E-commerce is booming and more people are doing their shopping online every day. Major marketplaces like AliExpress have seen tremendous growth by giving buyers a wide selection of affordable products from China and elsewhere.
If you want to build your own online store to sell products directly to customers, taking inspiration from AliExpress’ successful model is a wise idea. However, to truly compete with the big players, your shopping cart needs to have certain key features that customers have come to expect from their shopping experiences.
In this article, we’ll outline 13 essential features your AliExpress clone storefront must have to attract and engage customers. Implementing all of them will help you create a sophisticated yet user-friendly shopping experience on par with leading marketplaces.
Feature 1: Robust Product Catalog
Customers want to easily browse the variety of products available on your site before making a purchase. Therefore, having a well-designed catalog to showcase your items is critical.
The catalog should allow adding products with images, descriptions, pricing and other specifications in an intuitive interface. It should support different product types like simple, variable and grouped products that may have variants, options or additional items in the same product listing.
Buyers prefer a clean layout with filters to narrow down results. Allow filtering by category, price, brand, attributes and other parameters. Include search functionality so customers can find what they need quickly.
Make sure product pages have all key details upfront as well as user-generated reviews and ratings if available. Consider including related/sponsored products to increase average order value. The catalog is often buyers’ first impression so ensure it looks professionally organized and easy to navigate on any device. Visit: https://zipprr.com/aliexpress-clone/
Feature 2: Robust Shopping Cart
The shopping cart experience defines the ease of purchasing items. It should allow adding multiple products in one go and adjust quantities later if needed. Provide a summary of subtotals, shipping cost if calculated, applicable taxes and grand totals.
Customers expect intuitive cart actions like easily removing unwanted items or bulk editing multiple line items together. Allow partial checkout by saving cart contents for later. Send automated abandoned cart emails to recover potential sales.
Access to wishlists from the cart allows moving between browsing and checkout seamlessly. Overall, the cart interface should be streamlined, give quality product previews and inspire confidence in the purchasing process.
Feature 3: Secure Checkout
To accept payments securely, your checkout flows must be optimized across devices and payment methods. The checkout should happen in multiple structured steps to reduce friction – address, payment, confirmation.
Support common payment processors like Stripe, PayPal that people are familiar with globally. This inspires trust while allowing international sales. Give options for credit/debit cards, bank transfers, mobile wallets etc. based on your location.
Collect and validate buyer information like name, address, phone and payment details. Important fields should be marked clearly. Show order summaries, taxes and total calculations transparently on each step. Pre-fill addresses from user profiles where possible.
Send automated purchase receipts and shipment notifications. Let shoppers track orders and view histories. Consider additional services like gift wrapping, engraving or customization that increase average spend. Customers want a checkout experience that feels safe and protects their personal information.
Feature 4: User Accounts
Allowing customers to create profiles personalizes the shopping experience. It encourages repeat visits and purchases. Accounts provide contact and address details to pre-fill checkout forms for faster, slimmer flows.
Saved profiles improve search and browsing history and can power targeted content and recommendations. Users can maintain wishlists, follow favorite brands and stay updated on new launches via account dashboards.
Integrating social logins lets people sign up with existing provider credentials like Facebook, Google for easier onboarding. Sync social features later to engage followers/friends. Accounts also provide order tracking and return/exchange workflows right within the site.
User profiles should reflect earned loyalty benefits over time like exclusive discounts, free shipping thresholds or gifts on anniversaries. Consider a VIP premium membership program to further engage high-value clients. Overall, account features cement customer relationships and retention on your store.
Feature 5: Wishlists
Saving product collections is a popular way to research purchases longer term or share finds with friends/family. Wishlists allow customers to bookmark items for easy access later without pressure to Cart or Checkout.
Allow organizing wishlists by theme, event or recipient. Share via social media to get recommendations and drive word-of-mouth referrals. Wishlists are a high-intent form of engagement that surfaces abandoned cart candidates for re-targeting via push notifications and emails.
Consider sending automated emails to move wishlisted items to cart during sales events. Save wishlists for logged-in users associated with their profiles too for private access across devices. This creates a layer of personalized discovery and social proof that keeps buyers engaged on-site.
Well-designed wishlist abilities boost browsing sessions and increase average order value over time through considered purchases rather than impulse buys alone.
Feature 6: Customer Reviews
User-generated reviews build authentic, social proof around products on your store. Enable reviews on all items to provide transparency into quality, sizing fit issues and delivery timelines suppliers might face. This addresses common buyer concerns head-on.
Allow rating products on a scale and commenting anonymously if preferred. Show social reviews prominently on category and product pages. Consider a minimum rating threshold for under-performing stock. Collate stats on positive, neutral or poor comments by category to surface potential issues early.
Prompt regular buyers politely via email to leave feedback on past purchases. Encourage seller responses too, to openly address complaints and improve supply chain management over time. A robust reviews module increases buyer confidence when checking out.
Feature 7: Loyalty Program
Keeping customers engaged beyond transactions is important for retention and repeat visits. Consider implementing a points-based loyalty program module where buyers earn and redeem credits for purchases/actions.
Offer incentives like one-time use discount coupons or free standard shipping on accumulating a set points balance. Let customers track progress to new reward tiers publicly and via dashboard/emails too. The motivational element of a program makes buyers feel valued and encourages brand advocacy.
Allow redeeming points for cash/store credits too. Tie larger credits to holistic actions like referrals, newsletter signups or social following over just purchase amounts. Monitor top scorers to showcase as example customers enjoying privileges on your marketplace.
Design loyalty perks thoughtfully based on key buyer personas to maximize redemption usage and returns. For example, young families may prefer freebies or bundles versus older DIY clients desiring tools at lower prices. Overall this creates a win-win retention solution.
Feature 8: Promotions
Digital coupons and promotional features are major drivers of online store revenues and traffic. Support scheduled promotional modules for marketing timed deals and events. Configure discount types by fixed amounts, percentages off or buy-X-get-Y offers across product categories.
Include promotion blocks prominently throughout the site navigation to surface offers top-of-mind. Consider automated discount rules like newly registered users get 10% off first cart or birthday month customers see personalized coupons.
Intelligently target relevant promotions to site visitors based on browsing history, search queries or demographic profiles. Nurture abandoned carts with limited-period sale codes too.
Ensure deals layer with loyalty point accruals or cashback programs for maximum stacked savings. Promotions should be intuitive to apply at checkout. Automated tools to analyze coupon usage helps optimize future marketing campaigns. Discounts drive upsells, average order value and customer lifetime worth over shopping sessions alone.
Feature 9: Shipping & Fulfillment
A robust fulfillment system is key to keeping customers satisfied with timely, undamaged deliveries. Support multiple low-cost carrier integrations like USPS, DHL, Fedex based on order origin/destination.
Automatically sync rates at checkout and let users compare delivery methods. Offer flat-rates or calculate dynamically from item dimensions and weight. Track inventory levels in real-time across warehouses to avoid overselling out-of-stock products.
Allow bulk processing of orders received daily for pickup/handovers. Automated order emails to suppliers ensure smooth production handoffs. Provide shipment history/tracking numbers right within buyer profiles for transparency. Consider dropshipping too from affiliate suppliers to expand inventory reach initially.
Customers expect fulfillment status updates and easy returns/refunds within estimated timeframes if items are damaged or don’t fit needs. Prompt customer service resolves issues fast and sets the right standards for quality and reliability on your store.
Feature 10: Inventory Management
Robust inventory management maintains positive buying experiences by avoiding overselling unavailable items. Track individual SKU stock levels across multiple warehouses, purchase orders and replenishment schedules all on one dashboard.
Flag low quantities automatically for timely reordering or suggest suitable alternatives on product pages. Ensure real-time syncing of stock statuses throughout the catalog, cart and checkout for frictionless purchasing.
Allow bulk uploading item quantities via spreadsheets. Support complex rules for batch processing like FIFO costing methods for items with shelf-life expiration dates. Automate notifications on inventory shortages to upstream suppliers to maintain steady replenishment flows.
Detailed inventory reports analyzing top/slow movers by month help optimize assortments and purchase minimums over time. Seamless integration with accounting avoids manual stock-keeping paperwork.
Feature 11: Admin Dashboard
A centralized administrative dashboard gives visibility and control over all store operations. It should provide at-a-glance insights into key metrics like new vs. returning customers, total sales, spending habits and best/worst selling categories or products.
The dashboard lets you manage user accounts, processorders, update order statuses and track shipments from a single view. It allows editing site content, configuring templates and overall look/feel.
Advanced analytics break down revenue and orders by date range, location, device and other attributes. Monitor marketing campaigns’ ROI along with popular referral sources helping reach new audiences.
Finetune catalog and content strategy based on user behavior analytics. The admin area streamlines routine tasks like reporting taxes, exporting orders/invoices and issuing refunds with a few clicks versus manual workarounds.
Overall this empowers data-driven management of the entire business from one intuitivespace.
Feature 12: Multi-Channel Presence
Reach customers worldwide by ensuring your store seamlessly caters to popular channels. Develop responsive designs optimizing layouts and navigation for mobile phones, tablets and desktop displays of varying widths.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) provide app-like experiences directly through browsers. Consider native Android/iOS apps too for loyal customers preferring dedicated shopping companions on-the-go.
Leverage search engine marketing by optimizing content and URLs for discoverability. Engage customers proactively through marketing channels they use frequently – social networks, emails, affiliate sites etc.
Integrate with popular messaging apps people spend increasing time on like WhatsApp for business inquiries and support requests. Consider voice shopping supports for interfaces like Alexa too.
Omnichannel presence meets buyers where they are while solidifying your brand across touchpoints for maximum awareness and conversions over time. It exposes billions of new potential customers globally.
Feature 13: Payment Options
Accepting major international and local payment methods smooths checkout conversions. Integrate with PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, American Express as well as popular e-wallets like Skrill and Neteller.
Enable bank transfers and cash-on-delivery options popular in developing markets lacking credit infrastructures. Support additional currency processing beyond USD/EUR pairs for true global reach.
Maintain PCI compliance securing transactions at all times. Clearly display security seals or certifications for customer assurance particularly on slow internet connections abroad. Process refunds seamlessly as needed.
Ensure payment gateways sync order metadata accurately for accounting reconciliation. Consider specialized gateways for heavily regulated industries like gambling or pharmaceuticals subject to local laws.
Prioritize checkout abandonment recovery for partially entered forms signaling insufficient options may have prevented conversions worth pursuing engagement. Continuous upgrades retain existing processors relevance too.
Conclusion
To compete successfully against experienced web development marketplaces, having core shopping functionality customers take for granted nowadays is table stakes for any new ecommerce venture. The outlined features cover major touchpoints enhancing discoverability, convenience and trust at each stage of the buyer’s journey.
Implementing robust catalog, cart, checkout, user, and inventory modules forms the structural foundations any AliExpress clone sorely needs. Additional features like promotions, wishlists, and marketplace analytics intelligently monetize high-intent behaviors already occurring online.
Multi-channel campaigns drive global reach while local payment integrations remove barriers. Overall this creates a best-in-class customizable platform to sell any inventory worldwide. With ongoing optimization based on digital insights, newcomers can quickly gain loyal customer bases and revenues competitive with incumbents. So be sure to prioritize these essential capabilities early on for sustainable growth and retention in the long run.
