When choosing the perfect e-commerce platform, it’s important to select a solution that meets your current needs. Fortunately, you have the luxury of choice in such a competitive market, and so opting for a platform that has the integrations and features suited to your business becomes possible.
With that in mind, here are ten key considerations for online businesses when finding the perfect platform.
1. Ease of Use
An intuitive user interface is essential when it comes to finding the perfect e-commerce platform. This is important for managing day-to-day operations without needing extensive technical knowledge. Many e-commerce owners come from a non-technical background, so finding a platform that simplifies tasks is important.
For example, product uploads, inventory management, and order processing should be simple. You and your team should be able to navigate the system easily, making updates and changes on the fly – or even automatically. This ease of use can save time and reduce the need for technical support, allowing you to focus on operations and growing the business.
2. Customization and Flexibility
Flexibility in an e-commerce platform is needed when integrating with other tools and platforms. Given the broad range of SaaS solutions (many of which are free), integration is how we can connect all of them together. The E-commerce Platform Kooomo is a good example of connecting all the dots without needing plug-ins.
Whether it’s connecting to CRM software or analytics tools, the ability to seamlessly integrate various features can boost the efficiency of your operations. Customization options allow you to tailor the platform to your needs, ensuring it aligns with your branding and workflows. This is particularly important in a time when working from home is common.
3. Scalability
As your business grows, your platform should grow with you. Your site should be able to handle increased traffic without performance issues – else you will miss out on sales. Look for platforms that offer various plans or scalable infrastructure to accommodate your growth, particularly in the event of a sponsored social media post going viral. It also means you won’t need to switch platforms as your business expands, saving you time and resources in the long run that come with migration.
4. Glocalization
Adapting your e-commerce strategy to accommodate both global and local markets—glocalization—is increasingly important. This includes offering localized payment options, multiple languages, and compliance with regional regulations. You can effectively reach a broader audience while remaining relevant to your own local one. Localized content and payment methods can improve customer trust, leading to higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned checkouts.
5. Cost-effective
While it’s tempting to go for the cheapest option, consider the value you’re getting. A good e-commerce platform with a robust set of tools can eliminate the need for additional software; and if you may not need it now, imagine your operations in a few months of forecasted growth.
This makes it a more cost-effective solution overall. Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including any hidden fees and subscription costs. The good thing with SaaS is that it often doesn’t require large up-front costs.
6. Integrated Payments
You should support integrated payment solutions that simplify the transaction process for both you and your customers. This includes various payment methods and high security. Customers want familiarity when it comes to checkout, so even the design and branding here needs to be considered. Security features, such as fraud detection, shouldn’t be ignored either when building credibility.
7. Support
Good customer support can define your experience with a platform. Look for services that offer 24/7 support and extensive documentation, both of which can get you out of trouble at a moment’s notice. Training resources and an active community can also help you and your employees build their skills using the platform too.
Reliable support ensures that you can quickly resolve problems and minimize downtime.
8. Experience
Consider platforms with a proven track record and a portfolio of successful deployments. Experience in the industry can provide insights and optimizations that newer platforms might lack, and they can be quicker with updates when new technology comes along. Established platforms have had time to refine their features and address common pain points, offering a more polished and reliable solution. However, it’s down to you to identify whether they’re using legacy systems and are too big to be adaptable.
9. Transparency
Transparency in pricing and terms of use is critical. Ensure that the platform you choose does not have hidden fees or clauses that could affect your business operationally. Clear and upfront information is usually a good indicator of how the business conducts itself, which may then give you an idea about how strong (or poor) customer support may be. Transparent terms of use will ultimately lower the risk of disputes or issues down the line.
10. Omnichannel
In today’s retail environment, providing a seamless customer experience across all channels—online, mobile, and in-person—is needed. An omnichannel approach helps maintain consistency in customer interactions.
The perfect e-commerce platform should support integrated sales and marketing efforts across these different channels, allowing you to reach customers wherever they are. Consistent branding and messaging across all of these should be cohesive, reaffirming your professional image.
Choosing the right e-commerce platform, like Kooomo, involves an evaluation of your business needs against what the platform offers. Consider these ten factors to make an informed decision that will help your e-commerce scale and build trust.
