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
Fortnite Maker Pivots to the Creator Economy

March 7, 2022 • Armando Roggio

In acquiring Bandcamp, Epic Games hopes to capitalize on the so-called creator economy, wherein writers, coaches, and others sell their services directly to consumers.
Business
Indonesia, an Overlooked Ecommerce Market

March 6, 2022 • Marcia Kaplan

Indonesia has the fourth largest global population and a sizeable ecommerce economy. Yet Western merchants often overlook the opportunity to sell there.
Business
Stryx, a DTC Brand, Prepares Rollout in Target Stores

March 4, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Stryx is a pioneering direct-to-consumer seller of men's cosmetics. The company is soon to launch its products in 950 Target stores. The decision comes with risks.
Business
Charts: U.S. Retail Ecommerce Sales Q4 2021

March 2, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

Fourth-quarter 2021 U.S. retail ecommerce sales increased but at a lower percentage than in-store growth. Thus the percentage of ecommerce to total U.S. retail sales decreased in Q4. We explain in three charts.
Business
February 2022 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

February 28, 2022 • PEC Staff

Of the roughly 40 articles we published in February, readers preferred topics related to content marketing, SEO, influencer marketing, and B2B ecommerce — to name a few.
Business
The Fallacy of Data-driven Decisions

February 27, 2022 • Armando Roggio

The notion of data-driven decisions implies the data is perfect and the decision is unaffected by external influences. Neither is true.
Business
Consumers in a Pandemic Need Murphy Beds

February 25, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Lori Wall Beds launched 10 years ago in a garage. Annual revenue now exceeds $10 million. Owner Brenden Marquardt describes going from a side hustle to a thriving direct-to-consumer company.
Finance
Charts: Global Retail Tech Funding 2021

February 23, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

2021 was a record year for global funding of retail technology. In this installment of our weekly charts, analyst Adel Boukarroum breaks down the numbers.
Business
A Model for Choosing Products to Sell

February 22, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Commodities typically have lower profit margins than manufactured goods or transformational products. For merchants, understanding the difference could determine success or failure.
Business
17 Podcasts for Online Merchants in 2022

February 21, 2022 • Sig Ueland

Since 2011 we've published a periodic rundown of helpful podcasts for ecommerce merchants. Our 2022 update includes shows for new entrepreneurs, seasoned owners, executives, and more.
Business
Apparel Brands Face Environmental Scrutiny

February 20, 2022 • Marcia Kaplan

The global apparel industry is among the most environmentally damaging. Eighty percent of clothing fiber ends up in landfills. Consumers are taking notice.
Business
BK Beauty, Avoiding Facebook, Thrives with Affiliate Marketing

February 18, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Paul Jauregui launched BK Beauty, a direct-to-consumer cosmetics brand, with Lisa, his wife, in 2019. Unlike many DTC brands, BK Beauty does not rely on Facebook advertising.
Business
Charts: Q4 2021 Digital Advertising Spend

February 17, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

Digital advertising spend for physical products increased in Q4 2021 but at a slower rate than Q4 2020. In this week's charts, we show the spending levels across categories and platforms.
Business
Solo Brands Founder, Now Wealthy, Reflects

February 11, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Having sold Solo Stove, a company he co-launched in 2010, Spencer Jan reflects on finding meaning amid financial freedom, among other topics.
B2B
Charts: B2B Buyers Prefer Ecommerce

February 9, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

Observers sometimes claim B2B buyers prefer in-person purchases to online. Recent surveys, however, dispel that notion resoundingly. We explain in four charts.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Materials behind Sustainable Mailers, Boxes

February 8, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Consumers increasingly seek merchants who use sustainable packing and shipping materials. But recyclable or biodegradable products are not equally helpful. We explain.
Business
21 Google Workplace Apps

February 7, 2022 • Sig Ueland

Google Workspace is a comprehensive, cloud-based suite of apps to jumpstart productivity. Here's our rundown of Google's apps in Workspace and their purpose.
Business
LiveRecover Founder Sells Company, Buys OrderBump

February 4, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Dennis Hegstad co-founded LiveRecover, an SMS app, in 2018. He sold the company in 2021. "I became bored," he said. So he purchased OrderBump, a Shopify app for product upsells.
Business
Charts: Most Valuable Global Brands 2021

February 2, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

Since 2006 U.K.-based Kantar Group has assigned a monetary value to the world's top brands. Here's our recap of the 2021 list.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Returns Take a Toll on Online Retailers

January 31, 2022 • Marcia Kaplan

Many merchants that have softened return policies during the pandemic are starting to feel the financial pain. Some have pulled back entirely.
Business
Former Ecommerce CEO Asks, ‘What’s Next?’

January 28, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Entrepreneurs can find themselves looking for work rather than hiring it. That's the case of Andrew Faris, a successful digital marketer and ecommerce aggregator.
Finance
Charts: Global Venture Capital Funding 2021

January 26, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

Global venture capital funding more than doubled in 2021 to a whopping $621 billion. Financial technology companies received the most, followed by retail tech providers.
Business
Are Big Changes Coming to Digital Ads in 2022?

January 24, 2022 • Armando Roggio

Could aggressive ad targeting go away? A confluence of proposed U.S. privacy legislation, federal rule changes, and a decentralized web suggest a coming digital ad transformation.
Business
Paid Search Drives Kuru Footwear to 2021 Success

January 21, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Sean McGinnis arrived at Kuru Footwear, a direct-to-consumer brand, in 2020 as chief marketing officer. One year later, he's president of the company, and sales are booming.
Business
20 Years in Ecommerce for Miva’s CEO

January 19, 2022 • Kerry Murdock

Miva, the ecommerce platform, launched in the 1990s. Rick Wilson joined the business then as a salesman. He's now the CEO. He recently completed the company's second capital raise and authored his second book.
Payments
Charts: Growth of Global Payments, Cryptocurrencies

January 19, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

The shift to digital commerce has translated into a dramatic increase in global payment volume. In four charts, we illustrate historical and projected payments growth worldwide.
Business
93 Mobile Games of Zynga

January 18, 2022 • Sig Ueland

By acquiring Zynga for $12.7 billion, Take-Two Interactive is receiving a huge bench of programmers, millions of users, and (at least) 93 popular mobile games, which we've listed here.
Business
TikTok Marketing Is Hard Work

January 14, 2022 • Eric Bandholz

Ryan Magin founded Viral Edits, an agency, roughly two years ago. He creates original and repurposed videos for brands and influencers, focusing on TikTok and Instagram. The process is much more difficult than it appears, he says, requiring hours of video watching and editing.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon, Walmart and the Epic Battle for Consumer Spending

January 14, 2022 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon is adding brick-and-mortar locations. Walmart is beefing up its online tools. It's a massive battle of two retail titans. We compare their operations and strategies in the historic competition for consumer spending.
Business
Charts: U.S. Retail Ecommerce Sales Q3 2020 – Q3 2021

January 11, 2022 • Adel Boukarroum

The outset of the pandemic dramatically shifted consumer buying patterns in the U.S. Since then, traditional retail has stabilized. We analyze in three charts ecommerce's share of total quarterly U.S. retail ecommerce sales.