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.

Local Business
Bike Retailer Solves a Pandemic-driven Problem

March 23, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Lots of consumers wanted to get outside when the pandemic hit last year. Among the beneficiaries was Erik's Bike Shop, a Minnesota-based retailer, which experienced a massive increase in web traffic and customer service requests — phone calls, emails, and chats. The staff was overwhelmed.
Business
16 Podcasts for Entrepreneurs and Innovators

March 22, 2021 • Sig Ueland

Podcasts can provide entrepreneurs with expert advice and practical strategies to launch, manage, and grow a brand. Here is a list of podcasts for entrepreneurs and innovators. There are shows that provide skills, such as growing an audience and managing a team.
Business
Do Consumers Care about Green Commerce?

March 21, 2021 • Charles Nicholls

Covid-19 has shone a light on the next big crisis: the environment. Younger consumers are especially sensitive about global warming and the world they are inheriting. Does it affect the way they shop? What can merchants do to make their operations greener?
Business
Drop Party Thrives with Turnkey Product Design, Testing

March 19, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Marco Marandiz is a musician turned software engineer turned product designer. He's worked for Capital One, HomeAway, and a failed startup. But it was consulting for ecommerce companies with unsold inventory that sparked his idea for Drop Party.
Business > Merchant Voice
The benefits of a thriving consumer forum

March 16, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

An ecommerce website can have content other than products for sale. Consider a forum, for example. What makes a good forum? In my experience, it is where participants can ask questions and receive relevant answers within a few hours, no longer.
Business
Retailers, Brands, Manufacturers Are Converging in 2021

March 15, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The distinction between direct-to-consumer ecommerce and traditional retailing has been vanishing for years. But in a post-pandemic 2021, the convergence could be accelerating.
Business
Show-stopper Wedding Rings Drive Manly Bands

March 12, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Shopping in-store for wedding rings does not appeal to all men. That was an insight of Johnathan Ruggiero and his wife Michelle when they founded Manly Bands, a direct-to-consumer online wedding-ring company, in 2016. The second insight was the rings had to be unique — really unique — to compete against established jewelers.
Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in the Middle East: Covid Uptick

March 11, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Many countries in the Middle East have immature digital infrastructures and inefficient logistics. But a few have relatively young and affluent populations that are eager to utilize ecommerce despite the problems. This article will focus on three of the richer countries.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Sustainable Packaging Drives Customer Loyalty

March 7, 2021 • Pamela Hazelton

How merchants pack online orders makes a difference. One needn't look any further than Apple's product packaging to understand the cherished tradition of unboxing. But packing materials are as important as the overall appearance. More than half of U.S. consumers are concerned about the environmental impact.
Business
Hollywood Actor, Director Finds Success on Amazon

March 5, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Judson Morgan is a Los Angeles-based actor and director. He owns an agency that creates films and other visual content. He's also a successful ecommerce entrepreneur — with a purpose.
Payments
Pros, Cons of Credit Card Surcharges

March 3, 2021 • Mike Eckler

Credit card processing is expensive. "Surcharging" allows merchants to recoup some of the cost by passing a fee to customers at the point of sale. In this post, I’ll explain surcharging. I’ll address the rules and the pros and cons for merchants wishing to apply surcharges as a way of recovering processing fees.
Business
February 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

March 1, 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 February 2021. Articles from early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Business
Tomlinson’s Feed: Fresh and Relevant after 75 Years

February 26, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Kate Knecht is the fourth-generation owner-operator of Tomlinson's Feed, a family-owned retail business with 16 brick-and-mortar locations in Central Texas. The company is 75 years old. Amid the pandemic and the onslaught of online behemoths, can such a business transition to 2021 consumers? I asked Knecht that question and more.
Business
Major Brands Bet on DTC Ecommerce

February 25, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Selling directly to consumers online is no longer just for start-ups. As brick-and-mortar sales decline because of Covid-19 and store closures, established brands are focusing on digital sales. Even before the pandemic, the traditional model of manufacturers selling to wholesalers who then sold to retailers was faltering.
B2B
B2B’s Digital Shift Is Permanent and Incomplete

February 21, 2021 • Armando Roggio

The pandemic has forced many B2B companies to add ecommerce capabilities quickly to keep orders flowing. The transformation is almost certainly permanent, changing how the companies operate. It's also incomplete.
Business
DTC Seller of Apple Watch Bands Soars from College Project

February 19, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Braxton Manley was a sophomore at Texas Tech University in 2017 when he attended a workshop on entrepreneurship. The purpose was to conceive a product based on market research. "My idea was cool Apple Watch bands," Manely told me. Fast forward to 2021 and his company, Braxley Bands, is a direct-to-consumer seller of elastic, colorful bands.
Business > Merchant Voice
The best way to select a software vendor

February 15, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

As a company grows, so does its reliance on software. The right software drives efficiency and profits. It can lower employment costs. But software cannot become an obstacle. It cannot prevent a business from growing or evolving. When it does restrict growth, change your software.
Finance
Raising Funds Becomes Easier with New SEC Rules

February 11, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has modified rules that affect how companies can raise capital via direct listings and equity crowdfunding. Previously, in a direct listing, a company could sell existing shares (from employees and private investors) on public stock exchanges.
Shipping & Fulfillment
When to Consider Ecommerce Shipping Insurance

February 10, 2021 • Armando Roggio

High-end products, high volume, and quality customer service are among the reasons for considering shipping insurance for ecommerce. Shipping insurance can protect businesses from costs associated with damaged, stolen, and lost packages.
Fraud Prevention
9 Cloud Storage Services with Encryption

February 9, 2021 • Sig Ueland

As businesses move their sensitive data to the cloud, security becomes an increasing concern. However, many cloud storage platforms now offer sophisticated encryption features for minimal cost. Here is a list of secure cloud storage platforms.
Business
Remembering Hamlet Batista

February 8, 2021 • Kerry Murdock

All of us here mourn the death last month of Hamlet Batista, our friend and contributor. Hamlet first appeared in Practical Ecommerce in an interview. A mutual acquaintance, an SEO practitioner, had suggested that we publish his views. “He’s really smart,” said the acquaintance. “He’s applying for a genius visa.”
Staffing
The Benefits of an Ecommerce Technology Advocate

February 7, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Managing an ecommerce technology stack is complicated. Many companies could use help. "As the marketplace for ecommerce [software] starts to broaden and becomes more complex, adding platforms and apps [can be] really hard," said Mark Wexler, a founder and partner at Whirlwind Ecommerce.
Business
Lessons from a Friendly Bet: Beardbrand vs. Supply.co

February 5, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Patrick Coddou's company, Supply.co, sells razors and shaving accessories. My company, Beardbrand, sells beard products. He wants men to shave. I want them to grow a beard. We're both direct-to-consumer ecommerce merchants selling premium grooming items to males. We're competitors, in other words.
Business
5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2021

February 3, 2021 • Armando Roggio

Content marketing is the act of publishing articles, videos, and similar to attract, engage, and retain customers and prospects. What follows are five content marketing ideas your business can use in March 2021.
Payments
Digital Payments in China Are Cheap and Convenient

February 2, 2021 • Mike Eckler

In "China Is Dominating Ecommerce," contributor Marcia Kaplan addressed that country's innovation in online shopping. Digital payments in China are equally innovative. I'll address what that could mean for North American merchants in this post.
Business
January 2021 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

February 1, 2021 • PEC Staff

Our mission since 2005 is to publishing unbiased, independent content to help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the 10 most popular articles that we published in January 2021. Articles from early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Business
DecksDirect, a Pure Retailer, Thrives

January 29, 2021 • Eric Bandholz

Industry pundits might say the future of retail is brands, manufacturers, and marketplaces. But don't tell that to Blair Budlong. His company, DecksDirect, doesn't own a brand, manufacture a product, or sell on marketplaces. And it thrives.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Everything to Know about Amazon Marketplace Sellers

January 28, 2021 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon marketplace sellers are diverse, spanning many countries, age groups, and reasons for participating. What follows is a summary of demographic and psychographic data about sellers.
Shipping & Fulfillment
8 Commercial Drone Delivery Companies

January 25, 2021 • Sig Ueland

The development of autonomous drone technologies has surged in the last five years. New FAA rules anticipate a commercial drone industry in the U.S. Here is a list of companies spearheading the advancement of drone delivery.
B2B
B2B Lessons from 2020

January 24, 2021 • Lori McDonald

Covid-19 forced all of us to change. Companies and employees who had resisted digital innovation suddenly had no choice. Some of the changes have created value and are worth keeping. Others not so much. What follows are pandemic-induced B2B changes that will likely become permanent.