E-commerce APIs Explained – An Overview of API Integration and its Benefits

Date:

Share post:

The growth of API has shown a significant change in the ecommerce industry. API integration for ecommerce is now adopted by all businesses, adoption of API’s by enterprises have increased in leaps and bounds.

Surprisingly for few people’s API’s sounds to be very complicated but it is not. What API’s can do for business can increase efficiency, cost savings, and rapid innovation.

APIs are critical to a successful digital transformation because they enable a shift away from monolithic IT structures to microservices architectures that are simple, dependable, and agile. APIs are the backbone of today’s SaaS economy, and all eCommerce companies can take advantage of them.

API Vs API Integration

APIs are for more than just integration, even though they are two sides of the same coin.  An API is a type of code that enables software programmes to communicate with one another and allows eCommerce website developers to expose a business service or enterprise asset to app developers. It enables Shopify website developers to build new interfaces or implementations on top of existing frameworks, as well as build applications that can interact with the system. Integration is simply the process of allowing two devices or systems to communicate over a network, while API is the interface between two applications.

Let’s Get Started with Understanding the Advantages of API’s

  1. Improves efficiency: As the demand for modern apps increases, companies are searching for quicker ways to test and develop new technologies. Developers are now upgrading themselves to adopt this change and implementing API systems.

APIs are a powerful tool for accelerating growth. Instead of building solutions from the ground up, developers may use APIs to easily incorporate existing features.

API’s allow you to perform several text analytics tasks, such as language detection, key phrase extraction, and sentiment analysis.

You can use powerful state-of-the-art technologies and incorporate them into your applications using such an API. This will help you save a lot of time on development and increase the productivity of your business, allowing you to achieve your goals faster.

According to a recent survey, companies that used APIs saw a 59 percent improvement in efficiency across many key aspects of their operations.

  1. Cost Saving: The cost of developing an ecommerce website and application for the business depends on various factors like developers expertise, technology used, project’s complications and so forth. As per research developing and installing an app costs on an average $270,000.

One of the strong advantages for the companies and businesses is saving costs and by APIs they can do so. Using APIs to build applications is a perfect way to cut costs because they greatly minimize development effort.

Developers can take advantage of building a website or app using features of other websites, rather than having to start from scratch. They can use cost-effective APIs from third-party vendors or their own internal APIs instead of spending valuable resources.

Using APIs enables developers to focus on fine-tuning the specific features of their applications quicker, which helps companies save time and money.

  1. Upgrades Easily: Developers can upgrade the websites or application with the latest updates easily with the help of third-party solutions and fast API integration. APIs have saved lots of effort and unnecessary hard works of building a website from the base.
  1. Easy Integrations and Collaborations: In the last decade or so, eCommerce has become more competitive. There’s a lot more to it than just an online shop with a wide range of items. Ecommerce businesses have to continuously upgrade themselves to keep their company ahead of their competitors. To give a competitive edge to your business you can build an online store with the help of any ecommerce development company to accelerate revenue.

Collaborations and integrations with other networks are also part of the company’s customer-centric strategy.

APIs allow everything from one-click sign-ups via popular platforms like Google and Facebook to displaying product reviews from other media and product details on the store.

Following are the Different Types of APIs that Can Strengthen your Ecommerce Website.

  • Payment API: Payment API is an API that makes sure your website has a fully functional payment processing system. If you are into an ecommerce website that accepts electronic payment then payment APIs are must.
  • Shipping API: Shipping APIs attach the various shipping features to the online store. They can be used to build return shipping labels, use multiple carriers, monitor shipments, verify addresses, and perform other related tasks.

Each of these characteristics has its own set of benefits. The multiple carrier API, for example, will allow the shopper to choose between faster and less expensive delivery options. Due to incorrect addresses, the address validation API prevents errors and method redundancies. What’s noteworthy is that these APIs make it easier for consumers as well as companies.  APIs such as FedEx API, Shippo API, and Easyship are a few of examples.

  • Login API: Login API helps businesses with identity management. Such APIs allow customers to use your ecommerce website by using the application they already have and are using it for the login purpose. Like if they sign-up your website shows an option of Google sign-in and other options, if they choose to select Google or Gmail sign-in they are directly redirecting to the Gmail which the customer is already using.
  • Cart API: The use of shopping cart APIs allows retailers and eCommerce business owners to customize their carts and increase sales. They offer owners more leverage over cart data and more room to integrate integrations in order to minimize cart desertion and boost conversion.

Based on a customer’s purchasing history, the APIs will provide customized deals and discounts. This will persuade them to buy the items in their shopping cart. Cart APIs also aid the omnichannel shopping experience by showing the same cart material to consumers across various platforms.

  • Sales Tax API: A sales tax API is another eCommerce API worth investigating. Sales tax laws differ by region, state, and, in some cases, even district. You don’t have to think about sales tax complexities with a sales tax API, and you can be sure that the consumer is charged the correct sales tax amount every time.
  • Price comparison API: The price comparison eCommerce API collects pricing data from a number of sources. Retailers can use the API to see how their goods are priced in the market, enabling them to change their prices to remain competitive.
  • Anti-fraud API: Since the eCommerce industry has become so huge, cybercriminals will invariably target stores. Such frauds are kept at bay by anti-fraud APIs. Multiple checkpoints are developed by these APIs to screen out possible red flags. These services can match geo-location with shopper information, verify email addresses, validate credit card information, and take other steps to ensure that transactions are safe.
  • Currency Exchange Rate API: If you are targeting global customers and you have a website that represents the global market and having accurate data for conversion rates is very difficult. In such cases, the currency exchange rate API can help you a lot.

Conclusion

Thanks to the increasing success of eCommerce APIs, improving functionality is now easier than ever to meet eCommerce trends quickly and efficiently. There’s no need to start coding from scratch. All you have to do now is follow the API creator’s developer instructions, and your website will be ready to go.

Customers, on the other hand, could not have asked for a better experience. They now have more ease at a lower cost. With APIs in place, the future of eCommerce appears to be a win-win scenario for both customers and businesses.

Jennifer Wilson
Jennifer Wilson
She knows business processes and operations management inside out. As she understands all the challenges of running a small business firsthand, it’s her mission to tackle the topics that are most relevant to entrepreneurs and offer viable solutions.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

Is watchOS 10.4.1 update coming soon? Will Apple fix the critical battery drain on Series 9?

Apple released watchOS 10.4 for Apple Watch users on March 7th. This update was aimed at enhancing the...

How An eSIM Can Help You Avoid Roaming Charges?

Are you planning a business trip or a vacation with family or friends to another country? In such...

Dragon’s Dogma 2 PC ray tracing quality impresses with the release of a new mod

A new mod for the PC version of Dragon's Dogma 2 is available online this week. It proposes...

Smart Cities: Harnessing Technology for Urban Sustainability

Urban centers around the globe are undergoing a remarkable transformation driven by the integration of cutting-edge technologies. Smart city...