Ecommerce is no longer a wave of the future. As more businesses shift to the digital landscape, the need for ecommerce tools to facilitate online business activities has become increasingly crucial.
In this article, we’ll dive into the top 15 ecommerce tools every online business needs to thrive today, including tools for inventory management, customer support, store analytics, and website building.
Inventory and Warehouse Management Tools
1. Shopify
Shopify isn’t just a website builder; it’s also a robust inventory management system. Its comprehensive dashboard gives you an at-a-glance view of sales, orders, and traffic, helping you make informed business decisions. This ecommerce giant allows you to track sales and manage inventory across multiple sales channels, from your online store to social media platforms to physical locations.
2. Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is excellent for small to medium-sized businesses looking for comprehensive inventory management. With Zoho Inventory, businesses can manage orders, track inventory, and automate their stock replenishment processes.
You can track inventory in real-time across multiple channels, helping you maintain optimal stock levels. Sales orders and invoices can be seamlessly managed, eliminating paperwork. Also, Zoho Inventory integrates with several marketplaces and shipping carriers, providing a comprehensive solution to meet your ecommerce needs.
3. Hopstack
Hopstack is an all-in-one digital warehousing platform that offers ecommerce fulfillment businesses to manage, execute, and optimize their inbound, inventory storage, and outbound activities.
This AI-powered tool for ecommerce automation offers seamless integration with ecommerce marketplaces like WooCommerce and Shopify, along with hardware integration like robots, scanners, and automated guided vehicles.
The platform offers smart warehouse solutions enabling businesses to improve their warehouse management and operations with better resource allocations and faster fulfillment process.
Customer Support Ecommerce Tools
4. Zendesk
Zendesk is an industry-leading customer support platform that helps businesses improve their customer relationship management. It centralizes customer interactions across various channels—like email, chat, phone, and social media—into a single, intuitive interface.
Its powerful automation and self-service capabilities allow your team to deliver timely and accurate support, thus increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, its robust analytics give you key insights into support performance and customer behavior, enabling you to continuously optimize your customer service.
5. Intercom
Intercom is a dynamic tool for effective customer engagement. This platform stands out by offering real-time, personalized communication to your customers at different stages of their journey. You can automate targeted messages based on behavior triggers to help guide customers towards conversion.
The rich user profiles ensure your team has all the information they need to deliver highly personalized service. Intercom’s robust integrations with other tools mean you can unify your sales, marketing, and support workflows for a holistic customer engagement strategy.
6. LiveChat
LiveChat as one of the top ecommerce tools allows businesses to provide real-time help to their customers, promoting higher customer satisfaction and loyalty. It’s not just about reactive support either; LiveChat’s proactive chat invitations can engage customers at critical moments, helping to close sales or prevent cart abandonment.
Ecommerce Analytics Tools
7. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a must-have for any ecommerce business seeking actionable insights into website performance and user behavior. You can track a myriad of metrics, such as bounce rate, session duration, and traffic sources.
With the ecommerce tracking feature, you can monitor product and sales performance, understand purchase behavior, and identify bottlenecks in your sales funnel. By leveraging these insights, Google Analytics empowers you to fine-tune your marketing strategies and improve your site’s user experience to drive more conversions.
8. Kissmetrics
Kissmetrics is a powerful analytics tool that focuses on tracking customer interactions over time. It lets you monitor every step of the customer journey, helping you identify trends, discover potential issues, and understand what drives conversion and retention.
The platform’s detailed reports and analysis help you understand the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and product changes. With Kissmetrics, you can make data-backed decisions to optimize your ecommerce operations and increase customer engagement.
9. Hotjar
Hotjar is an innovative ecommerce analytics tool that focuses not just on quantitative data but also on user behavior. It offers unique features such as heatmaps, session recordings, and user surveys to deliver a holistic understanding of how customers interact with a website.
Heatmaps show where users click, move, or scroll, allowing businesses to identify problematic or engaging areas. Session recordings, on the other hand, replay actual customer journeys on the website, revealing potential obstacles or confusion points.
Ecommerce Shipping & Logistics Tools
10. ShipStation
ShipStation streamlines order fulfillment like a breeze. Its ability to integrate with multiple selling channels and carrier options allows you to manage and organize your shipping process all from one place.
Featuring real-time tracking, batch label creation, and automated rule settings, ShipStation ensures your parcels reach customers efficiently. Plus, its intuitive interface makes it easy even for beginners.
11. Shippo
Shippo simplifies your ecommerce shipping process. Its user-friendly platform lets you compare rates from various carriers, print labels, track shipments, and automate returns. You can access discounted rates from multiple carriers, helping you save costs.
Shippo’s API allows for seamless integration with your ecommerce platform, creating a unified workflow for your order fulfillment process. By streamlining your shipping operations, Shippo helps you enhance customer satisfaction and boost your bottom line.
12. EasyShip
If your ecommerce business has a global footprint, EasyShip should be your go-to. It simplifies cross-border shipping by automatically calculating taxes, duties, and cheapest shipping rates.
With integrations across 250+ couriers, it offers transparency in tracking and even supports crowdfunding and charity projects. Its robust API can easily merge with your store, offering a seamless customer checkout experience.
Ecommerce Website Builders
13. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin designed for WordPress, the world’s most popular website management system. It’s a powerful tool that allows businesses to turn their WordPress websites into fully functioning online stores.
Also, its integration with a variety of payment gateways simplifies the checkout process for customers. WooCommerce’s seamless integration with WordPress means you can enjoy the advantages of content-rich websites, such as blogging and SEO, further enhancing your ecommerce potential.
14. Wix
Wix is a powerful ecommerce platform known for its ease-of-use and robust customization options. Its drag-and-drop editor, coupled with a vast selection of designer-made templates, lets you create a visually stunning online store that reflects your brand’s unique style.
With Wix, you can manage your store’s operations—from inventory and orders to payment and shipping—directly from your site’s dashboard. The platform also offers built-in SEO tools to improve your site’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.
15. Squarespace
Known for its award-winning design aesthetics, Squarespace is a website builder that combines style with functionality. It offers beautiful, customizable templates that are responsive and work seamlessly across devices.
With Squarespace’s built-in SEO, analytics, and marketing tools, you can drive more traffic to your site, gain insights into customer behavior, and promote your products effectively.
Ecommerce Tools for Online Businesses
Choosing the right ecommerce tools can empower your online business, enhance customer experience, and ultimately drive sales.
Whether you’re a small business owner or manage a large ecommerce platform, these tools can help you optimize your operations and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.
About the Author
Atul Jakhar is the Growth & Content Manager at Hopstack working on content marketing, SEO, and growth strategy. I have 6+ years of experience in content creation, optimization, and distribution on leading sites globally.
