Having an elite website is obviously fundamental to ecommerce success. However, while there are dozens of spiffy platforms that can help you build a stunning digital presence, not all of them come equipped with all of the tools necessary for ecommerce success. As a result, choosing the correct plugins to bolster your website is critical in the ecommerce landscape of 2022.
From the best shopify store locator to elite cart management software, the following breakdown looks at 5 essential plugins for ecommerce stores.
Analytics
In the age of information, there is no reason to ever be left shooting in the dark. There is a world of actionable data at your fingertips, and how you use that information will ultimately determine the success or failure of your ecommerce business. For this reason, an analytics plugin is one of the first packages you should add to your website.
While there are a number of analytics plugins on the market, the best will provide data on the following user behavior:
- Session length – the total amount of time a customer spends viewing your store
- Duration spent on specific store pages
- Clicks – which pages and items are most effectively engaging customers
- Bounce rate – what percentage of website traffic is leaving your store after only visiting one page
Using this information allows you to tailor your store content and offerings to cater to the interests of your customers. You can expand on areas that are doing well and edit or eliminate content that is performing poorly, helping you optimize your store experience and convert a higher percentage of traffic into paying customers.
Cart Management
For ecommerce retailers, it is critical that you be able to close sales on your website. And even for service-based businesses or any other type of store that does not provide direct-to-consumer shipping, the convenience of an online payment portal can help ensure that web traffic never defects to a competitor. Make a purchase online, receive curbside pickup.
Unfortunately, many of the most popular website-building platforms, such as WordPress, do not come with any built-in shopping carts or payment processing methods, making a strong cart management plugin another essential component of optimizing your ecommerce store. Some of the key features of cart management software include:
- Listing items for sale on a digital storefront
- Allows customers to add products to a designated shopping cart as they browse the store, to be saved for purchase at checkout
- Process credit card payments directly from your website
Store Locator
Even if you make the majority of your sales online, store locator software is still critical for an ecommerce business. There will be some times when customers are out and about, browsing on their mobile devices, and ready to make a purchase at an in-store location. Locator software can help by conveniently directing customers to your nearest physical location. By using GPS to route them to your nearest vendor, you can ensure that you do not lose a customer to a competitor on an impulse buy.
This is a particularly pertinent concern for businesses who do not have stand-alone physical stores and rely on supermarkets or mass merchandisers for their in-person sales. Customers need to be able to see the nearest store to them that sells your products and where to find your products within that store. This is why the best locator software will feature branded local pages and streetside views to give customers clear visuals on where to buy.
Inventory Management
As the traditional mega storage center goes the way of the dodo bird and businesses rapidly adopt a just-in-time approach for inventory, it is critical that ecommerce vendors have elite inventory management software to keep accurate records in a climate that offers little margin for error.
The best inventory management software will automate inventory processes and provide access to a large network. This is critical for businesses that operate more than one location and/or utilize multiple fulfillment centers, as it can help keep product moving and prevent costly stockout scenarios. In an atmosphere where businesses are having to rely on third-party delivery and subcontracted couriers to satisfy customer and client demands for same-day delivery, the importance of accurate inventory management cannot be understated.
Forms
Forms are one of the simplest ways to engage customers with your business. And there is no shortage of ways in which forms can be employed to your business’ advantage. Whether it be a basic contact form, feedback form, online order form, or simply a survey to gauge customer interest on potential product offerings, it is clear that a form-generating plugin is a must-have for your ecommerce solutions company. Not only can you gain valuable insight from analyzing these forms, but they can allow you to improve the customer experience by prepopulating information to save them time on subsequent visits to your site.
Thrive in 2022 With These 5 Essential Plugins for Ecommerce Stores
Although there are many great platforms for building ecommerce stores in 2022, most provide just the basic starting point. It is the plugins that you add to these websites that will ultimately determine the success of your ecommerce store in 2022. To this effect, analytics, cart management, wordpress store locator, inventory management, and forms are 5 of the essential plugins for ecommerce success in 2022.
