Among the eCommerce platforms that businesses consider choosing to develop their online stores, the two names Adobe Commerce and WooCommerce are always put on the scale for comparison. 

Both are suitable for small and large businesses to build websites due to their flexible customization capabilities and high scalability. However, there are significant differences between WooCommerce and Adobe Commerce that are worth noting.

Overview

What is Adobe Commerce?

Adobe Commerce, formerly known as Magento Commerce, is an open-source eCommerce solution designed for medium to large-scale businesses, particularly those undergoing rapid growth and with high demands for customization and scalability.

Currently, Adobe Commerce offers two different version options:

• Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Enterprise): A paid version, further divided into two types—On-Premise version allows businesses to self-manage storage, and On-Cloud version provides hosting services with a fixed fee.
• Magento Open Source: A free version available for download and use by the general public. This version provides essential features businesses need to build and manage online stores.

Related article: Top 20 eCommerce websites using Adobe Commerce (Magento)

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin developed for the WordPress platform, a widely used Content Management System (CMS) for creating and managing websites. 

Consequently, WooCommerce is favoured by many businesses utilizing WordPress to develop their eCommerce websites.

Related article: Top 20 eCommerce websites using WooCommerce

Adobe Commerce vs WooCommerce

Adobe Commerce and WooCommerce are two popular eCommerce platforms, but each platform serves different business needs due to differences in deployment costs, feature systems, scalability, and security.

Deployment Cost

The deployment costs of Adobe Commerce will depend largely on the version chosen by the business.

It can be seen that the deployment cost for an eCommerce website on Adobe Commerce is relatively high, starting from $15,000 per project for the Magento version and $130,000 per project for the first year with the Adobe Commerce version.

In contrast, the cost of using WooCommerce is entirely free, and the website construction cost is also relatively more budget-friendly compared to Adobe Commerce. Below are some estimated costs for deploying an eCommerce website on WooCommerce:

Note: These are only cost estimates. Actual costs may vary depending on factors such as needs, service providers, and optional features.

Feature System

Adobe Commerce and WooCommerce are both comprehensive eCommerce platforms covering everything from A to Z. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, catering to the diverse functional needs of businesses.

In addition to the basic feature set, businesses also need to consider advanced features that the system can accommodate.

• Headless Commerce: Adobe Commerce provides a Headless Commerce solution using technologies such as JavaScript, React, and Vue.js, while WooCommerce does not have a specific Headless Commerce solution.
• Omnichannel Deployment: Adobe Commerce can integrate with various sales channels, such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc., while WooCommerce does not offer as many options as Adobe Commerce.
• Customer Management: Adobe Commerce has its own Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, allowing businesses to track customer information, such as purchase history, and preferences, while WooCommerce does not have one and requires integration with third-party CRM solutions.
• Revenue Management: Adobe Commerce has tools to help businesses manage revenue, such as tracking sales, performance analytics, etc. WooCommerce does not have integrated revenue management tools but can integrate with third-party solutions.

It can be seen that the feature system of Adobe Commerce is more comprehensive than WooCommerce, covering both basic and advanced functionalities. 

Therefore, for small to medium-sized businesses just starting in eCommerce, WooCommerce is a suitable choice. If the brand is a large enterprise with the need to build a large, complex online store, Adobe Commerce would be a perfect choice.

Read more: Top 10 Features To Increase eCommerce Website Revenue

Customization and Scalability

Customization

Adobe Commerce is an open-source platform, especially the Magento Open Source version, meaning developers can access the source code, making customization easier. This allows businesses to create features and integrate customizations to meet specific needs. 

Similarly, WooCommerce also provides high customization capability with numerous available themes, plugins, and apps. 

However, as a WordPress plugin, WooCommerce’s customization capability is not as extensive as Adobe Commerce.

Scalability

Both platforms have high scalability to handle traffic and large transaction volumes. However, Adobe Commerce’s scalability is higher than WooCommerce’s, especially for businesses with large, complex product catalogues or significant inventory management needs.

In summary, Adobe Commerce offers higher customization and scalability capabilities compared to WooCommerce. Still, the website development process with Adobe Commerce is more complex, requiring developers with substantial experience and technical expertise.

Security Capability

Adobe Commerce and WooCommerce both provide features and tools for securing customer and business data. However, there are some notable differences in security capabilities between these two platforms.

Adobe Commerce offers a range of security features and tools, including:

• Security Scanning Tools: Adobe Commerce is equipped with regular security scanning tools to identify security issues or malicious software. It also updates patches and notifications, suggesting security solutions to address emerging issues.
• Enhanced Passwords for Admin Accounts: Administrator passwords must have a minimum length of 7 characters, including letters, numbers, and special characters, and require re-login after a certain login session duration.
• CAPTCHA Security: Using CAPTCHA helps the system prevent spam from bots and unauthorized code intrusion.
• 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication): After logging in, the account needs to be verified with a one-time password (OTP) sent to the registered phone number during the account registration, limiting unauthorized access and enhancing user protection.

WooCommerce also provides some security features and tools, including:

• SSL Integration: WooCommerce supports SSL integration with hosting service providers.
• Security Plugins: Several security plugins for WooCommerce can help businesses enhance security for their eCommerce stores.
• Violation Detection and Feedback Tools: Several violation detection and feedback tools can be integrated with WooCommerce.

Similar to the above factors, Adobe Commerce is generally considered to have higher security compared to WooCommerce.

Conclusion

It can be seen that Adobe Commerce is rated higher than WooCommerce in many aspects. However, while WooCommerce is known for being a user-friendly platform, making it easy for businesses without strong technical capabilities to quickly deploy, Adobe Commerce requires a professional team to build and manage a highly customized, scalable, and complex system.

In general, WooCommerce is suitable for small to large businesses using WordPress, wanting to start e-commerce deployment, and requiring basic customization and expansion solutions. However, Adobe Commerce offers flexibility, customization, and scalability, making it more suitable for corporations with complex system requirements.

In reality, the more flexible and customizable platforms with high scalability, the more complex and costly the deployment process becomes. Therefore, businesses need to consider the scale and development needs to make an appropriate choice.

Looking for a suitable eCommerce Website Development Solution?

With deep expertise and the development of complex eCommerce systems for clients such as Changi Airport Group (Singapore), Trentham Estate (Australia), and The Warehouse (Vietnam), SECOMM understands the challenges in choosing a platform and deploying eCommerce that businesses are facing.

• Comprehensive Understanding: Providing comprehensive eCommerce solutions from consulting, development, and operation to the growth of eCommerce systems.
• Deep Expertise: Over 9 years of experience in deploying complex eCommerce systems for clients from various countries.
• Customized Solutions: Proposing eCommerce solutions, including technological architecture and a suitable team for each business.
• Flexible Progress: Project timelines and schedules are adjusted according to the specific needs of the business.

Contact SECOMM now or call directly at the hotline number (028 7108 9908) for free advice on the eCommerce website building roadmap!

Read more: Shopify Plus vs Adobe Commerce: Key Differences 2023

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin for WordPress, that enables businesses to turn their brand’s content website into an online store. According to WooCommerce’s report, as of July 2023, over 6 million eCommerce websites are using WooCommerce, capturing more than 25% of the global eCommerce market share.

Here are some well-known brands using WooCommerce in both the international and Vietnamese markets.

Dr. Scholl’s

Established by Dr. William Mathias Scholl over 110 years ago, Dr. Scholl’s has become a trusted name in foot health care. The brand is known for various innovative products, from shoe insoles and foot-shaping tools to specialized treatment methods.

Despite being a globally renowned brand, Dr. Scholl’s continues to advance with strategies to maximize online sales. By utilizing the open-source eCommerce platform WooCommerce, Dr. Scholl’s has streamlined the process of building an eCommerce website and rationalized the online sales process.

• Website: https://www.drscholls.com/ 
• Industry: Health
• Traffic: 662.1K/month
• Ranking: 18,381 (US) & 89,309 (Global)

Wienerschnitzel 

Wienerschnitzel is the world’s largest hot dog chain, founded by John Galardi in 1961. Currently serving over 120 million hot dogs annually, Wienerschnitzel’s website is built using WooCommerce to enter the eCommerce market. 

This system also connects franchisees with the main management system, allowing customers to easily locate the nearest restaurants through Google Maps API.

• Website: https://www.wienerschnitzel.com/ 
• Industry: Food and Beverage
• Traffic: 395.1K/month
• Ranking: 20,279 (US) & 115,404 (Global)

Superdrug Health Clinics

Superdrug Health Clinics is the second-largest well-known health clinic in the UK, with a presence throughout the United Kingdom. The clinics at Superdrug offer various eCommerce pharmaceutical services such as vaccinations for children, sexual health screenings, flu vaccinations, and occupational health services.

By building a basic eCommerce website using WooCommerce, customers can schedule free consultations with nurses/pharmacists or book appointments at specific locations.

• Website: https://healthclinics.superdrug.com/ 
• Industry: Health
• Traffic: 390.8K/month
• Ranking: 120,604 (UK) & 387,012 (Global)

GoComics

GoComics is a popular online comic and cartoon business in the United States. Some iconic cartoons associated with GoComics include Calvin and Hobbes, Garfield, Peanuts, and The Far Side, alongside recent successes like Pearls Before Swine, The Boondocks, and Foxtrot.

By building a WooCommerce website, users can choose between two membership options – free and premium – to gain personalized access to the GoComics library and shop online for items such as art prints, books, and calendars, ideal for comic enthusiasts of all ages.

• Website: https://store.gocomics.com/ 
• Industry: Bookstore
• Traffic: 134.4K/month
• Ranking: 50,379 (US) & 325,404 (Global)

The Kind Pen

The Kind Pen is a vape (electronic cigarette) manufacturing company based in Ocean City, New Jersey, USA. With a lifetime warranty and over 1,000,000 satisfied customers, this brand has quickly become a trusted name in the industry.

Kind Pen has decided to use WooCommerce to enhance the user experience on its online store. Images are optimized and converted into fast-loading formats without compromising quality, CSS and JavaScript files are compressed and merged, and with WordPress and WooCommerce extensions, the results have yielded unexpected benefits for user experience, such as a more than 35% increase in website loading speed.

• Website: https://www.thekindpen.com/ 
• Industry: Consumer Electronics
• Traffic: 98.5K/month
• Ranking: 124,995 (US) & 657,668 (Global)

Badeloft

Badeloft is an online retailer of bathroom fixtures founded by Cedric Christiani in Berlin, Germany, in 2009. After achieving certain successes in their home country, Cedric set his sights on the U.S. market. He recruited some high school friends, Eric Jensen and Tyler Kuhlman, and together, they established Badeloft USA at the end of 2013. Today, the company has rapidly expanded to the point where its sales have surpassed the European market.

In 2017, Badeloft decided to transition its eCommerce website platform from X-Cart to WooCommerce due to its customization capabilities and the availability of numerous extensions.

• Website: https://www.badeloftusa.com/ 
• Industry: Furniture
• Traffic: 97.7K/month
• Ranking: 115,604 (US) & 497,012 (Global)

All Blacks

All Blacks is the national rugby team of New Zealand and is the most successful international sports team in the past 100 years. With such a long and illustrious history, it’s no surprise that the team’s jerseys, training gear, and support equipment are highly favoured by fans worldwide.

This provided the foundation for All Blacks to establish an online store for the brand on WooCommerce, offering a variety of products for supporters of all ages.

“We selected WooCommerce as it allowed for easy integration into the team’s other back-office systems.“– Norm McKenzie, Meta Digital

• Website: https://allblackshop.com/ 
• Industry: Fashion
• Traffic: 87.6K/month
• Ranking: 6,757 (New Zealand) & 434,042 (Global)

Telldus

Telldus is a Swedish brand specializing in home automation products, aiming to provide simple solutions to everyday problems to enhance one’s quality of life tremendously.

“We believe that simple solutions to small everyday problems can increase one’s quality of life tremendously.”

To expand its customer base in Sweden, Tellus chose WooCommerce to build its website due to its customization capabilities and support for integration with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and product information management (PIM).

• Website: https://telldus.com/ 
• Industry: Consumer Electronics
• Traffic: 86.7K/month
• Ranking: 7,721 (Sweden) & 449,029 (Global)

Grace Loves Lace

Grace Loves Lace is a wedding fashion brand founded by Megan Ziems in 2011 in Australia. The brand is renowned for its beautiful, handcrafted, and custom-fitted wedding attire.

After years of development in both offline and online markets, Grace Loves Lace has become one of the most popular and successful eCommerce websites for wedding fashion nationwide. The success is, in part, attributed to the WooCommerce website system designed to focus on professional product images and optimized for high conversion rates and mobile-friendliness.

• Website: https://graceloveslace.com.au/ 
• Industry: Fashion
• Traffic: 61.8K/month
• Ranking: 8,597 (Australia) & 471,233 (Global)

Daelmans Stroopwafels

Daelmans Stroopwafels is the world’s leading company in Stroopwafels (traditional Dutch syrup waffles). Established in 1909, Daelmans has elevated the stroopwafel to become a globally popular pastry.

Over the years, the small bakery in Vlijmen has evolved into an international business. Therefore, building a WooCommerce website is essential, allowing customers to shop online and design their custom stroopwafel boxes.

• Website: https://www.stroopwafels.com/ 
• Industry: Food and Beverage
• Traffic: 50K/month
• Ranking: 38,108 (Netherlands) & 1,062,929 (Global)

Hai Trieu

Established in 1991, Hải Triều has over 30 years of experience in the watch market. To become the leading watch retailer in Vietnam, Hải Triều has combined its eCommerce strategy on the WooCommerce platform with a unique business model to adapt to changes in the market and consumer preferences.

As of now, Hai Trieu’s eCommerce website has over 2 million monthly visits and is a prominent figure consistently topping the rankings in the fashion eCommerce sector in Vietnam (according to iPrice).

• Website: https://donghohaitrieu.com/ 
• Industry: Fashion
• Traffic: 2.5M/month
• Ranking: 584 (Vietnam) & 29,249 (Global)

Dien Thoai Vui

Dien Thoai Vui – The name carries a commitment to bring joy and happiness to customers with damaged phones or other electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, smartwatches, etc.

After many years of operation, Dien Thoai Vui has become a familiar destination for many customers both online and offline. The website system of Dien Thoai Vui is built on WooCommerce, allowing customization to a certain extent for the consumer electronics industry’s functionalities, as well as supporting integration with many third-party services.

• Website: https://dienthoaivui.com.vn/ 
• Industry: Consumer Electronics
• Traffic: 1.4M/month
• Ranking: 1,137 (Vietnam) & 56,958 (Global)

Clickbuy

Clickbuy is a well-known retail system for technology products in Vietnam, established in 2012. Currently, the Clickbuy system has expanded to include 5 stores and 2 modern service centres in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Similar to Dien Thoai Vui, Clickbuy is also built on WooCommerce due to its customization capabilities and integration with many third-party services through WordPress.

• Website: https://clickbuy.com.vn/ 
• Industry: Consumer Electronics
• Traffic: 1.2M/month
• Ranking: 1,254 (Vietnam) & 64,647 (Global)

Nha Thuoc Than Thien

Nha Thuoc Than Thien is a retail pharmacy chain meeting GPP standards in Vietnam. This brand specializes in prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, and some other healthcare products.

The business combines an offline pharmacy model with an online pharmacy through its main sales channel, an eCommerce website developed with WooCommerce. The website is designed for easy navigation, featuring basic functionalities that help customers easily search for products, make purchases, and track orders.

• Website: https://nhathuocthanthien.com.vn/ 
• Industry: Pharmacy
• Traffic: 253.5K/month
• Ranking: 5,781 (Vietnam) & 268,868 (Global)

Paula’s Choice

Paula’s Choice is a skincare and cosmetics brand founded by Paula Begoun, a leading expert in beauty and skincare. This brand is renowned for producing high-quality and meticulously researched skincare products, often recognized for their simplicity and transparency in ingredient disclosure.

After establishing a presence in the Vietnamese market, Paula’s Choice decided to build a website on the WooCommerce platform for the ability to customize the website and leverage the existing functional system.

• Website: https://paulaschoice.vn/ 
• Industry: Cosmetics
• Traffic: 211.5K/month
• Ranking: 4,170 (Vietnam) & 197,732 (Global)

Bo Shop

Beauty enthusiasts in Ho Chi Minh City undoubtedly know about Bo Shop, a brand that offers a wide range of quality cosmetics from skincare to makeup at specific and affordable prices, catering to all beauty care needs.

To become the leading cosmetics retail brand in Vietnam, the company swiftly developed an eCommerce website with WooCommerce to align with modern business trends.

• Website: https://www.boshop.vn/ 
• Industry: Cosmetics
• Traffic: 186.8K/month
• Ranking: 6,409 (Vietnam) & 298,796 (Global)

AB Beauty World

AB Beauty World (ABBW) emerged amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, positioning itself as the leading family cosmetics hypermarket in Vietnam. Despite the seemingly untimely launch, the brand did not succumb to adversity.

Just two years after opening its first store, AB Beauty World has grown and expanded to nearly 20 branches across districts and neighbourhoods in Ho Chi Minh City, thanks to timely adaptation and a focus on eCommerce development.

The cosmetics selling website of AB Beauty World is built with WooCommerce, featuring industry-specific design and functionality. In a short time since its launch, the website has garnered high traffic for a newcomer in the digital transformation race.

• Website: https://abbeautyworld.com/ 
• Industry: Cosmetics
• Traffic: 83.8K/month
• Ranking: 22,173 (Vietnam) & 911,443 (Global)

Orchard 

Founded in 2004, Orchard is the destination for over 200 premium perfume brands worldwide. To become the number one perfume retail brand in Vietnam, Orchard early on implemented eCommerce to tap into the ‘gold mine’ of this market.

To date, Orchard’s eCommerce website, built with WooCommerce, is the top choice for customers who love to shop for perfumes online.

• Website: https://orchard.vn/ 
• Industry: Perfume
• Traffic: 67.2K/month
• Ranking: 19,314 (Vietnam) & 772,251 (Global)

Nha Xinh

With a minimalist and cosy interior design style, Nhà Xinh (Beautiful Home) chooses simplicity for each of its products. This is evident in the eCommerce website’s interface, which is built on the WooCommerce platform, and features a simple and user-friendly design.

In addition, Nha Xinh’s website incorporates 360-degree technology, allowing customers to experience the company’s furniture products remotely in a realistic manner, exploring every nook and cranny of the room and every angle of the product with detailed information and pricing for each item.

• Website: https://nhaxinh.com/ 
• Industry: Furniture
• Traffic: 41.6K/month
• Ranking: 41,251 (Vietnam) & 1,547,325 (Global)

Winecellar

Established in 2007, Vietnam Wine Cellar Co., Ltd. is one of the largest wine companies in Vietnam, specializing in providing a wide range of products, including wine, beer, whiskey, food, mineral water, tea, and high-quality ceramics.

Winecellar pursues an eCommerce business model by investing in building a website on the WooCommerce platform. Through this, the company can easily reach numerous potential customers in the online market.

• Website: https://winecellar.vn/ 
• Industry: Wine
• Traffic: 31.4K/month
• Ranking: 73,054 (Vietnam) & 3,034,069 (Global)

Above is a list of the top 20 eCommerce websites using the WooCommerce platform in both the international and Vietnamese markets.

With deep expertise and experience in developing complex eCommerce systems on WooCommerce for various clients such as Laybyland (Australia, the US, New Zealand), Jasnor (Australia, New Zealand), and The Warehouse (Vietnam), SECOMM understands the challenges in choosing a platform and implementing eCommerce solutions that businesses are currently facing.

Contact SECOMM today or call directly on the hotline (028 7108 9908) for a free consultation on deploying a WooCommerce website for your brand.

The jewelry eCommerce sector is a promising market experiencing swift growth. According to statistics, the global eCommerce jewelry market is currently valued at about 57.4 billion USD and is anticipated to reach approximately 117 billion USD by 2027.

What is Jewelry eCommerce?

Jewelry eCommerce involves selling various jewelry items, including necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, gemstones, and other pieces, conducted through online channels. 

This type of eCommerce involves the purchase and sale of jewelry products through websites, applications, or online marketplaces.

Opportunities for the jewelry eCommerce

Jewelry eCommerce is increasingly thriving, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report from the Vietnam eCommerce Association (VECOM), the Vietnamese jewelry eCommerce market is estimated to reach 10 trillion VND in 2022, showing a growth of 25% compared to 2021.

Several factors are driving the potential of jewelry eCommerce, including:

Growth in the Middle-Class Segment

According to the World Bank report, the middle class in Vietnam is steadily increasing, from 13% of the population in 2016 to 26% in 2026. It is expected that the middle class in Vietnam will continue to grow in the coming years.

On a global scale, according to the McKinsey Global Institute report, the global middle class is projected to increase from 1.8 billion people in 2020 to 4.9 billion people in 2030. This growth will generate significant demand for premium products and services, including jewelry and gemstones.

Surge in Online Shopping Channels

According to Metric report, as of June 2023, Vietnam has over 100,000 eCommerce websites, a 20% increase compared to 2022. The most popular product categories on Vietnam’s online marketplaces include fashion, home appliances, electronics, and jewelry.

On the international market, according to Statista’s report, as of June 2023, there are over 280 million active eCommerce websites worldwide.

The growth of online shopping channels, specifically individual eCommerce websites, has created many opportunities for jewelry eCommerce businesses to reach a larger audience, including customers in distant regions away from the main stores.

Advancements in Technology 

The advancement of technology is one of the crucial factors driving the potential of jewelry eCommerce. When integrating innovative technologies like VR/AR, and AI into your jewelry website will enrich the online shopping experience, making it more engaging and appealing to customers. 

• Using VR/AR: To create a shopping experience similar to traditional stores, making it easy for customers to choose and shop for jewelry online. 
• Using AI: To develop algorithms to recommend jewelry products tailored to customer’s preferences and needs.
• Using chatbot: For enhancing 24/7 customer service, helping staff address customers’ inquiries or issues effectively.

Challenges of Jewelry eCommerce

Alongside the opportunities, jewelry brands still have to confront the challenges of the market

Market Saturation

The jewelry industry faces intense competition, with numerous businesses, both large and small, vying for market share. This requires jewelry brands to exert efforts to compete in terms of pricing, product quality, and the services they provide on their eCommerce website.

Counterfeit Risks

Counterfeit goods are often made from low-quality materials and are significantly cheaper than genuine products. This poses a significant challenge for the online jewelry market, as consumers struggle to differentiate between authentic and fake items, leading to adverse effects on jewelry brands.

Market Trend Shifts

Market trends are always changing, particularly in the jewelry eCommerce industry. It requires you to stay constantly updated to cater to evolving customer demands.

When purchasing jewelry products, customers desire an online shopping experience similar to in-store shopping. Because they want to view products directly, read reviews from other customers, and receive guidance from sales staff.

Jewelry brands deploying successful eCommerce

Tiffany & Co. (USA)

Tiffany & Co. is a premium jewelry brand headquartered in New York, USA, established in 1837 by master jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany. The company embraced eCommerce early on and has become one of the largest online jewelry retailers globally.

Tiffany & Co.’s eCommerce website is built on the Adobe Enterprise Cloud platform, enabling the business to provide flexibility and scalability to meet customization needs and long-term development goals.

Leveraging resources from the leading Adobe Commerce eCommerce platform, the business has utilized Adobe Experience Platform Launch, Adobe Target, Adobe Experience Platform Identity Service, and more to deliver customized and personalized services for its customers.

Pandora (Denmark)

Pandora is a retail jewelry brand established in 1982 by Per Enevoldsen in Copenhagen, Denmark. The brand is known for customizable bracelets and other specially designed jewelry lines.

Pandora’s eCommerce website for the US and UK markets is built on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform, while the Vietnamese market utilizes Haravan. Therefore, the US and UK versions will have more specialized features such as wishlists, quick view, product comparison, loyalty programs, etc.

PNJ (Vietnam)

PNJ, or Phu Nhuan Jewelry, is a reputable jewelry brand with a long history and a widespread network of stores across Vietnam. Founded in 1988 in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Initially, PNJ’s eCommerce website was built on the CS-Cart platform. As it grew, PNJ re-platform to WooCommerce to design its eCommerce website. This move benefits the PNJ website with many amazing features, including diverse payment method integration, product size customization, store location search based on province/city and district, and the flexibility of choosing between home delivery and in-store pickup.

The Bottom Line

In general, jewelry brands face numerous challenges and opportunities to make strides in the eCommerce landscape. Achieving success in this industry requires innovation, responsiveness to customer demands, and staying abreast of the latest technological trends.

Learn more: 10 Jewelry eCommerce Websites in Vietnam & Worldwide

Understanding both the opportunities and challenges when deploying jewelry eCommerce websites, SECOMM has a team of experts and a wide range of solutions to help you make it a reality. 

Contact us or call the hotline at 028 7108 9908 to get started!

According to The Business Research Company, the global pharmaceutical eCommerce market is projected to reach $732.3 billion by 2027. This represents a significant opportunity for pharmacies, healthcare service providers, or hospitals/clinics to implement eCommerce and reach a broader range of potential customers. To achieve this, building an online pharmacy on a professional platform is a great idea to address industry-specific challenges. 

Things to keep in mind when building an online pharmacy

When building a pharmacy eCommerce website, businesses must meet numerous criteria to ensure professionalism, safety, and legal compliance within this industry.

Intuitive user interface

The typical customer profile in the pharmaceutical eCommerce sector consists of individuals seeking to purchase medications, medical equipment, and other healthcare products for themselves, family, or friends.

Thus, the website interface needs to be visually appealing, and user-friendly, and prioritize colors such as blue or white to create a sense of safety and cleanliness. 

Other factors, such as layout, font choice, and imagery, should be carefully selected and coordinated to deliver the most professional user experience.

Bespoke features

When building an online pharmacy, beyond default eCommerce features, businesses should focus on developing the following features to address industry-specific needs:

• Prescription Medications: Provide prescription medications based on the doctor’s indications and instructions.
• Consultation Services from Doctors/Pharmacists: Offer health consultation services and online medical examinations on demand.
• Detailed Product Information Display: Furnish comprehensive information about products, including drug names, ingredients, indications, dosage, usage instructions, side effects, warnings, expiration dates, and prices.
• Usage Guidelines: Provide usage instructions and dosage adjustments for all medical products, about the advice of doctors/pharmacists.
• Online Medical Records: Store patient medical records and test results on the system’s information portal.

High security

An online pharmacy is a system that contains various crucial information including personal details, payment information, and the health status of customers. Therefore, the security system of the website needs to be built and deployed carefully to ensure the safety of customer data.

Compliance with legal regulations

Pharmaceutical eCommerce is a specialized business area subject to the regulations of the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry. eCommerce pharmaceutical businesses need to comply with these regulations to ensure that their operations are legal and safe for customers.

Below are some key legal regulations that e-commerce pharmaceutical businesses need to adhere to in Vietnam:

• Pharmaceutical Law: The Pharmaceutical Law regulates the conditions for pharmaceutical business, including requirements for pharmaceutical business licenses, facilities, equipment, personnel, and drug quality.
• Decree 54/2017/NĐ-CP: Decree 54/2017/NĐ-CP provides detailed regulations on pharmaceutical business activities.
• Circular 07/2018/TT-BYT: Circular 07/2018/TT-BYT guides the advertising of drugs, drug ingredients, medical equipment, and cosmetics.
• Circular 04/2016/TT-BYT: Circular 04/2016/TT-BYT guides state management of the pharmaceutical profession.
• Circular 34/2018/TT-BYT: Circular 34/2018/TT-BYT guides state management of drugs and drug ingredients.

In addition, pharmaceutical eCommerce businesses also need to comply with other legal regulations, such as Cybersecurity Law, Consumer Protection Law, and eCommerce Law.

Top 5 eCommerce Platforms to build an online pharmacy

Although this industry has many challenges to deploy, businesses always have eCommerce platforms to create their online pharmacies. Here are the 5 leading platforms for building online pharmacy that businesses may consider.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a cloud-based eCommerce platform operating on the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, enabling businesses to create and manage online stores.

Currently, BigCommerce offers four main solutions, including

Pros:

• Easy to use: BigCommerce is designed to be user-friendly with a drag-and-drop builder to help businesses create and manage online stores easily without the need for technical skills.
• Multi-channel support: BigCommerce allows pharmaceutical businesses to operate across multiple platforms, including eCommerce websites, social media pages, and online marketplaces.
• Security compliance: BigCommerce is committed to adhering to high-level security standards and protects customer personal information and transaction data.
• Pharmaceutical solutions: BigCommerce offers a variety of features and interfaces specifically designed for the pharmaceutical industry.

Cons:

• Ongoing costs: As a SaaS, BigCommerce requires monthly or annual fees for usage. The value of these fee packages may increase depending on the scale of the business and transaction fees per order.
• Limited customization: While BigCommerce allows customization of eCommerce websites, it limits deeper customization. This could be an issue for businesses with specific customization requirements, such as in the pharmaceutical industry.
• Limited scalability: While BigCommerce can scale, for large businesses or those planning rapid expansion in the future, it may be necessary to consider more specialized platforms to handle these needs.
• Platform dependency: Businesses will rely on BigCommerce’s ecosystem to maintain and update their online stores. This could be a concern if a business needs complete control over its system.

Some famous pharmaceutical eCommerce businesses currently utilizing BigCommerce include Victoria Health, Molton Brown, LARQ, and Zyppah.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS eCommerce platform established in 2006. To date, Shopify has rapidly become one of the leading platforms in the eCommerce industry, supporting thousands of businesses worldwide to initiate and grow their online ventures.

The cost to use the Shopify platform is quite diverse, including these three solutions:

In addition, Shopify provides eCommerce solutions tailored to businesses with different needs and wants, such as:

• Starter: $5/month, leveraging payment features through social networks and messaging apps for businesses.
• Retail: $89/month, includes employee management features, inventory tracking, and loyalty programs for retail stores.
• Commerce Components: Custom pricing, offering third-party modules for integration into the eCommerce website.
• Shopify Plus: Custom pricing, designed for large enterprises.
• Shopify Hydrogen: Custom pricing, for businesses to deploy Headless Commerce.

Learn more: Top 5 benefits of Headless Commerce 

Pros:

• Easy to use: Shopify is designed with an intuitive user interface, allowing non-technical users to easily create online stores.
• Diverse pricing plans: Shopify offers a wide range of choices for businesses, catering to small, medium, startup, and large enterprises with various customization needs.
• Data Security: Shopify adheres to important security standards such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) to keep customer’s personal and healthcare data safe.
• Extensive Feature Set: Shopify provides many features and extensions to meet the needs of building eCommerce websites for various industries, including the pharmaceutical sector.

Cons:

• Ongoing costs: Similar to BigCommerce, Shopify requires monthly or annual fees for service usage, and costs can escalate over time due to transaction fees, expansion of features, etc.
• Limited Customization: Shopify offers a certain level of customization for basic packages like Basic, Shopify, Advanced, Retail, and Starter. If a business requires a highly customized eCommerce website, additional fees must be paid to use other solutions or consider alternative platforms.
• SEO Limitations: While Shopify supports basic SEO optimization, there are some limitations in terms of more advanced SEO optimization and custom URL management.

Healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical businesses using Shopify include Dr.Axe, 310 Nutrition, Hiya, and BUBS Naturals.

StoreHippo

StoreHippo is a SaaS eCommerce platform established in 2014 in India. Over the years, this platform has consistently updated its technologies to meet the website-building needs of businesses, particularly those in the pharmaceutical eCommerce sector.

Similar to other SaaS platforms, StoreHippo offers a variety of solutions to choose from:

Pros:

• Easy to use: StoreHippo is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it quick and easy for users to create online stores.
• Custom solutions for pharmaceutical eCommerce: StoreHippo provides dedicated solutions for various industries, including online pharmacies.
• Continuous Updates: To address specific functions for each industry, StoreHippo has consistently improved and updated the latest technologies in e-commerce, such as Headless Commerce, PWA, Angular JS, etc.

Cons:

• Limited customization: Although StoreHippo allows businesses to customize their eCommerce website interface, it still limits deeper customization compared to other eCommerce platforms.
• Limited image size: StoreHippo has limitations on the size of images that businesses can upload and use in their online stores.
• Community and Support Limitations: In comparison to larger e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, or BigCommerce, StoreHippo has a smaller user community and customer support, which may slow down the resolution of technical issues or support requests.

Some brands that built their online pharmacy with StoreHippo include WoundProfessional, Kunooz, and On A Healthy Note.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin developed for the WordPress platform, one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) globally. WooCommerce enables businesses to turn their WordPress websites into online stores or integrate eCommerce features into existing websites.

The license fee of WooCommerce depends on the complexity of each project, averaging around $1,000 for a basic eCommerce website and $10,000 for a more advanced eCommerce website.

Pros:

• Free to use: WooCommerce is an open-source platform, so it is entirely free to use and customize. However, associated costs such as hosting, domain, themes, functionality systems, and maintenance should be considered.
• Easy to use: WooCommerce is deeply integrated into WordPress, making the installation and management of online stores straightforward. Users familiar with WordPress will find WooCommerce’s interface user-friendly.
• Third-party integration:  WooCommerce has a large development community and supports integration with various third-party applications and services, including features tailored for pharmaceutical eCommerce
• High customization: Businesses can customize the eCommerce website interface using both free and premium themes. WooCommerce also allows businesses to design their interface to reflect their brand.

Cons:

• WordPress dependency: WooCommerce is essentially a plugin for WordPress, meaning businesses must use the WordPress platform to use WooCommerce. This dependency can lead to challenges such as inconsistent support, slow data retrieval, conflicts between updates, etc.
• Complex customization: While WooCommerce allows customization, implementing complex customizations or integrating specific features may be time-consuming and require high technical skills or support from developers.
• Limited scalability: WooCommerce often faces difficulties in handling large online stores with thousands of products and high traffic.

Brands using WooCommerce to build online pharmacy include Dr. Scholl’s, myLAB Box, Superdrug Health Clinics, and Apothecanna.

Adobe Commerce (Magento)

Adobe Commerce, formerly known as Magento Commerce, is a professional and widely used eCommerce system. Adobe Commerce is part of the Adobe Experience Cloud product line and is designed to assist businesses in building eCommerce websites.

Currently, Adobe Commerce provides businesses with two main versions:

• Adobe Commerce (Magento Commerce): This is the premium version of Magento designed for large enterprises, offering two options: on-premise and on-cloud.
• Magento Open Source: Formerly known as Magento Community Edition, this is the open-source and free version of Magento.

Pros:

• High Scalability: The Magento platform is built with high scalability, allowing businesses to add features and integrate third-party applications as needed.
• High Security: Adobe Commerce prioritizes security, ensuring that customer data and payments are protected securely.
• High customization: All versions of Adobe Commerce have flexible customization capabilities, addressing the complex requirements of various industries, particularly in the pharmaceutical eCommerce sector.
• Adobe Experience Cloud Ecosystem: If a business is using other Adobe products such as Adobe Analytics or Adobe Marketing Cloud, they can integrate them with Adobe Commerce to create a comprehensive system for customer experience.

Cons:

• High initial costs: Adobe Commerce has a higher development cost compared to other eCommerce platforms, making it preferred by medium and large businesses with complex eCommerce systems or high customization needs.
• Require high technical skills: Adobe Commerce is developed using the PHP programming language, which is relatively complex, requiring technical personnel with expertise and experience to develop projects correctly and effectively.
• Long deployment time: Deploying Adobe Commerce may take more time, especially for highly customized or complex eCommerce websites.

This list is just a few examples for businesses to reference; there are many other robust eCommerce platforms that businesses can consider based on specific needs and available resources. 

With extensive experience in implementing eCommerce for clients in various countries, SECOMM understands the challenges and difficulties businesses face during the deployment of pharmaceutical eCommerce.

Contact SECOMM now or call the hotline at 02871089908 today for a free consultation.

Despite the significant impact of Covid-19, the fashion industry is still on a roll, with the potential to reach $1 trillion globally by 2025 (according to Statista) thanks to eCommerce.

According to the IDEA 2022 research, the fashion eCommerce business in Vietnam is a highly competitive area, with up to 69 consumers using the eCommerce channel for every 100 fashion shoppers.

With the high potential of this commerce business, developing an eCommerce website is a must for success, necessitating the search for a platform on which to build a specialised eCommerce website for the fashion industry.

Businesses can use the following platforms to deploy fashion websites: Big Cartel, Haravan, Shopify, Woocommerce, and Magento.

Characteristics of fashion eCommerce 

Eye-catching UI/UX design

UI/UX is a criterion that businesses frequently establish when creating an eCommerce website in order to develop a comfortable interface for a group of users who are passionate about fashion and maximise the capacity to engage with customers.

Comprehensive functional system

To meet the eCommerce business demands of fashion enterprises, organizations require a comprehensive functional system ranging from basic to complex, which includes:

• Catalog Management: Manage properties, pricing systems, inventory, photos, and videos to keep them running
• Content Management: Content development for CMS pages, image hosting, theme customization, and website design
• Customer Management: Control information, behavior, and consumption habits to build strategies for each specific customer group
• Sales Management: Set up and operate sales, order, payment, and shipping processes
• Marketing Management: Implement and optimize programs to attract potential customers with built-in support tools
• System Management: Seamless supply chain response with shipping navigation and automation management tools
• Store Management: Navigate and maintain your eCommerce business from online to offline
• Cart & Checkout: Manage shopping carts and process the next payment steps for customers
• Analytics and Reports: Monitor and measure eCommerce performance to give detailed reports to improve business efficiency

• Omnichannel sales allows business to follow customers across all channels, including eCommerce platforms, social networks, and social commerce websites.
• Multi-layer menu displaying a range of product categories
• Experiment using a variety of marketing strategies: Loyalty programmes, livestreaming, shopper entertainment, and affiliate marketing all assist to broaden methods of reaching out to potential consumers.
• Huge traffic to deal with enormous traffic volumes during “selling seasons”

Integration with a range of third-party services

To provide clients with a comprehensive shopping experience, fashion enterprises may frequently combine a number of payment options, shipping services, management software, and business analysis tools to enhance the e-commerce business system.

Numerous common payment options available today must be integrated into the website, including:

• Card payment: Domestic card, VISA, Mastercard, etc
  E-wallets: MOMO, Zalopay, etc
  Payment gateway: OnePay, VNPay, PayPal, etc
  COD (Cash on Delivery)

Possibility to expand in the future

Often, firms at the start of a fashion business will not focus on the capacity to develop eCommerce websites in the future since platforms that enable this function are typically scarce. But, in terms of strategy, investing in a platform that supports this function can help organisations gain a competitive advantage over competitors in the market.

Top 5 fashion eCommerce platforms to build website 

Haravan

Haravan is a well-known SaaS eCommerce platform in the Vietnamese industry, offering a variety of options for both enterprises and individuals. Haravan is used by a variety of websites, including Juno, Biti’s, Maison, and others.

Platform review

Pro:

• A repository of readily available and diversified interfaces for the fashion industry
• A diverse feature, ranging from basic to complex, for starting an e-commerce business

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system
• The system of specific functions for the fashion sector is still limited
• Only integrated with services/utilities located in Haravan’s ecosystem
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Haravan to expand the website in the future

→ Rating: 2/4

Haravan is suitable for start-up furniture businesses or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) with operations mainly in Vietnam.

Pricing

Haravan is considered to have a reasonably low and diverse eCommerce website implementation cost for various businesses:

• Standard: 200.000 VND/month for personal sellers
• Pro: 600.000 VND/month for businesses that want to deploy Omnichannel
• Grow: 1.500.000 VND/month with the advantage of automating programs to take care and resell customers
• Scale: 3.000.000 VND/month for building loyal customers

Tuy nhiên, doanh nghiệp nên suy xét khi sử dụng Haravan trong dài hạn vì chi phí giấy phép sử dụng và các tiện ích mở rộng sẽ ngày càng tăng theo thời gian sử dụng. 

Deployment time

However, businesses should consider when using Haravan in the long term because the cost of licenses and extensions will increase over time.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS ecommerce platform favored by the international ecommerce business community because of its fast implementation time and reasonable starting cost.

Platform review

Pro:

• Having a large selection of templates ideal for the fashion industry
• Functional system from basic to advanced, supporting eCommerce business

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the fashion sector is still limited.
• More third-party services than Haravan, although still only integrated with services available in Shopify’s app store.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Shopify to expand the website in the future

→ Rating: 2/4

Shopify is considered suitable for start-ups or SMEs with global operations.

Pricing

Starting an eCommerce business using Shopify is quite inexpensive at beginning, with several options:

• Basic Shopify: $29/month appropriate for start-ups with limited sales volume
• Shopify: $79/month suitable for growing internet companies
• Advanced Shopify: $299/month ideal for growing enterprises that require comprehensive reporting and analytical capabilities
• Shopify Lite: $9/month perfect for companies who wish to add sales and payment buttons to their current website or blog.
• Shopify Plus: $2000/month provides advanced eCommerce solutions for large businesses that need to process large volumes of orders

Nevertheless, the long-term cost of utilising Shopify will rise owing to rising costs for extensions, yearly usage fees, and % per transaction on the system.

Deployment time

The typical time to develop an e-commerce website is 1-7 days or more, depending on the system’s complexity.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel is a platform that assists in the creation of specialised eCommerce websites for the fashion industry or for art goods such as ceramics, paintings, and photographs. Big Cartel is used by several websites such as Atakontu, Indikidual, and others.

Platform review

Pro:

• Wide variety of themes for the arts, including the fashion industry
• Comprehensive functional system: basic, advanced, specific

Cons:

• Only services accessible in Big Cartel’s app store are incorporated.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, future expansion of the website will be tough to plan.

→ Rating: 2.5/4

Big Cartel will be appropriate for startups, SMEs, or new e-commerce participants that need to handle the complicated “issue” of fashion eCommerce.

Pricing

Website setup expenses are modest, with few possibilities for solution packages such as Haravan or Shopify:

• Package 1: Free for businesses that need to experience
• Package 2: $9.99/month suitable for businesses with a limit of 50 products
• Package 3: $19.99/month suitable for businesses with a limit of 500 products

Deployment time

Big Cartel allows you to develop a fashion e-commerce website in as little as 1-2 weeks, depending on the system’s complexity.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open source platform, as a WordPress plug-in introduced in 2011 and allows businesses to use completely free. Popular websites using WooCommerce in Vietnam include Hai Trieu, Orchard, etc.

Platform review

Pro:

• There are several free and paid themes for the fashion industry available from the WordPress and WooCommerce community that are simple to adapt or develop.
• eCommerce functional system ranging from basic to sophisticated
• Simple connection with a wide range of third-party services
• Businesses may plan to extend their website in the future because it is a source code platform

Cons:

• The functional system is still restricted in terms of fashion-specific elements.
• Scalability is not very great in comparison to other open source systems like as Open Cart, Magento, and others.

→ Rating: 3/4

WooCommerce is suitable for fashion businesses who are used to WordPress before and are in need of developing an eCommerce system.

Pricing

Because it is an open source platform, fashion firms can use it for free; nevertheless, businesses must pay development costs while utilising the platform, such as:

• Domain: $15/year
• Hosting: $120/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $1,000 – $3,000 depending on the complexity of the system
• Extensions: $10/utilities
• Website maintenance and upgrade costs: $200/year, depending on the cooperation unit

Deployment time

An eCommerce website will take longer to create than the previous three platforms since it must be constructed from the ground up, which will take at least 1-3 months.

Magento

Magento is an open source platform with 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free) and Magento Commerce (paid). Some websites are using Magento such as Canifa, Hoang Phuc International, OnOff, etc.

Platform review

Pro:

• Numerous fashion-specific themes are available from the worldwide developer community, marketplace, and Magento website developers, allowing businesses to use current themes or quickly alter them to meet their unique needs. Create your own user interface.
• Complete functional system: fundamental, advanced, and specific
• Simple connection with a wide range of third-party services
• Excellent scalability: multi-language, currency, and easy feature development in the future

Cons:

• There is no theme repository from Magento to support businesses

→ Rating: 4/4

Magento is appropriate for a wide range of fashion business types, including B2B, B2C, and B2B2C, as well as a wide range of business sizes, including startups, SMEs, and huge corporations. Nevertheless, because the cost of deploying Magento is sometimes very high, Magento is favoured by major organisations.

Pricing

Magento Open Source, like WooCommerce, is an open source platform, therefore it is free to use; nonetheless, businesses must consider the following costs:

• Domain: $15/year
• Hosting: $120/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $1.800 – $10.000 depending on the complexity of the system
• Extensions: $60 – $600/utilities
• Website maintenance and upgrade costs: $200/year, depending on the partner

Businesses will be working directly with Magento’s development team for Magento Commerce, thus they will have to pay licence fees as well as certain additional charges such as:

• Licenses: $22.000 – $125.000/year
• Domain: $15 – $400/year
• Hosting: $500 – $6.500/year
• SSL Certificate: $50 – $300/year
• Website development: $10.000+
• Extensions: $60 – $600/utilities

Deployment time

A complete Magento project typically requires 3 to 6 months of deployment time, with some projects requiring up to a year. The reason for this is the complicated functioning structure and the lack of Magento experts.

Summary

Cosmetics eCommerce is currently developing into a fresh and promising sales channel for companies in addition to the traditional sales channel. Businesses must work hard to sustain and achieve breakthrough growth through eCommerce platforms, though.

As a result, numerous cosmetics companies started developing online cosmetics business websites and found surprising success, such as Kylie Cosmetics, Hasaki, and Guardian,…

These websites’ success can be attributed to their early selection of an adequate and suitable eCommerce platform. Which platforms are appropriate for the cosmetics industry, then?

Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) is a highly flexible SaaS eCommerce platform that allows companies to offer the best B2B and B2C shopping experiences. Moreover, Salesforce gives Commerce Cloud access to Einstein AI to further enhance this system’s intelligence.

Top cosmetic brands currently using Salesforce Commerce Cloud to deploy eCommerce include L’Occitane, Lancôme, Loreal, Nars, Neutrogena, NYX Cosmetics, and Shiseido,…

Pros:

• SFCC offers a flexible and scalable hosting infrastructure as a cloud-based SaaS platform, and this vendor will be in charge of configuration, updates, maintenance, security, etc., helping users save time and money in these areas.
• Since SFCC is practically a ready-made solution, businesses only need to express their ideas, and SFCC’s IT team will develop them in a matter of weeks.
• The amazingly functional system supports cosmetic eCommerce businesses by allowing customers to select product sizes, purchase items in sets, take advantage of shock deals and flash sales, and receive new customer discounts and loyalty points.
• Unlike other SaaS platforms, SFCC scales and manages traffic spikes for sales seasons and other unplanned events with ease.
• Synchronizing sales channels, reaching, and serving clients across many channels are made possible by omnichannel solutions for the cosmetics industry.

Cons:

• Developers and businesses are required extensive SFCC understanding.
• SFCC charges users on a revenue-based model. Depending on the selected plan package, customers will pay 1 or 2% GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) to preserve website ownership. This means that the higher the revenue, the more expenses must be paid to SFCC.
• Limited integration with 3rd party services.

=> SFCC is suitable for B2C and B2B cosmetic businesses.

Magento

Magento is a popular open-source commerce platform in the field of eCommerce, with nearly 200,000 websites in use. Currently, Magento has 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free), and Magento Commerce (paid).

Cosmetic eCommerce websites built successfully on the Magento platform with high brand awareness include Laneige, Sigma Beauty, and Hasaki,…

Pros:

• Many cosmetics themes from the global developer community and Magento website developers so businesses can use existing themes which easy to customize or use self-designed themes.
• Functional systems from basic to advanced, specialized for the cosmetic industry such as choosing product size, buying in sets, exclusive deals, product suggestions, viewed products, member incentives, etc.
• Due to its comprehensive customization options, Magento enables businesses to fully own, control, and customize the source code, facilitating the efficient operation of systems. Moreover, Magento may be customized to fit the eCommerce requirements of enterprises of various sizes.
• Highly scalable, beneficial for future system expansion, and featuring multiple sites, stores, languages, and currencies.
• Because Magento is a complete eCommerce system, it can guarantee smooth operation and minimize potential dangers from data systems and transaction processes, resulting in high security. As a result, the reputation of the website, system safety, and user rights are all improved.
• There is a huge skilled Magento developer community present worldwide, ready to help with technical issues as well as provide assistance in creating eCommerce solutions appropriate for each business model.

Cons: 

• There is no repository of themes from Magento to support businesses.
• Implementation typically takes three to six months, but it might take up to a year due to a sophisticated functioning system.
• Although the platform is free to use, the cost of implementing eCommerce with Magento is quite high, about $50,000-$100,000 depending on the complexity of the project.

=> Magento is appropriate for a range of cosmetics business types, including B2B, B2C, and B2B2C, as well as for various business sizes, including start-ups, SMEs, and major companies. However, large organizations use Magento because it is frequently relatively expensive to deploy.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that allows businesses to transform a regular WordPress website into a professional eCommerce website with full features and easy customization with just a few simple steps.

A few good examples of big brands that have built successful eCommerce websites with WooCommerce and generated huge sales such as: MOI Cosmetics, Bo Shop, Nuty Cosmetics, AB Beauty World, Beauty Garden,. ..

Pros:

• There are many free and premium themes from the WordPress and WooCommerce communities for the cosmetics sector which are easy to customize or businesses can use self-designed themes.
• Functional systems from basic to advanced for cosmetic eCommerce business such as similar product suggestions, viewed products, discount vouchers, and new customer incentives,…
• Easy integration with a variety of 3rd party services.
• The cost of building an eCommerce website is not too high compared to other open-source platforms like Magento, with total annual costs ranging from $110 to $1,500+ for domains, hosting, themes, extensions, plugins, etc.
• eCommerce website implementation time with WooCommerce takes about 1 to 3 months to complete.

Cons:

• The functional system is still limited in terms of features specific to the cosmetics industry.
• The scalability is not as high compared to other open-source platforms such as Open Cart, and Magento because it depends on the WordPress system.

=> WooCommerce will be suitable for cosmetics businesses that are familiar with the WordPress platform and want to develop an eCommerce system.

Shopify

Shopify is a popular SaaS platform in the world that provides a variety of solutions for businesses of all sizes to successfully build eCommerce websites. After being in the market for about 20 years, Shopify has gradually grown to become one of the top eCommerce platforms in the world, trusted by many Vietnamese and foreign companies. 

Kylie Cosmetics, Innisfree, Sulwhasoo, Cho Tinh Cua Boo, Guardian, and Ofélia are some examples of companies in the cosmetics industry leveraging Shopify for eCommerce websites and enjoying great success.

Pros:

• Available and diverse themes for the cosmetics industry.
• Functional system from basic to advanced, supporting eCommerce business such as similar product suggestions, viewed products, discount vouchers, and new customer incentives.
• The initial cost is quite reasonable with a variety of options for businesses from $29/month to about $2,000/month.
• The time to build an eCommerce website is quite fast from 1-7 days, or more depending on the complexity of the system.
• Shopify has a large developer community to serve businesses.

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the cosmetics sector is still limited.
• A wider range of 3rd party services but still only integrated with services available in Shopify’s app store.
• Deployment costs are both advantages and disadvantages of Shopify when the initial cost is quite reasonable, but in the long run, businesses have to pay the cost of using the platform, interface, application, etc., regularly every month. This makes it difficult to manage cash flow.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Shopify to expand its website in the future.

=> Shopify is considered suitable for start-ups or SMEs with global operations.

Haravan

Haravan is a leading technology firm in Vietnam, that was founded in 2014, with the intention of eventually extending to many other Southeast Asian nations.

It specializes in offering businesses and merchants in Vietnam solutions for eCommerce, engagement marketing, and omnichannel retail.

Haravan has gained the trust of many companies in the cosmetics industry as a result of the efficiency of the website system that the business has created and the ground-breaking online retail sales.

The Face Shop, The World of Lipsticks, The World Skin Food, and Lam Thao Cosmetics are some well-known cosmetics companies in Vietnam that have launched eCommerce websites using the Haravan platform.

Pros:

• Available and diverse themes for the cosmetics industry.
• Wide range of applications, from basic to advanced to start an eCommerce business.
• Reasonable eCommerce deployment cost, various packages from 200,000 VND/month to 3,000,000 VND/month, making it easy for customers to choose.
• ​​The time to build an eCommerce website is fast, only about 30 minutes for businesses to own a website with all the necessary features to get started. However, for the website to work effectively, businesses need to spend more time researching and developing the system.

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the cosmetics sector is still limited.
• Only integrated with services/utilities located in Haravan’s ecosystem.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Haravan to expand the website in the future.

=> Haravan is suitable for start-up cosmetics businesses or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) with operations mainly in Vietnam.

An extremely critical first step in developing a cosmetic eCommerce website is selecting the appropriate platform. Businesses may develop websites more quickly and affordably while enhancing their competitive advantage and sustainable growth by choosing the right eCommerce platform.

The improper platform, on the other hand, will cost firms a lot of money and effort to adopt and switch platforms repeatedly. Therefore, in order to select the best platform, organizations must take into account the objectives and issues with the current model.

With many years of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, SECOMM specializes in providing consulting services with comprehensive and professional eCommerce implementation solutions. 

Contact SECOMM today for free support and advice.

It’s important when it comes to choosing the right platform to build an effective eCommerce system. Businesses have many options to choose from either the open-source eCommerce platforms or any eCommerce platform as a service (SaaS, Paas), depending on the eCommerce business model and business plans.

To have a comprehensive eCommerce system, the open-source eCommerce platform is the business’s best friend, because of the great flexibility, scalability, customization according to the products, and catalogue characteristics.

In addition, the open-source platform also allows businesses to own the entire system source code and data. With all of these outstanding features, open-source platforms are slowly becoming the eCommerce development choices that many businesses are aiming for.   

However, businesses need to carefully consider choosing the right platform. There are a lot of open-source eCommerce platforms on the market (OpenCart, WooCommerce, Magento,…), and each platform has its pros and cons. 

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a WordPress plug-in introduced in 2011, completely free, and allows businesses to turn their WordPress sites into online stores, with built-in and additional features.

Pros

Ease of use

Many businesses that have been using WordPress for their online business, must be familiar with WooCommerce. Businesses can turn their website into an eCommerce system when implementing the WooCommerce Plugin into their WordPress website easily.

They can set up, integrate, and adjust functions on themes, and add-ons,… that have been built with high functionality from developers in a strong community around the world, making it easier to modify, and more flexible on the platform

In addition, WooCommerce is carefully built, convenient, also has huge and rich theme storage, and it is easy for businesses to design and build an e-commerce system right from the start, without knowing too much about technology. 

Rich in features and add-ons

WooCommerce allows and supports features such as product management, orders, inventory, search engine optimization (SEO), discounts, sales, statistics reports, easy integration of payment units, shipping, handling units, and shopping experience optimization on all devices, making it easy for businesses to build a comprehensive system for simple and effective e-commerce business development.

Regarding security, WooCommerce ensures that businesses have the best security through a regularly updated system, and also ensures all of the business transactions are secure and safe through the features from the third-party services.

Cons

Low performance

One of the biggest disadvantages for businesses using the WooCommerce platform is the low performance, the system is easily overloaded with plug-ins and themes, and the number of products does not surpass 2000 SKUs, and often affects the system if the number of products exceeds the limit. Therefore, when businesses want to expand their business, it is necessary to consider switching to another platform. 

Limited customization

WooCommerce is a plugin for WordPress, the platform lets businesses customize their eCommerce system, but building a complete, and comprehensive eCommerce system with unique features is very limited. The modification can cause instability for the system as well as the possibility that those built-in features are not compatible with the platform.

To customize a suitable system based on the available features system, businesses will face many challenges, it takes a lot of time and resources.

WooCommerce is perfect for businesses that are using WordPress and are looking to develop an e-commerce system. However, WooCommerce is not perfect for developing a comprehensive e-commerce system and expanding the business model. Some brands are using WooCommerce around the world such as Pluralsight LLC, and Gordon College, and famous brands in Vietnam such as Vietnam Airlines, Pharmacity, etc.

OpenCart

OpenCart is an open-source CMS (Content Management System) using PHP language, similar to WordPress but specially designed for e-commerce.

Pros

Friendly interface and easy-to-use

OpenCart provides an intuitive, easy-to-use, friendly interface, which is specialized for  

the eCommerce industry. In addition, OpenCart also provides a completely free variety of interfaces and features, making it easy for businesses to develop e-commerce systems with basic website development knowledge and skills. Because OpenCart is built based on the MVC Model (Model- View- Controller), developing and writing a module for an e-commerce system on this platform is also quite easy. 

Full of basic e-commerce features and a variety of add-ons.

OpenCart supports businesses with every basic e-commerce feature. Since OpenCart is a CMS specially designed for e-commerce, the open-source commerce platform such as OpenCart fully supports basic e-commerce functions such as sales, sales management, data management, statistics, customer data lists, and invoices.

Businesses can easily create and manage many different stores on the same system without having too much technical knowledge. This also means that businesses can access and manage all data of multiple stores at the same time with just one single central OpenCart system.

Not only supporting businesses build and manage an eCommerce system, but OpenCart also supports marketing such as search engine optimization (SEO), keyword advertising (Adwords), marketing programs, and affiliate marketing programs to be able to reach customers more easily, increase sales on the eCommerce system.

On top of the basic e-commerce functions, OpenCart also has additional applications to support businesses such as daily business operations and product categories. The backup and restore function helps businesses always have a backup system in hand and ready to restore all of the data on the system in case of an emergency

Besides that the platform also has many features such as a shopping cart, support customers to buy many products at once; gift features issuing gift cards, and loyalty programs. In addition, businesses can integrate other utilities such as payment gateway VNPay, and PayCEC, to help businesses have a better, faster, and seamless shopping experience. 

Customization

With all of the basic features of an open-source program, businesses can easily modify, edit and customize on the OpenCart platform. In addition, the OpenCart e-commerce platform has a great ecosystem with many functions suitable for e-commerce business, firms can fully explore, as well as develop modules that are suitable for a satisfactory e-commerce system.

Cons

Although the OpenCart platform has many advantages that are the best fit for e-commerce businesses, there are also some limitations that businesses should be aware of when using the platform. 

Low performance, and unstable

Although the platform is highly rated and well designed for the eCommerce industry, the system is still not stable enough because the modules and functions are not fully optimized, many errors occur while operating, as well as the installation steps are still very perplexing.

Therefore, businesses still encounter many problems when building and operating, which might affect the business’s processing speed as well as the revenue.

Feature development costs can become expensive

OpenCart owns extensive storage with quite a lot of basic features to serve e-commerce businesses quickly and conveniently, but the platform still cannot meet the advanced and specialized features according to specific product characteristics, product categories, and business needs of each field.

Therefore, businesses will need to invest time and resources to develop advanced features. For example, the SEO feature is supported on the platform, but there are many difficulties when censoring content via Google, not as effective as on the WordPress platform.

The OpenCart platform is relatively new compared to other platforms on the market, has many limitations and needs to be optimized. Similar to the WooCommerce platform, this is a good platform to start an ecommerce business, but not perfect for developing a comprehensive ecommerce system that goes along with growing and scaling your business. Some of the international brands that are using OpenCart such as Sunglass Hut, Virgin Enterprise, Audio-Technica Ltd, and the brands in Vietnam that are using OpenCart are Mobifone, RitaVo, etc.

Magento

Magento is an open-source platform specially built for e-commerce. It is recognized as one of the leading e-commerce platforms today, offering various outstanding advantages such as high flexibility, a diverse ecosystem, and optimal security. Currently, Magento has two versions: Magento Open Source (free) and Magento Commerce (paid).

Pros

Diverse features for e-commerce from basic to advanced

Magento possesses many features available from basic to advanced to develop a complete e-commerce system including Category Management, Content Management, Customer Management, Marketing Management, Order Management, Store Management, System Management, Shopping Cart and Checkout, Reporting & Analytics. These features have been built with flexibility, and high availability to deliver outstanding results when integrated into the system, meeting all of your business e-commerce operations and  sustainable growth needs

Scalability

One of the biggest fears of all ecommerce businesses is having a slow, poorly functioning system, or being overwhelmed when there are too many SKUs. With Magento, businesses do not need to worry about these issues even with millions of SKUs or thousands of transactions per hour. Magento can meet all the operational requirements, and business sustainable e-commerce development needs, with the ability to handle up to 500,000 products, and thousands of transactions in an hour.

High flexibility and customizability

Owning all of the advantages of an open source ecommerce platform, Magento has outstanding flexibility and customization. Businesses can easily change and develop new and specialized features according to the characteristics of products, industries, and businesses to be able to catch up with the rapid change of the market.

On top of that, businesses easily integrate third-party systems such as payment, shipping, POS, ERP, CRM, PIM, and BI to help develop all resources, and seamless processes without affecting the level of production, and the performance of e-commerce systems.

A global community for technical support and consulting

The customer support from Magento is for the customers, who are using the enterprise version, Magento Commerce. For customers, who are using the free edition, of Magento Open Source, there will not be any customer support from the platform.

However, Magento has a strong global technical support and consulting community. Therefore, most of the problems in eCommerce that businesses are facing can be solved from the Magento ecosystem or extensions from a third party. Having a strong global technical support community is also a testament to the level of reliability, quick resolution, and constant updates that Magento open source platform brings to customers.

Cons

High development costs 

Magento open source e-commerce platform is highly appreciated with outstanding functions to develop a sustainable commerce platform, but businesses need to invest significant resources to deploy and develop the system.

Magento is an open source platform built specifically for e-commerce. This is known as one of the leading eCommerce platforms today on the market with many outstanding advantages such as high flexibility, diverse ecosystem and optimal security. Currently, Magento has 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free), and Magento Commerce (paid).

Magento has several outstanding features to develop a complete e-commerce system, and become a one-stop-shop for businesses that need development:

• Flexible Content Management: easy to adjust, and build many content management features on the e-commerce system.
• Mobile-Friendly Configuration: The interface and design of the Magento e-commerce platform are very suitable for smartphone and tablet devices.
• Advanced Search Engine Optimization: With effective SEO optimization, Magento gives online stores many opportunities to boost sales.
• Regulating Security Rights: Magento supports businesses to customize many levels of security permissions, control internal access rights, ensure system safety and protect users’ rights.

High Scalability

The biggest fear of all e-commerce businesses is having a slow, poor-performing website, or being overloaded with too many SKUs. With Magento, businesses do not need to worry about these issues, whether they have millions of SKUs or thousands of transactions per hour. Magento can meet all business needs for sustainable e-commerce operation and development. Therefore, businesses can scale up their business with Magneto.

High flexibility and customizability

The fact that the Magento platform has a high degree of flexibility is because of an open source platform. Businesses can modify and customize the templates, as well as adjust the features that the business needs to operate. In addition, businesses can completely build features from scratch to have an e-commerce system that is most suitable for businesses.

On top of that, businesses can easily integrate third-party systems such as ERP, CRM, and payment methods without affecting the level of performance of the main e-commerce system. In addition, businesses can easily separate the front-end interface from the back-end commercial activities.

Magento is an ideal place for businesses to host their software, but also a place with a lot of features. If your business currently has an experienced developer, or finances to attain a developer, and is ready to have an impressive e-commerce system, then Magento is a good choice. You have complete freedom to adjust the features until you are satisfied with your e-commerce system.

Big developer’s community around the world

However, the customer care from the Magento e-commerce platform is completely absent, in addition to that, Magento has a global developer support community. Therefore, there will be a lot of support for businesses to solve problems, and related techniques, as well as advice on building the most suitable solutions for businesses anytime, anywhere, and of course with a fee.

Cons

High development cost

A fully functional ecommerce system for a business is estimated to be at least $20,000 annually or more. If your business is just getting into e-commerce and has absolutely no technology experience, choosing Magento is a risky choice. But if businesses have the capacity and resources to run the system with this platform, then business growth will be faster with additional features such as sales automation.

Fully functional enterprise versions are estimated to be at least $20,000 annually or more. If your business is just getting into e-commerce and has absolutely no technology experience, choosing Magento is a risky choice. But if businesses have the capacity and resources to run the system with this platform, then business growth will be faster with additional features such as sales automation.

Complexity of specialized functions

Many businesses currently still face difficulties when transforming to e-commerce because of the specific characteristics of different industries and fields. These specific functions require an appropriate technology solution to ensure that the ecommerce system can operate efficiently and sustainably after the transformation. To build a specific feature with high complexity for an e-commerce system, businesses will need to spend more resources and time than the usual plan that businesses have set out to get a solution that fits the specific requirements of your e-commerce business.

Vietnamese firms that are using Magento

Magento is the best-fit solution for small and medium B2C businesses that have the need as well as the time, manpower and skills to build an e-commerce system. Famous brands in Vietnam are using the Magento ecommerce platform: Sendo, Vietnamworks, SJC, etc.

So which ecommerce platform is best suited for your business?

Different e-commerce platforms offer different features and values. No matter what route your business follows when building your e-commerce system, always think carefully about the following factors:

• The platform you choose must ensure your website is constantly updated and managed
• Choose a good web hosting
• Intuitive and seamless payment processors and shopping cart
• Good for customer service and user experience
• Ensure security for your site and customers’ data

BigCommerce

With BigCommerce, businesses can choose the price that suits their business needs. In addition, the BigCommerce eCommerce platform is designed for everyone to use, from beginners to professional developers. However, if the business does not have a lot of capacity, as well as finance, then using BigCommerce to develop an e-commerce system is not suitable.

WooCommerce

With the WooCommerce ecommerce platform, businesses have full control over the ecommerce system. In addition, businesses can freely compare, and adjust any functions in the ecommerce system. However, expanding your business on the WooCommerce platform would be an inappropriate choice, as the platform can be overloaded with functions on the ecommerce system. However, businesses can start an ecommerce system with WooCommerce with less investment than competitors like BigCommerce.

Magento

Magento is a comprehensive ecommerce platform capable of supporting businesses to expand and grow their business in all aspects. However, all the disadvantages of Magento can be narrowed down to a single problem: the technical challenges, which require businesses to have an in-depth programming team. Meanwhile, businesses can solve this by having a team with experience building e-commerce systems.

Businesses can contact SECOMM to receive detailed advice for the journey to develop a comprehensive and sustainable e-commerce system for businesses and consult Magento solutions specifically for SMEs in Vietnam!

The electronic commerce market in the liquor industry is currently experiencing robust development and has become a dominant trend in many different countries. In 2021 alone, the number of alcohol consumers increased by 10–20%, and those following the trend saw a growth of 40–50%, indicating significant progress in eCommerce for the alcohol industry in recent times (according to Wine Intelligent).

Not only limited to user growth, the global eCommerce market for wine is expected to grow by 7.7% annually (according to Statista) and reach a value of 1.68 trillion by 2025 (according to Cision). This presents both an opportunity and a challenge for liquor businesses to grasp and develop a business model suitable for the changing market in the digital era.

To embark on an online liquor business, the selection of an eCommerce platform needs careful consideration and precise decision-making. Choosing the right platform aligned with the budget and objectives helps businesses save time in construction, utilise human resources efficiently, and save costs in building and developing the system. Simultaneously, it assists businesses in reaching a large customer base, boosting sales, and seizing sustainable development opportunities in the future.

Currently, there are primarily two types of eCommerce platforms on the market: open-source and service-based. Each type of platform has certain advantages and disadvantages, and businesses need to carefully weigh criteria that align with their business model to choose a suitable platform.

Criteria for Choosing an eCommerce Platform in the Liquor Industry

Suitable Interface for the eCommerce System in the Liquor Industry

Wine products belong to the premium segment in modern life. Therefore, customers always prioritize high-quality visuals, and eye-catching, user-friendly interfaces in the eCommerce system that are easy to use and navigate.

Businesses in the liquor industry need to focus on conveying the product’s value message not only through a well-designed and user-friendly interface but also one that has high aesthetic appeal, with distinctive features to communicate the brand and product values to the specific target customers of the industry. This approach ensures a comprehensive user experience when using the eCommerce system.

Diverse eCommerce Feature System, from Basic to Advanced to Specialized

eCommerce platforms should have a diverse range of features, from basic to advanced, and even specialized features tailored for the liquor industry. This facilitates the efficient and sustainable development of the eCommerce system for businesses. Basic features include management, storefronts, sales, information management, statistics, revenue control, customer lists, invoices, shopping carts, and checkout, as well as reporting and analysis.

Advanced features related to themes, products, marketing, optimized payment solutions, discounts, and shipping cater to the operational and developmental needs of sustainable eCommerce for businesses. Specialized features for the liquor industry may include product allocation, inventory control, membership management (Wine club memberships management), implementing customer loyalty programmes, and product-specific discounts based on business needs.

Read more: SaaS eCommerce platforms vs Open-Source eCommerce platforms

High Integration Capability

For a seamless online business system in the liquor industry, businesses often integrate eCommerce platforms with other software and technology platforms they currently use, such as payment systems, shipping, ERP, POS, CRM, marketing management, etc.

This requires the eCommerce platform to have flexible, seamless, and effective integration capabilities with this software without compromising the execution of each system. This integration not only helps businesses overcome manual operational limitations but also increases automation for both back-office management and sales processes, ensuring high accuracy and operational efficiency for the business’s development.

Payment and Delivery Software

In addition to supporting Cash On Delivery (COD), platforms need to integrate various payment software, including local and international card options, payment gateways (Paypal, Stripe, One Pay, etc.), and digital wallets (Momo, ZaloPay, etc.). The chosen eCommerce platform should have the ability to seamlessly integrate this payment software with high security, safety, and efficiency.

For delivery and logistics, businesses can integrate service providers and popular transportation tracking applications, optimizing and streamlining delivery processes. Businesses can customize and develop delivery modes suitable for customers, ensuring a comfortable and convenient buying and receiving experience for users. Integrating payment and delivery software helps shorten the purchasing journey, optimize the user experience, and prompt customers to make decisions quickly.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

Businesses can fully integrate third-party enterprise management software such as ERP, CRM, POS, etc., with the eCommerce system to support efficient and seamless multi-channel eCommerce operations. This synchronizes data on products, categories, orders, and user information across systems, simplifying and automating the back-office management and sales processes, ensuring high accuracy and operational efficiency for sustainable development.

Marketing Management Software

In addition to the marketing tools available on the eCommerce platform, businesses can integrate additional marketing tools such as email marketing software (MailChimp, Drip, etc.), marketing analysis software (Google Analytics, Google Adwords Keywords, etc.), and social media management software (Buffer, Hootsuite, etc.). Marketing management software helps businesses deploy marketing campaigns, attract customers, and increase conversion rates, maximizing both eCommerce and overall business revenue.

Maximum Scalability

Choosing an eCommerce platform in the liquor industry with high scalability is crucial for businesses to grow sustainably. The platform should seamlessly accompany the business through various business models, from entering eCommerce for the first time to expanding the business system. It should support diverse business models such as B2B, B2C, D2C, and B2B2C.

Furthermore, the platform should assist businesses in operating and expanding by supporting the management of multiple websites, catering to multiple countries, and handling various currencies, all within a unified system. Beyond that, platforms with high scalability not only support expansion but also ensure stable system operation even when the website experiences gradual increases in traffic over time or experiences sudden spikes in traffic during promotional campaigns.

Top 5 Specialized eCommerce Platforms in the Wine Industry

VineSpring

VineSpring is an eCommerce platform created by experts with in-depth knowledge of the wine industry’s operations. As a result, businesses will have an online eCommerce system with specialized features for the wine industry.

Evaluation based on criteria

Interface Criteria

• Industry-specific Interface Design:

VineSpring offers a rich interface library, collaborating with various unique website designers specifically for the online wine industry. This allows businesses to easily build their brand without needing extensive technological knowledge.

• Multimedia Experience:

Understanding the present needs of businesses, VineSpring has developed and optimized its platform to operate flexibly on various media, from desktops and tablets to personal mobile devices. This ensures businesses have a multimedia online presence and provides the best shopping experience.

• Prominent CMS System:

With a CMS system on the VineSpring platform, businesses can fine-tune content and essential product information, brand details, and success stories tailored to their business development needs. This enables businesses to have a highly interactive website and a friendlier user experience.

Integration Capability Criteria

• Shipping Software Integration:

The platform also supports businesses in terms of product shipping. VineSpring can integrate additional shipping software (ShipCompliant and ShipStation), assisting businesses in controlling information and making order tracking easy for customers on the website.

• Management Software Integration:

VineSpring directly integrates with Square POS software through an available technical team. The VineSpring POS system has a “tap, chip, and swipe” feature, enabling businesses to process orders quickly and conveniently. Additionally, VineSpring can integrate CRM software (Salesforce) to provide efficient solutions for management, sales, and customer care.

• Marketing Management Software Integration:

VineSpring supports businesses in marketing through the integration of email marketing software (Mailchimp) for list management and the creation of email marketing campaigns, increasing automation in operations.

eCommerce Feature System Criteria

• Basic and Advanced Features:

Vinspring has a system of basic and some advanced features sufficient for businesses to operate at a basic level. Especially, Vinespring has optimized inventory management features to save time, allowing businesses to access production history details, including information on bottling times, prices, and shipping units.

• Specialized Features:

Vinespring is an ideal solution for developing a business’s recurring revenue model in the eCommerce wine industry. The platform provides businesses with specialized features, such as wine allocation management and wine club member management.

In addition to the mentioned advantages, Vinespring also has a dedicated customer care team. As a Software as a Service (SaaS) eCommerce platform, VineSpring places a strong emphasis on customer service through 24/7 online chat with experts and telephone support anywhere, anytime. Therefore, businesses will receive the best and fastest support to resolve technical issues, as well as applications, features, and the most convenient and suitable solutions.

Cost

VineSpring is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform, so businesses need to pay a fixed monthly fee ranging from $99 to $399, depending on the service package, and may be higher based on business needs:

• VineSpring Starter – $99/month: Provides businesses with a store system that includes hosting, payment software from VineSpring, and free direct support.
• VineSpring Standard – $199/month: Businesses have control over inventory, allocation management, custom store interface plugins, and integration with the ShipCompliant shipping feature.
• VineSpring Professional – $399/month: Businesses receive all essential features from the VineSpring Standard package, along with integration with Square POS software and the MailChimp marketing tool.
• VineSpring Enterprise: Ideal for large-scale wine businesses with high sales volume. The price for this package varies depending on the scale of the business.

User Target

The VineSpring platform (SaaS) is suitable for wine businesses with limited experience in building eCommerce systems. However, the usage fees for this platform are relatively high for small and medium-sized businesses.

WineDirect

WineDirect is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform designed for wine businesses with no experience in eCommerce platforms, helping manage every aspect of online sales and simplifying the business process.

Evaluation based on criteria

Criteria for Interface

The WineDirect platform provides an intuitive, user-friendly interface tailored for businesses. Additionally, WineDirect offers a diverse range of free interface templates and features, facilitating easy development of the eCommerce system with just basic website development knowledge and skills.

Criteria for eCommerce System Features

• Basic Features:

WineDirect provides fundamental features such as website analytics, sales tools, and options for business event registrations to boost customer engagement. This allows businesses to save time and unnecessary costs associated with other software.

• Advanced Features:

Businesses can possess essential information for creating customized offers and discounts tailored to each customer category, based on statistics gathered through integrated tools. Consequently, businesses can develop personalized shopping experiences and drive higher sales volumes, achieving outstanding results and meeting development needs.

• Special Features:

The platform has leveraged and optimized the WineDirect application, specially designed for mobile devices and is highly flexible for the wine industry. Through the application, businesses can manage products, eCommerce systems, advertising campaigns on the website, and customer information.

Integration Criteria

• Payment and Shipping Integration:

WineDirect provides integrated payment solutions on the platform, enabling businesses to have a seamless experience across two payment software, such as WineDirect Payments for businesses in the US and Canada, and eWay Payments for businesses in Australia.

With payment software, businesses are supported in processing orders through the website or in-store. Regarding shipping, the WineDirect platform can integrate with various shipping services (UPS, FedEx, Gliding Eagle, etc.), assisting businesses with detailed shipping information for each order and enhancing automation in the shipping process.

• Management Software Integration:

The WineDirect platform can integrate with ERP software, as well as the POS of the business (WineDirect POS, Napa Valley, Oztera, etc.), aiming to synchronize data between the POS system and the eCommerce system, including orders, inventory, wine club members, customer information, helping businesses increase automation in the operational process and manage information effectively.

• Marketing Tool Integration:

WineDirect has integrated available marketing tools on the platform to help businesses save time in system development. This includes providing businesses with access to real-time sales reports, allowing them to send emails based on customer groups depending on marketing campaigns.

Cost

The WineDirect platform is a SaaS (Software as a Service) eCommerce platform with three main pricing plans as follows:

• DTC Starter – $79 + 2% of monthly sales: Businesses integrate marketing tools, payment software, and Ship Compliant shipping, with free hosting included.
• DTC Pro starting from $199 + 1% of monthly sales: Businesses receive all the essential features from the DTC Starter package, as well as customer loyalty programs, reports, and automatic credit card updates.
• DTC Advanced: Businesses get all the features from the DTC Pro package, along with custom benefits to fit the scale and needs of the business. The usage cost for this service package varies based on the business’s requirements and scale.

User Target

Similar to VineSpring, the WineDirect platform (SaaS) is suitable for businesses of various models and sizes that lack extensive experience in building eCommerce systems and technology. However, one platform limitation is its high usage cost, which increases with the business’s monthly sales volume. 

Beyond the high usage cost, operational tools on the platform may be unstable, occasionally displaying errors on the system, such as payment statuses showing as ‘pending processing’ on the business side but appearing as ‘paid’ on the customer side. Despite this, WineDirect has a dedicated customer support team that efficiently addresses business issues, making it a preferred choice for many businesses.

Shopify

Shopify is a well-known giant in the field of building eCommerce systems as a Software as a Service (SaaS). The Shopify platform is favoured in the market for its user-friendly nature, quick system-building time, and low initial costs, making it suitable for a wide range of businesses.

Evaluation based on criteria

Criteria for Interface

In terms of interface, Shopify provides many beautiful themes that are well-compatible across various devices. Businesses in the wine industry can choose from several specialized templates designed and offered specifically for online wine businesses by the Shopify platform. Additionally, businesses have the freedom to customize the interface by accessing HTML and CSS code to enhance the brand’s uniqueness. Therefore, businesses can deliver a seamless experience across different devices without affecting the user’s shopping process.

Criteria for eCommerce System Features

Basic and Advanced Features:

In addition to basic features related to orders, products, categories, and product management, the Shopify eCommerce platform allows businesses in the wine industry to access profiles and purchase histories to gather customer information. This enables businesses to personalize the shopping experience, from personalized content and product displays to the entire eCommerce journey.

This key aspect helps businesses make a positive impression on consumers and fosters a stronger relationship between both parties. Furthermore, with the mobile application developed by Shopify, businesses can control every aspect of the online store anytime, anywhere, including effective sales management, order fulfilment, and inventory management.

Integration Criteria

• Integration of Payment and Shipping Software:

In addition to supporting direct payment features from the platform itself (Shopify Payment), Shopify also assists businesses in integrating other payment software such as Paypal, Stripe, SagePay, AliPay Global, etc. Regarding shipping software, Shopify collaborates directly with various major shipping service providers like USPS, UPS, and DHL to streamline the process and ensure more convenient shipping for businesses.

• Integration of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software:

Shopify’s Global ERP Program provides businesses with a system that connects multiple eCommerce platforms with critical business databases such as finance and inventory to optimize operations and business processes. This program includes partnerships with leading global ERP providers such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, Business Central, Oracle NetSuite, Infor, Acumatica, and Brightpearl.

• Automatic Integration of Marketing Tools:

Shopify supports businesses in marketing through integrated software within the system. Examples include email software (MailChimp), sales channels (Facebook, Instagram), advertising (Google Ads), etc. Through these integrated marketing tools, businesses have the opportunity to increase sales, automate email marketing, and develop marketing campaigns tailored to specific customer groups.

Cost

Shopify has developed various service plans suitable for businesses to choose from based on their capabilities and scale:

• Basic Shopify – $29/month: Suitable for new businesses with modest sales volume.
• Shopify – $79/month: Suitable for growing online businesses experiencing increased sales.
• Advanced Shopify – $299/month: Suitable for businesses with the need to expand scale and require advanced reporting and analytics tools.

In addition, Shopify has introduced other service plans to cater to diverse business needs:

• Shopify Lite – $9/month: Suitable for businesses wanting to add a buy button and payment services to an existing website or blog.
• Shopify Plus – $2000/month: Provides an advanced eCommerce solution for large enterprises handling a substantial volume of orders.

User Target

Originally an industry giant in the Software as a Service (SaaS) eCommerce sector with characteristics of rapid system development time, as well as a startup cost suitable for many businesses and easy usability, this platform is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises with limited experience in information technology.

However, in addition to the monthly fees for using additional utilities, Shopify also has limitations in terms of advanced features, unique features, and customization. Businesses must accept that certain features may not be available on the current website and may need to switch platforms when aiming to build a specialized system that aligns with their specific needs and ensures sustainable development in the future.

Read more: 

• What is Shopify Plus? The pros and cons of Shopify Plus
• Shopify vs Shopify Plus 2023: Which is a better choice? 

WooCommerce 

WooCommerce is an open-source Content Management System (CMS) known as a plugin for WordPress, introduced in 2011. It is completely free and allows businesses to turn their WordPress website into an online store. Therefore, in addition to being suitable for customizing the interface, WooCommerce is also an ideal platform for businesses to have a website with a flexible blog section, high interactivity, and a more user-friendly experience.

Evaluation based on criteria

Criteria for Interface

• The rich and customizable form library:

WooCommerce possesses and provides businesses with a rich library of forms designed for the wine industry, carefully crafted and user-friendly. Therefore, businesses can conveniently design and build an eCommerce system right from the beginning without needing in-depth technical knowledge

• User-friendly interface with Product Table:

With the WooCommerce platform, businesses can integrate tools from management systems to features specific to the wine industry. For instance, the platform can integrate with Product Table, a tool that allows wine businesses to have an interface displaying product attributes and numerous high-quality product images, as well as filtering features.

Criteria for eCommerce System Features

WooCommerce allows and supports basic features such as inventory management, order processing, inventory optimization, SEO tools, discounts, price reductions, sales statistics reports, and easy integration with payment and shipping providers. In terms of advanced features, the WooCommerce platform supports businesses in the wine industry with opportunities for wholesale orders and discounts, boosting sales through the eCommerce system. However, the platform has some limitations in terms of specialized features for the wine industry, as making certain edits can potentially cause instability in the system.

Integration Criteria

• Payment and Shipping Software:

For payments, businesses can use plugins to integrate payment gateways such as Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Square into the system, ensuring high security and safety.

Regarding shipping, businesses can integrate with various shipping providers that collaborate with WooCommerce, such as FedEx, UPS, and USPS, enabling efficient processing and optimization of the shipping process to provide the best shopping experience for consumers.

• Business Management Software:

The WooCommerce platform allows and supports businesses with integrable business management software, typical examples being Odoo, Square POS, and WP ERP. This enables businesses to save time, and costs, improve business efficiency, and automate management processes.

• Marketing Management Software:

Businesses can integrate marketing management software to support their operations, such as email marketing (MailChimp), advertising (Google Listings, Google Ads, Facebook), and analytics software (Google Analytics). This helps businesses increase traffic, promote repeat shopping, and optimize personalization for consumers.

Cost

The WooCommerce platform is an open-source platform, and thus, the platform itself is entirely free to use. However, businesses may incur development costs when utilizing the platform, such as domain registration fees ($15), hosting fees ($120/year), and system development costs (ranging from $3,000 to $10,000 depending on the complexity of the system).

User Target

WooCommerce is a suitable platform for wine businesses already familiar with WordPress and looking to expand their eCommerce systems, offering numerous basic features built with high availability from developers in the strong global community. However, WooCommerce is not perfect for businesses with a large number of products, as the system tends to be unstable with more than 2,000 SKUs. 

The platform also has limitations in terms of customization and fine-tuning specific features because intervening adjustments can easily lead to system instability, and there is a high likelihood that the built-in features are not compatible with this platform. Additionally, to customize the system based on the available feature set, businesses may encounter significant difficulties and time-consuming efforts.

Magento – The best all-around platform for the wine industry

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform known as one of the leading eCommerce platforms today, with many outstanding advantages such as high flexibility, a diverse ecosystem, and optimal security. Currently, Magento has two versions: Magento Open Source (free) and Magento Commerce (paid).

Evaluation based on criteria

Criteria for Interface

With the Magento open-source eCommerce platform, businesses may not have access to an extensive theme library as other eCommerce platforms do. However, businesses can fully customize the interface for a specialized eCommerce system, providing a comfortable user experience. To achieve this, businesses need an experienced technical team and careful investment.

Criteria for eCommerce System Features

The Magento eCommerce platform offers a highly diverse and advanced feature system, from basic to advanced, making it easy for wine industry businesses to quickly build and develop their systems in the short term and sustainably in the long term.

• Basic features:

A variety of features ranging from Category Management, Content Management, Customer Management, Marketing Management, Order Management, Store Management, System Management, Cart and Checkout, to Reporting & Analytics.

• Advanced features:

Magento is known for its superiorly developed advanced features and extensions to meet the rapid development of the eCommerce market and the specialized requirements of each business. Thousands of advanced functions related to themes, products, marketing, optimal payment solutions, shipping, etc., have been built with flexibility and high availability, delivering outstanding results when integrated into the system, and meeting every operational and sustainable eCommerce development need of businesses.

• Specialized features:

Businesses can completely modify system functions, develop new specialized features to meet business needs, and quickly adapt to market changes. In addition, businesses can comfortably expand the scale of their business with the open-source Magento platform.

Integration Criteria

• Payment and Shipping Software:

Regarding payments, wine industry businesses using the Magento eCommerce platform can integrate the most common payment methods such as card payments (ATM, Visa, Master…), e-wallets (Momo, Zalo Pay…), and payment gateways (OnePay, VNPay, PayPal, etc.), helping diversify the shopping payment experience.

For shipping, businesses can easily integrate with various shipping providers and popular shipment tracking applications on the market to optimize shipping and delivery processes. Additionally, wine industry businesses can develop shipping and delivery features tailored to their needs and customers to provide a convenient and fast delivery experience.

• Business Management Software:

Magento is praised for its highly effective operation with most POS (Square…), CRM (Salesforce…), and ERP (SAP, Oracle, Odoo) systems. Through efficient integration of these software solutions, businesses can overcome manual operation limitations and increase automation for both back-office management and sales, ensuring high accuracy and operational efficiency for sustainable development.

• Marketing Management Software:

For marketing management software, businesses can integrate various management software solutions, including email marketing (Mailchimp…), and advertising (Facebook, Google…), to support planning marketing programs, strategy setting, as well as handling and controlling data, seamless eCommerce business processes, and optimizing online business.

Additionally, Magento provides Magento BI tools or allows businesses to integrate with other Business Intelligence (BI) tools such as Power BI, Tableau, Looker, etc., to optimize business efficiency, easily consolidate and leverage data from the Magento system and other software for quick, efficient analysis and reporting, and to improve business strategy and growth optimization for the enterprise.

Criteria for scalability

Inheriting the high scalability of the open-source platform, Magento can accompany businesses with every sustainable development business model, from newly established enterprises to expanded business systems, covering various business models such as B2B, B2C, D2C, and B2B2C.

Magento can support businesses to operate and expand into multiple websites, countries, and multiple currencies, and manage all within one system. Not only that, Magento also supports stable system operation even when the website experiences gradual or sudden increases in traffic over time or during peak periods in promotional campaigns, with the ability to handle up to 500,000 products and thousands of transactions per hour.

Cost

Magento is an ideal platform for any business venturing into the wine industry and implementing eCommerce. However, the cost issue is a significant obstacle, preventing most small and medium-sized wine businesses from choosing the Magento platform to build an eCommerce system.

According to estimates, a fully functional system developed on the Magento eCommerce platform typically incurs deployment and development costs ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 or more. In addition to the complex and advanced feature set, a crucial factor contributing to the higher deployment costs of Magento compared to other platforms is the requirement for an experienced and specialized team.

User Target

Magento is often the platform of choice for large businesses in the wine industry, whether B2B, B2C, or D2C, that already have an existing customer base and a long-term need for developing an eCommerce system. With this platform, businesses can continually develop components within the eCommerce system to ensure optimal operational efficiency and sustainable growth.

The high development costs, as well as the development timeline, which can range from 2-3 months to sometimes up to a year, are barriers that make it challenging for small and medium-sized businesses to comfortably choose Magento.

Choosing an eCommerce Platform for the Wine Industry

Choosing the right eCommerce platform is crucial in building an eCommerce system for businesses in the wine industry. This decision not only minimizes investment costs and shortens the time to build an eCommerce system but also helps businesses gain a competitive advantage in the industry and achieve sustainable growth.

On the other hand, an inappropriate platform choice can lead to significant time and cost investments for migration and platform conversion. Therefore, businesses need to consider their goals, and issues in the current model to choose the most suitable platform.

For small and medium-sized businesses, newcomers to the eCommerce market, or large businesses without the need to build a specialized eCommerce system, they can choose Software as a Service (SaaS) eCommerce platforms such as VineSpring, Winedirect, Shopify, or the open-source platform WooCommerce.

If businesses focus on industry-specific features such as developing a subscription revenue model and managing wine clubs, VineSpring and Wine Direct are suitable choices. WooCommerce is convenient for businesses that emphasize adjusting the interface. Shopify is suitable for businesses that want to quickly develop an eCommerce website with low initial costs.

For large businesses or those wanting to build a specialized eCommerce system tailored to the characteristics of their products, business model, or a platform that can accompany the sustainable development of the business, choosing comprehensive open-source platforms like Magento is necessary. With open-source platforms like Magento, businesses can develop special features, design interfaces freely, and not worry too much about the operating system.

SECOMM confidently accompanies wine businesses on the path of deploying and developing sustainable eCommerce, with successful implementation experience for many wine businesses in various countries such as Singapore, the United States, Australia, Japan, and Vietnam. 

Contact SECOMM for detailed advice on the development journey of the eCommerce system for your wine business!

eCommerce is currently developing into a fresh and promising sales channel for furniture companies in addition to the traditional sales channel. Businesses must work hard to sustain and achieve breakthrough growth through eCommerce platforms, though.

As a result, numerous furniture companies started developing online furniture business websites and found surprising success, such Sieu Thi Noi That va Trang Tri Baya, Nha Xinh, Cozy, or Noi Phat Hoa Phat.

These websites’ success can be attributed to their early selection of an adequate and suitable eCommerce platform. Which platforms are appropriate for the furniture industry, then?

Main aspects of the eCommerce furniture industry

UI/UX standard furniture eCommerce website interface

​​The first criterion businesses set when developing an eCommerce website is a standard UI / UX interface, friendly to users who enjoy shopping for furniture online and other home goods to increase customer interaction.

Similar to eCommerce websites in other sectors like fashion, electronics, etc., websites in the furniture sector must feature stunning and high-quality photographs and videos.

This makes it simpler for companies to communicate product information to customers, especially with banner advertisements that have an easy-to-use interface and a pleasing style that will pique shoppers’ interests.

Businesses also need to consider other concerns including call-to-action button placement, cross-device compatibility, and layout designs that display a range of product designs from the navigation bar to page-by-page details.

Comprehensive functional system

Furniture firms need a functional system from basic to advanced to fully meet consumers’ buying expectations and maximize the user experience. This system should include:

• Catalog Management: Manage properties, pricing systems, inventory, photos, and videos to keep them running
• Content Management: Content development for CMS pages, image hosting, theme customization, and website design
• Customer Management: Control information, behavior, and consumption habits to build strategies for each specific customer group
• Sales Management: Set up and operate sales, order, payment, and shipping processes
• Marketing Management: Implement and optimize programs to attract potential customers with built-in support tools
• System Management: Seamless supply chain response with shipping navigation and automation management tools
• Store Management: Navigate and maintain your eCommerce business from online to offline
• Cart & Checkout: Manage shopping carts and process the next payment steps for customers
• Analytics and Reports: Monitor and measure eCommerce performance to give detailed reports to improve business efficiency

Businesses also need to develop some additional specialized features to address the furniture industry’s “own challenge,” such as:

• Omnichannel to track customer footprints across all channels from eCommerce platforms, and social networks, to eCommerce websites and mobile apps to deliver a seamless shopping experience.
• VR/AR or 360-degree view brings a visual experience and realistic visualization of the product, thereby enhancing the online furniture shopping experience.
• Customers who request customized products can specify the colors, materials, and sizes they want and pay a deposit. The supplier will then continue to produce the furniture items in accordance with the requirements and deliver them to the customer once they are finished. The consumer will then pay the supplier the balance at that time.

Integration with a variety of third-party services

Furniture businesses frequently integrate a range of payment options, shipping services, management software, and business analysis tools to optimize eCommerce business systems in order to provide customers with a comprehensive shopping experience.

Some popular payment methods businesses can integrate on the website to diversify payment methods to help customers have many choices such as card payment; eWallet; payment gateways.

Businesses might take into consideration software like ERP (SAP, Salesforce, Oracle), among others, when integrating back-office administration and operation software.

Finally, incorporating BI tools like Tableau, Looker, etc. will aid in the long-term analysis of business plans.

Scalability of the website

Businesses that are just starting to use eCommerce won’t concentrate on the website’s scalability in the future because platforms that provide this feature are sometimes hard to find. But tactically, spending money on a platform that facilitates this function will provide organizations an advantage over rivals in the market.

These aid furniture companies in making necessary adjustments, creating new features, and expanding their online systems to support several stores, languages, and currencies in the future.

Top 5 eCommerce platforms for furniture website development

Haravan

Haravan was founded in 2014 and is a very popular and popular eCommerce deployment platform in the Vietnam market with a variety of solutions for businesses and individual sellers.

Pros:

• Available and diverse themes for the furniture industry
• Wide range of applications, from basic to advanced to start an eCommerce business
• Reasonable eCommerce deployment cost, various packages from 200,000 VND/month to 3,000,000 VND/month, making it easy for customers to choose.
• ​​Time to build an eCommerce website is fast, only about 30 minutes for businesses to own a website with all the necessary features to get started. However, for the website to work effectively, businesses need to spend more time researching and developing the system.

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the furniture sector is still limited.
• Only integrated with services/utilities located in Haravan’s ecosystem.
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Haravan to expand the website in the future.

=> Rating: 2/4

Haravan is suitable for start-up furniture businesses or SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) with operations mainly in Vietnam.

Shopify

Shopify is a popular SaaS platform in the world that provides a variety of solutions for businesses of all sizes to successfully build eCommerce websites.

Pros:

• Available and diverse themes for the furniture industry.
• Wide range of applications, from basic to advanced to start an eCommerce business.
• The initial cost is quite reasonable with a variety of options for businesses from $29/month to about $2,000/month.
• The time to build an eCommerce website is quite fast from 1-7 days, or more depending on the complexity of the system.
• Shopify has a large developer community to serve businesses.

Cons:

• The layout of existing templates causes duplicating, and it’s challenging to alter themes or create your own interface because doing so will have an adverse effect on the entire system.
• The system of specific functions for the furniture sector is still limited.
• A wider range of 3rd party services than Haravan but still only integrated with services available in Shopify’s app store.
• Deployment costs are both advantages and disadvantages of Shopify when the initial cost is quite reasonable, but in the long run, businesses have to pay the cost of using the platform, interface, application, etc., regularly every month. This makes it difficult to manage cash flow
• Because it is a SaaS platform, it will be difficult for Shopify to expand its website in the future.

=> Rating: 2/4

Shopify is considered suitable for start-ups or SMEs with global operations.

ZielCommerce 

ZielCommerce is an eCommerce platform with ready-made solutions specialized for the furniture industry.

Pros:

• Many themes are specific to the furniture industry, allowing businesses to customize according to their needs, helping to reflect the characteristics of the industry and position the brand image.
• Detailed internal eCommerce website construction challenges can be solved with the help of a comprehensive system of functions that combines the fundamental, sophisticated, and niche aspects of both customer and business needs, such as the best order processing system.

Cons:

• The ability to integrate with 3rd party services is still limited. This platform only supports add-ons available in its ecosystem, so businesses will not be able to link with the ERP, POS, CRM, BI, etc. Therefore, when using Ziel Commerce, businesses need to transfer all existing data to the platform’s servers.
• Although highly appreciated for the ability to expand the website system, this is still the disadvantage of Ziel Commerce in the long run. Accordingly, this platform will not support businesses to expand or develop new features because businesses cannot own the source code, so when affected, it will destabilize the entire website system.
• Ziel Commerce is not yet popular in the Vietnam market, so there is no Vietnamese version yet.
• Deployment time will depend on the complexity of the system, the average time is from 3-6 months.
• High implementation cost of about $50,000 per project.

=> Rating: 3/4

ZielCommerce will be the optimal choice for B2B, and B2C furniture businesses to deploy eCommerce websites or build mobile apps. However, this platform is not really popular in the Vietnamese market but is especially favored by foreign furniture retailers such as Frampo, Zeyka, etc.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that allows businesses to transform a regular WordPress website into a professional eCommerce website with full features and easy customization with just a few simple steps.

Pros:

• There are many free and premium themes from the WordPress and WooCommerce communities for the furniture sector which are easy to customize or businesses can use self-designed themes. 
• Functional system from basic to advanced for eCommerce business.
• Easy integration with a variety of 3rd party services.
• Because it is an open-source code platform, businesses can plan to expand their website in the future.
• The cost of building an eCommerce website is not too high compared to other open-source platforms like Magento, with total annual costs ranging from $110 to $1,500+ for domains, hosting, themes, extensions, plugins, etc.
• eCommerce website implementation time with WooCommerce takes about 1 to 3 months to complete.

Cons:

• The functional system is still limited in terms of features specific to the furniture industry.
• The scalability is not as high compared to other open-source platforms such as Open Cart, Magento because it depends on the WordPress system.

=> Rating: 3/4

WooCommerce will be suitable for furniture businesses who are familiar with the WordPress platform and want to develop an eCommerce system.

Magento

Magento is a popular open-source commerce platform in the field of eCommerce, with nearly 200,000 websites in use. Currently, Magento has 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free), and Magento Commerce (paid).

Pros:

• Many furniture themes from the global developer community and Magento website developers so businesses can use existing themes which easy to customize or use self-designed themes.
• Easy integration with a variety of 3rd party services.
• High scalability: multi-language, currency, easy future feature development.

Cons:

• There is no repository of themes from Magento to support businesses.
• Implementation typically takes three to six months, but it might take up to a year due to a sophisticated functioning system.
• Although the platform is free to use, the cost of implementing eCommerce with Magento is quite high, about $50,000-$100,000 depending on the complexity of the project.

=> Rating: 4/4

Magento is appropriate for a range of furniture business types, including B2B, B2C, and B2B2C, as well as for various business sizes, including start-ups, SMEs, and major companies. However, large organizations use Magento because it is frequently relatively expensive to deploy.

Choosing the right platform is an extremely important first step when building an interior eCommerce website. Choosing the right eCommerce platform will help businesses save budget and time to build a website while increasing competitive advantage and sustainable growth. On the contrary, when choosing the wrong platform, it will cost businesses a lot of time and budget to deploy and switch platforms many times. Therefore, businesses need to consider the goals and problems in the current model to be able to choose the most suitable platform.

With many years of experience in successfully implementing eCommerce for many customers in many countries, SECOMM specializes in providing consulting services with comprehensive and professional eCommerce implementation solutions. 

Contact SECOMM today for free support and advice.

As eCommerce becomes a new trend that encourages a slew of brands to enter the market, selecting the right eCommerce platform to build a successful eCommerce website becomes critical. While Shopify is the most popular SaaS platform, Magento is the top choice in the open-source platform, and the WooCommerce plugin has won the trust of many brands due to its outstanding features and ease of use.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that allows brands to set up an eCommerce website by adding eCommerce functionality to an existing WordPress site. This plugin can transform a regular WordPress website into an eCommerce website with all the necessary features and easy customization with just a few clicks.

The benefits of using WooCommerce 

It’s free to get started

Price is an essential factor to think about when selecting a platform for implementing eCommerce. Popular platforms on the market today have prices ranging from free to several thousand dollars per year, making it even more prominent and preferred by businesses because this plugin is entirely free to download and install.

As a result, any business can benefit from its features without committing to costly support contracts or software licenses.

The flexibility of the open-source platform 

It is an open-source plugin built on the WordPress CMS that gives users complete control and allows them to easily customize their eCommerce website to their specific needs. WooCommerce, in addition to being suitable for a variety of businesses serving different customer segments, also provides long-term scalability, giving businesses of all sizes more flexibility in deploying eCommerce.

Integration with WordPress

The seamless integration between WooCommerce and WordPress brings many benefits to this plugin because of the availability of the large WordPress community throughout the years. WooCommerce can take advantage of the platform’s massive ecosystem of plugins, themes, guides, and other unique features.

Yoast SEO, for example, has long been a well-liked plugin with numerous international translations, ease of use, and advanced SEO support. Since WooCommerce integrates with WordPress, Yoast SEO also integrates with WooCommerce.

Especially when a business has a website on the WordPress platform and needs to turn it into an eCommerce website, WooCommerce will make it easy and seamless, so users do not have to start over with a brand new platform.

Providing qualified-standard content management 

Content Marketing is the key to an effective eCommerce website. If businesses are looking for an eCommerce platform built on the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), WooCommerce can fulfill that expectation.

When the WooCommerce plugin is integrated into WordPress, many content management options, including Blogs, Landing Pages, Product Descriptions, Email Marketing, and SEO plugins (Yoast WooCommerce SEO), will help sellers optimize content for search.

Providing in-depth analytics

Integrated analytics is another advantage of the plugin because the more you learn about customers and how they interact with your eCommerce website, the more you can adjust to meet customer expectations. For example, businesses can use sales data to learn about customers, thereby establishing a customer persona to increase sales in the future.

Furthermore, it provides a comprehensive WooCommerce analyzer displayed in a clean and user-friendly interface. Businesses can then easily integrate WooCommerce with third-party analytics services such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and others.

The downsides of using WooCommerce 

Technical maintenance support

When using this plugin, the user is responsible for keeping the eCommerce website up-to-date, accessible, and functional. In fact, there is some support from the hosting company and the WooCommerce community, but it does not allow users to simply call for technical assistance.

Plugins will notify users of security updates, but users must install and handle problems themselves. In fact, hosting companies will support this. Still, users need to have a bit of technical knowledge to facilitate the process of supporting related issues to avoid affecting the performance of the eCommerce website.

This disadvantage stems directly from the fact that businesses have complete control over the eCommerce website system’s source code and data. Maximum authority entails maximum accountability. Although businesses continue to receive support for WooCommerce issues, compared to other eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, etc., WooCommerce still has many shortcomings in the technical maintenance support process.

Speed and Security 

With the constant increase in unauthorized access (Website Hacking), website speed and security are more critical than ever. Speed and security are significant advantages for SaaS platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce. At that point, your eCommerce website is housed in the infrastructure of these platforms, and a team of technical experts will continuously monitor and resolve any issues that arise to keep the website running smoothly.

Similar to a technical maintenance situation, WooCommerce essentially leaves the user responsible for the speed and security of the website despite the wide range of 3rd party support options.

Although speed and security are not an issue for some new businesses deploying eCommerce websites, this is still a significant drawback of this plugin when businesses are responsible for many issues ranging from technical maintenance to website speed and security, especially if the eCommerce site is on the verge of rapidly growing from hundreds to thousands of hits.

Growth and Scalability  

Because it is a WordPress plugin, it will operate in accordance with WordPress functions. Meanwhile, WordPress functionality is not explicitly designed for eCommerce but rather is based on the flexibility of open-source code. This means that when a user exceeds a certain query threshold, the way WooCommerce works is broken.

For example, when a large number of shopping carts are added, or checkout occurs at the same time, or when too many users visit the website simultaneously, overload occurs, making the operation of the eCommerce website difficult. This is difficult because the WordPress system and the WooCommerce plugin are no longer compatible. 

If your eCommerce website is still small and growing, this is not a problem; problems can still be quickly resolved. However, as the size of your website expands and grows rapidly, this is a disadvantage in terms of both performance and cost that businesses must consider before proceeding.

In a nutshell, WooCommerce is a fantastic plugin that many businesses would love to choose when deploying an eCommerce website. However, besides the outstanding advantages, there are still certain downsides, so businesses must carefully consider and compare with other platforms before starting out. 

With many years of experience implementing eCommerce in many countries, SECOMM provides free consulting services with professional eCommerce solutions.

Contact us today for free support and advice!

With the boom in recent years, ecommerce is a potential business form pursued by many businesses, especially egrocery stores. According to Statista, the grocery ecommerce market in the United States is likely to exceed $24 billion by 2023.

Realizing the potential of the egrocery market, several businesses have deployed grocery ecommerce websites early and experienced breakthrough growth, such as Grofers (Blinkit) and BigBasket in India, Bach Hoa Xanh, An Nam Gourmet, Farmer’s Market, WinMart, and Organica in Vietnam.

The common thing that makes the success of the above brands lies in the ecommerce platform. Therefore, to develop and operate an effective ecommerce website, the role of platforms is enormous.

So which ecommerce platforms are suitable for the grocery industry?

Platform selection criteria

User interface and administration interface

For the website interface, in addition to meeting basic needs such as UI/UX standards and showing the brand’s characteristics and the eGrocery industry, businesses also need to focus on the presented product images. Therefore, on the website, everything needs to be synchronized and precise.

The administrator interface (admin) must be easy to use, navigate, control, and manage all data in the system.

Functional system

With eGrocery, the system of ecommerce features needs to be diverse from basic to advanced, solving complex characteristics of the grocery industry such as products with multiple units, weight difference, and price volatility, export-import complex warehouse, and synchronized data throughout the system.

Some functions required in a grocery ecommerce website system such as:

• Primary functions: Meet the most basic needs when operating an ecommerce system, such as order management, checkout, payment, shipping, etc
• Advanced Functions: Functions that enhance the consumer experience and accelerate the shopping process such as order tracking, abandoned cart recovery, similar product recommendations, product search fast products, multi-layered product portfolio, etc
• Specific functions: Functions that help to thoroughly solve the difficulties of implementing specialized grocery ecommerce, meeting the needs of customer segments and businesses such as fast delivery, choice of time delivery point, etc

Integration capabilities

To have a seamless online volatility store system with multiple sales channels, businesses must integrate their ecommerce website with other payment services, shipping services, management software, analysis, report, and distribution systems:

• Payment: Integrate various payment methods from domestic cards to international cards, such as payment gateways (Paypal, Stripe, OnePay), e-wallets (Momo, ZaloPay), etc.
•  Shipping: Integrate with international shipping providers like DHL Express, Fedex, Ups, USPS, and popular shipping providers in Vietnam like Fast Delivery, Economy Delivery, Ninja Van, etc. With order tracking applications to help process and operate the delivery processes
• Management software: Easily integrate CRM, ERP, and POS software to get a seamless connection on all supply channels from offline to online
• Analysis and reporting: Integrate analysis and reporting software such as Business Intelligent, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.

This integration helps businesses overcome the limitations of the “rice-powered” process, increase the automation of the system, limit business mistakes, and ensure high accuracy and performance.

Ability to extension

To accompany businesses to develop over time, from startups, and SMEs (small and medium enterprises), to large corporations, from B2B, B2C, and D2C business models to B2B2C, commerce electronics platforms must be highly scalable. High scalability helps meet all future business growth needs, such as multi-site, multi-country, and multi-currency, all manageable on “one screen.” Not only that, but highly scalable platforms also support businesses to operate the system stably regardless of the traffic in promotion campaigns.

Evaluate 5 ecommerce platforms for egrocery business based on each criterion

Ziel Commerce

Ziel Commerce is a readymade grocery ecommerce platform with all the features designed to support an online grocery store business.

Website interface

Ziel Commerce provides a repository of themes specifically for the grocery industry, allowing businesses to customize according to their needs, helping to both reflect the characteristics of the industry and position the brand image.

Remarkably, the interface for administrators is also invested by the founders to make it most accessible for businesses to use. But currently, Ziel Commerce is not popular in the Vietnamese market, so there is no Vietnamese version for businesses.

Functional system

As a platform designed specifically for the eGrocery industry, Ziel Commerce can meet all the most specialized needs of businesses, including fundamental to advanced functionality systems and existing industry-specific solutions.

Integration capabilities

Ziel Commerce has a significant drawback in integrating the website system. In addition, this platform only supports add-ons available in its ecosystem, so businesses will not be able to link with the ERP, POS, CRM, BI, etc., systems in use. Therefore, when using Ziel Commerce, companies need to transfer all existing data to the server of this platform.

Ability of extension

Although it does not own the source code, Ziel Commerce is still a highly appreciated platform for its scalability compared to SaaS platforms. Ziel Commerce supports businesses to expand their ecommerce website system from one to many stores/websites, multi-language, multi-currency without many obstacles. However, in the long run, Ziel Commerce cannot support businesses to expand or develop new functions because firms cannot affect the source code; if it affects it, it will cause instability for the commercial website system. 

→ Rating: 3/4

Ziel Commerce provides an almost comprehensive online grocery store website building solution for businesses, from website interface and functional system to scalability. However, the implementation cost is relatively high, about $50,000/project in 6 months. Therefore, Ziel Commerce is only popular with retail chains, has high functional demand, and operates mainly abroad. However, when using Ziel Commerce, businesses should consider adding the platform’s integration, limiting instability in the operation when 3rd party systems are not compatible with the platform.

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS ecommerce platform favored by the international ecommerce business community because of its fast implementation time and reasonable starting cost.

Website interface

Shopify provides a variety of interfaces, including grocery industry and UI/UX standards, but cannot be edited according to the characteristics of the business.

Functional system

Shopify’s functional system is relatively complete, meeting the basic needs of businesses. But to use advanced functions, companies have to pay a certain amount of money every month, leading to an increased cost of using the functional system. In addition, even Shopify can barely provide eGrocery industry-specific resolution functions.

Integration capabilities

Because it is a SaaS platform, businesses cannot affect the source code, and it is not easy to integrate with many 3rd parties. Companies can only integrate utilities provided by Shopify or a platform partner.

Some utilities that companies can integrate with Shopify include:

• Payment: Paypal, Stripe, SagePay, AliPay Global, etc
• Shipping: DHL Express, USPS, UPS, etc
• Administration: Microsoft Dynamic 365 (ERP), Oracle NetSuite (ERP), Acumatica (ERP), etc
• Marketing: Google Tools, MailChimp, Facebook Pixel, etc

Ability of extension

Similar to the ability to integrate, the scalability on Shopify is not high because businesses cannot influence the source code to edit and upgrade the website. Therefore, online grocery businesses can only use Shopify for the first time.

→ Rating: 2/4

Shopify is only suitable for businesses new to the ecommerce market, startups, or SMEs (small and medium enterprises) because of the reasonable development cost and time to deploy an online grocery store business website.

Haravan

Founded in 2014, Haravan is an ecommerce platform based on Shopify. Currently, Haravan is a popular platform in the Vietnamese market with more than 50,000 business people and trusted brands.

Website interface

Haravan has many standard UI/UX interfaces suitable for the grocery industry, including free and paid. At the same time, the interface for administrators supports Vietnamese and is easy to use, so businesses do not face many difficulties when using it.

Functional system

Haravan provides many utilities – functions for online grocery stores in Vietnam.

In addition, similar to Shopify, to use more advanced functions, businesses have to pay a monthly application fee of about 100,000 VND/month/app.

However, businesses can’t find parts that deal with the grocery’s specifics in Haravan’s app store and can’t develop in terms of specific functions. Enterprises can only use the functions included in the package and app store.

Integration capabilities

For integration capabilities, Haravan can integrate with Haravan’s partners such as transportation (Economic Delivery, Fast Delivery, Ahamove, GrabExpress, etc.), payment (Ngan Luong, VNPAY, Napas, PayPal, etc.), etc.).

It is difficult for businesses to integrate for 3rd party utilities outside Haravan’s ecosystem on their ecommerce website.

Ability of extension

As for the extension of the ecommerce website system, Haravan can only support the multi-language – currency but cannot expand from one to many websites/stores. It is challenging to manage all the data on a foundation.

As the business gradually grows and expands, Haravan will no longer be functional enough to maintain an online grocery store business. As a result, companies are forced to switch to more specialized platforms such as Magento, WooCommerce, and OpenCart. But, of course, switching platforms will create many other problems such as costs, time, personnel, etc.

→ Rating: 2/4

Similar to Shopify, Haravan is only suitable for businesses new to the ecommerce market, startups, and SMEs. But Shopify can support online grocery business globally, and Haravan only stops at the Vietnamese market.

Woocommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source platform in the form of a WordPress plugin, allowing businesses to use it completely free.

Website interface

WooCommerce and the community provide businesses with various themes designed for the grocery industry. At the same time, this platform also allows influencing the source code to customize according to needs, helping businesses quickly convey brand messages and images.

Since WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin, the admin will continue to manage the website on the WordPress interface itself. This makes it easy for businesses using WordPress to adapt, use, and navigate on the WooCommerce dashboard.

Functional system

WooCommerce supports a variety of features, from basic to advanced. However, this platform has some limitations on features specific to the grocery industry because interfering with developing these functions will easily cause instability for the website system.

Integration capabilities

Thanks to the advantages of the open source platform, WooCommerce has flexible customization capabilities and supports integration with many 3rd party utilities.

In payment, businesses can use amount plugins such as Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Square to their ecommerce website system with high security and safety. In addition, companies can integrate with many shipping providers such as Fedex, Ups, USPS, and DHL Express. The WooCommerce platform also allows businesses to integrate with management software such as Odoo, Square POS, WP ERP, and Marketing software such as Google Listings, Google Ads, and Facebook Pixel to support businesses in effective business management. More fruitful.

Ability of extension

Contrary to the integration capabilities, the extensibility of WooCommerce is not appreciated. Because the system is easily overloaded with plugin themes, and the number of products does not exceed 2000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Unit). Therefore, businesses wishing to expand their website system need to consider when using this platform in the long run.

→ Rating: 3/4

WooCommerce is the right platform for grocery businesses that use WordPress and are looking to develop an ecommerce system. But when using WooCommerce, companies should consider the limitations of integration, extensibility, and customizability of specific features.

Magento

Magento is a popular open source commerce platform in ecommerce, with nearly 200,000 websites in use. Currently, Magento has 2 versions: Magento Open Source (free) and Magento Commerce (paid).

Website interface

Although Magento does not own a rich theme store like other ecommerce platforms, businesses can look to the developer community, market (Envato), or design their own. Having many options when designing the interface helps Magento websites to have their uniqueness, avoid overlapping the interface with many different websites and bring a higher shopping experience.

Previously, the admin interface on Magento 1 was often considered difficult to use and took a long time to adapt. As a result, Magento publishers developed Magento 2 with a more intuitive and easy-to-navigate dashboard to overcome this problem.

Functional system

The Magento platform has a highly diverse system of features from basic and advanced to industry-specific to help grocery businesses quickly build and develop a sustainable system.

A basic functional system, including catalog management, product management, customer management, report analysis, etc., helps meet the basic needs of a convenient online grocery store business.

In particular, Magento also has many advanced functions for ecommerce, such as multi-language support, multi-currency, multi-store, PWA, MSI, ElasticSearch, etc. Shopping happens faster.

Magento does not have built-in features only for the grocery industry regarding specific features. Still, businesses can quickly build a system of particular features such as category classification, quick search, and delivery time selection thanks to flexible customization on open source code.

Integration capabilities

Thanks to the advantages of the open source platform, the Magento website can be easily integrated with any 3rd party utilities, from payment, shipping, and business administration.

Regarding payment, Magento easily connects with today’s popular payment methods such as card payments (domestic cards, VISA, Mastercard), e-wallets (MOMO, Zalopay), and payment gateways (OnePay, VNPay, etc.) PayPal) or COD, which helps to diversify payment methods.

Magento can integrate with shipping providers such as Fast Delivery, Economy Delivery, Viettel Post, and order tracking applications.

Magento can be integrated into back-office management software (ERP, CRM, POS) such as SAP, Salesforce, and Oracle to help operate all resources and processes seamlessly in the enterprise.

In addition, Magento also supports integration with business analysis tools such as Power BI, Tableau, and Looker and analysis and reporting utilities such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Facebook Pixels to exploit all data from the system. As a result, Magento plans to improve its business strategy.

Ability of extension

Magento allows businesses to expand from one website to many different websites on the same system to meet the needs of business development. In addition, with the available support for language and currency conversion from Magento, businesses can build a grocery ecommerce system with content suitable for a diverse audience of customers around the globe.

In addition, open source customization enables Magento developers to build functional solutions specific to the grocery industry. This advantage makes Magento expand the system of capabilities according to each business size, from small businesses to large-scale corporations.

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Because Magento possesses many outstanding advantages, from website interface and functional system to the ability to integrate and expand, Magento is suitable for a variety of grocery business models from B2B, B2C to B2B2C, a multiform of enterprise-scale such as startup, SME, enterprise (large corporation). However, the time to deploy ecommerce on Magento is usually long – from 6 months to 1 year, with high construction costs of about 50,000 – 100,000 USD/project. At the same time, businesses also need to have a professional team or cooperate with experienced units to develop an effective grocery ecommerce system. Therefore, Magento is popularly used in the community of large-scale businesses that need many functions to increase user experience.

Choosing the right platform is the first and most significant step when building a grocery ecommerce website. Selecting the right ecommerce platform will help businesses save budget and time in building a website while increasing competitive advantage and sustainable growth. On the contrary, choosing the wrong forum will cost businesses a lot of time and budget to deploy and switch platforms. Therefore, companies need to consider the goals and problems in the current model to choose the most suitable platform.

With experience in successfully implementing complex grocery ecommerce systems like An Nam Gourmet, SECOMM understands grocery businesses’ obstacles.

Contact SECOMM now for a free consultation on detailed ecommerce system development solutions!