Keeping up with the current rate of e-Commerce growth is no longer an option; business owners must constantly keep an eye out for the newest innovations and trends. There are many ways for retail businesses that want to start or grow their online presence to realize their goals.
The United Kingdom has a wide variety of e-Commerce selling platforms dedicated to a variety of goods as one of the top countries for online shopping, with 78% of its Internet users making online purchases. This article will give you an insightful look into the vast world of UK e-Commerce and help you decide which platform will work best for your particular business model.
What is an e-Commerce selling platform?
The act of exchanging goods online through a reputable platform is referred to as e-Commerce. According to a consumer, a typical e-Commerce channel should have information on the goods, the seller's contact information, a "Add to basket" button, a chatbot, and a quick online checkout procedure.
However, the website should also have an inventory management system, a strong bandwidth to withstand a high volume of visitors during sales, and an up-to-date design as well as infrastructure for the sellers who are frequently involved in the creation and management of the platform.
An e-Commerce platform essentially serves as a lifeboat for retail business owners who want to launch their online presence from scratch but are unable to afford a physical store.
Business owners will be exposed to a variety of different types of e-Commerce platforms as a result of the development of web-based retail services. The degree of customization that is available to the merchants largely accounts for their differences.
Let's examine some of the most prevalent types and the benefits and drawbacks that each one has to offer.
Common e-Commerce selling platform types
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) (IaaS)
With the help of this service, you may give the platform's primary foundation and infrastructure to a third party, giving you more control over the creation of the platform's capabilities.
You are in charge of creating or acquiring, implementing, and administering e-commerce software and apps. Your IaaS provider will take care of networking, storage, servers, and virtualization.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) (PaaS)
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) allows you to outsource a greater variety of tasks than IaaS does.
Offloading operational maintenance responsibilities to a service provider gives you more freedom. Companies that develop software or applications for their brands prefer to use this approach.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) (SaaS)
Choosing SaaS entails selecting an instant-use e-commerce solution. Customization is possible, but only within the constraints of the established setup. SaaS enables you to use software to launch an e-Commerce site without having to install and run it locally.
On-premise
As opposed to being set up by another provider and accessed via the cloud, on-premise e-commerce systems are directly managed and maintained by the retailer's IT staff.
Pros and cons of selling platforms in the UK
There are always two sides to every story; e-Commerce platforms can be an effective tool if you know how to use and manage them, but poor management of such channels can lead to a bad customer experience and brand damage.
Discover below the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing an e-Commerce platform:
Pros
Customers can look at products anywhere, simplifying the purchasing process.
lowering the expense of operating physical storefronts for start-ups
allowing a variety of payment options for simple transactions
Simple on-site integration of marketing and advertising initiatives
gaining access to the information about your customers to engage them further
having complete control over the look, feel, and navigation of the website
less limitation on scaling and promotion
Cons
time-consuming to set up and launch
extremely competitive environment
poorer customer service compared to actual stores
Scalability may be pricey.
Considering UK selling platforms
There are a number of things to take into account before making a decision, whether you're organizing an online launch for a brand-new company or are just looking for better selling platforms.
You will be able to choose the best e-Commerce strategy in the UK for your business model after careful consideration and research.
Scalability
The level of development and scaling opportunities offered by various e-Commerce platforms should always be taken into account. In this way, you can quickly plan out and implement any new services and offerings, enabling you to quickly put any vision for business growth into action.
operating expenses
To develop a workable and sensible budget plan, it is essential to be aware of the operating costs that your business will face on such platforms. Make sure to collect the operating costs of various platforms so you can compare and contrast them.
Customer engagement tool
Always look for opportunities to engage with your clients and site visitors. Decide which channel offers a high-impact customer engagement tool that your company can use to engage with your target audience and produce measurable results.
Services
The site will have the most recent services if its e-Commerce platform is strong. The conversion of leads, customer loyalty, and customer retention will all be aided by these services.
SEO-friendliness
Your e-Commerce site will perform well in search engine results if it was developed on a platform with strong SEO capabilities. Your business will become more well-known and visible when customers are searching for a supplier of a particular product.
UK's top online retailers
With a wide range of platforms available to help retailers, the UK now has a sizable e-Commerce market.
The following well-known UK selling platforms will meet your needs and make it easier for you to launch your online store, depending on the size and needs of your business:
The best option for small merchants is Shopify.
It's not surprising that any company, no matter how big or small, will find a lot to like about Shopify given that over 1 million companies have used it to increase their online presence.
The platform provides a wide range of site-building tools at reasonable prices, depending on the level of scalability you require. A 14-day free trial is also offered if you'd want to try things out before signing up for a membership.
Pricing
There are three main Shopify pricing tiers that range from £19 per month for Basic Shopify to £259 per month for Advanced Shopify.
The most cost-effective choice is WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a top-notch open-source plug-in choice for WordPress users. It's an excellent resource for new and small businesses seeking to grow quickly because it's free. WooCommerce has a large selection of extensions and add-ons, some of which are paid, but you get the vast majority of its features for free, which is a major plus.
Pricing
Your particular needs and requirements will determine the cost of WooCommerce. Start with the free version before upgrading to a premium plan for more sophisticated features. Premium plans cost between £49 and £199 annually.
The most avant-garde platform is Wix.
Because it uses cloud storage rather than traditional hard server storage, Wix is currently the most cutting-edge e-Commerce platform in the UK.
Users can create online stores using a variety of templates and designs using this drag-and-drop e-commerce website builder.
Pricing
A basic website can cost as little as £17 per month or as much as £500 per month for large-scale businesses.
Wix offers a wide range of site-building options, including the ability to display digital goods or create a page specifically for product image galleries, despite its low cost.
The most design-focused platform is Zyro.
Thanks to Zyro's ease of use and accessibility to hundreds of design templates, you can quickly create a professionally designed website.
There is a catch, though: the quick and easy process of building a website comes at the expense of customization, which is limited to 12 parts that can be used to alter your website. For anything else, you'll need to be able to code.
Pricing
Zyro offers reasonable prices for new businesses and retailers on a tight budget; the platform's usage costs just £1.98 to £5.70. Any annual plan also includes a free domain and three months.
BigCommerce is the best option for businesses with a lot of online sales.
a platform for e-commerce that caters primarily to big businesses or people with big investment budgets. It is an online retail platform with the capacity to handle hundreds or thousands of transactions daily.
A few of the features that are worth your time and money include custom domains, multi-currency support, rating and review systems, and even digital gift cards.
Pricing
Some themes are available for free use, but any additional features require payment.
The price ranges from £22 for the Standard plan to £59 for the Plus plan and up to £223 for the Pro plan.
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