With the world of ecommerce growing rapidly it can sometimes be a daunting task deciding what elements are important or on which ecommerce software you should use to launch your business. Worry not, we've done the research and are here to help. In the blog below, we dive into some of the key features you can use on Zoho Commerce, along with a comparison between Zoho Commerce and Shopify. We even give you a quick setup guide to help you get started with Zoho Commerce.
3 Key Features your Ecommerce store needs
With ecommerce being an R86 Billion industry in South Africa, standing out and being able to deliver the best experience to your customers is the only way to stay ahead of the competition. Being able to keep your customers coming back for more is easier than trying to find new ones, you can do this by giving your customers the best online shopping experience with three key back-end features:
1. Mobile Optimisation
A responsive ecommerce platform is the best defense against a high bounce rate over all platforms. Mobile and Tablet users account for over 46% of online consumers and 75% of them admit to leaving sites that aren't responsive or optimised for mobile.
2. Automated Payment & Checkout System
Having an automated payment system deals with the billing process so that you don't have to, allowing you to avoid manually processing transactions entirely. This can be done through payment integration with online payment platforms like Zoho Checkout, PayPal, or Stripe.
3. Reporting & Analytics Tool
Data and Information are key components to understanding your business. With the correct data you can monitor consumer behaviour, gain insight into product performance as well as track payment reports. These in return helps you make better business decisions related to the growth of your online store.
Using the right ecommerce platform for your business is vital to it's success, whether its functionality, user experience, templates or security. The features ecommerce platforms provide need to be tailored to your business. With so many platforms to choose from, such as Spotify, Woocommerce, Wix etc. you need to choose a platform that works best for you. Not every platform will suit your business' needs, however there are a few that come close, one of them is Zoho Commerce. If you are looking for easy setup with vast integration options, nothing comes close to Zoho Commerce.
What is Zoho Commerce?
Zoho Commerce is an ecommerce platform, providing you with effective ways to design, tailor and maintain your online business. The idea behind Zoho Commerce is to keep your everyday decision-making process to a minimum, allowing you the time to focus on the key aspects of what makes your business unique and leave the mundane tasks to the software.
With the features designed with your success in mind, let's dive into some of them and how they work for you:
- Website Templates
- Product Cataloging
- Inventory & Shipping
Website Templates
Zoho Commerce offers a wide range of pre-built templates and designs that are mobile optimised to help to get started faster. If pre-built sites aren't for you then take advantage of the customisation tab where you can design and arrange your store the way you want it.
Product Cataloging
You can easily add your products and their details without breaking a sweat. Uploading product images and adding alt text to aid with search engine optimisation with ensure higher levels of traffic to your store.Inventory & Shipping
It is important to keep track of orders and their position within your pipeline. Zoho Commerce can automatically monitor inventory levels and shipment integration with your preferred shipping carriers to ensure a smooth shipping process. Not to mention the Batch & serial tracking feature that allows you to keep track of large orders effortlessly.
Integrations
Easy integrations are essential to managing an ecommerce store with efficiency. Zoho Commerce integrates with all the relevant sales, marketing, and finance apps within the Zoho suite, empowering you to scale your business operations as your sales multiply.
As you begin making use of more tools and services to support your ecommerce business and its growth, you're soon to find that a lot of your customer data is distributed across different systems. With Zoho CRM integration you are able to improve user experience with the help of detailed information in order to tailor product marketing channels.
Zoho SalesIQ integration allows you to use live chat features on your website, effective in answering customer queries in real time to help you continuously move them down your sales pipeline. Other marketing integrations such as Zoho Campaigns allows you to trigger emails based on customer actions. Delivery of your product is not the final step with Zoho Survey, you can gain valuable feedback from customers and their experience with your online store.
Setting up your store with Zoho Commerce
When it comes to launching your ecommerce store, it does not come easier than Zoho Commerce. Follow these simple steps and you'll be up and running in no time.
6 Easy Steps:
- Fill in your Store Information
- Select a Template
- Add your Products
- Publish your Store
- Configure your shipping rates + times
- Set up your tax information Integrate payment gateways
6 Easy Steps:
- Fill in your Store Information
- Select a Template
- Add your Products
- Publish your Store
- Configure your shipping rates + times
- Set up your tax information Integrate payment gateways
How does Zoho Commerce compare with Shopify?
In the table below we compare Zoho Commerce and Shopify to give you insight on the limitations you are presented by other ecommerce platforms and the risk it poses to your business.
 Zoho Commerce |  Shopify |
|---|---|
| Large variety of templates, absolutely free | Hardly any free templates to choose from |
| Effortless integrations with other Zoho products to scale your business | Greatly dependent on third-party applications |
| High level of data privacy thanks to Zoho's stringent privacy and security policies | Integrations with high number of apps increase data privacy and security risks |
| Plans starting at R324/month | Plans starting at R326/month |
Why we recommend Zoho Commerce
We strongly recommend Zoho Commerce for small, medium, and micro enterprises in South Africa. With all the easy to use features, it awards you time to focus on what is important. Zoho Commerce was built to empower your everyday business operations and develop the growth for your business.
Start your 15-day free trial, or contact us to get a Zoho Premium partner to implement your online store for you.