All articles

Top 8 Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) Providers Worldwide

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) payment methods have become a global trend, making it easier for consumers to shop without paying the full amount upfront. Below are some of the most famous BNPL providers worldwide.

1. Afterpay

Afterpay is one of the most popular BNPL services globally, especially in Australia, the US, and the UK. Founded in 2014 in Australia, Afterpay quickly expanded to many other markets and became a well-known name in the BNPL industry.

How it works: Afterpay allows consumers to split their payments into four interest-free installments over two weeks. No credit checks are required, and it is easily integrated into many eCommerce websites.

Benefits:

Interest-free: No interest for short-term payments.
Easy to use: Simple and quick registration process.
Wide integration: Accepted at many stores and eCommerce sites.

Drawbacks:

Late fees: Late fees can be high if payments are not made on time.
Overspending: Consumers can easily overspend if they do not manage their finances well.

2. Klarna

Klarna is a Swedish fintech company providing BNPL services in many European countries and the US. With over 90 million users worldwide, Klarna is one of the largest BNPL providers.

How it works: Klarna offers various payment options, including paying in 30 days, splitting payments into four interest-free installments, or long-term financing with interest.

Benefits:

Flexible payment options: Customers have various flexible options.
Interest-free short-term: Helps save costs for consumers.
Buyer protection policies: Protects customers in online transactions.

Drawbacks:

High interest for the long-term: Can cause financial pressure for consumers.
Late fees: Fees can be high if payments are not made on time.

3. Affirm

Affirm is a BNPL service from the US, founded by Max Levchin, one of the co-founders of PayPal. Affirm allows consumers in the US and Canada to shop and pay in flexible installments.

How it works: Affirm offers loans with payment terms from 3 to 36 months with clear interest rates from 0% to 30%, depending on the consumer’s credit.

Benefits:

Clear interest rates: No hidden fees, clear interest rates.
Flexible terms: Suitable for various financial needs.
No hidden fees: Transparent and clear fees.

Drawbacks:

High interest rates: For those with poor credit, interest rates can be very high.
Credit impact: Late payments can affect the consumer’s credit score.

4. Zip (formerly Quadpay)

Zip is a BNPL service based in Australia, operating in several countries including the US, the UK, and New Zealand. Zip offers flexible payment solutions for consumers.

How it works: Zip allows consumers to split payments into four interest-free installments every two weeks or choose longer-term financing with interest.

Benefits:

Interest-free short-term: Helps save costs for consumers.
Easy to use: Simple registration and usage process.
Wide integration: Accepted at many stores and e-commerce sites.

Drawbacks:

Late fees: Late fees can be high if payments are not made on time.
Interest for long-term: Can increase the total purchase cost.

5. Sezzle

Sezzle is a BNPL service from the US, primarily operating in North America. Sezzle focuses on providing flexible payment solutions for young consumers.

How it works: Sezzle allows consumers to split payments into four interest-free installments over six weeks. No credit checks are required during registration.

Benefits:

Interest-free: No interest for short-term payments.
Easy to use: Simple and quick registration process.
No credit checks: Easily accessible service.

Drawbacks:

Late fees: Late fees can be high if payments are not made on time.
Geographical limitations: Only operates in North America.

6. Splitit

Splitit is another BNPL service from the US, with a different approach compared to traditional services. Splitit uses the available credit limit on consumers’ credit cards to split payments.

How it works: Splitit allows consumers to split payments into interest-free installments by holding the credit limit on their credit cards.

Benefits:

Interest-free: No interest for short-term payments.
No late fees: Consumers do not incur late fees.
No credit checks: Easily accessible service.

Drawbacks:

Credit limit dependency: Consumers need a sufficient credit limit on their credit cards.
Limited flexibility: Not suitable for those without credit cards.

7. Perpay

Perpay is a BNPL service from the US, focusing on helping consumers purchase everyday products and pay in installments through direct payroll deductions.

How it works: Consumers can shop on the Perpay platform and pay monthly installments through direct payroll deductions.

Benefits:

Interest-free: No interest for short-term payments.
Easy management: Simple registration and easy installment management.
Suitable for daily needs: Meets frequent consumer needs.

Drawbacks:

Income dependency: If income is unstable, it can be difficult to pay installments.
Monthly income impact: Can affect disposable income.

8. Openpay

Openpay is a BNPL service from Australia, offering flexible payment plans for consumers and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

How it works: Openpay allows consumers to split payments into flexible installments ranging from 2 to 24 months.

Benefits:

Flexible terms: Suitable for various financial needs.
Interest-free short-term: Helps save costs for consumers.
Suitable for large transactions: Ideal for high-value purchases.

Drawbacks:

Interest for long-term: Can increase the total purchase cost.
Late fees: Late fees can be high if payments are not made on time.

FINAL WORDS

The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services have revolutionized how consumers shop globally, providing significant flexibility and convenience. Providers such as Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm, Zip, Sezzle, Splitit, Perpay, and Openpay have developed diverse financial solutions, meeting the needs of both consumers and businesses. Each service has its own advantages; however, using BNPL also comes with challenges such as late fees, the risk of overspending, and the impact on credit scores if not managed well.

To maximize the benefits of BNPL, consumers need to manage their finances carefully and choose the service that fits their needs and capabilities. Meanwhile, businesses should continue to work closely with BNPL providers to offer the best shopping experience for customers while fully exploiting the potential of this payment method.

3,826

23/07/2024

15 Brands Adopt International Expansion With Shopify Plus Part 1

In today’s global economy, international expansion is essential for e-commerce brands seeking revenue growth and global recognition. However, navigating new markets presents challenges such as logistics, regulations, and cultural differences.

Shopify Plus offers a robust platform designed to help high-growth businesses expand seamlessly. With features for localization, multi-currency transactions, and international shipping, it simplifies cross-border commerce.

In this three-part series, we’ll explore how 15 brands have successfully expanded internationally using Shopify Plus. In Part 1, we’ll dive into the success stories of Saturday Club, Who Give a Crap, Tineco, SodaStream, and Ruggable, examining their strategies, challenges, and the results of their global ventures.

Ruggable

Ruggable is known as a brand that specializes in producing and supplying high-quality rugs with a wide variety of designs, sizes, and materials. During the social distancing period due to Covid-19, the increased demand for home decoration and renovation helped Ruggable achieve remarkable growth, laying the foundation for its goal of expanding into international markets.

With Shopify Plus, Ruggable implemented a Headless store to flexibly customize the interface and features, providing customers with a seamless shopping experience. The Headless implementation also helped Ruggable customize their expanding store. The company has expanded into Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States. Shopify Markets made it much easier for Ruggable to convert currencies and update product prices when launching in new markets. Ruggable didn’t have to worry about issues like manual pricing or tracking currency conversions over time. Shopify Plus handled everything for Ruggable.

Website: https://ruggable.com/

Industry: Home and Garden

Traffic: 15.49M/month

Rank: #2,252 (USA) & #11,656 (Global)

Tineco

Since its establishment in 2002, Tineco has continuously researched and improved to provide customers with high-end vacuum cleaners and mops, enhancing the quality of life and saving time. Believing that offering customers an experience beyond expectations is the key to success, Tineco aims to target international markets. Initially, Tineco used Shopify to quickly build a functional eCommerce website as an independent sales channel. However, Tineco wanted to drive overseas growth by creating highly customizable stores without adding operational burdens like switching between different pages of the website.

Tineco upgraded to Shopify Plus to accelerate its international expansion. With the growth of the European market, Tineco utilized Shopify Plus’s expansion store feature to create additional stores across the continent. Tineco also used checkout extensibility to customize checkout pages, integrating apps like Smile: Loyalty & Rewards to add point reminders, encouraging repeat business, and offering buy-now-pay-later options to support conversions of high-order-value products.

Website: https://store.tineco.com/

Industry: Consumer Electronics

Traffic: 2.688M/month

Rank: #33,866 (USA) & #62,833 (Global)

SodaStream

Founded in 1903, SodaStream is an environmentally friendly brand that transforms tap water into carbonated beverages for consumers. Initially, some solutions and features of SodaStream’s website were based on Adobe Commerce, while others relied on local systems. The lack of uniformity in its e-commerce operations led to inefficiencies and hindered SodaStream’s ability to scale. This prompted the business to transition to the Shopify Plus platform. The flexibility of Shopify Plus allowed SodaStream to easily customize its expansion stores to meet the specific needs and preferences of customers in different regions. Additionally, Shopify Plus facilitated rapid deployment of new websites as SodaStream entered new markets, synchronizing online store launches with retail stores to create a seamless customer experience. As a result, SodaStream’s revenue increased by 20%, effectively managed data for 9 million users, and expanded globally to 16 websites across 15 countries within four years.

Website: https://sodastream.com/

Industry: FnB

Traffic: 2.496M/month

Rank: #12,360 (USA) & #56,939 (Global)

Who Give a Crap

Who Gives a Crap is a brand specializing in manufacturing and supplying high-quality toilet paper with attractive designs. Initially, the brand adopted a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model and used the Shopify platform. However, as the brand aimed to transition to the next growth phase with a primary goal of international expansion, Who Gives a Crap needed more robust eCommerce capabilities. Additionally, the company targeted implementing a business-to-business (B2B) model for growth. However, with mostly manual B2B ordering processes, each new wholesale transaction meant additional time spent on administrative tasks like inventory reconciliation, making B2B scaling challenging.

Soon after, Who Gives a Crap upgraded to Shopify Plus to leverage the expansion store feature and swiftly set up three separate custom online stores for target markets in the US, UK, and Europe. The company also used the expansion store feature to launch B2B stores. By using B2B on Shopify, Who Gives a Crap enabled creating custom pricing for each wholesale customer, self-service ordering, and automated order fulfillment processes. This toilet paper brand also utilized Shopify Flow to create and customize automation workflows to optimize operations integrating both D2C and B2B.

Website: whogivesacrap.org

Industry: Groceries

Traffic: 2.247M/month

Rank: #5,310 (UK) & #66,212 (Global)

Saturday Club

Saturday Club is a renowned fashion retailer based in Singapore, dedicated to providing customers with high-quality products and an engaging shopping experience. Starting as a B2B brand, Saturday Club has evolved over two decades to establish a large retail business with an extensive online presence spanning countries such as Malaysia, Japan, the USA, the UK, and Australia.

Saturday Club expanded its online operations to several other countries using the Adobe Commerce eCommerce platform and deployed PrestaShop in some markets. However, each country launch typically took over a month and incurred high costs, sometimes exceeding SGD 10,000 for markets served by the Adobe Commerce platform. Additionally, troubleshooting, complexities arising from integrations and backups, and data migration consumed significant time and budget for Saturday Club.

After transitioning to Shopify Plus, Saturday Club utilized the expansion store feature to scale up to 4 international stores and checkout extensibility to easily implement third-party payment gateway solutions, offering customers in different international markets more purchasing options. As a result, Saturday Club launched 9 international stores within 6 months, increased its global customer base by 5%, and achieved a 38% year-over-year revenue growth in Malaysia during the Chinese New Year 2024.

Website: https://sg.saturdayclub.com/

Industry: Fashion

Traffic: 435,965/month

Rank: #2,578 (Singapore) & #233,691 (Global)

Final Words

Expanding internationally is a significant milestone for any e-commerce brand, and as we’ve seen, Shopify Plus is a powerful ally in this journey. The success stories of Saturday Club, Who Give a Crap, Tineco, SodaStream, and Ruggable highlight how leveraging the right tools and strategies can overcome the complexities of entering new markets.

As we conclude Part 1 of this series, it’s clear that the potential for global e-commerce is immense. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or an established brand, the experiences of these companies provide valuable insights and inspiration. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we’ll continue to explore more brands thriving globally with the help of Shopify Plus.

2,575

03/07/2024

Top 14+ Brands Migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify Plus Pt1

WooCommerce is known as the ‘golden standard’ for many eCommerce businesses. With its intuitive, user-friendly interface and free usage, WooCommerce enables businesses to start operating immediately.

However, its limitations in customization, scalability, and performance, along with the need for ongoing maintenance, have driven many brands to look for better solutions beyond the “WooCommerce world.” Shopify Plus has become a popular choice for those seeking to optimize their platform transition.

Let’s delve into why the five brands below chose to migrate their e-commerce websites from WooCommerce to Shopify Plus and how this decision has boosted their conversion rates and sales.

1. Woobles

The Woobles is a prominent brand specializing in crochet kits for beginners, with a mission to bring joy and creativity through learning to crochet. Founded with the goal of making it easy for people to access and experience the art of crochet, The Woobles provides complete kits and detailed instructions, enabling users to create adorable products within just a few hours of learning.

After a period of selling on Etsy, the company decided to build its own eCommerce website. Initially, they chose WooCommerce and took only a few weeks to set up the site. However, as The Woobles’ brand grew more popular and website traffic increased, the page loading speed became inefficient. They realized that the money saved on platform fees was far outweighed by the costs of fixing technical issues and maintaining the system.

Switching from the WooCommerce platform to Shopify Plus allowed The Woobles to optimize their investment and leverage the application ecosystem and solutions offered by Shopify and third parties. Shopify’s robust infrastructure helped The Woobles provide customers with a customized shopping experience and handle surges in traffic. Notably, The Woobles’ Shopify Plus website can maintain an uptime of up to 99.99%.

Website: https://thewoobles.com/

Industry: Toys and Gifts

Traffic: 4.997M/month

Rank: #6,216 (USA) & #31,974 (Global)

2. Wilding

Wilding is a prominent shoe brand that specializes in providing comfortable and stylish footwear for consumers. In 2018, Wilding experienced remarkable growth. However, despite a fairly high repeat customer rate, the conversion rate for new customers did not meet expectations.

With a multi-channel sales strategy, Wilding decided to transition from WooCommerce to the Shopify Plus platform to rebuild its eCommerce system. Additionally, the brand opened several showrooms in various locations across Germany and implemented the Shopify POS solution. This allows customers to try on shoes before deciding to purchase either in-store or through the website. The Shopify POS system integrates sales channels and links transactions, enabling Wilding to manage inventory, orders, and track customer behavior more easily and efficiently.

Website: wildling.shoes

Industry: Fashion

Traffic: 1.783M/month

Rank: #4,971 (Germany) & #80,383 (Global)

3. Sunology

Since its founding in 2019, Sunology has gradually established itself as one of Europe’s leading solar equipment providers. After a long period of eCommerce implementation with WooCommerce, Sunology decided to switch to Shopify Plus to seek better customization and scalability solutions to achieve its growth and global expansion goals.

Using Shopify Script allows the company to manage custom material allocations for each solar device. This way, customers can design solar power stations tailored to their specific needs. In addition to streamlining and optimizing Sunology’s management processes, Script also optimizes checkout to provide a more appealing shopping experience for customers.

Sunology also leverages the Shopify Markets tool to quickly set up and efficiently manage multiple stores from a single dashboard. This application makes it easy to translate store content from one language to another, significantly supporting Sunology’s international expansion ambitions.

Website: https://sunology.eu/

Industry: Home & Garden

Traffic: 583,349/month

Rank: #12,355 (France) & #353,837 (Global)

4. T1TAN

T1TAN is a brand specializing in the production and supply of high-quality sports equipment and accessories, particularly in the field of football. T1TAN’s flagship product is goalkeeper gloves, renowned for their durability, comfort, and superior protection. These gloves are developed to meet the most stringent standards.

With their WooCommerce system, T1TAN experienced a website crash during a sale of limited edition products at discounted prices. The T1TAN team realized they needed a more robust and flexible eCommerce platform. Since switching to Shopify Plus, T1TAN has handled multiple major shopping events with surges in traffic and transactions without any website crashes. This platform change has resulted in a 25% increase in conversion rates, zero downtime, and expansion into six additional markets across Europe.

Website: https://uk.t1tan.com/

Industry: Sport

Traffic: 492,054/month

Rank: #621,737 (USA) & #241,413 (Global)

5. RUDIS

RUDIS is a renowned brand specializing in products and equipment for wrestling, with a mission to support and enhance the performance of athletes at all levels. RUDIS products are designed using advanced technology and premium materials, ensuring durability, comfort, and high performance.

As their eCommerce business grew rapidly, RUDIS struggled to scale their existing WooCommerce system, making a platform switch the only viable solution. RUDIS chose Shopify Plus. After launching the new website, the RUDIS team quickly integrated ERP NetSuite and third-party systems to optimize sales, shipping, and payment processes. With Shopify Plus, RUDIS achieved unprecedented growth, including:

An 80% increase in revenue
A 70% increase in the number of orders
A 27% increase in conversion rate

Website: https://www.rudis.com/

Industry: Sport

Traffic: 395,166/month

Rank: #42,519 (USA) & #252,797 (Global)

Final Words

Here are five brands that have witnessed a remarkable change in sales by re-platforming from WooCommerce to Shopify Plus. An important point to note is that while WooCommerce is free and easy to use, complex customizations can be costly and sometimes impractical due to limitations in WordPress and WooCommerce infrastructure. Additionally, businesses may face performance and website speed issues, leading to higher costs for system repairs and maintenance.

On the other hand, Shopify Plus provides businesses with flexible customization options at a more optimal cost, and maintenance and updates are streamlined following Shopify’s standards.

Need more help? Contact SECOMM today!

2,674

17/06/2024

Top 8 Best Cosmetics eCommerce Websites in Singapore

Top 8 Most-Visited Cosmetics eCommerce Websites in Singapore

The cosmetics eCommerce industry in Singapore is witnessing explosive growth and continuous innovation, becoming one of the most promising and dynamic markets in the Southeast Asia region. With the increasing demand for beauty and personal care products from consumers, coupled with support from advanced technology and digital infrastructure, online cosmetics businesses in Singapore have been seizing opportunities to expand market share and enhance customer experiences.

Below are cosmetics 8 eCommerce websites trusted by Singaporean consumers for shopping.

1. Watsons Singapore

eCommerce website: Watson Singapore

The cosmetics and healthcare retail chain Watsons has gained fame across Asia, and Singapore is no exception. As a member of the A.S. Watson Group, Watsons has solidified its position with thousands of stores worldwide and a robust eCommerce website.

Watsons Singapore is renowned for its extensive product portfolio, ranging from cosmetics and skincare to haircare and healthcare products. The eCommerce website of Watsons Singapore is built on the SAP Commerce Cloud platform, providing customers with a smooth and diverse shopping experience. Search, product filtering, and cart features are optimized and customized, while encouraging customers to create accounts to enjoy exclusive benefits. This helps track and measure customer behavior on the website, leading to the most effective sales and marketing strategies.

Website: watsons.com.sg
Platform: SAP Commerce Cloud
Traffic: 1.852M/month
Ranking: #322 (Singapore) & #69,750 (Global)

2. Guardian Singapore

eCommerce website: Guardian Singapore

Guardian is a retail chain specializing in healthcare, cosmetics, and other consumer products. Guardian has a presence in many countries and regions worldwide, including Singapore, offering a range of products from renowned and reliable brands.

The eCommerce website of Guardian is built on the SAP Commerce Cloud platform, providing many useful features for users. Customers can easily search for and purchase products, manage their shopping carts, and make convenient payments. Additionally, the website offers promotions and online support services to help customers have a comfortable and secure online shopping experience. Furthermore, customers can also review and provide feedback on products, providing useful information for other users.

Website: https://guardian.com.sg/
Platform: SAP Commerce Cloud
Traffic: 1.349M/month
Ranking: #676 (Singapore) & #126,366 (Global)

3. Sephora Singapore

eCommerce website: Sephora Singapore

Similar to Guardian, Sephora is a global retail chain specializing in cosmetics and beauty, known for offering a variety of beauty products from leading brands worldwide. Currently, Sephora has a presence in the Singapore market with physical stores in major shopping centers and an eCommerce system, including a website and app for customers. Sephora is loved for its product diversity, customer care services, and innovation in the online cosmetics shopping experience.

Sephora’s eCommerce system in Singapore is built on Vue.js and Nuxt.js programming languages. With this system, Sephora’s customers can quickly search for and explore products through smart search bars and diverse filters. The online shopping experience is optimized with detailed product information, crisp images, and customer reviews.

The Sephora app is also highly regarded, making shopping easier for customers with features like “Virtual Artist” and receiving notifications about promotions. Overall, Sephora provides a range of features and services to meet customers’ cosmetics shopping needs, creating a professional and convenient online shopping experience.

Website: https://www.sephora.sg/
Programming language: Vue.js, Nuxt.js
Traffic: 1.287M/month
Ranking: #605 (Singapore) & #93,279 (Global)

4. Venus Beauty

eCommerce website: Venus Beauty

Venus Beauty is one of the retail chains for cosmetics and personal care present in most shopping centers across Singapore, beloved for its product diversity and quality. Since its establishment in 2002, Venus Beauty has continuously grown and expanded, becoming a familiar destination for many local consumers.

The eCommerce website of Venus Beauty is built and developed on the Magento platform, with superior customization and scalability. Customers can easily search for and purchase products thanks to the intuitive and user-friendly website interface. Venus Beauty also regularly offers attractive promotional programs to attract customers to shop more on the website and app.

Website: venusbeauty.com.sg
Platform: Magento Open Source
Traffic: 325,090/month
Ranking: #2,211 (Singapore) & #321,368 (Global)

5. LanCôme Singapore

eCommerce website: LanCôme

Lancôme Singapore is the branch of the renowned cosmetics brand Lancôme, part of the globally famous L’Oréal Group. Lancôme is known for its high-quality skincare products, makeup, and fragrances, always endorsed by beauty experts and celebrities. In Singapore, Lancôme not only offers premium products suitable for various skin types but also provides optimal online shopping experiences for customers.

The Lancôme website is developed on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud infrastructure with a user-friendly interface, allowing customers to browse, search, view products, and make purchases easily and quickly. The website also integrates AR technology to provide a “Virtual Try-On” experience, allowing customers to try on lipsticks, eyeshadows, and other products realistically before making purchasing decisions.

Website: lancome.com.sg
Platform: Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Traffic: 170,443/month
Ranking: #7,671 (Singapore) & #1,007,547 (Global)

6. Cocomo Singapore

eCommerce website: Cocomo Singapore

Cocomo is an eCommerce website specializing in beauty and personal care products from Korean brands. Cocomo boasts a rich product portfolio, including cosmetics, skincare products, haircare, and various other beauty items, catering to all customer beauty needs.

The Shopify website of Cocomo Singapore is designed with a clear, intuitive interface, making it easy for users to search for and select products. Product categories are organized logically, along with efficient search tools, making shopping quick and convenient. Cocomo frequently offers promotions, discounts, and special deals, helping customers save money. These promotional offers are regularly updated and can be easily found on the homepage or product category pages.

Website: https://www.cocomo.sg/
Platform: Shopify
Traffic: 138,532/month
Ranking: #13,831 (Singapore) & #1,356,641 (Global)

7. Paula’s Choice

eCommerce website: Paula's Choice Singapore

In Singapore, the skincare brand Paula’s Choice is just as renowned as in other markets. Founded by skincare expert Paula Begoun, the brand is famous for its science-backed skincare products, known to be safe and effective, free from harmful ingredients like fragrances or dyes.

Paula’s Choice eCommerce website is built on Shopify Plus. The website offers a range of skincare products, including cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, sunscreens, and specialized treatments like BHA, AHA, and retinol. These products cater to all skin types, from oily, dry, sensitive, acne-prone to aging skin. Each product on the website comes with detailed descriptions of ingredients, usage instructions, benefits, and supporting scientific research.

Paula’s Choice Singapore regularly runs discount programs, bundled gifts, and special offers for customers. Additionally, customers can easily access support from the customer service team via hotline, email, or live chat.

Website: https://paulaschoice.sg/
Platform: Shopify Plus
Traffic: 132,171/month
Ranking: #7,064 (Singapore) & #839,402 (Global)

8. Hush Singapore

eCommerce website: Hush Singapore

Hush is a familiar destination for Singaporean consumers when they need to shop for cosmetics online. This retail giant specializes in providing beauty and personal care products from various leading brands worldwide such as Laneige, Aveeno, Bioderma, CeraVe, and more.

The Hush website is designed to be simple, modern, and user-friendly. Customers can easily search and browse through products thanks to clear categories and efficient search tools. Additionally, customers can make payments by registering an account or as a guest. Hush also offers fast and free delivery services, allowing customers to track their orders and estimated delivery times.

Website: https://hush.sg/
Programming language: Ruby
Traffic: 77,937/month
Ranking: #10,733 (Singapore) & #1,548,638 (Global)

Lời kết

In summary, the cosmetics eCommerce industry in Singapore has seen significant growth over the years with the presence of many reputable and well-known names. From international brands like Watsons, Lancôme, and Paula’s Choice to local eCommerce platforms like Cocomo and Hush, consumers have countless options to search for and purchase high-quality beauty and personal care products. Each website offers unique and convenient shopping experiences, catering to the increasingly diverse needs of customers.

Hopefully, the list above will help motivate many other beauty businesses to confidently build their own eCommerce websites.

Need more in-depth advice? Contact SECOMM today!

2,273

14/06/2024

5 Steps For Choosing The Right B2B eCommerce Platform

B2B eCommerce represents a vast opportunity, often likened to a sizable cake sliced evenly for every business. Bobby Morrison, Shopify’s Chief Revenue Officer, echoes this sentiment, suggesting that this business model will be a significant opportunity for enterprises of all sizes in 2024 and beyond.

Selecting the appropriate B2B eCommerce platform is pivotal for success, yet with the multitude of options available, it’s not always a straightforward decision. Let’s delve into the key considerations when choosing a B2B eCommerce platform and explore the essential steps to ensure that the chosen platform aligns best with the business’s needs.

1. Key Considerations for Choosing the Best B2B eCommerce Platform

When confronted with various B2B eCommerce platforms, making an accurate decision requires careful consideration of the following important factors:

1.1 SaaS vs Open Source

These are the two most common deployment models when it comes to eCommerce in general and B2B eCommerce in particular. B2B eCommerce SaaS platforms are services provided over the internet and run on the service provider’s cloud infrastructure. Some familiar service providers are Shopify and BigCommerce. Data is stored on the service provider’s servers, and they will directly manage it. This ensures high flexibility, low initial costs, and easy scalability, but businesses will face some limitations regarding customization and data control.

On the other hand, Open Source platforms like Magento or OpenCart are publicly available source code, and developers can modify them. This allows for optimized control and freedom to customize as needed. However, managing open-source code also requires high technical knowledge and may pose some security risks.

1.2 Integration with existing system

Choosing a B2B eCommerce platform capable of seamless integration with existing systems will optimize business operations and create a better experience for both the enterprise and its customers. Several aspects need to be considered when evaluating integration capabilities:

Data integration: The B2B platform needs to have the ability to integrate data with ERP systems, CRM, payment systems, and other applications effortlessly. This ensures that information about orders, customers, and products is seamlessly shared across systems.
Workflow processes: The new platform should integrate well with existing workflow processes in the enterprise, including order placement, order processing, and customer service. This helps ensure that no disruptions occur in the business process.
APIs and external integrations: A platform that offers robust APIs will allow the business to integrate third-party tools and services into its system to extend capabilities and flexibility.

1.3 Scalability

The scalability of a B2B eCommerce platform is extremely important to ensure that a business can grow flexibly and efficiently. The platform needs to be able to handle large volumes of traffic, manage data effectively, integrate with expandable services, and be flexible in customization and adjustments. This helps businesses optimize costs and enhance productivity, while also preparing for future growth.

1.4 Customer service and technical support

This is an essential component of any B2B eCommerce platform. It ensures that the business has the necessary resources and support to address technical issues and challenges, as well as to ensure that customers are best supported. Services need to provide quick, quality responses, offer diverse communication channels, detailed support documentation, and continuous training to ensure an optimal experience for all parties involved.

1.5 Security and Compliance

Protecting the vital information of customers and businesses is extremely crucial, especially in the eCommerce industry where sensitive data such as payment information and personal details are exchanged regularly. B2B platforms must adhere to safety standards like GDPR or PCI DSS. Safeguarding server infrastructure and networks is essential to ensure system security against attacks like DDoS, for instance.

2. 5 steps to Choose the Best B2B eCommerce Platform

Once you have a clear understanding of the important factors to consider when choosing a B2B eCommerce platform, the next step is to identify specific steps to select the platform that best suits the needs and business objectives of the enterprise. Here are some basic steps that may be helpful in this process:

Step 1: Partner with a trusted development agency

Starting by partnering with a reputable and experienced development partner in the eCommerce field can make the deployment process smoother. Developers like SECOMM have professional teams with experience deploying various B2B platforms, enabling them to advise and propose the most suitable solutions for specific business needs. Deep understanding of technical aspects and business processes ensures that the deployment project runs smoothly and achieves desired results.

Step 2: Identify business goals

This is a crucial step where the business and development partner need to clearly define short-term and long-term business goals, determine whether to integrate B2C and B2B sales within the same system, and establish criteria for selecting a platform. Additionally, listing the features to be implemented in the B2B eCommerce system is essential for quickly finding a platform that meets the business requirements.

Step 3: Identify budget

The business needs to make decisions considering both budget and timeline to complete the project.

Regarding budget, implementing a B2B eCommerce project will involve various related costs, so when choosing, the business needs to consider whether the platform’s price will affect the overall budget. In particular, the deployment costs of SaaS and Open Source platforms differ significantly and will also impact the business’s decision.

Next, the business needs to determine the desired go-live time – the moment when the B2B eCommerce website goes live. This will depend on the complexity of the project and the business’s chosen platform model. While typical projects deployed on SaaS take about 3 to 4 months to go live, with Open Source, it takes around 6 months to 1 year.

Step 4: Research and compare

This step requires a thorough research process on the available B2B eCommerce platforms in the market and conducting comparisons based on specific criteria such as price, features, performance, security, scalability, and customization, as well as user feedback. Businesses can collaborate with development partners to carry out this process. By conducting careful research and comparisons, businesses gain a comprehensive picture and deep understanding of each option to make the most appropriate decision.

Step 5: Select the platform and plan to deploy

Based on the results of the research and comparison process, the business proceeds to select the platform that best fits its needs and business objectives. Next, the business and its partner need to develop a detailed plan for the deployment process with that platform, including specific deployment steps for each phase in the short and long term, as well as the resources and estimated time for each phase.

3. Final Words

Above are the specific 5-step process and factors to consider for businesses to select the B2B eCommerce platform that best aligns with their goals. Throughout the research and platform selection process, the development partner plays a role as a reliable companion, providing necessary suggestions and support in the platform selection and deployment planning process.

Need advice on choosing your right platform? Contact SECOMM today!

1,410

23/05/2024

Clutch Acknowledges SECOMM as a Top 2022 E-Commerce Developer in Vietnam

CLUTCH ACKNOWLEDGES SECOMM AS A TOP 2022 ECOMMERCE DEVELOPERS IN VIETNAM

SECOMM is a trusted provider of full-service ecommerce solutions. Founded in 2014, we’ve been helping growing brands, and renowned companies get a steady foothold in the ecommerce space.

We enable our partners to overcome any challenges brought by the evolving digital age through expertise and innovation.

Today, we’re honored to announce that we’re among the top B2B companies on Clutch in Vietnam. The ratings and reviews platform’s 2022 research states that we’re one of the leading ecommerce development companies in Vietnam this year.

Clutch Acknowledges SECOMM as a Top 2022 Ecommerce Developer in Vietnam

For context, Clutch is a B2B ratings and reviews platform committed to helping small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses connect with capable service providers. Clutch serves as a valuable resource to businesses when it comes to market research. The platform guarantees unbiased information by interviewing clients of registered vendors directly.

Take a look at some of the 5-star ratings we’ve recently acquired:

“The professionalism of the company is second to none! They are extremely responsive, and their communication is concise and informative.”

— Rick Thurlow, Senior Business Manager, Jasnor (Australia)

Jasnor-Clutch Acknowledges SECOMM as a Top 2022 E-Commerce Developer in Vietnam — “They are extremely responsive, and their communication is concise and informative.” – Senior Business Manager, Jasnor (Australia)

“I think the best thing about working with SECOMM is how quickly they can respond to a change you would like them to implement or to fix an error that you identify.

Even when it came to us changing things on this project that weren’t in the original scope, they would talk that change through with us to identify the best way of handling it, and then implement that change in a timely manner.”

— Stuart Duff, Founder & CEO, Laybyland Pty Ltd

Laybyland-Clutch Acknowledges SECOMM as a Top 2022 E-Commerce Developer in Vietnam — “Any concerns that we raised throughout the journey were addressed in a timely manner.”-Founder & CEO, Laybyland Pty Ltd

We would like to thank our partners who took the time and effort to write their descriptive, helpful feedback about our work. Don’t forget to check out the full case studies on our Clutch profile.

For inquiries about our full-service ecommerce development, please get in touch with us today!

8,178

24/09/2022

SECOMM workshop – TECH TALK 2020

The very first workshop of the TECH TALK 2020 has officially kicked off with the GENERAL UNDERSTANDING presentation of the Magento platform.

Ivy Phan (Project Manager at SECOMM) is the speaker of that general talk. Beginning with a brief introduction, Magento truly drew the whole team to a lively discussion. This Q&A time lasted throughout the host performance for over 3 hours of Saturday morning then became eventually interesting, with questions from both dev and non-dev members.

About TECH TALK 2020 – Magento Understanding

The first workshop of TECH TALK 2020, in other words, had a great sharing time making the team connect closely. Thus, Secommers not only have time together but also got new Magento knowledge. Thanks to the framework of Ms. Ivy, the team had the opportunity to share those foundation topics:

Magento platform in brief
Store hierarchy and configuration scope allow users to install multiple websites with multiple stores and store views.
Introduce basic configurations in practice with the content menu and email setting.

Magento in brief — The Q&A time has effective sharing vibe

2,791

16/08/2021

SECOMM COMPANY TRIP 2019 – PHU YEN

In the ending stage of all projects, SECOMM do appreciate our Secommers with their every single contribution. 2019 has officially ended in the vibes of “WORK HARD, PLAY HARDER”, also finished with a memorable trip to Phu Yen.

SECOMM Day 1

Said hello to Phu Yen at 7:30 a.m; we had gorgeous moments to enjoy the crisp, fresh air at the railway station, then followed the way leading to Mang Lang Church. The church stayed about 30km far from Tuy Hoa City to the north, was a Roman catholic construction built-in 1892 with two bells at the peak and the cross in the middle. Classic scenery created a fantastic background in many photos of us.

Mang Lang church owns a picturesque shape

We continued moving to Da Dia Reef (or Ganh Da Dia in Vietnamese) on the same route. Everybody needed to walk along a small path from the entrance gate to see the basalt rock area.

As the Phu Yen natives, rock structure seemed like a giant beehive with stacking pillars from various shape-rocks, from circular looks to polygonal appearances.

Basalt rock — The sea was waving us. So sexy!

Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh - Film studio — There was a long beach in front with blue sea and massive waves

In the next stopping-place, all the Secommers chose to walk together at the famous coastal land that appeared in the film “Yellow flowers on the green grass”.For ending the day-one-journey, we went to Nhan Tower in the evening. There was no particular expectation for that place, but its beauty truly caught our eyes. The tower looked mystic and fanciful under the warm light by night and was shining in the middle of the high land.

Nhan Tower is the symbol and worship of Cham people

We went back to the hotel then joined an exciting SECOMM game show. It was a puzzle game for the three teams. However, what made it challenging to play was that the topic focused on everyday work and other areas of life.The atmosphere was getting more intense towards the end, and the winner finally came out to gain the worthy prize. Above all, the award could not be as crucial as the memorable moments we spent together.

SECOMM Day 2

On the second day, we spent the whole morning discovering the easternmost of Vietnam – Dai Lanh Cape. Walking on a small path leading to the Cape with lots of stairs, we also caught Mon Beach’s view. It was a small beach surrounded by mountains, white sand, and clear water. What a picturesque view!