Tag: Automate ecommerce

  • Top 10 Shipping Software for Ecommerce Fulfillment in 2023

    In eCommerce businesses, it is the quality of shipping service that the customers receive – that decides whether your business succeeds or fails. Whether you manage a tiny online store in your house or a large corporation, you will need shipping software to give a hassle-free post-purchase customer experience. It will help your business swiftly execute supply chain operations.

    The post-purchase experience symbolizes and builds a brand name in the eCommerce business. If you want to compete with big companies, you need to give your customers the best shipping experience possible. Each company’s requirements are unique but with the help of a strong eCommerce shipping solution onboard, you can store data, confirm or cancel orders, change inventory status, select courier, and more. It will enhance your overall efficiency and speed up the delivery process.

    Everything else in an eCommerce business is pointless if your delivery service is sloppy or falls short of quality standards. Thus, in today’s time, it is necessary to take the help of eCommerce shipping software for better service provision.

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    What is eCommerce Shipping Software?

    Ecommerce shipping software is a program that tracks orders and logistics. The software automates many aspects of shipping and provides businesses with information on their shipments. It can automate and streamline shipping services and delivery procedures that were previously handled manually. Furthermore, the software can detect and resolve all the shipping-related concerns.
    Automated shipping software aids eCommerce businesses in the efficient management of orders and providing quick delivery. It is a must-have solution for every eCommerce seller who receives large orders. Small, mid-sized, and large businesses can benefit from advanced software and solutions provided by shipping solution firms.

    Global Ecommerce Logistics Market Size from 2020 to 2026
    Global Ecommerce Logistics Market Size from 2020 to 2026

    Advantages of Ecommerce Shipping Software

    Keeping track of all procedures and monitoring performance require preparation and organization. Different software has made running a business easier compared to conventional ways. We can’t avoid the eCommerce sector when we talk about today’s business world. When we talk about eCommerce, logistics solutions come into play in a logical order.

    Shipping software helps investors, the operation team as well as customers. It is a 360° solution. The team can ensure accuracy and make a balance between supply and demand. Customers get 24×7 support with track and fast delivery.

    The Following are Some of the Advantages of Using an eCommerce Shipping Software:

    Faster and Accurate Shipping Experience:

    Shipping software automates different shipping operations. Order acceptance, manifestation, picking, packing, mailing, tracking, and delivery confirmation are all simplified. To check on orders, placements, and delivery, the user can rapidly browse through the system. Furthermore, the system provides insights into the delivery operations.

    Time-Saving

    Your organization will have more productive hours to spend on potential things. Is it better to spend a talented team member’s time filling orders or answering a call from a loyal customer? This means that, even if an employee’s total number of hours worked remains constant, the value of those labor hours could skyrocket as they take on more specialized jobs. Companies may be able to save money if they use the correct services or programs instead of traditional means. This is especially true for small enterprises that are approaching new growth stages.

    Minimize Error in Logistic Channel

    eCommerce logistics rely heavily on data analytics. This allows any eCommerce organization to identify the numerous delivery problem areas and concerns that need to be solved. Courier-based software connections are effective in processing and sending all types of order information across all shipping partners.
    Data on the number of stopped shipments, delayed deliveries, non-delivery reports, returns, and other issues can be compiled. Using software interfaces correctly allows for the transfer of information and more metrics in data collecting, and assures that the data collected is accurate. It helps to reduce overall logistics costs while also increasing brand loyalty.

    How Do You Choose Shipping Software for Your Online Store?

    The finest eCommerce shipping software provides services and features that are tailored to your company’s requirements. Because each eCommerce business has a unique order volume, client base, budget, and requirements, they must take into account the following factors when selecting a shipping solution:

    1. Logistics requirements now and in the future.
    2. Friendly user interface.
    3. Solutions for forward and return shipping.
    4. Shipping volume.
    5. An accurate order tracking system.
    6. Tablet and mobile-friendly characteristics.
    7. Artificial intelligence-based solutions, including humanitarian assistance.
    8. Simple interface.
    9. Estimated pressure on the system.
    10. Capacity plan.

    The pandemic has completely altered people’s purchasing habits, and it is seen that the online shopping trend is here to stay. An eCommerce shipping software is a must-have for any eCommerce firm with aspirations for development and expansion.


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    Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Fulfillment

    Choosing the right shipping software can make a significant impact on the success of your online business, from reducing shipping costs to improving the customer experience. In this blog, we will take a closer look at some of the best ecommerce shipping software available on the market. We will compare features and pricing to help you make an informed decision when selecting the right shipping solution for your business. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to upgrade your current shipping process, this blog will provide you with the information you need to make the best choice for your business.

    The following are the eight most popular shipping software for your growing eCommerce businesses:

    Shopify

    Website www.shopify.com
    Rating 4.5 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2004
    Platforms supported Web, Android, iPhone/iPad
    Shopify - Best Shipping Software
    Shopify – Best Shipping Software 

    It’s no surprise that the eCommerce giant Shopify has its own eCommerce shipping software. If you use Shopify as your eCommerce platform, Shopify Shipping is already available to you. With the Shopify shipping system, you can send your products using easy solutions that help you expand your eCommerce business and save up to 88% on shipping. It speeds up the fulfillment of each purchase by purchasing and printing shipping labels ahead of time to prepare the deliveries. You can manage everything in one location, including products, inventory, and customers, and complete orders more quickly.

    Beginner’s Guide to Shopify Shipping

    Features of Shopify

    • It has the ability to print upto 50 shipping labels at a time.
    • Integrates with various shipping carriers, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL, to provide shipping rates for customers during checkout.
    • Enables you to purchase and print shipping labels directly from your Shopify admin panel.
    • Real-time delivery tracking information, so you can keep track of your orders and receive notifications when the packages are delivered.
    • It allows you to manage all your business-related work in a single platform without depending on other providers.
    • Enables you to create custom shipping options, such as offering free shipping or flat-rate shipping.

    Pros:

    • $200 Shipping insurance is included
    • Built-in custom forms
    • Shipping-related learning resources
    • Easy International shipping
    • Comes in-built with an e-commerce plan
    • Excellent customer support
    • User-friendly interface
    • Shopify app store with a wide range of apps

    Cons:

    • Limited default courier partners
    • Shopify shipping is only available to Shopify users

    Pricing Plan:

    Shopify offers three pricing plans that include Basic, Shopify and Advanced. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price
    Basic $29 per month
    Shopify $79 per month
    Advanced $299 per month

    Easyship

    Website www.easyship.com
    Rating 4.2 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2014
    Platforms supported Web
    EasyShip - Best Ecommerce Shipping Software
    EasyShip – Best Ecommerce Shipping Software

    When compared to courier firms that charge so much for a single shipment, Easyship provides a great tracking and shipping experience at a reasonable price. It will show you two hundred courier services from DHL, UPS, and others, allowing you to save up to 89% on package rates for your customers.
    Easyship connects with the most well-known international carriers, allowing you to increase revenue by selling internationally.

    All are under a single shipping tool, from sending a product to generating labels, comparing quotations, tracking finances, arranging return pickups, and automating your shipping needs. The platform has a good track record for international delivery, thanks to its live checkout function, which displays all applicable taxes.

    Features of Easyship

    • Provides a powerful API that helps your developers to streamline and automate your shipping process.
    • Offers a variety of delivery options, including standard shipping, express shipping, and same-day delivery.
    • Automatically generates the necessary customs documents to save time and reduce errors.
    • Automates the entire shipping process, from label creation to tracking updates.
    • Customize your shipping labels and packaging to match your brand’s image.
    • Provides detailed shipping analytics, such as cost breakdowns and shipping performance metrics to help you optimize your shipping operations.

    Pros:

    • 250+ courier partners
    • Intuitive interface
    • Robust analytics and reporting
    • Mobile app is available
    • API Access
    • The free plan is available
    • A 14-day free trial is available

    Cons:

    • No direct customer support
    • Need to buy insurance separately

    Pricing Plan:

    Easyship offers a Free plan limited to 50 shipments per month and three pricing plans that include Plus, Premier and Enterprise. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price Yearly Price (Save 20%)
    Plus $29 per month $23 per month
    Premier $69 per month $55 per month
    Enterprise Custom Price Custom Price

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    ShipStation

    Website www.shipstation.com
    Rating 4.6 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2014
    Platforms supported Web, Android, iPhone/iPad
    ShipStation - Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Store
    ShipStation – Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Store

    ShipStation is an ecommerce shipping platform and software designed to provide a streamlined fulfillment experience for online businesses. It operates mainly throughout Australia, Europe, America, and Asia. Order management, product sales, and resource planning features are integrated into ShipStation.
    The software uses a scan-based approach to provide automation and mass updates. It also imports orders with automatic shipping configurations from various selling channels, IMS, CRMs, ERPs, and marketplaces. It can deliver tracking information to customers and selling outlets in real-time.

    Features of ShipStation

    • Seamless integration with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Squarespace, Bigcommerce, WooCommerce, and more.
    • Automatically import orders from over 100 popular marketplaces and shopping carts into a central location.
    • It helps to create and print shipping labels for various carriers.
    • You can set up custom workflows to automate shipping tasks and streamline operations.
    • Automatically update order status and notify customers with shipping updates, tracking information, and delivery status.
    • Allows you to respond to customer inquiries, process returns, and manage customer feedback within the platform.

    Pros:

    • Free trial is available
    • 180+ Partner integration
    • Mobile app is available
    • Scan based workflows
    • Print labels in bulk, up to 500 at a time
    • Wide range of integration options

    Cons:

    • Limited automation
    • Some users experienced issues with printing

    Pricing Plan:

    ShipStation offers six pricing plans that include Starter, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Enterprise. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price
    Starter $9.99 per month
    Bronze $29.99 per month
    Silver $59.99 per month
    Gold $99.99 per month
    Platinum $149.99 per month
    Enterprise $229.99 per month

    Ordoro

    Website www.ordoro.com
    Rating 4.8 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2010
    Platforms supported Web
    Ordoro - Best eCommerce Shipping Software
    Ordoro – Best eCommerce Shipping Software

    Ordoro is a cloud-based eCommerce shipping platform that provides advanced reporting and analytics to help you streamline your eCommerce operations across sales channels. Its standard plan comes with discounted carrier rates, automation rules, barcode scanning, and no seller fulfilled prime costs. The advanced plans offer tailored workflows, integrations with different platforms, access to vendor portals, supplier management, and personal customer service representatives.
    Ordoro user interface is a bit more complicated than other ecommerce shipping software. It involves onboarding and training, but once you grasp the system’s functionality, you will be amazed at its powerful features. Everything is neatly organized, but it takes a while to feel ready to use it daily.

    Features of Ordoro

    • It syncs inventory levels across all sales channels in real time.
    • Automates manual tasks such as order fulfillment, invoice creation, and shipment tracking.
    • It enables you to manage all your orders in one place, regardless of the sales channel they are coming from.
    • Seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and more.
    • It allows you to print shipping labels, create shipping rules, and track shipments.
    • Helps to keep track of inventory levels to ensure that you never run out of stock.

    Pros:

    • Free plan is available
    • Automation rules
    • Advanced analytics
    • Good customer support
    • Unlimited shipping labels

    Cons:

    • Shipping insurance at additional cost
    • Average user interface

    Pricing Plan:

    Ordoro offers a Free plan and two pricing plans that include Advanced and Premium. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price
    Advanced $59 per month
    Premium $149 per month

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    ShippingEasy

    Website Shippingeasy.com
    Rating 4.8 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2011
    Platforms supported Web
    ShippingEasy - eCommerce Shipping Solutions
    ShippingEasy – eCommerce Shipping Solutions

    ShippingEasy is a shipping platform designed to help you to streamline your eCommerce shipping processes. It integrates with popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more. Using this tool, you can manage your orders, shipping rates, and shipping labels from a single platform.

    It helps to automate and simplify the shipping process, and reduce the time and effort required to manage orders and shipments. With ShippingEasy, you can access real-time shipping rates from multiple carriers, print shipping labels, and track packages. It also provides robust reporting and analytics tools to help you understand your shipping operations and make informed decisions.

    Features of ShippingEasy

    • You can avoid oversells and stockouts by monitoring inventory levels and tracking stock levels in real-time.
    • It allows printing shipping labels directly from the platform.
    • Users can easily keep track of their shipments using real-time tracking links.
    • It provides you with the ability to customize your shipping workflows to create a shipping process that works best for your business.
    • Detailed shipping reports to understand the shipping costs, shipping performance, and shipping trends over time.

    Pros:

    • 30-day free trial on paid plans
    • Free plan is available
    • In-built marketing feature
    • Advanced Reporting
    • Shipping Automation
    • Excellent support

    Cons:

    • Limited learning resources
    • You cannot do multiple packages in one order

    Pricing Plan:

    ShippingEasy offers a Starter Plan which is Free Up to 25 shipments per month and six pricing plans that include Growth, Basic, Plus, Select, Premium and Enterprise. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price
    Starter Free
    Growth $19.99 per month
    Basic $29.99 per month
    Plus $49.99 per month
    Select $69.99 per month
    Premium $99.99 per month
    Enterprise $159.99 per month

    Veeqo

    Website www.veeqo.com
    Rating 4.1 out of 5
    Free Trial Completely Free
    Founded in 2013
    Platforms supported Web, Android, iPhone/iPad
    Veeqo - Best Shipping Software for eCommerce
    Veeqo – Best Shipping Software for eCommerce

    Veeqo is an easy-to-use eCommerce shipping management platform that provides all shipping solutions. It helps you to manage operations, inventory, shipping, order fulfillment, and customer service. The log of every transaction is recorded automatically. It adjusts the stock level whenever any transaction happens on any marketplace where you are available.

    The platform provides a single view of all e-commerce operations. This reduces the risk of errors and helps retailers work more efficiently. With insights into how the store is performing, you can make data-driven decisions to grow your business.

    Features of Veeqo

    • Easy to create Shipping rules that can automatically assign suitable carriers based on the condition you’ve set.
    • Syncs stocks from different marketplaces in one single interface to manage it efficiently.
    • It allows you to Pick, pack, and ship the right order using the scanner on a mobile device.
    • Future forecast feature that predicts the future demand so that you never go out of stock.
    • Brand personalization to customize everything according to your brand image and enhance your brand in front of your customers.
    • Provides integration with the major shipping providers, e-commerce, and marketplace.

    Pros:

    • Free to use
    • Detailed analytics and forecasting
    • Inventory management
    • Learning resources are available
    • User-friendly interface

    Cons:

    • Poor customer support
    • Some users experienced that the software is buggy

    Pricing Plan:

    Veeqo is completely Free to use.

    ShipBob

    Website www.shipbob.com
    Rating 3.8 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2014
    Platforms supported Web, Android, iPhone/iPad
    ShipBob - Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Fulfillment
    ShipBob – Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Fulfillment 

    ShipBob is an excellent choice for ecommerce fulfillment services in the United States and abroad. By using ShipBob’s global logistics platform, eCommerce business owners can effectively ship their products and provide speedy delivery to customers, becoming successful in the process. This platform can help you find cost-effective and timely shipping solutions, as well as improve your customer experience with shipping.

    ShipBob delivers orders to over 220 nations and territories, making it an ideal choice for worldwide shipping. Cart abandonment can be reduced by 18% with a simple delivery process. ShipBob features a straightforward onboarding procedure that integrates with Shopify, Amazon, and other top eCommerce platforms. ShipBob facilities are available in the United States, Europe, Canada, and also in India.

    Features of ShipBob

    • Supports multiple sales channels such as Amazon, Shopify, and Walmart.
    • Custom branding to the shipping boxes, packing slips, and email notifications.
    • Network of strategically located fulfillment centers across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
    • Fast and efficient order fulfillment, with the ability to pick, pack, and ship orders within one business day.
    • Automates many of the manual processes to reduce the time and effort required to complete each order.

    Pros:

    • 2-day shipping in the US
    • Live chat support
    • Personalized customization
    • Easy integration with a third-party platform
    • User-friendly interface
    • Robust reporting and analytics

    Cons:

    • Pricing is not disclosed
    • Charges $3 processing fees on returns

    Pricing Plan:

    ShipBob provides custom pricing solutions to suit your business requirements.

    Shippo

    Website Goshippo.com
    Rating 4.9 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2013
    Platforms supported Web
    Shippo - Best Ecommerce Shipping and Delivery Software
    Shippo – Best Ecommerce Shipping and Delivery Software

    Shippo is a popular eCommerce shipping and delivery software that allows you to compare real-time carrier prices to discover the best alternative for your company. It includes integrations that reduce time by syncing orders and tracking information, address validation, order fulfillment, and even easier returns.
    Shippo’s user interface just like WordPress or Shopify, appears well-organized, with menu options on the left. The menu highlights shipments, orders, and carriers, with a list of each detail about the items being shipped and fulfillment choices. You can take your eCommerce business to the next level with Shippo shipping and delivery management software.

    Shippo Shipping Software Tutorial For Beginners

    Features of Shippo

    • Real-time notification and tracking to update customers with every aspect of their order.
    • Robust API that makes it easy for developers to integrate shipping functionality into applications.
    • It can sync all the orders and shipping details from different marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
    • Automates shipping processes, including rate calculation, label printing, and tracking updates.
    • Provides insights and reports to help you optimize your shipping processes.
    • Integrates with multiple shipping carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL which makes it easy to compare rates and choose the best option.

    Pros:

    • Live chat support
    • Automatic validates address
    • Free plan is available
    • 30-day free trial on paid plans
    • 85+ courier partners
    • Huge learning resources

    Cons:

    • Mobile UI is pretty difficult to use

    Pricing Plan:

    Shippo offers a Free plan and two pricing plans that include Professional and Premier. Pricing details of each plan is given below:

    Plan Monthly Price
    Professional Starts at $10 per month
    Premier Custom Price

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    ShipEngine

    Website www.shipengine.com
    Rating 4.0 out of 5
    Free Trial Available
    Founded in 2011
    Platforms supported Web
    ShipEngine - Best Ecommerce Shipping Software
    ShipEngine – Best Ecommerce Shipping Software

    ShipEngine provides an API that can help you automate order fulfillment and shipment. ShipEngine’s shipping APIs allow you to compare real-time shipping rates from more than 30 carriers and integrations. Using their API, you can track your goods and delivery.
    The ShipEngine API also allows you to validate your addresses globally. This will reduce the frequency of returns due to wrong client information. ShipStation is a cloud-based application that provides a user interface for users that require one, whereas ShipEngine is an API that you can connect to your existing technology.

    Features of ShipEngine

    • It allows printing shipping labels for all supported carriers.
    • Offers a range of automation features, like the ability to automatically select the best carrier based on cost and delivery time.
    • Supports batch shipping to process multiple shipments at once.
    • Provides tracking information for all shipments and sends updates via email or SMS to keep customers informed.
    • Real-time shipping rates from multiple courier partners, so you can compare prices and select the most cost-effective option.
    • Provides integration tools for FedEx, UPS, USPS, and more.

    Pros:

    • Live chat and email support
    • Free API key to new user
    • First 250-label generation is free
    • Intuitive interface
    • Detailed reporting
    • Wide range of e-commerce integration

    Cons:

    • No free trial is available
    • Confusing printing for beginners

    Pricing Plan:

    ShipEngine offers a pay-as-you-go plan with rates beginning at around $0.05 per package.

    Metapack

    Website www.metapack.com
    Rating 3.0 out of 5
    Free Trial Not Available
    Founded in 1999
    Platforms supported Web, Android, iPhone/iPad
    Metapack - Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Stores
    Metapack – Best Shipping Software for Ecommerce Stores

    Metapack is a famous shipping software that helps eCommerce businesses worldwide optimize their order fulfillment and management processes. Metapack manages extensive warehouse facilities worldwide and provides pick-pack-deliver services from 3,50,000 locations.
    With the correct delivery options, they claim that you can get 38% more conversions and 40% fewer WISMO(where is my order) calls due to simple tracking and nearby 5,000 delivery services via one integration. Metapack can select the most appropriate delivery provider for every order, ensuring a seamless and personalized delivery experience while eliminating time-consuming and manual operations in the retailer’s warehouse.

    Features of Metapack

    • It can easily track and manage deliveries, set delivery dates and times, and update customers with real-time delivery information.
    • Gives insights into customer behavior, delivery preferences, and order history.
    • Offer customers a range of delivery options at checkout with leading shipping carriers, such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, and Postmates.
    • Centralized dashboard for managing and processing orders, order tracking, payment processing, and returns management.
    • Gives a range of delivery options, including next-day delivery, same-day delivery, click-and-collect, and international shipping.

    Pros:

    • 350+ carriers
    • Huge learning resources
    • Automatic service selection
    • Multi-language labels
    • Smooth and easy-to-use interface

    Cons:

    • ShipEnhine API integration at additional cost

    Pricing Plan:

    Metapack offers custom pricing plans, you can contact vendor to get a quote.

    Conclusion

    Shipping is a complex activity that necessitates precise data and multitasking. Everything must be precise, from monitoring shipment expenses, weight disparities, and tracking through delivery. Every organization must prioritize customer pleasure. By employing shipping software to streamline your shipping processes, you will be able to boost customers’ happiness.

    The above-mentioned tools will help you to make your eCommerce shipping process easy and efficient. Several eCommerce businesses have already incorporated AI-based shipping software. It is important to carefully evaluate your business needs and priorities before choosing the right software for you. When making your decision, be sure to consider factors such as cost, shipping carrier options, ease of use, and integrations with your current eCommerce platform. With the right shipping software, you can streamline your shipping process, save time and money, and provide a better overall customer experience.

    FAQs

    Which is the best eCommerce shipping software in 2023?

    Some of the best eCommerce shipping software in 2023 are:

    • ShipBob
    • Easyship
    • Shopify
    • Shippo
    • Ordoro
    • ShipStation

    Can you do your shipping on Shopify?

    Yes, you can do shipping on Shopify. Shopify integrates with various shipping carriers and also offers its own shipping label printing solution, Shopify Shipping.

    What is order fulfillment software?

    Order fulfillment software is a tool designed to help eCommerce businesses manage their order fulfillment process. This software automates the process of receiving, processing, and shipping customer orders.

    Is ShipStation an eCommerce platform?

    No, ShipStation is not an eCommerce platform. ShipStation is a shipping software designed to help eCommerce businesses manage their shipping process.

    What is eCommerce fulfillment?

    Ecommerce fulfillment refers to the process of storing, packing, and delivering products to customers who have purchased them online. This process includes receiving and managing inventory, picking and packing orders, preparing shipping labels, and delivering the products to the customers through a shipping carrier.

    How does eCommerce shipping software benefit my business?

    It saves time and money by automating shipping processes, provides access to discounted shipping rates, and enhances the customer experience by providing tracking information and delivery updates.

    Which shipping software is the best for my business?

    The best shipping software depends on your specific business needs and priorities, such as cost, shipping carrier options, ease of use, and platform integrations.

    Can I integrate eCommerce shipping software with my current platform?

    Most eCommerce shipping software offers integrations with popular eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and Magento.

    Can eCommerce shipping software handle international shipping?

    Yes, many eCommerce shipping software options offer international shipping capabilities. Some of the examples are Shippo, ShippingEasy, Shipstation and Easyship.

    How do I get started with eCommerce shipping software?

    Most eCommerce shipping software can be set up and started quickly and easily, with step-by-step instructions and resources provided by the software provider.

  • Ecommerce Automation – What Is It, Benefits, Tools, Case Studies and More

    Ecommerce automation is creating a lot of buzzes. But, does your company actually need it? Let’s find out.

    The main purpose of any eCommerce marketing campaign is to boost sales. This might include sending marketing emails, managing orders, dealing with customer service, and a lot more.

    These tasks may not look like a big deal when seen individually but can give you a headache when they start to pile up, wasting ample time out of your busy day. Also, apart from these, there are a lot of insignificant tasks that require your time and energy.

    As per Deloitte, such tasks are a waste of time, and shifting your attention can cause fundamental improvement in your operations. This is where automation comes into the picture.

    “The eCommerce industry is a force that no investor can afford to ignore” – Cushla Sherlock

    What Is Ecommerce Automation?
    Benefits of Ecommerce Automation
    Tasks to Automate in Your Ecommerce Business
    Top Tools to Automate Your Ecommerce Store
    Case Studies of Ecommerce Automation

    What Is Ecommerce Automation?

    As per the report published by NASA, 60% to 80% of businesses fail due to human errors. These errors can be easily avoided by using automation.

    Like the automation of any other industry, the purpose of eCommerce automation is to simplify your work and streamline the workflow. If you are running a growing company, you understand how often the work gets overwhelming when you feel like you need more workforce or more leaders or managers in your company.

    Automation can actually help you to overcome these issues by saving a lot of your time and energy. Moreover, with a machine taking care of your tasks, the chances of error are reduced to a minimum and your employees can focus on their actual work instead of worrying about something insignificant.

    Benefits of Ecommerce Automation

    As per Statista, the global retail automation market size which was around 11.3 billion U.S. dollars is expected to grow up to 33 billion dollars in 2030.

    This data clearly indicates that automation is helping businesses to grow which is why more and more businesses are relying on it.

    Let us explain in detail how eCommerce automation can actually help your growing business.

    Time Efficiency

    Getting rid of the repetitive tasks that have to be done every day can save a lot of your time. This increases the focus as well as productivity. Moreover, it gives you extra time to review your plans or start off the pending projects.

    Also, automation gives you the advantage of scheduling your tasks. For example, announcing the release of your new product, applying discounts, providing rewards, adjusting prices, etc.

    Streamlined Workflow & Increased Worker Engagement

    These trivial tasks have become a part of the routine workflow of your employees. Most employees complain that miscellaneous works disturb their actual work due to which they are unable to perform up to their potential.

    Using automation allows your employees to focus on more business-oriented work resulting in higher productivity and enhanced employee satisfaction.

    Boost Customer Satisfaction

    As a growing business, the number of your customers also keeps increasing making it difficult to keep them all satisfied. As most of the customers judge your services by the response time you can certainly improve customer satisfaction through automation.

    The eCommerce automation tools facilitate online shopping engagement giving your customers a great shopping experience. These happy customers mostly turn into repeat customers.

    Cost Reduction

    With automation, the cost of working also reduces considerably. The main reason for this is that the mundane tasks are taken care of by the tool so your employees can focus on their work without disturbance.

    This reduces the need for overtime work or increased manpower, ultimately reducing the expenditure.

    Better Communication With Suppliers

    The automation software gives before-time notification whether a product is about to go out of stock or inventory is below a certain level. These can also send triggers to the suppliers asking them to send in the required products.

    Moreover, with timely information, you also get time to look into the supplies rates or other better contracts that may be available from different suppliers. Thus, it helps you grab better deals.

    Tasks to Automate in Your Ecommerce Business

    Up till now, we have given you enough statistics and reasons to know that automating your eCommerce business is in your favor and can help you run faster towards your success.

    Now, let us take a look at the tasks that you can automate now to make your business grow faster.

    Customer Service

    Your employees may not be working after 5 but your customers might visit your website to buy a product even after the working hours are over, and they need assistance. So, how can you manage that?

    The answer is simple, automation. The ability of these tools to provide real-time feedback as well as their ability to instantly answer the queries leads to satisfied customers. Owing to the pleasant experience there is a high probability of these customers coming back to you.

    There are a lot of AI-based tools designed for this purpose. These work as chatbots or virtual assistants and respond to your customers based on the previously formulated rules and fed commands.

    Chatbot Example
    Chatbot Example

    Business Management Automation

    Whether you are about to add a new collection of products or have a weekly sale to offer, automation can help you with all your tedious jobs.

    The tool helps you to schedule your sales with regular posts on social media to attract the attention of customers or set a countdown to keep the hype alive in the customers, and much more.

    A number of heatmap tools are available that help you figure out where to post your ads while launching a new product. They also further help you identify the channels that are working well so you can pay more attention to them.

    Heatmap Example
    Heatmap Example

    Order & Inventory Management

    Managing the inventory is one of the most important yet boring tasks. You obviously need to keep track of your stock to inform the suppliers and order fresh products but doing this manually can be really tedious.

    You can use certain inventory management tools for these purposes that are easy to use and work like wonder. These tools can actually save you from losing revenue owing to poorly managed inventory.

    Automation tools are designed to prepare and send a purchase order to the relevant supplier whenever an item goes out of stock. You can also enable out-of-stock or low-stock notifications in these tools to keep you updated.

    Email Marketing

    Writing and sending emails to your customers manually can be really tedious and boring. Moreover, it is practically impossible to track the activity of each and every customer and send the emails accordingly.

    This is why automation tools are available for help. Whether you have to send the welcome emails, cart abandonment emails, order confirmation emails, or post-purchase engagement emails, these tools keep track of every customer without missing the details.

    Fraud Prevention

    As per a survey, fraudsters take away around $12 billion each year from the eCommerce industry. They use new and sophisticated techniques every time to deceive the customers and business owners.

    There are automation tools that can help you save a large amount of money going into the wrong hands. These tools help you verify each order by checking the IP address or carrying out other verification processes, thus saving you from fraud.

    Accounting

    From funds to invoices, or to keeping track of the payments made to suppliers, accounting can be difficult. Also, if you are new to the business keeping an accountant can be expensive.

    Automating your accounts can save your day. You can use tools that will help you through all your accounting needs without taking a toll on your budget.

    Website Building

    If you are just starting your website to set up your online business without a big budget, the automation tools can be a big help, especially if you are not a technical person.

    These tools can help you with most of your small problems like choosing a template for your website, changing themes, or adding pop-up banners. So you actually spend your money only when you are in real need.


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    Top Tools to Automate Your Ecommerce Store

    Choosing the best automation tool for your website can be complicated. Below, we have listed 6 top automation tools to help you with your eCommerce business. They are:

    MailChimp

    This tool is best known for creating intuitive email campaigns depending on the type of business.

    HubSpot

    This is a very popular tool that mainly focuses on inbound marketing. It pays attention to the sales marketing activities and offers services for support, sales, and marketing.

    Zendesk

    This is an application available as a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS). It is popularly used for customer service.

    Verloop.io

    This tool is used for customer care to automate conversational support. The insightful data help you keep the customers engaged.

    Sendgrid

    This tool focuses on 1:1 email communication. Moreover, it directly sends customer-centric SMS-based notifications in real-time.

    Jumplead

    This tool helps you generate leads for your eCommerce store. You can also respond to customers, manage leads, and handle customer accounts through this.

    Case Studies of Ecommerce Automation

    For your reference, we are adding a few case studies to help you understand how eCommerce automation has helped several companies grow their online business.

    Truwood

    This Company manufactures bamboo and wood-made watches. They utilized cart abandonment emails and messages. They target the audience based on the value of the cart, giving preference to high-value carts.

    They send messages and emails to the cart owners with the picture of their selected product offering some discounts and creating a sense of urgency through a limited-time offer.

    This strategy has worked really well for the company increasing their return on investment by around 35 times.

    Draper James

    The brand organizes a weekly sale, every year, in mid-march, for celebrating the birthday of its founder, Reese Witherspoon. They utilize the science of retention for their marketing strategy.

    So, instead of the bulk emails, they only send customized emails to the users who have purchased or visited the site in the last 90 days. They nurture their leads by only sending relevant content to the target audience.

    This strategy has led to a 15.4% increase in their year-over-year revenue, even when they have been sending 48.7% lesser emails.

    Premier

    This eCommerce store sells accessories and apparel. They focused on improving the customer experience by sending them price drop emails for the product they have shown interest in their previous budget.

    The automation tools for sending customized emails have worked really well for the brand and resulted in a huge increase in open and click rates.

    Blush and Bar

    This brand sells sustainable and affordable jewellery. As they noticed that the maximum traffic for their site came through social media ads, they utilized these leads to reach their target audience.

    They generated pop-up ads for mobile devices that do not require much information to be filled in but allowed the user to subscribe in a few taps.

    This simple but effective marketing strategy has led to an increase of $39,000 in their sales within the first month of implementation.

    Embla

    This brand sells home goods online. They used a holistic SMS marketing strategy for improved customer experience and trust-building.

    Instead of asking every visitor to subscribe to their website they only triggered this to the customers who were in the final stages of buying their product. Through this, they began a friendly re-engagement campaign for their customers.

    This strategy has really helped them to win back inactive customers and resulted in a 60% increase in their conversion rates.


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    Conclusion

    Ecommerce automation in all its capacity is helping businesses to grow online. The different services are offered as per the business requirements. They help in better utilization of time, money, and resources as well as help in improving customer satisfaction.

    These tools are designed to streamline the workflow and increase work engagement. Overall, the Ecommerce automation tools are worth your money, time, and efforts.

    FAQs

    Why do companies use eCommerce automation?

    Many companies use eCommerce automation to streamline workflow, save time, boost efficiency, and also help boost customer satisfaction.

    What is workflow automation in eCommerce?

    Workflow automation is when repetitive tasks are done with the help of automation tools instead of humans.

  • How Can Ecommerce Personalization Help You Increase Conversion?

    The COVID-19 pandemic has had impactful destruction worldwide. However, it has helped e-commerce market sales soar to great heights. As per recent reports, the Global E-commerce market is expected to cross the $5.5 trillion mark by the end of 2022. The growth rate of the market is expected to rise to 24.5 per cent by 2024.

    Standing in the e-commerce industry isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Big companies, such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Sephora have captured 60-70 per cent of the market. When it comes to customer acquisition, this sector has cut-throat competition. Hence, it’s essential for every e-commerce website/app to have a personalized marketing strategy – for a better user experience. In this post, we have talked about eCommerce personalisation and how to employ it to increase conversion rates.

    What Is Ecommerce Personalization?
    How Ecommerce Personalization Can Help You Increase Conversion?
    Ecommerce Personalization Ideas
    Examples of Ecommerce Personalization

    What Is Ecommerce Personalization?

    Ecommerce Personalisation is a technique that furnishes brands/businesses with a unique personalized marketing ideology. The marketing strategies are entirely based on how users interact with the brand – to allow an ultimate shopping experience.

    eCommerce personalisation is in real demand at the moment. And that’s because of the perfect utilisation of data sources. Depending on the order history, user search, customer location, browsing data and user-generated data, the brand uses unique personalisation to build a top-notch customer experience.

    The primary motive behind these personalisations is to show customers what they want to see and when they want it. So, customers get the relevant recommendation based on their preferences. All these undertakings are monitored using AI-based personalised software.

    How Ecommerce Personalization Can Help You Increase Conversion?

    Unlike a physical store, increasing the conversion rate in an online store is a difficult task unless you know what customers need. In a physical store, you have a chance to influence the mind of your customer by communicating. However, in online mode, it’s not happening. Thus, eCommerce Personalisation offers the audience every possible thing they would wish for.

    With the user-generated tool, the brand understands the interest of the audience and estimates their responses. After all, every shopping brand seeks more information to provide a better shopping experience the next time.

    Customers like to visit places where they get a user-friendly environment and where they are taken care of. So, the only way to make all of these things possible is personalisation.

    A survey report provides the data, facts and stats that confirm – personalisation helps increase conversion rate. Almost 73% of the people prefer a personalized shopping experience. And, almost 90% of them accept that personalisation influences their right purchasing judgment.

    Ecommerce Personalization Ideas

    Here are some of the ideas on which Personalisation works:

    Recommend the latest viewed products

    It happens quite frequently that users might be interested in a specific product, but they forget to add it to the cart. Thus, this recommendation strategy will help customers start their shopping at the place where it ended.

    Example of recently viewed products
    Example of recently viewed products

    Personalized product recommendation

    Along with the previously searched product, you may recommend related products to the consumers. Personalizing product recommendation is one of the widely used eCommerce personalized ideologies. As per the report by Barilliance, personalized product recommendation generates up to 31%  of the total revenue of an e-commerce site.

    Example of related products
    Example of related products

    Create a personalized best-selling product list

    You may create some sort of best-selling products list based on the user’s interest. It will act as a quick recall of the product they wished to buy earlier. This increases the chance of a conversion.

    Allow UGC to work accordingly to help visitors

    UGC works on the FOMO (fear of missing out) principle. It displays unique products that are used in daily life. Hence, creating a fear of missing out on the environment. It influences the customer’s mind that they might buy this product so that they don’t miss something.

    Personalize the home page with recent searches

    As mentioned earlier, Amazon uses this homepage personalisation technique to boost customer acquisition. It bestows an easy-to-use interface where consumers can find products of their kind on the home page.

    Carry out an automated personalized email campaigns

    Email campaigns are one of the primary steps to building a powerful user channel. It keeps you ahead of your competitors. Automated personalized email campaigns keep on reminding the customer about your assistance. Thus, increasing the chance of a conversion.

    Example of cart abandonment email
    Example of cart abandonment email

    Offer category-specific promo codes

    Promo codes have always been a customer favourite part. It attracts them to certain product categories. Once you issue these category-specific promo codes, you may either send in an email or a pop-up message to keep your user up-to-date.

    Example of promo code
    Example of promo code

    Seek a customer’s feedback request

    One of the most effective ways to know your customer requirements is to request customer feedback. It helps the brand improve personalisation techniques for that particular user.

    Example of customer feedback
    Example of customer feedback

    Show pop-ups considering the previously viewed products

    Pop-up ads should always be the first preference while personalising a website. For instance, if the user is a first-time visitor, the pop-up will encourage them to subscribe and avail discount on the first purchase.

    Example of Ecommerce Personalization

    Still, confused with the principles and working of E-commerce Personalisation? Below listed are a few examples to assist you further for a better understanding.

    Amazon

    Amazon is the father of all eCommerce personalisation companies. Once you click on the app or website of Amazon, you’ll be redirected to the home page. There, you’ll find numerous personalized product recommendations.

    Amazon automates all the data of your phone and recommends the products you recently enquired about. It uses search data, recent purchases, locations, and other data to provide particular recommendations.

    Amazon recommendations
    Amazon recommendations

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    Conclusion

    If you wish to conquer the eCommerce sector, you should consider Personalization. Ecommerce personalization keeps your user engaged, provides a user-friendly experience, and increases conversion.

    Personalization in eCommerce is vital as it ensures customer acquisition. Besides, it not only helps you stand out from your competition but helps build grounded/human-like connections with the buyers. It also furnishes customers full control, improving the user experience. This, in turn, boosts conversion rates!

    FAQs

    What is eCommerce personalization?

    Ecommerce personalization is when a company displays the product to the consumers based on demographics, intent, preferences, browsing history, previous purchases, and device usage.

    What is an example of personalized marketing in eCommerce?

    When an eCommerce store recommends your products based on your interest, location, and browsing data.

  • Ankiti Bose – Story of Founder and CEO of Zilingo

    Through social networking applications, retail stores, and augmented realities, technology is transforming the way customers purchase. To market their brands in front of their customers, brands are adjusting to changes such as adopting more and more technology to make it more convenient for customers to shop.

    In an overly catered fashion industry, creating a novel and unique experience may set a business apart from the competition. Zilingo is such a fashion technology and e-commerce platform that worked with the idea of utilising technology to put up appropriate and efficient business within everyone’s reach.

    Ankiti Bose cofounded Zilingo and is also the ex-CEO of this e-commerce startup. She received various awards and recognition and even made to Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list, as well as Fortune’s 40 Under 40 2019. She was terminated from her role as the CEO in April 2022 after a trial to pursue money-related suspicions regarding Zilingo’s accountancy operations. Bose was then ousted from Zilingo in May 2022, .which eventually resulted in her quitting from the Zilingo board too on June 30, 2022.

    Ankiti Bose – Biography

    Name Ankiti Bose
    YOB 1992
    Nationality Indian
    Occupation Co-founder and former CEO of Zilingo
    Previous Jobs Venture Capital and Management Consulting at Sequoia Capital and McKinsey & Company
    Net Worth $5 million

    Ankiti Bose – Early Life, and Education
    Ankiti Bose – Family
    Ankiti Bose – Career
    Ankiti Bose – Zilingo
    Ankiti Bose – Early Challenges
    Ankiti Bose – Controversies Related To Zilingo
    Ankiti Bose – Awards

    Ankiti Bose – Early Life, and Education

    Ankiti Bose is an Indian entrepreneur, who is known for her keen determination and fashion sense. Zilingo, an eCommerce and fashion-technology startup, was co-founded by her, along with Dhruv Kapoor, a software engineer and an IIT graduate. But after an attempt to raise cash prompted doubts about Zilingo’s accounting systems, she was terminated by the board from her role and responsibilities in April 2022.

    Ankiti Bose with her Husband, Dhruv Kapoor
    Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor

    She attended Poddar School and Cambridge School in Mumbai, which forms the base of her education. She attended St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai to study economics and mathematics. She made Forbes Asia’s 30 Under 30 list in 2018, and Fortune’s 40 Under 40 and Bloomberg 50 lists in 2019.

    Ankiti Bose – Family

    Ankiti’s father, whose name is unknown, worked for a state-owned oil business as an engineer. Because of his job, Ankiti’s family had to relocate frequently as she grew up. Ankiti’s mother was a university professor, and her name is also unknown. She resigned from her job to take care of her family and her single child, Ankiti.

    Ankiti Bose – Career

    Bose gave a head start to her career in Bangalore with her first job in McKinsey & Company and Sequoia Capital. Bose realised that fashion marketplaces in Southeast Asia had a lot of space for penetration and expansion after visiting the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

    Over 11,000 individual retailers do not have an internet name in the market. While there was an investment in boosting internet connection, Bose observed that shops were unprepared to cope with major global firms due to a lack of training in finance, scalability, web designing, and sourcing.

    Bose resigned from her job as a financial analyst at Sequoia Capital in 2015 to start her own business, Zilingo. Bose created Zilingo while she was just twenty-three years old. In 2016, she relocated to Singapore to work on technology and distribution network solutions.

    In 2019, Zilingo secured $226 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at $970 million. It has over seven million active users on the global network as of 2019. Because of the trade conflict between the United States and China, American retailers left China, allowing Zilingo to grow in the United States. She has sought to get Indian textiles for Californian firms and has opened offices on both the West and East coasts.

    Bose developed a programme at Zilingo to teach Indonesian women how to make garments, recognising that about 40% of Indonesian women leave the industry after getting married. To help executives throughout the firm, Zilingo established a coaching programme. Bose participates in services that help and train female entrepreneurs.

    Ankiti Bose – Zilingo

    Co-founder and CEO of Zilingo - Ankiti Bose
    Co-founder and CEO of Zilingo – Ankiti Bose

    Zilingo is an online fashion marketplace service and e-commerce website launched in 2015 by Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor, who each invested $44,000 in the venture. Sequoia India provided initial money, and in September 2016, the firm secured an additional $8 million in a Series A funding round. In 2017, it secured an additional $18 million in a Series B round, and in 2018, it raised $54 million in Series C financing.  

    Zilingo was exporting to eight countries by September 2017 and had seller hubs in Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand, with 5,000 new merchants added in the preceding year.

    In February 2019, Zilingo raised $226 million in a new round of funding from Sequoia India, Burda, Singapore sovereign fund Temasek, and Sofina. The partners have secured $28 million with the full backing of heavyweight investors like Silicon Valley billionaire Tim Draper, and presently have 8,000 merchants and over two million consumers.

    Ankiti Bose – Early Challenges

    Ankiti signed up as a retailer to obtain the customer experience to truly comprehend the market and make Zilingo as welcoming as possible to merchants. Zilingo was not built on orders and commands; instead, it was built on as much personal experience as possible to become what it is today.

    Ankiti and her team quickly recognised that having only an e-commerce network was insufficient to assist these small firms. They were severely lacking in production, shipping, and other operations that a larger company would have. This is why Zilingo decided to create an online market platform that would help small businesses grow.

    In 2016, they supported organisations with product development and design, data analytics, logistics, and customer service by developing software to offer supply chain capabilities.

    Ankiti Bose – Controversies Related To Zilingo

    Singaporean B2B fashion e-commerce startup Zilingo has suspended its Indian founder and CEO, Ankiti Bose, after irregularities in the company’s accounts were reportedly uncovered during an attributable procedure for a fresh financing round.

    Bose has denied the charges and challenged her suspension, calling the firm’s move a “witch hunt” sparked by harassment complaints she filed against a corporate investor.

    The apparent accountancy issues surfaced just as Zilingo was in active discussions to seek $150-200 million in a fresh round at a projected valuation of $1.2 billion, setting the stage for it to become a unicorn.

    Ankiti Bose then retaliated with several charges after the company announced her departure as CEO following an inquiry into financial irregularities.

    Bose has threatened to sue the board saying, she was fired because of her rebellious nature with Sequoia Capital India and Sequoia managing director Shailendra Singh. She holds an 8.58% stake in the company and is attempting to reclaim the business’s $40 million in unpaid obligations, which creditors recalled following her discharge.

    The company, in a statement, said, “Following an investigation led by an independent forensics firm that was commissioned to look into complaints of serious financial irregularities, the company has decided to terminate Ankiti Bose’s employment with cause, and reserves the right to pursue appropriate legal action.”

    Ankiti Bose – Awards

    Year Award
    2018 Asia’s Forbes 30 under 30
    2019 Fortune magazine’s 40 Under 40, The Bloomberg 50, and Business Worldwide Magazine Most Innovative CEO of the Year – Singapore
    2020 Singapore Top 100 Women in Tech List

    FAQs

    Who is Ankiti Bose?

    Ankiti Bose is a 29-year-old entrepreneur who co-founded the e-commerce startup Zilingo.

    Who founded Zilingo?

    Zilingo was launched by Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor.

    What does Zilingo do?

    Zilingo is a fashion technology and e-commerce brand.

    What is the net worth of Ankiti Bose?

    Ankit Bose’s net worth is reported to be approximately $5 million.

  • What is Marketing Gamification and How Can It Help You Increase Sales?

    Marketing gamification is the process of using game mechanics and psychology in order to engage and motivate customers. It can be used to increase sales, encourage customer loyalty, and deepen engagement with a brand.

    There are many different types of gamification marketing strategies that mostly rely on using rewards, punishments, or other motivators to influence behavior. If done correctly, marketing gamification can be an incredibly effective way to boost your business. However, it is important to understand the basic principles of gamification before you get started.

    What is Marketing Gamification?
    How Can Marketing Gamification Help You Increase Sales?
    Tips to Increase Sales Using Marketing Gamification
    5 Best Practices for Implementing Gamification
    Brands that Use Gamification in Marketing

    Gamification Market Value Growth Worldwide (2016-2021)
    Gamification Market Value Growth Worldwide (2016-2021)

    What is Marketing Gamification?

    The basic premise of marketing gamification is the use of game mechanics and game thinking in marketing campaigns and strategies in order to engage customers more effectively and target consumers. Gamification can be used in various ways, but some common examples include using points, badges, and leaderboards to encourage specific behaviors, offering discounts or prizes for completing certain tasks or incorporating game design elements into marketing collateral.

    The use of gamification in marketing is a relatively new concept that is quickly gaining popularity. Gamification can take many forms, but essentially it involves using game-like elements and mechanics to engage customers and promote desired behaviors. When used effectively, gamification can be an extremely powerful marketing tool.

    Marketing gamification can be an extremely effective way to increase customer engagement and loyalty and drive conversions and sales if it is incorporated smartly. However, it’s important to note that gamification should not be used simply for the sake of using game mechanics. There needs to be a clear purpose and goal behind any gamification strategy, otherwise, it runs the risk of falling flat and coming across as disingenuous.

    If you’re considering incorporating gamification into your marketing efforts, do your research and understand how best to use it before moving forward. As with anything else in marketing, always test and measure your results to ensure that your gamification strategy is working and achieving the desired results.

    How Can Marketing Gamification Help You Increase Sales?

    Marketing gamification is a strategy that uses game-like elements and mechanics to engage customers and promote desired behavior. It can increase brand awareness, drive sales, or promote other marketing objectives.

    Gamification can increase customer engagement by making interactions more fun and engaging. It can also lead to increased brand loyalty and customer retention. Additionally, it can prompt customers to take desired actions, such as making a purchase or referring a friend.

    There are many different ways to gamify your marketing strategy. Some common tactics include offering rewards for taking desired actions, using leaderboards to encourage friendly competition, and adding elements of chance or mystery to pique customers’ interest.

    The key to successful marketing gamification is to ensure that the game elements are well-designed and add value for the customer. The goals of the gamification should be clearly defined, and the rules should be easy to understand. Additionally, the rewards should be attractive and meaningful.


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    Tips to Increase Sales Using Marketing Gamification

    Gamification Statistics
    Gamification Statistics

    The following are the top 10 tips to increase sales using marketing gamification:

    1. Offer incentives for customers to take actions that lead to sales. This could include discounts, points, or other rewards.

    2. Make the process of taking action easy and fun. Use game mechanics such as badges, leaderboards, and progress bars to keep customers engaged.

    3. Let customers know how their actions impact the company’s bottom line. Show them how their efforts are translating into real results.

    4. Encourage social sharing by offering additional rewards for customers who spread the word about your company or product.

    5. Use data from customer interactions to improve your gamification strategy over time. Constantly strive to make the experience more engaging and effective.

    6. Be sure to integrate gamification into your overall marketing strategy. Do not rely on it as a standalone tactic, or you may risk turning off customers.

    7. Keep an eye on the competition. See what they’re doing with gamification and try to stay one step ahead.

    8. Be prepared to change your approach if you do not see the desired results. Gamification is a dynamic field, and what works today may not work tomorrow.

    9. Have fun with it! The more you enjoy what you’re doing, the more likely your customers will too.

    10. Remember that gamification is just one tool in your sales arsenal. Use it alongside other techniques to create a well-rounded approach.


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    5 Best Practices for Implementing Gamification

    The following are the five best practices for implementing gamification:

    • Define your goals and objectives
    • Identify your target audience
    • Select the right game mechanics
    • Create a balance between competition and collaboration
    • Test and refine your gamification approach

    Following these best practices will help you ensure that your gamification implementation is successful. By defining your goals and objectives upfront, you can ensure that your selected game mechanics are aligned with them. Identifying your target audience is also important, as this will help you choose game mechanics that are most likely to engage them. Creating a balance between competition and collaboration will help keep players engaged while testing and refining your approach will help you further optimize your gamification implementation.

    Brands that Use Gamification in Marketing

    Starbucks - Starbucks Rewards
    Starbucks – Starbucks Rewards
    1. Starbucks’s “Starbucks Rewards”
    2. M&M’s “Eye-Spy Pretzel”
    3. KFC’s “Shrimp Attack”
    4. Hilton’s “Honors guest loyalty program”
    5. Sephora’s “Beauty Insider” loyalty program

    Conclusion

    Gamification is a hot topic in the world of marketing, and for a good reason. By understanding how to use it correctly, you can tap into your customer’s psychology and drive more sales with fewer efforts. Moreover, gamification is the new trend and both big and small brands are using it effectively to gain amazing results.  

    Thus, in today’s time, marketing gamification is an effective technique that helps in improving customer engagement leading to a higher success rate.

    FAQs

    How does gamification help marketing?

    Gamification improves engagement that ultimately leads to a higher conversion rate. It does not feel like traditional marketing, thus people are more likely to respond more.

    Is gamification a marketing tool?

    Gamification is an important tool in a marketing strategy as the end-user gets to enjoy the benefits of his/her activity.

    Does Starbucks use gamification?

    Starbucks uses gamification for marketing in the form of  ‘My Starbucks Rewards’ to increase engagement and retention of customers.

    What prominent companies use gamification techniques?

    • Google
    • Microsoft
    • Bluewolf
    • Cisco
    • Starbucks
  • CommerceIQ – Enabling Merchants To Expand Profitably

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by CommerceIQ.

    When most of the world’s shopping went online as a result of the pandemic, entrepreneurs providing technology and other solutions to help with the transition began to attract venture capitalists’ attention. CommerceIQ is the latest company to gain late-stage funding, as we’ve seen firms throughout the e-commerce infrastructure and enabling ecosystem to raise larger and larger amounts.

    Enterprise Business Platforms are a collection of interconnected application software and/or systems that may be used to develop Enterprise Business Solutions or Apps by combining their capabilities and shared data.
    Order processing,  customer information management,  procurement, energy management, production scheduling, and accounting are among the company operations that enterprise businesses handle. It is usually housed on servers and offers several users simultaneous services across a computer network.

    CommerceIQ is a business platform that enables merchants to expand profitably by making data-driven marketing decisions. By combining the fields of machine learning and data science to e-commerce, the firm’s solution automates operations across marketing, sales, and operations, allowing retailers to increase their efficiency through automation and generate sustainability.

    CommerceIQ – Company Highlights

    Startup Name CommerceIQ
    Legal Name Boomerang Commerce Inc
    Headquarters Palo Alto, California, United States
    Industry Analytics, Consumer Goods, E-Commerce, Machine Learning, Sales, Software
    Founders Guru Hariharan
    Founded 2012
    Areas Served Worldwide
    Current CEO Guru Hariharan
    Website www.commerceiq.ai

    About CommerceIQ and How it Works?
    CommerceIQ – Industry
    CommerceIQ – Name, Logo, and Tagline
    CommerceIQ – Founders
    CommerceIQ – Startup Story
    CommerceIQ – Vision, and Mission
    CommerceIQ – Business Model
    CommerceIQ – Growth
    CommerceIQ – Employees
    Commerce – Funding, and Investments
    CommerceIQ – Competitors
    CommerceIQ – Future Plans

    About CommerceIQ and How it Works?

    CommerceIQ is a frontrunner in assisting companies in winning through retail e-commerce platforms like Walmart.com, Instacart, and Amazon, which account for 85 percent of all e-commerce. To help organizations discover the key to winning a share of the market profitably, the company’s unified platform integrates machine learning and automation across the supply chain, marketing, and sales processes.

    To maximize e-commerce performance, CommerceIQ connects people, processes, and technology platforms. People can now make more decisions, better decisions, and make them faster. An online firm that remains on the top implies more sales volumes, more considerable revenues, and a larger market share.

    CommerceIQ – Industry

    Enterprise Business Platforms, and Solutions, are utilised to carry out cross-functional organisational duties by combining capabilities that are often provided by several enterprise systems. The following terms are more precise when it comes to defining this industry: Enterprise Business Platforms are a collection of interconnected software applications and/or systems that may be used to develop Enterprise Business Solutions or Apps by combining their capabilities and shared data.

    Due to the increased prevalence of cloud applications in diverse modern enterprises and the rising use of customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning in over 70% of companies, the global enterprise platform market is predicted to develop significantly.

    Many small and medium-sized firms’ increased investments in cloud software due to increased scalability, robustness, and return on investments have fueled market development, fueled demand for applications and software such as ERP and CRM across multiple organizations.

    Increased automation in various end-use sectors is also critical for market expansion. Cloud-based corporate apps like Panama are gaining much traction in the market, indicating that consumers are becoming more interested in automated business procedures.


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    CommerceIQ – Name, Logo, and Tagline

    CommerceIQ tagline says, “Unlock profitable e-commerce growth”

    Company Logo of CommerceIQ
    Company Logo of CommerceIQ

    CommerceIQ – Founders

    Guru Hariharan founded CommerceIQ in 2012.

    Guru Hariharan

    Founder and CEO of CommerceIQ - Guru Hariharan
    Founder and CEO of CommerceIQ – Guru Hariharan

    Guru is an experienced IT and marketing executive with over fifteen years of e-commerce expertise. Guru spent more than five years with Amazon developing out automatic procurement and supply chain before starting the firm in 2012. He also became a 3P seller’s AI-based selling coach.

    CommerceIQ – Startup Story

    The company’s founder, Hariharan, has a history in machine learning and e-commerce, and while at Amazon, he stated that the objective was to eliminate humans from the retailing equation, thus his team created software called Amazon Selling Coach to teach people how to connect with businesses.

    Hariharan wanted to establish a firm that would power where all of that money was going as individuals began to migrate their purchases, from equipment to toothbrushes, to Amazon and other platforms.

    He left Amazon to establish his own firm, focusing on the sale side of the equation for brands to sell and the purchase side’s interaction with retailers. CommerceIQ’s retail e-commerce management tools automate and consolidate areas such as retail media management, category analytics, operations, and sales for companies underneath one umbrella. According to Hariharan, customers should expect an average sales increase of 18 per cent.

    More than 2,200 companies, including Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, and Kellogg’s are now collaborating with this Bay Area-based startup to manage incremental sales, unit profitability, and category market share through online retailers such as Amazon, Target, Instacart, and Walmart,

    CommerceIQ – Vision, and Mission

    CommerceIQ’s mission statement says, “to empower brands to move from analogue to algorithms.”

    CommerceIQ – Business Model

    Essentially, the company sells tools that allow retailers to take action on e-commerce platforms before an item runs out of supply. It also aids firms in streamlining their supply chains and taking the necessary procedures in the event that a product is not displayed on the e-commerce platform’s homepage.

    There are four main product categories for this SaaS company. Offerings for firms to be more visible on e-commerce search sites, as well as tools to manage advertisements and optimise promotions with the least amount of human intervention, are among them. Large firms may also use CommerceIQ to simplify their supply chains by forecasting their needs and requirements and allocating resources accordingly.

    In addition, the company provides a professional services model. The company provides advisory services to ‘clients that are trailing behind in the e-commerce market and want to catch up.’

    The business is built on an annual subscription model with valuation-based charging.

    CommerceIQ – Growth

    In 2021, CommerceIQ, an algorithmic platform for e-commerce channels, had a 267 percent growth in revenue and a 77 percent increase in personnel year over year.

    CommerceIQ, which uses machine learning, analytics, and automation systems to enhance e-commerce channels across distribution chain, advertising, and sales operations, is strengthening its tech governance in India with new hires in application, design and development, data science and analytics, support, and product operations.

    “From a business growth standpoint, it’s been phenomenal,” said Guru Hariharan, CEO, CommerceIQ. “It was blistering growth in the US. E-commerce penetration of retail was about 16% when we went into the pandemic. When we got out of the pandemic, it was 20% in the US. And it was similar across the world. There was a massive jump in e-commerce penetration of total retail.”

    According to Hariharan, the firm has had a 267 per cent increase in revenue yet, with a 300 per cent increase in 202. He went on to say that although CommerceIQ has dominated IQ in the US, it has won with EQ in India, particularly during the second wave of the pandemic, when a lot of their professionals in India were affected.

    CommerceIQ – Employees

    • COO – Piyush Lumba
    • CEO & Founder – Guru Hariharan
    • VP Sales – Tim Wilson
    • VP Finance – Adrian Seet
    • Sr. Product Manager – Rajath Raman
    • Senior Account Executive – Cory Lund

    Commerce – Funding, and Investments

    Date Round Amount Lead Investors
    Mar 21, 2022 Series D $115M SoftBank Vision Fund
    Jun 22, 2021 Series C $60M Insight Partners
    Jan 14, 2016 Series B $12M Shasta Ventures
    Jul 16, 2014 Series A $8.5M Madrona Venture Group, Trinity Ventures

    CommerceIQ – Competitors

    CommerceIQ’s top competitors include A2X, Webgility, Helium10, Jungle Scout, Perpetua, ChannelAdvisor. Wholesale Suite, and DataHawk.

    CommerceIQ – Future Plans

    CommerceIQ, a retail e-commerce management software, has received $115 million in Series D financing from SoftBank Vision Fund 2. With this, the SaaS startup’s overall valuation has risen to more than $1 billion, putting it in the coveted unicorn category.

    Existing institutional investors such as Insight Partners, Trinity Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group also participated in the round.

    CommerceIQ will utilise the resources to finance its global operations and expedite the development of its ‘unified Retail Ecommerce Management Platform.’ It also intends to grow its services in India, and as a result, its algorithmic components have been adjusted to adapt to buyers’ behaviour not only on Amazon but also on local e-tailers like Flipkart.

    The Bengaluru office now employs over 150 workers, with ambitions to roughly treble that number by CY22. The money will also be used to hire more people in a variety of areas, including data science, software development, customer service, analytics, and product operations.

    Hariharan said that the company had a strong presence in the United States and Canada and that it was planning to expand to Europe shortly. Furthermore, the firm intends to use the funds to accelerate its organic expansion and form new collaborations along the road.

    CommerceIQ – FAQs

    What does CommerceIQ do?

    CommerceIQ is a business platform that enables merchants to expand profitably by making data-driven marketing decisions.

    Who founded CommerceIQ?

    Guru Hariharan founded CommerceIQ in 2012.

    How does CommerceIQ make money?

    The company provides a professional services model. The business is built on an annual subscription model with valuation-based charging.

    Which companies do CommerceIQ compete with?

    CommerceIQ’s top competitors include A2X, Webgility, Helium10, Jungle Scout, Perpetua, ChannelAdvisor. Wholesale Suite, and DataHawk.

  • BotStar – Easiest Way to Create Your Own Chatbot

    Imagine a situation where you just kicked off your online business or brand and it is finally blowing up. You have already spent money on hiring staff but are still stretched too thin to deal with your customers.

    Any good business owner knows that a frustrated customer who once leaves, might not come back again. So how do you deal with an ever-growing customer base as well as manage your already overloaded messenger situation?

    Well, I have a solution for your troubles. What you undoubtedly need to streamline your business and user’s experience is BotStar.

    BotStar offers a fully customizable platform to build A.I chatbots
    BotStar offers a fully customizable platform to build A.I chatbots

    In the digital world, technologies come and go but there are a few that are so revolutionary that will stay forever.

    Chatbot technology is one of these rare revolutionary technologies that has taken over the internet. From FB pages to blogs, and e-commerce websites, bots are used everywhere.

    Even if you are a digital marketer or have a team of people to work on your website, you cannot simply expect them to interact with each and every customer and their queries as it consumes too much time and energy.

    But now, imagine having interactive chatbots that do your job for you by turning fans into subscribers, leads into buyers all around the clock whether you are online or at the beach.

    This is what BotStar offers its users, freedom from routinely simple tasks so that you can focus your energy elsewhere.

    So let’s dive in and look at some of BotStar’s features, and pricing plans so you may get a better understanding of the software.

    What is BotStar?
    BotStar – Features and Benefits
    How to use BotStar?
    BotStar – Pricing
    FAQ’s for BotStar’s Integration

    What is BotStar?

    An intuitive full-fledged platform, BotStar is a tool for building chatbots. Potential clients who visit your website often require a lot of details before they are willing to give you their information. They need to understand what you are offering, why they should trust your brand, and finally what they can expect in return for availing your services.

    Generating a steady flow of leads is always the priority for any business but it’s not always easy to do so. It will either cost you a lot of money or time, and sometimes both. But having a dedicated chat bot building platform that lets you code as well as design in a simple process, might just be the thing your business needs.

    Follow the next part of my review to learn more about its features and plans

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    BotStar – Features and Benefits

    Cloud-based – BotStar is accessible and can work from any device whether you’re working on your laptop, tablet, or even your phone. There’s no need to download and install either.

    Easy to use – If you’re not proficient with technology or coding, then you need not stress as it’s precisely why BotStar is so popular. With very little input you can control and customize this software to your needs.

    Powerful visual editor – Unlike other chatbot management tools, BotStar enables you to build unlimited leads without any restrictions. You can edit and design to your heart’s content with an efficient drag-and-drop editor.

    Keyword AI – Your customers don’t even need to type in their full query as BotStar comes with an intuitive AI that automatically matches keywords with a pre-loaded response.

    Pre-designed templates – 50 high quality pre-designed templates for you to choose from. These are also available over different niches, ready to be used.

    Automate E-commerce – Gone are the days where you had to manually customize your galleries and orders. You can simply automate the process with BotStar.

    Mass broadcasts – Blast your customers with new deals and offers at will. Such tactics usually tend to have high open rates.

    Full customizations – Insanely flexible and customizable bots as you can add images, videos and even have time delays in between responses to humanize your chatbots in a natural way.

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    How to use BotStar?

    Follow these few simple steps to set-up your chatbot on BotStar:

    • Step 1 – Create a new bot
    • Step 2 – Choose a template for your bot
    • Step 3 – Set up Bot name, Avatar and Language
    • Step 4 – Link your FB page to the bot
    • Step 5 – Customize your messages as you see fit
    • Step 6 – Publish your Chat bot
    • Step 7 – Relax, while your bot does all the work!

    BotStar – Pricing

    BotStar is available for the initial price of $47 which is pretty cheap compared to a chatbot developer who might charge from $40-60/hr. But if you need more options you can check out the options below

    1. BotStar – Deluxe Upgrade ($67)
    This package gives you access to all the features without any restrictions. 20 chatbots and double the number of virtual assistants that you can add to your dashboard.

    • Mass comment to replies with a single click
    • Get better results with 20 chatbots
    • Can be connected to over 1500 apps
    • Save time by connecting directly with your team in the BotStar dashboard

    2. Platinum Upgrade ($67)
    One time purchase and you get the following:

    • 30 chatbots to scale up your business
    • Advanced A.I technology will enhance your conversion rate and increase engagements
    • Unlock multilingual chat bots
    • Fully customizable chatbots with developer tools

    3. Training Bootcamp ($ 97)
    Step by step training course on how you can approach and close business clients. How to use BotStar for local business guides.

    • Section 1 – Promoting BotStar to local businesses
    • Section 2 – Setting up BotStar Chatbot
    • Section 3 – BotStar integration
    • Section 4 – Defining audience in BotStar
    • Section 5 – Creating automated campaigns
    • Section 6 – Generating traffic, leads and sales for any business
    • Section 7 – BotStar marketing
    • Section 8 – BotStar chatbot design best practices

    FAQ’s for BotStar’s Integration

    How can I use the Dialogflow in my chatbot?

    To be able to use the Dialogflow feature inside BotStar, you will need to:

    • Enable Dialogflow in Integration (Bot Builder > Integration)
    • Have at least one Agent inside your Dialogflow account.
    Dialogflow Integration dashboard
    Dialogflow Integration dashboard

    Why can’t I find the new Intent/ Agent which I just have created in my Dialogflow account when setting up the configuration in the Dialogflow block?

    If you can’t find your Intent/ Agent, please reload the BotStar page again or click the “Load new Agents” button in Integrations (Bot Builder > Integration) to reload the data.

    The reason why we need to reload the data is that you may have created the Agents or Intent after integrating Dialogflow with BotStar, so the data haven’t been transferred from Dialogflow to BotStar yet.

    Dialogflow Agent settings
    Dialogflow Agent settings

    I have created a new agent inside Dialogflow, but the result when I test the “Confirmation block” is not like what I expected. The data is wrong. How can I fix that?

    I would like to explain that this situation usually happens when this is the first time you have used the Dialogflow block inside BotStar.

    To fix this problem, please go to your Dialogflow block, then set them up again from the beginning. You can choose to delete that Dialogflow block or you will just need to change to another agent and then change back to the agent you want to set up.

    BotStar – Conclusion

    This simple yet efficient platform is the cutting edge of technology. Now that you have all the important information about BotStar at your fingertips, waste no more time. It is finally time to use a super-smart messaging tool that does all the work so that you don’t have to while still giving everyone the experience they deserve.

    Get BotStar today and give yourself a much needed break !