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Ecommerce CRM:
functionality, best platforms & selection tips
June 3, 2025
Ecommerce CRM software offers data consolidation, process automation, and analytics capabilities enabling online retailers to optimize their sales funnel, deliver personalized shopping experiences to their customers, and provide them with timely assistance for maximum conversion and retention.
With 10+ years of experience in CRM implementation, Itransition helps ecommerce businesses build and adopt customer relationship management solutions tailored to their unique goals and industry-specific requirements.
Ecommerce CRM capabilities
Customer data management
Once integrated with other business applications, services, and communication channels, Ecommerce CRM software helps you collect your customers’ information and create detailed profiles to better understand your audience’s needs and preferences. With a 360-degree view of customers, engaging them at every stage of the sales funnel across different touchpoints becomes easier.
- Cross-channel customer data collection and unification
- Detection and removal of duplicate customer accounts
- Default and custom criteria for dynamic customer segmentation
- Contact management, including contact records and interaction history storage
- Customer data export to other applications
Marketing management
Ecommerce customer relationship management solutions typically feature marketing tools to orchestrate and run effective ad campaigns, create and optimize online content, and ultimately boost lead acquisition
- Multi-channel marketing campaign management
- Audience segmentation for targeted social media and email marketing
- Marketing automation tools for content generation, social media posting, etc.
- A/B testing
- Customer experience surveys
- Online store builder with drag-and-drop functionality
Lead management & sales acceleration
Your sales teams can leverage CRM software to maximize lead generation and conversion by better planning and supervising sales activities, effectively managing customer interactions throughout the lead-to-deal cycle, and automating time-consuming routine tasks.
- Automated lead capture from marketing forms
- Lead scoring and prioritization
- Custom criteria for lead qualification and disqualification
- Sales pipeline management, including task planning and prospect progress tracking
- Sales process automation (appointment scheduling, triggered follow-ups, etc.)
- Customizable templates for quotes, orders, and invoices
- Multi-channel customer communication through live chat, email integration, etc.
Inventory & order management
Ecommerce-specific CRM software can include basic inventory and order management capabilities to help online retailers meet product demand and ensure on-time deliveries for maximum customer satisfaction.
- Inventory visibility features like product search and inventory level monitoring
- Product catalogs synchronized with stock information
- Order fulfillment dynamically adjusted to product availability
- Automated order entry and summary creation, delivery scheduling, and order status tracking
- Payment management automation, including invoice generation and refund processing
Customer service
With its customer data consolidation, process automation, and self-service capabilities, CRM software enables support teams to speed up case resolution and provide 24/7 assistance, thus helping nurture customer loyalty and minimize churn.
- Customer service admin center
- Automatic ticket categorization, routing, and escalation
- Recommendation of similar cases and knowledge base articles for faster case resolution
- Knowledge bases of customer support materials with search filters
- Customer portals with onboarding tools, forums, and self-service chatbots
Ecommerce CRM enables you to analyze customer data, team performance, and other relevant information to optimize your CRM strategies and business operations accordingly.
- Customer analytics, including sentiment analysis and churn prediction
- Marketing campaign monitoring and optimization
- Sales analysis and forecasting
- Sales and service team KPI tracking
Ecommerce CRM solutions promote cross-team communication to break down the silos between back-office staff and customer-facing teams, allowing for real-time collaboration within and across departments and centralizing customer communication.
- Project management tools
- Automated reminders and alerts for scheduled daily activities
- Chats for communication across different teams
- Notes for sharing call scripts and face-to-face interactions
- Identifier tags for customer data
AI capabilities
CRM systems featuring AI-powered functionality can process customer behavior data like product searches and views and purchase history to identify customer preferences and needs and help retailers deliver more unique shopping experiences.
- AI-powered suggestions for new segments and related attributes, such as demographics
- Dynamic web content personalization
- Personalized email campaign and in-app messages
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Ecommerce CRM integrations
To unlock the full potential of ecommerce CRM software, companies can integrate it with other systems used for ecommerce operations that provide critical customer data.
Ecommerce CRM
Ecommerce websites
Ecommerce portals
ERP
Social media
Customer data analytics
Payment gateways
Email & messaging services
Ecommerce websites
Connecting your CRM to your ecommerce website or online store built on ecommerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, or WooCommerce helps capture comprehensive data on customer behavior and purchases and track each customer’s journey and lifecycle.
Ecommerce portals
By integrating an ecommerce portal with your CRM system, you can track customer interactions in real-time, create personalized portal content, and get critical data for customer behavior analytics.
ERP
The ERP-CRM integration enables you to synchronize supply and demand data, unify customer-facing and back-office operations, and establish a single source of truth.
Social media
A CRM linked to a brand’s social media channels can track key customer-related social media metrics, log new customer messages from different channels in real-time, and enable social listening for capturing direct customer feedback from comments and mentions.
Customer data analytics
Integrated with CRM, customer data analytics tools deliver insights into customer behavior, predict and mitigate churn, and help create targeted marketing campaigns to ensure better customer service, optimized customer journeys, and maximized customer lifetime value.
Payment gateways
Integrating preferred payment gateways into your CRM enables you to streamline payment processing, manage customers’ payments within a single system, instantly sync incoming transactions, and achieve greater visibility into your financial and marketing performance.
Email & messaging services
Once your CRM is integrated with email and text messaging services, you can create mass email, SMS, and push campaigns, deliver automatic order status updates, send verification codes and notifications triggered by customers’ actions, and update customers’ profiles based on your communications with them.
Best CRM platforms for ecommerce
Key features
- Data aggregation into unified customer profiles for tailored shopping experiences
- AI-driven personalized product suggestions
- Automated content generation (storefront web pages, product descriptions, etc.)
- Order management features to automate order summary creation, invoice generation, etc.
- Inventory management capabilities to monitor and update stock levels based on demand
- Analytical dashboards to monitor site traffic, volume of orders, and other metrics
- Out-of-the-box templates to set up online stores
- Service bots powered by Einstein AI to provide order status updates and other forms of support
Limitations
- Complex modular licensing
- Pricey top-tier plans
Pricing
- Multiple plans for each product or “Cloud”
- Plans starting at $25/user/month
- 30-day free trial
Key features
- Automated lead capture from social media, websites, and other channels
- Orchestration of targeted and automated email marketing campaigns
- Complementary product recommendations for upselling and cross-selling
- Dynamic pricing based on customer groups, sales orders, and other factors
- Integrated live chat for website visitors
- Customer portals for self-service access to support tickets, invoices, etc.
- Analytical dashboards to track website orders, top-selling products, revenues, etc.
- Online store configurator with drag-and-drop building blocks
Limitations
- Complex customization requiring development expertise
- Not user-friendly for beginners
Pricing
- Free SaaS version available (one application only, any number of users)
- Two paid SaaS plans starting at $24.90 per user per month
- Billed monthly or annually, with a discount for the second option
MS Dynamics 365 is a business suite combining industry-agnostic CRM functionality for marketing, sales, and service management, ERP capabilities like resource management and administration, and a commerce-specific solution for omnichannel retail.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop content authoring tool to build digital storefronts
- A unified view of customer interactions and orders across physical and digital storefronts
- AI-assisted creation of customer segments and journeys based on real-time data for targeted marketing
- Advanced customer analytics, including sentiment analysis and customer lifetime value prediction
- AI copilot to engage customers and present your product offering
- Shopping experience personalization with tailored product recommendations
- Loyalty programs setup, including configurable reward earning rules
- Customer support automation with AI chatbots and smart case routing
- Predictive analytics-based order management to optimize fulfillment based on availability
- Inventory management features, including product search based on specific attributes
Limitations
- Complex configuration and administration
- A limited number of ready-made integrations with third-party software
Pricing
- Multiple plans for each product
- A full licensing guide available on the Microsoft website
- 30-day free trial
Zoho is a highly customizable platform that provides enterprises and mid-size retailers with an ensemble of software products meeting all their CRM and ERP needs, including a specialized solution for ecommerce.
Key features
- Drag-and-drop ecommerce website builder with customizable elements and sections
- Customer segmentation for targeted marketing
- AI-powered product recommendations based on customer behavior
- Customer journey orchestration and personalization via journey maps
- Omnichannel customer communication (email, telephony, customer portals, etc.)
- Automated emails for abandoned cart, order confirmations, etc.
- Order management features to set up shipping zones and track deliveries
- Inventory monitoring and synchronization with orders
Limitations
- Integration complexities
- Poor support according to some adopters
Pricing
- Multiple plans for each product with pricing available on the website
- Monthly or yearly billing, with a discount for the latter option
- 15-day or 30-day free trial depending on the product
Ecommerce CRM selection guide
1
Determine your objectives
First, establish the business goals and process improvements you want to achieve with ecommerce CRM software. This will give you the initial vision of a suitable solution for your online store.
2
Choose between custom or platform-based CRM
Consider implementing a platform-based CRM if you prioritize faster, cheaper implementation and aim at minimizing maintenance efforts. If, on the other hand, your company has unique requirements and established workflows in place, proceed with custom CRM development.
3
Check out features & functionality
If you go for a platform-based solution, look for platforms containing features that align with your goals and existing workflows. A specialized solution with out-of-the-box, ecommerce-oriented capabilities can be a good pick. However, you can also consider a more generic CRM system, provided it offers extensive customization and configuration options to modify its off-the-shelf functionality based on your specific needs. To avoid overpaying for unnecessary features, we recommend going for a platform that allows upgrades to more advanced plans as businesses expand.
4
Evaluate CRM usability
When you’ve narrowed down your search to a couple of platforms, look up their demo videos on the internet or book a demonstration with CRM providers. This way, you can get an idea of their user interfaces, design, and ease of use. User feedback on peer-to-peer review sites like G2 and Gartner can also be helpful in evaluating each solution. Furthermore, if you’ve never had a CRM system before, prioritize vendors providing training and support to facilitate user adoption.
5
Assess the integration potential
Learn about each CRM platform’s built-in integrations with other software and services, as well as third-party integrations supported, to make sure you can easily connect the selected CRM system to your ecommerce site and other essential business applications you use.
6
Consider the pricing
After defining your budget, check if the CRM platforms you are considering offer convenient pricing plans according to your user base, features and integrations you need, and managed services required (support, updates, etc.). Also be aware of any terms and conditions, such as premium service packages, that may lead to unexpected costs.
7
Test the solution
Many CRM platforms are available for a free trial, so take advantage of this option before making the final decision to see how the solution fits your business processes and requirements in practice.
Benefits of adopting ecommerce CRM
Personalized customer experiences
A CRM-powered 360-degree view of their customer base helps online merchants personalize shopping experiences, send targeted promotions, and deliver tailored customer service.
Increased operational efficiency
By automating routine manual tasks, ecommerce CRM solutions free up employees’ time for more important activities and make operations more efficient.
Lower lead acquisition & customer retention costs
Since CRM systems reduce the time and resources required for interactions with leads and customers, ecommerce companies spend less on attracting new leads and retaining customers in the long run.
Better marketing KPIs
Ecommerce businesses can optimize marketing strategies, better segment and target consumers, and craft more effective advertising campaigns based on detailed customer data from their CRM.
Streamlined sales
Ecommerce CRM solutions offer sales automation capabilities, enabling sales reps to convert more leads and close deals more efficiently.
Improved customer service
Ecommerce CRM software provides tools for faster issue resolution, service experience personalization, and further complaint prevention to keep customers satisfied.
Effective cross-team collaboration
Team members from different departments can quickly access any available customer data in CRM and better coordinate their activities.
Improved business outcomes
By improving the performance of their sales, marketing, and customer service teams, online retailers can expand their customer base, strengthen customer relationships, and capitalize on new business opportunities.
Our CRM services
We advise you on every stage of your CRM project, helping plan and supervise its key technical and business aspects to speed up software launch and maximize the adoption benefits of the resulting solution.
-
Business needs elicitation and CRM strategy creation
- Audit of your tech environment and current CRM, if any
- CRM software conceptualization and tech stack selection
- Data governance and management consulting
- CRM platform selection and license optimization
- Project roadmapping and budgeting
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Supervision of custom CRM development or platform configuration and customization
- CRM migration planning and backup strategy definition
- User training and onboarding
Our team helps you build and implement custom or platform-based CRM solutions fully aligned with your customer relationship management needs and corporate workflows.
- CRM software architecture and UX/UI design
- Front-end and back-end development or CRM platform customization, configuration, and workflow setup
- CRM integration with your software ecosystem
- End-to-end QA and testing
- CRM deployment to the selected production environment
- Data migration from your legacy CRM and other software to the new system
- On-demand software maintenance, troubleshooting, and modernization
Enhancing ecommerce with automation & personalization
The growth of ecommerce can be both an enticing business opportunity and a challenge for retailers, with larger and more diverse audiences, increasing order volumes to fulfill, and higher expectations for personalized customer experiences. For many retail companies facing these issues, the choice has fallen on adopting CRM software to automate time-consuming ecommerce workflows and offer fully tailored buying journeys.
If you share these same goals, team up with an experienced IT partner like Itransition and implement the right CRM solution for your needs.
Foster customer engagement with a CRM solution by Itransition
FAQs
The CRM implementation costs vary depending on the functionality scope, workflow complexity, platform customization, and number of integrations.
Typical pricing for implementing platform-based solutions starts from $10,000. Also, software providers charge monthly or annual license fees from $9 to $300 per user based on the subscription plan.
Developing and implementing an entry-level custom CRM tool can cost $50,000 or more.
You can contact our team to get a quote for your project.
If your business is bogged down by customer data silos, process inefficiencies across marketing, sales, and service functions, and poor communication and coordination between teams in these same departments, you should consider adopting a CRM solution.
Training employees to use ecommerce CRM software can take time, so its implementation can be challenging if you have a strict deadline.
Moreover, once the CRM is deployed, you need to enter or migrate all your data related to customers and interactions. This can be time-consuming, particularly for established enterprises with large customer bases.
The first most common mistake is choosing a CRM software package with unnecessary features that can confuse users. Some companies can also fail to provide their staff with adequate training to effectively use all of the CRM features.
Additionally, a lack of data management strategy and practices can result in poor integration between the CRM and other software, inaccurate data entry, and ultimately, data silos and inconsistencies across systems.
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