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
Quick Query: Certona CEO Meyar Sheik

January 16, 2008 • PEC Staff

Certona Corporation helps ecommerce merchants deliver product recommendations and customized content to their visitors. The technology, called Resonance, automates visitor traffic patterns, among other variables, and then recommends relevant products and content to each and every visito...
Business
Getting Started In Exporting

January 16, 2008 • Hal Selim

Exporting can be a lucrative component of an online business. But many small business owners shy away from it simply because they have limited knowledge of the process. For these owners, there are two good places to begin. The first is creating an international section on your website ...
Business
Ten More (Great) Ecommerce Ideas

January 9, 2008 • PEC Staff

Practical eCommerce recently asked 50 industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could potentially help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten of them had to say. Determine Valuable Variables "Doing multivariate testing used to require some in-house programming expertise o...
Business
Bloglist: Roy Rubin

January 7, 2008 • PEC Staff

Name: Roy Rubin, President Company: Varien Blog: Varien.com/blog In Bloglist, we ask ecommerce professionals to identify their favorite blogs. For this installment, we asked Roy Rubin, president of Varien, the company behind the open source platform Magento. Techcrunch.com This i...
Business
Muttmart.com’s President Justin Hertz

January 4, 2008 • PEC Staff

Hertz and Pat Callahan explore the elements of a successful website, including how to distinguish yourself from the competition.
Business
Bloglist: Michelle Greer

January 2, 2008 • PEC Staff

Name: Michelle Greer, Marketing Specialist Company: Volusion, Inc. Blog: Onlinebusiness.volusion.com In Bloglist, we ask ecommerce professionals to identify their favorite blogs. For this installment, we asked Michelle Greer, marketing specialist at Volusion, a company that offers ...
Business
Red Door Interactive President Reid Carr

December 28, 2007 • PEC Staff

Carr and Pat Callahan discuss the intricacies of a case study Carr co-authored — Cricket Communications: Less Is Definitely More.
Business
More Great Ecommerce Ideas

December 26, 2007 • PEC Staff

Practical eCommerce recently asked 50 industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could potentially help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten more of them had to say. Hire The Right Employee Susan Denison Managing Director Cook Associates, Inc. Cookassociates.com "Clea...
Business
ChoiceStream’s Toffer Winslow, executive vice president of sales and marketing

December 20, 2007 • PEC Staff

Winslow and Pat Callahan delve into ChoiceStream’s 2007 Personalization Survey, including the potential of personalized recommendations — good and bad.
Business
Sitebrand’s Carolyn Gardner, director of e-marketing services

December 14, 2007 • PEC Staff

Gardner and Pat Callahan discuss methods of proactively managing the customer experience via “web personalization.”
Business
Managing Risk When Enforcing Online Rights

December 10, 2007 • John W. Dozier, Jr.

It never ceases to amaze me how much theft is going on right under the eyes of major companies and they don't appear to understand how to spot and deal with it. Of course it takes many forms, often very well disguised, but every business should do its best to keep the thieves away. Web ...
Business
Fabric.com’s Director of Marketing Laurie Eady

December 7, 2007 • PEC Staff

Pat Callahan and Eady discuss the attributes that led to Fabric.com becoming the largest online retailer of fabric.
Business
Quick Query: Online Educator Raquel Collins

December 5, 2007 • PEC Staff

The University of British Columbia is a pioneer in online education for working professionals. Many of its courses apply to ecommerce merchants and we’ve asked Raquel Collins, senior program leader for UBC Continuing Studies, to explain these courses to us. PeC: Thank you, Raquel, fo...
Business
Killersocks.com: Socks Go Mainstream

December 5, 2007 • Pat Callahan

“True love is like a pair if socks: You gotta have two and they’ve gotta match.” -Unknown Brendan Gallagher and Kerren Lynch-Gallagher aren’t your typical website owners, if there is such a thing. Brendan directs animation at Out To Play Entertainment. And Kerren, who goes by Kerry, is...
Business
Green Commerce Is Good Commerce

December 5, 2007 • PEC Staff

There are a lot of reasons why online retailers should start seeing green in a whole new way: Conserving energy and supplying environmentally sound products and services is good for the environment and the bottom line. Large retailers like Target, Wal-Mart and The Home Depot naturally ...
Business
Infopia President, CEO and Board Member Bjorn Espenes

November 30, 2007 • PEC Staff

Pat Callahan is joined by Bjorn Espenes for a timely discussion about what merchants should be focusing on in the coming weeks before the holiday season.
Business
Ten More Great Ecommerce Ideas

November 26, 2007 • PEC Staff

Practical eCommerce recently asked a number of industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could potentially help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten more of them had to say. Work To Build Customer Loyalty "In a world of high technology, it's the personal touch that stands...
Business
TrialPay CEO Alex Rampell

November 21, 2007 • PEC Staff

Pat Callahan is joined by Alex Rampell. The two discuss the details of TrialPay, a unique payment platform, which allows customers to pay for one item by trying or buying ...
Business
Ten Great Ecommerce Ideas

November 18, 2007 • PEC Staff

Practical eCommerce recently asked a number of industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could potentially help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten of them had to say. Make A Promise And Keep It Seth Godin Founder and Original Squid Squidoo.com "The number one asset y...
Business
Interview: Retail Lobbyist On The Future Of Regulation

November 18, 2007 • PEC Staff

Local, state and federal governments are impacted by ecommerce activities. Local and state governments feel the loss of sales taxes when ecommerce firms don't properly collect them from their customers. And all elected local, state and federal officials receive complaints from constitue...
Business
LTU Technologies Vice President Kevin Smith

November 16, 2007 • PEC Staff

Pat Callahan is joined by Kevin Smith, as the two discuss copyright infringement and how businesses can protect themselves.
Business
Interview: Oneupweb CEO On The Future Of Search

November 14, 2007 • PEC Staff

As Google continues to stake its claim as the universal search app, many may wonder if the trend will continue. Practical eCommerce asked Lisa Wehr, the CEO and Founder of Oneupweb, an integrated online marketing firm, for her views not only on Google, but also about the future of onlin...
Business
Interview: buySAFE Founder On The Future Of Shopping Carts

November 12, 2007 • Brian Getting

There are hosted shopping carts, licensed shopping carts and custom carts. Every ecommerce merchant uses a cart, and we've asked Steve Woda, chairman and founder of buySAFE, a firm that offers insurance for the safety and reliability of ecommerce transactions, for his views on the look ...
Business
NetSuite Ecommerce Subject Matter Expert Baruch Goldwasser

November 8, 2007 • PEC Staff

Contributing Editor Pat Callahan is joined by Baruch Goldwasser for an interesting conversation about, among other things, the future of ecommerce.
Business
Interview: Future of Online Payments

November 5, 2007 • PEC Staff

Most ecommerce merchants rely on credit card purchases for their products and services. The industry is rapidly changing, and we asked Philip Beck, the CEO and founder of Planet Payment, for his take on the future of online payments. Planet Payment offers banks and merchants solutions f...
Business
IP Commerce Platform Evangelist Tyler Hannan

November 2, 2007 • PEC Staff

Listen Contributing Editor Pat Callahan is joined by IP Commerce Platform Evangelist Tyler Hannan for a lively discussion about PCI and the future of online fraud.
Business
Enterprise Zones: Ecommerce Catches A Break

October 31, 2007 • Michael A. Cox

For anyone who doesn’t think ecommerce is a viable part of the world economy and plays a role in job creation and tax base expansion, here’s a flash: Ecommerce businesses are now eligible, at least in Oregon, for special tax incentives when they locate in enterprise zones, which are geo...
Business
Interview: Ecommerce Implications From Social Media

October 31, 2007 • PEC Staff

Without question, the popularity of social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter show no signs of declining. Practical eCommerce asked Web Strategist and Forrester Research Senior Analyst Jeremiah Owyang his views on social media and its potential impact on ecommerce. P...
Business
Bloglist: Andrew Goodman

October 31, 2007 • PEC Staff

Name: Andrew Goodman, Founder And Principal Company: Page Zero Media Blog: Traffick.com In Bloglist, we ask ecommerce professionals to identify their favorite blogs. For this installment, we asked Andrew Goodman, founder and principal of Page Zero Media, a Toronto-based paid search...
Fraud Prevention
Interview: The Future Of Credit Card Fraud

October 29, 2007 • PEC Staff

The risk of credit card fraud and identity theft remain important issues for many potential ecommerce consumers. Practical eCommerce asked John Munsell, founder and CEO of Bizzuka, a web design and development firm, his views on the evolution of online fraud. PeC: The risk of a stole...