3 Tech Trends to Watch in 2016

Technology is ever evolving. While 2015 may have seen virtual reality and wearable devices growing in prominence, a number of other developments are expected in 2016. According to Gartner, a number of these technological changes will pave the way for digital businesses through 2020. Some of the top trends are as follows:

1. Device Mesh: This refers to an increasing set of endpoints used by individuals to use applications, get information, and engage with social communities, people, government or businesses. Mobile phones, automobiles, consumer electronics and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) are a part of the mesh.


2. Information of Everything (IoE): All the devices or technologies that are a part of the digital mesh generate, use and transfer information. The data produced can go beyond video, audio and text to include contextual and sensory information.  IoE has the strategies and technology that can link data from all these disparate sources.


3. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Artificial intelligence gained a lot of prominence in 2015 and will be even more popular in 2016. Technology companies like Facebook and Microsoft are rushing to open source machine learning technologies and other such tools. Similarly, in the enterprise tech space, organizations like IBM have begun to scale their Watson cognitive computing system by slicing it down to services and engines that link to the cloud through APIs. On the consumer side, whether it is Google, Apple or Amazon, all the big names have gotten their feet wet in some form of artificial intelligence play.

Bigcommerce vs Shopify vs Volusion – Which Shopping Cart is Right for Your Business?

As a new business, one of the decisions you'll be forced to make is – which platform to host your online store on? Selling products online has never been easier, yet the wide range of eCommerce platforms available can confuse even the most seasoned of business owners. If you're in a similar situation, our article may make your life a little easier. This article will explore the three most popular platforms – Bigcommerce, Shopify and Volusion. As far as popularity is concerned, Shopify is a winner with 200,000 online stores. However, the decision cannot be made on the basis of popularity alone.

The aim is to point out the salient features of each to help businesses choose one that fits best with their requirements.

Bigcommerce:

The Bigcommerce platform is very user friendly and even a lay person can learn the ropes quickly to use it. A major advantage is the ability to edit the online store elements without any restrictions. No other eCommerce solution provides the range of features that Bigcommerce does. In that respect, Bigcommerce platform leads the race. Also, the Bigcommerce theme customization option makes it possible for enterprises to custom design their online store. The platform allows unlimited storage space, products and bandwidth. With the import tool, transfer of existing products and categories is simplified.

Despite the host of benefits, Bigcommerce still hasn't been integrated with a Point of Sale (POS) system yet. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to find an alternative POS system to integrate with in their app store.

Shopify:

Shopify is a top choice for many organizations setting up an eCommerce store for the first time. It is supposed to be the easiest platform that can be used to build a store on. Their App store has a number of a paid and free applications can be used to include additional features to an online store. Also, the store themes are responsive across devices so that enhances both the viewing and shopping experience for consumers. Additionally, customer support is available around the clock to answer any questions you may have. Their popularity is also a result of having a checkout in 50+ languages and multiple currencies!

While it's a great platform to work with, there are some aspects that businesses need to consider. One, the transaction can be as high as 2% depending on what plan you're on. The fees can be waived provided their payment gateway is used. If you're on an inexpensive plan, the ability to edit themes maybe limited. It may also be difficult to make use of the abandoned cart recovery tool or set up real-time shipping rates.

Volusion: 

The biggest plus point with Volusion is that they don't charge any transaction fees. This is a boon for small businesses who can keep more of their profit. With an unlimited storage space offered by most plans, businesses can upload a number of product images. Volusion is fast, secure and has a vast variety of eCommerce tools that make installing and running an online store, a breeze. They have been given an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau.

Some drawbacks included a limited bandwidth, if you go over, there is an overage charge of $0.007/MB. The themes are responsive but there aren't many options for those on a basic plan. Apart from this, there's no blogging platform built-in.

Having considered all three, there are two aspects that stand out – scalability and flexibility. Bigcommerce performs the best on both of them. Their shopping cart offers the largest variety of built-in features and other tools that makes the Bigcommerce platform a true leader. Further, it can be easily integrated and customized with new features.

What eCommerce platform do you use to host your online store on? Did you consider any of the three above? Let us know what drove your final choice.