The rise in eCommerce sales around the world is constant. In 2020, online sales exceeded 4200 billion US dollars1. This situation has propelled many businesses to focus their efforts on the development of an eCommerce activity.
To increase sales, a business must create a modern and high-performing eCommerce site. One of the most used open-source eCommerce platforms is WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin allowing you to quickly create an eCommerce website and to supply over 70 million online boutiques2 around the world.
The company must also develop an omnichannel strategy and distribute their product offer on other platforms than their eCommerce site (Marketplaces, mobile apps, social networks…). This strategy requires good control over the management of your product information: centralization, enrichment, verification and validation of data, targeted distribution to each sales channel…
To achieve this, it is imperative to use PIM (Product Information Management) software.
#Omnichannel strategy and competitiveness
It is crucial to implement an omnichannel strategy to respond to the demands of shoppers: 87% of shoppers3 expect brands to create synergies between all the different shopping channels.
In this context, companies using additional sales channels to their eCommerce sites increase the engagement of their customers towards their brand. By providing an omnichannel experience, they retain the loyalty of 89% of their customers4. This is also a means of quickly increasing sales: shoppers using several shopping channels throughout their customer journey spend an average of 10% more online5 than shoppers using only one channel.
In this context, companies using additional sales channels to their eCommerce sites increase the engagement of their customers towards their brand. By providing an omnichannel experience, they retain the loyalty of 89% of their customers. This is also a means of quickly increasing sales: shoppers using several shopping channels throughout their customer journey spend an average of 10% more online than shoppers using only one channel.
To face these challenges, businesses are increasingly developing omnichannel strategies: increasing from 20%6 to over 80%6 since 2020. Among the platforms used to develop this strategy: social networks (40%7), Amazon (16%7), other Marketplaces (22%7)…
#Omnichannel strategy and WooCommerce site: benefits and drawbacks
#WooCommerce: build a powerful eCommerce site
WooCommerce is an easy to install WordPress plugin enabling the creation of a customized eCommerce website. Working with WordPress, a company can easily access the different themes provided by the software and choose from among those compatible with WooCommerce. They can also download many different plugins and use additional features8 to optimize their eCommerce site: improved design, real-time monitoring of sales, configuration of Flash sales…
To create a well structure product catalog, WooCommerce allows the business to create as many categories and sub-categories as needed. Its numerous options9 allow for the addition of product attributes (fabrics, colors, sizes…), the creation of variable products and the implementation of up-selling (associated and/or grouped products, cross-selling…).
Day to day, WooCommerce allows you to efficiently administer your online store and simplifies your control over various elements: stocks, payment methods (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Amazon Pay…), geographical areas and delivery methods, and will calculate taxes... automatically.
For businesses wishing to deploy their eCommerce activity abroad, WooCommerce provides various alternatives10 for changing the language of your eCommerce site. As the platform's default language is English, it is necessary to manually download any translated versions from wordpress.org.
#The limitations of the platform
It is essential to implement an omnichannel strategy meaning that a business must systematically adapt their product information to the restrictions of each selling channel: structure of product information, image format, length of product description, sales pitch adapted to each target…
For companies managing many different product references on several selling channels, using WooCommerce is not enough. WooCommerce is not adapted5 to managing several thousand product references. It only guarantees the product information on its own platform.
#PIM: the solution for a profitable omnichannel strategy
PIM software greatly improves the efficiency of a business in managing the process for preparing and adapting product information upstream of eCommerce platforms.
PIM centralizes and secures all product data (marketing, logistics, technical…). Through a unique database, Product and Marketing teams can process data quickly to adapt it to each eCommerce platform. Features for controlling user rights allow for regulated input by several contributors. Depending on their user rights, each contributor can control the consistency of the information in each selling channel while a workflow system facilitates the supervision of the rate of completion of product pages before publication.
#Take it further by interfacing your WooCommerce site with Goaland
At the heart of the company's Information System (IS), the Goaland PIM simplifies the entire process for preparing information before importing it into WooCommerce.
Goaland has dedicated features and enables you to guarantee the consistency of data across all the selling channels that you use. Lookup tables enable you to present data in the format required by each eCommerce platform and its workflow system gives you full control over data before publication.
To send your data towards the different sales channels, the solution has connectors enabling it to interact with numerous eCommerce sites and Marketplaces. Among its key connectors:Amazon, Shopify, Magento, PrestaShop and of course WooCommerce.
It is essential to use a PIM to control the entire process of preparing product information upstream of your eCommerce platforms. Connected to your WooCommerce platform, Goaland enables you to implement a rock solid omnichannel strategy and to increase your sales.
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Care For! wigzo.com.
4Sharma, T. S. (2020, june 12). Key Omnichannel Retail Trends To Look For In 2020.customerthink.com.
5SALESFORCE EMEA. (2020, december 10). How an Omnichannel Strategy Benefits Businesses
and Customers. salesforce.com.
6Newman, D. N. (2020, june 23). 4 Actionable Customer Experience Statistics For 2020. forbes.com.
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Omni-Channel. kinsta.com.
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journaldunet.com.
9Ajout et gestion de produits. docs.woocommerce.com.
10KOHLER, N. K. Tips for starting an international WooCommerce store. woocommerce.com.