Ten Essential E-commerce Tools to Increase Your Sales in 2024

In 2024, the possibilities are unlimited. Automated e-commerce tools revolutionize how businesses engage with their customer base and streamline operations while reducing expenses and increasing sales. Furthermore, automation empowers e-commerce store owners to scale their operations effortlessly, reducing the time needed to adapt to spikes in activity. From marketing through logistics to customer service, the right e-commerce tools can help you across every facet of your business.

So, if you are pondering where to begin and which tools to prioritize, look no further. This article is meant for you. Here, we present a comprehensive guide to the essential e-commerce tools to increase your sales in 2024. Let's get started!

What are e-commerce tools?

The term 'e-commerce tools' refers to different types of software designed to assist business owners in managing their online stores efficiently. Developing apps, online platforms, or plugins from scratch would be extremely complicated, expensive, and time-consuming, especially for small business owners. These ready-to-use solutions offer a way to build a custom digital toolkit tailored to the unique needs of each e-commerce business. Most provide intuitive and user-friendly interfaces, significantly lowering the learning curve and making the e-commerce world more accessible, even to those with minimal technical expertise.

By combining various tools to help you with different aspects of your business, you can run your online store around the clock, significantly reduce the workload on your staff, personalize the customer experience, and collect precious customer data. Automated solutions can also facilitate inventory management and data analysis. The options are endless, especially since the introduction of AI tools!

Our Selection of Best E-commerce Tools

Shopify

Shopify stands out as one of the major e-commerce platforms, catering to the diverse needs of online businesses worldwide. In 2023, Shopify ranked as the fifth-largest e-commerce platform, with a market share of 7.63 percent. With its comprehensive suite of features, Shopify provides everything necessary to establish, expand, manage, and scale an online store. The e-commerce giant counts over 1.7 million stores across 175 countries, from small businesses to big brands, such as Nestlé, Pepsi, and General Electric, just to name a few. Here are some key facts about what the platform has to offer:

• Shopify is available in over 20 languages, making it accessible globally.
• It is suitable for businesses of all sizes. Therefore, it can accommodate your online store's growth, avoiding the hustle of migrating to another platform.
• Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface and ready-to-use solutions, which make it accessible even with little training. The e-commerce platform offers a vast choice of customizable templates that are easy and intuitive. E-commerce website owners simply need to drag and drop elements to create unique landing pages or collections.
• Shopify offers countless integrations with other apps and services.
• Shopify app store counts over 6600 apps that enhance the platform's functionality by offering a wide array of marketing tools! Here are a few examples to give you a better idea:
  
  - Sales Motivator — this app enables customers to select and add gifts to their cart once they've met certain conditions. For example, imagine a beauty store running a “get a free face mask of your choice for orders above $29” campaign. A sales motivator pops up once the user's cart exceeds $29, offering them a list of masks to choose from!
  - One Click Upsell — is a post-purchase upselling solution. The app creates a personalized offer based on customers' purchases and displays it to them once they've completed the checkout before they pass to the 'Thank you' page. Thanks to the app, customers can reorder with a simple click without needing to complete the checkout information once again.
  - Vf Image Optimizer is an SEO tool for images. This e-commerce tool will quickly optimize your product photos for SEO.
  - Shoppable Instagram & UGC — this app will generate unique shoppable social media feeds and shoppable user-generated content galleries to display on your product and landing pages. Remember that featuring UGC and social proof can help you earn the trust of your potential customers, leading to more sales!

Pricing

• Shopify Lite for $9 per month.
  This plan allows businesses to add a buy button powered by the platform to their existing website. Thepackage does not include an online store.
• Shopify Basic for $39 per month (or $29 per month if paid annually).
  This plan is a great option for small businesses needing an online store with both a website and a blog. It can be linked to an online marketplace or social media channels.
• Shopify Standard for $105 per month (or $79 per month, paid annually).
  This option includes all the Basic plan key features plus reporting tools, gift cards, and abandoned cart recovery tools for e-commerce. The Shopify standard allows you to create different language versions of your online store if you sell to more than one country. You can also use other currencies.
• Shopify Advanced for $399 per month (or $299 per month, paid annually).
  This plan is designed for large businesses that require additional options, such as advanced analytics and reporting tools. It includes the key features of the Standard plan, supporting up to 15 staff accounts. This option supports international growth, allowing your business to sell to several markets, with specific settings for each region, such as adjusting prices or taxes by country.

Ahrefs

If you were to choose to resort to only one competitor research and SEO tool, we would highly recommend Ahrefs. This comprehensive toolset includes numerous functionalities, helping businesses elevate their online presence and implement effective search engine optimization strategies. Thanks to its impressive backlink index and AI tools, Ahrefs provides invaluable insights into competitors' SEO tactics, backlinks, and keywords, enabling users to refine their strategies for maximum impact. Ahrefs will help you optimize website content, product descriptions, and social media copy, driving traffic to your website and ultimately leading to more sales. 

Here are some of its key features:

• A remarkable detailed keyword research tool with a few free searches per day
• Free-to-use AI tools, such as grammar checker
• Link building and domain rating
• Rank tracker with historical SERP data
• Website audit tool
• Tools for competitor analysis
• Integration with Google Data Studio
• WordPress SEO plug-in
• Content planning features for your e-commerce website, blog, and social media platforms
• Weekly updates on trending keywords
• A vast backlink database
• A comprehensive visualization and analytics tool for e-commerce

Pricing

If you choose to pay annually, you get two months for free. Ahrefs doesn’t offer free trials.

• Lite, $99 per month
  Essential data for small businesses and hobby projects.
• Standard, $199 per month
  Perfect for freelance SEO and marketing consultants.
• Advanced, $399 per month
  More tools and data for lean in-house marketing teams.
• Enterprise, $999 per month
  Ideal for agencies and enterprises.

Zendesk

Zendesk is top customer service and CRM software, equipping businesses with the tools to track and handle customer requests and complaints effectively. Renowned for its user-friendly interface, Zendesk is accessible to users without technical training. It empowers businesses to enhance customer service by providing timely and personalized support across multiple channels, including social media and email marketing. Here are some of its key features:

• Live chat combined with analytics and reporting.
• Top-notch automated solution for businesses of all sizes.
• Zendesk offers integrations with AI tools, such as Ada, a versatile chatbot. Ada enables businesses to provide round-the-clock support in over 100 languages, driving conversions without increasing costs or workload on the employees.
• Thanks to AI, Zendesk's chat detects customers' emotions and adapts the responses accordingly.

Pricing

Zendesk offers two types of packages: for sales and support. The prices start from $49, depending on the module you choose, the features you need, the size of your business, and the number of customer service agents you have.

Hubspot

HubSpot is an all-in-one CRM tool for e-commerce businesses. This comprehensive platform integrates marketing, sales, and customer service functionalities. With its robust suite of tools to attract, engage, and convert customers, HubSpot can help you achieve your goals! Its CRM enables businesses to analyze customer behavior and interactions with their content, providing invaluable customer insights for marketing optimization.

HubSpot is also a great tool for tracking, scoring, and nurturing leads. How does lead scoring work? Imagine each lead getting points after completing an action or simply having characteristics of your ideal buyer persona. Your sales team receives a notification once a lead is deemed ready to convert. This method lets you track leads as they progress through the sales funnel and adapt your marketing efforts accordingly.

Here are the key features of the platform:

• Integrated comprehensive CRM.
• Email marketing automation.
• E-commerce integration.
• Content creation management.
• Social media management.
• Analytics tools.
• Lead nurturing and tracking.
• Easy scalability.

Pricing

HubSpot offers five separate modules:

• Sales Hub,
  Starter —  $50 per month
  Professional — $500 per month
  Enterprise — $1200 per month
• Marketing Hub
  Starter — $50 per month
  Professional — $890 per month
  Enterprise — $3200 per month
• Service Hub
  Starter — $50 per month
  Professional — $400 per month
  Enterprise — $1200 per month
• CMS Hubs
  Starter — $25 per month
  Professional — $400 per month
  Enterprise — $1200 per month
• Operations Hub
  Starter — $50
  Professional — $800
  Enterprise — $2000

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a great social media marketing tool for e-commerce businesses, allowing seamless management of multiple accounts and teams across various social media platforms. Social media plays a giant role in product discovery, online branding, and building an engaged community. According to Statista, global social commerce sales would add up to a whopping $1.298 billion in 2023. This number is projected to reach nearly $2.9 trillion by 2026! Optimizing your social media strategy is important to maintain a consistent, impactful presence.

Here are the key features of Hootsuite:

• It provides tools for crafting, planning, and scheduling social media posts.
• Comprehensive analytics tools to measure the engagement and campaign results.
• Tools for managing several accounts and teams simultaneously, serving as a centralized Hub for several social media platforms.

Pricing

You can try Hootsuite's free plan for 30 days. Hootsuite offers four packages:

• Professional for $99 per month.
• Team for $249 per month.
• Business for $739 per month.
• Enterprise — quote on demand.

Omnisend

Omnisend is one of the leading platforms for omnichannel marketing automation, providing tools for seamlessly integrating multiple channels into a cohesive, automated workflow. It combines email, social, and SMS marketing in one place. Thanks to automated personalized messages tailored to customers' needs, Omnisend helps you boost customer satisfaction, increase retention, and build long-term loyalty. Moreover, thanks to smart segmentation, your customers will only receive marketing campaigns adapted to their needs and preferences at every stage of their customer journey, leading to a higher ROI and more sales.

Here are the key features of this online marketing platform:

• Omnisend has a user-friendly interface and is easy to use, even for beginners. Emails or workflows can be created from templates; users can simply drag and drop elements in the preferred order.
• It offers a variety of e-commerce-specific customizable templates. Pre-built standard automated workflows, including welcome series, cart abandonment workflows, birthday email campaigns, and special offer emails.
• Various email capture options, including landing pages, pop-ups, and lead generation forms, enable businesses to grow their mailing lists effectively and collect valuable customer data.
• Possibility of creating custom or using pre-built segments.
• E-commerce integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

Pricing

Omnisend offers a free plan with some automated email marketing capabilities.

• Standard plan starts from $16 per month
• Pro plan starts from $59 per month.

Remember that additional costs, such as SMS credits, will vary depending on your needs and the size of your contact list.

Shipwire

Shipwire is an outstanding fulfillment platform for automating post-checkout processes for direct-to-customer, retail, and drop-ship channels, catering to online stores globally. This comprehensive logistics platform streamlines order tracking by leveraging advanced technology. Shipwire will help you reduce errors, save time, and improve customer experience, increasing sales and customer retention. Here are Shipwire's key features:

• Order and inventory management — track and manage inventory and orders across channels in real-time from a central dashboard. The platform provides full visibility of all orders, returns, order routing, split orders, and short shipments.
• Comprehensive product catalog controls — unlimited SKUs and variants across all sales channels and fulfillment locations.
• Automatic returns and exchanges management synchronized with sales flows to avoid overselling.
• Advanced analytics and reporting tools for e-commerce.
• Integration with leading shipping companies, e-commerce platforms, and online marketplaces.

Pricing

Shipwire's plans start at $29.95 per month. For this price, a customer can store a pallet of products with five unique product numbers, with a limit on the number of products sold and returned. Customers pay for all shipping and non-standard packaging costs. However, those are significantly lowered as the order volume increases. The platform is a great choice for e-commerce companies with high order volumes.

Baselinker

Baselinker emerges as a game-changing omnichannel tool for e-commerce store owners, offering a comprehensive solution to manage orders, shipments, and inventory across multiple channels. Suitable for startups, growing businesses, and large enterprises alike, Baselinker simplifies the complexities of e-commerce management by integrating popular marketplace services, store platforms, carriers, and essential e-commerce tools into one cloud-based system. This innovative platform manages inventory synchronization between marketplace platforms, ensuring accurate stock levels and seamless order processing. From managing orders and products to handling shipping and workflow automation, Baselinker empowers e-commerce owners to scale their businesses efficiently, optimize their operations, and drive growth.

Here are some of Baselinker's key features:

• Baselinker offers over 1000 integrations with over 57 e-commerce platforms, 157 online marketplaces, 17 shipping companies, 46 ERP systems, 37 online accounting systems, 13 SMS applications, and many others.
• It is suitable for online stores of all sizes.
• The platform allows management from one place. Logging in to Baselinker enables you to access and manage your multichannel orders in one system.
• Inventory management — synchronize your stocks and prices across several warehouses and various sales channels.
• Workflow automation will save you time and avoid errors. Baselinker automated solutions enable businesses to send e-mail notifications to customers, create packages, print labels, and issue invoices effortlessly.

Pricing

Baselinker offers a free trial for each of its plans.

• Freemium — $0/per month
  Suitable for New Businesses & e-commerce part-timers with a maximum of 100 onthly orders.
• Business — $19/per month (fixed fee) + $0.19/order (first 1000 orders) and later + $0.09/order
  A recommended plan for SMEs & E-commerce Professionals
• Enterprise — Quote on demand
  For High-Volume Sellers, Retailers & Manufacturers with over 10k orders or 250k GMV monthly.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is an absolute must-have! It is a cornerstone for e-commerce business owners, offering invaluable insights into customer behavior and data analysis for e-commerce websites. It allows businesses to track website traffic, understand the origins of their visitors, and analyze engagement. Thanks to Google Analytics Enhanced E-commerce features, online store owners can access advanced analytics that enable traffic tracking throughout the entire sales funnel. Google Analytics is a comprehensive tool providing valuable insights for marketing campaign optimization.

Here are the key features of Google Analytics:

• Real-time tracking and reporting.
• Advanced analytics and custom reports to track customer behavior.
• Integrations with most e-commerce platforms and channels.
• Integrations with other Google tools (Google Ads, Google Cloud, Sales Marketing Cloud Integration, Google Search Console).
• Suitable even for small businesses.

Pricing

Google Analytics is a free tool.

Orbitvu

Orbitvu provides automated product photography solutions catering to e-commerce business owners. The quality of product photos impacts conversion rates and the perception of your brand. Research reveals that 75% of online shoppers heavily rely on product images to inform their purchasing decisions. Consistent and realistic visuals can lower the number of returns and improve customer experience.

By leveraging cutting-edge automation technologies, Orbitvu streamlines the in-house content creation process without compromising the quality. Our meticulously designed devices, paired with advanced software, empower users to effortlessly capture products of all types and sizes!

Here are some of Orbitvu's key features:

• An all-in-one solution.
• Orbitvu significantly shortens the time between the moment the photo is taken and its publication on the e-commerce platform of your choice.
• An intuitive and easy-to-use interface makes Orbitvu's devices accessible, even for professionals with minimal training.
• Orbitvu's software offers customizable templates. Users can save settings and apply them to shoot similar products.
• The software supports automatic background removal and batch processing.
• Integrations with Magento, Shopify, PrestaShop, and WooCommerce.
• Solutions for all types of product photography — dedicated tables for flat lays, Alphashot devices (micro, 360, or XL, depending on the size of the photographed item), customizable automated studios suitable for shooting life models, or large items, such as furniture.

Pricing

Quote on demand.

Final Thoughts

In the dynamically growing e-commerce industry, where the competition is just a few clicks away, leveraging automation and choosing the right tools are crucial to a successful digital marketing strategy. Luckily, there is a vast offer of tools for e-commerce businesses of all sizes! From streamlining operations to enhancing customer engagement on social media and driving sales, these tools empower e-commerce owners to optimize their marketing strategies, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately boost sales. Whether through social media management, email campaigns, or advanced analytics tools, these platforms provide invaluable resources to drive the growth and success of your online business. To learn more about leveraging automation in your content creation process, consult our knowledge hub or contact our team!