Tag: Ecommerce 🛒

  • Top 12 B2C Ecommerce Websites Dominating the Indian Market

    ‌‌From Amazon to Pepperfry, the eCommerce industry thrives in India, especially in B2C eCommerce companies. In fact, India is ranked first in the fastest-growing eCommerce market globally, with an estimated market value of $16.6 trillion by 2022.

    B2C means business-to-consumer, which refers to the business model where the companies directly sell their products to consumers. The market offering B2C services has gained speed in recent years. According to the report by Grand View Research, the B2C eCommerce industry is set to reach a valuation of $7.65 trillion by the year 2028.

    This brings us to the article’s primary content, top B2C eCommerce companies across India. So, let’s get started.

    List of top B2C eCommerce companies in India

    Amazon
    Flipkart
    FirstCry
    Paytm Mall
    Snapdeal
    Myntra
    1mg
    LimeRoad
    Shopclues
    Pepperfry
    BookMyShow
    Nykaa

    Amazon

    Founded 2013
    Founders Jeff Bezos
    Headquarters Seattle, Washington (USA)
    Category Ecommerce
    Website amazon.in

    Amazon Website
    Amazon Website

    When it comes to B2C eCommerce websites, Amazon tops the list. The company was initially started in the United States as an online bookstore and was later converted into a marketplace for other products. Initially, it was created as a platform where customers could purchase books on a wide range of subjects.

    With time, Amazon grew into an eCommerce site with monthly visitors of over 322.54 million, as per the 2010 data. And it became widely popular in the Indian eCommerce industry. Today, the company reached out to a total of 89 percent of the Indian audience.

    Flipkart

    Founded 2007
    Founders Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal
    Headquarters Bengaluru, India
    Category Ecommerce
    Website flipkart.com

    Flipkart Website
    Flipkart Website

    Founded by two former Amazon employees, Binny Bansal, and Sachin Bansal, in 2007, Flipkart is a well-known privately hosted eCommerce website in India. After its highest acquisition of 16 billion in 2018 by Walmart, Flipkart now comes under the ownership of Walmart. The company owns 39.5 percent of the market share of the Indian eCommerce industry, with the most significant competition from none other than Amazon.

    Flipkart gained massive popularity due to its Big Billion Days Sale, where it reached a large audience base by offering huge discounts on its merchandise of all categories. With a solid online presence, Flipkart is considered one of the best eCommerce websites following the B2C business model.

    FirstCry

    Founded 2010
    Founders Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari
    Headquarters Pune, India
    Category Online Baby Products
    Website firstcry.com

    FirstCry Website
    FirstCry Website

    FirstCry is considered the best eCommerce platform for babies and children’s merchandise, following a B2C business model. The product quality and variety offered by FirstCry are excellent and worth all the praise. It provides more than 200,000 products from over 5,000 manufacturers. FirstCry was introduced in 2010 by Amitava Saha and Supam Maheshwari.

    In addition to its eCommerce platform, Firstcry also operates physical stores across the country, which allows customers to experience its products before making a purchase.

    The website has also launched its own private-label brands to offer quality products at affordable prices. FirstCry has over 400 outlets across India, covering cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and many more.

    Paytm Mall

    Founded 2016
    Founders Vijay Shekhar Sharma
    Headquarters Bengaluru, India
    Category Ecommerce
    Website paytmmall.com

    Paytm Mall Website
    Paytm Mall Website

    Yes, you heard it right. Paytm isn’t limited to digital payments and financial services; it has also expanded to eCommerce. In 2016, Paytm introduced an online shopping platform based on the B2C business model, Paytm Mall.

    From all kinds of clothing to exclusive gadgets to home furnishing, you can find everything at Paytm Mall. As per the reports published by findly, Paytm Mall is estimated to receive 60 million orders in a month.

    Paytm Mall offers high-quality products at affordable pricing. Plus, you can use different coupons for discounts and cashback offered by Paytm Mall.

    Snapdeal

    Founded 2010
    Founders Kunal Bahl, Rohit Bansal
    Headquarters Gurgaon, India
    Category Ecommerce
    Website snapdeal.com

    Snapdeal Website
    Snapdeal Website

    With an estimated monthly visitor count of 56.41 million, Snapdeal is considered an eCommerce giant with a B2C business model. It’s an online shopping platform with various products from different categories such as electronics, clothing, home decor, books, beauty, and many more. Among these, Snapdeal’s electronic category is the largest shopped one.

    This eCommerce platform was launched in 2010 and has attracted top investors such as Softbank, Alibaba Group, and Foxconn.

    Myntra

    Founded 2007
    Founders Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania, Vineet Saxena, Sankar Bora, and Raveen Sastry
    Headquarters Bengaluru India
    Category Ecommerce
    Website myntra.com

    Myntra Website
    Myntra Website

    Myntra is among the premier fashion, lifestyle, and home eCommerce platforms with a B2C business model. It has around 48.03 million monthly visitors. It earned impressive profit and popularity after the acquisition of Jabong.com, its competitor in the market.

    Myntra is known for its fantastic collection of high-end fashion from top brands all around the globe and as per 2012 data, Myntra added more than 350 Indian and Foreign brands to its manufacturer’s list. Plus, it has many private clothing labels, such as HRX and Moda Rapido, which are exempted from expansion vastly.

    The website is also a fashion retailer with a wide range of products from international to local brands in all sections.

    Estimated Retail Ecommerce Sales in India in Million US Dollars from 2016-2022
    Estimated Retail Ecommerce Sales in India in Million US Dollars from 2016-2022

    1mg

    Founded 2013
    Founders Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, Vikas Chauhan
    Headquarters Gurugram, India
    Category Healthcare
    Website 1mg.com

    1mg Website
    1mg Website

    1mg is categorized as an Indian online pharmacy founded in 2015 by Prashant Tandon, Gaurav Agarwal, and Vikas Chauhan. 1mg offers a wide range of healthcare products including medicines, healthcare devices, health supplements, personal care products, and more. The website features products from over 3,000 brands and has over 2 lakh products available on its platform.

    1mg also provides features such as online medicine ordering, diagnostic tests booking, and wellness package booking to provide a comprehensive healthcare experience to its customers. In addition to healthcare products and services, 1mg also provides health-related content through its blog and social media channels.

    LimeRoad

    Founded 2012
    Founders Prashant Malik, Manish Saksena, Ankush Mehra, and Suchi Mukherjee
    Headquarters Gurugram, India
    Category Fashion Ecommerce
    Website limeroad.com

    Limeroad Website
    LimeRoad Website

    Headquartered in Gurugram, LimeRoad is a pretty famous fashion and clothing eCommerce website following B2C business models. The company was founded in 2012 with the specification of online shopping. It was founded by Prashant Malik, Manish Saksena, Ankush Mehra, and Suchi Mukherjee.

    In its initial three funding rounds, the company raised 50 million USD. LimeRoad is the first-ever women’s social shopping platform in India. It also offers a wide range of categories dealing with men, women, and kids.  

    Shopclues

    Founded 2011
    Founders Sandeep Aggarwal, Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi
    Headquarters Gurugram, India
    Category Online Shopping
    Website shopclues.com

    Shopclues Website
    Shopclues Website

    Shopclues is another online shopping company based in Gurugram, Haryana, India, founded by Radhika Aggarwal, Sandeep Aggarwal, and Sanjay Sethi in 2011. With revenue of above $40 million and 1080+ employees, the company has established a strong image in the marketplace. It’s a privately owned company that specializes in online shopping.

    ShopClues operates on a marketplace model where it connects buyers and sellers on its platform. The website has over 5 crore products from 9 lakh+ merchants across 3,300+ categories. Apart from the regular products, ShopClues also offers several exclusive features like Sunday Flea Market, Wholesale, and IndiMarket which showcase products from small and medium-sized businesses in India.

    Pepperfry

    Founded 2011
    Founders Ambareesh Murty & Ashish Shah
    Headquarters Mumbai, India
    Category Home Decor and Furniture
    Website pepperfry.com

    Pepperfry Website
    Pepperfry Website

    Pepperfry is a popular eCommerce B2C website in India that primarily focuses on home decor and furniture. The website was launched in 2012 by Ashish Shah and Ambreesh Murthy. Pepperfry has become one of the leading online shopping destinations for furniture and home decor in India.

    They offer products from over 10,000 sellers and has over 1.2 lakh products available on its platform. It also has more than 100 outlets across 57 cities in India. The website also has a feature called “Studio Pepperfry” which is a concept store where customers can get a hands-on experience with the products before making a purchase.

    BookMyShow

    Founded 2007
    Founders Ashish Hemrajani, Parikshit Dar, and Rajesh Balpande
    Headquarters Mumbai, India
    Category Online Ticket Booking
    Website bookmyshow.com

    BookMyShow Website
    BookMyShow Website

    BookMyShow is a popular eCommerce B2C (business-to-consumer) website in India that primarily focuses on providing online ticket booking services for movies, events, and other entertainment activities. The website was launched in 2007 by Ashish Hemrajani, Parikshit Dar, and Rajesh Balpande.

    BookMyShow offers a range of services including movie ticket booking, event ticket booking, sports event ticket booking, play and theater ticket booking, and more. The BookMyShow website features listings of events, movies, and activities happening in various cities across India. They also provide reviews and ratings of movies, events, and activities to help customers make informed decisions.

    Nykaa

    Founded 2012
    Founders Falguni Nayar
    Headquarters Mumbai, India
    Category Cosmetics, Beauty, Personal Care
    Website nykaa.com

    Nykaa Website
    Nykaa Website

    Nykaa is a popular eCommerce B2C website in India that primarily provides beauty and wellness products to its customers. It was launched in 2012 by Falguni Nayar. Nykaa offers a wide range of beauty and wellness products including makeup, skincare, hair care, personal care, fragrance, wellness, and more.

    The website features products from over 1,500 brands and has over 2 lakh products available on its platform. It also provides content related to beauty and wellness through its blog and social media channels.


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    Conclusion

    In conclusion, with the massive adaptation of machine learning, consumers are getting more personalized services from B2C eCommerce companies. The best thing about B2C websites is the level of convenience and security they provide consumers.

    It shows products based on the previous purchasing history of the users to fulfill their unique needs. These above-mentioned B2C eCommerce websites are truly extraordinary with their services and products. And because of this only, the competition within the eCommerce industry is relatively high, which is also the reason for its growth.

    FAQs

    Which is India’s number 1 eCommerce company?

    Flipkart is considered India’s number 1 eCommerce company with 39.5% of the market share from the Indian eCommerce industry.

    Is Zomato a B2C?

    Yes, Zomato is a B2C company.

    Who is the father of eCommerce in India?

    K Vaitheeswaran is considered the father of eCommerce in India.

    What are B2C website examples?

    Some of the B2C website examples are Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, LimeRoad, Pepperfry, Shopclues, 1mg, Snapdeal, Paytm Mall, Firstcry, etc.

  • 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.

  • E-Commerce 2.0: What the Future Holds

    The Article is contributed By Lucas Johnson, Associate Vice President, Zippo Global Marketing

    The ecommerce industry is constantly evolving, and this year has witnessed several interesting trends. More than ever, brands are creating and improving their ecommerce businesses to become accessible to customers wherever they are. An aftermath of the pandemic, the work-from-home policy has encouraged changes in consumer behavior, driving offline customer footfall to online stores.

    Here are few trends which I think will share the ecommerce in the coming future.

    Trend 1: Personalized & Mobile Commerce
    Trend 2: Loyalty Programs
    Trend 3: Social Selling
    Trend 4: Sustainability
    Trend 5: Integration within Metaverse and other Gaming Platforms

    Trend 1: Personalized & Mobile Commerce

    A majority of eCommerce businesses are building mobile-first strategies as mobile traffic continues to rise. Mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment systems make it easy and convenient to conduct business from smartphones, while SMS (text-based) marketing makes it easier to connect with customers to drive repeat business, provide order information, and reduce abandoned carts.

    The real frontier here is personalization. This not only refers to product personalization (“Nike by You”, for example), but also personalized experiences on e-comm sites for consumers. Smart brands are tailoring their owned e-comm content to each consumer based on their buying cues and interests.


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    Trend 2: Loyalty Programs

    People love eCommerce loyalty programs because they reward regular customers for repeat purchases in the form of cash-back, discounts and next-purchase coupons. Loyalty programs provide brands with user data which help them understand their customers’ buying behavior and accordingly curate special offers for customers based on their unique purchase history. These programs help improve the rate of customer retention and contribute to increase in sale.

    Trend 3: Social Selling

    Social media gave rise to the influencer and their ability to promote brands and products to a devoted audience. Social media platforms are now blurring the lines between e-commerce shops and social media, making it easier for both brands and influencers to convert followers into customers via shoppable posts. Instagram and Pinterest are two strong examples of where social selling is flourishing, but now TikTok takes this a step further with the rise of livestream selling, where brand representatives or influencers offer live, sometimes around-the-clock, video of product demonstrations, testimonials, and exclusive reveals. This new form of selling has taken over China and has begun to appear in other global markets and regions through Amazon Live and other sites.

    Growth of Indian Advertising Industry

    Trend 4: Sustainability

    Driving a business to achieve eCommerce sustainability means building a brand that supports environmentally friendly practices; from green packaging to more eco-friendly shipping. Not only is it the right thing to do for the planet, but it’s a critical concern for many consumers. Going green might help brands expand their market share while helping make the earth more habitable.

    Trend 5: Integration within Metaverse and other Gaming Platforms

    Meta’s social VR platform Horizon hit 300,000 users – a 10x increase in just about three months.  Although it’s not quite ready for advertising and in-world eCommerce sales, that’s coming soon! Many popular global brands are planning to sell virtual, branded goods to consumers via this new age platform. Meanwhile, other gaming systems will open their platforms to eCommerce sales. This is an innovative space that offers tremendous visibility, especially for reaching younger demographics

    Brands today are facing a world of opportunity to evolve, with success coming from big and small steps alike. Most successful brands are setting themselves apart by selling direct to consumers while aligning themselves with a broader sensibility. This includes their approach to product development, customer experience, marketing, community building and distribution strategies. It is imperative for e-commerce business owners today, to keep abreast of industry trends to stay competitive and identify new opportunities that will drive growth for the business in the near future.

  • 10 Best BNPL Service Providers for Ecommerce in 2023

    The COVID-19 lockdown brought a dynamic shift in how consumers interact with businesses. Along with this, it saw a huge increase in digital adoption and more people are online than ever before. With e-payments in full swing, it gave online retailers the option to integrate their e-commerce platform with BNPL service companies.

    While shopping online, most of you would have come across websites that allow Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service while shopping on their website. However, with a sense of scepticism about online banking, we never quite reached out to find out what it all meant.

    As online stores are gradually becoming more aware of their customer’s needs and requirements, they are simultaneously coming up with customer-friendly payment solutions. All these solutions are continuously being integrated with e-commerce platforms.

    In addition, BNPL service companies and traditional banks have entered into the system allowing similar payment arrangements. So, what is a BNPL service provider? How does it work? Let’s find out

    What Is a BNPL Service Provider?
    How Do BNPL Service Providers Contribute to E-commerce?
    Top 10 Best BNPL Service Providers

    1. Simpl
    2. Monoova
    3. PayPal Pay Later
    4. Afterpay
    5. ZestMoney
    6. Klarna
    7. Zip
    8. Sezzle
    9. Affirm
    10. Upstart

    What Is a BNPL Service Provider?

    Once a completely unknown concept, BNPL companies are slowly starting to make their way into the world of e-commerce. A “Buy Now Pay Later” company allows customers to pay for goods and services in a series of instalments rather than paying the full amount upfront.

    A few popular examples of such BNPL companies include apps such as AfterPay, Affirm, Laybuy,  Klarna, and others. A BNPL service provider, popularly referred to as BNPL apps are easy to use and generally has low-interest rates and high credit limits allowing customers to make common purchases with ease.

    BNPL service providers develop and create an app-based form of payment that can be used for both in-store and online payments. The BNPL model is relatively similar to a credit card as BNPL apps allow users to pay for items in a series of instalments over time.

    In simple words, a BNPL is a micro-credit option that allows you to shop online and pay off the amount in either days or weeks with little or no interest whatsoever.  The rise in BNPL services has filled in a huge gap brought about by the pandemic. Apart from the e-commerce platform, BNPL service options can now be found on food delivery, travel booking, grocery shopping and other relevant platforms as well.

    How Do BNPL Service Providers Contribute to E-commerce?

    Not just an e-commerce platform, BNPL Service App can also be used for in-store payments. Every time a consumer buys a product using the BNPL Seva App, the seller (merchant) gets the full payment instantly. Meanwhile, the customer can pay the fee in a series of instalments over time.

    Moreover, these BNPL applications charge no interest for customers that stick to their payment deadline. The process of using a BNPL app is simple. Approvals are straightforward and BNPL Company can run a quick and easy credit check that will not affect your credit score.

    Top 11 BNPL Product Categories

    BNPL service applications not only benefit the customer but also have several advantages for retailers and online store owners. There are several reasons why an online store owner chooses to integrate a BNPL service into its e-commerce platform. Such benefits are

    • Makes it easy for merchants to sell to a particular of customers who use a BNPL service regularly
    • Offers customers the ability to buy an item even when they don’t have the full amount upfront.
    • Stay on top of the market competition or try to get an edge over the market by matching the customer experience offered by other market players.
    • Helps improve and increase consumer spending by enabling customers to make larger purchases without requiring a credit card.
    • This opens up another market segment comprising a young audience that has a higher shopping frequency.

    Recently, BNPL companies have started to market various brands they work with by mailing vouchers and other exciting offers directly to their customers either via email, newspapers and others. The primary intent behind this isn’t to attract new customers, but to increase the purchasing frequency of the existing ones.

    Top 10 Best BNPL Service Providers

    The market is highly dynamic in the 21st century. So, if you are a store owner or an e-commerce website, you must be aware of the market trends to better serve your customers and create a completely satisfactory user experience.

    Along with this, you need to pay due attention to the payment method used by your customers to pay for their purchases. Being aware of this will only aid in customer satisfaction and help improve the purchase frequency of your existing customers. To achieve this, many e-commerce websites have integrated themselves with BNPL service companies, allowing their customers to have BNPL options as they check out. However, given the abundance of BNPL service companies at your disposal, choosing the right company for your business can be difficult.

    To make things easier for you, we have put together the top 10 BNPL service providers that you can opt to go for in 2023.

    Simpl

    Rating 4/5
    Founded 2016

    Beneficial to both merchants and customers alike, Simpl was launched in India way back in 2015. Over a period of time, it has grown to become one of the largest players in the BNPL segment in India. Launched as a mobile-first platform, Simpl offers instant approvals that allow a user to pay with a single tap.

    Simpl

    With Simpl, you have the option to pay later at your convenience. Alternatively, you also have the option to pay in a series of 3 instalments with zero additional charges. Simpl is known to have partnered with 4,500 sellers and merchants across India with a customer base of almost 7 billion.

    Pros:

    • Customisable checkouts option
    • You can do mobile payments anywhere

    Cons:

    • No free trial provided

    Monoova

    Rating 4.2/5
    Founded 2017

    If you are looking to add to the efficiency of your payment workflows, then Moonova’s API integration is exactly what your business needs right now. Thanks to the app’s simple API integration, you get instant account reconciliation, real-time debts and payments, and can assign unique account numbers to the different accounts on your payroll.

    Monoova

    Moonova uses multi-factor authentication that helps to protect you from online fraud, phishing, and other malicious websites by adding another solid layer of security to all your transactions. The company has recently partnered with Truelayer, a global leader in open banking to ensure smarter, faster, and streamlined data-enabled payments in the market.

    The platform’s rock-solid algorithm allows you to conduct the heaviest of transactions with maximum ease. Additionally, the platform offers local support at all times followed by easy-to-use developer tools that you can use within your existing infrastructure

    Pros:

    • Streamlined data-enabled payments
    • Muti-factor authentication
    • Maximum stability

    Cons:

    • Needs regular updates and maintenance

    PayPal Pay Later

    Rating 4.4/5
    Founded 2020

    Whether you are a small business owner or a company with your own name, PayPal Pay Later is a great option for both. Not only is this great for business owners, but it is also highly convenient as a payment method for BNPL application buyers, allowing them to opt for PayPal Pay Later credit plans.

    PayPal Pay Later

    The PayPal Pay later credit plan allows users to choose from six to 36 months as their preferred payment plan. Business owners using PayPal for their transactions have direct and automated access to BNPL services. For this, all the business holders need to integrate the BNPL option of PayPal on their website.

    Though the app is not compatible with in-store purchases, it integrates with most of the e-commerce platforms present in the market. Finally, PayPal offers a PayPal Purchase Protection Plan that assumes all credit risk and can be used for all PayPal purchases.

    Pros:

    • Low processing fees
    • PayPal purchase plan
    • Integrates with most eCommerce platforms

    Cons:

    • Not available for in-store purchases
    • High late fees

    Afterpay

    Rating 4.1/5
    Founded 2014

    Afterpay is a pay-in-four BNPL app that lets users enjoy interest-free instalments with a guaranteed payment of 48 hours to the seller. This BNPL service primarily caters to the needs of Gen Z who are learning to manage money on the go. Smart cards have limits for customers who want to inculcate good spending habits. By 2022, the app has been integrated with around 19 e-commerce websites and can also be used as an API. Operating in 8 countries, the app does not charge any cross-border fees.

    Afterpay

    Although pricing is not available on the website, popular user reviews indicate that this BNPL service charges between 4% to 6% plus 30 cents per transaction. As a Gen Z shopper, all you need to do is add Afterpay to your digital wallet.

    Unlike PayPal, Afterpay is available for both in-store and online purchases. When using Afterpay, you need to put down 25% of the amount in the first phase and then pay the balance in six weeks without any interest charges.

    Pros:

    • 48-hour guaranteed payout
    • Works on the POS system
    • Integrates with several eCommerce platforms
    • 0% APR

    Cons:

    • Pricing not available
    • No monthly financing plan present

    ZestMoney

    Rating 4.2/5
    Founded 2015

    ZestMoney has rapidly grown to become one of the fastest-growing fintech companies in India. Similar to most BNPL services, ZestMoney allows users to make online purchases and pay back the money in a series of instalments with minimal interest charges.

    ZestMoney

    The platform’s algorithm integrates mobile technology, digital banking and AI under the same bracket to provide capital access to those who cannot afford loans through traditional mediums. However, unlike the rest, ZestMoney is designed explicitly for heavy purchases such as furniture, flight tickets, or other so on that aren’t covered by other BNPL lending platforms. The app offers interest-free instalment options to select merchants for a period of six to ten months.

    Pros:

    • No-cost EMI on selected platforms
    • Instant loan approval and disbursal
    • Flexible EMI options

    Cons:

    • Caters to heavy purchases only
    • The issue with user privacy

    Klarna

    Rating 3.5/5
    Founded 2005

    Klarna was started by the Stockholm School of Economics and is one of the most popular BNPL companies of the 21st century. With Klarna, you shop and you have the flexibility to split your purchases into 4 simple interest-free payments.

    Klarna

    You can get more time to make payments whenever you need them by simply extending your due date in the app. Once all the payments are done, all you have to do is report it on the app and all the payments will automatically stop. Shop wherever you are and pay directly from a desktop, smartphone or in-store.

    Pros:

    • Available online and in-store
    • Multiple payment structures
    • Available in multiple countries

    Cons:

    • Each purchase requires Klarna’s approval
    • High late fee

    Zip

    Rating 4.8/5
    Founded 2013

    Earlier known as Quadpay, Zip provides savvy buyers with greater freedom and essential flexibility to make payments anytime, anywhere using the BNPL platform. Established in Australia in 2013, this BNPL service extends to more than 12 international markets.

    Zip

    Whether you are a shopper or a merchant, Zip offers transparent and interest-free credit options to all that don’t hassle or disrupt the traditional credit card model. Similar to Klarna, Zip allows you to pay in 4 interest-free instalments. With Zip, you can pay for products directly using your phone or in-store.

    Pros:

    Cons:

    • Single payment structure

    Sezzle

    Rating 3.5/5
    Founded 2016

    Sezzle has now over 3 million active users comprising over 50,000 merchants on its platform. Operating primarily in the US and Canada, Sezzle serves as an alternative payment platform with 4 instalment free payment options spanning over 6 weeks.

    Sezzle

    As a certified nonprofit B corporation, you have the flexibility to reschedule your payments for up to two weeks at a time. You can shop and pay for your favourite brands both online and in-store using the Sezzle app.

    Pros:

    • Options to Reschedule Payments
    • Virtual Credit Card Options are available both online and in-store

    Cons:

    • Missed payments result in Account deactivation
    • Single Payment structure

    Affirm

    Rating 4.3/5
    Founded 2017

    Since 2017, Affirm has financed over 17 million purchases and is currently available to more than 30,000 retailers in the US. The company primarily operates in financial lending of instalment loans to their customers for use at every PoS purchase.

    Affirm

    Depending on your payment plan and eligibility, you can avail of up to 0-30% interest. This US-based BNPL service provider provides you with a flexible, transparent, and more convenient way of helping customers pay overtime as per the payment selection made by the customer.

    Pros:

    • It has email Notifications
    • It has Customer Portal for financial tracking

    Cons:

    • Very high-interest rates which vary from 10%-30%
    • It requires a credit check

    Upstart

    Rating 3.3/5
    Founded 2012

    The greater the access to affordable credit schemes, the greater the risks and associated costs. However, Upstart is a leading AI lending platform that works with banks and credit unions to help consumers settle their loans with simple payment plans.

    Upstart

    The process of applying for an UpStart loan is quick and easy. You start by checking eligibility without worrying about whether or not it will affect your credit score. Even if you are not eligible for the amount you requested, they offer some other options. You can then choose different amounts to get estimated APRs.

    Pros:

    • Available In-store and Offline
    • Active Notification

    Cons:

    • Single Payment Structure

    Conclusion

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has become a bit reluctant to venture out to shop. This has put an emphasis on online shopping in a big way allowing more and more e-commerce platforms to grow and develop every day. Meanwhile, online retailers and e-commerce websites are also making more efforts to match the user experience as per the market competition. For this, most of the e-commerce platforms have implemented a convenient BNPL service.

    Without further ado, BNPL services are already making an impact on customers and vendors alike. Looking at the pace at which it is developing, BNPL service companies are all set to become a big element of both in-store as well as online shopping in the years to come. Whether you own a store or an e-commerce website, you need to be updated about the modern payment methods customers use to make their purchases. Doing so will only aid in customer satisfaction and ultimately generate more sales.

    FAQ

    How much do BNPL providers charge merchants?

    Most BNPL retailers do not publicly disclose their merchant fees, but they typically range between 2% and 8% of a customer’s purchase amount.

    What are BNPL services?

    Buy now Pay later or BNPL is a type of instalment loan. It divides your purchase into multiple equal payments, with the first due at checkout. The remaining payments are billed to your debit or credit card until your purchase is paid in full.

    What is Amazon BNPL?

    Amazon Monthly Payment is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option. However, if it isn’t offered on your product or does not meet your payment needs, you could choose a third-party BNPL provider.

    Is BNPL a product or service?

    BNPL products are credit products, just like any other loan, and will take regular repayments from your bank accounts or credit card.

    Is BNPL a payment method?

    The buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) scheme is a method of payment which allows consumers to pay for their purchases in short instalment periods without any interest charges or fees.

  • How to Succeed in Affiliate Marketing? – By Saksham Khanda, Founder of Ink Revenue

    How To Succeed In Affiliate Marketing? – By Saksham Khanda, Founder of Ink Revenue

    The internet has become more accessible to people around the world providing opportunities that never existed before. Entrepreneurs are able to make money by doing very little, while others struggle to get off the ground. However, affiliate marketing for beginners in 2023 could put you well on the way to success.

    Affiliate marketing allows people to benefit from selling products and services without spending any money. An individual simply promotes products among his audience and earns a share of the revenue when they buy something through that affiliate link.

    It has become one of the most popular marketing methods for entrepreneurs looking for easy startup strategies that will help them grow their income quickly.

    What Is Affiliate Marketing?

    5 Easy Steps to Become Successful in Affiliate Marketing

    1. Start With What You Do Best
    2. Write Valuable Content
    3. Share the Content Everywhere
    4. Keep Trust Front of Mind
    5. Become Data-Driven

    What Is Affiliate Marketing?

    Affiliate marketing is an online business model where you promote a company’s products through affiliate links or banner advertisements on your website. If any of your random website visitors click on the affiliate link/banner, and then makes a purchase, you will receive a commission for that sale.
    Anyone with a computer, a good internet connection and a willingness to learn new skills can follow this affiliate marketing business model.
    To promote physical or digital products for a business, you must first apply to an affiliate marketing program.

    5 Easy Steps to Become Successful in Affiliate Marketing

    To be successful in affiliate marketing, we must follow these five easy steps:

    Start With What You Do Best

    A person who best monetizes their content makes millions. The best way to get started is to write about a specific product content that you know about.
    Think about your content, the topics and trends you have already written about, and how you can find products that are relevant to your target audience. If you believe in the products you write about and they are connected to editorial content then it will be easier to create and much easier to monetize.

    Write Valuable Content

    Content is the key to success. Sit down and figure out what makes your content different. You need to know what your unique selling point is to your target readers and why they would come to your content over anyone else’s. Check your engagement statistics, understand the content that gets read more than others, and start repeating that format.

    Firstly, it has to be quality content and secondly, to make it commerce content, you have to engineer the content so that you can help people start their buying journey.

    Share the Content Everywhere

    When you start with content it is really important to think about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how you can make your commerce content rank well in search engine results.
    When you start producing very specific content related to products or marketing, you can use very specific keywords, which are exactly what search engines look at when deciding to rank content prominently in search engine search results. Theme posts around these special keywords and you should see your organic traffic start to increase as yours get indexed the most, and people search for them on different social media platforms.

    Keep Trust Front of Mind

    Trust is key to affiliate success. Audiences need to trust you’re making genuine recommendations about what they should buy and are savvy enough to tell when you’ve sold them up the river.

    So when you write commerce content keep a few things in your mind :

    a. Think about whether you would genuinely buy the item

    b. Consider if you like the brand and its products

    c. And in an ideal world, make sure you’ve tested the product and know it’ll be perfect for what your readers are looking for

    Readers can tell when you believe in a product or brand because your enthusiasm will be evident in your writing. The better the quality of your recommendations, the sooner people will start to trust you as a place to learn about the products they want to buy and will start purchasing based on your recommendations.

    Become Data-Driven

    Once you start using affiliate marketing strategies to make money, you will start generating data that you can use to inform your affiliate strategy and help you make more money. Merchants will pay a fixed commission to publishers when they are directly responsible for driving sales. So when looking for products you want to review, keep in mind the commission rate the merchant is going to pay you. The better the rate, the more money you’ll make if you drive sales.

    It’s better to think about conversion rates as well. A merchant may offer a high commission rate, but if their conversion rate is low, it means people rarely buy their products and this reduces your chance of making a sale.

    Conclusion

    Affiliate marketing is all about taking your destiny into your own hands. The correct strategy is the key to being able to steer one’s ship into that part of the ocean where a certain kind of calmness can be found, which pervades the atmosphere as the ship moves calmly along.

  • Most Popular Live Chat Software for eCommerce

    In order to flourish in your industry, you have to build your communication skills as strong as possible, which will result in generating more leads and constructing effective marketing.

    As is the case, communication is considered the most promising key for directing a business and increasing your customer base. We know person-to-person selling has been a prevalent method of marketing in the olden days.

    But, in some or another way, marketers are propelled to change their strategy to e-commerce in the case of dealing with customers electronically without the need of in-person conversation.

    However, the adoption of online-based life is not well-accepted in some cases, whereby few small-scale businesses still lack in reaching out their products & services electronically. That’s why live chat service software has been introduced to e-commerce, which enables your business and your potential customers to chat in real-time.

    One of the nifty tools to augment your leads will be easily done by using ‘Live chat software in your business by connecting with potential customers.

    Furthermore, developing Live chat services in your e-commerce would benefit timely response to the customer, eliminate language barriers, increase accessibility and conversion, and gain insights into customer behavior. The list of top 19 Live chat software available for an e-commerce website is given below:

    LiveAgent
    LiveChat
    Intercom
    ChatBot
    Sendinblue
    Chaport
    Olark
    ProProfs Chat
    Zendesk
    Zoho Desk
    Tidio
    ChatSupport
    Comm100 Live Chat
    Gorgias
    DelightChat
    Tawk.to
    JivoChat
    FreshChat
    Chatra

    LiveAgent

    Name LiveAgent
    Founded 2011
    Rating 4.9
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $15/month
    Website www.liveagent.com
    LiveAgent
    LiveAgent 

    LiveAgent is one of the leading cloud-based solutions for live chat and help desk software. LiveAgent allows the one-place integration for live chat, email, and social media handles. The customer can set up email ticketing, live chat along with video chat, and time tracking call center all easily by the use of LiveAgent.

    Key Features

    • Automatic chat translation facility.
    • Call back scheduling with the feature of call recording.
    • Visitor tracking and live chat tracking on Google Analytics.
    • Agent ranking for better control over team and user interface.
    • Multi-channel communication with data import and export facility.

    Pros

    • The software is much simpler to use and implicate irrespective of the team size.
    • Features can be customized and tailored as per the users need.

    Cons

    • Mobile app integration can be improved.

    LiveChat

    Name LiveChat
    Founded 2002
    Rating 4.4
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $20/month
    Website www.livechat.com
    LiveChat
    LiveChat 

    LiveChat is considered the best tool for every ilk of e-businesses from engaging with customers through real-time chatbots. This software is designed for e-commerce stores, where providing customer services through phone calls and email are time-consuming process plus takes a slow responsive effect from both sides.

    That’s why Livechat has been launched in 2002 with an aim to bestow a chatbot platform, live customer support, and help desk platform for e-commerce.. It is integrated with popular CRM software like Hubspot, Mailchimp, and google analytics. This integration serves in filling up the customer’s required details automatically.

    Key Features

    • Allows the facility of targeted messages.
    • Provides better security encryption and data storage.
    • Is made from 200+ integrations for easy workflow.
    • Capture leads and makes buying easy.
    • Automation is included.‌‌

    Pros

    • Provides excellent analytics and reporting setup.
    • Has a very easy and simple-to-use user interface.

    Cons

    • The software can be quite costly for small business owners.

    Top 8 Best HubSpot Alternatives You’re Missing Out On 2021
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    Intercom

    Name Intercom
    Founded 2011
    Rating 4.3
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $74/month
    Website www.intercom.com
    Intercom
    Intercom

    Intercom allows the live chat platform that can help the clients to convert their visitors into customers. It is a specialized platform for offering business chats with over 600 million users on several companies.

    Intercom is a private company founded in 2011 by Karen Peacock. Moreover, it was noticed that over twenty-five thousand companies used Intercom to communicate with their prospects.

    Key Features

    • Automation is included.
    • Chat histories are saved, which creates ease for visitors and agents too.
    • Intercom emails can be used as templates directly.
    • Helps in the later stages of business, since it has other major functions other than Live chat.
    • Proactive support.‌‌

    Pros

    • Intercom allows the easy integration of different apps on its system.
    • Provides easy access for chat customization.

    Cons

    • Has a non-flexible pricing model.

    ChatBot

    Name ChatBot
    Founded 2017
    Rating 4.7
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $52/month
    Website www.chatbot.com
    ChatBot Home Page
    ChatBot Home Page

    ChatBot comes with an easy installation method. It is easy to personalize and use because of the drag-and-drop feature. ChatBot also comes with ready-to-use templates that are very easy to use.

    Templates make it easy to design a work pattern and highlight focus areas. Templates such as lead generation, e-commerce bot templates, restaurant templates, offline form templates, universal templates, etc. are available for use on ChatBot.

    Key Features

    • Chatbots can be built without the required knowledge of coding.
    • Creates customer user list.
    • Multiple flows at the same time.
    • Chatbot Testing Tools.
    • Customizable chat Widget.‌‌

    Pros

    • Chatbots can easily be integrated with multiple platforms like Amazon, social media sites, Microsoft, etc.
    • Provides good customer service.

    Cons

    • Has a competitive pricing when compared to other software with similar services.

    How AI Chatbot Increases Sales/ Sales Boost by AI Chatbot
    Artificial intelligence chatbots mainly distinguish themselves from other chatbots by their ability to understand the intentions behind the customer’s questions. Chatbots provide the precise information customers are looking for.


    Sendinblue

    Name Sendinblue
    Founded 2007
    Rating 4.5
    Free Trial Period Unlimited
    Pricing Paid plans start from $15/month
    Website www.sendinblue.com
    Sendinblue
    Sendinblue

    Sendinblue software is originally known for its popular email-marketing services but recently another feature of live chat support has been added on its site.

    One can set up a chat box through their account of Sendinblue software and attach it to the required website. Sendinblue serves as both, a live chat solution and a toolkit for a complete marketing package.‌‌

    Key Features

    • Communication through Email, SMS, and inbox.
    • Provides multichannel marketing.
    • Email Marketing.
    • SMS marketing.
    • Marketing Automation.

    Pros

    • The login process is much simple and also doesn’t require any credit card information.
    • It is a versatile platform that is beneficial for all sizes of businesses.

    Cons

    • A number of features provided by Sendinblue are too big. Hence, it might seem complicated during the initial use.

    Chaport

    Name Chaport
    Founded 2014
    Rating 4.7
    Free Trial Period A Free Plan and 14 Days Free Trial on Purchased Plans
    Pricing Paid plans start from $19/month
    Website www.chaport.com
    Chaport
    Chaport 

    Chaport software mainly supports WordPress. They offer free forever plans with unlimited chat history, notifications, registrations, etc. Apart from free plans, they have premium and membership plans.

    This provides an edge and various other features such as typing insights, visitor notes, saved replies that can be forwarded, and auto-invitations.

    In free plans, only five operators can work at a time but with a premium plan, this exceeds. This could be a great platform for small and young websites because of its free plans.

    Key Features

    • Operator Productivity.
    • Captures Visitor’s Information.
    • Provides reports such as basic reports, google analytics, On-demand reports, etc.
    • General features such as chat history, SSL encryption, GDPR compliance, etc.

    Pros

    • Comes with a free plan for users that one can try before purchasing the premium version.
    • It facilitates easy synchronization between multiple devices.

    Cons

    • Chaport is not compatible with chatbots.

    Olark

    Name Olark
    Founded 2008
    Rating 4.3
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $29/month
    Website www.olark.com
    Olark
    Olark

    Olark has simple, functional live chat features to help with higher sales, more leads, and better services. It helps in applying live chat insights and leveraging customer input to optimize provided products and services.‌‌

    Key Features

    • Organizes customer data.
    • Offline Messages.
    • Customs pre-chat forms.
    • Real-Time Engagement.
    • Reporting.‌‌

    Pros

    • Provides easy access to the client’s approximate locations.
    • It allows the user to create their own path for customization in order to have a quick response.

    Cons

    • A few features are still missing from it as compared to its competitors.

    ProProfs Chat

    Name ProProfs Chat
    Founded 2007
    Rating 4.5
    Free Trial Period 15 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $29.99/month
    Website www.proprofschat.com
    ProProfs Chat
    ProProfs Chat

    ProProfs provides a complete personalization of live chat solutions as per the approaching requirements of a brand. It also integrates the live chat solution as per the graphics of the brand and its logo.

    The perk of considering ProProfs Chat is their 24/7 tech support and the availability of ready-made templates which make it easier to use and implement changes.

    Key Features

    • Chat Automation is provided.
    • Design live chat that suits the brand.
    • 100+ Settings and Integrations.
    • Reports and Analytics.‌‌

    Pros

    • ProProfs chat has an interconnected network through which operators can contact other operators when in need.
    • It is compatible with multiple devices like Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhones and Android.

    Cons

    • A few features have glitched in them.

    Zendesk

    Name Zendesk
    Founded 2007
    Rating 4.0
    Free Trial Period 30 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $49/month
    Website www.zendesk.com
    Zendesk
    Zendesk 

    Zendesk is a cloud-based technical support management system that provides customized capabilities to create online communities, knowledge bases, and customer care portals.

    It offers a wide range of services for large to small-scale businesses, government, media, and many more. Zendesk platform allows easy integration of all customer interactions into a single screen for better understanding.

    Key Features

    • Stays connected on any channel.
    • Manage all your customer conversations from one place.
    • Reach out in real time with proactive engagement.
    • Enable 24/7 support with automation.
    • Adds Customization according to Brand.‌‌

    Pros

    • It is a combination of help desk software and CRM software.
    • Can support a large number of clients.

    Cons

    • For new users, learning Zendesk might take some additional period of time.

    Zoho Desk

    Name Zoho Desk
    Founded 1996
    Rating 4.0
    Free Trial Period 15 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $16/month
    Website www.zoho.com
    Zoho Desk
    Zoho Desk

    Zoho Desk enables businesses to inbuilt a live chat widget that pops up as soon as a user opens the webpage. Zoho Desk is highly recommended due to its different features such as receiving customer experience ratings within the chat window along with canned responses. It also enables chat widgets for each of the available brands.

    Key Features

    • Multi-Channel Communication.
    • Third-Party Integrations.
    • Feedback Management, both positive and negative.
    • Performance Metrics along with Proactive chat.‌‌‌

    Pros

    • It is a feature-rich platform.
    • Provides easy integration with Zoho services in order to increase workflow ability.

    Cons

    • Does not have a desktop application to use.

    Tidio

    Name Tidio
    Founded 2013
    Rating 4.0
    Free Trial Period 30 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $15.83/month
    Website www.tidio.com
    Tidio
    Tidio 

    Tidio is a live chat software that connects your potential customers in minutes and turns them into leads by solving timely queries and rendering customer services effectively. Tidio is one of the top-most used live chat apps on the Shopify store with the highest ratings.

    Tidio automatically qualifies leads and gathers visitors’ emails and phone numbers regarding the sales team. Yet, Tidio is considered to have limited native integrations, and its analytics are counted as basic.‌‌

    Key Features

    • Measures Users’ time on the page.
    • Has a Sales monitoring dashboard.
    • Gives Welcome message plus information about discounts.
    • Third-party Integration.
    • Automation.‌‌‌

    Pros

    • Allows easy communication between customers and the company in real-time frame with the addition of needed widgets.
    • Has a collection of chatbots for customers to select and customize as per their website.

    Cons

    • It does not allow users to manage their client chats by Whatsapp, Instagram, or Twitter.

    ChatSupport

    Name ChatSupport
    Founded 2018
    Rating 4.3
    Free Trial Period 30 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $19/month
    Website www.chatsupport.co
    ChatSupport Home Page
    ChatSupport Home Page

    ChatSupport works by allowing the addition of a chat prompt to the needed website page. The addition of chat prompt on a website is done in a way relevant to the page they are added on.

    Key Features include lead capture, even when offline, to gather essential visitor details. It personalizes the chat widget to match the brand. It also has a feedback survey form prepared for its customers.

    Key Features

    • 24/7 lead capture.
    • Uses a simple way to gather visitors’ information.
    • Live Visitors Queue.
    • The dashboard organizes the overview into leads, visitors, and customers.‌

    Pros

    • Provides one month of free services to the clients.
    • Allows the easy response to multiple visitors at the same time.

    Cons

    • Few of the features can be unlocked only after purchasing paid plans.
    Effects of Live Chat option on Visitors
    Effects of Live Chat option on Visitors

    Comm100 Live Chat

    Name Comm100
    Founded 2009
    Rating 4.2
    Free Trial Period 15 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $29/month
    Website www.comm100.com
    Comm100
    Comm100 

    Comm100 was launched in 2009 under the business model of SaaS (Software as a Service). Comm100 promotes businesses to easily communicate with their website visitors on time to avail better customer satisfaction. The features fall into three verticals: web chat window, operator console, and control panel.

    Key Features

    • Online Chat.
    • Web Traffic Monitoring.
    • Auto Chat Invitation Rules.
    • Reports and Analysis.

    Pros

    • The platform is easy to use with an excellent user interface.
    • It is a feature-rich platform.

    Cons

    • The platform somewhere lacks providing customization options for the agent console.

    Gorgias

    Name Gorgias
    Founded 2015
    Rating 4.6
    Free Trial Period 7 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $10/month
    Website www.gorgias.com
    Gorgias
    Gorgias

    Gorgias was founded by Alex Plugaru in 2016 with the aim to develop top-notch customer service and building multi-channel helpdesk software. Gorgias is an all-in-one customer service, that renders all kinds of tools that would help in generating leads for e-commerce stores, which enable merchants to manage all their supports and features from one place.

    Key Features

    • Creation of automated response.
    • Faster response.
    • Switch from chats to other channels.
    • Set individual agent.
    • Customize replies.

    Pros

    • Has excellent customer service support.
    • Allows seamless integration with multiple e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, etc.

    Cons

    • The software is more suitable for medium size businesses only.

    DelightChat

    Name DelightChat
    Founded 2020
    Rating 4.4
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $49/month
    Website www.delightchat.io
    DelightChat
    DelightChat 

    Delight Chat is an Indian-based software, that was launched by Preetam and Sankalp in 2020, with the intent to help out customers through an easy communication system.

    As this idea strike out their mind when they both worked in the e-commerce industry in which both of them couldn’t tackle customers’ problems, and found it difficult to contact and clear out each customer’s problems personally. That’s where they planned to start to build omnichannel customer services for D2C e-commerce businesses.

    Key Features

    • Edit to activate the live chat.
    • Set Live Chat availability for your store.
    • Setup Business hours.
    • Track potential customers on the LiveChat dashboard.

    Pros

    • Has a feature of automation and a self-service widget to help in reducing repetitive queries.
    • Provides the facility of connecting unlimited users with Shopify.

    Cons

    • The platform is easily integrated with Shopify only. Other platforms are not yet made available.

    Tawk.to

    Name Tawk.to
    Founded 2012
    Rating 5
    Free Trial Period Unlimited
    Pricing Free
    Website www.tawk.to
    Tawk.to
    Tawk.to

    Tawk.to is one of the best software that is suitable for all e-commerce, which renders customer service at a free cost. From small-scale to large-scale e-commerce can sign up for free and enjoy various features of Tawk.to.

    Key Features

    • One-minute setup.
    • Chat in real-time setup.
    • Track your chatbot progress.
    • Respond quickly with shortcuts.

    Pros

    • It is a completely free platform with no hidden prices.
    • It allows the users with essential tools to implement the tasks in a better way.

    Cons

    • The platform can be quite tricky for first-time users.

    JivoChat

    Name JivoChat
    Founded 2012
    Rating 4.8
    Free Trial Period 14 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $19/month
    Website www.jivochat.com
    JivoChat
    JivoChat

    JivoChat is one of the coolest software that enables live chats with customers. It allows easy communication with users from all over the world via chat, phone calls, email, Facebook, and many more.

    Key Features

    • Get detailed visitor information.
    • Set up automatic triggers.
    • Monitor visitors in real-time.
    • Receive quality of service reviews.
    • Offer offline contact form.

    Pros

    • Enables multi-language support for the client and visitors.
    • Allows easy integration for Chatbots.

    Cons

    • A few features can still be added.

    FreshChat

    Name FreshChat
    Founded 2010
    Rating 4.4
    Free Trial Period 21 Days
    Pricing Paid plans start from $15/month
    Website www.freshworks.com
    FreshChat
    FreshChat

    FreshChat has over fifty thousand users around the world, giving access to all channels including emails, in-app chats, WhatsApp, and iMessage. Freshchat is a modern messaging platform that enables live chat solutions on websites a cost-effective prices.

    Key Features

    • Access all messages in one click.
    • Customer services are provided instantly.
    • Affordable problem solver for all users’ queries.
    • Helps in keeping track of the team’s performances.

    Pros

    • It can be easily used by non-technical people too.
    • Enables the users to take the help of an omnichannel facility.

    Cons

    • Enables integrations with a limited number of users only.

    Top 6 Ways ChatBot For Business Can Help You
    Chatbots are an essential when it comes to ordering food, buying tickets etc. Chatbots for business will let the customer begin a transaction via messaging app or chat interface.


    Chatra

    Name Chatra
    Founded 2015
    Rating 4.2
    Free Trial Period Unlimited
    Pricing Paid plans start from $21/month
    Website www.chatra.com
    Chatra
    Chatra

    Chatra is a useful, simple-to-use chat engine for websites that enables your consumers to reach you even though you’re not online or partake in live chat with you so you can assist them in making purchases and responding to their inquiries instantly.

    Key Features

    • Conversations history is up-to-date.
    • Group chats.
    • Intelligent chat distribution.
    • Unlimited Chat review.
    • No typos or nameless users’ contact.

    Pros

    • Offers a free plan for an unlimited time period.
    • Enables easy integration with Google Analytics, Slack, etc.

    Cons

    • Does not provide a ticketing system like its competitors.

    Conclusion

    Live chat solutions in e-commerce provide a better user experience and are one of the essential components of e-commerce marketing. Many firms have already taken use of live chat applications to improve their service.

    For the same purpose, many direct-to-use live chat applications are available in the market to take help. The above-given list contains the top 19 live chat applications for e-commerce businesses.

    FAQs

    What is the best live chat software for a website?

    Some of the best live chat software for websites are Tidio, LiveChat, Intercom, LiveAgent, etc.

    Is live chat a CRM?

    CRM is known to store customer data. Live chat works in integration with a CRM in order to have better customer management. Live chat and CRM are two different tools used in coordination.

    What is live chat e-commerce?

    Live chat e-commerce is basically a chat window that appears on the e-commerce site that enables the visitors to have a direct conversation with the brand.

    What is the best chat plugin?

    Some of the best chat plugins are Zendesk, Olark, Pure Chat, Formilla, etc.

  • How to Analyse the Location for Your Business?

    The location of your business determines how much money you will save while running the business. Depending on the type of business you have, you need to figure out a number of things that directly impact your pocket. Analyzing the location that suits your business needs is one of the important factors that every business owner should consider.

    Here is a detailed and to-the-point article to help you to decide the best location for your business. So, without further ado let’s get started.

    Factors Affecting Business Location

    There are many factors that can influence your business location decision, and the success of your business depends on each decision you make. So despite talking about so many influential things, the three major factors that influence the business location are

    • Proximity to labour
    • Proximity to consumers
    • Proximity to raw materials

    Proximity to labour refers to how close your business is to having the skilled workers you want in your business. For example, some companies want so many labourers to work in their firm and to fulfil this requirement they set up their plant near a location where they can get skilled labours at a cheaper rate.

    The most prominent example of this is Bengaluru, where most of the IT companies are headquarters. IT companies choose Bengaluru because they easily get a relevant skilled workforce to work with them. Companies do not need to take care of the accommodation for the employees if they are local. The same is true for the IT hub in California.

    Similarly, proximity to consumers is for businesses that want to position themselves closer to their target customers. Proximity to materials for businesses that require extensive raw materials to use in their firm. The closer your business is to your requirement the more money you will save and earn while running the business.

    Nature of Your Business: Retail, Manufacturing and Service-Based

    Just like a doctor who recommends various tests and after analysing the test report, prescribes the medicine. Similarly, you also need to know your business in-depth, and based on the requirement of your business, choose the location. The first thing which should be recognized is the nature of your business.

    So to analyse the best location for your business we have categorised the business into three types based on its nature and evaluate each business with three parameters of proximity to labour, consumer, and material.

    Location for Retail Business

    If your business is a kind of Retail business then it needs to be closer to its consumers. The priority of this kind of business is to supply all the essential goods to consumers in a feasible way. You can find a relevant crowd for your business by analysing the people around your desired business location and identifying their needs. If their daily requirement supports what you sell, then that location is good for you.

    For the retail category, the area should be crowded and busy. If that area is suitable for your business then it might be suitable for other retailers also, hence you can see your competition nearby. Proximity to labour and proximity to material doesn’t play an important role for this kind of business but proximity to its consumer is the most important aspect.

    For example, restaurants and cafes need to be situated near a busy area where there is a sufficient crowd.

    Location for Manufacturing Business

    Proximity to raw materials is the most critical factor for manufacturing businesses as it saves a lot of money and time in transportation and storage. Manufacturing businesses may also be located near the place where they get skilled labour at a cheaper rate. This is the reason, most manufacturers build their plants outside the town and cities.

    In India, most of the manufacturing businesses like iron and steel plants are situated in the state of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh in the cities like Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Bhilai, Rourkela, etc. The reason is simple, easy accessibility to raw materials and labour. Proximity to customers is not the most influential factor for such kind of business.

    Location for Service-Based Business

    Service-based business is not material-intensive hence it doesn’t need to be set up outside the city and towns. You will find restaurants, cafes, schools, colleges, carpenter shops, etc within your city. Location may vary depending on the service your business provides, for example, if you are a videographer you don’t need to think much about your location but if you are a restaurant owner then location is very important.
    The location of the service-based business should be closer to its customers, the other two factors (labour and material) don’t have that much influence.

    Impact of the Internet: eCommerce Business

    The Internet has changed the way of doing business. Today, so many businesses have their existence just because of the internet. One of the most well-known examples is the Ecommerce business.

    The target customers for this business are not limited to any particular region rather the seller can sell their product to anyone across the country. The market is open and possibilities are limitless. Location doesn’t matter a lot for such kind of business as it can be operated from anywhere.

    Demographics and Purchasing Power of Customers

    Every business owner should be aware of the demographics of their audience, and businesses should be near their potential customers. A successful business knows, who is the target customer and what they like to consume.

    The revenue you generate will depend on the customers visiting your store and their purchasing power. If people in an area have more purchasing power then they consume more goods and more services.

    Therefore, having an idea of the demographics and purchasing power of your potential customers around your business location would be beneficial for your business.

    The Demand for Products and Services

    What will happen when you open a non-veg restaurant in an area where everyone is vegetarian? Of course, this will affect your sales and therefore your revenue.

    There must be demand for the product or service you sell at your desired business location. This aspect should be considered as it affects the overall sales volume. Demand determines the price you can charge for the product, if demand is high you can charge more and if demand is low then you have to charge low.

    Conclusion

    It becomes very important to choose the best location for your business as it has the potential to affect your business revenue in the long run. So take your time to analyse the location of your business and consider all the points mentioned above.‌‌

    When you are just starting out, be smart and secure the place to operate your business. Also, keep in mind that your location may vary depending on the type of business and industry you are in.

    FAQs

    How to choose the right business location?

    Consider the following factors before choosing the best business location

    • Competition
    • Demographics
    • Foot traffic
    • Infrastructure
    • Overhead costs

    Is Location plays an important role in the success of your business?

    Yes, location plays an important role in business development and profit-making as it directly influences the condition and environment of your business.

    What kind of location would be best for your business?

    The key to finding and choosing a good location is to evaluate factors such as footfall, labour and raw material availability as it will increase the number of customers and lower the cost of functioning.

    What are the factors that affect the business?

    The following are the factors that can affect the business

    • Proximity to labour
    • Proximity to consumers
    • Proximity to raw materials
  • How To Start Amazon FBA Business in 2023? | Fulfilment By Amazon

    With a market cap of over $1 trillion, Amazon ranks first among the leading large-cap e-commerce companies worldwide. It has over 2.45 billion monthly visits to its app and website combined. It dominates the US e-commerce, i.e. 49.1% of the market. In the US, customers buy roughly 7,400 products per minute from Amazon sellers. It is the largest e-commerce company in India as well, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies with over 1.4 billion people. Data shows over 620 million of them use the internet, and 74% of those users shop online. India has a $70 billion market segment, and Amazon is playing a big part in it.

    Between 2020 and 2022, the fulfilled-by-Amazon (FBA) model caught on, with 68% of merchants relying on Amazon’s logistics to fulfil their orders. Amazon has over 200 million paid Prime members globally and hundreds of millions worldwide active customer accounts. You can scale up your business globally on this platform. This is the best platform for customer acquisition. With FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), sellers send their products to Amazon’s fulfilment centres, and Amazon picks, packs, ships, and provides customer service for those products.

    In other words, you must provide your products and Amazon does the heavy lifting for you against some fees. (know that Amazon FBA is not a free service, you have to pay for it. So it is safe to say that a little investment will be required on your part). There are many ways through which you can provide your products to Amazon:

    1. Private label
    2. Retail arbitrage
    3. Wholesale FBA

    We will talk about them later in this article!

    Select The Product To Sell
    Source The Product From Manufacturer
    Finalize The Product via Alternatives
    Send The Product To Amazon
    Provide Better Service Than The Competitors
    Break-down of Procedures – A Beginner’s Guide
    Is Amazon FBA profitable in 2023?

    How To Start Amazon FBA Business

    Over the years, Amazon FBA has attracted many people to its model. This way the competitors kept pouring in and competition kept levelling up each day. So it is the right time to ask questions like how to start an Amazon FBA business in 2023 to stay there for longer and to be able to call it a consistent source of income. The following is the know-how of this very question:

    Select The Product To Sell

    It is the most important step. You should pay due care in choosing the product that is going to give you returns. It is quite obvious that if there are too many people selling the same product, the profit share of each individual becomes negligible. So you need to select the product which has a decent demand and less supply.

    Websites like JungleScout help you know which product can give you maximum returns. It gives you an idea (an estimate) about the current product status in terms of demand, supply, and competition based on prior data. If you don’t want to spend your money then you can use Amazon’s Best Seller rankings (BSR) tab but you have to do your bit to make the calculated guess when you’re selecting the product.

    • Know your niche: Before selecting a product you should have an idea in which niche you want your product to fall so that it covers long-term gains and not only short-term profits.
    • Selecting correct BSR: After selecting your niche, you should select a particular BSR range according to the product selected. Please note the product doesn’t necessarily have to be from the top 3 of BSR. It just has to be sellable which means a product with comparatively less competition and high demand.
    Finding BSR Rank for a Product on Amazon
    Finding BSR Rank for a Product on Amazon
    • Narrowing down the product: You can then narrow it down from a list of products to the product that meets the basic criteria.

    Source The Product From Manufacturer

    After deciding what your product will be, you need to source the product from the manufacturer. This is not an easy process because you have to make sure the product you’re sourcing is of decent quality and reasonable price to match your cost estimates. Consider yourself a customer here and then start negotiating the price with the supplier if you do not feel that the supplier’s quoted price suits you.

    Things to note:

    • You should ask for sample products first to keep from losses.
    • Try to take everything on paper so that you have an edge if you feel the supplier has compromised with the product (in case you are sourcing the product from different countries or from a place where you cannot be physically present).

    Finalize The Product via Alternatives

    Do you remember I talked about providing the final product to amazon via three alternatives? We will now see what those alternatives mean:

    The private label: It is somewhat like collaboration. You are sourcing products from a particular brand and adding your label to it (on its packaging/product itself). And then you’re selling it under your brand. It requires your investment and is comparatively a sustainable source of business. You essentially create your listing on Amazon including pictures of the product, the title of the product etc.

    Retail arbitrage: It is buying stuff at cheaper rates from thrift stores or retail stores and then comparing the cost and profit margin of the product via amazon itself. For the same, you have to provide amazon specified barcodes on the product before sending it to Amazon. However, it is not a sustainable business model as there is no guarantee that you will find the products regularly to make the sale on Amazon.

    Dropshipping: It is a business model for people who do not have a product or money with themselves. All you do is act as a mediator between supplier and buyer by listing the supplier’s product on your account. After receiving the order (from the customer) at your listed price, you place the order with the actual supplier and ship it directly to the customer. This way dropshipping help you save yourself with a decent profit margin.

    Wholesale FBA: It is primarily sourcing the product from a wholesaler, listing it on amazon and selling it. Wholesale FBA is like day-to-day retail shops that we come across in our cities, the point of distinction is here we are doing it online.

    Send The Product To Amazon

    After deciding your way of sourcing the product and doing the needful you are now ready to send it to the Amazon warehouse and get on with the sales part. You can choose any mode of transportation according to your feasibility and time preferences.

    Provide Better Service Than The Competitors

    The real competition: In a sentence, this is the point of competition. Many sellers are selling the same product as you. What you do to stand out of the crowd so your traffic turns into sales is the most crucial part of this entire process. The question of starting Amazon FBA today arises from the many sellers that are now there on this platform. You have to know this is not a get-rich-quick recipe. It is just another business model. The only difference is Amazon is doing the heavy lifting for you. So you need to truly start by taking this as a business entity. You have to do all the work that a businessperson is supposed to do, including branding, advertising and marketing.

    Ads can do their bit but to be the best in your niche you have to provide the best service possible by including things like

    • Actively solving customer’s grievances
    • Reading consumers’ reviews to get their experiences with the product
    • Always aiming for improving the services
    • Asking for genuine customer reviews
    • Going for influencer marketing to attract traffic
    • Initially providing good discount offers

    Of course, after a point of time, Amazon will promote your products on your behalf but for that, you have to be able to come into the eyes of amazon. After all, it is a search engine doing things with algorithms!


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    Break-down of Procedures – A Beginner’s Guide

    Sell worldwide with Amazon
    Sell worldwide with Amazon

    Step 1. Visit Amazon’s official website
    Step2. Click on Sell
    Step3. Create an account
    Step4. List your product
    Step5. Ship your product to Amazon
    Step6. Grow your business

    Create an amazon seller’s account: To sell on amazon, go to the seller on the Amazon section and create your seller central account. Link your Bank Account and provide your identity, business/company details, and other information.

    Amazon Seller Account | Sign in
    Amazon Seller Account | Sign in

    List your products: There are two ways through which you can list your products on Amazon which depend on the product you’re selling.

    • Selling the already available product on Amazon: In this case, you need not list your product as such. All you need to do is select and list the product along with the number of units you want to sell.
    • Selling under your brand: When you want to be a unique seller on Amazon with your brand you will be required to list your product which mainly includes the title of the product, size of the product, its images, description of the product etc.

    Selecting the way of fulfilment: Here you have an option as to how you want to deliver the order. You have three options: FBA, Easy ship, and self-ship. Here we will see FBA. In this case, Amazon will take your products and store them. After receiving the order it will pack and deliver it to your customers.

    Some important things to note:

    • Pay due care when you pack your products, you don’t want to mess up when labelling the product with barcodes.
    • Paste the barcodes with sticking sheets instead of using cello tapes. If lost, they will be treated as unfulfilled orders in Amazon’s fulfilment centres (FC) under which you will be at a loss.
    • Carefully schedule the pick up for shipping the products to FC. Pay good care while filling in the product’s details including the number of units and its dimensions.

    You can also use the option of easy shipping. The only difference is here you have to store the products and Amazon will deliver the products to the customers.

    Amazon Fulfilment Centre
    Amazon Fulfilment Centre

    Shipping the order to AFC: Now you’re ready to ship your products to AFC. You can use Amazon transportation service (ATS), third-party service, or courier service, or you can go yourself (in case your products are small and do not require a transportation service).

    • If ATS is available in your area, you can go for this. For this, you can simply schedule the time in your seller’s account.
    • Amazon also provides third-party services which you can avail of from your account to send your products.
    • If you find your courier service better, you can go for this option too.

    Please note that if you’re using any service except ATS you will be required to make a carrier appointment request via the carrier appointment request portal.

    Expand your reach/Wait for sales: After sending your inventory to FC, your big task is done. Now you have to wait for customers to place orders. During this time, you can focus on marketing your product off-amazon. You can expand your reach by telling the uniqueness of your product through influencer marketing, Youtube marketing, digital marketing etc.

    Is Amazon FBA profitable in 2023?

    Benefits of Amazon FBA
    Benefits of Amazon FBA

    In 2022, three-quarters of sellers are in profit. The competition is indeed really high and it is increasing every day. But we have to consider the fact that FBA is a business model. And every business takes a certain period to be termed as ‘stable’. So the risk factor lives irrespective of FBA. FBA is comparatively easier as you can choose from many business models within FBA and with less investment.

    For FBA sellers, amazon provides a prime badge which is an assurance of fast delivery, and good customer experience. This option is only for FBA sellers which again gives your product a better chance to get a buy box.

    Of course, there will be times when amazon will frustrate you with its algorithms even when you have done all the bits-and-bats of gaining the buy box from buyers. Nonetheless, there is no denying that FBA has changed the game for many when people have been consistent in their work. And it can do the same for you too!

    FAQs

    What is Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)?

    Fulfilment by Amazon, (FBA) is a service offered by Amazon. Through FBA you store your products in Amazon’s warehouse, and Amazon packs and delivers the orders to customers.

    Is Amazon FBA available in India?

    Yes. Amazon has more than 60 fulfilment centres in 15 states.

    Is Amazon FBA profitable in 2023?

    Amazon’s FBA business is quite profitable if done with consistent efforts.

    How much does FBA cost?

    The FBA cost depends upon the below factors:

    • Category of the product
    • Product Price
    • Size and weight of the order
  • A Complete Guide on How to Start an eCommerce business in India

    If you are looking to start your own e-commerce business in India like Amazon or Flipkart, then this is the way to go. To start with, eCommerce is an online process of buying or selling goods and services. There is no paperwork involved in making any transaction here.

    One of the best things that most of us like about an e-commerce startup is that we can update and modify it the way we want and make it attractive and appealing to the eyes of the audience. Your customer will have access to your services 24×7 and you don’t need to come out of your door for marketing and other stuff if you are doing it at a small level.

    According to a report, in 2019, eCommerce sales accounted for 14.1% of all retail sales worldwide. However, there are some things that you need to care about in your eCommerce business plan.

    How to Start an eCommerce Business in India? (A 10-Step Business Plan)

    Starting an eCommerce website might sound challenging, but with this easy 10-step business plan, it would hardly be tough. So, let’s dive into the steps:

    Step 1: Define your business name

    Business names are always important as they give you an identity after identifying what you want to sell. A business name will be the legal identity of your business. This opens a room for marketing your product with ease. The name that you choose should be simple and unique. It is always better to research extensively before you decide upon a particular name for your business. This will let you be safe and secure, and thus, is really important for everyone who would be starting an eCommerce website.

    Step 2: Set a domain name

    Ideally, there is always diversity in business. The business name acts as the domain name. A domain name system (DNS) stipulates the website address that your business wants to keep.

    One of the important factors for an eCommerce business plan is a website. A website can be useful in developing different marketing strategies. It acts as a point of contact between you and your customers.

    A website is accessible to many people at any given time and creates a climate of trust (credibility). Churning out a website is really convenient as it tells the customers that you exist. Furthermore, the website and the domain name are some of the core steps to proceed with before one can go about launching an eCommerce business.

    Step 3: Identify the type of business and register

    People engage with businesses as sole proprietorships, partnerships, or cooperation. Each of these has an advantage and disadvantage attached to it. For example, operating as a sole proprietor always subjects you to numerous risks.

    You need to weigh before deciding upon a particular type of business that suits you. The income removal system (IRS) allows you to file the structure of your business on your own or get a different filing company to help you.

    Step 4: Employer Identification Number (EIN)

    You can not operate an e-commerce business without a bank account. To get a bank account you need for your business you need EIN. This number you are given acts as identification. You use it to file taxes for the business. It is always a requirement whether you will operate alone or employ people.

    Every country has its own policies and procedures that every citizen must adhere to. This is also one of the things you must keep as a priority while creating an eCommerce business plan. If you fail to do that, the government has the mandate to declare your business illegal, after which numerous penalties might be imposed.

    Licenses for the business and work permit should be obtained. Confirm with your state what type of taxes you are required to pay in order to operate. Also, you need to Apply for Goods and Service Tax (GST) certification and a Shops and Establishment Licence.

    Step 6: Source for vendors

    It is not possible to operate without vendors. Everyone needs to identify and keep in contact with different vendors. This way you can derive the best quality and prices for the materials you need to make your products. Conduct a thorough and serious search of the vendors to help you identify who you want to work with.

    Step 7: Early marketing

    Media platforms are paramount in e-commerce. However, it is also necessary that you have an eCommerce business plan prior to that. Alert customers that there is something good coming up so they can create interest to know. You can even decide to introduce blogging as a tool.

    Step 8: Get effective software

    E-commerce cannot work without making use of technology. Put every system in place before launching the product. Effective software is what you simply cannot compromise when it comes to building e-commerce websites in India.

    Step 9: Keep a smart inventory

    Inventory will help you track the information that you need. Ensure the warehouse (store) has enough products so that the customers don’t miss out on what they want. You may not be in a position to tell what will be needed and when but is always safe to keep a decent stock. This will help keep track of the orders you make in the future.

    Step 10: Be compliant

    Always be smart with deadlines in terms of taxes, licenses and permits needed. Always ensure you abide by the law of the land. Staying compliant is the key to starting an eCommerce store or an online business and making it successful.

    WIDGET: leadform | CAMPAIGN: undefined

    How to Build an eCommerce Startup?

    The Ecommerce industry is on the boom for the past few years, and why not? It is ultimately a sector with big opportunities and low barriers to entry. The total valuation of the e-commerce industry in India was last recorded at $46.2 million and is expected to rise to $188 billion by 2025. Such a sector that is ever so growing, certainly consists of a lot of opportunities.

    Currently, there are hundreds of e-commerce sites selling products and services and thousands are on the way. Probably you also want to have one. Well, the e-commerce industry is so dynamic now, that you need to be agile and alert. So, keep monitoring the activities, events, discussions, and changes going on in your niche.

    Now e-commerce is not about selling a product but a solution. Your potential customer must see the clear benefit of buying from you. Here are some tips to follow if you are starting up or already have an existing startup in the e-commerce domain.

    Find a niche

    If you get an idea for e-commerce, there is a fair chance that many startups are operating in that niche and many are coming up. That is why it is important to break the initial idea, segment them a little further or get a niche that is not explored yet and work on that with full focus.

    If you think you can compete against Flipkart or Snapdeal that’s not going to happen if you plan to start with the same business model.

    Take sandal. When the company launched, it was an online portal for deals and coupons. This was a very focused play. They didn’t immediately start selling physical goods. Make your unique selling proposition, find your target “janta” or customers, and sell your product to them.

    Experiment

    As you have started out, the world seems very new to you. Nobody except you can tell what works best for you. So, experiment with different Pitches, Distribution channels, and more. Do this until you find out a solid sales strategy.

    Listen to your customer

    As it is always said worship customers like gods. Always remember that if there is any service you want to provide, then that should always be a customer satisfaction service. Your behaviour towards the customer after the sale would make all the difference.

    This will help you in customer retention and thus make more sales. Once a sale is made. Talk to them, get feedback and see what changes they want. Even if it doesn’t comply with want you want just change it.

    Learn from the mistakes of competitors

    Do you have lots of competitors? Having too many competitors is not so good news for businesses but every bad thing has got something good in it. So, if you have quite some competitors already in the same space where you would be starting your own eCommerce business, you can try to analyze their website design, pricing, and marketing strategies on a regular basis to get useful insights for future action. Go through their social media profile to see what activities have helped them gain traction a lot and what has failed for them. In this way, pick up all that they have done good, and try to avoid all the mistakes that they have done.

    Use digital marketing

    74% of adults who are online, use social networking sites, and among them, it has been found that 71% of online adults use Facebook. Being a startup you don’t have much marketing budget. Here, starting with social media platforms for marketing purposes will indeed be of great help. Optimising the content and regularly sharing them on social platforms certainly is rewarding for brands and businesses. This will not only let you reach to large audience economically but also help you to get analytics to learn about the users. It is also a great way to listen to what customers are saying about your brand.

    Number of social network users in India from 2015 to 2020
    Number of social network users in India from 2015 to 2020

    Operation

    Make sure you always have enough inventory of the highest-selling product. Make sure that you keep a track of all the products that belong to the highest-selling and lowest-selling categories. Figure out what is making the highest product sell the highest and what makes the others the lowest-selling products. This will help you a great deal!


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    Choose the right web hosting  

    Looking at what similar companies are using. Add a mascot on the site that guides the users about the site and the products, is an interesting way to get the attention of customers (like Zendesk). Use only those plugins that are necessary.


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    Consumer support

    Hire trained customer care executives to resolve customer queries over calls and emails. A toll-free number and support email is crucial too. Solve the problems that the customer is facing, to ensure the efficiency of the website.

    Content marketing

    The content is important for an e-commerce website and is good for marketing the brand. Putting up a blog or posts will surely bring up more traffic than ever. Content marketing will stand as one of the primary requisites as soon as you start an eCommerce store or an eCommerce website in India.

    Social Media Marketing

    Social media is the key to climbing the ladder and getting the exposure one wants in the public eye, so creating social media accounts is the key to helping the brand reach the eyes of the world. Keep the followers updated with new products and give ways to get more followers. Meme marketing is also a great way to engage your customers (Millennials).

    Influencer’s utilization  

    The influencers are the best people in the game especially, in terms of product branding and making the future of a product. Hence, hire some influencers who are the best in the marketing game, which your brand focuses on, and pay them to put the ad on their social media. This will help increase your brand reach, thereby helping it to reach thousands and millions, who would then be able to see what your brand and its products are all about and people will pop up on the website for sure, giving you more website traffic and multiplying your revenues for sure.

    How to Compete in the eCommerce Market?

    Every day is new and brings changes in people’s needs and desires. Luckily, this is where small and upcoming startups can still win in the midst of other eCommerce giants. Here, is how to compete in the E-commerce market.

    We are aware of how Amazon and eBay have driven many small and medium companies to extinction. But the other side of the reality is also that new interventions are always abundant and there’s always a new idea, product concept, or methodology that can topple the market leaders as we know them, or at least create a comfortably sweet spot in the market for themselves-which is just where your startup needs to reach.

    If your startup is introducing a new product or service altogether, there is a very different approach you might need to take as compared to a start-up that is re-offering the existing product or service to bridge the demand-supply gap.

    Be very clear as to who you are, what your offer is, and what your target is. Make sure that your core team and your entire organization have this understanding to ensure that the combined effort of the entire workforce maximizes the results.

    It is a hopeful time to be as Amazon and the likes do cater everything to everyone. But the digital age has made it possible for everyone to co-exist as people’s tastes are ever-evolving and start-ups targeting the niche will be able to carve out their own space.

    Read on for sage advice on how you can stand out in a crowded marketplace and reap the maximum benefit of being a newcomer to the industry.

    Create Your Own Service

    Your chance to be victorious in the game is to be an innovator and make your own market rather than depending on the existing marketplace. It is a harder approach to what you are already doing but will take you miles ahead of others.

    See a Need, Fill a Need

    We have seen time and again that certain brands launch big after years of testing and planning, however, once the brand is not received well they start to fizzle out. The ones who make it successfully are often seen using the feedback from the customers and dedicating some resources to perfecting common complaints and difficulties consumers are experiencing. They don’t quit, rather, they use real-time data as the major source of what the next step is inspired.

    In fact, building on what the customer conveyed as your shortcoming can also forge a trustworthy and loyal bond with them, which is a great way to market yourself. Instead of resisting the feedback, be open to them and make your way to their hearts by listening and acting on it. Create your own trend rather than following the norm.

    Champion the Mobile App

    Make sure that your customer is having a seamless mobile experience on your app and is likely to check out under 60 seconds after preparing the cart or choosing the service without any in-built interruptions. Fast times require faster solutions! In addition, make sure your startup belongs on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram that have made the visual world fun and directly accessible.


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    User-Centric Approach

    Design Thinking promotes that design is an elementary part of any system. Design your product, service, or systems within the organization always prioritizing the user needs and user practices.

    Get inside not just the mind of the end-user, but also their daily lifestyle, their influences, their dreams and aspirations, their environment, and their culture, depending on the nature of your services.

    Customer is more likely to trust your brand if they think you thought of them specifically while making the product or service. This gives them confidence that you will understand them and will stand as a good choice for them.

    Better Incentive Programs

    Your incentives can come in the form of discounts, rebates, points earned toward a discount, points earned toward prizes, or any of many other plans. The worst-designed incentive plans have ambiguity in the stated rules.

    An incentive is likely to shape your customer’s behaviour and drive them to your desired action. These incentives are thus, really valuable for an eCommerce company, especially if you are wanting to start an online store in India. If they are rewarded for their purchase, they feel like they ‘earned’ it. Keep a close eye on what other e-commerce companies in India are offering and if you are to compete with them, you must outdo their offer every time.

    Better Customer Service

    A common Amazon trait that has made it wildly popular in the e-commerce service is how they value each customer. Similarly, if you also want to start an eCommerce business, then you must first start to value each and every customer the same. While you can’t crush e-commerce giants given that they have bigger marketing budgets and bigger control of their product lines, operations and sales, it is certainly a trait you can imbibe in your company. Each satisfied customer means five people who will hear about you from him, which is great marketing for you at no actual cost.

    Customer Data Is The Key to Ultimate Business Growth

    A former Amazon company worker stated that Amazon has the ability to track both what people are buying as well as what they search for and can’t find.

    This is a part of their success story. Companies that use customer data to better their practices are more likely to increase their sales and their gross margins than those who ignore the data.

    Even if you don’t have big budgets to acquire data like e-com giants, do make absolute use of the behavioural data you already have in their database to improve customer satisfaction and customer retention.

    How do eCommerce Sites Make Money?

    Everyone wants an extra income to meet their needs and upkeep their standard of living. Furthermore, buying and selling goods and services via the Internet is the new trend to earn money, and the websites that make them possible are none other than Ecommerce websites. The Ecommerce websites are offering a free platform for the sellers and the buyers to get in touch with each other.

    One can easily list their products on e-commerce websites and potential buyers can buy the products hassle-free sitting in any part of the world. The whole online buying and selling chain appears to be a very easy and economical process.

    Although, you must have wondered as they offer free services to sellers and buyers then how these e-commerce websites like OLX, Quikr, Craigslist, and Gumtree make money online.

    E-commerce websites, such as OLX, Quikr, and other leading sites provide an online portal to advertise your product or service offerings and find the buyer for them.

    Almost all emerging e-commerce websites offer free services to users. However, they still make high-tech TV commercials and disburse lucrative salaries to their employees. How? So, let’s get the answer by analyzing the revenue-generating strategies of a few leading e-commerce websites and comparing their revenue plan with others.

    Olx

    OLX is one of the most popular and well-structured e-commerce websites. It offers a variety of features to its users, such as sellers can directly chat with a buyer, can easily bargain, etc. eBay is one of its competitors of OLX. OLX opts for the following methods to earn money:

    Google AdSense Banner Ads

    Google offers to all bloggers and website owners a very easy platform to get advertisements on their sites. Google AdSense is a platform where you can register your website and after verification, Google will show related advertisements. Hence, OLX  effectively runs Google ads to reach its target audience. The earnings through ads depend, upon the number of clicks they get which is called CPC (cost per click model).

    OLX offers a featured listing option to the sellers. Featured links are those links that you see on the top, whereas, in a normal listing Ads are placed in OLX depending on how recently the Ad has been placed.

    Featured Ads will always appear on top of the list irrespective of any factors. Ideally all such should be mentioned as featured/sponsored/ads so that users don’t get an illusion. In a featured listing, your ad will show up at the top of the search list and your ad will be shown first to the buyers whenever they search for anything on OLX. The sponsored links appear depending on the keywords targeted by the advertisers. Being at the top of the list gives advertisers a way to get more leads.

    Quikr

    Quikr is yet another e-commerce, which is very popular in India and somehow looks and works similarly to OLX. While the featured listing is one way to make money Quikr also follows a different route here.

    They also generate revenue by generating leads for businesses. It makes a gainful amount of money for Quikr. Recently Quikr has acquired a few startups to diversify in different fields like Jobs, spas, and salons where they provide leads to these service providers.

    Craigslist

    Craigslist is also a popular rental listing website. It is mainly popular in the USA. But the company doesn’t earn as much revenue when compared to other websites. The company only makes revenue equal to its operation charges.

    It charges $10 for a rental listing in New York and $25 for a job listing to occur in any of the major U.S. cities. If in the San Francisco area, you need to pay a $75 fee for a job to be listed.

    The company is trying to consider Google AdSense and paid advertisements to generate more revenue, but it is still worried about the quality and clutter on the website due to ads, which is the main priority of the company.


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    Other eCommerce Websites

    There are other similar eCommerce websites present, like Gumtree and BookSellBuy. They also earn through a basic business model, that is, by providing premium membership Ads wherein the features depend on their own model, by featured ads and paid listings. So, almost every website uses paid ads to generate money.

    Conclusion

    Now, building an eCommerce website is the trend. It definitely takes a lot of effort and hard work, but once created and branded properly, it will surely open a whole lot of doors for growth. It is not an easy task to run an e-commerce business in India in the current age of competition. Starting an eCommerce company or an eCommerce business in India is certainly achievable if one has the focus and grit to understand the customer and the people who are in the organization.

    Use your data efficiently and always make the customers happy at the end of each transaction. Comment on your favourite e-commerce site or your story of launching your own e-commerce site in the comment down below.

    FAQs

    What are the 3 types of e-commerce?

    The three types of Ecommerce are Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), and Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce).

    What is the future of e-commerce?

    The eCommerce industry was last valued at $46.2 bn in 2020 and is expected to rise to $188 billion by 2025, and would soar to become $350 billion by 2030.

    Which is the largest e-commerce company in the world?

    Amazon is the largest e-commerce company in the world.

    How much does it cost to start an e-commerce business in India?

    To start an e-commerce business in India you need approximately at least 5 – 10 lacs of investment.

    How to start an eCommerce website, store, or eCommerce business?

    Whether you want to start an eCommerce store/site or an eCommerce business, it is evident that you first need to research the industry and the market potential before starting up. Starting an eCommerce company in India would need you to:

    • Build a fast, comprehensive, and informative website
    • Create a viable business and revenue model
    • Decide a relevant domain name
    • Host the website properly
    • Market your website, its products, and services
    • Monitor the performance

    What are some of the eCommerce business ideas?

    Some of the best ideas if you want to create an eCommerce website or an eCommerce business in India would include grocery delivery, cosmetic and beauty products eCommerce business, refurbished or second-hand products business, fashion, jewellery, food tech and more.

    What are some things that you should never forget while trying to set up an eCommerce business in India?

    Setting up an eCommerce business in India is the dream of many, but only some eCommerce businesses in India actually see the light of day. Here are some of the easiest steps that you need to remember while setting up an eCommerce company in India:

    • Chalking out a workable business and revenue model
    • Branding your brand well
    • Registering the business
    • Opening a bank account and linking the business to the same
    • Creating and launching a simple but secure eCommerce website
    • Installing payment gateways
    • Monitoring and improving the logistics
  • Top 20 Best Free Reseller Apps in India To Choose For Selling Or Shopping

    ‌‌Back then when people had not that great access to the internet, these reseller apps were not that productive at all. People had no idea about these apps and nothing productive was happening with them. But with the revolution of social media and the internet, reseller apps have come a long way beyond imagination. In today’s time, reseller apps are too popular and proven to be very successful, which is why they don’t seem to be fading away sooner.

    ‌‌In these reseller apps, people have the access to both buy and sell goods without any extra cost. The best thing that stands out with these apps is, that here you don’t need to find any proper marketplace to buy or sell your product. Hence, this trend is excelling hugely. However, depending on how many reseller apps may be available in the market, it is essential to choose a beneficiary one. So, here’s the list of the best reselling apps in India:

    Who is a Reseller?

    What are Reseller Apps?

    Top 20 Best Reseller Apps in India

    1. Meesho
    2. GlowRoad
    3. Shop 101
    4. eBay
    5. Mercari
    6. Cartlay
    7. ZyMi
    8. OfferUp
    9. 5miles
    10. HiBoss
    11. Shopmatic
    12. Shopee
    13. ResellMe
    14. OLX India
    15. Quikr
    16. Amazon Seller MarketPlace
    17. Carousell
    18. Poshmark
    19. Decluttr
    20. Elanic

    Who is a Reseller?

    A reseller is an individual or a company that sells goods or services to earn profit. A reseller makes a massive profit by buying and selling a large number of goods. The value addition in the resale chain will occur from the manufacturer to the trader and finally to the consumer, with each link in the chain benefiting from the resale of goods. Selling clothes, electronics, books, automobile and others directly to the customer are few examples of reselling.

    What are Reseller Apps?

    A reseller apps is an online marketplaces where users can sell their goods at a economic price. It also give buyers a chance to negotiate that prices so that both the buyers and sellers can agree on an acceptable price in which both are in a win-win situation.

    On the Reseller Apps, the seller does not require to reveal any personal information as these apps are secure portals. Meesho, Amazon Seller MarketPlace, OLX, Quikr, GlowRoad are some examples of Reseller apps.

    Top 20 Best Reseller Apps in India

    There are many Reseller Apps in market but the best reseller app in india which will surely give you profit in both selling and buying are dicuseed below. Reseller apps could a good souce of profit as it doesnot involves the middle man and it directly sell goods to the customer.

    1. Meesho

    Rating 4.4/5
    Category Apparel, shoes, jewellery, bags

    Meesho App
    Meesho App

    Counted among one of the best reselling apps in India, Meesho was established by two IIT Delhi graduates in the year 2015. Meesho was founded by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal.

    Features of Meesho App:

    • Here one can become a reseller without much difficulty.
    • One can choose a product from the collection and can suggest it to his group of people and if they like and buy it, he/she would get a commission for that.
    • It is not limited only to this, but there are also a lot of money-making formulas present in this app.

    2. GlowRoad

    Rating 4.5/5
    Category Apparel

    GlowRoad App
    GlowRoad App

    GlowRoad is a free online reselling app in India similar to Meesho consisting of almost 1 lakh high-quality products and over 100 categories for the wholesale market. It comprises sellers like boutique owners, college students, beauticians, etc.

    Features of GlowRoad App:

    • Here one can get everything from home décor items to beauty products to utensils and furniture and much more.
    • The app has more than 10 million downloads.

    3. Shop 101

    Rating 4.4/5
    Category Handicrafts, women accessories, home decor, books

    Shop 101 App
    Shop 101 App

    Shop 101 is India’s first original reselling site. They also provide home-based services and it all can be afforded within minutes of it.

    Features of Shop 101 App:

    • The uniqueness of the app is that it gives a special feature of multilingual options.
    • They also facilitate a lot of interesting cashback offers.
    • One can get almost every product from here like clothing, electronics, personal care, etc.

    4. eBay

    Rating 4.1/5
    Category Electronics, Apparel, shoes, jewelry, bags

    eBay App
    eBay App

    eBay is a multinational company founded in 1995. It was founded by Pierre Omidyar. He launched the company on September 3, 1995. The headquarters of eBay is located in San Jones.

    Features of eBay App:

    • They have more than 10 million downloads and have a great rating of 4.6 stars.
    • It is one of the oldest reselling websites in the world.
    • One can buy and sell electronics, apparel, cars, and whatnot on this site.

    5. Mercari

    Rating 4.7/5
    Category Electronics, Apparel, shoes, jewellery, bags

    Mercari App
    Mercari App

    Mercari was first launched in Japan in the year 2014. One can sell both new and used items on this site. It is a market app where you can sell both used and new stuff

    Features of Mercari App:

    • It specializes in fast buying and selling.
    • It provides free shipping.
    • The service is straightforward and flexible.

    6. Cartlay

    Rating 4.1/5
    Category Apparel, shoes, watches, bags

    Cartlay App
    Cartlay App

    Cartlay was founded on April 14, 2014, and was a massive success. It notifies every important and new collection once you install this app on your phone.

    Features of Cartlay App:

    • One can easily sell products through Instagram, Facebook, etc.
    • The quick shipping facility allows getting your product within 2 days.
    • One can easily share the personal collection with his or her family and friends.

    7. ZyMi

    Rating 4.4/5
    Category Apparel, Watches, Makeup, Jewellery

    Zymi App
    Zymi App

    Provided with the facility of creating your online store easily, Zymi is one of the most famous online reselling apps and is similar to Meesho. It is authentic and user-friendly.

    Features of Zymi App:

    • One can find thousands of amazing clothes and can easily sell them.
    • You can get the latest and trending fashion products.
    • When someone buys clothes from the collection, you will get a commission from them.

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    8. OfferUp

    Rating 4.3/5.0
    Category Clothing, gardening equipment, furniture, home appliances

    Offerup App
    OfferUp App

    With more than 1 crore downloads and some great reviews, OfferUp is a famous reselling app and also a reliable one. One can also link one’s social media account with the OfferUp application and can enjoy shopping.

    Features of OfferUp App:

    • Here, one can easily get an option for the counteroffer.
    • You can make a filtered wishlist of all your favourites.

    9. 5miles

    Rating 4.3/5
    Category Cars, auto parts, electronics, furniture

    5miles App
    5miles App

    The most convenient and straightforward app for reselling is 5miles. It facilitates reselling of old products, mostly for urban people. But the app does not work great in rural areas.

    Features of 5miles App:

    • Customer support is available for everyone at any time.
    • The users are not fake as they have to verify their identity.

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    10. HiBoss

    Rating 3.8/5
    Category Shoes, watches, apparel

    HiBoss App
    HiBoss App

    In terms of reliability and authenticity, HiBoss gives the best experience for the users. It sells products at factory prices and provides free shipping.

    Features of HiBoss App:

    • Cash on delivery is easily available at any address.
    • It sells items without any fuss and just can be sold by scanning and getting listed.

    11. Shopmatic

    Rating 4/5
    Category Apparel, jewellery, pet food and products, bags, cosmetics

    Shopmatic App
    Shopmatic App

    With Shopmatic reselling app, One can create a friendly eCommerce website within a couple of minutes, without any cost. You can also get a facility of getting 3% of the exchange esteem after completing a year in this app.

    Features of Shopmatic App:

    12. Shopee

    Rating 3.5/5
    Category Apparel, accessories, books, footwear, home applainces

    Shopee App
    Shopee App

    Dedicated to women, Shopee is one of the best reseller apps for women’s products. It contains products like Kurtis, jewellery, home décor, and whatnot.

    Features of the Shopee App:

    • The products are available at an affordable rate and have a simple return policy.
    • It contains an easy formality to start the business for newcomers.

    13. ResellMe

    Rating 4.2/5
    Category Apparel, furniture, home decor, electronics

    ResellMe App
    ResellMe App

    With more than 100 registered brands, ResellMe is believed to be one of the best reselling apps for clothes. It provides quite good quality products and provides good service too.

    Features of the ResellMe App:

    • The interface of this application is very user-friendly and easily accessible.
    • The login process for this app is easy.

    14. OLX India

    Rating 4.4/5
    Category New and used automobiles, furniture, electronics, footwear

    OLX App
    OLX App

    OLX was founded in 2006. It is headquartered in the Netherlands. It is one of the best reseller apps all around the globe. OLX has gained a lot of popularity over the years.

    Features of OLX App:

    • The app facilitates an in-app chat feature, which is very rare.
    • One can get the product from any part of India.

    15. Quikr

    Rating 4.1/5.0
    Category Mobile phones, furniture, home decor, home appliances, toys

    Quikr App
    Quikr App

    Quikr was founded in 2008 and has been successful since then. The company’s headquarters is situated in Bangalore and has spread over 1000 cities.

    Features of Quikr App:

    • Not only buying and selling but one can also find part-time or full-time jobs here.
    • One can get second-hand products at a very reasonable rate.

    16. Amazon Seller MarketPlace

    Rating 4.3/5
    Category Apparel, electronics, home appliances, video games, books

    Amazon Seller App
    Amazon Seller App

    One of the most popular reselling websites in India is the Amazon marketplace founded by Jeff Bezos. It has great customer support all over the world. The app has a 4.3-star rating and has more than 50 million downloads.

    Features of Amazon marketplace:

    • Free delivery is available on specific products.
    • One can purchase anything from any location and can also go for cash on delivery.

    17. Carousell

    Rating 3.8/5
    Category Electronics, fashion, used car, services, furniture

    Carousell App
    Carousell App

    Carousell was first initiated in Singapore city and then it travelled to the United States. This website emerged globally and enables people to buy and sell any product.

    Features of Carousell App:

    • One can use their social media account to create a profile here.
    • The customer support is good and available anytime.

    18. Poshmark

    Rating 4.7/5
    Category Fashion, home decor, beauty

    Poshmark App
    Poshmark App

    Poshmark reselling app is too specific and famous for selling clothing items. One can get a free pre-paid shipping label, once you finalize the sale. You can also upload pictures that you want to sell.

    Features of Poshmark App:

    • You can get quick delivery.
    • It contains more than 5000 brands of different sizes.

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    19. Decluttr

    Rating 3.9/5
    Category Electronics, books, video games

    Decluttr App
    Decluttr App

    Decluttr is an application that specializes in allowing to sell of those products only which are in good condition. The buyer can easily contact the seller and they can decide the pricing for the product.

    Features of Decluttr App:

    • Here you can scan barcodes to sell and buy.
    • One can view and manage items for which you would have placed an order.

    20. Elanic

    Rating 3.4/5
    Category New and used apparel

    Elanic is one of the best reseller apps in India, where one can sell used and unused items without any difficulty. This app is reviewed as a very user-friendly one and with a few clicks, one can easily buy or sell commodities without any trouble.

    Features of Elanic App:

    • One can sell without revealing his or her identity or number.
    • It provides a high range of product listings.

    Conclusion

    This is the list of top online reselling apps in India. One can easily have a look and get a perfect knowledge of the apps and can decide where to rely upon them. All these apps are extremely helpful for those looking forward to starting a small business.

    ‌‌These reselling apps are even available to the common man. Anyone can start their online business on these platforms. Such apps must be encouraged by people and more should be done for their development.

    FAQs

    Which app is best for resellers?

    The best reseller apps in India are:

    • Meesho
    • GlowRoad
    • Shop 101
    • eBay
    • Mercari
    • Cartlay
    • ZyMi
    • OfferUp
    • 5miles
    • Hi boss
    • Shopmatic
    • Shopee
    • ResellMe
    • OLX India
    • Quikr
    • Amazon Seller MarketPlace
    • Carousell
    • Poshmark
    • Decluttr
    • Elanic

    Which app is similar to Meesho?

    GlowRoad, Shop101, Shopee, and Carousell are some of the similar apps to Meesho.

    What is reselling app?

    A reselling app is an app where you can sell your products and earn profit with zero investment required.

    Which is the No 1 reseller app in India?

    Meesho is the most popular reseller App in India.