A e-commerce platform It is the interface that allows the creation of an online store or ecommerce. That is, the tool with which you can create a web page to sell products or services.
We know that with the growth of e-commerce, it requires more than offering products through social networks like Instagram and Facebook. To differentiate yourself from the competition and present a strong brand, it is essential to link those secondary sales channels to a primary one: a personalized website from an e-commerce platform.
Yes “e-commerce platform” either “e-commerce platform” are confusing or even new terms for you, don’t worry! We created this definitive manual to clarify all the important points related to this fundamental tool, for all those who want to have a successful business. Let us begin!
What is an e-commerce platform?
An e-commerce platform is nothing more than a SaaS: a complete solution to create an online store. Since it doesn’t require any technical knowledge or experience — like setting up the site code and hosting — it’s considered simple and easy-to-use software.
After a quick registration to get a regular subscription —which usually takes a maximum of 10 minutes— the electronic commerce platform will be available to manage electronic commerce operations.
Among the most common configuration possibilities, the following stand out: customization of the design, publication of products (photos and descriptions), shipping management and payment methodsintegration with marketing tools and advanced SEO management.
If you want to know other services that an e-commerce platform can offer, . Take advantage of them and create your online store today!
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Aren’t you quite clear what it means? SaaS? No problem! Next, we explain it in detail.
What is SaaS?
SaaS (either Software as a Service) is a software distribution and marketing model. Today, two classic company archetypes SaaS They are Netflix and Spotify. Through a prepaid monthly fee and a connectionboth make the infrastructure and technology available to the user in their respective niches.
Through ready systems —that do not require any technical or programming knowledge– a SaaS allows the customer to personalize, manage and often integrate their profile with other platforms or systems, such as when Spotify allows the creation and editing of playlists or sharing a song on Instagram Stories, for example.
Besides, the security and maintenance are two other characteristics of a SaaS, compared to common software. In the first case, as access is via the Internet, all data is stored in the cloud. Therefore, there is no need to install it and risk losing data.
As for maintenance, updating the software depends on the company SaaS, which does updates automatically. In this way, the user does not have to worry about making improvements to the system.
Now that you know what e-commerce platforms are and SaaSit is time to also understand what ecommerce platforms are Open Source.
What is Open Source?
Open Source refers to open source software. In other words, it is subscription software that is also available from various companies, however, it is accessed by download — and not in the cloud as in the SaaS.
After downloading from a platform Open Source, the software is provided with a basic configuration. The customization of the site, the integration with other applications and the maintenance of the platform are the responsibility of the entrepreneur (if he has IT knowledge) or a professional hired by him — which generates additional costs.
What are the advantages of SaaS vs. Open Source?
Once the above issues have been clarified, it is time to understand why a plataform SaaS it is much more efficient than an open source one.
- Agility of the ecommerce platform
- Cost-benefit
- Customization and maintenance
- Adaptability
- Professional e-commerce platform support
- Security
Everything clear so far? Then let’s move on to the next chapter! 💪
Benefits of eCommerce Platforms
In the last quarter of 2019, 71% of internet users in Mexico make an online purchase11% more than in the same period in 2018.
Globally, by 2021 it is to approach 5 trillion dollars in ecommerce turnover and, in Latin America, exceed 94 billion dollars. An extremely encouraging scenario. Now imagine your business contributing to this figure! Incredible true?
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However, as we mentioned in the introduction to this guide, selling online requires more than offering products through social networks or marketplaces, such as Mercado Libre. These channels are important to you. marketing strategybut they should not be your primary sales medium.
To consolidate a brand and present it in a unique and professional way to the target audience, it is essential to use an e-commerce platform to create and manage your online store. This also applies to the entrepreneur who already has a physical store or business offlineand wants to modernize it.
Taking these aspects into account, in addition to the advantages of SaaS which we talked about in the previous chapter, below we share other details that will convince you to bet on an ecommerce platform.
1. Inventory automation
Goodbye, manual lowering! One of the great benefits offered by an ecommerce platform is the ease of managing inventory stock. Sales are recorded automatically, and with a few clicks, products are adjusted into menu categories and subcategories.
In addition, many e-commerce platforms offer the possibility of upload photos and product descriptions in bulk or duplicate similar items, changing only the images, colors and/or the different sizes.
2. Communication with your customers
If you started your business selling only through Facebook (or Instagram), you know how exhausting and time-consuming it is to respond directly, sending product photos, prices and interesting descriptions to encourage conversion.
With an online sales platform, you can do it differently: when a potential customer contacts you, all you have to do is copy the links to your products and send them to you. There, your client will find all the necessary information to resolve any doubts that may arise.
Extra: At Tiendanube, we also have an exclusive solution for sellers: the . To simplify communication on mobile devices, this feature allows you to share your product links without leaving WhatsApp, Instagram Direct or Messenger. Is incredible! ✨
3. Institutional content
Which is the story of your brand? What are the values and vision of your company? And above all: how can your audience have access to this type of information?
Presenting your business correctly (and completely!) is essential to give it a more human face. However, biographies on social networks and descriptions on marketplaces are not the best places to expose in detail the your brand identity.
That’s why engaging in an e-commerce platform, especially the “About Us” page of your online store, will present the composition of the team and the mission of the company. This type of information, when well presented, has the power to awaken feelings of trust and affinity in the client, which makes all the difference for conversion.
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4. Financial and fiscal control
Nothing more bureaucratic than dealing with manual financial and tax control, TRUE? And it gets even more complicated if you have a physical store and a virtual one.
So, to make your life easier, an eCommerce platform helps you with all these tasks. In addition to providing basic data on the business evolution —such as the number of orders per period and the average number of entries, for example— the SaaS usually allows integrations with ERP’s (Enterprise Resource Planning or Enterprise Resource Planning).
5. Abandoned Cart Recovery
In a brick-and-mortar store, when a customer walks away empty-handed, you have the opportunity—with a few steps and a good pitch—to try to convince them, right? But what about an e-commerce platform, how do you get back the visitor who put something in their shopping cart and then abandoned it?
For that, there are some tools that we will talk about now. Through the personalization of e-mails (without the need for technical HTML knowledge), automatic triggers are activated to remind the customer which products are of interest to them. Opening messages, depending on the app, can win back up to 65% of shoppers!
It should be noted that it is very important to create strategies to combat cart abandonment in an ecommerce platform, such as adjustments in shipping methods and payment methods.
6. Association of sales channels
We already mentioned some administrative integrations in e-commerce platforms. Now let’s talk about the secondary sales channelswhich are essential to apply marketing actions and, as a result, achieve more conversions.
Today, a complete e-commerce platform offers integrations with both social networks (Facebook Store and Instagram Shopping) and WhatsApp, as well as marketplaces. Through them, you can increase visibility to your audience (after all, they will be able to arrive through different channels) and visits to the online store.
Everything ok with this chapter? Wonderful! Let’s move on to the next topic. 🎯
How to choose an ecommerce platform?
At this point, after learning the advantages of a SaaS and why it is better to use an ecommerce platform, you may be wondering how to choose the ideal option for your business.
Thinking about it, we prepare a check list with the fundamental characteristics of an electronic commerce platform —You will notice that we have already commented on some of them, however, we decided to return to them so that you do not forget any of them, ok?
1. Plans and prices
The first issue to consider is the monthly fee of the platform. Analyze if it fits your budget and if the plan satisfies all the needs of your businessfrom resources and service to server integration and security.
If you are starting your business, check if the ecommerce platform you choose offers scalability between packages; If so, you can start with the…
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