Grid℠ for E-Commerce Platforms | Summer 2015

Many Miva Merchant reviewers were loyal customers who had been using the product for as many as fifteen years. These long-term users appreciated the product’s longevity and consistency, as well as its constant improvements and feature additions over time. Reviewers liked that Miva Merchant is highly flexible and customizable, although some complained about the difficulty of the product’s proprietary language; many recommended either having a highly technical team to manage implementation or to take advantage of Miva Merchant’s in-house developers. Miva’s high level of security for both customer and administrator data was another major advantage of the product.

In addition to a strong technical support team, which many Miva Merchant reviewers applauded, the product has a strong community of users and developers and an excellent user support forum. The community of third-party developers means that there is a large number of third-party modules and add-ons available, a major advantage for some users. One user noted that it could be difficult to determine the quality of these third-party applications, however, and some would have liked to see the features modified by them to be included as features within Miva Merchant’s base package.

The most common complaint about Miva Merchant was in regards to its pricing. While many users found that Miva Merchant was worth the price, many complained that the company nickled-and-dimed customers with added fees, including a cost to add additional administrator seats and high costs for developers. Miva Merchant’s recent upgrade also came with a price increase and left some customers paying additional fees for using older editions. However, users still noted that Miva is nonetheless an “exceptional value” and found that the recent upgrade offered new features and improvements that made it worth the cost.

Avangate offers a digital e-commerce solution for software sales that users described as cost effective and easy to use. Avangate’s value in selling software globally was one of the primary benefits mentioned by reviewers, who liked that it handles taxes and laws associated with selling software in foreign countries. The software also offers support for multiple currencies and language, making it a strong fit for those interested in selling their software globally. A quickly-evolving API, convenient reporting, and responsive support and implementation teams were among the other benefits cited by Avangate users.

While satisfaction ratings were overall high among Avangate users—reviewers gave Avangate a normalized satisfaction score of 91—reviewers had some complaints, including some payment problems and inflexibility in designing templates. Reviewers also found that Avangate can be limited in terms of its mobile options.

While Avangate users described it as more expensive than traditional e-commerce services, they overall agreed that the product was worth the extra cost. Overall reviewers recommended Avangate to potential buyers, giving it an NPS score of 80, the highest in the category.

Cleverbridge earned glowing comments from its reviewers for its attitude towards its clients and its excellent support services. In addition to an account management team offering individual support to clients and a strong customer service model, reviewers applauded its clean interface, customizable cart design, and fast load times. Users described it as a turnkey solution, and liked that it has the option to track demographic, conversion, and revenue from various marketing campaigns. Cleverbridge users liked its clean API and appreciated that it was able to manage everything involved with the e-commerce process, including banking and task functions.

While the ability to customize the product’s shopping cart was a major advantage for reviewers, they found that doing so was a time-intensive process and could take about two weeks to complete. Reviewers also regretted that there was no mobile application to access their account and occasionally found that slow interaction between the front and back end of the site caused problems like duplicate orders or delays. Cost was also a factor for reviewers—some described Cleverbridge as expensive—but overall users were satisfied with the product, giving it an overall normalized satisfaction score of 86.

Users of Demandware found it to be a customer-friendly e-commerce platform, with an easy to use interface and strong functionality. The pricing structure was a major advantage for some reviewers. Cost is based on revenue, which users cited as evidence of the company’s commitment to customer success. The ability to scale globally, custom site preferences, and the ability to target experiences and promotions to individual customers were among the other strengths Demandware users cited—Demandware received the second highest satisfaction score in promotions and discounts (85% as compared to a category average of 78%).

While Demandware received an above average ease of use score—83% compared to a category average of 80%—users found that certified Demandware training was essential to making the most out of the service. Because the product uses a proprietary language, internal workforce also had to be retrained in order to successfully optimize the system. Reviewers regretted that there was no content management system or custom database. However, in spite of it’s downfalls, Demandware’s overall satisfaction rating of 74 earned its place as a High Performer on the Summer 2015 Grid.

Bigcommerce users described the product as an excellent choice for new users to get up and running with minimal effort and cost. Reviewers liked the clean user interface, the strong basic design, and easy-to-use administrative tools and shopping cart. Bigcommerce offers excellent technical support services, as well as abundant support through in-house and freelance services, and users reported that the company valued their clients and wanted them to be able to set up their store quickly and effectively.

While the product’s ease of use was a primary advantage for most users, some found that it came at the cost of flexibility, and suggested that the software has some limitations. Others noted that using third party tools and providers could become very expensive, and found that the software’s live chat support was less effective for advanced users, as agents did not always understand the full functionality of the software. One user reported some technical glitches as well, but found that the benefits of the software outweighed its downsides.

Reviewers recommended understanding the limitations of the service and approaching the process with a strong sense of the company’s business priorities to ensure that BigCommerce would be the right choice. Overall, users were happy with the product, and its high satisfaction score secured its place as a High Performer in the G2 Crowd grid.

Magento offers users a highly robust and customizable e-commerce solution built on an open source platform, according to reviews. Reviewers liked that the product has a strong user community and an excellent supply of third-party developers with Magento experience. These developers came in handy for reviewers, who typically agreed that the product requires development assistance during implementation. Reviewers recommended having at least one highly competent PHP/MySQL programmer on hand to help with the initial site setup, or to hire a dedicated and experienced Magento developer to help.

Once the product is implemented, however, a number of users found the admin dashboard intuitive and the product easier than other programs to optimize and maintain. Though many liked the backend interface, however, there were mixed reviews; others complained that the product could be very difficult to use and disliked the backend. Another complaint centered around performance problems. Some users found that the program runs slower than other offerings, and that it requires powerful hosting capabilities in order to handle traffic and achieve optimal speeds. Since the cost of Magento depends on server licenses, users who needed more servers to manage traffic found that the product became very costly.

Overall, reviewers found Magento to be a powerful option for SMBs, with plenty of room to scale. Beyond having talented developers to aid in initial set-up, users recommended taking a basic training course to learn how to get the most out of using Magento. While the number of features could be overwhelming or difficult for some users, overall the flexibility of the program was a major benefit and contributed to the product’s high satisfaction ratings.

Hybris was a standout product in B2B e-commerce, according to reviewers, offering a flexible tool that was easy to install and implement. Because hybris is built on open source technologies, reviewers found that it was very easy to customize and offered a flexible framework for developers. Users liked that the product was able to manage large amounts of inventory efficiently and was able to effectively monitor online sales, and that it offered highly effective administrative tools.

While users mentioned that implementation was straightforward, some found that the interface could use improvement and disliked that online training was costly and only available for 30 days. Reviewers also noted that it could be difficult to hire talented resources that were trained in using hybris, and would have liked to see better documentation available. While hybris’ customizability was a major advantage for many reviewers, some noted that customization could be time consuming if done incorrectly.

In spite of some complaints, users were overall satisfied with their experience using hybris. Its order management and check-out process received particularly high satisfaction ratings.

IBM WebSphere Commerce offers a powerful out-of-the-box e-commerce solution, according to reviewers, who liked that the product allows users to quickly and easily build an e-commerce site. Users noted that IBM WebSphere allowed them to create a better customer experience, and that it’s strong underlying structure made it easy to learn and effective in handling large transaction volumes. An intuitive management center, excellent catalog and promotion tabs, and flexibility of integrations were among the benefits highlighted by reviewers.

Although many reviewers praised IBM WebSphere for its power as an enterprise solution, some found that it could be clunky and slow with poor server load times. One reviewer remarked that some of the features were out-of-date or unnecessarily complex, while others complained about the high licensing costs. Users recommended training as a must, as the complex system could be overwhelming for new users.

Reviewers recommended that buyers considering the product think not only in terms of immediate needs, but in terms of your company’s long term goals. Doing so can help to determine whether an enterprise solution like IBM WebSphere would be a good fit.

NetSuite Commerce users described the e-commerce solution as a comprehensive product that can do anything, with modules for accounting, CRM, inventory management, and more. Reviewers found that it was easy to upload files or transfer data between platforms and liked that there was real-time data available for inventory. They also noted that the platform is highly customizable, reliable, and user-friendly—users reported that it was very easy to train new users on how to use the back end software.

On the other hand, reviewers noted, training was essential for new users—reviewers repeatedly recommended taking the time to familiarize yourself with the system and suggested that it could take some time to master. Other complaints surrounding the product included occasional downtime and a lack of flexibility with other systems. Price was the most frequent complaint—users found NetSuite to be relatively expensive and cited regular price raises as making the product even more so in recent years.

That said, NetSuite nonetheless offered users a comprehensive and powerful e-commerce solution, with strong functionality, excellent reporting, and good customer service. Reviewers recommended that users take substantial care during implementation to ensure a high return from the product, and plan on additional investments along the line when scaling.

Oracle Commerce is an enterprise-level e-commerce platform that users praised for its comprehensive and customizable functionality. Because Oracle Commerce is designed for large e-commerce sites, it is capable of handling large traffic loads and a high volume of transactions efficiently and securely. Reviewers liked that they were able to easily change the site experience without the assistance of programming staff, and that, though the backend could be daunting at first, it could be learned quickly compared to other solutions with the help of robust support services offered by the company.

While users liked that Oracle Commerce was powerful and robust, they were less satisfied with the product’s high price tag. One reviewer reported that the scale of the system meant occasional bugs and functional limitations, and another found that customization could cause trouble during updates and integrations. Lack of a CMS or connectivity to payment gateways, limited promotion options, and an outdated interface were other complaints surrounding the product.

Overall, however, reviewers were positive in their comments regarding the system and found it to be a highly functional and flexible tool. Reviewers recommended taking advantage of the large amount of documentation available to make the most out of the system. Because the product is highly robust and complex, they also recommended selecting an implementation team carefully and ensuring that your company has sufficient resources to maintain it effectively.

User reviews for Infusionsoft were highly polarized; while some praised the marketing automation and e-commerce system as an all-in-one solution, managing customer information, email campaigns, product sales, and lead generation all in one place, others reported frustrating and disappointing experiences with the product. Complaints began with the expensive “Kick Starter” package, which was intended to get new users up and running on the program but was overpriced and insufficient for a number of reviewers. A steep learning curve, unhelpful documentation, and poor reporting and billing automation were among the complaints users expressed with the product.

Other complaints from reviewers included billing practices, including steering users towards highly-priced payment partners and an unwillingness to provide refunds, even after admitting errors on their part. These problems, among frustration with program features, contributed to the lowest ease of use score in the category, 68% compared to a category average of 80%.

Where Infusionsoft excelled for some was its ability to build complex marketing campaigns, its API flexibility, and its ability to eliminate a number of tasks. But e-commerce users overall were dissatisfied with their experience, and it received the lowest satisfaction score within the category.

Volusion reviewers described the program as an excellent starter e-commerce solution, with all of the functionality required to meet a company’s basic needs. While it offers fewer bells and whistles than other e-commerce tools, it nonetheless offers robust features and an easy-to-manage hosting platform with fast implementation times. Reviewers liked that there were a number of marketing and SEO options available, and found that the professional services team was useful in designing key landing pages. One reviewer highly recommended taking advantage of the professional services team early on to maximize the effectiveness of the design and SEO right from the beginning.

While reviewers felt that Volusion is a strong solution for newcomers, some suggested that more advanced users might outgrow the product. A lack of an a/b testing environment, fewer advanced features, and poor mobile responsiveness were among the limitations reviewers noted. They also mentioned that the shopping cart was better designed for B2C than for B2B. Finally, some reviewers mentioned that they would have liked to see better customer support, specifically a single account manager point of contact.

In spite of its limitations, reviewers recommended Volusion as a good option for the less tech- or marketing-savvy user.