Finance
All merchants deal with finance — borrowing money, raising equity, dealing with banks, and selling (or buying) a business. We address all those topics, plus U.S. regulatory changes, financial technology, earnings of public ecommerce companies, and more.
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Finance
Will LinkedIn Change after Microsoft Purchase?
June 15, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan
On Monday Microsoft announced that it is acquiring LinkedIn — the social media site for business professionals — for $26.2 billion in a cash deal, its biggest acquisition ever. The ...
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Finance
6 Alternative Funding Resources for Ecommerce Businesses
April 13, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan
Small businesses often struggle to find affordable funds to keep their businesses running. Online lending solutions offer an alternative to conventional bank loans with the advantages of a much shorter ...
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Finance
Sales Report: 2015 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday
December 2, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan
Who won the November 2015 holiday sales battle? Online merchants. Shoppers opted to buy online rather than fight the crowds in brick-and-mortar stores. Brick-and-mortar sales on Thanksgiving Day dropped to $1.8
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Finance
Equity Crowdfunding Rules Are Finally Set
November 10, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan
Three years after legislation passed, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has finally approved final regulations that will implement equity crowdfunding. In the intervening period, many variations of crowdfunding have ...
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Finance
Ecommerce Attracts Investors, Becomes More International
August 6, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan
Ecommerce continues to be a favored investment for venture capitalists — with a strong showing in the second quarter of 2015. While in the past American ecommerce firms were the ...
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Finance
Shopify IPO to Value Company at $1 Billion
May 4, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan
Canadian-based ecommerce platform provider Shopify filed for an IPO in the United States and Canada last month hoping to raise $100 million. The valuation is expected to come in at ...
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Finance
13 New Equity Crowdfunding Success Stories, for Ecommerce
April 16, 2015 • Sig Ueland
It’s been three years since the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act was signed into law. Currently, Title II is in effect, allowing small businesses to solicit investments from accredited ...
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Finance
Can Etsy Keep Artistic Roots with IPO?
March 11, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan
Etsy, the online marketplace that offers artists, crafters, and vintage collectors a venue to sell their goods, filed for an initial public offering earlier this month. The company plans to ...
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Finance
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Losing Mojo?
December 3, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
Although Cyber Monday and Black Friday online sales both broke records, analysts are seeing signs that the two big shopping days are losing some punch. Forrester Research ecommerce analyst Sucharita ...
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Finance
10 Ways to Finance Your Ecommerce Business
October 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
It has always been a challenge for small businesses to get financing. Circumstances worsened when banks tightened their lending criteria five years ago. Most banks lend only to businesses with ...
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Finance
Alibaba’s IPO to Impact U.S. Ecommerce?
September 22, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
The much-anticipated Alibaba IPO closed last Friday with shares initially priced at $68. Once trading got under way, the price of a share rose to $93. Demand was so strong ...
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Finance
13 Notable Ecommerce IPOs for 2014
June 16, 2014 • Sig Ueland
Ecommerce companies have been getting recent attention for their initial public offerings (IPOs). Alibaba Group Holding, China’s ecommerce giant, plans to go public in what could be the biggest tech ...
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Finance
Intrastate Crowdfunding: Financing Option for Small Businesses
June 11, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
Tired of waiting for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to issue final regulations for equity crowdfunding, several states have passed legislation enabling crowdfunding within their borders. Several more states ...
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Finance
18 Ecommerce Crowdfunding Success Stories
April 21, 2014 • Sig Ueland
In “9 Equity Crowdfunding Sites to Finance your Business,” my article last week, I outlined leading crowdfunding sites that offer equity stakes in startups and small businesses. As a result ...
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Finance
9 Equity Crowdfunding Sites to Finance your Business
April 14, 2014 • Sig Ueland
Thanks to the JOBS Act, startups and small businesses can now publicly raise equity funding via online crowdfunding sites. In September 2013, Title II of the JOBS Act went into ...
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Finance
Ecommerce Companies Raise Funds with New Approach
April 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
Will equity crowdfunding ever become a reality? This alternative to the usual financing mechanisms became legal two years ago when Congress passed the Jobs Act in April 2012. However, the ...
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Finance
Amazon 2013 Financial Results Signal Changes in 2014
February 11, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
After a few dismal quarters, Amazon turned a profit in the pivotal fourth quarter of 2013 and for the full fiscal year, despite losses in the second and third quarters.
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Finance
Ecommerce Strong on Black Friday, Cyber Monday
December 10, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
The much anticipated Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping extravaganza showed mixed results with online sales outpacing disappointing brick-and-mortar results. Brick-and-mortar Sales Brick-and-mortar retail sales on Black Friday were disappointing. The tactic ...
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Finance
Equity Crowdfunding Edges Closer to Implementation
November 12, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been widely criticized for dragging its feet in issuing implementing regulations for equity crowdfunding, which was enabled when the Jobs Act was signed ...
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Finance
Amazon’s Loss Leader Strategy Results in No Profits
October 10, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
For the first time in many years Amazon posted a loss in two of the last four quarters. The second quarter loss occurred despite a revenue increase of 22 percent ...
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Finance
eCommerce Business Valuation Case Studies : Effect of Inventory on Valuation Multiple
August 12, 2013 • Manish Shah
In this series, I will share my experiences selling online businesses for my clients and lessons learned. Effect of Inventory on eCommerce Business Valuation Multiple Some time ago I was selling an eCommerce business that had a large amount of inventory that needed to be sold with the...
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Finance
5 Reasons for an Ecommerce Business Plan
April 10, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
Does an ecommerce company need a business plan? Yes, almost any business can benefit from developing a business plan. While many companies prepare a plan solely to secure outside funding, a business plan can also help you focus on what you want your business to be in the future and pro...
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Finance
SWOT Analysis for Ecommerce Companies
April 3, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
A SWOT analysis — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats — is something many MBA students learn. Unfortunately, businesses frequently treat SWOT like geometry: one of those things you learn but never use again.
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Finance
Internet Sales Tax: States Take the Lead
February 13, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
The days of sales-tax-free online purchasing are coming to an end for many consumers. 2012 was a year of inaction on the federal level because the Marketplace Fairness Act that would have required sales tax collection by Internet merchants on a national level never came to a vote. Howev...
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Finance
Equity Crowdfunding Stalls
January 25, 2013 • Marcia Kaplan
When President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act in April 2012, the clock started ticking on a 270-day period for the Securities and Exchange Commission to write the regulations that would govern crowdfunding. That 270 period is over and no regulations exist. SEC Chai...
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Finance
Analyzing Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Overall Retail Sales
December 3, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan
Cyber Monday online sales reached $1.47 billion, up 17 percent over last year, representing the heaviest online spending day in history, according to digital tracking firm comScore, which also reported that Black Friday sales reached $1.04 billion, besting last year's amount by 28 perce...
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Finance
Third-Quarter Ecommerce Results Bode Well for the 2012 Holiday Season
November 15, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan
The growth in online purchasing continues. In a survey of 1,989 online consumers conducted during the last week of October, digital-tracking firm comScore found that In Q3 2012, online sales grew 15 percent over the same period last year, compared with a two percent year-over-year growt...
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Finance
Ecommerce Shines in the Second Quarter of 2012
August 23, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan
The first half of 2012 continued the 2011 fourth quarter trend of strong ecommerce growth. In Q2, online retail grew nearly four times the rate of total consumer spending in the U.S., according to ecommerce research firm comScore. The Census Bureau reports that U.S. ecommerce sales in Q...
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Finance
Ecommerce Acquisitions, Mergers, and Partnerships — What You Need to Know
August 8, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan
In the late 1990s, ecommerce vendors looked to brick and mortar retailers for marketing tips and best practices. Now, as more people shop online and abandon brick and mortar stores, retail chains are turning to online merchants for advice. That's because web-only sellers have shown th...
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Finance
Investment in Ecommerce Firms Robust
June 14, 2012 • Marcia Kaplan
While the poor showing of Facebook in its initial public offering last month has immobilized the market for Internet companies wanting to sell stock to the public, the overall investment climate remains strong. Merger and acquisitions activity in the ecommerce arena has remained robust ...
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