With the rise of eCommerce, companies must shift from legacy platforms to headless architecture. Sticking to traditional architecture and manual updates may lead to a loss of customers.
As your sales grow, you must rely on eCommerce integrations to scale your online business. Third-party integrations allow you to manage all parts of your business effortlessly. What are eCommerce integrations? How can you grow your business?
In this article, we will learn about eCommerce integration and how you can utilize these integrations to scale your business.
What is eCommerce Integration?
eCommerce integration is the process of connecting an eCommerce platform, such as an online store, to other systems and services. Third-party integrations save you a lot of time. You only need to enter your data for each customer account. These integrations can include ERP, CRM, POS integrations, etc.
Types of eCommerce Integration
You can use several types of third-party integrations to streamline the buying process for your customers. We have listed below the integrations that are essential for any business:
1. eCommerce ERP Integration
An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system is the core system of your business that keeps everything together. An ERP system integrates multiple business processes across various departments in a company, such as finance, sales, inventory, logistics, and human resources.
It is a comprehensive software suite that helps to automate and streamline business operations.
2. eCommerce POS Integration
eCommerce POS (Point of Sale) integration is the process of linking an online store with a physical store system/ POS. This integration allows businesses to seamlessly manage their online, in-store, and mobile sales in a single place.
With real-time synchronization, businesses can access and update inventory, manage orders, and process payments from any device. POS integration also enables customers to make purchases both online and in-store with the same payment method and allows for better customer service.
3. Payment Gateway Integration
A payment gateway is an e-commerce application service provider that authorizes payments for online retailers. A payment gateway integration is one of the most important aspects of an eCommerce store. It facilitates sales by accepting payments from different sources like credit cards, debit cards, online payments, etc.
Payment integrations leverage a variety of security measures, SSL encryption, tokenization, fraud detection, and customer authentication, to protect customers’ data and ensure a secure payment transaction.
4. eCommerce CRM Integration
A CRM eCommerce integration is a connection between a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and an eCommerce platform. A CRM system allows businesses to leverage the power of their CRM to track customer data, manage customer relationships, and create personalized customer experiences.
5. Shipping Integration
Shipping integration is the process of connecting an eCommerce store’s checkout system with its shipping provider in order to provide customers with real-time shipping rates, shipping labels, and tracking information.
Shipping integrations automate the shipping process by collecting, interpreting, and displaying shipping data in real-time to customers and merchants. By automating this process, merchants can streamline their checkout process, create a better customer experience, and save time and money.
Benefits of eCommerce Integration
- Increased Sales: Integrating eCommerce into your existing business can help increase sales by making it easier for customers to access your products and services.
- Improved Customer Experience: An integrated eCommerce platform can provide customers with a more seamless shopping experience. It eliminates the need for customers to go through multiple steps to make a purchase, as all the information they need is in one place.
- Increased Visibility: An integrated eCommerce platform can help increase visibility for your business online, as it can be linked to various online marketplaces and search engine result pages.
- Automated Processes: Manual data entry takes time and is prone to human error. eCommerce integrations enable firms to avoid human data entry while simultaneously increasing data transmission speed. Apart from data entry, third-party integrations automate various processes and help reduce manual labor. An integrated eCommerce platform can automate tedious processes such as order processing, payment processing, and shipping, freeing up more time for your team to focus on more important tasks.
- Cost Savings: Integrating eCommerce into your existing business can help reduce costs associated with running an online store, such as web hosting and merchant services.
eCommerce Integration Challenges
eCommerce integration isn’t easy. Although third-party integrations are essential for the functioning of a store, they come with many vulnerabilities. Some integrations are highly customizable and may be a bit tricky to integrate into your eCommerce platform.
To ensure a smooth integration process, we recommend hiring a development team who can do the job for you.
So, what are the challenges associated with these integration processes? We have listed some challenges you might face while integrating third-party software into your store.
1. Using traditional legacy systems
Traditional legacy systems are an outdated form of eCommerce architecture where backend and frontend are integrated. Traditional legacy systems lack the functionality required for an eCommerce site, they must be replaced with something more capable.
If you do not intend to replace existing systems, you may struggle with new technologies as they become available and will be unable to take advantage of new features such as mobile purchasing and social sharing opportunities.
2. Not understanding the integration process
Some integration processes can be complex, especially the ones that provide customization options to their users. To utilize the software’s full capabilities, you need to understand how these integrations function and how to integrate them into your eCommerce platform. Errors in the integration process can cause vulnerabilities in your store, which fraudsters can exploit.
3. Not understanding your business requirements
The first hurdle to eCommerce integration is a lack of clarity about your company’s needs. Many organizations continue to rely on systems that are incompatible with eCommerce. The integration process can be hard and time-consuming if you don’t know what you need to integrate or how to accomplish it correctly.
How To Start With The eCommerce Integration Process?
Platforms like Shopify, Magento, Bigcommerce, etc, provide extensive features for their users. They are almost a perfect solution for store owners. However, as your business grows, you will require advanced features to scale it further. Software solutions are a go-to solution for store owners.
Any eCommerce integration process can be executed through a middleware solution. A middleware solution basically connects an eCommerce platform with a third-party application. You can outsource your entire integration process to eCommerce experts for smooth integration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, eCommerce integration is an important factor in the success of any eCommerce business. It allows businesses to add new products and services easily, offer customers a wider selection of products, and make the checkout process easier.
Integrating eCommerce systems with existing business systems can streamline operations and reduce costs. Ultimately, businesses that take advantage of eCommerce integration can maximize their profits, increase customer satisfaction, and make their business more efficient.
