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.

Shipping & Fulfillment
Last-mile Delivery Attracts New Services, Providers

August 26, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

With the holiday shopping season approaching, retailers and carriers are rolling out new delivery services. Smaller third-party providers are also entering the market, as last-mile delivery remains the most troublesome part of the package handling process.
Business
‘Five Forces’ That Make or Break Consumer Brands

August 26, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Creating a consumer brand involves identifying competitive advantages, gaps, and unmet needs. But how is that done? One solution is Michael E. Porter's five competitive forces.
Business
Apparel Merchant Is the ‘Godfather of Memewear’

August 20, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Ardon Lukas wore a shirt to this interview from his online apparel store, Shirtwascash. It was a velvet tank top with a photo of Elon Musk smoking marijuana during a podcast. "I see my role as broadening people's perspectives," he told me.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Smart Lockers Are Upending Parcel Delivery

August 18, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

The growth in ecommerce has fueled the demand for sophisticated delivery options. Consumers are not always at home or at work to accept packages. Many seek contactless alternatives. Smart lockers are driving much of the innovation in parcel pick-up.
Business
‘Intrepreneurship’ Has Rewards, Says Company Founder

August 13, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Bryan DeLuca has a name for folks who build brands within large corporations. He calls them "intrepreneurs." He should know. Having co-founded and then sold a successful ecommerce business, DeLuca worked for a traditional retailer, creating brands within the company.
Cross-border Selling
Driven by Covid-19, India’s Ecommerce Surges

August 11, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Owing to its large population, India has always been an attractive ecommerce market, even if a relatively small percentage of its residents have access to the internet or adequate income. But ecommerce is now surging in India.
Business
Charts: Plastic Waste from Ecommerce Is Flooding the World

August 10, 2021 • Anna Kayfitz

In a seminal report titled "Amazon's Plastic Problem Revealed," Oceana, a nonprofit ocean-advocacy organization, described the amount of plastic packaging waste generated worldwide by ecommerce generally and Amazon specifically. "Amazon has a plastic problem," the report stated.
Payments
15 Mobile Payment Systems for Merchants

August 10, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Mobile payment systems provide flexibility to consumers and merchants while unifying online and offline operations. Here is a list of mobile payment services for merchants. There are point-of-sale systems, digital wallets, mobile hardware, software for mobile and web applications, and more.
Business
Greenbelly Thrives with Backpacking Meals

August 6, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Chris Cage founded Greenbelly, a maker of high-nutrition meal bars for backpackers, after leaving his accounting job and traveling the world. That was in 2014. Fast forward to 2021, and the business is thriving.
Business
July 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

August 4, 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 July 2021. Articles from ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Warehouse Automation Starts with Picking, Sorting, Packaging

August 3, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Your fulfillment warehouse is growing fast. More orders are arriving in increasingly varied dimensions and quantities. You may be considering additional employees and space. An alternative is improving productivity by automating some manual tasks.
Shipping & Fulfillment
17 Sustainable Packaging Providers

August 3, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Recycled cardboard, cornstarch peanuts, containers made from mushrooms or seaweed, minimal reusable mailers — there are plenty of sustainable packaging options to limit your business’s carbon footprint and drive eco-friendly customer loyalty. Here is a list of sustainable packaging providers.
Business
Entrepreneur Loses $6 Million, Bounces Back

July 30, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Shakil Prasla recently made a big mistake. An astute ecommerce operator and owner, Prasla purchased in late 2020 Covid-related protective gloves at roughly twice the ultimate selling price. His company, Gloves.com, lost $6 million.
Finance
Investment Robust in Retail, Ecommerce Technology

July 29, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

The pandemic has posed obstacles for both brick-and-mortar and online merchants. Among the challenges are labor shortages, inventory problems, delivery conundrums, and the need for more personalization. New providers are addressing those needs, and venture capitalists and other investors are eager to fund them.
Inventory
Getting Investors to Buy Your Inventory

July 28, 2021 • Armando Roggio

When it comes to funding inventory, retail businesses can be creative, using loans, credit cards, supplier terms, and even advances from family. Whatever the method, however, raising the money can be a challenge.
Business
Keyword Sleuthing Propels Niche Publisher

July 23, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Merchants know that content marketing can engage and retain customers. However, identifying a topic that prospects want to consume — read, watch, listen — is often difficult. But not for Kyle Boureston.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon’s Review System Is Not Broken

July 22, 2021 • Chris Turton

Amazon’s review model has been through many upgrades and bolt-ons. It was once easy for sellers to buy reviews and entice customers to leave 5-star feedback, but no more.
Business
6 Things to Do before Selling an Ecommerce Business

July 22, 2021 • Armando Roggio

When it comes time to sell your ecommerce business, you may find you are not fully prepared for prospective buyers or your business isn't the smooth running machine you thought. The individuals considering your company may be looking for a new source of income or an addition to a portfolio of related businesses. These prospective buyers need assurances and info, to evaluate the potential.
B2B
The Overlooked Benefit of B2B Ecommerce

July 21, 2021 • Lori McDonald

An oft-overlooked benefit of B2B ecommerce tools is the value to internal sales and customer service teams. Both gain efficiencies from digital tools, resulting in happier customers that spend more money. Ecommerce gives users — internal and external — the ability to help themselves.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Sustainable Packaging Is a Competitive Advantage

July 18, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Consumers concerned about waste in landfills and oceans are demanding sustainable product packaging. Environmentally responsible packaging can be just as cost-effective as conventional methods but may require a change in thinking.
Business
Hustle Exec: Ecommerce Firms Should Acquire Content Providers

July 16, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Adam Ryan joined The Hustle in August 2016, four months after its launch, as a part-time advertising salesman. By February 2021, when HubSpot acquired it, he was president. Ryan is now an investor and consultant, advising companies on content strategies that engage prospects.
Business
How to Track Profit from Products, Customers

July 12, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Unit economics provides ecommerce and omnichannel retailers with foundational intelligence that can identify break-even points and long-term sustainability. As the name implies, unit economics focuses on the value a single "unit" represents for the business. This unit can either be a product or a customer. Each of these reveals different, actionable information.
Payments
The State of Cannabis Payments in U.S.

July 11, 2021 • Mike Eckler

How does the cannabis industry flourish when it is banned by federal law, shunned by the credit card networks, and rejected by most banks? How do cannabis retailers accept payments when credit cards and merchant accounts are unavailable? I'll examine those questions and more in this post.
Business
Happiness, not Profit, Drives Grasshopper Founder

July 9, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Having sold Grasshopper, the virtual phone service, for $175 million in 2015, David Hauser assessed his priorities. Grasshopper was his third launch and exit, following ReturnPath (email services) and Chargify (subscription management).
Shipping & Fulfillment
How AI Powers Distribution, Logistics

July 8, 2021 • Elaine Porteous

Artificial intelligence is a list of instructions and rules that a computer needs to complete a task. Ecommerce examples include site search, product recommendations, and chatbots — all increasingly rely on AI. But the distribution and logistics industries use AI, too.
Business
Entrepreneur’s Eczema Inspires New Skincare Company

July 2, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Felipe Correa is a pro at product development, custom manufacturing, and logistics. He also knows much about skin lotions, as he had eczema when young. And it's his frustrations with eczema that inspired Goodspread, a direct-to-consumer seller of skincare products that launched on June 7.
Business
June 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

June 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 June 2021. Articles from early ...
Business
Book Excerpt: ‘The Digital Seeker’

June 29, 2021 • Armando Roggio

We go to the internet because we seek something: love . . .adventure . . . education . . . opportunity . . . the hot new gadget . . . the must-have holiday toy . . . an escape from our daily life. But when we get there, we find the internet is a frustrating place — because when it comes to choices, the internet has outdone itself.
Shipping & Fulfillment
10 Autonomous Robots for Last-mile Deliveries

June 28, 2021 • Sig Ueland

The future is here, sort of. Companies have staked out urban landscapes to test autonomous last-mile delivery systems on the streets and mobile food delivery robots on campus sidewalks. Here is a list of companies developing autonomous delivery robots and systems. Nearly all of these companies currently have live beta programs.
Amazon & Marketplaces
A Subdued Prime Day 2021 Despite Competitors

June 28, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Every year since 2017 I've written an analysis of Amazon's Prime Day. This year's review includes the online sales of certain competitors rather than Amazon alone. Amazon itself does not share complete Prime Day revenue figures.