Ecommerce stores, especially the larger ones, have an increasingly huge operation behind them. There are lots of tools available for ecommerce stores to help them improve and grow their business. Managing inventory, gaining insights about your customers and content management are just some of the many things you can do with these ecommerce apps and software.
Turned into an ecommerce site owner, who absolutely does not want to miss out any of the chances to drive the customers’ traffic and sales? Then you want to know about software for ecommerce of course.
They say that success leaves clues and if you’re a successful e-commerce merchant then you have examples of tools or resources that helped you reach your final destination. The problem many store owners face is they are either unsure where to look or perhaps they can’t afford the tools and resources in the first place. We’ve done a little of the legwork for you and want to share some of the e-commerce specific tools we’ve used over the years that help get us to our destination monthly.
While there are a lot of ecommerce tools out there, this article will focus on the best free ecommerce tools that can improve your website AND your business. Free ecommerce tools can not only help you with basics like inventory management, but also with user experience, site speed and more!
What are tools of ecommerce?
Ecommerce tools help you manage your online store more efficiently. They automate and streamline the processes related to online commerce, such as website design and inventory management.
1. An e-commerce platform
The first and most important tool for a successful e-commerce enterprise is the platform itself. Platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce were designed specifically for e-commerce storefronts. These platforms come preloaded with a slew of tools and services to help you manage your business. Each platform has its own themes and included services. Pick the one that’s right for your business. (Are you looking for a storefront option where your internal team can order branded merchandise (SWAG), official print materials, and more? Mimeo has you covered. We offer corporate-branded storefronts via our Mimeo Marketplace platform.)
2. Digital payment processing systems
You can convert more business by making your products or services purchasable on your website. Thankfully, several third-party payment providers make online transactions trouble-free and easy to manage. PayPal and Stripe are two of the most popular solutions available today. Nearly all e-commerce platforms can integrate these payment solutions into their website infrastructure.
3. Email marketing platforms and print marketing
To let new and existing customers know about products, you can turn to email marketing. This is a great way to get the word out about your brand. MailChimp is an invaluable tool you can use to grow your email list and execute coordinated marketing campaigns. What makes MailChimp so great is its ability to automate many of your marketing tasks. It also helps to track abandoned shopping carts and send customer follow-ups automatically to maximize conversions.
Another effective way to spread the word about your brand is through direct mail. With direct mail, you can break through the constant digital noise and land in your target customers’ hands. Mimeo has been helping clients print and distribute captivating direct mail pieces for over 20 years. Our print solutions include postcards, flyers, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and SWAG. Learn more about Mimeo’s direct mail printing services here.
4. Advanced analytics and tracking
Once your e-commerce site is up and running, you need to track and analyze all pertinent sales information for your company. Kiss Metrics provides behavioral customer engagement automation that helps you better understand the purchasing habits of your customers. Regardless of whether you’re focused on making more sales or increasing the performance of your website, Kiss Metrics’ website integration helps test valuable data points on your storefront to see what changes you should make to maximize efficiency.
5. Shipping service integrations
All online businesses need to have a solid understanding of how to handle their logistics efforts. Shipping service integrations through companies like Shipping Easy and Ordoro take the heavy lifting out of shipping quotations and label generation for your order fulfillment. Both companies are ideal for e-commerce businesses and can help automate order generation and marketplace fulfillment with high efficiency and minimal lead time.
6. Social media management solutions
Every successful company needs to maintain its social media presence. That being said, keeping social media profiles updated regularly is extremely time-consuming, especially for smaller teams. With the integration of social media management solutions for your e-commerce storefront, you can keep customers engaged while automating the legwork required to do so. HootSuite is one of the gold standards in social media automation, allowing you to access and post all your branded digital content in one easy-to-use platform. This platform is great for helping you organize your content and automate posts based on your editorial needs.
7. Customer relationship management software
Regardless of all the tools and services you use to benefit your e-commerce setup, nothing is more important than your customers’ satisfaction. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools have been around for years now, but Zendesk is by far one of the most popular tools in use today. That’s because out of all the customer service tools available, Zendesk concentrates on creating the best customer experience on your website while tracking those experiences through an extremely intuitive interface. In combination with a dedicated customer support team, using Zendesk can give your company a real competitive edge when compared to other companies’ lack of customer engagement.
Running an e-commerce business can be a great step forward for any small business owner looking to improve sales and brand awareness. With the use of these e-commerce tools and services, you can maximize your results online while ensuring the best overall shopping experience for your customers.
Doddle
Doddle is a great option for giving your online business an offline presence – without the expense of dedicated stores. It utilises their network of local UK stores and locations to make it easy for your online customers to click and collect as well as make local returns.
Note: CollectPlus also offer a similar service for UK retailers, while CNC Global offer locker delivery services in the US.
Personalisation tools
Personalisation is another element becoming vitally important to ecommerce success.
But this means more than just inserting someone’s first name into your marketing emails. It’s about having a dynamic site that puts highly personalised content, products and offers in front of individual browsers.
Monetate
Monetate collects high levels of data on your current customers’ buying habits in order to deliver optimal personalised experiences. It’s on the more high-end spectrum of tools, but is phenomenal at collecting and using quality data.
LimeSpot
LimeSpot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to drive more sales through personalised recommendations, upsells and cross-sells. There are apps for both Shopify and BigCommerce, but also strong options for Plus and Enterprise customers.
Personizely
Personizely is a conversion and personalisation marketing toolkit for ecommerce businesses. It contains several features that integrate with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento and more – including personalised exit intent modals, checkout recommendations and upsells.
Ecommerce email marketing tools
Email has been around for a while now. But it’s still thriving as a marketing tool.
However:
This doesn’t mean you have to do it the same way it’s always been done. There are plenty of email marketing ecommerce tools out there that allow for the smartest, most up-to-date strategies.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is the email marketing platform of choice for many fast-growing ecommerce brands. The reason? It’s built specifically with ecommerce in mind – and comes pre-built with automated flows for abandoned cart, browse abandonment, customer winback and more as well as enhanced segmentation capabilities.
Omnisend
Omnisend goes beyond email marketing to handle your entire omnichannel marketing needs. It integrates email with your online store, social media and a variety of sales channels in order to provide personalised messaging that drives sales.
SmartrMail
SmartrMail is another email platform built specifically with ecommerce in mind. This time heavily specialising in providing personalised messaging to help drive upsells and recover abandoned carts in the smartest ways possible.
Messenger marketing & chatbots
Many brands are now taking advantage of the conversational commerce trend – driving sales through automated chatbots and messaging apps.
It can take some work to get right. But it’s not nearly as complicated or out-of-reach as it might seem at first glance – especially when you have the right tools.
Here are the best ones to use:
Chatfuel
Chatfuel specialise in helping businesses build customised Messenger bots. Allowing you to set up advanced AI sequences that drive sales by guiding people through choosing products and making a purchase – specifically tailored to your business needs.
ShopMessage
ShopMessage lets you use Facebook Messenger in the same way you’d use email – collecting subscribers, then marketing to them to upsell, cross-sell and recover abandoned carts. All highly powerful when you consider the typical 81% open rates and 36% click-through rates.
Tidio
Tidio is a genuine chatbot – a live chat tool that sits on your site to provide support and help to customers in an attempt to convert them into buyers. You can set up automated responses, but then also have a human take over.
Payment ecommerce tools
The way consumers pay for your products is changing – rapidly.
Yes, plenty of people will still take the standard route of paying by credit card in one lump at checkout. But plenty of others want different options.
These are the ecommerce tools you need to help offer those options.
Klarna
Klarna allows you to give customers the option of paying in full now, at a later date or in instalments. Making it much easier to incorporate tactics like “try-before-you-buy” and “free trial” into your business model – things that can have a huge impact on checkout conversions.
ReCharge Payments
Another hot and popular ecommerce payment option right now? Subscriptions. And ReCharge Payments have your back on this – whether you’re selling monthly subscription boxes or just want to give customers an easy way to commit to recurring/repeat orders.
Partial.ly
Partial.ly is great for simply giving customers the option to create a payment plan at checkout. It’s especially useful if you sell high price-point items – helping overcome the common objection of having to pay out a big lump sum.
Loyalty, retention & referral tools
Your current and recent customers should always be your first point of call for driving more sales. They’ve bought from you before, so they’re likely to buy again – and refer others.
YotPo
YotPo is a well-known ecommerce tool now – but it’s pretty epic when it comes to loyalty and referrals. It’s all about collecting reviews, showcasing them on your site and social channels and building loyalty and referral programs to get customers ‘stuck’ to your brand.
Loox
Loox is a reviews app for Shopify stores, but with one key difference – it encourages your customers to take a photo with their review. This all adds that extra layer of authenticity to your site, with people able to see others actually using (and enjoying) your products.
Smile.io
Smile.io helps you set up awesome loyalty programs to keep customers coming back. You can set up points-based programs, tiered VIP programs and even work-in referral rewards as well – turning one-time sales into a repeat buying beast.
Referral Candy
Most businesses get at least some new customers from word of mouth, but it usually just happens organically. Referral Candy bucks that trend by adding systems and strategy to your referral campaigns – helping you get more sales from current customers.
PushOwl
PushOwl lets you send out browser and mobile push notifications for product launches, sales or just general cross-selling opportunities. It’s a great way to re-engage past customers and keep them coming back to your store via a channel that isn’t (yet) quite so crowded as email and social.
Free advice for business owners who want to launch an online store
With the rise of online shopping, making the move to an online store has countless benefits. But the sheer quantity of options for launching a website can be overwhelming. That’s why Best E-Commerce Builders offers a methodical comparison of the most popular, highly-rated website builders. We provide information based on first-hand experience with website builders to help you make the best decision for your particular needs and get your store online in no time.
CONCLUSION
Ecommerce is a growing method of purchasing goods and products. With large companies like Amazon leading the way for this form of purchasing, startups need to capitalize on these trends.
Ecommerce runs the gamut of businesses. An Ecommerce platform will run an online book seller, an on-demand grocery store and an online department store. Whether you’re looking to improve your site’s performance or create a new ecommerce solution, there are many different tools out there that can help.