D2C eCommerce is when the manufacturer sells directly to consumers from their website. D2C model is quite literally “middleman-free.” It helps businesses achieve phenomenal growth, and improve customer satisfaction across multiple sales channels.
Online sales require an eCommerce platform or software. Although a standard website may have a lot of functionality related to promoting your business, it does not necessarily make it possible for buyers to select products and make payments. It is important to incorporate these additional features into an online shopping platform, and an eCommerce platform is the best choice. Depending on your needs and growth plans, you can choose a platform that supports you in everything, from order management to marketing features. Add in SEO and multichannel functionality.
There are many eCommerce platforms available. But how do you choose one that’s right for your online business? In this article, we’ll discuss the top 10 most successful D2C eCommerce platforms.
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What is a D2C eCommerce Platform
Direct-to-consumer e-commerce means the manufacturer/producer sells direct to consumers. In a more traditional retailer model, the manufacturer/producer sells to a wholesaler, wholesale distributor, retailer, and then to a consumer. Innovation brands have the best opportunity to build direct relationships with their customers through direct-to-consumer e-commerce (D2C).
A D2C eCommerce platform eliminates the need for intermediaries and allows businesses to market and sell directly to their customers. In addition to offering a great user experience, a great payment experience, and the utmost security, the best online store platforms are also feature-rich. eCommerce platforms are the backbone of an online retailer. They are software programs that allow companies to launch, host, and manage their online stores. Merchants can use the platform to build a branded online storefront to sell their goods and services.
Benefits of D2C eCommerce Platform
- It’s easy to use for you and your customers – When your platform is well-designed and well-developed, consumers will have an easy time using it, which will make their experience as enjoyable as possible. Pick a product that scores high in Ease of Use, or you might regret it later. It will be much more pleasant for you, too, when you don’t have to spend your days guiding customers through a process that should be simple.
- Automates and speeds up transactions – With the help of the internet and eCommerce, customers can now browse a wide array of products, search for an item, read product descriptions, and place orders in minutes. Besides reducing processing times, eCommerce also reduces errors. It is possible to automate the process of providing information, ordering, and even making payments, reducing the likelihood of human errors caused by manual processes. Besides placing orders, automating a lot of repetitive tasks in your business, such as feedback from customers, inventory management, invoicing, and customer support, is also an option. You just need to check the orders and ship the products. Remember: faster transactions mean more sales!
- 24/7 “Doors” are always open – eCommerce sites are designed to cater to customers from every corner of the world, operating in different time zones, so they never shut down. Without being limited to just a few geographical locations, your business is alive and running 24/7. You can automate your site to make your products and services available at any time, even if you are not physically available or do not provide 24-hour customer support. Using artificial intelligence (AI) processes such as chatbots, live chats, and virtual assistants, eCommerce can also offer automated customer support 24/7.
- It is convenient and safe to do business online – One of the many advantages of eCommerce is convenience. Convenience has been proven to be one of the most important decision factors for consumers. With just a few clicks, your products can be delivered to your customer’s home or office. It is important to remember that your customers demand convenience, so if you don’t meet their needs, they’re probably looking for better shops. There will always be a place for eCommerce to flourish in the digital world.
- It will make your data more secure – Security is an issue for everyone who does business online. The news of a data breach can sink your business more quickly than you can imagine. It’s vital that you choose a platform that protects your clients’ personal information, ensuring that they will continue to shop safely. By doing your homework now, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches later on.
Key Factors for Choosing the Right D2C eCommerce Platform
One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a retail company is choosing the right eCommerce platform. Your eCommerce platform is the backbone of your online business and will have a major impact on its long-term growth and success, whether you’re selling locally or expanding into new markets across the globe. It’s also important to choose a B2B or D2C solution that addresses the unique needs of B2B and D2C businesses. Here are the top five factors to consider.
- SEO – When customers can find your store in search engines when searching for products like the ones you offer, only then will they visit your website. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ensures that your site ranks higher and is clearly visible in search engines. Consequently, you should choose a platform that offers SEO-related features such as the ability to write meta descriptions for products, add blogs to your website, use your own domain name, allow customers to leave reviews, and support Google site maps. The presence of these features will have a direct impact on your site’s SEO rankings. Sekel Tech is an eCommerce platform that is SEO-friendly.
- Great Support – When you use an eCommerce platform, you’re bound to run into a technical issue or ask a question at some point. And when you do, there’s nothing worse than waiting for a response for hours or days. Make sure you’re able to get in touch with a real person if you need help anytime. It is possible to communicate with your provider via different means, such as live chat, emails, or support tickets. You can choose the most suitable option and easily reach out to your provider if you have any questions.
- Scalability – If you want your business to grow, be sure to choose an eCommerce platform that can handle it. No matter how much traffic your online store receives now, you need to prepare for the increased demand that will come as your business attracts new customers and scales. Make sure your eCommerce platform can handle high traffic before choosing one. You wouldn’t want your site to crash if you experienced a sudden surge of visitors. A cloud-based eCommerce platform, such as one offered by Sekel Tech, is the best choice, as it scales with your business and maintains maximum speed and performance.
- Security – If your eCommerce site does not provide customers with the assurance that their financial information is protected from hackers and data thieves, they will not purchase products. The platform you choose must include essential security features such as PCI compliance, SSL certificates, fraud prevention, and data backups to meet these requirements. As a result of security audits, the platform can identify potential security risks so that necessary changes can be made to protect customers.
- Analytics & Reporting – To make informed decisions at the right time, it is essential to monitor the performance of your eCommerce store. Choose an eCommerce platform that helps you track all the important things the number of sales, payment methods, order amounts, and so on. You will be able to analyze the performance of your business over time if the stats are presented in a clear and understandable format.
10 Best D2C eCommerce Platforms in 2023
1. Sekel Tech – Sekel Tech is a D2C eCommerce platform that helps Retail businesses boost in-store sales through distributed content marketing across search, social media, and mobile. Integrating the online and offline worlds seamlessly through a single software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform offers a suite of easy-to-use, rich content generation and distribution tools. Using these tools, you can enhance your brand value and maximize your marketing ROI while creating personalized online experiences.
The Sekel Tech platform also offers features that can help you sell wherever you are, from your online shop to social media, online marketplaces, and retail stores. If you want to expand your business online, you should definitely check out Sekel Tech. Best-in-class security and high-resilience infrastructure are provided. A comprehensive set of management tools, as well as multichannel integrations, are included.
Features – Content Management, Web Traffic Reporting, Geo Rankings, Reputation Management, Reporting/Analytics, Listing Management, Reviews Management, Performance Metrics, Data Security, and CRM.
2. Dukaan – Dukaan is an e-commerce platform that enables merchants without any programming experience to set up a store on their smartphones. Dukaan offers an integrated package of features and tools such as a website builder, multiple themes, payment gateway, email marketing tools, inventory management, and analytics. Dukaan allows you to manage your overall business operations, add information about your products, change the look of your eCommerce website, and much more.
Also, you can install plugins to track other aspects of your website. Despite the platform’s numerous tools, the interface remains simple, easy to understand, and intuitive. Users can avoid guessing, which is advantageous.With a simple interface and powerful features, Dukaan ticks most of your basic requirements. Among the most powerful features are QR generation for your store and products, the ability to customize and rearrange your categories, and the ability to export in bulk.
Features – Promotions Management, Mobile Access, Returns Management, Inventory Management, Data Security, CRM, and Templates.
3. Shopify – Shopify is a multinational eCommerce company that offers online retailers a wide range of services such as marketing, shipping, payments, and more. Using Shopify’s eCommerce platform, you can easily find trending products, add them to your store, and sell them right away. Shopify integrates with Oberlo for integrated dropshipping tools, and you can sell products without any limits or limitations. Shopify is therefore a great choice for dropshipping as well as eCommerce in general.
It provides a broad range of credit cards to make the payment process easier for eCommerce websites. The data stored by Shopify is safe and secure since it is PCI compliant. Stores can easily be tracked, managed, and modified using this eCommerce platform.
Features – eCommerce Management, Inventory Management, Email Marketing, Marketplace Integration, Multi-Channel Marketing and Cataloging/Categorization.
4. BigCommerce – BigCommerce is a leading SaaS (software as a service) E-commerce platform which empowers merchants of all sizes to build, innovate and grow their online businesses. With BigCommerce, merchants benefit from enterprise-grade functionality, customization, and performance.
The BigCommerce eCommerce platform allows you to explore infinite possibilities for growth, innovation, and development. Using the platform, you can define, customize, and manage your online store from anywhere. All you need is a web browser.
Features – CRM, Discount Management, eCommerce Management, Email Marketing, Inventory Management, Mobile Access, and Data Import/Export.
5. Pixpa – Pixpa is an all-in-one platform that allows creators and small businesses to create professional websites of all kinds. It empowers creators to manage their entire online presence from one place, saving time and money, whether they want to showcase their portfolios, start their businesses, set up an online store, or publish blogs.
Pixpa gives you all the tools you need to create a great website, including an online store, blog, search engine optimization manager, marketing pop-ups, and much more. Pixpa makes it easy for creators and small businesses to create online presence. The company is used by thousands of photographers, designers, creators, stores and small businesses worldwide.
Features – Content Management, Inventory Management, Landing Pages/Web Forms, Customizable Templates, Promotions Management, and Online Booking Tools.
6. Squarespace – Squarespace is an all-in-one platform for creating a beautiful online presence. Your website, online store, or portfolio will look like an expert right from the start with award-winning templates. Make the design fit your style and needs. Use powerful SEO tools to increase your search engine visibility. With in-depth analytics tools, you can discover where your website traffic comes from, what your visitors are looking for, and how they are interacting with your content or products.
Using the tools, you can streamline your work. Checkout tools are built-in to support eCommerce. Even custom domain names and SSL certificates are available. You will be able to grow safely without any hindrances if you do this. Squarespace doesn’t require you to know any coding. Try it out and see what you think. An eCommerce store can be built from scratch. Creating pleasing designs will be easy for you.
Features – Content Management, CRM, Data Import/Export, Data Security, Discount Management, Categorization/Grouping, and Audio File Management.
7. WooCommerce – WooCommerce is a Web-based open source eCommerce platform that helps users build online stores with themes, payment options, shipping options, etc. There are several critical features included in the platform, as well as a reasonable level of flexibility. Inventory management, secure payments, and shipping integration are among the features offered.
Small brands with WordPress development resources will find this open-source platform to be a great fit, as it is easy to customize. Your customers’ and your server’s communications are secured by WooCommerce’s secure payment processor.
Features – Email Marketing, Inventory Management, Promotions Management, Returns Management, Reviews Management, and SEO Management.
8. Volusion – Volusion is a web-based eCommerce solution. With Volusion, businesses can also obtain marketing and web design services as well as eCommerce software. The tool allows you to manage metadata and design SEO-friendly product pages for online shopping websites. Additionally, it allows you to expand your business to other channels.
Furthermore, Volusion provides features that help you scale your business. With powerful SEO tools, you can easily track and manage all your metadata to keep your pages, products, and categories SEO-friendly. Volusion’s interface is easy to use. Anyone can start an online store without much technical knowledge.
Features – Data Security, Inventory Management, Multi-Channel Marketing, Promotions Management, SEO Management, and Order Management.
9. Elementor – Elements is a free WordPress website builder for web professionals who want to create code-free websites. Users can create high performing, highly responsive sites using its advanced features. With its drag-and-drop interface, users can design custom, pixel-perfect websites.
Elementor offers a wider range of third-party integrations than any other platform. The plugin is itself integrated with a number of other WordPress platforms. The store can be synced with any CRM system, optimized for SEO with Yoast, and synced with a variety of other platforms via Zapier.
Features – Online Store Builder, Landing Pages/Web Forms, Drag & Drop, SEO Management, Pre-built Templates, and Data Import/Export.
10. Magento – Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform written in PHP that basically has two versions: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. Store owners can leverage the features of Magento Open Source for free and build online stores with it. If store owners need advanced features, such as Page Builder, they should consider the Magento Commerce version.
Designed for enterprises, Magento gives you complete control over your website, allowing your developer to create a unique web presence while preserving server autonomy. Among the several personalization tools provided by Magento as an Adobe product is scaling.
Features – Data Security, Discount Management, Inventory Management, Email Marketing, Barcode / Ticket Scanning and CRM.
Choosing the right eCommerce platform for a small business or a large enterprise that meets your requirements and fits your budget can be quite challenging and confusing. The purpose of this guide is to give you an insight into a list of eCommerce platforms available in the market to help you choose the best one and the cheapest one.
Take advantage of Sekel Tech’s D2C eCommerce Platform
We at Sekel Tech understand how important and overwhelming this decision can be for startups and enterprises. There are many eCommerce platforms available today. In terms of D2C eCommerce platforms, Sekel Tech is one of the most popular choices among all brands.
Many of today’s fastest-growing companies rely on the platform. Sekel Tech platform is used by top companies such as Mahindra, Nitco, Bridgestone, Aurelia, Grohe and many more. Therefore, Sekel Tech is the best eCommerce platform for selling online.
