Shopify eCommerce Features to Engage Customers and Boost Sales

Over the past ten years, online shopping has experienced tremendous growth. Several travel restrictions put in place by countries all around the world as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic have further accelerated its expansion. It becomes essential for store owners to scale up their operations and move their company online so they may sell their goods to a larger customer base. In order to do this, businesses require a platform on which to develop and host their websites. One such Content Management System that assists consumers in effectively creating and managing online stores is Shopify, which offers a number of advantages. 

This post will give readers a thorough knowledge of Shopify and the capabilities they may utilize to create eCommerce websites. The main Shopify features and advantages will also be covered in the post, allowing readers to use it to meet their needs for their eCommerce businesses. Learn more about Shopify’s advantages by reading on. 

Introduction to Shopify 

Shopify is a platform used by businesses for launching online eCommerce stores. The platform focuses on developing, hosting, operating, and managing eCommerce websites, unlike WordPress and Blogger. Almost all small and medium-sized companies use this multichannel Content Management System.

Also read: Top 5 eCommerce platforms 

Over 175 different nations are home to Shopify’s one million plus customers. Fitbit, Penguin Books, the Hyatt Hotel Corporation, and RedBull are just a few of the top organizations in their respective industries that use Shopify to handle their eCommerce needs. Because Shopify is a cloud-based solution, there is no need to set up any website servers. Since the programme is automatically updated as new features are added, users can profit from Shopify with ease. 

It provides a wide range of solutions for marketing, sales, customer engagement, shipping, payments, and many other needs of online stores. Users can also take advantage of Shopify’s 15-day free trial period to learn more about the software. Users have access to tens of thousands of pre-built templates that may be utilized to create unique websites based on their target market. 

When using this subscription-based software to manage their businesses, consumers reportedly saw an average annual growth rate of almost 30%. Shopify enables marketing across numerous sales channels, which enables businesses to reach a bigger audience and enhance exposure and revenues. 

Scott Lake, Daniel Weinand, and Tobias Lutke launched the SaaS provider Shopify in Ottawa in 2004. Insight Partners, OMERS Ventures, and other investors helped the company raise around $122 million over the course of four fundraising rounds. Twelve businesses, including Oberlo, Handshake, Return Magic, Boultmade, and several others, have been acquired by Shopify. 

All methods and Shopify capabilities must be used to their best potential in order to increase Shopify sales. Even though Shopify has offered a number of extremely useful capabilities, the majority of stores do not utilize these features. All of these issues may be handled using Shopify services to increase sales, including abandoned carts, Facebook-Shopify integration, Shopify experts, POS, and discount coupons.

Also read: Top features you can use with your new Shopify integration 

Engage your customers and boost sales with these Shopify eCommerce features 

• Recovery of an abandoned cart 

The average online store’s cart abandonment rate is 69.23%, according to a survey by Baymard. The unpleasant scenario in which a consumer chooses and adds an item to their cart but abandons the process without making a purchase is referred to as an abandoned cart. Despite the fact that this percentage is relatively high, you have the ability to significantly boost your Shopify sales by implementing effective tactics to lower the rate of abandonment. Utilizing Shopify’s built-in capabilities is the best method for recovering from cart abandonment. 

You must look into the causes of the check-out abandonments if you want to lower the high number. First of all, occasionally shoppers become preoccupied and fail to finish their transactions. You must look into the causes of the check-out abandonments if you want to lower the high rate of abandonments. For the purposes of reminding customers about their baskets under the Shopify standard plan, your sole choice is to manually email each customer individually. You can create a triggered email that automatically reminds each consumer who abandons a basket by upgrading to the “advanced” plan or by downloading a cart abandonment app. 

Also read: Top reasons why shoppers abandon their carts

If you do it well, many of those clients will return so they can finish the checkout. 

• Calculate Shipping Costs for Each Customer Automatically 

Keeping track of delivery expenses is one of the most difficult aspects of operating an internet company. Overestimating could result in significant financial loss. If you overestimate, you run the risk of scaring off clients with expensive prices. 

‘Real-time carrier shipment’ can help you prevent this. This determines each customer’s precise delivery cost based on their location and the size and weight of the purchased item. 

• With Shopify POS, accept payments anywhere

If you intend to sell your goods in the real world as well, POS, or “Point of Sale,” is useful. Maybe at a market, a pop-up store, or a physical store. Using a card reader, which costs £59, you may accept payments in the real world with the help of the Shopify POS software. No matter where you sell, all transactions are instantly connected to your online Shopify account, ensuring that your accounts and inventory are accurate. 

Shopify POS is an app that combines digital and physical point-of-sale systems utilizing a card, enabling you to sell your goods offline, online, and while you’re on the go. This functionality was also created to make tracking every purchase simpler. You can sell to any customer, anywhere, and accept any form of payment with Shopify POS. To maintain a balanced account and inventory, the app automatically integrates any sales made while you’re on the go or in-person to your Shopify account online. 

• Facebook integration with Shopify 

Only providing high-quality goods and services will not satisfy customers that are technologically savvy. No matter how high-quality your goods and services are, buyers in the digital era desire convenience. Given that the majority of users access Facebook from their mobile devices, it follows that Facebook is where you sell your goods.  

Recreate your store on your Facebook page first. The second step is to select Facebook under Settings > Sales Channels > Add Sales Channel. With a “store” link on your Facebook profile, users looking to connect with friends and family will soon be behaving spontaneously and buying more and more of your products without having to be sent to your website. Because the Facebook store and Shopify account instantly sync, using an API enables you to manage payments and inventory in a single location. 

• Include a live chat feature on your Shopify website 

One of the greatest barriers to increasing sales is the absence of human interaction in online transactions. Offering the best possible customer experience (CX) is a tried-and-true method for increasing sales. By employing live chat sessions to gain clients’ confidence, you may increase Shopify sales. Additionally, prompt real-time responses to clients’ inquiries improve their decision-making and psychologically encourage them to purchase the chosen good or service. 

• Automatically calculate shipping costs for each customer 

Only high shipping and handling costs can prevent you from making a sale after luring a potential consumer with adverts that brought them to your website and your correctly priced goods convinced them to put them in their cart. Using “real-time carrier shipping” on Shopify will help you determine the exact shipping cost for each customer by taking into account their location as well as the size or weight of the item. Activate the “Advanced Shopify” plan first. The handling and shipment costs should then be calculated using a specific carrier, such as UPS, FedEx, and so on.

Also read: Why Shopify is the right choice for your eCommerce store 

• Construct customer profiles 

If your customers create their profile accounts prior to checking out, it will be extremely beneficial to your business. With customer profiles, you can quickly track and identify clients who buy specific items from your Shopify store repeatedly. Utilize your knowledge of them and their past purchases to better target your emails and increase Shopify sales. To view your purchase history and change whether the customer accounts section is “mandatory” or “optional,” go to Settings and then check out. 

• Allow Shopify Fulfillment Services to Perform the arduous work 

The most time-consuming part of running a company is without a doubt dealing with packaging and shipping, particularly once the large orders start coming in. You can practically get Shopify to handle the labor-intensive work here! 

By collaborating with already-established companies like Amazon or Rakuten, they will take care of storage, preparation, and delivery on your behalf. All you have to do is keep your stock in one of their fulfillment facilities. 

• Use Shopify’s dropshipping to completely get rid of your inventory 

An entirely new method of operating an internet store is drop shipping. What’s best? To get going, you don’t have to invest a lot in inventory. Following customer purchase, you place an order with a third-party supplier, who subsequently ships the purchased item to the consumer. They believe it to have originated directly from you. It simply implies you do not need to have an entire apartment or warehouse filled with inventory boxes. 

Try using one of the many dropshipping programmes, like Ordoro, to configure this in Shopify. They’ll assist you in working with a supplier and managing everything centrally.   

• Track Everything with Shopify Analytics and Reports 

Analytics are crucial for determining how well your online store is doing. How many people visit your shop? Where are they coming from? How long are they staying? What website sent them there, too? 

To obtain detailed charts on your sales, traffic, and cart analytics, go to the “reports” area. 

I also advise incorporating Google Analytics into your Shopify store. To accomplish this, paste your Google Analytics code into the corresponding section on your Shopify dashboard. 

• With Shopify Analytics and Reports, keep an eye on everything

Analytics are essential for assessing the performance of your online store. How many customers come to your store? From where do they originate? How long will they be there? Whose website directed them there as well? Visit the “reports” section to get full charts on your sales, traffic, and cart analytics. 

Google Analytics should also be added to your Shopify store, in my opinion. Put your Google Analytics code in the correct area on your Shopify dashboard to achieve this. You can turbocharge your Shopify store with these built-in tools to bring in more revenue and clients. You can lessen the hassle behind the scenes at the same time. 

Bottom Line  

The above were some of the best ecommerce features that Shopify offers to help you boost your sales and keep your audience engaged. While most of these services are provided by Shopify without charge, there are some that are fee-based, but are relatively modest. If you want to construct a store, Shopify is your best choice, especially if you lack confidence in your technical knowledge. 

If you are clear about what you want, you can create a website and get it up and operating in a few days. To ensure that your needs are met, be sure to plan ahead and get in touch with a Shopify development business.  

With the SaaS model of e-commerce, Shopify Plus merchants get all the benefits of a hosted platform. Large merchants and businesses now have all the tools and space to expand thanks to Shopify’s introduction of a fully scalable platform.