It’s no secret that e-commerce has proven to be a huge turning point in the retail sector, with no signs of slowing down or stopping. But is e-commerce only a valuable tool for retailers, or can manufacturers benefit from utilizing top e-commerce platforms as well?
The answer is yes: Manufacturers in almost any industry – from automotive, to beauty, to apparel, and more – can glean many benefits from exploring the use of an e-commerce platform for their business. Best used as a means for getting their products to their targeted clients, manufacturers can utilize e-commerce platforms to increase sales, foster long-lasting relationships with new customers, market their services to new audiences, reach new markets, and streamline processes to more efficiently manage their operations.
So, which e-commerce platforms offer the best benefits for businesses in the manufacturing industry? Read on to explore our top picks for the best e-commerce platforms for manufacturers.
1. Shopify
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform, trusted as the go-to solution for more than one million businesses globally. Designed to work with businesses and retailers across many different industries, sizes, and locations, the platform offers a myriad of benefits that will aid manufacturers in launching or growing their e-commerce presence.
Why it’s great: For manufacturers in any industry, Shopify provides a robust platform to grow your business, and the tools to effectively market said business to reach new customer bases and scale exponentially.
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform for manufacturers, thanks to its ability to enable online enterprises to focus their business activities on the emerging world of mobile shopping and social commerce. A key selling point of Shopify is that it offers online retailers, including manufacturers, a collection of extensions, plug-ins and themes for launching or expanding on their online sales offerings.
One of the most important things as a manufacturer is reaching new markets in order to gain business growth. With Shopify, manufacturers can utilize the platform to sell products to anyone, anywhere – both in person via brick and mortar locations with Shopify’s point of sale capabilities, and online through websites, social media, and other online marketplaces.
Shopify’s mobile-friendly seller apps and shopping carts, and 24/7 technical support, make it a great resource for manufacturers working with customers far and wide, so they can manage their business on-the-go, and reach customers in any time zone.
How much does it cost? Pricing begins at $29 per month.
2. Magento Commerce
Magento is software industry leader Adobe’s answer to the e-commerce space. The robust platform is designed for more tech-savvy manufacturers, with a wide range of offerings and unmatched reliability.
Why it’s great: Adobe leads the way in the software and tech space, and Magento is no different. A go-to e-commerce platform for retailers and manufacturers since 2008, the platform is backed by more than a decade of experience helping companies of all sizes, including multinational corporations and household names, with managing their business and streamlining their e-commerce operations without a hitch.
Magento is an open-source platform that provides unlimited customization options to online vendors, and proves to be one of the best e-commerce platforms for manufacturers due to its wide array of more than 9,000 extensions and plug-ins to power-up their websites and reach new customer markets.
Other highlights of the Magento platform include free social media extensions, versatile content management, mobile-friendly configuration, built-in upsells and cross-sells, and 24/7 tech support from the experts at Adobe.
How much does it cost? Pricing varies greatly based on business needs.
3. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform that’s built for WordPress, and is fully customizable – meaning business owners can seamlessly integrate their web and e-commerce presences together quickly and effectively, offering an all-in one business solution with the tools to run and grow their enterprises.
Why it’s great: For manufacturers already utilizing WordPress to host their company’s website, or for those who plan to use a WordPress powered site, WooCommerce is a great choice that seamlessly bridges the two, allowing for easy management of both website and e-commerce operations under one simple platform.
WooCommerce is one of the best e-commerce platforms for manufacturers thanks to its many fully-customizable features, add-ons, extensions, and themes to choose from. This means that manufacturers are able to customize their storefronts and find the features and add-ons that work best within their industry and for their specific needs.
For manufacturers looking to expand their business and gain traction in new markets, WooCommerce has many marketing-specific offerings right on the platform. From rewarding and incentivizing customers, to adding content marketing features like blogs and SEO, to integrating email marketing, manufacturers will be able to reach a larger customer base and promote their businesses effectively.
How much does it cost? The WooCommerce plugin is free, with a handful of themes available to start off. Add-ons, templates, and other features can be purchased a-la-carte. WooCommerce also charges a small transaction fee for each sale.
4. Yo!Kart
Yo!Kart offers a self-hosted, multi-vendor platform for businesses, and has been featured in leading publications such as Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Business Reporter thanks to its stellar reputation and unique features as an e-commerce platform provider.
Why it’s great: Budding manufacturing companies set to make their debut in the e-commerce space can benefit from the many features offered by Yo!Kart. With Yo!Kart, these manufacturers can not only establish their presence in online trade but also expand their customer reach on a worldwide scale.
What sets Yo!Kart apart from other platforms is that instead of a monthly fee to utilize its services, businesses pay a one-time charge, and in return receive a completely unique packaged tailored to their specific business needs. Packages range from quick setup time and a template design, to a fully-customized and entirely unique platform that’s built out specifically for each business.
All packages include lifetime ownership of the completed storefront, and a free digital marketing consultation designed to help business owners understand the ins and outs of digital marketing and receive recommendations to get their businesses running and growing.
How much does it cost? Yo!Kart packages start at $999.
5. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a major player in the e-commerce field thanks to its extensive interface that offers manufacturers a place to build, innovate, and grow their businesses exponentially.
Why it’s great: BigCommerce is a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce platform that empowers manufacturers of all sizes to build, innovate and grow the selling of their products online.
The platform provides manufacturers with sophisticated enterprise-grade functionality, customization, and performance, with a simple and straightforward interface, making it easy to manage even the largest and most complex manufacturing businesses.
In fact, tens of thousands of B2B and B2C companies across more than 100 countries and numerous industries have already turned to BigCommerce to manage their e-commerce businesses and create the engaging custom online storefronts. With more than 800 apps and add-ons in the BigCommerce app store, business owners can totally customize their storefronts with multiple capabilities to fully suit their needs.
How much does it cost? Pricing starts at $29.95 per month.
6. Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Commerce Cloud, is an enterprise-level e-commerce platform that offers a full range of features and capabilities to make it an excellent fit for multinational manufacturing companies that process millions of dollars in orders.
Why it’s great: Salesforce is a powerhouse e-commerce provider, making it a top choice for manufacturers across any industry, including beauty and cosmetics, fashion and apparel, sporting goods, toys and games, food and beverage, cars and automotive, parts and manufacturing, chemicals, and other B2B applications.
The countless features, customization options, and scalability make Salesforce Commerce Cloud a go-to for businesses both starting out as well as ones that have grown exponentially. Top highlights of Salesforce’s e-commerce platform include product and catalog management, customer segmentation, AI personalization, marketing and advertising tools, social media integration, customer targeting, and more.
How much does it cost? Pricing varies greatly depending on business needs.
7. Wix
When researching the best e-commerce platforms for manufacturers, Wix cannot be ignored. This cloud-based website builder with e-commerce functionality is one of the most commonly used platforms to build and host websites and e-commerce shops thanks to its easy-to-use website building functionality, accessible price point, and flexibility to be used by businesses of all sizes.
Why it’s great: Wix allows users to create online stores through user-friendly drag-and-drop tools. It has an extensive range of templates and designs that make it easy for beginners and resource-strapped business owners to build a website that’s as compelling as it is functional.
For manufacturers across all industries – from arts and design, to food and beverage, to apparel, toys, and more – it’s easy to fully customize a page to fit the specific needs of your business, offering custom product pages, multi-channel integration to social media sites and much more.
Manufacturers can sell their products directly through the platform, and buying and selling is easier than ever thanks to the ability to accept all major credit cards, along with the option to integrate payment providers like Paypal, Stripe, or Wix Payments.
How much does it cost? Pricing for Wix sites with e-commerce functionality starts at $23 per month.
8. Squarespace
Squarespace is a New York-based SaaS company that provides website and e-commerce store building and hosting to customers. It is undoubtedly one of the best e-commerce platforms for manufacturers thanks to its aesthetically-pleasing templates, full customization options, and straightforward e-commerce capabilities.
Why Squarespace is great: Squarespace is a great option for entrepreneurs and budding manufacturers with basic e-commerce needs. The Squarespace platform is an effective tool to launch a professional, clean site with straightforward e-commerce features.
A handful of clean, modern e-commerce templates make it easy to get a storefront up and running, and endless customization options enable business owners to fully brand their sites and make it their own.
The platform’s e-commerce highlights include the ability to sell physical and digital products, digital subscriptions, and gift cards, with mobile-optimized checkout options. Multiple payment methods are accepted, and additional features like abandoned cart recovery help to close potential sales.
How much does it cost? Pricing starts at $18 per month.
9. Miva
Miva is an enterprise-level e-commerce platform already trusted by more than half a million businesses to run their online storefronts. Designed to work best with B2C retailers, DTC manufacturers, and B2B wholesalers, Miva knows exactly what features businesses in the manufacturing space need to launch and grow successfully.
Why it’s great: Miva is one of the leading e-commerce platforms for manufacturers thanks to its incredibly straightforward site design tools. With template-layer editing, business owners can make site changes, react to trends, and bring new ideas to life with no coding experience necessary.
Manufacturers can easily offer customers an optimized experience, thanks to Miva’s ability to combine the specialized functionality of a B2B site with the appeal of a B2C store. All sales, regardless of inventory size or customer type, can be managed under a single platform, and Miva provides native support for all aspects of the sales process including merchandising, inventory and checkout.
For those that are less web-savvy, or simply don’t have the time or bandwidth to build out a site, Miva offers a great turnkey solution. The platform offers an in-house team to all of its clients, which arms them with guidance through the design phase, site build, existing site migration, and eventual launch of your site.
How much does it cost? Pricing begins at $9.99 per month.
Launching a business in the e-commerce space, or taking an existing business and bringing it into the digital age, takes a great deal of time, energy, and research. For manufacturers especially, reaching the right audiences and marketing their product manufacturing services efficiently cannot be done on every platform.
That’s why it’s imperative that manufacturing business owners conduct the proper research to land them the correct e-commerce platform partner. By focusing on the platforms that offer the most inclusive services, best marketing tools, and highest level of customization options, manufacturers worldwide can launch or expand their businesses with great success and unlimited growth potential.