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.

Business
Book Excerpt: ‘Entrepreneurialism Is a Noble Art’

December 21, 2021 • Rick Wilson

Rick Wilson is the longtime CEO of Miva, the pioneering ecommerce platform. His new book, "Dragonproof Principles: Principled Leadership For The Modern Entrepreneur," is now available. What follows is "Principle Two: Entrepreneurialism Is a Noble Art," an excerpt.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Take a Side in the Future of the USPS

December 20, 2021 • Armando Roggio

In the last 15 years, the United States Postal Service has lost around $90 billion. It has often failed to meet delivery expectations. And yet, the USPS is vital for many ecommerce companies. By law, the USPS must deliver to every address in the United States six days per week. This makes the USPS a common and often good choice for last-mile delivery specifically and ecommerce generally.
Business
Ecommerce Briefs from Europe: Growth, Acquisitions, Amazon, Delivery

December 19, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

"Ecommerce Briefs" is my occasional series on news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I'll focus on happenings in Europe.
Business
7 New Year’s Resolutions for Ecommerce Companies

December 15, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Clearly defined goals can help ecommerce companies make 2022 the best year yet. The goals or resolutions should be aspiring and engaging enough to encourage action. What follows are seven resolution ideas for 2022. Adapt these to your company and implement them throughout the year.
Business
24 Streaming Sites for Movies, TV, Sports, News, More

December 13, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Even online merchants need a little distraction. And with the plethora of online streaming services available these days, it's easier than ever to access exceptional entertainment. Here is a list of streaming sites for movies and TV series.
Business
‘Modern Wisdom’ Is a Media Sensation

December 10, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Chris Williamson is a modern-day polymath with a fitting podcast. It's called "Modern Wisdom." Launched in 2018, it has experienced a whopping 30 million downloads across 400 episodes. He told me, "We talk about human nature, marketing, philosophy, life, life hacks, biohacking, fitness, health, pretty much everything."
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.
Business
5 Good Ways to Measure Brand Awareness

December 6, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Business leaders intuitively understand that brand recognition is important for sales and growth. But it's often difficult for those leaders to know how to expand or improve that recognition. What's needed are reliable ways to measure brand awareness.
Business
Barbell Logic Rides Shift to Online Fitness

December 3, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

The pandemic has upended the fitness industry. Having no access to public gyms, millions of folks turned to at-home workouts. According to Matt Reynolds, the founder of Barbell Logic, an online strength coaching company, the shift is permanent.
Business
Sales Report: 2021 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

December 2, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Sales for the three big U.S. shopping days were flat or slightly lower from last year. It's not surprising since retailers encouraged consumers to shop earlier due to expected product shortages and shipping delays. Buyers heeded the suggestion.
Business
November 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

November 30, 2021 • PEC Staff

Our mission since 2005 is to publish independent content to help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the 10 most popular articles that we published in November 2021. Articles from early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Business
The Right Answer to ‘What Do You Do?’

November 26, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Clay Hebert once attended a conference in San Diego. He sat next to a fellow who inquired about his work. "What do you do?" the fellow asked. Describing the encounter, Herbert told me, "That question stumped me." Hebert had fumbled his introduction to Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress.
Staffing
Lessons from Hiring on Freelance Marketplaces

November 23, 2021 • Armando Roggio

How does a company find good freelancers? For many businesses, hiring a freelancer starts on a labor marketplace such as Upwork, Guru, Toptal, and similar. I have done this myself.
Local Business
22 Top Local Business Directories

November 22, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Claiming your company's profile on local business directories is an easy way to increase awareness, offer info on your products and services, create opportunities for positive reviews, and improve your search rankings. Best of all, the listings are free. Here is a list of local directory sites.
Business
The Beauty of Bootstrapping a Business

November 19, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

"Ecommerce Conversions" is my weekly podcast interview with an entrepreneur. But this episode is different. I'm interviewing no one. Instead, I'm addressing a singular topic: bootstrapping.
Cross-border Selling
2021 Singles Day: Record Sales for Subdued Event

November 16, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

China's Singles Day, previously a celebration of unbridled spending, had a very different tone this year. Thanks to the Chinese government, consumerism is no longer in vogue. Nevertheless, both Alibaba — whose founder Jack Ma started the event — and JD.com, its closest competitor in revenue, racked up record sales.
Business
eCommerceFuel Founder on Work-Life Balance, Priorities

November 5, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Andrew Youderian is the founder and CEO of eCommerceFuel, a leading online community of established store owners. He oversees a diverse team and manages a growing business with worldwide members. Surely, one would think, he works long hours with little downtime.
Business
21 Years In, 2BigFeet Charts Opportunities, Growth

October 29, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Where can you find a size 24 men's shoe? At 2BigFeet.com. Brandon Eley co-launched the business in 2000, before Google AdWords and long before Facebook and Shopify. "We've seen a lot of changes in 21 years," he told me. "Keyword stuffing was legitimate search engine optimization back then."
Business
Ecommerce Briefs: Walmart; Amazon Logistics; Holiday Shopping

October 28, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

"Ecommerce Briefs" is my occasional series on news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I'll focus on Walmart's ecommerce activity, Amazon's parcel delivery, and consumers' holiday shopping intentions.
Payments
Here’s Why PayPal Should Acquire Pinterest

October 25, 2021 • Armando Roggio

PayPal has denied published reports that it is interested in acquiring Pinterest. Nonetheless, if consummated, the transaction might be the first of many similar acquisitions as platforms seek vertical integration. In this post, I'll address why it makes sense for PayPal to buy Pinterest.
Business
Gas Station Coffee Spurs Golden Ratio Founder

October 22, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Solving a personal hardship may be the most common motivator for starting a business. Clark Nowlin's hardship was acidity in coffee. It wrecked his stomach. Golden Ratio Coffee is Nowlin's answer. It's a producer of low-acid coffee.
Business
13 Examples of Sustainable Ecommerce

October 18, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Here is a list of sustainable ecommerce sites, for inspiration. These sites create change through environmental, economic, and social action and awareness.
Payments
Stablecoin, CBDCs Could Improve Ecommerce

October 18, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Digital currencies have the potential to expand ecommerce, lower transaction fees, eliminate chargebacks, and prevent fraud. So far, however, volatility and its fear have stopped most merchants and brands from accepting cryptocurrencies. But this could be changing.
Business
Amid Facebook Ad Turmoil, Supply.co Retrenches

October 15, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Patrick Coddou is a direct-to-consumer pioneer, having launched Supply.co in 2015. The company designs, manufactures, and sells premium shaving products — all to great success. Until April 2021. That's when Apple launched iOS 14.5, upending Facebook's ability to hyper-target ads. Coddou's company relied on sales from those ads.
Payments
Are Stablecoin and CBDCs the Future of Digital Currency?

October 14, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Stablecoin and central bank digital currences may offer the benefits of buying and selling with cryptocurrencies without the worrisome price swings. Blockchain-driven transactions could benefit the ecommerce industry.
Finance
Latin America Fintech, Ecommerce Awash in Startup Funding

October 14, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

During the pandemic, Latin America became a hot market for tech startups, with foreign venture capital flooding the region. Latin America now hosts 23 private "unicorn" companies — valued over $1 billion — according to Crunchbase. Overall, these companies have raised more than $15 billion. Roughly two-thirds of them are based in Brazil, but data indicates other countries are catching up.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Is Last-mile Delivery Ripe for Disruption?

October 11, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Competition, profit-taking, and emerging technologies may contribute to rapid and disruptive changes in last-mile package delivery worldwide. For online sellers, the "last mile" describes the final leg of a product's journey to a customer.
Business
Mental Conditioning Is Vital for Entrepreneurs

October 8, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Lauren Johnson says high-performing entrepreneurs have similar characteristics as professional athletes. Both have mental traits that lead to inevitable success.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Getting Started with In-house Fulfillment

October 7, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Many emerging ecommerce businesses start in someone's garage or kitchen. They store, pack, and ship from a home base and control all the activities. But even established sellers sometimes opt for fulfilling in-house.
Business
5 Content Marketing Ideas for November 2021

October 5, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Comparisons, top 10 lists, customer stories, an old mystery, and Thanksgiving leftovers are all topics that could influence your company's content marketing in November 2021. Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and promoting content with the express purpose of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers.