Ecommerce-ready customer relationship management (CRM) software include tools to manage online sales and customer experiences. The most powerful of these specialized CRM systems also allow organizations to grow and organize shop-to-ship transactions, automate sales or marketing processes, or can help with inventory management. We looked at various CRM software that work best for ecommerce businesses and narrowed it down to the top six options.
- Agile CRM: Best overall for ecommerce businesses that want digital marketing features built into the platform
- BigCommerce: Great choice for growing ecommerce businesses that want to scale in the most cost-effective way
- Bitrix24: Excellent all-in-one option for ecommerce businesses that manage most of their business functions, including their website, from one, centralized platform
- Metrilo: Ideal for ecommerce businesses needing a CRM focused on sales and consumer analytics tools
- Zoho CRM Plus: Recommended for ecommerce businesses that heavily utilize social media marketing
- QuickBooks Commerce (formerly TradeGecko): Best for small ecommerce businesses that want synchronization with QuickBooks accounting software
How We Evaluated the Best Ecommerce CRM Systems
When selecting a CRM best suited for ecommerce businesses, value for money matters the most. We measured this by evaluating the combination of pricing, features specific to ecommerce companies, such as digital marketing automation, customer profiling, inventory management, and other factors such as usability and customer support.
Based on our evaluation, Agile CRM is the best overall choice due to its pricing and terrific features specific to ecommerce. We found that the main ecommerce features that Agile CRM can offer set it apart from the competition. These include the advertising and digital marketing solutions such as online webforms, social media content management, and landing page customization.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process for choosing the best CRM options for ecommerce businesses:
40% of Overall Score
Total costs and a variety of pricing options are typically the most important criteria for any small business decision, so it was most heavily weighted when reviewing the CRM providers designed for ecommerce. We considered access to free account options, varying subscription plans, and whether or not payment processing was automatically included.
20% of Overall Score
The purpose of any CRM is to provide functional solutions associated with sales, marketing, and account management activities. Specifically, we looked at features we consider necessary in a solid ecommerce CRM, including digital marketing automation, customer profiling, sales analytics, and other essential functions to organize and generate online sales.
15% of Overall Score
The functions of any application are only as beneficial as it is usable. These criteria were analyzed by knowledge required to set up the CRM, skill needed to operate the platform, and intuitiveness of the user interface.
15% of Overall Score
Extensive support and service can prevent issues that a user might encounter. These were evaluated in terms of customer service hours and availability of support via phone, live chat, and email.
10% of Overall Score
These criteria were used to assess how other experts rate each CRM. We have also researched user reviews to gauge popularity, ease of use, and overall value for money.
Agile CRM: Best Overall Ecommerce CRM
BigCommerce
What We Like
- Free option available
- Ample customization for designing marketing campaigns
- Robust automation capabilities
What's Missing
- Slight learning curve to operate ecommerce features
- Lacks features for inventory management
- No 24/7 customer support
Agile CRM Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to 10 users (limited features available)
- Starter: $14.99 per user, per month
- Regular: $49.99 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $79.99 per user, per month
*Pricing is based on monthly subscriptions. However, those who prefer long-term contracts may choose annual or two-year contracts.
Agile CRM is an excellent option for ecommerce businesses focusing heavily on digital marketing. It has automation features that automatically deploy intelligent marketing campaigns based on information generated via a customer’s profile. Due to the lack of inventory management features, Agile CRM is a good fit for businesses with low volume but high-cost margin products or unlimited supply inventories, such as digital, downloadable products.
Businesses that strongly prefer to have inventory management features should consider QuickBooks Commerce or Zoho Commerce as viable options.
If a free option is something your ecommerce business desires, consider the value of the two CRM providers that offer a free plan, Agile CRM and Bitrix24. Agile CRM is free for up to 10 users and provides all basic CRM marketing features needed to promote your online store, like web engagement, email campaigns, and lead tracking. Bitrix24 is free for up to 12 users but can only be used for storing contact information and handling basic project management.
Agile CRM Features
Agile CRM automation flow for customer actions (Source: Agile CRM)
- Smart Campaign feature allows businesses to automate marketing campaigns targeting potential customers based on the interests, browsing history, actions, and behaviors of the customer.
- Marketing Automation feature allows engagement with potential customers through multiple channels such as email, SMS, or social media depending on the contact profile.
- Free plan (up to 10 users) allows for essential sales outreach functions, such as email campaigns, contact management, and task and deal management.
- Great reporting features for Channel Tracking, Buying Patterns, and Sales Funnel Analysis.
- Web engagement functions offer live chat assistance to potential customers as well as ad pop-ups.
Check out our Agile CRM review to discover how this software can help you achieve your business goals.
BigCommerce: Best Ecommerce CRM for Scalability
BigCommerce
What We Like
- Unlimited number of users on Standard plan
- Lots of payment processing options available
- Notable ecommerce features such as online storefront, customer checkout abilities, and social media customer engagement are included in the Standard plan
What's Missing
- No free plan available
- Interface is not very intuitive
- Doesn't have built-in telephone system
BigCommerce Pricing at a Glance*
- Standard: $29.95 per month (up to $50,000 sales annually)
- Plus: $79.95 per month (up to $180,000 sales annually)
- Pro: $299.95 per month (up to $400,000 sales annually)
- Enterprise: Customized pricing
- Free trial: Up to one month
*Pricing above is based on monthly plans. However, you may also pay in full annually.
BigCommerce allows ecommerce businesses to scale cost-effectively because, unlike most CRMs, BigCommerce is priced based on the sales revenue processed instead of the number of users. It also allows unlimited users for each plan. Companies can purchase the Standard plan for $29.95 per month until they reach $50,000 in online sales.
This makes it a great option then for teams who are just getting started selling online as a side hustle or for teams that do most of their sales through a brick-and-mortar store, as BigCommerce can grow with them every step of the way.
BigCommerce Features
BigCommerce editable dashboard page (Source: Quizzec)
- Offers over 65 payment gateway integrations, including PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, QuickBooks payment, and Square.
- Marketplace integrations with social platforms, including Amazon, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace.
- Single Page Checkout feature for a simplified customer checkout experience.
- Built-in SEO (search engine optimization) features to generate more website traffic.
- Content marketing features built into each BigCommerce store, including blogs and social media ad posts (Facebook Ads).
Bitrix24: Best All-in-One Ecommerce Businesses Platform
Bitrix24
What We Like
- Free version available
- All-in-one business management platform
- Offers multistore capabilities for businesses that want to sell through multiple online storefronts
What's Missing
- Can be difficult to setup and operate
- Very limited customer service support via phone
- Many ecommerce functions are only available with higher-priced plans
Bitrix24 Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to 12 users (limited features)
- Start+: $24 per month (up to two users)
- CRM+: $69 per month (up to six users)
- Project+: $69 per month (up to 24 users)
- Standard: $99 per month (up to 50 users)
- Professional: $199 per month (unlimited users)
*Pricing above is based on monthly plans. However, you may also pay in full quarterly, annually, or biannually.
Bitrix24 stands out because of its ability to manage your ecommerce business’ sales and marketing processes and assist in supporting functions, including human resources (HR) and project management. This makes Bitrix24 a great tool for all-around business management to go with some of the ecommerce-specific functions offered, such as product bundling options, discount building, and setting automation rules for particular customers.
Bitrix24 Features
Bitrix24 website building templates (Source: Bitrix24)
- Online store features for setting and bundling certain products.
- Basic HR management features for work time tracking, meeting information, work reporting, and paid time off (PTO) management.
- Integrations with popular applications like Zoom, Google Maps, and Facebook.
- Strong project management capabilities for task monitoring, delegation, and a centralized place for supervisors to track activity.
- Online store provides keyword generation assistance to search engine optimize (SEO) the landing page for more website traffic.
Want to know if this CRM fits your business needs? Read our comprehensive Bitrix24 review.
Metrilo: Best Ecommerce CRM for Analytics Tools
Metrilo
What We Like
- Great analytics features available with detailed customer and sales information
- User interface is exceptionally intuitive to operate
- Segmentation features to communicate particular sales information to specific profiles based on customer actions
What's Missing
- Essential plan only provides analytics tools; the ecommerce CRM and email marketing features are only available at higher-level plans
- No phone customer service
- Limited number of total features available
Metrilo Pricing at a Glance*
- Essential: $119 per month for unlimited users
- Pro: $199 per month for unlimited users
- Premium: $299 per month for unlimited users
*Pricing above is based on monthly billing. Long-term contracts are available at slightly lower fees.
Metrilo works best for ecommerce businesses focusing on a few functions needed for an online sales business to thrive. These features include analytical tools, customer segmentation, and simplified dashboards, helping a business owner make more informed marketing decisions. These tools are simple to set up and use as most of the templates are prebuilt within the CRM portal.
Metrilo Features
Metrilo dashboard example (Source: SendCloud)
- Customer segmentation features automatically create profile groups of customers based on actions, product interactions, communication interactions, and other detailed online shopping behaviors such as purchase activity, use of coupons and abandonment of a shopping cart.
- Real-time, easy-to-comprehend dashboards provide critical information about customer and revenue information.
- Revenue analytical tools can break down where sales come from based on new or returning customers, marketing campaigns, country, device, and social channels.
- Automated customer feedback (surveying) gathering tools (only available on Premium plan).
- Assistant feature provides recommendations on how to improve email marketing, including email open rates and sales conversion rates.
Zoho CRM Plus: Best for Ecommerce & Social Media Marketing
Zoho CRM Plus
What We Like
- Offers broad communication channels with customers, including phone, email, live chat, surveys, and social media
- Solid mobile capabilities for managing projects, customer relations, social media, and business card scanning
- Easy to set up with pre-integrated applications built within the system
What's Missing
- No free option for Zoho CRM Plus
- Only one available subscription plan that has a relatively high cost per user
- Must pay extra for Zoho Commerce for online store capabilities
Zoho CRM Plus Pricing at a Glance*
- Zoho CRM Plus: $57 per user, per month, billed annually
- Free trial: Up to 30 days
*Monthly subscription option is also available at a slightly higher rate.
Ecommerce businesses that prioritize social media marketing would benefit from what Zoho CRM Plus offers. Their centralized portal allows users to manage that social media content and engage potential customers on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to generate online traffic.
Zoho also offers a platform called Zoho Commerce that pairs well with Zoho CRM Plus. It provides tools to build an ecommerce website, accept orders, track inventory, and handle payment processing, marketing solutions, and analytics. Pricing for Zoho Commerce is $22 per month for a Starter plan or $60 per month for a Professional plan (both billed annually).
Zoho CRM Plus Features
Zoho CRM Plus social media content management page (Source: Zoho)
- Social media tools available to publish, schedule, and manage social media content through one platform.
- Mobile capabilities for project management, customer engagement, business card scanning, social media management, and surveying.
- Lead scoring features to quantify the hottest leads to pursue further based on behavioral information.
- Sales process automation features to assign leads and associated tasks to sales reps automatically.
- Inventory management tools for keeping track of product stock, vendors, orders, quotes, and invoices.
QuickBooks Commerce: Best for Synchronization With QuickBooks Accounting Software
QuickBooks Commerce
What We Like
- Integrates with QuickBooks for automated accounting features
- Inventory control features for automatic reordering of stocks and products
- Backorder management capabilities to allow pre-orders on inventory
What's Missing
- Relatively expensive when evaluated on a per user basis
- No email marketing campaign tools available
- Limited customer support available via live chat
QuickBooks Commerce Pricing at a Glance*
- Founder: $39 per month for up to one user
- Lite: $99 per month for up to two users
- Small Business: $249 per month for up to five users
- Business: $599 per month for up to eight users (billed annually)
- Premium: $799 per month for up to 15 users (billed annually)
*Pricing reflected above is for monthly plans unless otherwise stated. Annual subscriptions are available as well for lower-level plans.
Intuit QuickBooks is a popular bookkeeping software for small businesses. That being said, QuickBooks Commerce (formerly TradeGecko) lets you integrate your ecommerce system with QuickBooks to automatically update your transactions and account balances to track business activities. In addition, it has inventory control features like location and incoming stock reports to monitor inventory levels and automatically reorder low-level stock.
When comparing potential CRM providers that can work well for your ecommerce business, it’s important to note that while it prioritizes the inventory management side of an ecommerce business, it cannot perform email marketing functions. If email campaigns are a large part of your marketing strategy but you also want basic inventory management capabilities, you’ll want to consider alternatives like Zoho CRM Plus or Bitrix24.
QuickBooks Commerce Features
TradeGecko sales order report example (Source: Forbes)
- Integration with QuickBooks for automated bookkeeping functions.
- Has inventory management features for storing customer purchase preferences, history, billing details, and shipping addresses.
- Warehouse management tools to organize shipping, receiving, and packing requirements.
- Inventory optimization feature to hold the right amount of inventory for a given time.
- Ability to manage multiple sales channels in one platform, including Amazon, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, and Squarespace.
