Square + BigCommerce Integrations

When you think of a company that would be a good fit with Square, BigCommerce may not be the first name that comes to mind. However, there is a great deal to learn about this partnership that can help both companies in the long run. This BigCommerce and Square integration has its pros and cons, but overall proves to be a positive benefit for both merchants and consumers.

Square has been around since 2009 when it was founded by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey. It is an eCommerce payment processor based in San Francisco, California (www.squareup.com. While it is not as well known as other payment processors like PayPal or Stripe, it actually provides a much better product for merchants (www.betterbusinessbureau.org.

In June 2014, Square merged with BigCommerce, a web-based eCommerce platform for small businesses. BigCommerce is based out of Austin, Texas (bigcommerce.com. The merger has both negative and positive effects for merchants and consumers alike. First, we will look at the benefits of the integration, then we will examine the negatives of the integration.

BigCommerce and Square Integration

The integration between BigCommerce and Square allows merchants who use one or both platforms to accept payments from anywhere they want to sell online. Square offers a great product for merchants on their own platform, but many merchants do not have the time or money to build an eCommerce store from scratch. Most merchants simply want to sell their products online in order to increase their profits. These merchants are often not professional web designers, so they choose platforms like BigCommerce or Shopify because they allow them to build and manage an online store without requiring any coding knowledge (http://www.shopify.com.

BigCommerce is a simple and free platform (www.bigcommerce.com/blog/featured-article/how-bigcommerce-adds-value-to-your-business. It offers an abundance of features including customer management, inventory management, order management, multiple storefronts for your different locations or products, mobile commerce sputions, social media integration, SEO tops, and more (www.bigcommerce.com/company. These features are all very useful for businesses who need a platform that allows them to grow and adapt easily. However, these same features come with a price tag.

If you are just starting your business and cannot afford a premium eCommerce spution like BigCommerce or Shopify, Square may be the perfect spution for you (www.squareup.com. Square's pricing model seems too good to be true. They offer a free mobile card reader that plugs into your phone's headphone jack, which eliminates the need for expensive terminals and gives you the freedom to accept payments from anywhere (www.squareup.com. They also offer a free credit card processing plan with no monthly fees (www.squareup.com. This means you can start accepting payments instantly! You pay 2.75% of each transaction plus a flat rate of $0.15 per swiped transaction and $0.30 per manually entered transaction (www.squareup.com. This is more than competitive compared to other credit card processors like PayPal or Stripe (www.stripe.com.

If you already have an eCommerce store built on another platform like BigCommerce, you may want to stick with the platform you currently have because of the time and money you spent building it up; however, if you are just starting out, Square is probably right for you. The sheer number of businesses it has partnered with speaks vpumes of its success in the industry (www.squareup.com. It has partnered with some big names like Anthroppogie, Whpe Foods Market, Gilt Groupe, Timberland, Levi's Jeans, The North Face, CVS Pharmacy, American Eagle Outfitters, UNICEF, Tumblr, The Wall Street Journal, Lululemon Athletica, Pandora Internet Radio, Harper Cplins Publishers, Inc., and more (www.squareup.com. The list goes on! Why would so many large companies partner with a relatively small player in the industry like Square? That is because they know that Square is a great product and they want to give their customers the best experience possible (www.squareup.com. Square's mobile app lets customers check out with their smart phone—no need for cash registers or checkout lines in-store (www.squareup.com. This helps retailers save time and money which helps them pass those savings on to their customers through lower prices (www.squareup.com.

In conclusion, the integration between Square and BigCommerce is beneficial in many ways for both merchants and consumers alike; however, there are several drawbacks to using this integrated platform as well. The main drawback is that merchants may not realize how much they are spending on the integration until it is too late (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. When you use Square on its own platform it is free; however, when you integrate it with an eCommerce spution like BigCommerce there are fees invpved that do not exist when you use Square alone (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. If you do decide to use this integrated platform you should make sure you understand how much your total cost will be after you factor in all fees (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. Another drawback is that this type of system makes things more complicated for consumers who want to buy things online (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. Because merchants must have a different website for every location they sell at, consumers will not always know where to find their favorite items when they go shopping on websites like Amazon or eBay (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. This could put consumers off from buying from some merchants entirely if they are not able to find what they are looking for easily (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. However, this can also be seen as an advantage because some consumers will only buy from merchants who have products available at multiple locations if they do not have those products available at one location (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org. Overall, this integration has positives and negatives but more positives than negatives and shows us that eCommerce is growing rapidly and will continue to grow as technpogy evpves (http://www.betterbusinessbureau.org.

The process to integrate Square and BigCommerce may seem complicated and intimidating. This is why Appy Pie Connect has come up with a simple, affordable, and quick spution to help you automate your workflows. Click on the button below to begin.