What Is The Best Enterprise Ecommerce Platforms?

11 min read

It’s no secret that the needs of small and large businesses differ from each other. Some general principles, like having a marketing plan or customer support, are universal. But as a business grows, it must adapt to add more team members, products, and infrastructure.

In the world of ecommerce, growing into an enterprise company often means updating and upgrading your web presence. Often, companies might even outgrow their original ecommerce platform. The platform you began your journey with may not be well-suited as an enterprise ecommerce platform. What factors need to be considered when choosing an enterprise ecommerce platform? And what are the best enterprise ecommerce platforms?

These are essential questions to ask for any growing business. This helpful guide will break down some key factors to consider and then offer an enterprise ecommerce platform comparison.

What to Look For In Enterprise Ecommerce Platforms

Ease of transition

Moving from one ecommerce platform to another will likely present some temporary disruption. But this disruption should be kept to an absolute minimum. Some software is more adaptable, making them easier to move to than others. Replatforming to an enterprise ecommerce platform will take time, but you should not lose anything in the process.

Be sure that your new platform can accommodate everything you wish to bring over from your old platform. Plus, you’ll want to ensure it carries all the new features you need.

Security

Data security is always crucial for companies that conduct business online. But security becomes more heavily scrutinized as your company grows; the larger the company, the more sensitive information you might have access to. Therefore, security is often one of the top priorities of companies when choosing an enterprise ecommerce platform.

The best ecommerce platform should not just protect your customer’s sensitive data, though. It should also provide excellent fraud protection and access control to secure your website and its data.

User experience

It should go without saying that the best ecommerce platforms should be easy to use. If an enterprise ecommerce platform has all the tools and resources your company needs but is challenging to navigate, are those resources worth it? Never underestimate the value of a smooth interface and good customer support when choosing a platform.

The same can be said of the front end of your website. The ecommerce platform you choose to work with should be able to help you build a user-friendly online store. Spend some time experimenting with each platform as best you can.

Also, try to find other ecommerce websites that are supported by each platform as well. This can give you a sense of the user experience of all the available enterprise ecommerce platforms.

Cost to use

Cost is an essential factor in any decision a business makes. So choosing an enterprise ecommerce platform is no exception. There will likely be a cost increase when replatforming to an all-in-one enterprise ecommerce platform. That simply comes with the expanded offerings and benefits of your new platform.

But just because you are spending more, this does not mean you shouldn’t be wary of overspending. This process is still about finding the best ecommerce platform for enterprises at the best price.

One helpful way to break down the value of all enterprise ecommerce platforms is to list the features you need today, features that would be nice to have, and features you may need in the future. This can give you an easy reference guide when comparing various platforms’ costs and packages.

Management and analytic tools

A growing business has a lot more data to keep track of. An enterprise company might have multiple divisions, each with different marketing strategies for unique products. Analyzing market trends and performance metrics across all channels and divisions can be challenging. The best enterprise ecommerce platforms should offer robust advanced analytic tools.

Other considerations

There are several other minor factors that all bear consideration when choosing an enterprise ecommerce platform. For instance, the platform type can make a difference in functionality and ease of use.

An open-source, on-site platform might provide more customization options but has more technical components, making it harder to use on the backend. On the other hand, a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform will be easier to use but may be more limited in some areas.

Cross-platform performance may also be necessary. For instance, how well does each platform handle mobile websites or app development? Some platforms may be excellent regarding desktop functionality but struggle with mobile development.

Enterprise Ecommerce Platform Comparison: Strengths and Weaknesses

SAP

SAP Hybris is an all-in-one enterprise ecommerce platform built with customer experience and market analysis as its priorities. The SAP platform has an extensive range of tools available, and companies can pick and choose based on their individual needs.

As a headless platform, SAP Hybris allows easy multi-channel connectivity and smooth updates to your online stores. Other highlights include the platform’s excellent security, automated marketing feature, and omnichannel performance.

The two major drawbacks of using SAP as your enterprise ecommerce platform are the price tag and ease of use. SAP Hybris costs more than most of its competitors. It is also an on-site hosted platform that requires a lot of technical expertise. This may need you to hire a team of web designers to keep all your platforms running smoothly.

Oracle

Oracle Commerce is an easy-to-use and highly scalable enterprise ecommerce platform. One of the strongest features Oracle offers is its cross-channel B2B and B2C functionality. This is ideal for enterprise companies with different divisions operating as B2B and B2C retailers. Oracle is also one of the smoothest cross-platform ecommerce platforms, with smooth desktop and mobile interfaces.

While Oracle offers a vast range of insights, analytics, and customer support tools, it does have some practical limitations. Perhaps most notable is that websites built with Oracle can’t be integrated with Amazon or eBay. As two of the largest online marketplaces in the world, this limitation can be difficult to navigate.

Moreover, Oracle websites do not provide one-click checkout for customers. While this may not seem like a big deal, it is a minor inconvenience that can deter many consumers.

Shopify Plus

If having a ready-to-use, user-friendly enterprise ecommerce platform is your priority, Shopify Plus is a strong option. In addition to being easy to use, the main highlights of Shopify are its wide variety of plug-ins and 24/7 customer support.

Shopify is one of the most widely-used ecommerce platforms for small businesses and startups. But the Shopify Plus package also significantly accommodates large and enterprise companies.

There are two notable drawbacks to using Shopify, however. The first is that it is more limited in its overall potential. This is the trade-off of being easy to use. The second serious drawback for enterprise companies is that Shopify Plus is designed primarily for B2C functionality. This can make it severely limited for companies that require B2B functionality as well.

Adobe Commerce

The Adobe name is well-known and trusted for a range of digital products. That includes Adobe Commerce, formerly called Magento. Adobe Commerce is one of the best enterprise ecommerce platforms for customization. The platform has extensions and tools for almost everything a business needs. The platform is also great for creating a user-friendly customer experience on both B2B and B2C websites.

Once again, the endless customization offered by Adobe Commerce makes the platform more difficult to use. As such, this platform requires some technical expertise to get the most out of it. Adobe Commerce has also been criticized for its lack of customer support. This compounds the issue of it being a complex platform to use. In addition, many advanced features available on Adobe Commerce have a steep price tag.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a popular ecommerce platform for small and large businesses alike. Some of BigCommerce’s best traits are that it’s easy to use, offers excellent content management, and has many valuable features for good customer experiences. BigCommerce is also regarded as having good customer support and an extensive network of partners.

The two main drawbacks of BigCommerce are its technical difficulty and unpredictable pricing. BigCommerce is another platform requiring technical expertise to get the most value out of it. In addition, BigCommerce pricing plans are based on your company’s sales volume. This can be highly inconvenient, especially as your company grows.

Ecwid

The Ecwid Unlimited Plan is Ecwid’s highest-level plan, built with enterprise businesses in mind. Ecwid Unlimited takes advantage of Ecwid’s extraordinarily easy-to-use and highly-customizable ecommerce platform. Some of the standard features of Ecwid Unlimited are mobile support, limitless inventory options, and multiple pricing options.

But one unique feature that truly sets Ecwid Unlimited apart is the availability of customization hours. Ecwid Unlimited users can work with Ecwid’s in-house customization team to develop solutions for their company’s unique needs. This makes Ecwid Unlimited highly customizable without sacrificing ease of use.

Try Ecwid Unlimited

Ecwid Unlimited is also more affordable than many of the best ecommerce platforms for enterprise companies. With affordable pricing, Ecwid Unlimited offers exceptional value for growing companies.

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Apr 15, 2023

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.