What Makes a Good Automotive eCommerce Website?
The automotive industry is growing at an increasingly rapid rate. Despite a relatively slow online adoption in the vertical, online sales are expect to continue increasing, particularly in aftermarket parts. With this in mind, many businesses are clamouring to increase and improve their online presence. But what is it that makes a good automotive eCommerce website?
Whether you’re a B2B or B2C company, the auto parts sector can be very different from a lot of traditional eCommerce sites. There is a huge amount of data that needs to be dealt with. Fitment databases are a good example of this. Your business and your customers need a quick and accurate way of finding the relevant make, model, and year. This isn’t always as easy as it appears which is why more and more eCommerce providers are creating automotive-specific platforms. These platforms have dedicated features related to the industry. We’ll take a look at some of the most useful features that a good automotive eCommerce website should have. In addition, we’ll discuss why our own platform, Shopping Cart Elite, is one of the best out there.
Automotive eCommerce Website: Automotive Features
It’s difficult for website providers that are inexperienced in the auto industry to provide the right kind of service. There are so many aspects that are largely unique. Below we’ve covered some of the automotive features that you should look for when choosing an eCommerce platform:
Integrated Fitment Database
One of the key things that automotive websites need to have is an integrated fitment database. This data can easily get complicated for both you and your customers. Due to the often in-depth and extensive databases you have to deal with, maintaining them across potentially multiple websites can be difficult. Ideally you’ll want them to automatically sync and update across your different channels.
Furthermore, you’ll want access to multiple different fitment data sets to cover all of your customers’ needs.
Intuitive Search and Navigation
There are many variables that will impact how a customer navigates your website. In the auto industry, make, model, and year are all determining factors in how someone searches. As we mentioned, fitment databases can be incredibly expansive. Being able to search for and filter these results will be hugely beneficial. It means that users of your website will be able to pinpoint exactly what they’re looking for. It also means that you’ll have a greater visibility to potential customers too. A good user experience is crucial to improving key site metrics such as visitors, sales, and conversion rates.
Custom Data
Your business is unique, and so is your data. As we’ve mentioned above, one of the most important factors in building your automotive eCommerce website is handling large amounts of data. This isn’t just applicable to fitment databases, but also your own custom data. You need to be able to import information that is specific to your business. Omni-channel commerce is the way forward, meaning that all of your channels should offer the same selection of products at the same price. You don’t want to penalize your online customers for their shopping habits; you want to encourage them to shop with you across all of your channels. Consistent data plays a big role in this.
Automotive eCommerce Website: Powerful eCommerce
Creating a good automotive website also means creating a good eCommerce website. Despite the niche-specific nature of the auto industry, there are still some website fundamentals that you need to get right. Although many platforms offer a wide range of services, some of the more powerful tools can require extra add-ons and costs. Below we’ve outlined some of the key things you should look for when creating your automotive eCommerce website:
Site Speed
A fast website is quite often a good website. The days of dialup are thankfully long passed, meaning that the internet is faster than ever. With this speed come certain expectations from customers. We’ve discussed this in previous articles, but many customers are unwilling to wait more than three seconds for a page to load before abandoning it altogether. It’s therefore vital that your website loads quickly. There are many ways you can achieve this, for example by reducing image size and the complexity of your CSS code. However, when you’re choosing to build your site with a specific platform, the infrastructure of that provider is crucial. Site speed will not only impact your customer experience, it’s a contributing factor towards search engine ranking.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a skillset that is rapidly developing, and there are numerous factors that contribute towards it. The quality of your content is an important one. Readers and search engines like content that is long and engaging, and free of mistakes. Ensure that your automotive content is up to scratch, accurate, and not endlessly duplicated. From your eCommerce provider, look for tools that can help you improve your SEO. Not only should they provide the capabilities, they should also give you the knowhow to make the changes you need.
Marketplace Integration
Retailers who sell their products across various channels will know the importance of having marketplace integration. Uploading products across multiple platforms can be time consuming and frustrating if there isn’t one central system controlling your entire catalogue. Combine this with the fact that some of the biggest names in eCommerce are taking major strides in selling auto parts online, and you can see the importance of integrating with them. Sites such as Amazon and eBay are quickly adopting automotive sales. If you want your business to have maximum visibility and reach, these are channels that you’ll need to explore.
Custom Design and Optimization
We mentioned this above in terms of data, but your business and brand is unique. Standing out form the crowd is the only way to get noticed. Because of this, you’ll need to have the freedom and the assistance to create a beautiful website that expresses your brand sentiment. Look for a provider that allows you to use custom templates that are optimized for a fantastic user experience. Your customers will thank you for it.
A Dedicated Automotive eCommerce Website Provider: Shopping Cart Elite
The reason we feel we’re so well placed to determine what makes a good eCommerce automotive platform is our vast experience in both sectors. Shopping Cart Elite’s founder, Igor Soshkin, started his career working in the automotive niche. He quickly identified the need for a dedicated eCommerce solution and founded Shopping Cart Elite in 2007. Since then the team has grown and we’ve continued to innovate the market. Below we’ve outlined some of the key features that will help you deliver an effective automotive eCommerce website:
Automotive-specific Features
We provide our customers with everything they need to set up an automotive eCommerce website, whether it’s for B2C or business to business. We have integrated fitment databases covering all of the major regions, including ACES, PIES and SEMA. Tire and wheel fitment data is also available. We maintain these on a monthly basis and will flag anything that’s changed. This means you can rely on the fact that you have the latest data across your channels. Furthermore, you can also add custom data from your business. Existing customers will be familiar with your online setup, and new customers will easily be able to find you.
Powerful eCommerce Features
We’ve spent a long time perfecting the elements that make up our software package. We’re confident that we can offer everything that your business needs in order to be successful online. Not only will you be able to create a custom design template that really emphasises your brand, every page will be optimized to be fast, reliable, and SEO friendly.
Marketplace Integration
Your new website will be ready for full marketplace optimization, meaning you can take advantage of popular channels such as Amazon, eBay and Newegg. With this integration comes the ability to easily manage and maintain your data from one central location. If you work with multiple dealers, they too will be able to pull accurate and up-to-date information from your inventory.
Choose Shopping Cart Elite
In this article we’ve demonstrated the importance to have industry-specific features when creating an automotive eCommerce website. There are many issues that can affect both your business and your customers, so it’s important you choose the right platform. At Shopping Cart Elite, we feel that we can help any auto business improve their online presence, whether it’s creating a new website or transitioning from an outdated one. Our team off experts are always willing to help you plan, design and execute your goals, and provide all the necessary support along the way.