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-
Business
Lessons Learned: Serial Entrepreneur Heels a Pain
March 6, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Like many serial entrepreneurs who build something from nothing, Jason Schultz was blessed with insight and good timing. Born and raised in California, Schultz began experimenting with Tandy and Commodore 64
-
Business
>
Merchant Voice
Beware retargeting
March 5, 2014 • Jamie Salvatori
Advertising is a pain in the butt. It’s expensive. It requires constant maintenance, and it’s not always measurable. In our industry, though, we tend to think that we can determine ...
-
Business
>
Merchant Voice
Adapt or die
March 5, 2014 • Richard Stubbings
Once you have a successful ecommerce site and the orders are flowing, by all means congratulate yourself for achieving what many do not. But do not rest there. The most ...
-
Business
12 Key Job Roles for B-to-B Ecommerce Success
March 3, 2014 • Dale Traxler
One of the biggest challenges that brand manufacturers and distributors face with their B-to-B ecommerce operations is hiring the right team. B-to-B companies need to identify required job roles, and ...
-
Shipping & Fulfillment
12 Apps and Resources for Shipping
March 3, 2014 • Sig Ueland
Product shipping is an essential task for most all ecommerce merchants. And efficient and reliable shipping is one of the best opportunities you have to make a positive impression on your ...
-
Business
February 2014 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts
February 28, 2014 • PEC Staff
Each month we compile a list of the ten most popular articles we published that month, based on the number of page views. Here are our ten most popular articles ...
-
Business
4 Mistakes to Avoid with Ecommerce Customer Data
February 27, 2014 • Jerry Jao
Collecting data about shoppers is essential for ecommerce businesses. Demographic, social, and behavioral data provides insights to merchants for marketing campaigns, product improvements, and to offer better customer service. However, when ...
-
B2B
To Implement B-to-B Ecommerce, Empower Marketing not IT
February 18, 2014 • Dale Traxler
In “B-to-B Ecommerce: Big Opportunity, Big Obstacles,” I addressed the challenges manufacturers and distributors face as they initiate and grow their ecommerce operations. One of those challenges is to identify what department ...
-
Business
>
Merchant Voice
7 free ways to keep your customers happy and reassured
February 17, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
There are a number of things you can do that cost nothing but offer your customers satisfaction, reassurance, and acknowledgement. 1. Keep your customers informed This is such an obvious thing to ...
-
Payments
Credit Card Provider Sued for ‘Deceptive’ Tactics
February 13, 2014 • Phil Hinke
Heartland Payment Systems, one of the largest credit card providers in the U.S., stated in a press release that it has filed a federal lawsuit against Mercury Payment Systems, also ...
-
Business
How to sell your ecommerce business for a high valuation
February 13, 2014 • Manish Shah
I just finished reading Built to Sell, a book by John Warrillow that describes a fictional business owner who is struggling to sell his company. The cover of the book ...
-
B2B
4 Keys for Effective B-to-B Ecommerce
February 11, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Business-to-business ecommerce describes Internet-enabled transactions between businesses, such as a manufacturer and a wholesaler, a wholesaler and a retailers, or a wholesaler and a business user. The B-to-B ecommerce market ...
-
Finance
Amazon 2013 Financial Results Signal Changes in 2014
February 11, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
After a few dismal quarters, Amazon turned a profit in the pivotal fourth quarter of 2013 and for the full fiscal year, despite losses in the second and third quarters.
-
B2B
B-to-B Ecommerce: Big Opportunity, with Obstacles
February 10, 2014 • Dale Traxler
Business-to-business merchants face ecommerce challenges that are different from their business-to-consumer counterparts. This has slowed the entry into ecommerce for many B-to-B manufacturers and distributors. Forrester Research projected 2013 B-to-B ecommerce ...
-
Business
Lessons Learned: Forced Time Off Sews a Passion
February 5, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Having multiple sclerosis-like symptoms became a blessing for Shelley Mitchell. Born in Taiwan, she relocated to Melbourne, Australia with her meteorologist father and music-teacher mother when she was 13. Her grandmother had ...
-
Business
5 Niches for a New Ecommerce Business
February 5, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Starting an online retail business begins with knowing what products to sell. Entrepreneurs have many reasons for starting an ecommerce business. For some, they have a passion for a particular product,
-
Amazon & Marketplaces
>
Merchant Voice
Does 2014 mark the beginning of the end for Amazon?
January 31, 2014 • Richard Stubbings
Probably not, but it is certainly going to be a difficult year for Amazon in Europe. Legislation in Europe is significantly different than in the U.S, in two major ways,
-
Business
January 2014 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts
January 30, 2014 • PEC Staff
Each month we compile a list of the ten most popular articles we published that month, based on the number of page views. Here are our ten most popular articles ...
-
Business
>
Merchant Voice
The formula to online success, from ‘Lessons Learned’ merchants
January 29, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Since March 2012, I’ve been writing the monthly “Lessons Learned” column, which has profiled online merchants selling products ranging from remedies for intestinal problems (“Trusting your Gut to Online Success”)
-
Business
7 (simple, free) things to boost conversions
January 27, 2014 • Jordan Lindberg
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle Make it a 2014 strategic goal of your company to increase your web store’s conversion rate. Even a small increase in ...
-
Business
Ecommerce vs. Commerce: What’s the Difference?
January 23, 2014 • Dale Traxler
I assume you are reading this because you sell products online — either in your own online store or through marketplaces. Here’s a question. When someone asks what business you ...
-
Business
>
Merchant Voice
Please start shipping internationally
January 17, 2014 • Jamie Salvatori
Our international orders represent approximately 15 to 20 percent of our total sales. That’s huge. We achieved this level of success through a variety of simple tactics, which I’ll outline ...
-
Inventory
>
Merchant Voice
Trials and tribulations of inventory management
January 15, 2014 • David Sasson
Holding inventory can be an advantage and a disadvantage. It can be both a competitive edge and an incredible headache. Some retailers choose to only drop ship and others sell ...
-
Payments
$6 Billion Visa, MasterCard Settlement Final; How to Claim
January 15, 2014 • Phil Hinke
Last month, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit between merchants (as plaintiffs) and Visa, MasterCard and other defendants. The case ...
-
Business
Finding Business Motivation in Industry Leaders
January 10, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Starting and running a business can require a level of commitment that few people understand or experience. Entrepreneurs may find the motivation needed for all of that commitment in the ...
-
Business
Utilizing ‘Voice of the Customer’ for Competitive Advantage
January 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan
In the extremely competitive retail environment, merchants are always looking for a competitive advantage. If you haven’t considered using “Voice of the Customer” (VoC) feedback, you may want to give ...
-
Business
6 Tips to Beat the Afternoon Slump
January 8, 2014 • Jerry Jao
Fatigue or lack of enthusiasm in the afternoon is a common problem for many office workers. Those of us running Internet businesses are especially susceptible because most of our activities ...
-
Business
Reviewing Ecommerce KPIs for the New Year
January 7, 2014 • Dale Traxler
The holidays are over. Your business is returning to normal. As you start a new year, review your business’s performance in 2013. Once you’ve completed your review, create a plan ...
-
Local Business
>
Merchant Voice
Ecommerce expanding into brick-and-mortar
January 6, 2014 • Richard Stubbings
When I first started in ecommerce, it was as a way of expanding my brick-and-mortar business as a second sales channel. I was not the only one. It seemed to ...
-
Business
Ecommerce Marketplace Opportunities for 2014
January 3, 2014 • Armando Roggio
Online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay allow Internet retailers to present products, market, and sell to potential customers that may have otherwise been difficult to acquire. In 2014, there many ...