Pamela Hazelton
Pamela Hazelton is a senior contributor to Practical Ecommerce, providing actionable articles and webinars since 2005. She's a pioneering online business consultant, marketer, and speaker.
She is the author of The Official Guide to Miva Merchant books and additional ebooks on the topics of shopability and security.
Pamela resides in Florida with her husband, Joe, her red beagle, and a black cat.
Her site is PamelaHazelton.com. Email Pamela.
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Conversion
How ChatGPT Drives Ecommerce Conversions
January 29, 2023 • Pamela Hazelton
ChatGPT can suggest bullet points, email subject lines, A/B tests, product recommendations, FAQs, and more. The suggestions aren't perfect but definitely helpful.
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Customer Retention
First Steps to Sustainable Ecommerce
January 10, 2023 • Pamela Hazelton
Shifting to sustainable business practices can seem overwhelming. Here are simple, elementary steps for getting started.
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Customer Retention
Master Customer Retention in 2023
January 1, 2023 • Pamela Hazelton
Retaining customers is the key to long-term ecommerce success. Here are pointers to increase your company's retention rate in 2023 and beyond.
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Customer Retention
How to Turn Holiday Returns into Sales
December 11, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Consumers who seek to return holiday gifts are an opportunity for engagement, acquisition, and long-term revenue.
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Checkout Tactics
10 Last-minute Holiday Revenue Boosters
November 27, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Plenty of late-season marketing and selling tactics can boost holiday ecommerce revenue. Here are 10 of them.
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Checkout Tactics
Convenience, Savings Drive 2022 Holiday Shoppers
November 9, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Amid inflation worries, holiday shoppers in 2022 seek savings combined with convenient experiences. Here are seven ways merchants can meet those needs.
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Customer Retention
8 Gift Guide Ideas for Frazzled Shoppers
September 25, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Finding the perfect gift can be time-consuming and stressful. Merchants can ease the stress by creating gift guides that appeal to a wide range of budgets and personalities.
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Customer Retention
A/B Testing Can Make or Break a Store
September 6, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
The king of A/B ecommerce testing (and conversions) is Amazon. Affordable tools make testing doable for all merchants. Here's how to get started.
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Customer Retention
6 Steps to Identify Your Target Audience
August 21, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
The first step for a successful brand and product is identifying the likely customers. But the process is not always obvious. Here's how to get started.
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Customer Retention
To Drive Conversions, Spy on Competitors
August 8, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
The best ideas often come from competitors. Here are eight ways to scrutinize the tactics of rival sites to improve your own.
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Product Pages
7 Holiday Revenue Generators amid Inflation
July 24, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Consumer spending could decline this holiday season owing to inflation. However, online merchants can implement selling strategies to support gift-giving needs without losing revenue.
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Customer Retention
6 Subscription Ideas to Stabilize Revenue
July 10, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Subscriptions are not new for ecommerce. But done well, they remain an effective way to stabilize revenue, especially during economic downturns. Here are six ideas to get started.
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Email Marketing
6 Email Triggers for Max Conversions
June 20, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Shoppers' actions on an ecommerce site create opportunities for automated, triggered emails. Such behavior-based email automation is a sure-fire tactic to drive revenue.
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Checkout Tactics
‘Less Is More’ Boosts Conversions
June 12, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
The basics — not bells and whistles — drive ecommerce conversions. Pamela Hazelton reminds us to display product benefits, demonstrate trust, emphasize transparency, and more.
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Checkout Tactics
Harness Customer Behavior to Boost Conversions
January 31, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
The actions of shoppers on-site and off indicates their preferences and needs. Merchants who act on that behavior can greatly improve sales. We explain.
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Product Pages
8 Ways Social Proof Sells (Much) More
January 9, 2022 • Pamela Hazelton
Consumers need confirmation of their shopping decisions. Social proof can be the nudge for online shoppers to complete a purchase or sign up for a newsletter.
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Customer Retention
Need Repeat Customers? Try Low-tech Selling
December 29, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
If you lack the budget for high-end automation tools, there are still plenty of ways to fill the gaps left by massive competitors. Here are nine ways to catch the attention of savvy online shoppers and keep them returning for more.
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Payments
Expand Payment Options to Convert More
December 7, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Essential features for many online stores in 2022 include enhanced chatbots, virtual product sampling, and real-time order tracking. But what happens once shoppers reach the checkout page is equally important. Plenty of issues — such as limited payment options — can interrupt the process.
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Conversion
It’s a New Normal for Ecommerce in 2022
November 23, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
The pandemic has accelerated the worldwide digital transformation. Online businesses have opportunities for massive growth. But it comes with a cost: elevated consumer expectations. Merchants who opt for "business as usual" may find survival difficult.
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Product Pages
Honest Messaging Drives Conversions This Holiday Season
November 8, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
The 2021 holiday shopping season is unpredictable for both shoppers and merchants. Supply chain interruptions and likely shipping delays have prompted many consumers to wrap up gift-buying earlier than usual.
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Product Pages
Conversion Lessons from the Luggage Industry
October 24, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
The pandemic challenged online luggage merchants to find unique ways to entice consumers to purchase items they might not put to immediate use. Led primarily by independent, direct-to-consumer manufacturers, successful mid-priced luggage and travel-bag sites are setting the pace for conversion practices.
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Product Pages
3 Rule-breaking Product Pages, Designed for Conversions
October 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Most ecommerce platforms have a standard layout. Their product page designs are relatively conventional, with a left-to-right display and a dominant image. Calls-to-action almost always appear near the top, especially on mobile. But the norm isn't always the best.
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Checkout Tactics
Remove These Distractions to Lower Cart Abandons
September 22, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Cart abandonment rates remain high. I've seen estimates in 2021 ranging from 50% to 80% depending on the product and industry. A common culprit is sticker shock from excessive shipping and handling fees. Another is distractions: unnecessary or confusing checkout fields. In this post, I'll address steps to streamline checkouts to save the sale.
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Product Pages
11 Product Page Features to Drive Conversions
September 8, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
When it comes to compelling product pages, less can be more. Cluttered pages distract from selling points. Focus on the crucial details. Embrace a minimalist approach to lessen the thinking process and close the sale. What follows are 11 product page features from three online stores.
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Customer Retention
9 Ways to Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs
August 23, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Customer acquisition costs can make or break an ecommerce business. Efficient spending could produce new, profitable customers. Spending too much could bankrupt the company. Computing the CAC is straightforward: Divide total promotional costs by the number of new customers.
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Checkout Tactics
Ecommerce Conversion Rates beyond the Averages
August 9, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Monitoring the percentage of visitors that convert to paying customers helps businesses track the performance of marketing campaigns, landing pages, design and navigation, and the checkout process. Email signups, survey responses, and social media shares are important conversions, too.
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Product Pages
What Online Shoppers Expect in 2021
August 4, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
The pandemic-induced shift to online shopping is permanent for many consumers. That's the good news for ecommerce companies. The not-so-good news is those consumers have heightened expectations. Here are seven of them.
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Customer Service
Policy Pages, Done Well, Enhance a Brand
July 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Shoppers search an online store's policy pages for details on shipping, returns, and more. Rarely are these vital pages engaging. But they should be.
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Conversion
What Is Your Company’s Secondary Audience?
June 21, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
Ecommerce sites rely on a primary target audience. These are the people who are most apt to purchase products and become loyal customers. It's the same audience marketers use for advertising. However, secondary audiences can be lucrative, too.
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Conversion
The 3 Common Mistakes of Ecommerce Launches
June 6, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton
I've consulted over the years on dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ecommerce launches. Here are three frequent mistakes in the building of online stores.
20 New Free Commercial Fonts for 2023
5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2023
Trouble Brewing for Buy Now, Pay Later Providers
5 Ways to Use ChatGPT for SEO
SEO: Can Google Crawl Your Links?
8 Customer Service Channels for Ecommerce
State of Marketplaces in 2023
Reducing Transaction Friction and Fraud
