June 26, 2022 • Charles Nicholls

In 2013, most ecommerce merchants generated losses from first-time shoppers. It's the same for 2022, although the circumstances differ. Contributor Charles Nicholls revisits the drivers of ecommerce profitability: 2013 vs. 2022.

April 26, 2022 • Charles Nicholls

In a bygone era, shoppers entered an ecommerce site directly or via a search engine. No more. In 2022 it's social media that increasingly starts the process, creating opportunities and challenges for merchants.

July 7, 2021 • Charles Nicholls

Covid-19 greatly changed the grocery industry, perhaps more than any retail sector. Years of projected evolution occurred in three months as the pandemic altered consumers' lives. eMarketer now estimates that 12.4% of total U.S. grocery sales in 2021 will be online.

March 21, 2021 • Charles Nicholls

Covid-19 has shone a light on the next big crisis: the environment. Younger consumers are especially sensitive about global warming and the world they are inheriting. Does it affect the way they shop? What can merchants do to make their operations greener?

December 3, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Several shopping trends are already emerging from this year’s holiday season. The big story is that U.S. ecommerce sales on mobile are up by a whopping 50 percent. The bulk of the increase has gone to the largest merchants. Mid-market merchants have struggled on mobile.

October 3, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Ecommerce is not very eco. It’s frequently the opposite. A next-day delivery — where a driver travels 45 minutes each way for a $7 item in a single-use plastic package — makes no sense for the planet. Here are three quick fixes.

June 4, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Pop-up stores are a familiar sight in malls and events, but adding a digital component is relatively new. I've just completed a series of pop-up experiences for my company and for merchant brands. In this post, I'll share my lessons and observations.

April 3, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Retailers seek to avoid markdowns and sell out of the season at full margin, but it isn’t easy to predict how much inventory to acquire. In this post, I'll address four online merchandising tactics that balance consumer demand with inventory levels, to maximize profits.

February 5, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Continuity ecommerce generates recurring revenue via a combination of connected devices and auto-ship functionality. It's subscriptions on steroids. In "Part 1: Approaches, Expectations," I explained how continuity ecommerce can build high-margin revenue streams. In this article, I’ll focus on how to make continuity programs a success.

February 3, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Continuity ecommerce combines recurring revenue, connected devices, and auto-ship functionality. It's subscriptions on steroids, and it's becoming big business. In this article, I'll explore how merchants can implement continuity programs...

December 3, 2018 • Charles Nicholls

A study in 2017 revealed a massive "conversion gap" on mobile. Responsive design relies on concepts from a different era, when most shoppers navigated a website with a mouse. What follows are three ways to prompt more mobile conversions.

December 9, 2013 • Charles Nicholls

Acquiring new customers is so expensive for retailers that it wipes out profits from a first-time sale. New analysis from my firm, SeeWhy, of data from Forrester and the U.S.

November 21, 2013 • Charles Nicholls

There’s no shortage of alternative payment choices: eBay’s PayPal, Google’s Wallet, Visa V.me, and MasterCard MasterPass, to name a few.  There is also a proliferation of alternate contenders, as mobile ...

June 14, 2013 • Charles Nicholls

No merchant wants to add steps in the checkout process that reduce conversion. However, merchants often don’t have a choice about 3D Secure, the payment industry program behind "Verified by Visa," "MasterCard SecureCode," and "Amex SafeKey." These programs attempt to reduce card-not-p...

March 26, 2012 • Charles Nicholls

Traditionally, catalogs are printed. They have an interruptive value as they arrive through the mailbox. They get read at the breakfast table, in front of the television, and in bed. They provide customers with a pleasurable way of browsing at their leisure, selecting products for a pot...

December 15, 2011 • Charles Nicholls

Getting a first purchase from a customer is always satisfying. New data shows, however, just how hard it is to build repeat customers, those that buy over and over again. I’ve just completed one of the most extensive studies ever conducted into the purchasing behavior of website visito...

December 7, 2011 • Charles Nicholls

There’s little research on the impact of spelling and grammar mistakes on conversion. But Charles Duncombe, CEO of JustSayPlease, a U.K.-based ecommerce and travel company, is a stickler for getting it right. He knows firsthand the impact of spelling mistakes on an ecommerce site. He sa...

August 2, 2011 • Charles Nicholls

The Harry Potter franchise of ebooks will not be depending on Amazon. Author J.K. Rowling has teamed up with Sony to launch a direct outlet, called Pottermore. If you’re in the ecommerce business, and have ambition, then perhaps like J.K. Rowling, you shouldn’t rely on Amazon. But if...

June 14, 2011 • Charles Nicholls

There is a very strong link between website conversions and email. A recent study by my firm showed that once traffic has gotten as far as the shopping cart email was the largest source of ecommerce conversions, ranking above a direct entry and search. This is a useful reminder that the...

May 20, 2011 • Charles Nicholls

It seems as if everyone’s talking about mobile commerce, but not many consumers are actually participating in it. It’s not that there is no mobile commerce happening on mobile-optimized sites; it’s just that it is very small. Two different estimates forecast the value of mobile commerc...

November 10, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor's Note: Printed catalogs remain stubbornly effective for many online retailers. This week's "Conversion Tip" addresses that reality. The author is Charles Nicholls, founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy.com, a conversion and cart-abandonment recovery firm. The problem wit...

November 4, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor's Note: This week's "Conversion Tip" addresses the reality of shoppers that abandon carts, and then return to them later to purchase. The author is Charles Nicholls, founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy, a conversion and abandonment-recovery firm. Research published by U...

October 25, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor’s Note: We continue our “Conversion Tip” series with Charles Nicholls, founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy.com, a conversion and cart-abandonment recovery firm. For this installment, Nicholls addresses the ...

October 7, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

This is the third article in my analysis of the top 10 converting ecommerce sites. The first installment, "Debunking Myths from the Top 10 Converting Websites," discussed seemingly unconventional conversion tactics that these sites use. The second installment, "Top 10 Converting Website...

October 6, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor’s Note: We continue our “Conversion Tip” series from Charles Nicholls, founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy, a conversion and abandonment-recovery firm. For this week’s installment, Nicholls addresses the "free-shipping break-even" concept. If you’ve driven down your shi...

September 29, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

September 22, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor’s Note: We continue our “Conversion Tip” series from Charles Nicholls, founder and chief strategy officer of SeeWhy, a conversion and abandonment-recovery firm. For this week’s installment, Nicholls addresses tools ...

September 10, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor's Note: Charles Nicholls is founder and chief technical officer of SeeWhy, a conversion and abandonment-recovery firm. His "Conversion Tip" series continues, below, with a suggestion for using Facebook's "Recommendations" plug-in on an ecommerce site. Facebook’s new "Recommendat...

September 2, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

Editor's Note: Charles Nicholls is an ecommerce conversion expert and the founder and chief technical officer of SeeWhy, a conversion and abandonment-recovery firm. The "Conversion Tip" below continues our series from Nicholls on his ideas to convert more ecommerce visitors to buyers. ...

August 25, 2010 • Charles Nicholls

The widespread nature of discount voucher and coupon sites is encouraging visitors to abandon purchases to look for voucher codes. In response, Macy’s, for example, now publishes its own "special offer" site that lists Macy’s own voucher and coupon codes.