Page 52 – Practical Ecommerce

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Social Media
6 TikTok Tools for Shopping

October 4, 2021 • Sig Ueland

TikTok is the latest social media platform to focus on ecommerce. TikTok unveiled its shopping platform at its inaugural World event, with new tools to help brands and merchants sell to TikTok's users. The release is a culmination of recent efforts to integrate shopping into TikTok.
Social Media
Facebook Could Dominate Ecommerce

October 4, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Facebook is among the top social media networks in the world. It is also a leading advertising and communication platform. And it could soon dominate ecommerce.
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: October 3, 2021

October 3, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of product releases and updates for late September from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on augmented reality tools, conversational commerce, social commerce, small business financing, fraud protection, and buy-now, pay-later.
Influencers & Affiliates
PPE Provider Thrives on Influencers (and Hollywood)

October 1, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Roman Zrazhevskiy's company, Mira Safety, sells protective gas masks. It launched in 2018. The masks protect against tear gas, chemicals, and, yes, viruses. Still, reaching prospects was a challenge.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Should Merchants Launch Their Own Marketplaces?

September 30, 2021 • Armando Roggio

For manufacturers, distributors, and enterprise retailers, owning a marketplace could be a competitive advantage and a key to business growth.
Business
September 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

September 30, 2021 • PEC Staff

Since 2005 we’ve published thousands of articles, webinars, and podcast episodes to assist ecommerce merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in September 2021. Articles from early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 7: Magnification and Close-ups

September 29, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

The best product photos provide online shoppers with precise detail to know what to expect when the goods arrive. Specialty magnified shots can help. This is the seventh post in my series on helping ecommerce merchants elevate their product photography.
Design & Dev Tools
17 Useful UX and UI Design Tools

September 28, 2021 • Sig Ueland

User experience and user interface tools can help with every stage of website and mobile-app design — from early whiteboard brainstorming to testing your prototype with end-users. Here is a list of useful UX and UI design tools.
Marketing & Advertising
5 Ways Reddit Helps an Ecommerce Brand

September 27, 2021 • Kaleena Stroud

Reddit is among the most visited sites worldwide. I addressed Reddit and Quora last month, explaining the dos and don'ts for marketers. Reddit has a strict no-self-promotion policy. Still, it offers a venue to further a brand and establish expertise.
B2B
The Emergence of B2B Raw Material Marketplaces

September 26, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Business-to-business marketplaces are among ecommerce's leading growth trends, yet many industries remain under-served, especially for raw materials.
Business
Lessons from Bankruptcy Drive Ecom Agency Founder

September 24, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Josh Durham knows the downside of entrepreneurship. He founded an ecommerce company in 2015 and quickly grew revenue. Then it went out of business. Fast forward to 2021, and Durham has bounced back. He launched a successful marketing agency, Aligned Growth Management, that builds on his own early-day lessons.
Inventory
Supply Chain Problems Upend the Global Economy

September 23, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Nothing highlighted the United States’ reliance on foreign manufactured goods more than the Covid-19 pandemic.
Business
DTC Brands, Amid Disruptions, Should Seek New Sales Channels

September 23, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Starting a digital direct-to-consumer brand has never been easier. But growing that brand into a successful business may have become more difficult.
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.
Code
Ask an Expert: What Is ReactJS?

September 21, 2021 • PEC Staff

“Ask an Expert” is an occasional feature where we pose questions to ecommerce practitioners. For this installment, we’ve turned to Rajesh Bhimani, founder Skynet Technologies, a web development firm. He addresses the purpose and popularity of ReactJS.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 6: Selecting a Lens

September 21, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

Choosing the best camera lens depends on the products you’re shooting and on the camera itself. This is the sixth post in my series to help ecommerce merchants take better product photos. “Part 1” addressed the importance of backdrops. “Part 2” explained tripods. “Part 3” examined the fundamentals of artificial lighting. “Part 4” reviewed angles and viewpoints, and “Part 5” described how to select a camera.
Schools & Resources
12 New Ecommerce Books for Fall 2021

September 20, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Here’s a batch of new ecommerce books for your fall reading list. There are titles on branding, social media marketing, personalized customer experience, entrepreneurship, and the post-pandemic workplace. I compiled this list using Amazon. From Amazon’s “Books” category, I selected “Business & Money.” From there I chose the “Processes & Infrastructure” sub-category and selected “E-commerce.”
Business
Will Supportive Spending Impact Ecommerce?

September 20, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The pandemic changed how shoppers think about life generally and the products they use specifically, according to reports from Google, Accenture, and others. This includes picking brands and products for ethical reasons instead of economic ones.
Email & Text Marketing
A Perfect Storm for 2021 Holiday Email Marketing

September 19, 2021 • Carolyn Nye

Labor shortages, pent-up consumer demand, and supply chain disruptions could dramatically impact retailers this holiday season. Those developments, coupled with privacy changes on Apple's new iOS 15, mean email marketers face a perfect storm of uncertainty.
Business
Should DTC Brands Sell to Mass Merchandisers?

September 17, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Beardbrand's products are in all 2,000 Target stores. Lindsey Reinders, my business partner, drove that project in 2018. Selling products to mass merchandisers is a goal of many direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands. Has selling to Target worked out for Beardbrand? I asked Lindsey that question and more.
Business
What Makes a Good Ecommerce Brand?

September 16, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Helen Vaid is CEO of Foundry, a business aggregator that buys and grows commerce brands. She believes the explosion of products and seemingly unlimited consumer choice mean brands must do more than merely sell goods and services.
Platforms & Apps
Ecommerce Product Releases: September 16, 2021

September 16, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of product releases and updates for mid-September from companies that offer services to online merchants. There are updates on team productivity tools, small business financing, subscription sales, logistics, and managing campaigns on Amazon.
Influencers & Affiliates
Influencer Marketing Part 6: Pitching

September 15, 2021 • Joe Sinkwitz

Prospective influencers likely know little about your company or its products. They're not necessarily interested in promoting. You have to pitch them. Welcome to "Part 6" of my influencer marketing series.
Payments
An Introduction to NFTs

September 15, 2021 • Mike Eckler

Non-fungible tokens are a hot topic. Some claim that NFTs are the future of artwork — viable, profitable investments. Detractors wonder if NFTs are a short-term novelty. In this post, I'll describe NFTs and how they are created, purchased, and sold.
Photography & Video
Product Photography, Part 5: Choosing a Camera

September 14, 2021 • Carolyn Mara

I'm frequently asked to recommend a camera. Sometimes folks inquire about the camera I use to display my artwork online. But both queries miss the point. Knowing how to use a camera is far more important than the unit itself. Nonetheless, choosing a suitable camera is critical.
Google Ads
3 Optimizations for Google Shopping Campaigns

September 13, 2021 • Matthew Umbro

The benefits of Google Shopping are compelling. Advertisers consistently experience strong revenue, traffic, and return on ad spend while often paying less per click than standard search campaigns. Still, the performance of Google Shopping ads, like all ads, could plateau. Thus continuous optimizations are key to sustaining results.
Social Media
21 New Social Media Tools for Merchants in 2021

September 12, 2021 • Sig Ueland

New and updated social media tools can enhance an ecommerce business. Here is a list of new social media tools and platform updates in 2021. There are tools for shopping, influencer marketing, live streaming, payments, dynamic advertising, and more.
Business
Software Exec Shifts to Bicycle Components, and Thrives

September 10, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Brian De Groodt launched Dispatch Custom Cycling Components in 2018 after a long career in enterprise software. The company sells bicycle headset caps, which sit atop the stem connecting handlebars to the frame. Customers can customize the caps, adding uniqueness to their bikes.
Business
Will the Creator Economy Embrace Ecommerce?

September 9, 2021 • Armando Roggio

As the so-called creator economy evolves and expands, ecommerce could become a significant revenue channel, helping to create new business models and drive the development of new commerce platforms. The terms "creator" and "creator economy" are a little ambiguous.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Ecommerce Briefs: Amazon v. Walmart, Prime Members, E.U. Sellers

September 9, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series on news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I’ll focus on Amazon's omnichannel growth and Prime membership, as well as acquisitions of third-party Amazon sellers in Europe.