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
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.
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?
Business
Generation Z Is the Most Coveted Retail Demographic

August 2, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Generation Z is replacing Millennials as the most coveted retail demographic cohort. With $44 billion in spending power according to Forbes magazine, Generation Z is being courted by brands and retailers.
Business
July 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

August 1, 2019 • PEC Staff

Since 2005 our mission has been to publish authoritative articles, seminars, and podcasts for ecommerce merchants. What follows are the most popular articles we published in July. Articles published early in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Business
Thrift Books CEO on $150 Million of Annual Used Book Sales

July 31, 2019 • Kerry Murdock

Anyone who has purchased used books on Amazon likely encountered Thrift Books. It launched in 2003 as a pure-play Amazon seller. It is now the largest used-book seller in the world. I recently spoke with Thrift Books’ CEO, Mike Ward, about the company and the logistics of selling tens of millions of books every year.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Don’t Bet Against Amazon in India

July 30, 2019 • Jaydip Parikh

Since entering India in 2013, Amazon has faced entrenched competition and restrictive government policies. In this post, I'll provide an overview of the ecommerce industry in India, including recent regulations, local competitors, and Amazon's performance to date.
B2B
Common B2B Mistakes, Part 5: Accessibility, Mobile, Localization

July 29, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

This is the fifth and final post in a series in which I address common mistakes of B2B ecommerce merchants. For this installment, I’ll review mistakes related to accessibility, mobile usability, and localization.
Amazon & Marketplaces
How to Obtain UPCs for Selling on Amazon

July 25, 2019 • Armando Roggio

Amazon requires private label brands and direct-to-consumer manufacturers that sell on its marketplace to have universal product codes or similar for virtually all products. Fortunately, for as little as $250 just about any company can register a UPC prefix and obtain the required code.
B2B
Getting B2B Sales Teams to Embrace Ecommerce

July 23, 2019 • Shawn Arnold

A sales team can determine success or failure for a B2B ecommerce program. Sales personnel have the influence and trust among customers to drive ecommerce adoption. In this post, I will share a 10-step approach for getting a B2B sales team to embrace ecommerce.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Prime Day 2019 Breaks Records; Other Merchants Benefit

July 19, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

While Amazon does not provide sales data for Prime Day, it did state that during the 48-hour 2019 event on July 15 and 16, sales surpassed the 2018 Black Friday and Cyber Monday revenues combined.
Business > Merchant Voice
Even online retailers need a break

July 16, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

If you own or manage a small ecommerce business, you likely want to enjoy a holiday occasionally. But, if you're like me, you worry about the implications of closing the business while away, with no deliveries.
Business
How Blockchain Is Changing Loyalty Programs

July 15, 2019 • Brandon Bidlack

Ecommerce merchants have hundreds of potential technologies and techniques to encourage customer loyalty, but blockchain technology and blockchain-based crypto tokens offer unique advantages.
Amazon & Marketplaces
4 Steps to Prepare for Holiday Sales on Amazon

July 11, 2019 • Phil Masiello

Selling on the Amazon Marketplace is a huge opportunity, especially for brands. The all-important holiday selling season on Amazon begins in early November. Start preparing now with the following four steps.
Shipping & Fulfillment
9 Tips to Improve the Overall Shipping Experience

July 10, 2019 • Pamela Hazelton

There is no shortage of studies that confirm the importance of free shipping. But a comprehensive shipping strategy extends beyond free. It includes other crucial elements that impact conversions and customer satisfaction.
Finance
Jumia, Revolve, Chewy among Q2 Ecommerce IPOs

July 10, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Some prominent ecommerce initial public stock offerings occurred in the second quarter of 2019. In this post, I'll address three of them.
Inventory
12 Ways to Lower Inventory Costs

July 8, 2019 • Viktoria Kanevsky

U.S. retailers are reportedly sitting on about $1.43 in inventory for every $1 of sales. Decreasing inventory costs should therefore be a priority for all merchants. In my experience, there are many options for reducing inventory costs. In this post, I'll review 12 of them.
Inventory > Merchant Voice
My first big inventory mistake

July 3, 2019 • Peter Keller

I'll never forget my first big inventory mistake. It occurred in 2006. I was working for LivingDirect, an online appliance retailer. I thought for sure I would get fired.
B2B
Common B2B Mistakes, Part 4: Shipping, Returns, Inventory

July 2, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

This post is the fourth in a series in which I address common mistakes of B2B ecommerce merchants. The first post addressed mistakes related to catalog management and pricing. The second described user management and customer service failures. The third post discussed glitches from shopping carts and order management systems. For this installment, I’ll review mistakes related to shipping, returns, and inventory management.
Business
June 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

July 1, 2019 • PEC Staff

Our mission at Practical Ecommerce is to publish articles, podcasts, and seminars that help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in June 2019, recognizing that posts published earlier in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Business
Ecommerce Briefs: FedEx, Amazon Spark, Jet.com, Toys’R’Us

June 26, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

In “Ecommerce Briefs,” I address news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I’ll report on FedEx severing its air-services relationship with Amazon and rolling out seven-day delivery, Amazon shuttering its social media platform Spark, Walmart folding Jet.com into its own website, and Toys "R" Us making a comeback.
Business
Building an Ecommerce Business, Part 19: Just Do It

June 25, 2019 • Eric Bandholz

This is the final episode in my "Building an Ecommerce Business" interview series. I've hosted 18 amazing guests who have provided much insight into launching, growing, and selling an ecommerce business. There is no right way to do that. You'll likely find success, however, if you focus on three primary functions: vision, execution, and cash flow.
Business
How to Choose a Digital Agency for Your Ecommerce Business

June 18, 2019 • Dale Traxler

Outsourcing aspects of an ecommerce business can help management focus on critical areas. It can also deliver sophisticated skills and insights that are unavailable in-house. But choosing the right outsourced partner is not easy.