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
SEO: Optimizing Product Content on Amazon

November 14, 2014 • Jill Kocher Brown

In “SEO: The Case for Optimizing Amazon,” my article last week, I reviewed the growing importance of optimizing products for Amazon’s massive internal search engine. In this article, I’ll describe ...
Cross-border Selling
Ecommerce in Russia: Another Emerging Market?

November 12, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

While ecommerce continues to take a larger share of overall retail sales in the United States and Western Europe, the biggest growth rates are occurring in emerging markets such as ...
Amazon & Marketplaces
SEO: The Case for Optimizing Amazon

November 7, 2014 • Jill Kocher Brown

Some ecommerce businesses, especially those that manufacture the products they sell online or acquire their products at a deep discount, are experimenting with optimizing on Amazon alongside their existing websites.
Business
8 Reasons Why Ecommerce Businesses Fail

November 7, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Starting an ecommerce business can be fast, relatively easy, and not very expensive. But with something like an 80-percent failure rate, creating a successful online business is more challenging than ...
Business
How to Avoid Copyright Infringement Claims

November 6, 2014 • Elizabeth Lewis

Imagine this scenario. You go to your physical mailbox; inside is a certified letter from a law firm that you have never heard of. You open it up, wondering what ...
Business
5 Ways Smaller Ecommerce Retailers Can Beat Large Ones

November 5, 2014 • Gagan Mehra

Smaller retailers that compete solely on price against large ones, like Amazon, almost always lose. But there are other ways that small retailers can beat Amazon and other large competitors. Here ...
B2B
Using LinkedIn Publisher for B2B Ecommerce

November 4, 2014 • Paul Chaney

Due to its focus on fostering business-to-business relationships, LinkedIn is a social network that B2B ecommerce companies should use to build brand awareness and establish industry expertise. LinkedIn provides a variety ...
Business > Merchant Voice
8 ways to attract customers and boost sales

November 4, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

With the holiday period underway, you may be looking for ways to win new customers and boost sales. Here are eight ideas to consider adding to your ecommerce site. 1. Bartering.
Business
6 Ways Ecommerce Is Like American Football

November 3, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Starting and operating an ecommerce business can be a little daunting. What will you sell? How will you sell it? How will you market? Which tax laws apply? It is ...
Inventory > Merchant Voice
Wanted: crystal ball for inventory demand

November 2, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

The vast majority of articles and blogs regarding ecommerce focus on selling. They discuss the importance of marketing, search engine optimization, site design and navigation, converting customers, and so on.
Business > Merchant Voice
5 off-page SEO tactics, from a do-it-yourself merchant

October 27, 2014 • Erica Tevis

In “11 ecommerce SEO tips, from the trenches,” my post in August, I discussed how I manage on-page search engine optimization. But even the best on-page SEO may not be ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Same-day Delivery by Ecommerce SMBs Viable?

October 27, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Same-day delivery has the potential to become a significant retail differentiator, potentially raising the ecommerce industry’s barrier for entry, making it harder for new, relatively small ecommerce businesses to start ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 4: Winning Strategies

October 20, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

In “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” my first article, I addressed the basic supply chain evolution inside of ecommerce. Then, in “Part 2: The Basics,” I ...
Payments
Review Credit Card Processing in October, before Holidays

October 16, 2014 • Phil Hinke

All ecommerce merchants should take the time to review their processing statements this month before the holiday shopping season begins. Merchants need to check for the following items, and correct ...
Shipping & Fulfillment > Merchant Voice
Beware parcel forwarding services?

October 15, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

There is an industry growing up within ecommerce that offers parcel-forwarding services. It is mainly in the U.S., but there are similar services in the U.K., where I live. The ...
Business
How to Gather Intelligence on Your Competitors

October 14, 2014 • Jerry Jao

Tracking the competition is something every e-tailer should do. In addition to helping you better understand your market and industry, tracking competitors can also assist you when generating ideas for ...
Business
Rendering Authentic Ecommerce Shopping Experiences

October 13, 2014 • Armando Roggio

One of the keys to ecommerce marketing success may be as simple as “rendering authentic” online shopping experiences that make customers happy to buy. “The best way to generate demand for ...
Finance
10 Ways to Finance Your Ecommerce Business

October 9, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

It has always been a challenge for small businesses to get financing. Circumstances worsened when banks tightened their lending criteria five years ago. Most banks lend only to businesses with ...
Business
5 Things Attorneys Wish Business Owners Knew

October 7, 2014 • Elizabeth Lewis

Every day I meet with clients with problems both large and small. They come to me seeking advice, counsel, and hopefully nuggets of wisdom that I have gained over the ...
Business
Explaining Apple Pay: Pros, Cons

October 5, 2014 • Gagan Mehra

Apple Pay is a new payment service announced by Apple on Sept. 9, with a launch date of Oct. 20. The service works with Apple iPhone 6 phones, using near ...
Amazon & Marketplaces
Is Amazon Planning a Shipping Revolution?

October 2, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Amazon is rapidly adding new fulfillment centers, sorting packages for carriers, and even delivering some orders directly to customers. Could these initiatives hint at a revolution in ecommerce shipping? The answer ...
B2B
4 Keys to B2B Ecommerce Success

October 1, 2014 • Dale Traxler

Online B2B revenues in the U.S. are rapidly growing, to $1 billion per year according to published reports. The reasons for this growth are twofold. First, more manufacturers and distributors are ...
Business > Merchant Voice
8 ways to win ‘generation Y’ customers

September 29, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

As we get older, our customers get younger. Generation Y, born between 1982 and 2000, offer online retailers challenges and opportunities. Here are eight tips to acquire younger shoppers. 1. What ...
Business
When a Big Ecommerce Order Is Really a Scam

September 29, 2014 • Armando Roggio

The email inquiry seems honest enough. A customer wants to place an order; perhaps she is even going to place a large order and wants to know if she can ...
Business > Merchant Voice
Applying Theory of Constraints to our packaging process

September 27, 2014 • David Sasson

In “Theory of Constraints, for ecommerce companies,” my previous post, I discussed the basics of Theory of Constraints, a system of continuous improvement developed by Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt, a physicist ...
Business > Merchant Voice
5 reasons to satisfy unreasonable customers

September 25, 2014 • Erica Tevis

When I was 15 I was hired for my first job as a cashier for a major fast food chain. With no customer service experience, I owe much of my ...
Finance
Alibaba’s IPO to Impact U.S. Ecommerce?

September 22, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

The much-anticipated Alibaba IPO closed last Friday with shares initially priced at $68. Once trading got under way, the price of a share rose to $93. Demand was so strong ...
Payments
American Express OptBlue: Negotiating Processing Rates

September 22, 2014 • Phil Hinke

In “American Express OptBlue Program May Reduce Processing Cost,” my article in July, I explained how the new OptBlue program could reduce processing rates for ecommerce merchants, as it allows ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 3: Suppliers vs. Retailers

September 17, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

In “Drop Shipping for Ecommerce, Part 1: Supply Chain History,” my first article, I addressed basic supply chain evolution inside of ecommerce. Last month, in “Part 2: The Basics,” I ...
Business > Merchant Voice
Analyze what visitors search for on your ecommerce site

September 13, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

A good ecommerce site needs watching. You need to constantly monitor what goes on. If you ignore it and expect it to continue earning you money, then you will probably ...