A stark 39% increase in global e-commerce sales resulted in 71% of businesses attributing to showcase strong e-commerce website platforms. Such a scenario emerged with B2B SaaS platforms such as BigCommerce monetizing company branding with customized websites, as over 38% of customers fail to interact with unattractive website layouts. With BigCommerce’s theme engine Stencil bringing updates to merchant-facing email templates, let’s delve into how this change can empower your business’s digital prowess.
An overview of Stencil
From powering the cornerstone theme of BigCommerce to customizing virtual storefronts, Stencil simply drives the digital branding of companies with optimum website themes.
What do they do?
Just as bringing new updates to merchant-facing email templates feature, Stencil sets design standards, tailoring merchant storefronts with a wide range of customer-friendly and engaging website themes.
These themes go far beyond absorbing customers to encouraging checkouts on any device.
How do they do it?
Eliminating coding or programming needs, Stencil enables customers to customize their website layout with an extensive assortment of website themes’s colors, headings, fonts, pages, and more.
How has it helped?
With flexible templates that allow modifications to certain features, such as the latest updates to merchant-facing email templates, these continual improvements have led to optimizing client websites as industry-specific.
Stencils engaging and customizable themes have facilitated businesses to approach their target audience and industries.
What can you expect with the updates to merchant-facing email templates?
The BigCommerce platform set the new updates to merchant-facing email templates on June 14, 2024. In simpler terms, the upcoming updates to merchant-facing email templates are a
predefined email layout that acts as a Stencil feature, enabling the templates to interact with merchants through email notifications. The template is activated by default during the following events:
Abandoned cart emails
Such email templates pop when a customer abandons their cart or chooses not to move ahead with their purchase. Merchants can choose to receive abandoned cart screen prompts in the form of emails every time a cart is left unattended.
Inventory alert mails
Setting up an inventory alert email notification processes inventory adjustment visibility on the level of inventory, out-of-stock level, inventory level updates, current stock, and low-stock counts.
Order reminder mails
Sellers can keep a tab on their business growth by receiving order mail notifications linked to our virtual stores to keep track of old and new orders. The order reminder mails are detailed pertaining to unveiling customer names, IDs, order forms, and other order details.
Enabling updates to merchant-facing email templates
All the email templates follow a unified pattern in terms of creation and editing. A merchant or customer can improvise their storefronts with an unlimited number of email templates; however, only three email templates are presumed to be active at a given period of time. Let’s discuss how to enable the imminent updates to merchant-facing email templates.
Access the marketing section
Initiate enabling the updates by opening the BigCommerce website to log in to your BigCommerce account. From the dropdown box, choose the “Marketing” tab to move ahead.
Approach template list
Scroll over the Marketing section to choose the “Transactional Emails” option. This step unveils a list of email templates available for you.
The site also establishes an alternative for the user to choose between manually selecting the default templates screened or allowing templates to be customized based on given demands.
Enable the updated email template
The settings on the top right corner of the website post enable or disable options to users. Such a setup excuses users to make the necessary edits needed or simply shuffle between their desired email template.
Features of the updates to merchant-facing email templates
With no changes being highlighted in the existing email notification settings, let’s delve into the advanced features of the updates to merchant-facing email templates.
Order notifications
Enable order email notifications.
- a) Approach “Advanced settings” to access “Order notifications.”
- b) Select “Email Message” from the notifications tab.
- c) The following displays an “Email address” section to enter one or more email addresses you desire to receive notifications.
Send customers invoices
By approaching the “Store setup” tab to select the “Store settings,” lets you click into the “Miscellaneous” tab. This step allows the forward invoice feature to activate, allowing one to send customer invoices to one or more email addresses.
SMS feature
The new updates to merchant-facing email templates also help you receive order notifications through text messages by registering your phone number’s email address in the “Email address” section above.
Abandoned cart recovery
Enable abandoned cart recovery notifications.
Approach the “Store Setup” tag to access the “Store Settings” marker to activate the abandoned cart recovery notifications.
With a three way prompt system, it acknowledges the customer and merchant whenever a cart is abandoned. Furthermore, follows up with a completed order notification if the order is fulfilled.
Abandoned cart recovery feature email
To set up this email template, approach the “Marketing” section’s “Abandoned cart notification” tab.
A new email template is made by entering your email address in the provided space. At a time, the number of emails that can be activated is limited to 3, but the user can edit or create emails by default.
Keeping track of inventory levels
Inventory and email tracking
The “track inventory” feature allows merchants to supervise inventory levels at a product or variant level. Email notifications on product inventory help to access low-stock or out-of-stock inventory levels.
Adjusting inventory settings
Setting adjusts the product inventory availability when an order is placed. It also adjusts the inventory availability level when an order is confirmed to transfer from completed to shipped.
The availability levels are automatically adjusted when an order is modified, canceled, or refunded.
Out-of-stock level display
The setting also allows dwindling between options related to out-of-stock level display, ranging from showing out-of-stock availability levels, showing only when stock levels are low, to not showing an out-of-stock availability.
Set out-of-stock products
To deal with out-of-stock products, users are given options to customize on how to approach them. The “inventory” label in the “advanced settings” slide allows one to customize their dealing.
When a product or variant is out of stock, the merchant can choose to hide, mark, or do nothing with the out-of-stock product.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are these updates to merchant-facing email templates happening?
With the recent customer-facing transactional email feature update from Blueprint to Stencil, the BIgCommerce website is consistently improving its existing email templates. This comes as a response to increasing user interaction, allowing them to send emails to alert during certain events.
How would the users have to accommodate the new updates to merchant-facing email templates?
Users are free to use the newly updated feature under zero pressure. The new updates to the email templates have made no changes to the existing email notification settings. The email templates bring advanced new features, as mentioned above in this essay.
Do I need any particular skills or qualifications to start an e-commerce website?
With customizable layouts, colors, headings, typography, and so much more, the BigCommerce website has got your back. With a zero need for coding or any other qualification, businesses can now launch their products to target their audience with engaging storefronts.
Conclusion
BigCommerce, being a B2B platform has marketed business branding and customer engagement with optimized website layouts. The newly updated merchant-facing email templates are a part of its continuous commitment to delivering top-notch, user friendly website interactions. Revising the newly designed templates with renewed features has completely revamped the website user experience.
Also Read:
7 Strategies For Success In E-Commerce For Small Businesses And Startups
