Business
An ecommerce site is a business. Our Management & Finance category addresses online payments, funding needs, employee issues, merchant profiles, key metrics, multichannel and omnichannel strategies, cross-border analyses, inventory management, accounting topics, sales taxes, and much more.
Amazon & Marketplaces | B2B | Cross-border Selling | Finance | Fraud Prevention | Inventory | Local Business | Payments | Shipping & Fulfillment | Staffing-
Business
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Merchant Voice
What I’ve learnt from millennials and baby boomers
June 24, 2017 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
In the past nine months, I’ve had three event-management interns — two millennials (the generation born 1981-2000) and a baby boomer (those born 1946-1964) — work with me at My ...
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Staffing
6 Tips for Managing an SEO Team
June 23, 2017 • Jill Kocher Brown
Whether your search engine optimization team is in-house or at an agency, staying in touch with what they’re working on is critical. A team left to their own devices may ...
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B2B
Pros and Cons of Selling on Amazon Business
June 21, 2017 • Lori McDonald
Amazon Business, the B2B marketplace, has more than 45,000 active sellers and more than 10 million products with bulk purchase options or business discounts. Many B2B merchants aren’t sure whether ...
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Amazon & Marketplaces
For Amazon, Is Whole Foods a Grocery Chain or a Distribution Network?
June 20, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan
The announcement that Amazon is buying Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, or $42 a share, generated an enormous amount of commentary, with financial and technology analysts chiming in on ...
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Amazon & Marketplaces
The 2 Winners in Amazon vs. Walmart Battle
June 19, 2017 • Jeremy Hanks
After an ecommerce power-up that included acquiring a string of online retailers, including Jet.com, Walmart took a major swing at Amazon by offering free 2-day shipping for qualified orders of ...
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Business
Successful Retailers Operate in 3 Businesses
June 14, 2017 • Armando Roggio
Online retailers, particularly mid-market and larger, are really in three businesses: selling products to consumers; software; and publishing. Retail commerce has become the convergence of in-store and online shopping. Regardless of a ...
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Local Business
Will Shopping Malls Survive?
June 13, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan
From the 1950s when they were initially built, through the early 2000s, shopping malls were the backbone of retail shopping — attracting consumers with convenient parking and a wide selection ...
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Fraud Prevention
Are Static Fraud Tools Obsolete?
June 12, 2017 • Patricia Carlin
Card-not-present fraud leads other types of payment fraud in countries that have migrated to the EMV standard. That is according to U.S. Payments Forum, a nonprofit organization that includes global ...
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Fraud Prevention
Intelligent Ways to Manage Fraud
June 8, 2017 • Gagan Mehra
Fraud continues to impact online merchants. Some experience chargebacks, while others experience various forms of return fraud. Fraud hurts not only merchants but also consumers, as merchants often increase prices ...
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Shipping & Fulfillment
Better Order Fulfillment Starts with Receiving Department
June 6, 2017 • Stephen Bulger
Online shoppers expect to receive their orders quickly, with little-to-no added cost. There are many ways for ecommerce merchants to decrease fulfillment and delivery times. One area of the supply chain that ...
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Shipping & Fulfillment
Ship-from-store Fulfillment a Must for Brick-and-click Retailers
June 5, 2017 • Armando Roggio
Implementing a ship-from-store fulfillment program may help mid-market multichannel retailers better serve customers and earn more profit. This year, about one of every three brick-and-click, omnichannel retailers will have adopted a ...
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Business
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Merchant Voice
Would mandatory training help new business owners?
June 4, 2017 • Richard Stubbings
I moderate an online business forum in the U.K. A growing number of people are starting their own business here. On one level this is inspiring. But sometimes I think there ...
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Business
May 2017 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts
May 31, 2017 • PEC Staff
What follows are our 10 most popular articles for May 2017, recognizing that articles we published earlier in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
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Amazon & Marketplaces
2 strategies to boost Amazon sales
May 26, 2017 • Phil Masiello
Amazon is a great additional sales channel for any ecommerce company. Not only will it provide incremental sales, but it also provides brand exposure. In my prior posts, I have focused ...
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Cross-border Selling
Navigating International Payment Methods, for Ecommerce
May 23, 2017 • Patricia Carlin
Many ecommerce retailers desire to expand internationally. Understanding the preferred payment methods in other countries is a key component. In this post, I’ll explore some of the issues involved with accepting ...
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Business
Applying the Uniform Commercial Code to Ecommerce
May 19, 2017 • John Di Giacomo
Consumers and ecommerce merchants often take the complexity involved in buying a product online for granted. But behind the ease of the one-click checkout and free shipping is 65 years of ...
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Shipping & Fulfillment
Does Ecommerce Need a Cooperative Shipping Revolution?
May 18, 2017 • Armando Roggio
If small and mid-sized online retailers cooperated, they may be able to develop a fast and reliable shipping network competitive with what Amazon, Walmart, and other industry-leading merchants can offer. Online ...
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Business
Teen Shopping Habits and Trends
May 11, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan
While marketers are preoccupied with satisfying the needs of millennials, another demographic group with enormous spending power is nipping at their heels: teenagers. There are about 26 million teens in the United ...
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Shipping & Fulfillment
For Retailers, ‘Less-limited Aisle’ beats ‘Endless Aisle’
May 9, 2017 • Jeremy Hanks
The concept of “endless aisle” has been discussed in ecommerce for years. Many online merchants have watched Amazon’s rise to market domination and believe their own path to success lies ...
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B2B
5 Payment Options in B2B Ecommerce
May 8, 2017 • Lori McDonald
Many B2B merchants have avoided ecommerce because they believe their customers will not do business in that manner. Merchants often have concerns about payments, as B2B customers pay in different ...
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Payments
Credit Card Processing: Beware of ‘Rate Reductions’
May 2, 2017 • Phil Hinke
In my experience, most merchants feel that their credit card account provider is more likely to increase their rates or invent new fees rather than offer an unsolicited rate reduction. The ...
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Finance
Has Crowdfunding from Ordinary Investors Been Successful?
May 1, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan
May 2017 marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of Regulation CF crowdfunding for non-accredited investors. Some observers believe it is a disaster while ...
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Business
April 2017 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts
April 30, 2017 • PEC Staff
What follows are our 10 most popular articles for April 2017, recognizing that articles we published earlier in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones. Google Analytics:
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Staffing
5 Reasons to Hire Remote Workers
April 28, 2017 • Armando Roggio
Your ecommerce business is growing. You need developers, marketers, and customer service representatives. But how do you find the best employees? It’s simple: hire remote workers. Often ecommerce businesses start small.
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Shipping & Fulfillment
ShipStation CEO on ‘Fast and Free’ Shipping Demands
April 26, 2017 • Armando Roggio
The process of creating satisfied customers starts with providing a level of service that’s greater than their expectations. For ecommerce, shipping is customer satisfaction’s frontline, and online sellers should aim to ...
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Shipping & Fulfillment
7 Elements of a Return Policy That Sells
April 25, 2017 • Pamela Hazelton
Merchants give so much thought into making the sale that they tend to forget some of the post-sale components that savvy shoppers look for first. One of these is the returns policy ...
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Business
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Merchant Voice
Preparing to exhibit at a wedding expo
April 25, 2017 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
My Wedding Décor will soon exhibit at One Fine Day Wedding Fair in Melbourne, Australia. One Fine Day has been running high-end wedding fairs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide ...
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Amazon & Marketplaces
Can ecommerce marketplaces expand a brand?
April 23, 2017 • Phil Masiello
It’s funny how ecommerce brands fear established online marketplaces. When I discuss with those brands selling on Amazon, Walmart.com, Sears.com or any of the hundreds of online marketplaces, I often ...
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Amazon & Marketplaces
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Merchant Voice
My (unplanned) survey of Amazon resellers
April 23, 2017 • Richard Stubbings
In the last few days I have been conducting an unplanned survey of the customer service of hundreds of Amazon resellers. It is unplanned and unwelcomed because someone sent phishing ...
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Business
Will New F.C.C. Policies Impact Ecommerce Merchants?
April 21, 2017 • John Di Giacomo
Big changes are coming to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, and some may have ramifications for ecommerce merchants. With the appointment of Ajit Pai as the chairman of the F.C.C.,