If you are a small and medium commercial organization you need to keep an eye on your profit and costs. Several e-commerce platforms have simplified this task through mechanisms like demand forecasting, as well as price-forecasting and calculation modules. If we concentrate on the demand forecasting aspects of the e-commerce platform, the systems’ features have become quite advanced in recent years and are now capable of tracking purchase patterns over time, in order to predict customer scope and demand volume.
You must have heard of online purchasing process and the ecommerce tools used in it. For the people not familiar with online purchasing, it is the purchase of products or services over the internet as opposed to a physical store. There are numerous e commerce mechanisms in place these days. They are based on different models, processes and business entities. We are going to provide an overview of them so that you can get an idea about them. It will help you in your future purchases for sure.
Ecommerce tools and their respective platforms are some of the most complex forms of technology that exist on the internet. This makes Ecommerce Development one of those fields which takes real expertise, or the right kind of guidance in order to accomplish results. Even with the most impressive technology and strategies, proper ecommerce sites are still dependent on a host of aspects concerning transaction security and protection.
You are looking to learn about ecommerce mechanisms, right? It’s ok, I was in the same boat when I first started learning about ecommerce. I read a lot of methods and trying them out by myself. At that time I heard a lot of opinions on how to run an online store efficiently, so it took me a while to be able to learn about e-commerce tools and mechanisms. Remember all the time wasted on searching for information, trying it out and coming back with disappointment? So, If you want to get away from this process then keep reading.
Types of Ecommerce Mechanisms
Businesses and customers can buy and sell on the Internet through a number of mechanisms.
The most widely used mechanisms are:
- Electronic catalogs,
- Electronic auctions,
- E-storefronts,
- E-malls, and
- E-marketplaces.
Let’s look at each one more closely.
Catalogs have been printed on paper for generations. Today, however, they are available on CD-ROM and the Internet. Electronic catalogs consist of a product database, a directory and search capabilities, and a presentation function. They are the backbone of most e-commerce sites.
An auction is a competitive buying and selling process in which prices are determined dynamically by competitive bidding. Electronic auctions (e-auctions) generally increase revenues for sellers by broadening the customer base and shortening the cycle time of the auction. Buyers generally benefit from e-auctions because they can bargain for lower prices. In addition, they do not have to travel to an auction at a physical location.
The Internet provides an efficient infrastructure for conducting auctions at lower administrative costs and with many more involved sellers and buyers. Individual consumers and corporations alike can participate in auctions.
There are two major types of auctions: forward and reverse. In forward auctions, sellers solicit bids from many potential buyers. Usually, sellers place items at sites for auction, and buyers bid continuously for them. The highest bidder wins the items. Both sellers and buyers can be either individuals or businesses. The popular auction site eBay.com is a forward auction.
In reverse auctions, one buyer, usually an organization, wants to purchase a product or a service. The buyer posts a request for quotation (RFQ) on its Web site or on a third-party site. The RFQ provides detailed information on the desired purchase. Interested suppliers study the RFQ and then submit bids electronically. Everything else being equal, the lowest-price bidder wins the auction. The reverse auction is the most common auction model for large purchases (in terms of either quantities or price). Governments and large corporations frequently use this approach, which may provide considerable savings for the buyer. Auctions can be conducted from the seller’s site, the buyer’s site, or a third party’s site.
An electronic storefront is a Web site that represents a single store. An electronic mall, also known as a cybermall or e-mall, is a collection of individual shops under one Internet address. Electronic storefronts and electronic malls are closely associated with B2C electronic commerce.
An electronic marketplace (e-marketplace) is a central, virtual market space on the Web where many buyers and many sellers can conduct e-commerce and e-business activities. Electronic marketplaces are associated with B2B electronic commerce.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the best single platform to run ecommerce and affiliate site under one roof. But the true ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify sell better, but not by much.Advertisement
It works with WordPress to turn any website into a functional ecommerce store. Also, there are extensions available for integrating payment gateways, social media, email marketing, 1-click selling, and shipping.
The biggest problem though is not the setup; that can be solved with YouTube tutorials. The problem is scalability. Most users have reported it slowing down as they get more products and customers.
For cost, it is free. Few extensions have prices attached to them, and some WordPress themes are expensive. However, you might not need those extensions, and there are good free themes.
If you are familiar with the WordPress platform, then WooCommerce is a breeze for you. You only have to install it, add your own products and fix your settings.
Shift4Shop
Since its release to the public in 2001, 3dcart (now Shift4Shop) has served over 22,000 online businesses with clientele including PCMag. They have some practical features like unlimited storage and no transaction fees. You can also use their POS, and they support multi-channel selling. In 2021, the company rebranded as Shift4Shop.
Shift4Shop doesn’t do as well as BigCommerce and Shopify despite being older than they are and the reason is clear. It’s not for beginners. Although there is a nice onboarding video when you log into your dashboard, the whole operation is hard to figure out; the builder is not very visually appealing.
The templates they have are more industrial, but they feel outdated. Also, customizing the store takes a lot of time to understand and get used to except for experienced users because there’s no drag-and-drop functionality. Fortunately, there’s a community of developers willing to assist with theme development and other modifications.
I think one of their strongest points is in shipping; they provide advanced shipping solutions with no API required.Advertisement
Similar to BigCommerce, Shift4Shop restricts the volume of sales you bring in on each plan. The lowest which costs $19 per month allows up to 50k.
The value overall is great. I still think it’s missing out by not offering abandoned cart saver as a core feature. Shopify made a move to make it included – really undercutting the competition. Nevertheless, it still has more features out of the box than Shopify.
Pros
- Better blog feature than other SaaS ecommerce
- Supports all the integrations you would need
- Great business user management tools (email, QuickBooks, inventory, etc.)
Cons
- Templates are inline with trends, but never at the cutting edge
- Negative feedback on customer support
- Potential issues upgrading
- Not for beginners
Zyro
Zyro is an affordably priced SaaS platform targeted at small businesses. Though it’s a relative newcomer to the market, it’s a product from web hosting company Hostinger. In addition to a website builder, they offer a variety of AI tools to help business owners:
- Make logos and favicons
- Resize, upscale, and remove backgrounds from images
- Create a business name and slogan
- Come up with blog post titles and write content
In addition to a drag-and-drop builder to customize your site, there are a variety of free themes to use as a basis for your design. It allows for you to sell both digital and physical products.
Pricing wise, you must use either the Business, Online Store or Advanced Store, plans to take advantage of the online store features. Pricing starts at $4.90/month for the Business plan.
Pros
- Unlimited storage and bandwidth on all plans
- AI tools to handle many tasks
- Marketing integrations included all plans
Cons
- No subscription or recurring billing available
- Room for improvement on SEO
Shopify
Shopify is the best platform at selling. If you plan to dropship, rely on Facebook Ads or Instagram marketing – this is the best choice. I wouldn’t use Shopify if I was going to rely on SEO. I also wouldn’t use Shopify if I were creating a large store with many products. I’d use BigCommerce instead.
Shopify is slightly better in several areas over BigCommerce such as post-purchase 1-click upsells – but far behind in terms of performance. I’ve used Shopify on my site before and have worked with many Shopify sites in the past, but I like WordPress better because I have an affiliate revenue model in addition to products.
It’s easy to set up the online store with Shopify’s drag and drop interface. Most beginners to website development can get the hang of it in a few minutes.
They also have the Shopify POS for simple brick and mortar stores looking to take payments via the mobile app. Complex stores can use it as well.
Like everything else, they have downsides. The not-too-bad one is that they have just 10 free themes right now. The paid themes hover around $100 to $180.
The big disadvantage they have is SEO. Weak ranking performance highlights one of my concerns with their SEO.
Also, they have a rigid URL structure; you cannot change sections of it. I’ve seen many strange unstructured URLs in Shopify sites well beyond the /products/, /pages/, and /collections/ slug restrictions. I also noticed during our research that websites using Shopify have weak ranking. In terms of SEO, Shopify is very middle of the pack at best.
Finally, they charge transaction fees if you are not using Shopify Payments. And no one likes those. Then again, Shopify Payments is a solid option.
Pros
- Lighting fast load time
- Super easy to set up
- Lots of certified partners to help you
- 1-Click selling
- Allows multiple channel and social selling
- Great themes with varied designs
Cons
- Rated poorly in SEO in consecutive studies.
- Unable to customize the checkout process
- Apps can add up and become costly
- Need a developer for advanced features
Monday
Monday is the productivity tool of choice for our team at Ecommerce CEO. In addition to being a good task manager, we use Monday to manage our projects, leads, content calendar and processes. At first, it was a bit overwhelming, as most highly flexible tools are. But now that we have the hang of it, I can’t imagine life without it.
Sourcify
A matchmaking service for companies looking to manufacture a product and manufacturers looking for clients, Sourcify reduces the risk associated with the manufacturing process by vetting their manufacturers. The service provides a money back guarantee if store owners aren’t happy with the final product. Sourcify also provides project management tools to smooth the production process and provides users with bids from three manufacturers for each project. There are three pricing plans, starting at $399. The primary difference between plans is the number of units per production run.
Veeqo
Veeqo is an inventory management solution that helps small businesses selling on multiple channels stay on top of orders and avoid overselling. Veeqo offers over 40 integrations to pull in inventory from all of your channels in real-time, updating all of your stores when you make a sale. Control exactly how much stock shows for every store, keeping your inventory levels 100% accurate.
Tickspot
This time management software makes keeping projects on budget an easy task. Users can log hours, track the amount of time spent on each task, take notes, and jump between multiple timers based on the task they are working on at the moment. Ecommerce store owners can make use of TickSpot’s report functions to keep an eye on project budgets and productivity, assign tasks to members of their team, or set recurring projects from within the app. Pricing ranges from free for a single project to $149 for unlimited projects.
Asana
Available to businesses and individuals, Asana is a task management SaaS platform that allows task assignment, scheduling, and tracking. Files can be imported or linked to from within the platform and team members receive reminders for upcoming and recently missed deadlines. Discussion boards and team conversations allow for clear communication and collaboration from anywhere in the world. Many freelancers are already using Asana, making this a natural choice for managing your outsourced tasks, including content marketing and content creation. Most small teams can get by with the free membership, but Asana Premium is also affordably priced, ranging from $6.25-11.99/month based on payment options and number of users.
Inventory Source
Available as a fully-automated SaaS ($199/month) or solely for inventory management ($50/month), Inventory Source automatically syncs your inventory, updates your website, and integrates ordering and tracking functionality. You can buy additional features like Push to eBay and a Turnkey Shopify website.
Inventory Source can save you the embarrassment of “out of stock” messages on popular products on your site. Over 100 drop shipping companies are integrated with Inventory Source, but if your preferred vendor is not on the list, you can add them. Inventory Source has more than 20 integrations, including Shopify, WooCommerce, 3D Cart, BigCommerce, Walmart, Amazon, Jet, Magento, X-Cart, and Ordoro. Custom integrations are also available.
Working Mechanism of Ecommerce
E-commerce is powered by the internet, where customers can access an online store to check out, and place orders for products or services via their own gadgets.
As the order is placed, the customer’s internet browser will interact back and forth with the server hosting the online store site. Information relating to the order will then be relayed to a central computer known as the order manager– then forwarded to databases that manage stock levels, a merchant system that manages payment info (using applications such as PayPal, Stripe), and a bank computer– prior to circling back to the order supervisor.
This is to make sure that shop inventory and consumer funds suffice for the order to be processed. After the order is confirmed, the order supervisor will notify the shop’s internet server, which will then display a message alerting the consumer that their order has been successfully processed. The order manager will then send out order information to the warehouse or consummation department, in order for the services or product to be effectively dispatched to the consumer. At this point tangible and/or digital products may be shipped to a consumer, or access to a service may be granted.
Platforms that host e-commerce transactions may consist of online marketplaces that sellers simply sign up for, such as Amazon.com; software application as a service (SaaS) tools that allow customers to ‘lease’ online shop facilities; or open-source tools for business to use in-house advancement to manage.
Conclusion:
E-commerce is an exciting opportunity for businesses to reach potential customers across the world. E-commerce has many advantages – it creates a global market and provides convenience for customers who want to shop from their own home. By finding the right e-commerce platform, your business can become dynamic, easy to manage and user friendly.
With the rapid growth of internet, ecommerce has become very popular and important. Thousands of people are buying stuff from e-commerce websites everyday, and everyone wants to buy something. The demand for quality ecommerce websites is increasing day by day. Ecommerce websites are much easier to build if you use some tools and mechanisms. Some advanced e commerce tools can also be used in your website for making it user friendly.