As with many other industries, more and more fashion brands around the world are choosing eCommerce to take full advantage of the emerging global market. For online stores, it is important to use all available tools to optimize business processes as much as possible. This is where eCommerce integration software comes into play. Large and small stores can be scaled up with niche-specific solutions that keep stores running smoothly and efficiently at all business levels. Let’s take a closer look at some most prominent cases of integrating eCommerce systems.
Marketing and advertising system integration
Marketing interfaces (APIs) are a must for any eCommerce business, and the fashion industry is no exception. Having data on how customers behave on the website, you can form strategies based on this data, which will undoubtedly increase profits and reduce the bounce rate. Third-party marketing tools will help website owners organize routine marketing processes and record user information for later grouping by product preferences. As a result, each individual user will be automatically offered personalized offers on subsequent visits.
By default CS-Cart comes with all promotional tools for products. The platform combines marketing and advertising capabilities, making it easy to manage customer data and launch successful customer data campaigns in one place. But you can expand the experience with Full-Width Banner, Loyalty Program, Product Labels, Google Analytics Enhanced Ecommerce and more.
Integration with other eCommerce platforms
In today’s omnichannel retail environment, it’s critical that sales and inventory be tightly integrated. Whether you own a brick-and-mortar store, an online store, or both, a Point of Sale (POS) system will allow you to create a flawless customer experience, find more touch points with your target audience, and track different behaviors across different channels.
So what does the term “multichannel” mean? It means that you provide your products or services through two or more of the following platforms:
- eCommerce marketplaces such as Amazon, AliExpress, etc.;
- social networks (launching a Facebook store, promoting posts on Instagram etc..);
- your physical store. The POS system ensures error-free data collection in personal sales as well.
Popular POS systems include Lightspeed, Vend, Square, Shopkeep.
Learn more about POS system integration from our previous article.
Warehouse management system integration
Today, WMS (Warehouse Management System) software is indispensable for stores that seek to meet the growing demand for products while maintaining inventory. E-business brings its challenges to the supply chain, so it is important to have a reliable and accurate solution that can help you take full control of processes such as returns, warranties, picking and packaging, as well as eliminate overselling and synchronize multiple warehouses of retailers and suppliers. We have successfully customized the default WMS of CS-Cart. Our team integrated warehouse management solutions for dozens of online stores and marketplaces, so we know exactly which system is right for your small or large business.
CMS integration
A content management system, as reflected by the name, is designed to manage, edit and publish all types of content on your commercial website. It is a key tool for constantly updating marketing information. But that’s not all. CMS speaks the language of search engines, helping them recognize the differences between almost identical pages and index them correctly. This means that your product will be adequately displayed in the search results and will not be lost. Managing such pages manually can lead to a huge amount of SEO penalties that you don’t even know about.
CS-Cart is a platform that perfectly combines the capabilities of CMS and eCommerce platforms. Recently, it has become possible to integrate Tilda pages into a CS-Cart store for even greater convenience in content editing.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration
An enterprise resource management system is a multi-channel solution designed to collect and process critical data obtained from various sources (sales, production, finance, etc.) for further optimization of resources. The aforementioned systems such as POS, WMS and CMS are also integrated with a single ERP system, which uses the received data to create a complete picture of the company’s work at all levels. When it comes to online stores, ERP integration is vital as it automates many day-to-day processes such as inventory and product updates, reduces data entry time, provides consumers with accurate inventory levels, and sends notifications when orders are shipped.
Some of the most common ERP options for brand websites are Microsoft Dynamics AX/365, SAP, NetSuite and others.
Payment system integration
Your commercial website is first and foremost a money-making tool, so it is essential to offer your customers fast, reliable, and secure payment methods. When integrating a payment gateway with your online store, it is important to consider the Security level. Make sure secure transactions are available to your customers.
PayPal, Visa and MasterCard are in especially high demand among online stores. While the global dominance of the Visa and MasterCard networks is clear, PayPal is valued by eCommerce websites for its ease, flexibility, and security of payments without revealing any financial information. These methods are available in the default CS-Cart as part of some popular payment systems (HSBC, Nochex, SagePay, 2Checkout, etc.) but you can go further and integrate a local specific payment system of your choice.
Search system integration
One of the most important steps in improving the customer experience is providing users with a powerful site search interface, especially in the context of digital stores. Here’s how you can speed up UX and increase customer satisfaction. Instead of digging through tons of irrelevant content, the user intuitively finds the shortest path to the desired item. In addition, if the user is not yet sure what product he or she is looking for, advanced site search will help discover new fashion items that the user would never have intentionally searched for.
By default, CS-Cart has built-in Searchanise smart search, which helps to avoid zero responses to user requests. Even if a word was entered incorrectly, smart search will offer suggestions, making it possible to find what you need. In addition, Enhanced Filters are available to help make product filtering more targeted to your audience’s preferences.
Shipping system integration
Sooner or later, any successful business starts to grow, and the number of orders that need to be processed, in particular. Integrating a shipping interface into your brand’s website will help you solve this problem by automating the routine processes associated with shipping, package tracking, invoicing, and order processing. When items are purchased from your store, the shipping API sends a signal to the warehouse where the item is set to “ready to ship” status and shipped to the customer immediately.
As our research shows, leading stores often prefer American Express, DHL and FedEx. They are available by default with the CS-Cart platform. By integrating additional delivery services into websites and apps, online retailers can enjoy professional reporting, labeling, simplified returns, more complex tracking, and more.
The Best Shipping Software for eCommerce
We’ll take a look at five shipping integrations that have become the most popular among CS-Cart users. Obviously, each of them has its pros and cons. The competition in the market is so high that the choice can be difficult. But when you’re done with this list of integrations, you’ll have a better idea of what works best for you.
1. ShipperHQ
The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Austin, Texas. ShipperHQ provides innovative cart customization and enterprise-grade functionality, including Click and Collect and Local Delivery.
Among the main functions of this integration:
- Multi-carrier support – integration supports more than 30 carriers,
- Real-time shipping rates – it includes real-time shipping rates that can provide you with the most accurate costs for your deliveries,
- Multi-Country Support – You can select carriers for each country. For example, in case you have multiple warehouses or offer drop shipping, this is more than possible,
- Automations are automation rules to set rates for specific geographic areas and specific shipping options of your choice,
- Additional Features and Tools – This feature offers dropshipping, store pickup, address verification, and the ability for the buyer to select delivery dates and times.
2. ShippingEasy
The company was founded in 2011 and is based in Austin, Texas. ShippingEasy is a cloud-based shipping software that allows online retailers to download orders from multiple stores and ship them. It uses the usual integration model and has a web interface. ShippingEasy supports English and Spanish and is targeted at small, medium and large businesses.
Main functions:
- Multi-carrier support – the program supports USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL and DHL Express,
- Automation – software includes automation rules to manage order and label printing, shipping preferences and package size,
- Discount Application – It provides USPS discounts for Priority Mail, Flat Rate, Regional Rate, Express Mail, and International,
- Alexa for Shipping – it allows you to use Alexa to get order information, print package labels, pick lists and more,
- USB Scale Support – It supports USB scale to transfer data directly to the platform,
- additional features and tools – it provides customizable email templates, automatic emails and notifications, marketing tools, customized product bundles, barcode scanning, order and inventory management, supplier management, analytics and shipping insurance.
3. ShipStation
The company was founded in 2011. Based in Austin, Texas. ShipStation helps eCommerce merchants create shipping labels for shipping their items, regardless of how they sell and ship. This software has an interface, as well as applications for iOS and Android. The ShipStation program is designed for different types of businesses – from small to corporate level.
Among its main functions:
- Multiple Shipping Methods – Supports USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL International, Canada Post or Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime accounts and over 30 carriers,
- Real-time shipping rates – the program provides real-time rates in the shopping cart and at checkout and supports one-step payment,
- Automation – includes automation rules that can be used to customize the delivery process and synchronize orders from multiple sales channels,
- Discounts – Offers USPS discounts through freestamps.com and includes a free Express 1 account with discounts on USPS Priority and Express Mail,
- Additional features and tools – the program offers branded tracking pages, branded emails and notifications, analytics and parcel return management.
4. Shippo
Shippo was founded in San Francisco, California in 2013. It helps businesses cope with transportation challenges. Shippo users are small, medium and large businesses. These companies can access the platform through a rich web application.
Among the main functions:
- Multi-carrier support – more than 55 carriers including regional, national and international. Next day delivery is also offered for selected carriers.
- Shipping Discounts – Discounts up to 90% are offered through USPS, DHL Express and more.
- Automation – The software syncs orders from your account to automatically generate labels and send tracking information to customers.
- Additional Features and Tools – The program offers branded tracking pages, branded emails and notifications, parcel return management, customs form creation, order splitting, analytics, and shipping insurance.
5. Ordoro
The company was founded in Austin, Texas and is the oldest company in operation since 2010. Ordoro is building a web application for retailers to manage their inventory, suppliers and orders. It is used by small and medium enterprises.
Among its main features:
- Some Shipping Methods – It supports FedEx, UPS, DHL International, USPS, Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime or Canada Post accounts,
- Shipping Discounts – It offers discounts up to 67% via USPS,
- Automation – the web application includes autocomplete options when creating labels and automation rules for working with orders,
- Support for USB scales – for automatic calculation of rates depending on the delivery method,
- Additional Tools and Features – Offers order splitting, analytics, customized product bundles, shipping insurance, dropshipping, barcode scanning, vendor management, and inventory management.
Closing
If you want your online store to become an efficient, fully automated and controlled sales tool, integrating with third party software is inevitable. You can try to integrate the API yourself or hire an experienced team of professionals. The first option is cheaper, but takes more time, and the second guarantees a 100% quality result. Our development team is always happy to quickly implement your wishes and create custom integrations tailored to your store.