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 > Merchant Voice
Are we surfing hidden tailwinds?

April 4, 2019 • Peter Keller

From 2001 until 2008, times were good. I thought we were just smarter than everyone. But then 2008 rolled around. What happened? We were surfing three major tailwinds that we took for granted.
Business
March 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

March 31, 2019 • PEC Staff

Our mission since 2005 is to publish independent articles, podcasts, and seminars that help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in March 2019, recognizing ...
Finance
Pinterest Files for an IPO; Focuses on Shopping

March 28, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

In a year that looks promising for tech IPOs, Pinterest has filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange using the ticker "PINS." The company hopes to raise at least $100 million, in April.
Business
Building an Ecommerce Business, Part 13: Raising Money

March 25, 2019 • Eric Bandholz

Launching an ecommerce business takes perseverance, passion, and, typically, money. Raising that money can be time-consuming and frustrating. I recently spoke with Joshua Bingaman and Brad Day of Helm Boots, a manufacturer and seller of handcrafted leather boots. We discussed the process of evolving from a start-up, bootstrapped company to one that needs investors, money, and structure.
B2B
Essential Guide to Ecommerce Punchout

March 22, 2019 • Shawn Arnold

B2B ecommerce merchants that facilitate punchout make the purchasing process easier for their customers. In this article, I will share my experience with punchout, including what it is, how it works, and how B2B merchants can deploy it for success.
Business
Online Marijuana Sales a Burgeoning Market in North America

March 13, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

The North American ecommerce market for marijuana products is gaining momentum as Canada legalized the sale of recreational marijuana across the country in October 2018 and more states in the U.S. legalize the sale of both medical and recreational marijuana.
B2B
Common B2B Mistakes, Part 1: Catalog Management, Pricing

March 10, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

This post is the first in a series in which I address common mistakes of B2B ecommerce merchants. For this installment, I'll review errors related to catalog management, pricing, and user experience.
B2B
Amazon Business Is Winning. Here’s Why

March 7, 2019 • Lori McDonald

After only four years, Amazon Business hit $10 billion in sales in 2018. If you sell to companies, Amazon Business should get your attention. In this article, I will address what B2B sellers can learn from Amazon Business — and how Amazon Business impacts them.
Business
February 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

February 28, 2019 • PEC Staff

Since 2005, our mission at Practical Ecommerce has been to publish independent content — articles, seminars, podcasts — that helps online merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in February 2019 ...
Finance
Shopify Excelled in 2018, Attracted More Merchants

February 27, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Operating in the shadow of online marketplaces and located in Ottawa, Canada, Shopify does not get as much attention as it should. A $41 billion market-cap business, Shopify is the choice of approximately 820,000 online merchants in 175 countries, growing from 600,000 in 2017.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Do Amazon’s New ‘Dynamic Bid’ Ads Improve Sales?

February 24, 2019 • Phil Masiello

Last month Amazon announced improvements to its Sponsored Product ads with the addition of dynamic bids and the option to adjust bids by placement. My firm has been testing these additions. Are they driving sales and profits or do they simply increase ad spend?
Staffing
9 Things to Do When Your SEO Pro Quits

February 22, 2019 • Jill Kocher Brown

An ecommerce company's search-engine-optimization pro will eventually leave. Here’s what to do next. First, ask her why. Make it clear that you want her feedback to make the program stronger.
Business
Building an Ecommerce Business, Part 12: Acquiring Companies

February 20, 2019 • Eric Bandholz

Acquiring ecommerce businesses requires skill and diligence. Financing is a major consideration, as is learning from the previous owner and hiring new executives, if necessary. This is episode 12 in my series on building an ecommerce business from the ground up.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Posts Stellar 2018 Financial Results; 2019 Not as Bright

February 14, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon reported its 2018 fiscal year and fourth quarter financial results on January 31. As expected, the company surpassed last year's results with a superb performance. Amazon is cautious in its 2019 guidance, however.
Business > Merchant Voice
How I instill trust on my ecommerce site

February 13, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

I try to make it easy for shoppers to purchase and rent decor from my ecommerce site. But many retailers — online and multichannel — fail at this. Their sites are often difficult. In this post, I will discuss my six priorities to instill trust and make shopping easy.
Fraud Prevention
4 Safeguards to Prevent Credit Card Fraud

February 12, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

Ecommerce merchants continue to rely on credit card payments for orders. Credit cards are convenient and fast, but they also come with risk. Merchants in the United States lose approximately $190 billion a year to credit card fraud. In this post, I will explain how to minimize credit card fraud.
B2B
7 Digital Marketing Channels for Apparel Wholesalers

February 11, 2019 • Viktoria Kanevsky

Apparel wholesalers don't typically devote money and effort to online marketing. This is a huge mistake. Marketing online can expose those products to thousands of potential customers every day, worldwide.
Business > Merchant Voice
Magento 1.9: Going, going, gone?

February 6, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Time is running out for the thousands of merchants still using Magento 1.9 or older. Support for Magento 1.9 is due to expire by June 2020 at the latest. But ...
Business
6 Leading Ecommerce Business Models Explained

February 1, 2019 • Armando Roggio

In this article, I will briefly explain six ecommerce business models. When you think of ecommerce, you probably think of the B2C business model. It is simply retail sales made from a business entity to an individual. Much of Amazon.com uses this business model.
Business
January 2019 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

January 31, 2019 • PEC Staff

Practical Ecommerce publishes roughly 45 articles per month. Our mission, since 2005, is to publish independent content — articles, podcasts, seminars — that help online merchants. What follows are the most popular articles that we published in January. Articles published earlier in the month are more likely to make the list than later ones.
Finance
New Indian Investment Rules Limit Amazon, Walmart

January 29, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

The Indian government will soon implement regulations that will severely hamper the Amazon and Flipkart marketplaces from doing business in India. Effective February 1, 2019, the government is enacting restrictions that will challenge the entire business model of those companies.
Business
Building an Ecommerce Business, Part 11: Selling on Amazon

January 28, 2019 • Eric Bandholz

A fundamental decision for many ecommerce entrepreneurs is whether to sell on Amazon. The potential is high, but the competition is increasing tough, among other risks. This is episode 11 in my series on building an ecommerce business from the ground up. For this installment, I spoke with Mike Tecku, co-founder of Sky Solutions.
Cross-border Selling
10 Tips for Successful Cross-border Ecommerce

January 25, 2019 • Gagan Mehra

Cross-border ecommerce sales have grown dramatically in recent years. The industry is collectively learning dos and don'ts for penetrating international markets. In this post, I'll offer 10 tips to expand your ecommerce business into new countries and regions.
B2B
How to Optimize B2B Landing Pages for New Leads

January 24, 2019 • Shawn Arnold

B2B products and services are often complex. Closing the sale frequently takes time, with multiple interactions. Landing pages can capture leads and start the conversation. In this post, I'll address eight ways to generate the most leads from B2B landing pages.
Business
Book Excerpt: ‘Profit First for Ecommerce Sellers’

January 23, 2019 • Cyndi Thomason

The Profit First framework works for all businesses. But it is just that: a framework. My firm has taken this foundation and built a structure specifically for ecommerce sellers. With these few additional techniques, you will position your business for permanent profitability.
Finance
Ecommerce Briefs: Holiday Sales, Retail Chains, 2019 Predictions

January 17, 2019 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is an occasional series wherein I review news and developments that impact online merchants. In this installment, I’ll address final holiday sales figures, a change in brick-and-mortar location trends, and 2019 predictions.
Business > Merchant Voice
Time to make, save, and invest money

January 11, 2019 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

The start of a new year is a good time to take stock of the previous 12 months in your business. This January, I’m focusing on how I can make, save, and invest money in My Event Décor for 2019.
Business
Building an Ecommerce Business, Part 10: Apparel Sales, Manufacturing

January 10, 2019 • Eric Bandholz

Selling apparel online is notoriously competitive. The margins are thin, typically. With hundreds of SKUs for size and color and styles, inventory management can be complicated — especially when the ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
3 Strategies to Fulfill Like Amazon

January 10, 2019 • Manish Chowdhary

We can be certain that Amazon is spending millions to improve and optimize its shipping processes. In this post, I'll describe three strategies to fulfill like Amazon, even if you have a fraction of its scale and infrastructure.
B2B
B2B Ecommerce Helps Sales Teams (and Customers)

January 9, 2019 • Lori McDonald

Many B2B executives believe that ecommerce cannot fit their business. But B2B companies that don’t embrace digital will lose opportunities. A digitally-savvy competitor could disrupt the market and cause large sales decreases for legacy companies, those that do not evolve.