The online retail space is exciting because it changes quickly and very sharply. Any ecommerce entrepreneur needs to be constantly plugged in to learn all the latest trends and tools on the market.
Many online businesses are focusing on subscription sales for recurring transactions that create predictable revenue, while also offering consumers convenient products, often at a reduced rate. But deciding on a macro approach to make sales isn’t enough — your company needs to select the right underlying platform to support your online store to boost subscription sales and add security.
Read on to learn more about why your subscription-based online store needs the right ecommerce platform behind it.
Cross-Selling and Up-Selling
In a brick and mortar store, a salesperson smiles at the customer and tries to influence them towards purchasing whatever product they’re eyeing, as well as subtly making them aware about other similar products available for purchase.
In an online store there’s no person to do this, so businesses must rely on the strength of its ecommerce platform to use data to determine what products will be most appealing to consumers. Every online business prompts consumers with other items available for purchase, but the way to drive revenue is to have a better algorithm than your competitors, and a frictionless checkout experience so these prompts convert into sales. Choosing an industry leader like LimeLight can make the difference in your backend tech-stack, so your customers see the products they actually want to buy.
Anti-Fraud and Robust Security
Security in online retail is paramount, so it’s essential that your ecommerce subscription-based business is fundamentally secure, and that it’s perceived as secure. Fraudulent transactions scale up as ecommerce businesses grow, and this needs to be combated by the features found in your ecommerce platform.
This is the best way to ensure the sales you’re making are real. On average, you should see a reduction in chargebacks and representments of about 20% when you work with an industry-respected fraud solution featureset.
Beyond securing processing the transaction, it’s also essential to protect your company’s data and the sensitive PII (personally identified information) data of your customers. Only work with an ecommerce platform that meets every standard of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, like being PCI Level 1 certified.
There should also be multiple levels to ensure the fullest standard of security is offered, such as tokenization, advanced user permissions, and a sufficiently high level of authentication.
A Software Platform that Grows with Your Business Needs
Given their abstract and international nature, ecommerce platforms need to be compatible with as many third-party integrations as possible so as to be versatile and flexible for the maximum number of users.
Make sure your ecommerce platform can work seamlessly with a wide range of payment gateways as well as all the entities across the supply chain: fulfillment centers, affiliate marketing, call centers, chargebacks, anti-fraud services, order confirmation, data verification and more. Email marketing tools are also essential, so your customers never miss out on the latest information or discounts.
Online retail moves at a fast pace, and your business needs a platform that can keep up. Get the most powerful information at your fingertips and world-class security for your subscription-based online store, with the right platform.
