of must-have and nice-to-have features, so as you review possible solutions, you can easily identify which ones are most important, and which ones you could live without. Do you want mobile optimization and marketing tools? Do you want to be able to leverage shipping and customer service support from the provider?
- Payment methods – Check out what kinds of payment methods are accepted. Many customers do not want to be forced to use only one kind of payment method, so platforms that support multiple payment methods are better for business.
- Payment plans – Some vendors charge a monthly fee, while others take a percentage of sales. It is worth taking the time to do some calculations and determine which platform is the best value for you based on projected sales and how you are charged.
- Budget – Regardless of your strategy and features wishlist, you need to know how much you can realistically afford to spend on an ecommerce solution. The bottom line can often break the tie between two platforms you are considering.
Ecommerce tools to help you
There are various types of ecommerce tools to help you manage and grow your business.
Integration tools
Integrating your ecommerce platform with SAP Business One (or any ERP system) will streamline your workflow, help you fill orders faster, and remove the need for manual data entry. This is particularly important for those selling on more than one marketplace.
An integration tool automates the integration process between your ecommerce platform and SAP Business One.
Alluvia is one of the newest integrator tools on the market, delivering the latest in ecommerce technology. Integration can be set up in less than a day with any of the supported ecommerce platforms, using a mapping wizard and predefined templates.
Fast and affordable integration makes it possible across multiple platforms. You can expand your ecommerce business quickly and efficiently.
Research tools
Research tools help you learn about your competition and the market in which you’re operating. You can also identify new opportunities for growth.
An example is SEMRush.com for monitoring keywords and page performance.
Marketing tools
These ecommerce tools help you build brand awareness and create effective advertising campaigns. You can drive more traffic to your online store and increase your customer base.
Examples include MailChimp for email automation and Bulk.ly for social media campaigns.
Analytics tools
These tools allow you to analyze how you’re performing. This can apply to sales metrics, the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and more. Analytics help you identify where you need to do better and where you may need to make changes.
Examples include Google Analytics, Neatly, RankActive, and SEMRush.
The combination of selecting the right ecommerce marketplace solutions for your business and using the right ecommerce tools to manage those selections sets you up for success. The number of choices may seem overwhelming, but with a little research and education, making the right decisions for your ecommerce business can be headache and hassle free.