Streamline your eCommerce With a Scalable eCommerce Platform

A scalable eCommerce platform is one of the most important, but also one of the least discussed elements of an eCommerce site. Taking into account the growth of content, platform selection, and server requirements can keep slow performance at bay.

Consider this scenario: you have a customer visiting your website to purchase your latest product, however, the page never loads. Not only will you lose a consumer, but the consumer might not return to your website. In such a scenario, scalability is your savior! Having scalability in eCommerce means being able to operate efficiently regardless of the volume of traffic. It also includes preparing solutions and strategies for the future according to your business’s expected needs and goals. Not only does scalability have a positive impact on consumer experience, but it also helps in achieving long-term goals for an eCommerce organization. 

Now that we have established what scalable eCommerce is, let’s discuss why it’s so important to have a scalable strategy in place…

Why is it important to have scalable eCommerce platform?

Small or big, as an eCommerce venture, your first priority should be your customers. Hence you should make sure that the day-to-day functioning of your eCommerce business is not impacted in any way today, and even prepare for how your business may function 5+ years from now. All of this is possible by having a scalable eCommerce platform. An eCommerce platform is software that lets businesses sell their products online. Typically, such platforms lead to the creation of a website that consumers use to shop on. Additionally, these platforms also allow businesses to manage the backend functionality of the website. Below are a few reasons why it’s important to start thinking about scalability now.

Enhance user experience: 

Having an eCommerce platform that makes your customers satisfied is a surefire way to achieve a positive user experience. It’s important that your customers, feel important, and are getting the experience you intend for them to have, whether there are 5 customers or 50,000! Your eCommerce scalability assures that you keep a consistent user experience across the board, which in turn will help you retain loyal customers for years to come.

Quick and easy: 

Having a scalable eCommerce platform from the start of your eCommerce business will make all the subsequent tasks fairly simple and quick. By keeping scalability in mind, you can quickly create a well-designed and user-friendly website that can be easily updated as your business changes, which is not only beneficial to managing your business online but to your target audience as well.

Helps in integrations: 

When it comes to your eCommerce platform, there are many different departments that handle different tasks, i.e. marketing, sales, customer service, etc. In order for your eCommerce platform to function smoothly, it must be scalable so that all departments can have access to the information and tools they need in one robust platform. ​​It is essential to ensure that all departments, tools, and processes are integrated so that eCommerce works smoothly, thus providing a great shopping experience to the customers.

Ease in using website metrics: 

Analyzing and keeping track of your eCommerce platform’s metrics is a prerequisite for formulating future goals and strategies. A solid set of metrics for analysis can be obtained with a scalable platform that can provide in-depth metrics at large, like conversions, bounceback rates, subscriptions, revenue, and more.

Helps in business growth: 

Having the right scalability for your eCommerce platform from your business’s inception allows your business to grow without any problem. By building a scalable eCommerce, you make sure that the functionality of your website and business processes is not impacted as and when you plan to grow. Therefore, it is important to have an eCommerce platform that handles volume and traffic with good efficiency throughout your business cycle.

How to build a scalable eCommerce business

Below are some strategies and tools we recommend implementing to help build a scalable eCommerce business. You can implement some of them from the moment you launch your eCommerce business, whereas others can be introduced gradually as you see your business needs change. 

Choose a good eCommerce platform: 

While starting out with your eCommerce business, it is important to take into consideration the kind of platform you want. Though there are multiple eCommerce platforms to choose from, platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce have a range of scalable options. It’s important that you research each option and choose a platform that you think not only makes sense for your business today but has the ability to add on features and capabilities that you might need in the next coming years. 

Implement an eCommerce chatbot: 

Your eCommerce site can benefit from a chatbot in numerous ways. Chatbots use artificial intelligence to answer questions, provide product recommendations, and/or qualify and gather leads, providing your website visitors with 24/7 support. Not only does this provide a scalable option for staying connected to your prospects and customers, but it also allows your team the ability to focus their time on more high ROI tasks for growing your business.  

Need help in deciding which chatbot to choose for your eCommerce platform? Download our resource The Best Chatbot Comparison Guide to get started.

Incorporate dropshipping:

Dropshipping is a feature of eCommerce where suppliers don’t need to keep stock of the items they sell. Instead, there is a supplier that ships products directly to the customer. You can easily expand or narrow down your business activities when you have a dropshipping supplier.

Utilize an email marketing strategy:

A key component of your eCommerce business is your email marketing strategy. In addition to sharing order information with your customers, it can also help generate more sales and help you stay connected with your customers. Your email marketing strategy should have both promotional and transactional emails.

Implementing an email marketing automation strategy is ideal for sending personalized emails at scale. You can schedule your marketing and sales emails in advance, send emails to bulk contact lists, and implement workflows that trigger emails as soon as a specific action is taken. Email marketing may be a feature you consider integrating into your eCommerce platform to ensure you have all your contact information and interactions in one place.

Put money towards a paid media plan:

Paid media should be an essential part of your eCommerce marketing strategy. When you use paid media, you can reach your target audience instantly and engage them where they are already present. 

Now the question that arises is, how to use paid media? As a marketer you have multiple channels via which paid media can be implemented. Websites, search engines, social media, video ads, website pop-ups, newsletters, etc. are all platforms for utilizing paid media. A key advantage of paid media is having the ability to track and analyze its metrics. The tracking of metrics allows you to improve the overall results of your marketing strategies and provides a way to meet the overall business goals and strategies.

Partner with Pyxl

Building a scalable eCommerce strategy and choosing a platform that offers scalability is key, however, it requires time and effort to ensure you’re making decisions today that are setting your business up for success tomorrow. Does your eCommerce business need help choosing a scalable eCommerce platform? Don’t go at it alone, partner with our digital experts at Pyxl to help.

Updated: Mar 01, 2023