With an ever-increasing internet user base, India’s potential for a rapidly expanding E-commerce industry is great. India’s E-commerce industry was valued at about 22 billion USD in 2018. Bearing in mind the growth potential, experts predict this number to rise to 200 billion USD by 2027. Furthermore, as of 2017, India’s leading online marketplace alone reported 500 million USD in sales. While the average E-commerce retail revenue per user clocked in at 50 USD in 2017, this number is expected to rise to 75 USD in 2024.
The numbers above represent a thriving online marketplace that is on a definitive growth trajectory. The numbers above also serve as inspiration for entrepreneurs looking to join this marketplace by developing and launching e-retail applications and web platforms. However, developing and launching your e-commerce shop requires choosing from different e-commerce development options through technology Users, one of which is open source customizable marketplace software. Read further to know more about open source marketplace software, and the benefits and advantages such software offers.
You Need an E-Commerce Platform
Conducting retail operations on the World Wide Web requires your presence on an E-commerce platform. When choosing an E-commerce platform; your choices are SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platforms or open-source platforms. SaaS platforms are subscribed E-commerce frameworks, essentially ‘rented’ out for a fee by third-party providers responsible for the development and management of the software.
Open source customizable marketplace software is fundamentally different. The Joomla shopping cart (or e-commerce) extension is a great example of open-source E-commerce and marketplace software allowing for extensive functionality to support online retail operations, including sales and product management, order and sales reporting, checkout processes, product display, invoice, etc.
While SaaS platforms are fully developed E-commerce frameworks an aspiring online retailer can subscribe to, to launch an e-shop, open-source platforms encourage user participation in developing and maintaining a shop cart by giving users access to source codes to modify and customize as per individual needs. While open-source platforms offer greater flexibility in developing, designing, and administrating your shopping cart, there are more benefits and advantages to the open code route to e-commerce development. Read further to know more.
Advantages of Open-Source E-Commerce Platforms
The open-source E-commerce development route offers various advantages including:
- Complete Access to Source Code/Features/ and Extensions – Open-Source E-commerce platforms give users access to a complete range of source code, features, and extensions to self-develop, design, and manage individual shopping carts. Open-source platforms also allow complex development processes including mixed basket implementations, multichannel integration, and integration with third parties, which may not be offered by SaaS platforms.
- No Licensing Costs – While SaaS ecommerce development software come at a licensing cost, open-source E-commerce platforms are free to join, with charges applicable based on features and extensions offered by the platform.
- Scalability – Ecommerce shops grow over time, and open-source platforms offer shopping cart scalability that SaaS software rarely offers. Offering flexibility and agility in areas such as orders, features, user integration, and cataloguing, Open Source e-commerce platforms offer extensive scalability to their users.
- Independence – Open source marketplaces offer retailers independence from the rigid frameworks of SaaS E-commerce software. While SaaS E-commerce frameworks are developed and managed by third parties, open-source encourages users to self-develop and customize E-retail frameworks with full independence over shopping cart development and management.
- The Community Component – The community of developers that make open source E-commerce platforms their home is a definitive advantage of such platforms. These developers customize existing code and build new modules to further extend the platform. The Joomla shopping cart extension is a great example of an open-source E-commerce platform with a strong community of developers constantly improving the platform.
- A Marketplace Ecosystem – With a higher volume of users, open place ecommerce development platforms generally have a thriving marketplace ecosystem.
With an understanding of the many advantages of open-source E-commerce development and management platforms, considering the open source route for E-retail operations could very well be a winning strategy.
FAQS
Q: Can I use open-source e-commerce platforms with little to no development skills?
A: Shopping cart development on open-source E-commerce platforms requires little to no development skills.
Q: Which are cheaper, open-source E-commerce platforms or SaaS software?
A: With no licensing fee, the initial costs for shopping cart development on open source platforms are arguably cheaper than SaaS software.
