There are a variety of platforms to choose from when first launching an eCommerce store. As an online business grows and begins to see larger orders at higher volumes, it must upgrade to a platform that can handle its growth. There are only a select few enterprise eCommerce solutions on the market, so it’s important to evaluate the features of each platform to best accommodate your business’s needs.
Evaluating Enterprise eCommerce Solutions
When searching for enterprise eCommerce solutions to migrate or upgrade to, merchants like to compare prices first. Though expenses are critical to all businesses, we recommend keeping an eye out for the following factors in addition to pricing:
- Platform security
- Integration capabilities
- Performance
- Omnichannel selling opportunities
- Mobile optimization
Here at Groove Commerce, we’re committed to the belief that a business’s strategy should drive its technology decision. Everyday, we help merchants evaluate enterprise eCommerce solutions based on the functionality they need to grow. Based on our near 15 years of eCommerce agency experience, we’re firm supporters of BigCommerce Enterprise and Shopify Plus as the top two enterprise eCommerce solutions for mid-market and enterprise-level eCommerce stores.
BigCommerce Enterprise
BigCommerce Enterprise is a SaaS eCommerce platform built for businesses with high-volume orders. Its features support high traffic sites and help to manage extremely large orders, making the platform suitable for not only D2C retailers but also B2B wholesalers.
Security Assurance
BigCommerce Enterprise is Level 1 PCI compliant, which means that the platform has multiple layers of Enterprise-level security to safeguard against security breaches. This includes protection such as intrusion detection, firewalls and file integrity scanners.
Integrations
BigCommerce Enterprise integrates with many third-party apps, which can be found in the BigCommerce Marketplace. Unlike some open-source platforms that require integrations for eCommerce stores to operate effectively, BigCommerce Enterprise does not necessitate external apps or integrations. However, the apps do improve eCommerce stores’ functionalities. Here are some of our favorites:
Supports B2B and D2C Growth
Whether you sell wholesale or retail, BigCommerce Enterprise has the means to support both B2B and D2C growth. D2C merchants are supported with the open-platform’s flexible and extensible solutions that enable them to resolve difficulties and streamline growth.
B2B eCommerce merchants are supported with native functionality such as bulk pricing at the SKU level, quote management and so much more. There are even ERP, PIM and CRM integrations that give B2B BigCommerce Enterprise merchants a step up from the competition.
Omnichannel Selling
It doesn’t matter if your company sells through a website, social media or paid advertisements; BigCommerce Enterprise supports growth and sales from any channel. The platform’s Channel Manager is a central location where merchants are able to manage their company’s presence on all channels. Plus, BigCommerce Enterprise even makes it easy for merchants to manage inventory from one distinct platform.
Mobile Optimization
Create an optimized mobile eCommerce experience when you choose any of the responsive themes on BigCommerce Enterprise. The themes automatically optimize web page elements for mobile devices, so you don’t need to worry whether your site performs well on mobile. They can even be custom-created through a BigCommerce Partner agency to meet all your needs.
BigCommerce Enterprise Pricing
BigCommerce subscription plans are based on eCommerce sales per year. You’ll find a detailed breakdown of each plan and their features here.
Shopify Plus
Similar to BigCommerce Enterprise, Shopify Plus is a fully hosted SaaS enterprise eCommerce solution. Its features and functionality are built to withstand high-volume orders, making it a trusted platform for B2B and D2C merchants.
Security
Like BigCommerce, Shopify Plus is also Level 1 PCI compliant. This compliance applies to all eCommerce stores that are powered by Shopify Plus. The platform ensures that shopping carts and online hosting are secure through annual site assessments, continuous risk management and more.
Integrations
With the ability to integrate with a variety of apps, we recommend working with a Shopify Plus partner to create custom solutions that scale and grow with your business. Connect your store to your ERP, CMS, IMS or OMS, and integrate and automate the apps necessary for your business to thrive without handling code.
Supports B2B and D2C Growth
Suitable for B2B wholesalers and D2C retailers, Shopify Plus functions as an all-in-one platform to support the growth of all merchants. Easily manage wholesale and retail orders, inventory and customers in one central location within the platform. It even shares the data from each storefront to help merchants minimize operational costs.
For B2B merchants specifically, Shopify Plus offers volume pricing, which enables merchants to set discounts and volume-based pricing with minimum and maximum thresholds.
Omnichannel Selling
According to Shopify, when brands sell on more than one channel they experience a 190% increase in revenue. Shopify Plus supports merchants’ growth by allowing them to sell globally and on any of the 100+ supported social media channels or 80+ online marketplaces. Plus, merchants can see both online and retail sales in place within the platform.
Mobile Optimization
Similar to BigCommerce, each Shopify Plus theme is mobile responsive. This means that merchants’ websites adjust to the screen size of the mobile device that it’s on.
Shopify Plus Pricing
It traditionally takes 12-18 months to replatform. With Shopify Plus, you can expect your store to be up and running in 3-4 months with a $2,000 per month plan. Find out more about the platform’s transparent pricing here.
Conclusion
BigCommerce Enterprise and Shopify Plus are two promising enterprise eCommerce solutions that are bound to drive growth and revenue. If you want to learn about the migration process or need an expert opinion on which eCommerce platform is best for your business, reach out to our team using the form below. We’re happy to help educate you on both platforms and migrate your existing eCommerce store to BigCommerce Enterprise or Shopify Plus.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
dana@groovecommerce.com (Dana LaBate), Khareem Sudlow
