Author: Radek Cison

  • Why Wholesale businesses should not rely on sales agents

    You might be asking your self why wholesale businesses should not rely solely on sales agents and exhibitions but should also focus on selling online?

    here is why:
    1. Wider Market Reach

    Sales agents and exhibitions limit your reach to specific regions or events.
    An online platform allows wholesalers to reach global markets 24/7.

    2. Lower Costs & Higher Profit Margins

    Exhibitions involve travel, booth setup, and marketing expenses.
    Sales agents take commissions, reducing profit margins.
    Online sales eliminate many of these overhead costs.

    3. Scalability & Business Growth

    A website or B2B e-commerce platform allows unlimited scalability.
    Online tools help automate processes, reducing the need for manual work.

    4. Convenience for Buyers

    Many buyers prefer browsing and placing bulk orders online.
    Online platforms offer product catalogs, pricing, and instant ordering.

    5. Data-Driven Decision Making

    Online sales platforms provide analytics on customer behavior, popular products, and sales trends.
    This data can help optimize marketing and inventory strategies.

    6. Competitive Advantage

    Many competitors are shifting online; staying offline could mean losing customers.
    A strong digital presence improves brand credibility and visibility.

    7. Diversified Sales Channels

    Relying solely on agents and exhibitions is risky; online sales provide stability.
    E-commerce platforms, digital marketing, and social media create multiple revenue streams.

    8. Faster Transactions & Payment Processing

    Online platforms support instant invoicing, digital payments, and automated order fulfillment.
    This reduces delays caused by manual processing.

  • Wholesale Black Friday 2023

    [tm_pb_section admin_label=”section”][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”4_4″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5632405-scaled.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/tm_pb_image][tm_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

     

    Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year for consumers, but it can also be a lucrative opportunity for B2B wholesale businesses.

    Here are some tips for using eCommerce plugins to utilize Black Friday in your B2B wholesale business:
    help you to increase sales and boost customer engagement.

     

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    Use a countdown timer to create urgency. A countdown timer can help to encourage customers to buy during your Black Friday sale.

     

     

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    Highlight your best deals with custom product labels. Use custom product labels to highlight your best deals and encourage customers to click on your products.

     

     

    [/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pexels-karolina-grabowska-5650017-scaled.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/tm_pb_image][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pexels-tranmautritam-245032-scaled.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/tm_pb_image][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_orientation=”right” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

     

     

     

    Increase sales with product bundles. Create product bundles to increase sales and reduce inventory levels.

     

     

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    Meet the needs of your customers with product variations. Use a product variation plugin to create different sizes, colors, and styles of your products to meet the needs of your customers and increase sales.

     

     

    [/tm_pb_text][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”1_2″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pexels-denys-mikhalevych-9267588-scaled.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/tm_pb_image][/tm_pb_column][/tm_pb_row][tm_pb_row admin_label=”Row”][tm_pb_column type=”4_4″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

     

     

    By following these tips, you can use eCommerce plugins to automate tasks, streamline your workflow, and improve the overall customer experience during your Black Friday sale. This can help you to increase sales and boost customer engagement.

     

     

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  • Join Our Team!

    Seeking a Driven Sales Superstar to Join Our Thriving IT Team

    Are you a sales dynamo with a relentless pursuit of success?

    If you’re a confident, results-oriented individual with a knack for connecting with people and driving sales, we invite you to join our dynamic IT team as our main sales agent.

    Unleash Your Sales Potential

    As our key sales representative, you’ll play a pivotal role in expanding our market reach and propelling our company to new heights. You’ll be responsible for generating leads, nurturing relationships, and closing deals, all while collaborating with a passionate team that shares your enthusiasm for success.

    Embrace the Challenge and Reap the Rewards

    We offer a unique opportunity to start with a part-time, high-commission trial contract. If you demonstrate exceptional performance and drive exceptional results, you’ll have the opportunity to transition into a long-term, shareholding position with the potential for directorship.

    Your Success is Our Success

    We’re committed to providing our sales team with the tools, training, and support they need to excel. You’ll receive comprehensive onboarding, ongoing coaching, and access to cutting-edge sales resources to help you reach your full potential.

    Join Our Winning Team

    If you’re ready to make a significant impact on a growing company and build a rewarding career in sales, we encourage you to apply.

    Essential Qualifications:

    Proven track record of success in cold calling and lead generation
    Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
    A strong understanding of sales methodologies and techniques
    A self-motivated, results-driven attitude
    A passion for technology and a desire to learn

    Join us and discover the thrill of achieving sales excellence!

  • Tradeshows Are a Thing of the Past

    Tradeshows have long been a staple of the marketing world, but they’re becoming increasingly obsolete. In the past, tradeshows were a great way to connect with potential customers and showcase your products.
    TradeShow
    However, the way people shop has changed dramatically in recent years. More and more people are doing their research online before making a purchase.

    That’s why a good eCommerce website is a better way to get exposure and communicate with existing clients. With an eCommerce website, you can:

    Reach a wider audience: Your website is accessible to anyone with an internet connection, 24/7.
    Showcase your products in detail: You can provide detailed information about your products, including photos, videos, and descriptions.
    Make it easy for customers to buy: Customers can easily add products to their cart and checkout with a few clicks.
    Track your sales and marketing: You can use analytics to track your website traffic and sales, so you can see what’s working and what’s not.
    eCommerce

    If you’re looking for a more effective way to get exposure and communicate with your customers, then a good eCommerce website is the way to go.

    Contact us today to learn more about our products and services.

    I hope this helps!

    Images Designed by macrovector / Freepik

  • Salesreps in the battle with e-Commerce

    [tm_pb_section admin_label=”section”][tm_pb_row admin_label=”row”][tm_pb_column type=”1_3″][tm_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/gratisography-115H-scaled.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][/tm_pb_column][tm_pb_column type=”2_3″][tm_pb_text admin_label=”Text” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

    Sales agents are often seen as the face of a company,
    and they play a vital role in building relationships with customers. However,
    in today’s digital age, e-commerce websites are increasingly taking over the
    role of sales agents.

    There are several reasons why e-commerce websites are
    becoming more popular than sales agents. First, e-commerce websites offer a 24/7 shopping experience. Customers can browse and purchase products at any time of day or night, which is convenient for busy people. Second, e-commerce websites provide a wide range of products and services, which can be difficult for sales agents to match. Third, e-commerce websites are often more affordable than sales agents, as they do not have the same overhead costs.

    In addition, customers are increasingly preferring to order online rather than in person. This is because online shopping is more
    convenient, and customers can compare prices and read reviews before making a purchase. Sales agents, on the other hand, may not be able to visit customers when they need them. This is because sales agents are often on the road, and they may not be able to accommodate customers’ schedules.

    As a result of these factors, sales agents are under
    pressure to adapt to the changing landscape. They need to find ways to add value to their customers, and they need to be more responsive to customer needs. In order to do this, sales agents need to focus on building relationships with customers, providing excellent customer service, and offering a wide range of products and services.

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  • WooCommerce Review 2022 – Pros & Cons (6min read)

    With more and more options there’s more and more confusion between which e-commerce solution to choose. We talked about Shopify last time, which we determined was a good solution for online stores that want to remain small and don’t needmuch customization – so we need to take a look at another option, which allows for pretty much every customization.

    From the list of modern e-commerce web development platforms that we will look at this time at WooCommerce. WooCommerce is considered one of the best choices for next-generationonline businesses, both B2B and B2C. Let’s see if this reputation holds up.

     

     

     

    What Is WooCommerce Made of?

    WooCommerce was created with the WordPress website population in mind. It is a free WordPress plugin enabling any WordPress website to become transactional website popularly called – eCommerce. There are thousands of plugins available to download, which extend WooCommerce functionality to satisfy the highest demands. WooCommerce is owned by Automattic, who are the WordPress experts, so you know that you’re getting something long withstanding.

    Operating the platform after set up should be pretty simple, but if you do need assistance to set up, or after, then you can hire aWooCommerce Developer to ease your tasks.

     

    What’s so special about WooCommerce?

    WooCommerce was founded in 2011 and has grown to be a very popular platform. It’s the biggest e-commerce platform to date – over 42% of online stores worldwide, with a huge presence, especially in B2B.

    WooCommerce is open source, so potentially thousands of developers worldwide working on improvements, securities, and new functionalities.

    The main reason why it is so popular is the ability to customize it. The WooCommerce plugin is freely available to download, modify and use, as well as building on the core functionality.

    Saying that, if you don’t know how to code, you can still effectively use WooCommerce. This usually makes it pretty effortless for beginners.

    Selling physical and digital products, managing shipping and inventory, taking secure payment, is readily possible, and much more. However, nothing is perfect… WooCommerce has many great things to offer, but there are some not-so-great things and we will expose them too.

     

     

    WooCommerce Advantages:

    WooCommerce has become an incredibly popular eCommerce platformbetween website owners and developers, especially being free and accessible to all and fully customizable.

    Starting a new web shop is easy with thousands of templates to choose from. Many are available with graphics ready to use by those, who don’t have their own art.

    WordPress which itself was created initially for Blog posting and it’s the best platform for SEO work. WooCommerce, which sits on top of WordPress is only step away from being listed on page one of the Google Search! The platform is very easy to use and has pretty much all futures you can think of as Wholesaler, Retailer, or Trader. With over 60k plug-ins web development couldn’t be simpler, so many businesses choose WooCommerce to boost their online presence.

    WooCommerce is by far one of the most impressive plugins that WordPress has to offer, supporting global eCommerce businesses to get in control of their digital futures. WooCommerce is one of the main reasons for WordPress’s market popularity.

    One of many benefits from using WooCommerce is no transition fees, which is extremely important when you sell low margin products.

    One of the biggest WooCommerce proswhich matter for established wholesale or trade businesses is ability to serve both B2B and B2C customers using one dedicated website.

    There are many benefits of doing so and we will describe it in our next blog post.


     

    WooCommerce Disadvantages:

    The fact that WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin is something you need to be aware of. It does require WordPress installation, but it’s very simple since it comes with an installation wizard, and you just need to follow the simple steps.

    Althoughopen-source and free to install the platform, certain features are to be paid for by the users. You have a choice of using free basic features or highly advanced paid versions. Alternatively, you can get a developer to create features for you, which does incur an initially higher cost, but might be worthwhile it in the long run.

    Hundreds if not thousandsof pre-made premium themes are available to use with the WooCommerce, offering readymade e-commerce features,free or paid for; however, they are veryaffordable.

    Since many costs are avoided with WooCommerce, this is often not such an issue.

    Biggest disadvantage is updates, which needs to be run carefully to not affect shop functionality, but update process itself is so easy that 5 year old could run it.

    Conclusion

    Final Thoughts

    It is possible, and can be beneficial, for small-scale businesses and low-budget start-ups to start their journey with WooCommerce themselves but wholesale, or medium to larger-scale online stores probably should get a professional developing company to make sure everything they want is implemented smoothly without wasting time.

    So, after looking at the pros and cons, in a simple statement:

    WooCommerce is easy to use and start a B2C (Retail) or B2B (Wholesale) business, it is cost-effective, though strongly advisable to hire a professional (like us!) to manage it for you if you want to make sure everything goes well and is scalable, especially if you already have your business up and running. We definitely recommend WooCommerce for the majority of eCommerce websites, especially B2B/Wholesale or 2 in 1 websites (B2B and B2C in one) for dynamic pricing changes depending on the customer type.

     

    Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs about WooCommerce Features, BigCommerce, Magento, and check out our Shopify review to see if any of those will fit your needs better.

    In the meantime, if you would like to chat with us to see what is best for you, feel free to email us at [email protected] or call on 0844 33 03 724 and we will be happy to let you know what we think about your personal needs.

  • G-volution: A Celebration Of Our Successful Client

    With revolutionary technology in the environmental and transport sectors, the G-volution team has unleashed their ‘Tiger from the Bengal’. Addressing climate change and reducing carbon (and cost) while delivering clean air sets them securely on the pathway to net zero. The Bangladesh Minister of Rail, His Excellency the Honourable Nurul Islam Sujan, MP has requested G-volution to deliver feasibility, to be followed by a pilot project to revolutionise the entire Bangladesh Transport system.

     

    Key Outcomes

    • The first environmental technological export opportunity in the history of the Britain-Bangladesh relationship.
    • Plans in motion to convert the entire fleet to lower carbon technology, delivering lower running costs and cleaner air, sustainably.
    • The UK’s Department of International Trade to lead the world in green technology by supporting the project with green finance with the UKEF.

    Challenge: Brexit and Global Pandemic

    The G-Volution have had to wrestle with hurdles created by Brexit and the current Global Pandemic, the most difficult of which we ease of travel. The proactive team was able to enlist Her Excellency Saida Muna Tasneem the Bangladesh High Commissioner and UK MPs Greg Smith, and Stephen Hammond in their quest, who are assisting them with developing their patented British technology and implementing it into the Bangladesh Railway.

    What Next: Moving Forwards with Force

    February will bring the first major steps towards completion – starting the feasibility study and setting the roll-out plan for the rest of the fleet this year.

    E-Commerce Impact: iTool Solutions’ Role

    In order the serve this multi-billion-dollar economy with such a large feat, iTool Solutions are developing the entire e-commerce platform going from manufacturers to implementation, reducing the time taken for such large projects to receive and deliver orders, as well as visibility across the whole supply chain. We are delighted to be the trusted technology partner in this world-changing project and are looking forward to providing the technological support that G-volution needs when they spread globally in the coming years.

     

    Read their press release here

     

    If you would like to chat with us to see we can also take you to the next level, feel free to email us at [email protected] or call on 0844 33 03 724 and we will be happy to let you know what we think about your personal needs.

  • Shopify Review 2022 – Pros & Cons (5min read)

    Finding out which is the right e-commerce solution can be a long and arduous process – comparing shipping options, SEO performance, prices and much more.

    Shopify is great in many areas, that’s why it’s so famous, but you’re probably asking yourself… should I be using Shopify? Well, possibly…

    With this Shopify review, we’ll find out if it’s a good fit for you, or if you should look at other options like WooCommerce, Magento, etc.

     

     

    Shopify Review: What can we expect?

    Shopify allows new starters to build online stores without any programming. No software or web hosting is required. Shopify features plans ranging from $29 – $299/month and with no additional transaction fees if you use Shopify Payments.

     

    What is Shopify?

    Shopify has become a tool used by many people to start off their online stores. Shopify is one of the biggest e-commerce solutions (second only to Magento) with more than 800,000 online stores, offices around the globe, $63 billion worth of sales, and over 3,000 employees.

     

    How does Shopify work?

    Shopify is not only a simple way to launch and manage your online store. It’s focused on assisting store owners in critical areas like opening extra sales channels (e.g., Amazon, eBay or Facebook), providing customer support tools (e.g., live chat), and by looking after the technical headaches.

     

     

    Pricing

    Shopify Pricing

    $26*

    Basic Shopify

    Unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery and gift cards, and other features. Shopify will charge a 2% transaction fee unless you use Shopify Payments.

    $71*

    Shopify

    Professional e-commerce reports and international pricing. Transaction fees are 1% unless you use Shopify Payments.

    $266*

    Advanced Shopify

    Advanced reports and automatically calculated shipping rates. Transaction fees are 0.5% unless you use Shopify Payments.

    *These are the monthly costs for yearly subscriptions.

     

    Additional plans: The Lite plan (for around $9 per month) lets you have an embeddable ‘Buy Button’ and also a POS (Point of Sale) app (for face-to-face selling). Shopify also offers an enterprise plan (Plus) for bigger, and more B2B focused, online stores – it’s can be pretty expensive, as it starts at $2,000 a month.

    A domain name costs more on top of the subscription fees (starting at $14 per year for a .com), but can be added through Shopify or any external registrar. Using Shopify’s own payment gateway will save you additional charges though. However, it’s currently only available in several countries including the USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands (among others). Transaction fees won’t be charged for manual payments (cash on delivery, bank transfer, etc).

     

    Pros and Cons

     

    Pro and Cons of Shopify

    Pros:

    Ease of use

    You don’t have to worry about any technical stuff, almost everything can be done with a few clicks. Shopify provides great beginner guides and in-depth documentation.

    Designs

    A respectable number of quality designs, which are also mobile-friendly (responsive). In case you don’t find one that you like, you can either create your own or buy one. The system and templates are pretty good, and there are a number available.

    Scaling

    Even though it is user-friendly, Shopify is heavily featured. It’s easy to scale for small and big online stores, and with Shop Pay, new customers won’t need to register if they’ve previously signed up for it on any other Shopify store.

    Apps & community

    Shopify App Store has plenty of (free and paid) add-ons for your store (e.g., email marketing integration as well as a large community of independent developers and experts.

    Support

    Shopify has a 24-hour support team, who are usually very responsive, unlike open-source solutions which are often community-driven.

     

    Cons:

    URL structure

    The URL structure is pretty poor when it comes to SEO. Shopify uses subdirectories such as /pages/ or /blog/recent/.

    Pay monthly for every add on

    Shopify users heavily rely on add-on apps that Shopify offers. Even just showing a line at the top of your website telling you how much more you should spend to gain a discount will cost $4.99 a month. Should you need social login on your website it will cost $9.00 per month. Just like all hosted platforms, Shopify is also going to be gradually more expensive than a self-hosted store. Also, self-hosted stores (like WordPress + WooCommerce) tend to have cheaper development needs when compared in this way.

    Limited customisation

    Though the Shopify app store has a lot of very good functionalities, there is no comparison to the plethora of plugins available for platforms like WooCommerce, many of which are free (there are absolutely free, bug-free, and very powerful plugins). In addition, Shopify allows you only to change certain parts of its functionalities and it is not as customisable as self-hosted platforms that can potentially allow you to change almost anything.

    Tough to migrate from

    As your Shopify store grows and you look to customise more and reduce add-on costs, you may need to migrate away. Shopify provides very fewer data points to the users while on other platforms you will get more components like product images, product description, pricing, etc. It’s the same with any “hosted e-commerce platform”. This is a key point to consider when looking for an online store platform.

    Transaction fees

    Shopify charges a transaction fee on top of the payment processor fee (e.g., Stripe or PayPal) unless you use Shopify Payments.

    Creating regular content

    Non-e-commerce content isn’t so easy to get to look how you want, even though Shopify comes with a blog and you can create other types of pages.

     

     

    Rating Details

    Rating

    (out of 5)

    Comments

    Ease of use

    4.3

    Shopify has tons of features but is logically structured. Building an online store is not complicated. Elements can be designed and arranged with a live preview in the backend.
    Choice and flexibility of templates

    4

    Shopify templates are responsive and look modern. There are plenty to choose from, and they cover a wide range of categories (food, art, etc.). However, customising the templates can be a headache, or impossible to do exactly how you wish.
    SEO

    4

    It comes with most of the SEO features that online stores need. A downside is that some URLs get extra terms added (e.g., /products/ or /collections/).
    Basic functions
    Product presentation

    5

    Picture gallery, zooming, video, etc. are available
    Product variants

    4.5

    Define size, colour, material, etc. then add variants (e.g., S, M, L, XL). Shopify will then generate every possible combination up to 100 per product. Third-party apps are available if you need more. Customisation, like engravings, is possible using additional apps/coding, (not the cheapest/simplest solution).
    Cart function Yes The “Abandoned cart recovery” feature is now available on all plans, including Basic, allowing you to remind your visitors with an automated email to complete their purchase, among other things.
    User ratings Yes Product and user feedback is available.
    Article numbers Yes SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) numbers can be added to every product.
    Checkout, payment & shipping
    Payment options

    5

    There are more than 100 external payment processors available like credit cards (including Stripe and Authorize.net), PayPal, manual payment options, and even BitPay for Bitcoins. They have recently introduced their own Shopify Payments Gateway, which will waive the Shopify transaction fee for all plans
    Sale of digital goods Yes You’ll need an app installed to sell digital goods, and have all the features. Delivery is handled by email, new European Union rules for VAT is supported and it is possible to limit the number of downloads or the time of availability.
    SSL encryption Yes SSL (HTTPS) encrypted customer data and payment transactions are Included at no additional cost even using your own checkout domain if you wish.
    Customer log-in area

    Yes

    Guest account checkout is available or visitors can create their own personalised login, which will pre-fill contact details and address upon checkout. Customer accounts can be made mandatory or optional. B2B requires extra subscriptions
    Coupon codes Yes Discount codes options are available using fixed price, percentage, free shipping, buy one get one free, etc. The maximum amount of usage and expiry date can be set.
    Shipping cost settings

    4.7

    Many options are available for shipping rates, including flat rate, free, discounted, and carrier-calculated shipping rates (UPS, FedEx, etc – more). You can also choose fulfillment/dropshipping through the Shopify Fulfilment Network or with services like Amazon. Shopify’s backend also allows you to print shipping labels.
    Drop shipping Yes Shopify’s App Oberlo makes the whole process very easy. There is a free basic version that offers an extension to import directly from AliExpress as well as plenty of other suppliers ($5 – $20 per month).
    Tax settings

    4.5

    Registration-based taxes are available for some countries; individual tax rates for other countries can be set individually. VAT prices can be displayed on your product pages. With Shopify Plus, you’ll have access to Avalara AvaTax to manage taxes automatically (but remember, $2,000 per month is the starting price for Shopify Plus).
    Backend
    Article management

    5

    All items you have in stock are tracked by Shopify and you can receive notifications automatically. There is also a PoS system to manage both your online and offline inventory allowing you to process face-to-face payments using a tablet or phone.
    Confirmation emails customisable

    5

    100% customisable.
    Importing product data Yes Product data can be imported from Magento, eBay, WordPress and CSV files. Shopify’s Store Importer app will also let you import products from BigCommerce, Etsy, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, and more.
    Exporting product data Yes Exporting a CSV file is also possible. Shopify’s built-in Bulk Editor can be used to edits multiple products, without needing to export them.
    E-Commerce analysis Yes Basic Shopify plan and higher include reports from Shopify; product, order, inventory reports, and more are available as well as the ability to integrate Google Analytics.
    Exporting order data Yes Exporting orders and reports (sales, taxes and payments) is possible to do in a CSV file. Xero and QuickBooks, and other accounting tools, can be integrated for $19 per month.
    Support

     FAQ

     Chat

     Email

     Telephone

    Support is available from Shopify via chat, email, help articles, a call-back service, and their community. There are helpful webinars and video tutorials on their site. Support is available 24/7.
    Total Score

    4.4/5

    A solid solution for driven beginners alike. Shopify makes selling easy and provides the tools to improve your sales. It can become a LOT more expensive than some other options out there (even if you were to pay for assistance with them), but it is pretty plug-and-play, and it does remove many possible hurdles that you could face otherwise.

    Overall it is a good start, but if you are looking to scale, or you’re already growing and want more flexibility, then it may feel restrictive and/or silently get very expensive with every extra monthly charge.

     

     

    Conclusion

     

    Shopify Review Conclusion: Is this tool right for you?

    Shopify is is a solid solution for creating online stores from a B2C perspective. For B2B, it may not be the best option out there.

    It has many great features (though you are almost certainly going to purchase extras) and positives, but also some downsides you should consider before making up your mind (especially when it comes to flexibility in programming and expense in functional expansions).#

     

    What impressed us about Shopify

    Out of Shopify’s numerous pros, these are our favourites:

    • Product and payment management, shipping, and ordering is completely pain-free.
    • Modification of templates in a is possible, enough for many who smaller B2C ventures.
    • Installing apps and templates takes just seconds.
    • 24/7 support.
    • Any size of an e-commerce store can be handled on Shopify.
    • Several dropshipping app/product integrations.
    • PoS solution is available for offline selling.

     

    What you might not like about Shopify

    These are some things that could possibly bother you:

    • Shopify pricing starts at $26 per month, which sounds fair, but definitely something to think about since it’ll never remain that low, especially if you scale and start needing the likes of Shopify Plus (starting at $2,000+ per month).
    • Extra transaction fees if you don’t use Shopify Payments can add up very quickly making monthly costs unpredictable.
    • Multilingual store set up neither cheap nor easy.
    • The advanced report builder, third-party shipping rates, and some of the most attractive features (often considered essential, especially for B2B), are only available in the more expensive plans.
    • The SEO issues, like the URL formats, can be a real hindrance to your marketing efforts.
    • A limited blog is the only thing provided for your content marketing.

     

     

    Final Thoughts

    So, after looking at the pros and cons, in a simple statement:

     

    Shopify is enough to start a simple B2C business, but once it scales up, if you’re a B2B business, or even if you want to have more freedom of customisation, then it probably isn’t the right option for you.

     

    Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs about WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento to see if any of those will fit your needs better.

     

    In the meantime, if you would like to chat with us to see what is best for you, feel free to email us at [email protected] or call on 0844 33 03 724 and we will be happy to let you know what we think about your personal needs.

  • Tuning your eCommerce

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    Your eCommerce store doesn’t make money

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    [tm_pb_slide heading=”You are not sure what to do next to change that?” background_image=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/adrenaline-adult-buildings-373934-scaled.jpg” background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” allow_player_pause=”off” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” custom_button_2=”off” button_2_text_size_laptop=”51″ button_2_text_size_tablet=”51″ button_2_text_size_phone=”51″ button_2_letter_spacing_laptop=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_phone=”50″ button_2_font_select=”default” button_2_font=”||||” button_2_use_icon=”default” button_2_icon_placement=”right” button_2_on_hover=”on” button_2_letter_spacing_hover_laptop=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_hover_tablet=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_hover_phone=”50″]

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    [tm_pb_slide heading=”You need to take a step back and analyse it” background_image=”https://itoolsolution.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/adult-back-view-business-1181345-scaled.jpg” background_position=”default” background_size=”default” background_color=”#ffffff” use_bg_overlay=”off” use_text_overlay=”off” alignment=”center” allow_player_pause=”off” text_border_radius=”3″ header_font_select=”default” header_font=”||||” body_font_select=”default” body_font=”||||” custom_button=”off” button_font_select=”default” button_font=”||||” button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” custom_button_2=”off” button_2_text_size_laptop=”51″ button_2_text_size_tablet=”51″ button_2_text_size_phone=”51″ button_2_letter_spacing_laptop=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_tablet=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_phone=”50″ button_2_font_select=”default” button_2_font=”||||” button_2_use_icon=”default” button_2_icon_placement=”right” button_2_on_hover=”on” button_2_letter_spacing_hover_laptop=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_hover_tablet=”50″ button_2_letter_spacing_hover_phone=”50″]

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    Finding the answer to below questions will help you identify issues, which might be stopping you from converting your eCommerce into money making machine.

    • Do you get traffic to your website?
    • What is your customer journey on your website and how can you improve it?
    • What is the bounce rate and plan to reduce it?
    • How do you attract new customers and encourage existing to order?
    • Are there any issues with UX?

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    If you need help with finding the answers you can contact us to arrange no obligation chat

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  • ePos link to eCommerce

    We have built link connecting till system ePosNOW with Magento2 and WooCommerce

  • Online presence determines future existence.

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    If you are dealing with Trade or Retail customers, you might be facing those challenges:

    • Visiting your customers and generate sale…
    • Online stock accuracy and time to maintain online inventory.
    • Time consuming order processing.
    • Running Sales and Marketing to generate new business and bring back existing customers.

     

    iTool Solution provide remedy for those and many other problems by automating eCommerce to sync products and orders between website (eCommerce) and back-office system (Sage, QuickBooks etc).

    Product data will be always up to date on the website and orders automatically imported into back-office system.

    Feel free to message us for no obligation quote.

    Online presence determines future existence.

     

     

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  • Working away from the office

    Do you need your employees to work from home? We can arrange remote access to your company resources, so the employees can work from home as they would in the office.

    working remotely