As traditional, retail-based brick-and-mortar stores are struggling, e-commerce is thriving. The U.S. e-commerce market alone came in at $322.17 billion dollars – and is slated to continue growing at a breakneck pace, eclipsing $485 billion by 2021.
And this isn’t all due to gigantic retailers like Amazon and Ebay. Small e-commerce stores built on platforms like Shopify and Magento are on the rise. According to BuiltWith, there are more than 500,000 e-commerce storefronts built on these platforms alone.
Because of the huge amount of competition in the growing e-commerce market, online small business retailers are looking for any edge they can get.
If you’re an online entrepreneur looking to take your business to the next level, read on – these apps are powerful, affordable, and have the potential to elevate your business to new heights. Here is a list of 7 must have ecommerce apps in 2017
1. Shopified App
Shopified App is exceptionally useful for drop shippers looking to expand their product catalog and save time fulfilling orders.
The app was built for drop shipping companies that use sites like AliExpress, Alibaba, and many other marketplaces to source their products, allowing them to easily integrate products from these merchants into their online storefronts. Shopified App has tons tools to help store owners run their stores more efficiently. Here’s a short list of our favorite features:
- 1-click product importing – The Shopified Chrome extension can import products from dozens of marketplaces with only the push of a button, saving valuable time.
- Automated order fulfillment – Shopified App allows business owners to avoid the back and forth, copying and pasting of customer information one order at a time. Now fulfilling orders can be done with just one click.
- Powerful pricing tools – Shopified App allows you to set custom margins and prices on all products, without modifying each product individually. All you have to do is set your desired profit margin in the app settings and products are automatically priced exactly how you want them.
- Image extraction and editing – No more saving pictures to your desktop – Shopified App can simply extract images from product listings, and you can use a built-in photo editor to make any necessary changes while uploading products.
And that’s not even close to the full list of features. If you run an e-commerce business that uses AliExpress and Alibaba for fulfillment, Shopified App can help you streamline your business dramatically, saving you both time and money. The monthly fee for this app is very reasonable given the amount of time you will save. They also offer a 14 day free trial so you can test it out.
2. MailChimp
What can we say about MailChimp that hasn’t been said already? MailChimp – which you’re probably familiar with if you’ve listened to a podcast in the last 4 years – is the single most versatile, powerful, and affordable email marketing program in existence.
Hugely customizable templates, an easy-to-understand interface, and a reasonable pricing model combine to make MailChimp the single most popular email marketing platform, and it’s used by gigantic retailers and small businesses alike.
And though MailChimp is simple to use, it still boasts powerful features that can be useful as you continue to hone your marketing efforts. Robust email analytics, powerful marketing automation tools, and mobile integration are just a few of the powerful features you can utilize to grow your business when you use MailChimp.
Mailchimp also can integrate directly with dozens of apps and services like SalesForce, Shopify, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and more. Best of all? It’s free to get started – and small businesses can pick the features and pricing that is most appropriate for them as they grow.
If you’re looking to do email marketing for an e-commerce business, there’s simply no substitute. MailChimp is #1 for a very good reason.
3. OneSignal
OneSignal provides powerful, easy-to-integrate push notifications to mobile devices, and can be easily integrated into e-commerce stores. Using their simple, easy-to-setup platform, you can schedule regular updates on orders to your customers, and send reminders about products left in shopping carts, sales, and much more.
The power of push notifications shouldn’t be underestimated. According to OneSignal, most users receive an average of 63.5 push notifications per day, mainly from messaging applications and emails.
And while even the best emails have around a 24.7% open rate, well-designed push notifications can exceed a 40% open rate – making them powerful tools for marketing your business, and for keeping customers in the loop regarding the status of their orders.
So if you’re looking for a way to take your customer communication to the next level, OneSignal is a great choice. You’ll have to hire a developer to implement it – unless you’re code-savvy – but the investment is well worth it, and the monthly costs of OneSignal are very reasonable.
4. Sumo
When it comes to growing an e-commerce website, traffic is king. More traffic means more sales – and that means more profits. Because of this, many e-commerce business owners are turning to tools like Sumo to help them automate their website’s growth, and boost their business.
But though traffic is important, it’s not everything – and that’s why Sumo provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help grow traffic, boost customer conversions, and track the success of past campaigns.
Customer conversion tools like Welcome Mat provide small businesses with easily-customizable CTAs that can help them build email lists, and Scroll Box allows you to get customers to sign up for your email list – without using a full-screen popup.
Traffic-boosting features include Share, which allows for easy social media integration, and has been shown to boost traffic by up to 20%, as well as Image Sharer, which provides users with simple ways to share product images and more.
Finally, tools like HeatMaps can help you better understand your website’s design, and where users are looking when they’re visiting your store. These analytics can be invaluable as you seek to boost traffic, lower bounce rates, and increase conversions.
Signing up for Sumo is free, and installing it on your website is a breeze, so give it a try today!
5. YotPo
YotPo is a great answer to an age-old solution – how can your customers communicate with each other on your website?
User-generated content is extremely powerful, and product reviews have been shown to have a massive effect on purchasing decisions – around 88% of surveyed consumers said that online reviews were very important when purchasing an item from a brand they were unfamiliar with.
YotPo allows you to streamline the process of gathering user-generated reviews and uploading them to your website. The powerful review generation features of this application allow for a simplified, intuitive review process, and the messages sent by the app can be customized and branded to be store-specific.
YotPo also lets you connect with consumer post-purchase, and ask them questions about their items, their experience, and much more. YotPo also offers other tools such as community Q&A forums, coupons, and more – all built to increase customer loyalty and retention.
If you’ve been looking for a simplified way to gather user feedback on your products and increase trust in your brand, YotPo is a fantastic choice – and you can request a demo for free.
6. ShipStation
Shipping can be a huge issue for e-commerce stores. Whether your store uses dropshipping fulfillment or traditional fulfillment methods, juggling dozens of suppliers, hundreds of customers, and thousands of orders can be enough to make you lose your mind – unless you have a powerful shipping application like ShipStation on hand.
ShipStation offers simple integration with dozens of e commerce storefronts, including eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, Squarespace, and more, and features advanced automation and order importation technology that can help you keep all of your orders in one place.
And that’s not all – ShipStation also streamlines the process of shipping your orders – you can process shipments via USPS, DHL, FedEx, UPS and more all within the ShipStation user interface. This allows you to select the best rates, fulfillment times, and more – without having to navigate between a half-dozen different websites.
Returns are also a breeze – you can generate RMA numbers, return shipping labels, and tracking updates with a single click of a button, taking the hassle out of the return process.
If order fulfillment has been giving you headaches, ShipStation may be the perfect solution. Sign up today for a 30-day free trial.
7. Crisp
Modern consumers demand real-time communication, but most e-commerce stores still conduct most of their communication over email, or through dedicated customer support portals. And while email and customer support tickets are useful, they’re asynchronous. Your customers will never get a real-time support experience – and this can make communication difficult.
Enter Crisp. Crisp is a simple, intuitive real-time chatbox that can be incorporated into just about any website. With just two lines of code and 90 seconds of installation, Crisp can be installed on just about any CMS, including Shopify, WordPress, Drupal, Magento, and more.
This fully-customizable chat application is an ideal solution for any company looking to improve their customer support, and provide a simple way that customers can have their questions answered by a real person.
In addition, Crisp supports large-scale messaging campaigns, and can interface with applications like Slack, Facebook Messenger, SMS messaging, and email. Any replies sent by your customers will land directly in your Crisp inbox, allowing you to keep all of your marketing communications centralized in a single messaging solution.
Crisp is free to try, so give it a shot today – and see how real-time messaging can improve your customer satisfaction rates, and help your e-commerce store grow.
Get A Competitive Edge In E-Commerce – Try These Innovative Apps Today!
The world of e-commerce is only going to grow – and that means that entrepreneurs are going to have to use all of the tools available to them to continue to expand their business, or risk being left behind.
But with the vast number of helpful tools available to today’s e-commerce entrepreneurs, the outlook is bright for those who aren’t afraid to try new things. So check out these apps – and see how you can ensure the success of your business for years to come.