Turnkey eCommerce Solution: Why Consider it?

You want to enter the lucrative domain of eCommerce. You have an exciting business idea, waiting to be realized. You look at popular eCommerce platforms like Amazon, thinking: How can I launch such a platform? 

So now, do you search for a list of eCommerce development companies, finalize one, ponder on arranging for the finances for the quoted costs, and wait for ages till the platform is developed? Even more significantly, commit to all of this before the first transaction on your eCommerce platform takes place. 

Not quite, there is a better way, suited to most use cases. 

Modern eCommerce has come a long way. And as the industry evolves, so do the supporting technologies. Today, the industry offers capable turnkey eCommerce solutions also known as readymade or off-the-shelf software solutions. These allow you to start your eCommerce business in a fraction of the time. What’s more: the costs involved are significantly lesser too. Depending upon which turnkey solution you choose, you can get started with a solution that offers practically a plug-and-play functionality. So getting started with your eCommerce platform will be as convenient as “turning the key” of your car to get going. 

Intrigued? Let’s read more about them. 

What is a Turnkey eCommerce Solution?

Consider this: Amazon started its multivendor operations in 2000. Back then, the website had a simple layout offering basic eCommerce features. By the next decade, it had evolved into a more intuitive platform with multiple additional features. In this, some were like:

– Subscription services in the form of Amazon Prime. 

– Downloadable digital products like eBooks. 

– Advanced search for users with toolbar

– Detailed product descriptions

… and a lot more.

Similarly, refer to change in UI over this period. 

Credits: Wayback Machine 

While these are some of the highlights, a lot evolved in the platform during this period. So some staple eCommerce experiences, that heightened user experiences over time, were added in the gradual evolution of the platform. All this was achieved through successfully innovating in technology, keeping user needs and their feedback at the core. 

As it transpired, towards the end of this period, turnkey eCommerce solutions started sprouting up in the technology market. The best amongst these could let you build a marketplace like Amazon with basically a ready-to-use functionality. So with these turnkey solutions, you had the power to start a business like Amazon, taking inspiration from the platform’s 10+ year evolution. As eCommerce platforms like Amazon have evolved, turnkey solutions like these have adapted to change in the market as well. 

If say, you have to start an eCommerce business, and you choose to develop the eCommerce platform from scratch ― you will need a definitive business plan for the platform with a detailed list of development requirements. If you don’t ― the development time will be spent analyzing, conceptualizing, and executing. This is in addition to time spent in testing each of these before the final launch. 

So this is exactly what turnkey eCommerce solutions do ― they are comprehensively capable and ready-to-use software ― that provides the essential tools and features to launch and manage an eCommerce platform. Let’s understand what this means for eCommerce entrepreneurs looking to start their online business. 

What makes Turnkey eCommerce Solutions so Popular

If you observe, we are in the middle of a mega digital retail transformation ― that is happening on a global scale. eCommerce is extending its influence to include multiple industries, regions, demographics, audiences, and more. This kind of expansion occurs when the supporting infrastructure evolves to facilitate progress.

For eCommerce, the industry is transforming, pillared by a robust ecosystem of technology solutions. Moreover, the more accessible is technology, the greater the growth. This accessibility to robust technology is led by (but not limited to) turnkey eCommerce software. Read below to find out what key benefits these offer to entrepreneurs.  

Fastens Go To Market for eCommerce Businesses

Turnkey eCommerce solutions have been pivotal in aiding entrepreneurs to take their eCommerce idea to actualization in quick time. Let’s see how: 

Bypasses redundant eCommerce development process 

Fundamentally, most eCommerce platforms are similar to an extent, with a common thread of business operations and eCommerce experiences that users have come to expect. In fact, in today’s competitive world, if one platform introduces a new set of features ― not to be left behind, the competition follows the same course of action. 

In such a scenario, starting to build the same thing from scratch is a process laden with redundant effort. On the other hand, turnkey solutions will give you a ready-to-use product that you can leverage straightaway, without getting into the details. You are gaining from hundreds of development man-hours already invested in the turnkey product. 

Includes essential eCommerce requirements out-of-the-box 

Turnkey solutions already offer popular features by default, giving entrepreneurs a holistic start. If one analyzes, the pillars of eCommerce are as follows:

• Features to allow vendors to sell, and buyers to shop conveniently. 
• Functionalities to facilitate eCommerce operations, provide analytics support, and foster effective brand marketing.  
• UI/UX that offers the users a modern eCommerce shopping experience, like they are used to on popular eCommerce platforms. 

On average, leading readymade eCommerce solutions can offer up to 500 features, optimized workflows for smooth eCommerce operations, a conversion-driven UI/UX, pre-integrated API support, and a lot more. These are again adopted after analyzing the progress of eCommerce platforms in the market. 

Quicker to Set-up 

Some of the Turnkey eCommerce solutions are SaaS-based, so the installation and deployment process is avoided. Similarly, some self-hosted solutions are offered with installation assistance, which helps in the quick set-up of the eCommerce platform. 

Easier to Learn 

Turnkey eCommerce solutions are designed for mass market consumption. So ease of use is prioritized ― not just for the end consumers or sellers, but the marketplace operators as well. Moreover, these are designed intuitively, making them easier to learn, and thereby reducing man-hours dependency for the business. 

Furthermore, the leading eCommerce solutions are also supported by tutorials and detailed documentation. And all this is part of the solution. This also makes it easier for marketplace operators to get more familiar with the platform. 

Hence, readymade eCommerce solutions cut short the go-to-market time for startups significantly. This saved time can be of significant strategic advantage, allowing startups to make market inroads with their eCommerce platforms, as soon as the opportunity has been identified. 

Offers significant cost advantage for better investment capital management 

“Think big. Start small. Scale fast.” ― Eric Ries, The Startup Way

A leading name in the domain of startup advice, Eric Ries, is a big advocator of a lean startup strategy. He recommends building incrementally as you go along. The underlying logic is building a solution that is built on user feedback. With development costs ranging anything from $20k to $500k ― trying to build an eCommerce platform from scratch is putting all eggs in one basket, with no verifiable assurance of a positive outcome. Discussed below is the cost-effectiveness of starting with a turnkey eCommerce solution. 

Cost efficient to start with 

When you choose to use a turnkey or off-the-shelf eCommerce solution, straight up, you are investing a fraction of the cost. Here, SaaS-based solutions do incur a monthly rental, but some of the self-hosted eCommerce solutions can be purchased with just a one-time payment. In either of the two scenarios, the costs are significantly lower than building the eCommerce platform from scratch. 

Cost efficient to maintain 

As discussed, readymade solutions have been developed (and improved upon) for large-scale use, and not just a specific instance. So there are no shortcuts used in the development. The outcome is robust software ― hence there is very little technical debt that you carry forward. Moreover, since the solution is well-known to the development team, the maintenance is easier and hence more cost-efficient.  

Suggested Read: Fashion Marketplace built using turnkey eCommerce solution ― Yo!Kart 

Gives the Advantage of Flexibility 

Leading readymade solutions provide versatility to eCommerce entrepreneurs who are considering starting their online business. Below we discuss, where this advantage comes from.

Customizability 

A few of the best turnkey eCommerce solutions are built to offer the freedom of customization. You can tailor the platform to align with your specific branding and business needs. For instance, you may want to change the design and layout. Moreover, certain specific functionality or integration with third-party solutions may be required.  

Scalability 

eCommerce businesses can scale up, to host burgeoning user traffic and a number of transactions. Here, again the best eCommerce solutions allow adaptability to accommodate business growth and increased demand, with robust underpinnings. However, a word of caution here is that some readymade solutions, especially SaaS-based, can come with a limit to the allowed user base, and may also charge transaction fee from the business. 

Compatibility 

Leading eCommerce software offer the benefit of a mass market solution. They are built using popular technologies, maximizing compatibility for other software tools and third-party applications. These offer seamless integration, reducing the chances of complexities, and thus enhancing the capability of the online platform to build a multi-faceted eCommerce ecosystem. 

Reduces unknown variables for a new business 

As the owner of an eCommerce business, you will have multiple business functions to manage. Here, success relies on simplifying the process as much as possible ― which can be done by minimizing unknown variables, and adding the assurance of predictability. Turnkey eCommerce solutions can help you to achieve the desired results, let’s discuss how. 

Leverage a tried and trusted process 

As discussed above, turnkey eCommerce solutions are developed for the sole purpose of giving startups a solid foundation. They find use across multiple use cases, making them popular across the industry. Hence, these solutions are tried and trusted. Entrepreneurs can easily gauge an eCommerce solution by going through third-party reviews and ratings. 

Predictability that fosters user trust 

According to a study by Adam Waytz, published by the Kellogg School of Management, predictability is one of the four major components that fosters trust among individuals. Also as discussed, since trust in online platforms is built over time, eCommerce businesses can leverage every opportunity to foster a sense of trust. 

Turnkey eCommerce solutions leverage the knowledge base of a team, in analyzing and understanding the pivotal dynamics of a fluid, logic-driven UX. They have researched the user-platform interaction, taking cues from established players in the market. With this, they configure their effort to infuse the platform with the same virtues. This gives users a predictable and assured virtual ecosystem. 

Partner a team with eCommerce expertise 

In certain cases, you gain from a partnership with a team that has been working in the industry for an extended period. If you are new to the domain, you can get access to a knowledge base, that can ease your entry into the world of eCommerce, especially when it comes to technological infrastructural development. 

Easier to gain first mover advantage

The dynamic eCommerce ecosystem is moving at a brisk pace. By the year 2026, 24% of all retail purchases are expected to take place via eCommerce channels. Since, for end consumers, online purchases are very trust-driven buying decisions ― eCommerce platforms can take time to gain traction. Especially if they lack the first mover advantage i.e. they are competing against an established name in the market. Moreover, it gets even more complicated if they are to lose out to a competitor which moved in while they were planning their launch ― the business will be caught off guard. 

In short, in eCommerce, opportunity delayed is opportunity lost. 

With all the advantages of turnkey eCommerce solutions that are discussed in this section, one thing can be summarized ― using a turnkey solution can shorten your Go To Market time, enabling you to grab the eCommerce opportunity as quickly as possible, and with the minimum investment required. 

Conclusion

So is eCommerce custom development all bad? Certainly not, it is just that it is best suited to very typical use cases. For instance, an organization going through a complete digital transformation, and which has a running ecosystem of legacy processes and solutions, needs the eCommerce solution to be developed around its existing set-up. Here, either they can proceed with extensive customization of turnkey solutions or they can choose custom eCommerce development.  

For every other need, turnkey eCommerce software makes a better case for themselves. As tried and trusted solutions, they offer businesses the advantage of continuous focused development, by a team for that purpose. Overall, such solutions simplify the process of starting an eCommerce business, and make eCommerce entrepreneurship accessible to a wider range of audiences, regardless of their technical expertise or budget constraints.