The e-commerce sector is expanding quickly, and with it comes a multitude of tools, ebooks, and resources to help you thrive in e-commerce. With so much to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to begin. For this reason, we’ve compiled this list of the top 19 free e-commerce tools, ebooks, and resources for brands and owners.

From product development and customer service to marketing and search engine optimization, these tools can assist you in growing your business, regardless of where you are in the process. Therefore, we urge you to look over these materials and see how they might support the expansion of your e-commerce firm, regardless of your level of experience.

Top 10 Web Resources for Ecommerce Businesses

1. Business development

• 1. Shopify Learn

New to starting a business? Then you might want to check out Shopify Learn’s business courses. They’re taught by experts from various fields, from supply chain management, product development all the way to marketing. 

• 2. Unbounce Resources

Unbounce’s library of resources is a one-stop shop for marketers, business owners, and Unbounce customers of all skill levels. Whether you’re looking for help with the basics of design and copywriting, or you’re interested in learning more about campaign strategy and AI-powered optimization, Unbounce has the resources you need to get more leads, sales, and signups from your marketing campaigns and landing pages.

• 3. Relo’s DTC Repeat Revenue Cheat Sheet

Repeat revenue is basically the endgame for many ecommerce/DTC brands. Why? That’s because increasing repeat revenue allows you to create a more sustainable business model. Rather than depending on getting new customers each time which can be very costly, Relo’s cheat sheet, as it suggests, gives you every successful method tried by best-in-class ecommerce brands to increase your repeat revenue.

• 4. TripleWhale University

Triple Whale University is a resource for ecommerce businesses of all sizes. It offers a variety of courses, tutorials, and resources to help businesses improve their data insights, marketing strategies, and overall performance.

2. Website Optimization

• 1. Oddit

Oddit provides a free audit of a page on your ecommerce website. The team will redesign a key section of the page to be conversion optimized and provide the rationale behind the changes for free! If your product pages aren’t seeing the “add-to-cart” clicks, you might want to get some advice from the Oddit team!

• 2. Shogun Guides and Resources

Shogun’s landing page builder for Shopify & BigCommerce lets brands design stunning storefronts in no time. Their resources page includes how-to guides, videos, and webinars on everything from Page Builder basics to delivering high-converting ecommerce experiences. 

3. Automation

• 1. AlloyAutomation Playbook

Automation can eliminate repetitive tasks and automatically send data between systems in real-time. This can save time and resources, freeing up employees to focus on more creative and strategic tasks. For example, automation can be used to:

• Run reports and send them to team members on a schedule.
• Log into multiple systems to check on analytics.
• Process orders and send shipping notifications.
• Manage inventory levels and track customer orders.

This Ecommerce Automation Playbook includes how to automate email marketing, SMS marketing, shipping and fulfillment, and more processes for ecommerce brands to easily do so. ReferralCandy’s automation tips are also included in this ecommerce ebook! 

4. SMS Marketing

• 1. Attentive’s SMS Directory

Attentive is a marketing platform that helps businesses send personalized text messages to their customers. On their “Texts We Love” page, Attentive showcases some of the most successful text message campaigns that their customers have run.

Read Also: Best Web Resources for Small Business Owners

These campaigns range from simple reminders to more complex loyalty programs. But they all have one thing in common: they are all designed to engage customers and drive sales. If you’re looking for inspiration for design and copy, why not check out Attentive’s SMS Directory?

• 2. PostScript SMS Marketing Calendar

PostScript’s monthly SMS campaign planning resource is essential for strategic SMS marketers. It includes dozens of text-worthy holidays, events, and happenings for every single month of the year. Having this means being on top of all possible ways to engage your customers, especially during special occasions!

5. Email Marketing

• 1. Really Good Emails

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ReallyGoodEmails is a library of actual emails that have been sent out by companies and ecommerce brands across the world. You get a glimpse into the tactics of amazing email marketing and what appeals to specific target audiences. It’s easy to filter through the content of the emails as well, whether you’re looking for examples of abandoned cart emails or more technical customer service emails, everything’s available for you to browse through on this site. 

• 2. Daniel Budai’s YouTube Channel

Through Daniel’s YouTube, you can learn about the ecommerce retention marketing strategies and tactics that top entrepreneurs use to scale their ecommerce businesses and become market leaders. If you’re thinking about email marketing, SMS marketing, and loyalty strategies, he’s your go-to man. 

• 3. Omnisend Academy

Whether it’s sign-up forms, automation workflows, or designing and sending your first email campaign—Omnisend’s Academy has got you covered. It’s filled with all sorts of goodies to help any ecommerce brand learn how to be great at omnichannel marketing automation.

6. Social Media Marketing

• 1. Buffer Resources

Buffer’s library of resources includes free tools to help you create engaging content, reach a bigger audience, and save time. From must-have tools like social media scheduler for your content marketing campaigns to a customizable link in bio generator. 

• 2. Klaviyo Ecommerce Marketing Calendar

Holidays and seasonal events can be difficult to keep up with especially in the ecommerce space with new “shopping holidays” popping up every now and then. And it only takes one missed opportunity to realize you could’ve better prepared your marketing strategy.

With this ecommerce marketing calendar, you’ll get insights into the holidays with the highest consumer spending, plus tips and examples to help your subscribers stay engaged with your brand.

7. Customer Retention

• 1. Calashock’s Expert Guide

Customer retention is the process of keeping customers coming back to your business. It is vital to the long-term success of any ecommerce business. While attracting new customers is important for healthy business growth, retaining existing ones can be even more profitable. With Calashock’s Expert Guide, you’ll gain insights into what experts from various spaces in the ecommerce industry have to share about customer retention.

• 2. Stamped Inspiration Gallery

Stamped’s Inspiration Gallery showcases real examples of industry-leading brands that are using the product. Any ecommerce brand that’s struggling to decide how to best design their reviews on their website, should definitely take a look at this! 

8. Subscription Commerce

• 1. Recharge Ecommerce Membership Advantage Guide

The cost of getting customers back to make another purchase is higher now than ever before. According to research, customer acquisition costs have increased 222% since 2013.1 Meanwhile, repeat purchase rates for ecommerce brands hover around 28%.

One thing is certain: Retention is more imperative now than ever. Subscriptions are valuable tools for retaining customers, but not all products are suitable for this model. Companies should evaluate which products are suitable for a subscription model and which are not. They should also focus on providing customer service that stands out from the competition and offers unique value, such as personalized experiences or exclusive offers. This can help retain customers for the long term. 

Membership programs are becoming a key strategy for subscription and non-subscription brands alike to retain and attract customers. A membership program allows customers to access exclusive benefits and rewards immediately by paying a fee (either once or monthly). Learn exactly what you need to know about membership programs before you get started, with Recharge’s Ecommerce Membership Guide.

9. Shipping & Delivery

• 1. Aftership’s Free Tools

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Aftership created 14 different tools for ecommerce brands to fully make use of in their day-to-day operations. There’s an AI-powered delivery date calculator plugin that offers shoppers accurate delivery date predictions based on live weather, holidays, shipping volume, and more. As well as a simple order lookup widget where customers can easily track their own orders. 

10. Analysis

• 1. Motion’s Creative Analysis

Motion’s Creative Analysis course is a free resource to help you get acquainted with how to use creative analysis to improve your advertising campaigns. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced marketer, you’ll learn everything you need to know to take control of your creative ad process and become a key player in your team and grow your brand.

Top eCommerce Sites to Explore

A superb eCommerce website is more than just visually appealing or well-organized merchandise. An online shopping platform’s overall quality and user experience are influenced by a number of important factors.

This section will examine some of the top eCommerce websites now in use and discuss the factors that contributed to their success:

1. Amazon

Amazon is an American technology company founded in 1994. The company initially started as an online marketplace for selling books. However, Amazon has grown to become the world’s largest retail chain. 

According to Statista, Amazon US had up to 2,200 monthly visits (mobile and desktop) in February 2023, and it is by far the most visited eCommerce site in the US. 

Apart from the US, Amazon is also operational in 19 other countries, which are Australia, Austria, China, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, UAE, UK, and Singapore.  

2. eBay

eBay is an American eCommerce company that was established in 1995. They are the world’s leading consumer-to-consumer marketplace and one of the world’s leaders in business-to-consumer retail. 

eBay delivers to about 190 countries and territories around the world. They also have about 132 million buyers around the world. Buyers don’t need to pay any transaction fees on eBay. However, it is quite different for sellers as they have to pay for listing items on the eCommerce platform.  

3. AliExpress

AliExpress is an eCommerce platform owned by the Alibaba group. It was founded in 2010 in China. AliExpress is a B2C marketplace. 

The sellers are mostly from China, and the target market is international buyers. AliExpress does not sell to customers in Mainland China. English, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, and French are among the 16 languages supported by the website.

4. Walmart

Walmart is an American multinational retail chain launched in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. They presently operate about 10,500 stores and clubs in about 19 countries, in addition to a number of eCommerce sites. 

Walmart operates in the 50 States of the US and Puerto Rico under different banners such as Supercenter, Discount Stores, and Neighborhood Market. 

Walmart is also establishing itself as an eCommerce giant. Their website walmart.com receives about 240 million visitors per week. They have also acquired a couple of eCommerce sites, such as jet.com, modcloth.com, art.com, hayneedle.com and others.

5. Rakuten

Rakuten Ichiba is the second largest eCommerce platform in Japan. Apart from eCommerce, the Rakuten Group also runs about 70+ businesses with over 1.7 billion customers across the world.

Rakuten Ichiba has a customer base of about 100+ million, which is about 79,6% of the entire Japanese population. Since its inception in 1997, Rakuten has held a strong grip on the Japanese eCommerce market. 

6. Wildberries

Founded in 2004 by Tatyana Bakalchuk, Wildberries has become Russia’s premier online marketplace for a diverse range of products including clothing, electronics, beauty items, and household goods. With its headquarters in Moscow, the company has extended its operations to seven countries such as Belarus, Armenia, and Kazakhstan, among others. 

In 2021, Wildberries initiated its expansion into the U.S. market as well as several European Union nations including France, Spain, and Italy. As of July 2022, it ranks as the fourth most-visited online marketplace in Europe. Due to the company’s international reach and success, Tatyana Bakalchuk holds the title of the wealthiest woman in Russia.

7. Ozon

Ozon is another significant player in the Russian eCommerce sector — it’s a fast-growing online marketplace with an advanced logistics network. It offers a vast array of products ranging from electronics to groceries and has a growing customer base. The platform connects millions of customers and sellers, with an innovative IT platform offering services from express delivery to fintech.

Ozon operates across 11 time zones and is a gateway for small and medium enterprises to grow their business in Russia. The company’s logistics network is integral to processing and delivering hundreds of thousands of daily orders.

Finally

In conclusion, there are many of chances for firms to succeed in the rapidly expanding e-commerce sector. However, without the proper direction and resources, navigating this terrain can be difficult. Thankfully, there are a ton of free e-commerce resources out there to help owners and companies succeed.

The ecommerce resources that have been featured offer a plethora of information, resources, and tactics to assist e-commerce firms and owners. Businesses may improve their marketing plans, streamline operations, improve their websites, and eventually expand and succeed in the cutthroat e-commerce market by utilizing these priceless resources.