5 Best eCommerce software modules marketplace

Due to rising competition and the increasing demands of customers for ultra-convenience, e-commerce companies proceed to innovate and produce increasingly important features of their platforms. There are several things to keep in mind to obtain the best e-commerce platform for your requirements.

In May 2016, Google disclosed that mobile had surpassed desktop in product searches. That case put mobile commerce front and center of every e-commerce company and directed the focus of the mobile shopping experience. If you're not starting with a mobile-first approach to your shopping experience, you are setting yourself at a competing disadvantage from the origin.

Social commerce was another trend that blew throughout the year. According to one study, social media connections buying decision of about 74% online shoppers. Plus, 60% of retailers who performed social commerce said they obtained new customers from different social networks. Social commerce abandons the ultimate in support by allowing customers to purchase directly from their favored social media channels rather than having an exit to a separate shopping cart. This uniformity of integration will continue to develop and dominate in 2017.

Bottom line: While search engine optimization and renowned user experience design are necessary, today's e-commerce platforms aim to profit from mobile & social commerce trends.

Also, the growing simplicity of these platforms is providing new entrants with non-technical backgrounds. Keeping these inclinations and changing requirements of the modern e-commerce business in mind, research has highlighted the five best e-commerce platforms that are likely to assist a range of entrepreneurs from individuals to authorized merchants most efficiently in 2017:

1. Shopify

Shopify hosts are covering 325,000 active online shops, and with its focus on social commerce and mobile shopping, the platform continues to develop to meet the expanding requirements of online stores.

The Advantages of Shopify are:

Over 100 store templates (themes) to pick from

1500+ apps plugins and extensions to extend the store's functionality

Ability to combine your online store with your Facebook page and sell immediately on Facebook

Built-in mobile-friendly shopping cart and mobile merchant apps and Shopify presents a platform to connect store buyers with app developers for the evolution of their store's app

24/7 assistance via live chat, phone, and tutorials as well as the Shopify community conference

Despite these benefits, there are some important downsides with the platform. First, if you don't use Shopify Payment, there will be a supplementary transaction fee on every sale. Plus, several of the extensions for additional functionality isn't free, so, running your store on Shopify might require a little more than you expected. Lastly, Shopify has its coding language called 'Liquid,' so any customization in the system befalls at an additional expense.

When is Shopify a good choice?

For beginners with general requirements, Shopify remains the ideal e-commerce solution. Based on your budget requirements, you can pick different packages which range from $29 to $299/month. But if you have bizarre features and functionalities in mind for your store, it might be better to look elsewhere.

2. BigCommerce

Launched in 2009, BigCommerce currently entertains over 55,000 online stores and is amongst the leading e-commerce software providers. From big headliners like Martha Stewart & Toyota to SMEs, the program ideally caters to stores of all sizes. And considering the complete list of built-in features it grants, BigCommerce has often rated the best option for those who have limited to no technical knowledge, or solely don't have time to mess with the code.

The Benefits of BigCommerce are:

Extensive built-in features including newsletters, coupons, analytics, shipping, tax, and more

Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce imposes no transaction fee.

All free and paid themes are tender and offer a constant mobile experience.

Blend your store with Facebook, Google shopping eBay and a range of comparison sites

Strong support with extremely effective setup wizard, educational videos, and comprehensive guides with visual representations

One concern with BigCommerce is the dearth of free themes. Currently, it allows only seven free themes, while a maximum of their immediate competitors offers more than 20 free themes. However, the platform has a complete list of premium themes, and it also provides customization of these themes if you require giving your store a unique look and character.

When should you operate with BigCommerce?

If you require a full-fledged store but don't want the hassles of integrating plug-ins, editing HTML/CSS or additional code, then BigCommerce is the go-to e-commerce platform for you. If you are ready to compromise a bit on themes, then BigCommerce is a strong option to Shopify at roughly the identical pricing (BigCommerce's plans are within $29 and $199/month) without the incremental transaction prices.

3. Magento

With approximately one-fourth of the market share, Magento is usually considered the market leader among e-commerce platforms. For its loyalty and scalability, many popular brands practice Magento as the underlying technology for their online stores, including Pepe Jeans, Burger King, Huawei& Liverpool F.C. This platform is considered the immeasurable e-commerce platform for enterprise-level online stores.

The Benefits of Magento are:

Good user experience: simple to use and manage

Open source platform and hence open to all sorts of customization.

9000+ plugins/extensions to balance your business

Free extensions that allow social commerce so you can market on social media platforms

Widespread resource library for store management, growth, demos, and online community of storekeepers as well as plugin developers you can touch for help

One of the significant factors associated with Magento is the pricing of its versions. The primary Community version is free, while the advanced Enterprise version costs a minimum $20,000/year. The Community version is no competition for the Enterprise version, which offers many built-in high-end features like customer segmentation, a maintenance module, 24/7 support and a much more.

Additionally, the flexible, open source environment of the platform also addresses it quite complex, so you need very skilled developers for customization. So even with the Community version -acknowledging hosting, SSL, extensions, customization, etc. - it will likely cost you notable time and money to get your e-commerce store exactly as you want it.

When is Magento the ideal solution?

Magento is considered the right e-commerce platform for enterprise-level merchants with a comprehensive volume of products. Given the complexity of store setup and supervision with Magento, the platform is not suggested for beginners.

4. YoKart

With its characteristic richness and sharp pricing models, YoKart is built with a specific focus on helping startups build e-commerce ecosystem easily. Consider of it as the one-stop solution for launching multi-vendor stores like eBay and Etsy. Although many other e-commerce platforms also present their multi-vendor version, YoKart does this fluently.

The Benefits of YoKart are:

An enthusiastic-to-launch multi-vendor marketplace solution

Other than the framework, you hold the source code and can customize the opening to your requirements.

YoKart is built on an encrypted framework. Which suggests that customization would need knowledge of that framework. In general, an expert PHP developer would quickly explain the framework and how to transform it as needed.

Mobile-friendly platform and a devoted Android app for marketplaces

Same features beyond all pricing packages (briefed below)

Comprehensive manuals for store owners and video tutorials, merchants, FAQs, and 12-month unrestricted support for store management

Being a comparatively new participant in the industry, there are no third-party extensions currently available for YoKart. But the system offers built-in analytics tool, over a dozen supported rewards, payment gateways, and discount coupon control features. A big drawback, however, is its absence of social commerce capabilities, meaning that it currently lacks the features to enable merchants to sell on Facebook and additional social media platforms.

When is YoKart the right e-commerce platform?

For multi-vendor stores like eBay and Etsy, YoKart is a great choice. Its startup package is a hosted solution with a one-year license, which costs $250 and allows startups to support their business model. The venerable version is self-hosted, customizable, costs $999 (one time), and is dedicated to companies who have a reliable business model. Switching from a startup to an exceptional package is also quite easy.

5. Big Cartel

With the slogan 'We believe in the artist,' Big Cartel targets artists & additional small-scale home-based businesses run by individuals. The platform demands to have helped over a million artists in selling their creations online since it originated in 2005. This extremely easy to use hosted system is often regarded as the immeasurable ticket for artists and other creative people to enter the e-commerce arena.

The Advantages of Big Cartel are:

Extremely manageable to setup a store and manage it

Facebook store access

Aesthetically intellectual themes

Comprehensive Help Center (detailed guides & FAQs), helpful support via email, video tutorials, and Big Cartel's Facebook & Twitter statements

The simplicity of Big Cartel also happens in limited functionality, which is a downside for those who want to do further than just sell products. Big Cartel's theme library is limited to 12 themes, out of which only two are responsive (meaning optimized for mobile devices). There are restricted add-ons; however, store owners can get access to 500+ apps via Zapier integration.

These challenges are because Big Cartel targets a very particular segment, so, some of them can be ignored. Currently, it only allows social commerce for Facebook. Given its target viewers (artists & creative individuals), it will likely incorporate other social networks in the future (or at least it should).

When is Big Cartel the right e-commerce solution?

As stated earlier, this platform is ideal for individual artists and artistic people (not for typical retailers). With its simplistic stores and reasonable pricing ($0 to $29.99/month), Big Cartel enables artists to sell things online quickly with a good-looking website, thereby allowing the artist to concentrate on creating things instead of maintaining their online store.

The increasing dominance of mobile and social media shows no sign of slowing down. Managing social and mobile platforms as vehicles to relinquish new customers and encourage more sales is a critical feature of any e-commerce platform in 2017 and beyond.

While seeking for an e-commerce solution, be convinced to check whether the platform will allow you to profit from these trends and that the chosen e-commerce platform aligns with the proposed needs and