6 Best Ecommerce Tools (Free & Paid) for Brands and Marketers
Best ecommerce tools.
Why do we need them?
Because ecommerce is the future of the retail industry. Stats certainly indicate so and numbers don’t lie.
According to a Statista survey, the number of global digital buyers has increased to 2.14 billion in 2021. In other words, approximately around 27.2% of the world population is shopping on digital platforms.
Just to give you an idea about the magnitude of the e-commerce industry, there are presently about 24 billion ecommerce sites in the entire world and that number is constantly growing.
It comes as no surprise that the ecommerce market is projected to generate a revenue of 5.4 trillion US dollars by 2022.
It’s evident that people love shopping online. As an ecommerce business, you want to make inroads into this high-potential market and stamp your brand name.
As the opportunity is waiting, you should leverage the best ecommerce tools to help your business rise up the ladder in quick time.
But there’s a catch.
What’s that?
There are too many tools out there and you risk choosing the wrong one. That would be a big ecommerce mistake.
In this post, we make it easy for you to select the best ecommerce tools for your business as we list down their features and benefits. So let’s get going.
6 of the Best Ecommerce Tools for Your Business
The digital platform today has emerged as a highly profitable marketplace.
From ecommerce startups to giants in the industry, everyone wants to leverage this large customer base.
The good news is that you don’t have to do it all by yourself. You have the best ecommerce tools at your disposal to make your job a lot more fun and effortless.
Here are the 6 best ecommerce tools that we believe will make a difference in the way you run your ecommerce business when adopted wisely.
Let’s get exploring.
1. Shopify
Shopify, the #1 ecommerce platform, powers over a million businesses globally.
Ecommerce business owners find it to be one of the best ecommerce tools, loaded with exceptional features.
What began in 2006 as a Canadian youngster’s ecommerce solution, now generates billions every year.
Features
- Responsive and professional-looking templates and designs. Shopify is one of the best website builders making your ecommerce website look impressive on any device
- Easy to add and manage products on your ecommerce store
- Shipping features can be easily managed with just a few settings
- Allows store owners to open additional sales channels online (like Amazon, Facebook, etc)
Pros
- One of the best ecommerce tools, easy to use, even for beginners.
- Mobile-friendly designs with 170 customizable themes.
- Customers have complete access to the codes.
- Shopify App Store provides free and paid add-ons to make your ecommerce store better.
- Being one of the best ecommerce tools, Shopify offers 24 hours customer support.
Cons
- Users may take a while to get the hang of Shopify editor.
- Transaction fees are more for users who have not subscribed for Shopify Payment.
Usability
- This all-round tool suits all, from beginners to small businesses and ecommerce leaders. Larger businesses may reap more profitable results though.
Tool level
- Extremely user-friendly
Pricing
- Basic Shopify — $2 per month
- Shopify — $79 per month
- Advanced Shopify — $299 per month
- Shopify Plus — $2000 per month
Pro Tip: You may want to avoid additional charges by opting for the Shopify Payment gateway. The good news is that the additional transaction fees will not be charged for manual payments like cash on delivery, bank transfer, and so on.
2. BigCommerce
Next up, we take a look at BigCommerce, a SaaS ecommerce platform for merchants big and small. With one of the best ecommerce tools dominating the market presently, you can build, innovate, and grow your business.
BigCommerce was founded in 2009, and within a decade the company had more than 60,000 customers operating in more than 150 countries.
Features
- Suitable for B2B and B2C ecommerce models
- Highly responsive templates to deliver impressive customer experience on mobiles and desktops
- Highly skilled technical support team
- Robust security settings
Pros
- Highly reliable solution with best in class up-time
- Does not charge platform fees or commission
- Free built-in features focused on the users
- Hassle-free multi-channel integration
- Valuable support for organic SEO growth
Cons
- BigCommerce is not a “quick-fix” solution as it requires some practice
- It does not offer phone support
Usability
- Not quite easy to use but once you get a hang of it, Bigcommerce is quite efficient. It is a good option for businesses that sell on other platforms and are well-established.
Tool level
- Intermediate to advanced
Pricing
- Standard — $29.95 per month
- Plus — $79.95 per month
- Pro — $299.95 per month
- Enterprise — Custom
Pro Tip: You should consider going for the Bigcommerce Plus plan as you get the facility to send automated emails to customers for abandoned cart recovery.
3. Jungle Scout
Are you an ecommerce business owner focused upon establishing your customer base on Amazon? If yes, then Jungle Scout is just the thing for you.
Globally, Jungle Scout has powered more than 500,000 ecommerce entrepreneurs and established brands and is one of the finest tools to start selling on Amazon.
Features
- All-in-one platform for selling on Amazon
- Advanced features like Amazon FBA Calculator, Niche Hunter, Keyword Scout, Relevancy Score, and so much more
- You can easily track product performance and analyze the trends
- Conducts Amazon research instantly and provides tons of insights
Pros
- Gives you access to a wide range of tools to run your ecommerce business successfully
- Find valuable insights like winning products, competitor intelligence, sales estimates, etc.
- Provides product sales and revenue data
- In-depth search volume trends for your keywords
- It can predict the demand for products in the future, to get you prepared well ahead of time
- Fully secured platform
- Provides high-quality customer support
Cons
- Not a mobile-friendly app
- Priced on the higher side
- Dedicated to operating your business only on Amazon
Usability
- Highly efficient and easy-to-use tool. Make your dream of selling on Amazon come true effortlessly.
Tool level
- Beginner to intermediate
Pricing
- Jungle Scout Basic — $29 per month
- Jungle Scout Suite — $49 per month
- Jungle Scout Professional — $84 per month
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to go through the entire user guide to utilize this tool to the maximum.
4. Shift4Shop
Here is one of the oldest and among the best ecommerce tools in the market. Previously known as ‘3dcart’, Shift4Shop is a more than two decades old company trusted by nearly 200,000 ecommerce businesses.
This cloud-based solution is especially popular for all the features they offer at zero processing fees. But the business owners who have specific website design and service requirements may be left wanting.
Features
- Simple yet impressive website design packages which can be customized
- A feature-rich platform is available at zero cost for customers who opt for the Shift4Shop payment gateway
- 100s of highly engaging themes are added regularly
- Shift4Shop offers comprehensive SEO insights for better traffic generation
- Industry-leading, AI-driven protection against online frauds
- Free ecommerce website migration
Pros
- Free plans loaded with features
- Versatile and robust features on paid plans
- Zero translation fees
- Unlimited products and staff users
- Relatively a cheap ecommerce solution
- A highly scalable tool
Cons
- Website designs and features seem limited for the modern businesses
- Customer support is average compared to its competitors
Usability
- As one of the best ecommerce tools, Shift4Shop is best suited for smaller ecommerce businesses who want to get started quickly.
Tool level
- Simple and user-friendly tool
Pricing
- Basic Store — $29 per month
- Plus Store– $79 per month
- Pro Store — $229 per month
Pro Tip: You can better equip yourself to use Shift4Shop by learning more about the tool from its support forum and extensive knowledge base.
5. Oberlo
Are you considering collaborating with the best dropshipping suppliers for your ecommerce store? Oberlo is one of the best ecommerce tools you should consider for your purpose.
Oberlo provides complete integration with Shopify and AliExpress, making it easy for dropshippers to manage their orders in one place. Oberlo is not a full-fledged ecommerce hosting platform but acts as an extension for ecommerce websites built on Shopify.
Features
- Seamless and secure product importing from Aliexpress
- Customize product details
- Daily product syncing keeps your inventory updated automatically
- Oberlo is a well-optimized platform for a global audience with different languages, currencies, and worldwide shipping
- Choose a price point based on your business requirement
- Hassle-free sales tracking
- Built-in ePocket delivery feature
Pros
- One of the best dropshipping solutions for Shopify users
- Free 30 days trial
- More than 6500 Shopify stores are using Oberlo
- Automated order fulfillment and tracking
- Price markup feature available
- 24 hours customer support via live chat
Cons
- This isn’t an all-inclusive ecommerce platform
- Oberlo does not offer phone support
- Works only with Shopify ecommerce websites
Usability
- It works exceptionally well as a Shopify extension. Easy to install and gets integrated instantly.
Tool level
- Beginner
Pricing
- Explorer — Free (limited to 500 products)
- Boss — $29.90 per month
Pro Tip: If you are new to the ecommerce world, Oberlo membership can be highly valuable to you. You can get access to their ebooks, digital courses, podcasts, and dropshipping tools.
6. Big Cartel
How would you like to build an online ecommerce store for free? Yes, Big Cartel lets you build your store for free.
This is an ecommerce platform designed for artists and makers who desire to sell individual products online. They can have a dedicated online store for themselves where they can feel just a handful of products.
Features
- Simple navigation and regular prompts make Big Cartel highly user-friendly
- It helps you create a stand-alone online store rather than a marketplace
- Big Cartel pages are robust and fully optimized for Ecommerce SEO
- Paid plans offer features like custom domain, inventory management, discount codes, and integration of Google Analytics
Pros
- The only ecommerce platform allowing you to build an ecommerce website and sell for free
- It is a great choice for businesses starting up small
- More powerful than Etsy but less complex than Shopify
- Four different pricing plans based on the number of products you want to sell
- Complete customization for paid plans
Cons
- Limited themes and basic customization option
- Features lack depth for a full-fledged ecommerce store
Usability
- Big Cartel is extremely easy to use, allowing startups to create their online store for free.
Tool level
- Beginner
Pricing
- Up to 5 products — Free
- Up to 50 products — $9.99 per month
- Up to 500 products — $19.99 per month
Pro Tip: If you are an artist and have limited products to sell every month, you can opt for the free plan and upgrade later with an expanding product line.
Originally published at Attrock.com.
About The Author
Gaurav Sharma is the Founder and CEO of Attrock, a results-driven digital marketing company. Grew an agency from 5-figure to 7-figure revenue in just two years.
