7 E-Commerce Platforms You Should Learn About

In our past three posts, we have zeroed in on Shopify, Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce as solutions for running an eCommerce store. We discussed the best to use for your business size, which features they include and a cost comparison for each.

Not happy with our picks? Let’s have a look at some alternative popular eCommerce solutions.

1. Shopify Plus

Shopify Plus is a powerful enterprise-grade hosted SaaS-product by Shopify, designed for high-volume enterprise brands. It supports processing for up to 8,000 orders per minute, per shop and easy management of up to 10 shops at once. Other features include automatic task management, wholesale channel management, JavaScript and CSS support, real-time dashboards for online campaign monitoring, integration with more than 1,500 apps and more.

With Shopify Plus, there is no limit to the number of products you can offer or the sales volume in your store. It is built with the ability to manage heavy traffic. There are also no transaction fees (unlike in the regular version of Shopify). User-friendliness and advanced customization and integration options are other key benefits.

2. Bigcommerce

Bigcommerce is another big shark in the vast sea of eCommerce platforms. It is ranked among the top solutions for launching and maintaining online stores. BigCommerce offers a 30-day free trial with all features available, allowing the merchants to test if the product is suitable for their business needs. It is an enterprise-grade cloud platform targeted at established and rapidly growing businesses.

Bigcommerce consists of 4 core components: open architecture, enterprise functionality, market-leading performance and app ecosystem. It powers both B2B and B2C storefronts. One of the product’s most popular aspects is that it offers mobile templates that work smoothly out-of-the-box, helping attract customers who prefer browsing the Internet on their mobile devices.

The platform also supports sales via Facebook, eBay and Amazon and facilitates an easy connection with shopping feeds and product syndication pages. All shipping providers are supported, and the platform is SEO-friendly. Additionally, it integrates with the latest marketing tools like MailChimp, iContact, iDevAffiliate, oLark and other third-party software.

3. Shopware

Shopware is a PHP-based eCommerce application with more than 18 years of history. It is a popular solution in the DACH (Germany – Austria – Switzerland) region and surrounding territories and is used by many UK-based merchants as well. The application is open-source with a publically available product roadmap and modular architecture.

One of the biggest advantages of Shopware is that it offers features that can be delivered to other platforms via integration only. Shopware benefits from rich content management capability (Shopware CMS), drag-and-drop design layouts, multi-territory eCommerce capabilities, multi-warehouse support as a standard, an integrated ERP solution, dealer integration module and a significant B2B suite (at an additional cost). Its pricing plan is based on a one-off software purchase price and an ongoing monthly support fee.

4. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce Commerce Cloud was once known as Demandware. Demandware was launched in 2004 and quickly became a leader in enterprise eCommerce solutions. In 2016, Salesforce purchased and rebranded it.

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is commonly used by big lifestyle and fashion brands like Adidas, L’Oreal, Benetton, UGG, Ralph Lauren, Columbia and others. It operates as a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. It offers personalization capabilities and incorporates machine learning across core areas. Strong omnichannel features like order management, native multi-language, multi-currency and multi-store capabilities make the platform appealing to users. It also provides integrated A/B testing functionality, advanced merchandising and a high level of scalability.

5. SAP Hybris

SAP Hybris is an eCommerce system known for its ability to work on any channel. It can be purchased via a hybrid suite offering the on-premise, cloud-based and on-device deployment. This multichannel software solution integrates product content, commerce operations and extended channels for bringing the customer experience to the next level. 

SAP Hybris has been acknowledged as highly suitable for organizations in the telecommunication, financial services and manufacturing industries. Some of its key benefits are its omnichannel versatility, customer-centric operations via an integrated CRM-network, omnichannel B2B and B2C, versatile document management and built-in SEO optimization tools.

6. Oracle Commerce Cloud

Oracle Commerce Cloud is another SaaS platform launched and powered by Oracle. It is comprised of two components. The first is the administration interface that is used for performing all activities related to designing and maintaining the online store. The second is the demo storefront that can be modified to create your store. Among the key benefits of Oracle Commerce Cloud are the advanced search and merchandising options, flexible control over storefront branding and UX, scalability and flexible pricing options. It is often compared with Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Magento Commerce.

7. IBM WebSphere

IBM WebSphere is available in two editions: WebSphere Commerce Professional and WebSphere Commerce Enterprise. An issue with IBM WebSphere is that it was built during the desktop browsing era, and the focus has shifted toward mobile devices. WebSphere Commerce Professional provides a comprehensive B2C cross-selling solution for medium-sized businesses. It offers precision marketing and merchandising, A/B and multivariate testing, SEO optimization, configurable business processes and personalization. WebSphere Commerce Enterprise is an omnichannel platform that expands on the professional edition. It enables both B2C and B2B sales across all channels – including web, social media, store and call center.

Be thoughtful about which store builder you choose