Category

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.

Amazon & Marketplaces | B2B | Cross-border Selling | Finance | Fraud Prevention | Inventory | Local Business | Payments | Shipping & Fulfillment | Staffing

B2B
The Full Cost of a Direct-to-consumer Product

October 17, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Deciding if your direct-to-consumer product would be profitable is more than subtracting the product's unit cost from the planned selling price. It requires estimating the full cost of bringing the product to market, selling it, and delivering it.
Cross-border Selling
U.S., China Trade War Is Impacting Ecommerce

October 10, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

The trade war between the United States and China has been going on for over a year. A new round of U.S. tariffs on additional Chinese goods is looming. What follows is my analysis of the effects on ecommerce in both countries and possible future consequences.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Using Amazon Ad Attribution to Track Offsite Campaigns

October 8, 2019 • Phil Masiello

Sellers who run Amazon advertising on other platforms such as Facebook and Google have been unable to track performance easily. But no more. Amazon has just released a beta for advertising Attribution for marketplace sellers.
Business
3 Quick Fixes for Greener Ecommerce

October 3, 2019 • Charles Nicholls

Ecommerce is not very eco. It’s frequently the opposite. A next-day delivery — where a driver travels 45 minutes each way for a $7 item in a single-use plastic package — makes no sense for the planet. Here are three quick fixes.
Business > Merchant Voice
Sales training starts with The Dummy Curve

October 2, 2019 • Peter Keller

Say you are good at something, and you want to get even better. You study, practice, and work at it. But, instead of getting better, you get worse. It's what happens with many of the salespeople we hire at FringeSport.
Business
September 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

September 30, 2019 • PEC Staff

The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to publish articles, seminars, and podcasts to help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the 10 most popular articles (based on page views) that we published in September 2019.
Business > Merchant Voice
The power of an ecommerce blog

September 27, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

I used to post to my blog weekly. But now it's every three weeks as my business has grown and I have less time to write. I began to wonder whether I should continue posting. The answer is "yes." Here’s why.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Copywriting Tips for Amazon Product Pages

September 27, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Well written product detail pages can convince an Amazon shopper to buy your business's mattress topper, omega-3 supplement, or wooden bocce set — instead of your competitors'. Here are some tips to improve your company's Amazon product pages.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Alters Small-business Strategy; Competitors Take Advantage

September 26, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon has told many small merchants that it would no longer accept bulk wholesale orders from them for its Vendor Central program. Several companies have seized on this change and are trying to attract smaller merchants who may be looking for alternatives.
B2B
How to Prosper as a B2B Distributor

September 26, 2019 • Lori McDonald

Distributors are easily replaced in the digital landscape. But many are prospering by emphasizing their expertise and by offering unique, value-add services. Here are a few ideas and examples.
Business > Merchant Voice
What’s the best ecommerce platform for your business?

September 20, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

I recently read arguments in forums regarding the best ecommerce platform. Two self-appointed “experts” stood out. One argued passionately for custom, bespoke coding for producing the most efficient system.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Will Drone Delivery Help Ecommerce?

September 17, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

Drones are already used for delivering products in Iceland and medical supplies in Tanzania and Rwanda. Denmark, France, and The Netherlands are soon to follow.
Finance
Certified B Corporations Gain Ground in a Changing Business Environment

September 12, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies that have been evaluated by B Lab using rigorous social benefit criteria. The certification is becoming a competitive advantage as consumers, employees, and investors seek out companies that look beyond profits in how they conduct business.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Retail Arbitrage as a Closeout Strategy

September 12, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Retail arbitrage is a booming business. Some practitioners are making six-figure incomes buying low-priced or clearance items and reselling them on Amazon. Mimicking or encouraging the practice could help retail merchants manage closeouts.
Business > Merchant Voice
The evolution of my customer service team

September 10, 2019 • Peter Keller

I love the book “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos. It is mainly about the culture of customer service that Zappos became famous for. One of the throwaway anecdotes ...
Amazon & Marketplaces
Survey of Amazon Sellers Offers Insights for 2019 Holiday Season

September 10, 2019 • Phil Masiello

My firm surveyed roughly 1,700 sellers with annual revenue from Amazon of at least $5 million. We received 218 responses. I'll focus on the results in this article.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Book Excerpt: ‘Three Secrets to Great, Sustainable Success on Amazon’

September 5, 2019 • Timothy Seward

As you consider how best to build your brand on Amazon, think broadly about your game plan for optimal success. Here are a few key strategies to help you focus your efforts on finding even greater success in commerce — whether you’re celebrating your fifth year in business or your 50th.
Amazon & Marketplaces
How to Write Amazon Product Titles That Drive Clicks

September 3, 2019 • Armando Roggio

On Amazon's marketplace, a product's title can be the difference between getting a click or being ignored. Next to a compelling product photo, a title is likely the most important aspect of the description. Amazon emphasized this when it enacted new product title requirements in June 2019.
Business
August 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

August 31, 2019 • PEC Staff

Since 2005 we've published articles, seminars, and podcasts to help ecommerce merchants improve their business. What follows are the 10 most popular articles (based on page views) that we published in August.
Business
3 Predictions for the 2019 Holiday Shopping Season

August 29, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Many trends will emerge from the 2019 Christmas shopping season, but I believe three will be prominent. First, click-and-collect may encourage shoppers to wait for last-minute deals and convenience. Second, mobile commerce will come into its own. And third, Amazon will account for nearly half of all online holiday sales in 2019.
Inventory
Recommerce Surges as Retailers, Brands Get in the Game

August 28, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Recommerce, the process of selling used products or excess inventory to companies or consumers, is growing 20-times faster than the broader retail market and five-times faster than off-price retailers. Leading recommerce merchants include thredUP, The RealReal, and Poshmark.
Business > Merchant Voice
Quality, low-volume goods are a growth market

August 27, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

There is a growing concern for the environment. Conserving resources is becoming more popular. Have you considered how your business can help the environment and make money whilst doing it?
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Ads Boost Marketplace Search Rankings

August 27, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Amazon Ads will not only help spur marketplace sales but could start a virtuous cycle of revenue growth. Amazon favors high-converting products on its search result pages. One of the ways to improve a product's conversions and sales is to advertise it on the platform.
Cross-border Selling
Blockchain Is Transforming the Retail Supply Chain

August 20, 2019 • Brandon Bidlack

Of all the areas in which blockchain applies to commerce, supply chain applications are the furthest along in development and usage. This stems primarily from the database-like features of blockchain combined with traceability and security benefits, which are a natural fit for reducing costs as well as ensuring that a company fulfills its brand promise for product sourcing or quality.
Business
Miva CEO on Thriving in an Amazon-dominant Market

August 19, 2019 • Kerry Murdock

The rise of Amazon has prompted some observers to suggest independent ecommerce merchants are threatened. Rick Wilson, CEO of Miva, the ecommerce platform, disagrees. His new book "Dragon Proof Ecommerce," offers a roadmap for continued growth. I recently spoke with him about the book, Amazon, and the outlook for independent ecommerce.
Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in Russia: More Players, More Payment Choices, Better Logistics

August 15, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

I last wrote about the Russian ecommerce market in 2014, in “Ecommerce in Russia: Another Emerging Market?,” where I addressed the limited payment options and primitive logistics infrastructure. Those conditions have gradually improved.
Business
‘California Consumer Privacy Act’ Impacts Ecommerce Businesses

August 13, 2019 • Armando Roggio

The California Consumer Privacy Act raises the bar for privacy protection in the United States. The CCPA is a significant step toward protecting consumer data, including the personal information most every ecommerce company collects.
Cross-border Selling > Merchant Voice
Is it time to reassess importing products from China?

August 9, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Like many online retailers, My Event Décor imports products from China. President Donald Trump’s recent swathe of tariffs on imported Chinese-manufactured goods, as well as the ongoing and increasingly violent street protests in Hong Kong over perceived Chinese interference, makes me nervous.
Business
Prioritize Ecommerce Tasks with the Eisenhower Matrix

August 7, 2019 • Armando Roggio

The Eisenhower Matrix organizes your to-do list based on each task's relative importance and urgency. The model requires you to think about how a task can impact the overall business. It can also encourage long-term planning.
Business > Merchant Voice
Migrating ecommerce platforms is more than moving data

August 6, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

The first question in selecting a new platform is to decide if it's worth the price. Set aside emotions. Does your ecommerce site make a decent profit? Will it make enough money to recoup the investment in a new platform? Does it have the potential to grow?

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