Why You Need A Bespoke eCommerce Website In 2024

Think of your eCommerce platform as the stage for a grand performance—a display of your state-of-the-art products. Would you prefer a shared stage with generic props that everyone uses—serviceable but uninspired? That’s what off-the-shelf eCommerce platforms offer.

Now, imagine designing a stage that tells your story, with backdrops that resonate with your audience and props that enhance every act. A bespoke eCommerce website is that custom stage, tailored to captivate, engage, and convert, giving your brand the spotlight it deserves.

The online retail sector is experiencing unprecedented growth and competition. Projections indicate that by 2027, eCommerce will account for 41% of global retail sales. With such a surge, businesses must differentiate themselves through unique online experiences.

A bespoke eCommerce website can enable your business to create a distinctive online presence, directly influencing customer engagement, sales, and brand perception. A custom-built platform fosters solid customer relationships by reflecting your brand’s values and aesthetics. 

Results – an enhanced customer experience and brand loyalty.

Why Go With Bespoke eCommerce Websites

A bespoke eCommerce website builds on every aspect of your business to cultivate growth and innovation, unlike off-the-shelf solutions, with the following benefits:

• Consistent brand identity: A bespoke eCommerce website ensures cohesive branding, from logo to social media integration. This consistency strengthens brand recognition and customer trust. 
• Improved user experience: When you develop eCommerce bespoke software, you offer an enriching shopping journey with a tailored solution. It caters to individual preferences and needs efficiently, making interactions seamless and satisfying.
• Better security: You can implement custom security protocols and tailor website architecture according to your business requirements, protecting customers’ sensitive data while ensuring compliance. 
• Performance optimization: A bespoke eCommerce Website can allow fine-tuning performance to handle data volumes and maintain responsiveness, ensuring efficient operations under varied demands.

Challenges Solved by Bespoke eCommerce Websites

While bespoke eCommerce solutions offer extensive advantages, they also solve a series of challenges of the eCommerce world, such as:

• Increasing customer expectations: With the increasing number of e-commerce stores, a bespoke eCommerce website gives you an edge over competitors with creative and engaging elements. It ensures not just meeting customer expectations but exceeding them. 
• Scaling needs: Business growth requires scalable operations, including your eCommerce platform. A bespoke eCommerce website scales with time without dependency on a third-party solution. It allows you to introduce updates to meet evolving market trends and business needs. 
• Costs: Recurring licensing fees can mount up over time with off-the-shelf solutions. While bespoke solutions have higher initial costs, they are more cost-effective in the long run, as you pay only for the features you need.
• Complete ownership and control: A Bespoke eCommerce Website gives you complete ownership of the source code. It reduces the reliance on third-party platforms and offers greater control over your online store.

Check out our comprehensive guide to developing bespoke software to learn how bespoke solutions address industry-specific challenges and offer unique benefits over off-the-shelf solutions.

Types of Bespoke eCommerce Solutions

Every business is unique, and so are its demands. Bespoke eCommerce application developers can provide solutions that cater to these distinct workflows and requirements. 

Read along to understand two major bespoke eCommerce solutions that address different business objectives.

B2B eCommerce Solution

Think of B2B eCommerce as a bustling wholesale market where efficiency is king. So, the major challenges wholesale businesses that require a solution in this domain are:

• Order delays
• Miscommunication
• Navigating a tedious bulk purchase process
• Complex pricing structures

A B2B Bespoke eCommerce Website is tailored to resolve wholesalers’ woes. A B2B bespoke eCommerce platform focuses on simplifying operations and cultivating meaningful business relationships. But how?

With custom eCommerce solutions, you can get the following functionalities:

• Trade accounts with custom pricing: Bespoke platforms enable the creation of trade accounts with personalized pricing structures, catering to the specific agreements and discounts negotiated with each client. This flexibility ensures that businesses can manage unique pricing tiers and terms efficiently.
• Bulk ordering feature: Get intuitive interfaces for quickly selecting and ordering large quantities and processing reorders with a few clicks. With real-time inventory management for the business, such functionalities streamline the purchasing process for clients who regularly place substantial orders.
• Integration capabilities: A critical aspect of bespoke B2B solutions is their ability to integrate with existing enterprise systems, including inventory management, warehouse tracking, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). With a bespoke CRM system for eCommerce, real-time data synchronization can enhance operational efficiency and accuracy for improved business interactions.

B2C eCommerce

What makes you return to your neighborhood local shop? You may think it’s the products, but it’s the vendor — the seller who knows your preferences and makes you feel welcomed and at ease. However, many eCommerce websites can fail to provide this valuable experience if they have complex layouts and payment structures that feel like a maze.

With a bespoke eCommerce website, you may personalize user experience and win better conversion rates by turning visitors into loyal customers. With innovative features and interactive designs, custom eCommerce solutions facilitate the online shopping journey from exploration to purchase.

With a B2C bespoke eCommerce website, you can drive brand growth with top-notch user experience with features that support:

• Payment flexibility: Offer multiple payment options, including credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and alternative payment methods. It lets you cater to diverse consumer preferences, thereby pushing for sales. 
• Cart abandonment reduction: Custom B2C solutions implement strategies to minimize cart abandonment, such as sending reminder emails, offering discounts, and simplifying the checkout process. These measures encourage consumers to complete their purchases.
• Customer retention: Functionalities like re-order and quick order options facilitate repeat purchases by allowing customers to order from previous purchases easily. Additionally, personalized recommendations and loyalty programs can be integrated to enhance customer retention and satisfaction.
• Behavior-based personalization: A bespoke eCommerce website can implement functionalities to remember preferences like your trusted vendor. Data-driven insights into customer behavior improve personalization and interaction with product recommendations and relevant promotions. 
• Social integration: This will enable building a community of customers with detailed reviews, responses, forums, and integrated social media feeds of the products. The integration will allow an exceptional brand experience, building trust and credibility among the community.

Now that you know two types of eCommerce businesses bespoke eCommerce solutions can cater to, let us tell you about some features you can include to stand out from the crowd.

Basic (MUST HAVE) Features of Bespoke eCommerce Websites

There are some basic features of a Bespoke eCommerce Website you can’t avoid. Just so you don’t miss them out, we’ve made a quick list:

User-friendly navigation

Clear menus and intuitive navigation paths make browsing effortless, helping customers find products quickly and reducing bounce rates. Make navigation convenient by including the following:

Breadcrumbs: Help users understand their location within the site hierarchy, simplifying backtracking and enhancing navigation.

Product filters: Allow shoppers to refine searches by attributes like size, color, and price, making it easier to find products.

Internal site search: Enables users to locate items quickly, improving the overall shopping experience.

Footer navigation: Provides essential links for site-wide navigation and enhances user accessibility.

Responsive design

Ensure the site performs seamlessly on all devices, catering to mobile and desktop users alike, which improves engagement and conversion rates.

Multiple payment options

Offer various payment methods, such as credit cards, digital wallets, and alternative methods, and reduce cart abandonment by accommodating customer preferences.

Secure checkout process

A well-protected checkout with strong protocols such as SSL encryption and PCI compliance builds trust by safeguarding customer data against data breaches and ensures secure transactions.

Inventory Management

Automate managing inventory, orders, sales, and deliveries to validate product availability before order confirmations with real-time stock tracking and forecasting.

Order Tracking

Monitor shipment progress from the moment of order to delivery. Provide customers with updates on their purchases, enhancing transparency and trust while reducing customer inquiries about arrival anticipations.

Reviews and ratings

Enable customers to share feedback, boosting credibility and influencing purchasing decisions.

Wishlists

Allow shoppers to save products for future purchases, which will increase the likelihood of return visits and sales and drive future sales.

Return policy

Displaying your return policies clearly can help set expectations and improve customer confidence. A generous return policy may build customer trust, reducing anxiety with trial purchases.

Customer support features

Include options like live chat, help centers, and FAQs to assist shoppers and resolve issues promptly. Instant solutions with personalized support highlight the commitment to customer satisfaction.

Some Advanced Features of Bespoke eCommerce Websites To Set You Apart

Hopefully, every eCommerce website will have the above-mentioned basic features. But how do you add a touch of sophistication to stand out? 

Explore some advanced features that can build on an exceptional user experience that you can incorporate into your bespoke eCommerce solutions.

Swatches

Have you noticed small representations of product variants, such as different colors, patterns, or textures, on some product pages? When the customer clicks on a swatch, the selected option’s main product image and price update in real-time.

Why incorporate this feature: It improves decision-making by highlighting available options of different colors, fabrics, or finishes in a visually appealing manner.

SSO Integration

Single Sign-On (SSO) integration allows users to log in using third-party credentials, such as Google or Apple. With a bespoke eCommerce website, you may offer this option. When the user chooses to sign in with SSO, they get navigated to a third-party authentication page. Once the credentials are verified, the user returns to the store signed into their account.

Why incorporate this feature: Help the users avoid the hassle of creating unique accounts for each website. A quicker verification lowers their chances of bouncing off your website and abandoning purchases.

Chatbots

We have all used chatbots while shopping online, getting assistance with queries, or accessing required support information. On a bespoke eCommerce website, you may implement AI to assess user data, such as past purchases, to provide personalized solutions with chatbots.

Why incorporate this feature: It works 24/7 to offer instant answers and support. Customers no longer have to wait in a queue to connect with the customer support team, significantly improving user experience and satisfaction.

Push Notifications

Don’t you love it when your phone chimes with discounts on your wishlist items? Well, your customers will, too. Allow users to subscribe to your important updates and relevant information on their browsers or phones with your bespoke eCommerce platform. Users who opt for the service will receive push notifications based on their behavior, preferences, and product interactions.

Why incorporate this feature: It informs users about new launches, order statuses, and promotions, boosting engagement and conversion chances.

Loyalty Programs

Free or paid programs that give customers exclusive or early access to upcoming products or services can boost customer loyalty. With loyalty program features, customers can earn points or rewards for purchases and referrals that can be redeemed for discounts or exclusive offers on the next purchase.

Why incorporate this feature: Loyalty programs encourage repeat purchases while improving customer retention as the rewards prevent customers from switching to other brands.

AI-assisted cross-selling and upselling

With bespoke eCommerce solutions, you may implement artificial intelligence (AI) to recommend products based on customers’ purchase history and preferences. Machine learning models analyze customer behavior on your eCommerce website using consumer data from past campaigns and trends. Cross-selling suggests complimentary items, while upselling encourages customers to consider premium options for the product they’re interested in.

Why incorporate this feature: This feature encourages customers to purchase more from your website, increasing the purchase value per customer.

Voice Search

Interaction with bespoke eCommerce websites has become easier with the advent of voice commands. This feature uses voice recognition to capture user commands and natural language processing (NLP) to convert the commands into related queries.

Why incorporate this feature: It provides hands-free search accessibility, allowing a more convenient and faster user experience.

AR/VR

Deliver an immersive experience that lets customers visualize the products as they would use them. Bespoke eCommerce solutions can allow customers to use their device’s camera on their preferred device to visualize 3D product models in their space or on themselves.

Why incorporate this feature: Customers feel more confident about their purchases, and interactive shopping environments deliver a unique experience.

Multichannel Customer Support

We mentioned chatbots in our basic list, but wouldn’t it be convenient if users could receive assistance on any platform they prefer? Whether live chat, email, social media, or phone, a bespoke eCommerce website can let you integrate multiple support channels. It lets you offer a consistent brand message and present a unified identity across every channel. 

Why incorporate this feature: Multichannel customer support allows customers to approach your support team and feel more welcomed conveniently.

CMS

You can implement a comprehensive system for creating, managing, and publishing content across various channels with a content management system (CMS). Get an easy-to-use website dashboard that provides content optimization for SEO, various types of content, template options, and content scheduling tools.

Why incorporate this feature: It makes managing content easy and convenient, keeping the bespoke eCommerce platform dynamic and engaging.

Bespoke eCommerce Website Development Process

The bespoke eCommerce website development process has unique aspirations and challenges for every eCommerce business. At Anglara, we craft a personalized roadmap for every client to meet their objectives and workflows. The key stages involve:

• Initial planning and requirement gathering
• Design and customization
• Integration and testing
• Ongoing maintenance and updates

Want to know more about how our bespoke e-commerce application developers proceed with development? Read our complete guide to developing bespoke software.

Conclusion 

A Bespoke eCommerce Website is more than a mere custom solution–it’s an investment for your business’s future. With customization in every element, you lay a foundation for future growth and innovation. At Anglara, we’re dedicated to bringing your personalized vision into reality with our comprehensive end-to-end Bespoke eCommerce Website development services. With 6+ years of experience, our team can guide you through each phase with expertise and precision. Fill out our consultation form to discuss how our services can help your business deliver a memorable experience to its customers.