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API Data Connection in the eCommerce Sphere
No software business can stand firm without its foundation - the data it uses to provide its primary functions.
When we are talking about the eCommerce sphere, software providers who work with e-retailers must be able to have access to their online store info. Such info is related to products, customers, orders, categories, taxes, etc.
The important thing is that e-stores are based on various shopping platforms like Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce,Shift4Shop, CommerceHQ, OsCommerce, WP e-Commerce, Squarespace, etc. It means that access to all the valuable information from stores is possible for software solutions only if integrated with those platforms.
As a matter of fact, your software can access online store data only with the help of API data connection with eCommerce platforms.
An API, or application programming interface, is an intermediary between two applications or software that allows them to interact with each other and transfer the required data. One application connects to the API of the other to request the data from the latter application. The second application then responds to the server's request by transferring the data back to the server, which eventually reaches the requesting application.
API data integration with eCommerce platforms such as Magento, Shopify, Amazon, eBay, etc. is where the specific software or application integrates with the shopping platforms' APIs to retrieve data from the online stores built on them.
With such integration, software and application vendors can:
Expand their customer base by connecting with thousands of e-merchants who use the eCommerce platforms to do business
Collect and process all the data from their clients' online stores based on eCommerce platforms
Offer advanced features to their clients, making more sales
Increase their profits due to the more significant number of clients
However, there are some pitfalls in developing API data integration with eCommerce platforms and accessing data from them:
Building an integration with just one platform takes between 4-12 weeks and is a technically complex process
Each integration costs thousands of dollars or more, depending on the complexity of the shopping platforms' APIs
You can never call an integration complete, as shopping platforms update their APIs regularly
When software providers are able to integrate their systems with eCommerce platforms, they can access and manage data connected with orders, customers, products, shipping details, prices, taxes, categories, etc.
API data integration allows software vendors to make their software capable of performing their core functionalities. Here’s how:
Data related to orders help ERP solutions, order management systems, warehouse management systems, etc., access all the order details (order id, price, quantity, etc.) from the eCommerce platforms and process it for performing operations like order fulfillment, order processing, updating stock, and more.
Product information systems, inventory management systems need data related to products to manage updated information about the products in a customer’s online store. Inventory systems use product data to maintain an up-to-date stock.
Shipping management systems need a product, order, customer, price, and tax information to create shipment labels, track shipments, and ensure that the customers get the right product on time.
Similarly, marketing automation systems need access to all the data related to customers, products, and orders to send customized marketing messages, order updates, product recommendations, and reminders to the customers of the online store.
That said, every eCommerce software and application needs data from online stores based on shopping platforms to perform their functionality. Without such data, the software will not be able to provide its features to the e-retailers, and the software vendors cannot propose their solutions to potential clients.
The easiest way to develop API data integration with eCommerce platforms is to use a third-party service called API2Cart. It enables eCommerce software and application providers to integrate their systems with more than 40 platforms and marketplaces at once.
API2Cart eliminates all the challenges associated with in-house integration development by setting up all shopping platform integrations in one go, saving the time, money and resources that would otherwise be invested in developing individual integrations.
When you integrate your software with API2Cart, you automatically connect it with all the eCommerce platforms you choose in one go.
API2Cart has more than 100 API methods to access data from online stores based on shopping platforms. With API2Cart, you can add, delete, or update data related to orders, customers, products, categories, etc. Also, there’s no limit to the number of online stores you connect with and the amount of data you handle with API2Cart.
API2Cart supports the integration with eCommerce giants like Amazon, Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, osCommerce, eBay, Loaded Commerce, etc. Such shopping platforms and marketplaces keep updating their API versions all of the time, but API2Cart looks after all the updates and maintenance required after developing integrations.
If you want to be at the forefront of the industry in 2021, API data integration with eCommerce platforms needs to be at the top of your priority list. Without data from such platforms, eCommerce software cannot boast of its functionality.
Moreover, developing integrations is not an in-house affair - it requires a lot of expertise, time, money, and resources that you can use in other core functions of your business. Therefore, you need to invest wisely in a third-party service provider that can offer you high returns without much effort.
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