8 Challenges of running a multi store ecommerce setup (And Tips to overcome them)

Are you fighting to successfully run your multi store ecommerce business?

Facing quite a few challenges and don't know how to overcome them?

Well, managing multiple stores seamlessly can be an uphill battle.

You not only need the best multi store ecommerce platform, but also handy tips to overcome the challenges that come along the way.

But when handled well, these challenges can prove to be the stepping stones for your business.

And StoreHippo has you covered here!

We bring a detailed guide on how enterprise businesses can overcome the challenges of running their multi store setup.

Keep reading the space to explore the benefits and challenges of the business model.

What is a Multi Store Ecommerce Setup?

In a multi store setup, enterprise businesses can create and manage multiple sub-stores using a single platform. The chain of sub-stores can be defined on the basis of various product lines, the location of the buyers, languages used by the customers, or any other demographic data. With different sub-stores, you can make personalized changes to target the diverse needs and demands of your audience. 

For example, when you build an enterprise marketplace for a fashion business, you can create different stores and offer different categories of products to different audience segments with the multi store setup. You can also implement personalized offers and discounts and create different store designs. You can build your multi store ecommerce set up faster if you use a turnkey multi store ecommerce solution.

A multi store setup is deeply rooted in various ecommerce industries. As you look around, you can see brands like Reliance, Big Bazaar, Amazon, Target, Zomato, Lenskart, etc seeping deep into the market by building best multi store ecommerce platform websites.  

How does a Multi Store Ecommerce Setup Benefit Businesses? 

Well, there’s no doubt that multi store ecommerce solutions can set your business up for unprecedented growth. As you create multiple stores to cater to different audience segments, you can boost your conversions and ROIs, reach global markets, and offer an enhanced user experience to your customers.

Here are a few benefits of multi store setup for enterprise businesses:

• Creates a strong brand presence and visibility with a chain of stores 
• Freedom to experiment with multiple product lines and marketing strategies
• Segmented customer targeting based on different user demographics
• Helps achieve better SEO results with unique keywords and URLs
• Boosts conversions and traffic on each separate store

When you build an enterprise marketplace with multiple storefronts, you can achieve your business goals and establish your brand in the ecommerce landscape. It helps you escalate your business to new product lines, add new geographies, and gain a competitive advantage for your enterprise business. 

8 Challenges of Running a Multi Store Ecommerce Business and Tips to Overcome them

Every business model comes with its own challenges that can block the overall growth of the business. However, once identified, each challenge has a solution to it. All you need is the best multi vendor platform to help you set your business on an upward growth trajectory. 

Wonder what challenges a multi store setup holds? 

Let’s uncover the top 8 challenges of running a multi store ecommerce business and how to overcome them.

Complex Running Multiple Storefronts

Even the thought of managing and operating a wide network of stores is daunting. Operating different sub-stores, synchronizing the customer data, managing the inventory and working on multiple orders hand-in-hand requires a great deal of effort.  

Wondering how to manage and operate the sub-stores efficiently?

StoreHippo’s multi store ecommerce solutions offer a central dashboard to operate all the sub-stores. You can seamlessly allocate different product lines through a common database and integrate multiple payment and shipping partners with a single login.  With a common admin from StoreHippo, you can easily access customer data. The inbuilt order and inventory management system by StoreHippo helps you quickly assign different inventories to different sub-stores.

Design Diverse Look and Feel for Each Store 

You cannot create a single design for each of your sub-stores. Right?  You need different designs for different stores that can attract, engage and convert customers for you. It can be challenging to build an enterprise marketplace with different interfaces for different sub-stores and create the most unique store outlooks. 

What can be the easiest way to create diverse store designs?

StoreHippo comes with 100+ device optimized themes to help you customize your ecommerce stores. You can also create various designs for each store based on your user’s preferences. With the easy drag-and-drop feature from StoreHippo, even a novice user can create professional looking website designs without the need of any coding. You can seamlessly align and customize the design and theme of different stores.

Personalizing Each Store for Target Audiences  

When you plan to build an enterprise marketplace for your business, you look forward to creating various customized storefronts for various uses. But is it easy? Not at all. Creating multiple customized storefronts for your business can be a challenge if not supported with a solution that offers agility and  flexibility. 

Where can you find the right solution to create customized stores?

StoreHippo the best multi vendor platform is built on a decoupled headless architecture that offers a flexible ecommerce platform to easily customize your storefronts. You can customize the frontend as well as the backend, like products, prices, offers, shipping, checkouts, content, design etc of each store. With the API-based architecture from the best multi store ecommerce platform, StoreHippo, it becomes seamless to integrate the marketing software of your own choice and create a customized storefront that helps yield better conversions. 

Building Different Apps for Each Store

63% of mobile phone users prefer shopping from brands that have a mobile app or mobile website. Well, it can be tough and tiring to build a series of mobile apps for each sub-store. 

Wondering how to leverage the m-commerce boom and attract more traffic through mobile channels? 

With StoreHippo multi store ecommerce solutions, you can create different mobile apps for each store right from your admin panel at no additional costs and also without any coding required. The in-built mobile apps builder from StoreHippo helps you seamlessly build Android and iOS apps. You can target segmented customers with separate shopping apps for each sub-stores. You can also update your apps easier and faster in real time without publishing the app again.

Adding Different Languages for Each Store

Did you know that 68% of online shoppers prefer to engage with businesses in their native language? As you make your multi store ecommerce platform multilingual, you can target not only local but global customers in the languages loved and used by them. Going multilingual helps you boost your conversions and retain loyal customers. Having said that, it can be challenging to add different languages for each store. 

Thinking about how to add different languages in each store?

Easy. StoreHippo the best multi-vendor platform, comes with multilingual support to help you translate your website into 100+ different languages in just a few clicks. You can also implement RTL languages like Arabic and Hebrew in your themes that make your website interface seamless to use. StoreHippo is the  best multi store ecommerce platform that offers better translation control allowing you to choose between automatic and manual modes of translation. 

Adding Unique Integrations for Each Store   

For a seamless working of all your sub-stores, you need to integrate with various unique software on your platform. It can be challenging to work in tandem with multiple stores having multiple unique requirements without the right software and tools.

How can you add different software for each sub-store?

StoreHippo the best multi store ecommerce platform comes with API-based architecture that helps you easily integrate with software and service providers of your choice and create your unique ecommerce ecosystem. You can add multiple payment methods on different sub-stores to offer a seamless checkout process to your customers. StoreHippo offers 60+ pre-integrated domestic and international payment gateways for your multi store ecommerce platform.         

Maintaining Security in Each Store 

As you build an enterprise marketplace for your business, you need to also lookout for the security of your customer’s data with robust security measures. Security can be a major concern when it comes to building ecommerce platforms. Keeping your site safe and secure is a challenge faced by most enterprises.

How to ensure the security of each sub-stores?

Well, with StoreHippo’s PCI-DSS-compliant platform, you can secure your ecommerce stores in just a few easy steps. StoreHippo offers multi-level security features and tools like free SSL certificates, audit logs etc for each store. You can also offer secure transactions with all credit/debit cards being processed by PCI DSS-compliant payment gateway partners. 

Planning Diverse Marketing Strategies for Each Store

Creating a brand is one thing, creating a brand value is another. As you create and market your brand, you need the best multi store ecommerce platform that offers a host of features and tools. But how challenging would it be to plan diverse marketing strategies for each sub-store? Tricky, right?

Wondering how to manage your marketing strategies?

StoreHippo the best multi vendor platform comes with a wide range of marketing solutions to help you grow traffic and boost conversions on each of the sub-stores. You can use the powerful discount engine to set up various flat or percentage-based discounts on different sub-stores. With StoreHippo, you can easily create dynamic marketing pages for any of the sub-stores to promote products specific to a geography, user segment, etc.

Conclusion

There’s no second-guessing the fact that the multi store ecommerce business model offers plenty of benefits to enterprise businesses. With multiple storefronts for different use cases, you can reach new markets and a wider audience. However, building and running an ecommerce platform comes with its own set of challenges and hardships. 

You can overcome the challenges and take your online business a few notches higher with the best multi store ecommerce platform. The StoreHippo ecommerce platform helps you manage all the key challenges seamlessly as you build an enterprise marketplace for your fast-growing business.  

Are you ready to overcome the challenges of a multi store ecommerce business with the enterprise-grade features from StoreHippo? Start your 14-day free trial now. 

FAQ 

1. Can we set different prices on all stores with a multi store ecommerce solution?

Whether you get the feature to set different pricing on all stores for your multi store business depends on your choice of ecommerce platform. With StoreHippo, the best multi vendor platform to build a multi store enterprise marketplace, you can seamlessly implement differential pricing on all your sub-stores. With the price override feature from StoreHippo, you can offer different prices of the same product to different customers. StoreHippo also helps you set-up differential pricing based on order quantity, customer location, etc.

2. Will we receive support and training on how to build an enterprise marketplace?

When you choose StoreHippo, the best multi vendor platform to build your enterprise marketplace, you get access to a rich help center that comes with detailed guides. Our help center section contains all the information you might need to set up your multi store network with StoreHippo. You can seamlessly manage your site, vendors, stores, products, orders, deliveries, etc with the help center tutorials and guides. For technical assistance, we also have a dedicated developers section to help your team manage and build an enterprise marketplace seamlessly.    

3. Will it be possible to find a multi-store ecommerce platform that supports multiple payment options like digital wallets, UPI, etc?

Yes, given the digital age today, it is easy and important to find a multi-store ecommerce platform that supports multiple payment options like digital wallets, UPI, etc. StoreHippo, multi-store ecommerce platform is one such platform that comes pre-integrated with 60+ domestic and international payment gateways. You can easily set-up a frictionless payment process on your ecommerce marketplace. Your customers can choose from COD, net banking, digital wallets, card payments, etc, and pay using their preferred payment option with StoreHippo, the best multi store ecommerce platform.    

4. Do multi-store ecommerce platforms give tools to handle tax calculations for different countries?

To help you handle tax calculations for different countries, the best multi vendor platform, StoreHippo, comes with a powerful tax engine. With StoreHippo, you can set different tax based rules on your online marketplace to define when a tax will be applicable. You can set these tax-based rules on order amount, location, service type, product type, sellers, etc. The multi vendor support from StoreHippo also helps you apply different GST tax rules for a multi-seller order. The taxes will be applied to products based on the vendor and buyer locations in a multi seller marketplace setup. StoreHippo offers a full GST support for GST, CGST, SGST and IGST.  You can add different tax percentages, and easily compute different GST taxes for various products and services in India when you build an enterprise marketplace with StoreHippo. 

5. Will it be posible to integrate our preferred analytics tools when we build an enterprise marketplace?

Yes, when you plan to build your multi store ecommerce marketplace with StoreHippo, you can use your preferred analytical tools. The API-based headless architecture from Storehippo helps you integrate with multiple third-party tools like CRM, ERP, analytics, etc. However, StoreHippo comes with a gamut of analytics tools and solutions to help you analyze your customer base and make data-driven strategies for your network of stores. 

6. Does the enterprise platform have features to ensure quick shipping and timely delivery on my multi-store ecommerce marketplace?

To ensure quick and hassle-free shipping on your multi-store marketplace, you need to choose the best multi store ecommerce platform like StoreHippo. Pre-integrated with 30+ logistics solutions, StoreHippo helps you streamline an efficient supply chain. You can pick and choose to integrate with more than one shipping solution to optimize the cost. StoreHippo also has a built-in delivery boy management system to help you manage your fleet of delivery boys and ensure timely deliveries. You can seamlessly import multiple orders from all your sales channels and align them for timely hassle-free deliveries with StoreHippo’s built-in logistics management system.   

7. What features do I need to keep my customers happy and satisfied on my multi-store ecommerce marketplace? 

When you choose StoreHippo, the best multi vendor platform to build a multi store marketplace, you can integrate with the customer support software of your choice. StoreHippo helps you seamlessly connect with your customers through automated tools and features like SMS, push and email notifications, social media integrations, live chat, chatbots, etc. on your marketplace. 

8. Do multi store ecommerce platforms provide marketing tools to target diverse customer groups?  

Yes, StoreHippo multi store ecommerce platform provide a gamut of marketing tools to target diverse customer groups. You can segment your buyers based on any specific criteria like location, age group, buying preferences, etc. to experiment with targeted marketing. As you create multiple location-specific stores, you can also add different product catalogs and promote different best-selling products in different stores using the price override feature from StoreHippo the best multi store ecommerce platform. With the powerful discount engine from the best multi vendor platform, StoreHippo, you can also offer multi-level discounts to your customers. You can recover abandoned carts by sending out personalized notifications.     

9. Will it be possible to implement customers reviews for vendors and products on the multi-store ecommerce marketplace?

Yes, with StoreHippo, you can enable a custom feature for your customers to leave reviews for vendors and products on your multi store ecommerce marketplace. Since it is a customized feature, there will be extra costs involved in creating tailored solutions. Based on your customization requirements our expert team will assess the time and effort and charges will be decided on a pro rata basis. 

10. Will we need additional tools and plugins to manage inventory and orders when we build an enterprise marketplace?

When you build an enterprise marketplace with the best multi vendor platform, StoreHippo, you can seamlessly manage inventory on all your sub-stores. StoreHippo comes with a hassle-free inventory and order management system that offers well-rounded, automated, and feature-rich solutions for the smooth functioning of your business operations. The built-in OMS from StoreHippo multi-store eommerce solutions help you streamline your order and inventory planning across all stores with its advanced and simplified order processing. The efficient order management system also gives a rich insight into the business helping you plan your business growth.