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.

Staffing
Profasee Founder on Hiring, Firing, More

August 4, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Chad Rubin is a serial entrepreneur and an ecommerce pioneer. He's hired a lot of employees. He's fired a lot, too.
Business
July 2023 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts

July 31, 2023 • PEC Staff

In July, readers preferred articles on growing a business, graphic design, Google Ads, content marketing, and more.
Staffing
E-bike Seller Hires Best Customer, Saves Sales

July 28, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Aaron Powell launched Bunch Bikes, an electric kid-hauler cargo bike, in 2017. Then the pandemic hit, nearly closing the company. Then he hired his best customer.
Finance
Charts: Global Unicorn Trends Mid-2023

July 26, 2023 • Adel Boukarroum

In 2021, 606 global unicorns were created at a total valuation of $1.5 trillion. Thus far in 2023 there are 44 new unicorns valued at $87 billion.
B2B
Amazon’s B2B Marketplace Dominates

July 24, 2023 • Marcia Kaplan

B2B marketplaces are proliferating. Amazon Business, launched in 2012, is now a $35 billion GMV juggernaut.
Business
Entrepreneur Sells Company for $200 Million

July 21, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Patrick Campbell had $20,000 in the bank when he sold his company, ProfitWell, for $200 million. Here's his story.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Discount-driven Consumers Spur Prime Day 2023

July 17, 2023 • Marcia Kaplan

U.S. consumers looked for deals in Prime Day 2023. Top categories were appliances, electronics, and apparel.
Staffing
Executive Recruiter on Ecommerce Jobs Mid-2023

July 14, 2023 • Kerry Murdock

Harry Joiner has been an ecommerce recruiter since 2005. He calls the 2023 job market "a zoo."
Local Business
Charts: U.S. Retail Trends July 2023

July 12, 2023 • Adel Boukarroum

The U.S. Census Bureau surveys 1.2 million businesses every two weeks to assess the state of the economy and expectations of owners and managers.
Business
Beardbrand Rebirths amid a Tough Year

July 6, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Beardbrand founder Eric Bandholz is the host of Ecommerce Conversations, Practical Ecommerce's podcast. He calls 2023 "a perfect storm of calamities."
Business
Entrepreneur on Childbirth and Running a Business

June 30, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Elizabeth Mercer launched Sleekform, an online seller of ergonomic office furniture, in 2018. Four years later she had a baby.
Business
‘My Wife Quit’ Founder on Publishing a Book

June 23, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Steve Chou is a blogger, podcaster, trainer, and ecommerce owner. He's now a best-selling book author.
Finance
Amazon Aggregators Face a New Reality

June 19, 2023 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon aggregators purchase marketplace sellers and then attempt to improve revenue and profits. The boomtimes are over.
Finance
Brandless Exec on Acquisitions, AI, More

June 16, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Brad Moss is an Amazon veteran, game developer, and now an executive with Brandless, the repurposed DTC seller and company acquirer.
Amazon & Marketplaces
How AI Tools Improve Amazon Listings

June 15, 2023 • Phil Masiello

Artificial intelligence-driven tools can streamline and improve product listings — names, descriptions, bullet points.
Finance
Charts: Global Fintech Funding Q1 2023

June 14, 2023 • Adel Boukarroum

Funding for financial technology companies increased in Q1 2023 from Q4 2022. We tell the story in five charts.
Amazon & Marketplaces
A Community for Amazon Sellers

June 9, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Athena Severi co-founded Titan Network in 2019. The Amazon-seller community offers in-person events and workshops, mentoring, and collaboration.
Business
4 Ecommerce Owners Discuss Their Why

June 2, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

On a hiking trip in Utah, three ecommerce owners joined our host for a table-side discussion. Why start a company? Is it worth the hassle?
Business
20 Free Resources for Small Businesses

May 30, 2023 • Sig Ueland

There's no shortage of free courses, mentors, and support groups for small business owners. Here's a rundown.
Business
Charts: 2023 Global Shopping Trends

May 17, 2023 • Adel Boukarroum

Global consumers have altered their shopping habits owing to inflation and economic uncertainty. But most see better times ahead.
Amazon & Marketplaces
Amazon Anywhere Pushes Marketplace into Games, Apps

May 15, 2023 • Armando Roggio

Amazon Anywhere brings sales of physical products to apps and games. The concept isn't new, but the move by an industry leader likely has a widespread impact.
Inventory
Mixed Success for Private Label Brands

May 15, 2023 • Marcia Kaplan

In-house retail brands are typically less expensive and experience robust sales in inflationary periods. But not every initiative is successful.
Business
Influencers, Community Drive Batting Glove Maker

May 12, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Bruce Bolt is a family-owned business in Austin, Texas, that makes and sells baseball batting gloves — for little leaguers to MLB pros.
Shipping & Fulfillment
Fulfill.com Is a Marketplace of 3PLs

May 5, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

In 2019 Joe Spisak's ecommerce company had gone through three fulfillment companies in 18 months. With Fulfill.com, he aims to ease the difficulty of selecting providers.
Business
Entrepreneur Left Google to Launch Ballsy

April 28, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Adam Hendle had a dream job with Google. Then he had an idea for a men's hygiene brand.
Shipping & Fulfillment
How to Reduce Parcel DIM Weights

April 26, 2023 • John Lindberg

Dimensional weight is a pricing method used by shipping carriers. It's a way to charge for the space your package takes up in their trucks and planes regardless of its actual weight.
Local Business
13 Pop-up Shops from Brands, for Inspiration

April 11, 2023 • Sig Ueland

Pop-up shops offer online brands the opportunity to engage with consumers, solicit feedback, and test new products and services.
Inventory
Rising Costs Prompt New Return Policies

April 3, 2023 • Marcia Kaplan

The era of free returns, unlimited returns, and returnless refunds has been enormously expensive to most merchants.
Inventory
T-shirt Seller on Licensing, Drop-shipping, More

March 31, 2023 • Eric Bandholz

Kevin Stecko launched 80sTees.com in 2000 selling t-shirts imprinted with pop-culture items. Fast forward to 2023, and the site has 120,000 SKUs.
Payments
Apple Pay Later Could Upend BNPL Space

March 30, 2023 • Armando Roggio

Apple Pay Later is poised to capture serious market share in the buy now, pay later space. Merchants could benefit.