Retail eCommerce sales are expected to reach $8.1 trillion by 2026. That means now is the time to launch an online business, particularly an eCommerce website, so you can capture part of this fast-growing market.
Fortunately, creating and managing an eCommerce website doesn’t have to be difficult or cost a lot of money. Today, there are a variety of eCommerce business models and tools available that have removed many of the barriers to entry. In other words, just about anyone with an internet connection can launch an online storefront in 2023.
Recently, I had the opportunity to try Shoplazza, a leading eCommerce Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that makes it easy to build and launch your own eCommerce business. Following are my honest thoughts about the Shoplazza platform.
Why Launch an eCommerce Website and Business?
Launching an eCommerce website is a great way to start a business or expand an existing one. In fact, there are many reasons why you might want to launch an online business and create an eCommerce website.
Five of the most common reasons are discussed below:
1. Reach a Wider Audience
With an eCommerce website, you can reach a global audience without the limitations of a physical store. This means you can potentially sell your products to anyone with an internet connection, which can greatly expand your customer base.
2. Lower Overhead Costs
Setting up an eCommerce website can be less expensive than opening a brick-and-mortar store. You don’t have to pay rent for a physical storefront, hire as many employees, or invest in as much inventory.
3. Customer Convenience Leads to Increased Sales
Many people prefer shopping online today because it’s convenient. They can shop from the comfort of their own home, and they don’t have to deal with crowds, traffic, or parking. As a result, online sales are on the rise. By launching your own eCommerce site, you can get some of that revenue.
4. Easy to Track Data and Make Better Decisions
With an eCommerce website, you can track customer data and analyze it to make informed business decisions. For example, you can see which products are selling the most, which pages on your website are the most popular, and how much time customers are spending on your site.
5. Easy to Scale
An eCommerce website is scalable, meaning you can easily grow your business as your customer base expands. You can add more products, expand your marketing efforts, and make changes to your website to improve the customer experience.
What is Shoplazza?
Shoplazza is a SaaS platform that makes it easy to create an eCommerce website to sell products to global customers. Once you create a Shoplazza account, you can create an online store using one of the provided templates.
Shoplazza comes with a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to add products to your store and customize your online storefront with your logo, branding, colors, and so on, all with just a few clicks.
The best part is you don’t need any coding skills to use it. However, Shoplazza offers an API, so developers do have the ability to add their own features and customizations.
How does Shoplazza Work?
With Shoplazza’s platform, you don’t have to buy any other software to build your eCommerce site and make it available online. Everything is done through the Shoplazza dashboard, so you have a single sign on to build and manage your online business. You just need to pay a monthly subscription fee to be able to access your dashboard and keep your website online.
Shoplazza is considered an all-in-one solution because you get everything you need to launch and run an eCommerce business, including sales, inventory, email marketing, promotions, shipping, payments, and more.
If you start using Shoplazza and in the future, decide to cancel your subscription, then you’ll need to migrate your website to another eCommerce platform or get your own web hosting and rebuild your site. Keep in mind, you may lose data any time you’re migrating from one solution to another.
Using Shoplazza to Launch an eCommerce Website
Shoplazza solutions make it easy for users to create their own online stores where they can sell their own products directly to consumers (D2C). In addition, users can start and run their own drop shipping businesses using Shoplazza, where they sell products from other providers through their eCommerce website. You can even use Shoplazza to divert prospective customers from your products that are listed on Amazon to your Shoplazza storefront.
If you choose to use Shoplazza to launch and manage your eCommerce site, you’ll get access to the built-in website builder, content management system (CMS), email marketing tools, inventory management, and everything else you need.
Pros of Shoplazza
Depending on the type of eCommerce website you want to build (i.e., D2C, dropshipping, or Amazon to your own storefront), there are many features and functionalities in the Shoplazza platform that can help you do it quickly and easily.
Following are some of the benefits of using Shoplazza:
Customer Payments
- Offers payment processor and payment via Stripe, PayPal, Klarna, and up to 80% of the major global payment services providers
- Installment payments are accepted through multiple providers
- Prefilled checkout form (address, credit card detection, customer location detection)
- AI-based algorithm at checkout to recommend last-minute products and boost sales
- Multiple currencies are accepted
Marketing, Advertising, and Promotions
- Advertising and marketing integrations with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter, and more
- Email marketing integration with popular platforms
- Customizable email templates for discounts, invitations, abandoned cart messages, and more that can be sent directly from Shoplazza
- Email list management tools
- Easy to create promotions, discounts, and offers
- Affiliate manager tool to bring in affiliates and influencers to boost sales
- Search engine optimization features to boost organic traffic, including on-page SEO and Google Analytics integration
- Sales and promotion customization at the individual product level
Store and Account Management
- Easy and free migration from another storefront platform
- Drag-and-drop store builder
- Buy Button that you can use anywhere (even off of your eCommerce site)
- Up to 100 staff accounts to manage your eCommerce store
- Amazon integration
- Drop shipping integration
- Built-in analytics to track data about your store, sales, and consumer engagement with your site
- Free, customizable store templates included in all plans
Inventory, Products, Shipping, and Suppliers
- Real-time inventory data
- Bulk and single product inventory updates
- Product categorization
- Unlimited products
- Up to 300 variants per product
- Drop shipping tool that connects with thousands of global suppliers
- Print on demand (POD) integration
- Integration with shipping partners that cover more than 150 countries around the world
Security and Technical
- API access
- More than 150 free apps, such as Stamped Loyalty & Referrals, Lily Loyalty Points & Rewards, Sendvio, Trustpilot Reviews, Wishlist, Attentive, Stamped Product Reviews, QuickCEP, Omnisend, ShareaSale, Awin Affiliate Marketing, Zapier, Klaviyo, JiveChat Live Chat, Wholesale2B, and more
- Built-in artificial intelligence to improve conversions
- SSL certificate included
- Security via PCI DSS Level 1 compliance
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology for automation and data sync of billing, order management, shipping, accounting, and more
Cons of Shoplazza
No platform is perfect for every user, so it’s important to understand some of the aspects of Shoplazza that may require closer consideration before you choose to use the platform to build and manage your eCommerce site.
Following are some of the key negatives about Shoplazza to consider:
- Fewer store templates compared to other eCommerce platforms
- No way to upload your own store template or purchase and upload store templates
- Customization can be challenging
- Limited blogging system
- Limited documentation in the Knowledgebase
- Negative reviews
Before moving on, it’s important to understand that the negative reviews about Shoplazza seem to complain about sellers who use the Shoplazza platform to manage their eCommerce sites, not about Shoplazza. With that said, always do your due diligence before you commit to using and paying for any tool.
Shoplazza Support
One of the biggest concerns people typically have when they’re thinking about launching an online business and eCommerce website is how they’ll get help if they have questions and problems related to creating or managing their site in the future. Shoplazza offers multiple support options to address those concerns, including:
- Online Knowledgebase
- Email support team
- Chat support team
- Shoplazza online community
Shoplazza Pricing
Shoplazza offers a seven-day free trial, so you can sign up, test the platform, and pick your plan later – when the trial ends. A monthly subscription ranges from $28 per month to $218 per month. The image below shows the current pricing as of the time of this article’s publication.
The biggest difference between the five subscription tiers is related to two factors: commission and staff account number. Shoplazza takes a commission based on your monthly sales that decreases as your monthly fee increases – according to the subscription plan you choose. Additionally, subscription plans with higher monthly fees get more staff account seats. Yearly plans and discounts are not available, but you can cancel your month-to-month plan at any time.
If you have a small team and low sales volume per month, then a lower tier plan should work for you. As sales increase, you can run the numbers to determine when it makes sense to upgrade to a higher subscription plan. Keep in mind, you may also need to pay separate payment processor fees from PayPal, Stripe, or the provider you use to accept payments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Shoplazza and eCommerce Websites
Following are answers to some of the most common questions that people ask about Shoplazza:
How much does Shoplazza cost?
The monthly fee for a Shoplazza subscription ranges from $28 to $218 per month. In addition, you’ll have to pay a commission on your store’s sales that ranges from 0.2% to 2% based on your subscription level.
Can I cancel my Shoplazza account?
Yes, you can cancel your monthly subscription at any time.
How many products can I add to my Shoplazza store?
You can add an unlimited number of products to your store, and every product can have up to 300 variations.
How will customers pay for their purchases?
You’ll need a payment processor to accept payments from customers. Popular options are Stripe and PayPal, but your choice may depend on where the majority of your customers come from. Shoplazza works with up to 80% of the major global payment services providers.
Does Shoplazza offer a free trial?
Yes, Shoplazza offers a 7-day free trial.
Is there a fee to migrate to Shoplazza from another platform?
There is no cost to migrate your eCommerce site to Shoplazza.
Can I run a dropshipping business using Shoplazza?
Yes. Shoplazza has full integrations with AliExpress and CJDropshipping.
Can I run a print on demand business using Shoplazza?
Yes. Shoplazza has a full integration with HugePOD.
Key Takeaways
There are a number of eCommerce website platforms available, including some that are very well known, such as Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce. All of these platforms offer similar features but at different price points. Shoplazza is definitely worth considering if you’re looking for a SaaS platform to build and manage your eCommerce site.
Start a free trial for the platforms you’re considering, and give them a test drive. With a large number of features, unlimited products, and a competitive pricing structure, Shoplazza could be the right choice for your online business.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored ten books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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