Gaurav Pandey says, “When Columbus first discovered Indian island, when Graham Bell first discovered telephone or, when Tim Berners Lee, first invented WWW (the Internet), they all would be happy of their own successes, and the world might also be praising their individual successes and their efforts. But let’s read it again but between the lines… When Columbus first discovered a new land of business & mining opportunity, when Graham Bell first discovered a new way of distance communication or, when Tim invented new way of accessing real-time information from other parts of world,... [...]

Sucharita Mulpuru says, “In a recent Forrester-Shop.org study, we found that 70% of online retailers are investing in “content” in the coming year. What sort of content you may ask. Usually when they say “content” retailers mean videos, blog posts and magazine-like content that is best for consumers at the top of the shopping funnel. This type of content though is notoriously difficult to monetize though. A number of companies like Babycenter in the late 1990s were the first wave of content-driving-commerce digital players to try this. They quickly realized it was not only difficult... [...]

Arie Shpanya says, “If you’re new to the ecommerce industry, I’ll let you in on a “little” secret. There’s an 800 pound gorilla in the room that is nearly impossible to take down. Its name is Amazon, and it’s the largest online retailer in the western hemisphere. It’s safe to say that all online shoppers are familiar with Amazon. New studies have actually found that 44% of shoppers turn to Amazon first when looking for an item. That’s because the company is known for having an incredibly wide product assortment, low prices, and impressive customer service. But... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 44% of US e-commerce shoppers say they bypass the rest of the Web and go directly to Amazon.com to search for products, according to a recent report from BloomReach and Survata. The report was based on data from two surveys, one of 2,000 consumers living in the US, and the other of 500 US retail marketers. Search engines such as Google are the second most popular method for finding products online (34% of respondents begin searches there), followed by the websites of retailers other than Amazon (21%)“. How Dominant Is Amazon.com in E-Commerce? MarketingProfs  [...]

Philip Rooke says, “Social media stars have always been keen on merchandising and fully understood its value to their business (especially when their content is free). But now, we’re seeing a change in their understanding of how merchandise can raise their brand awareness. It’s not just about selling, well, maybe not at first. For online stars, merchandise can be a way of spreading cool ideas, new designs or just general silliness with their fans. UK Vine stars Stuggy & Ashton, YouTubers like Stampy Cat, iBallisticSquid and Sweden’s Sp4zie have huge audiences who engage with... [...]

Nicole Dvorak says, “If you’ve noticed fewer window shoppers on the streets lately, it may be because they’re at home window shopping from their couches; that is, they’re discovering and exploring products without necessarily intending to purchase. For our 2015 US Mobile Landscape report*, Forrester analyzed mobile audience data from our behavioral tracking panel to understand how consumers use smartphones and tablets in 2015. We found that although professionals often group both devices under the “mobile” umbrella, consumers use smartphones and tablets in very different ways.... [...]

Marina Iermolaieva says, “Upselling and cross-selling are popular approaches to increasing average order size and total revenue. Customers, too, are amenable to such tactics because they discover products they need or will need in the near future. The market is full of similar products, with many brands offering the same products; recommendations and cross-sell tactics can help get additional revenue from each customer. But, first, it’s essential to understand the difference between cross-sell and upsell. An upsell is when you offer an upgrade to the existing product; you convince the... [...]

Thomas Smale says, “Whether you’re a bootstrapper or an investor with a bit of extra money to start a new enterprise, ecommerce is a great field to get into, especially today. Even as a beginner in ecommerce, the tools and resources are all laid out for you. All you need is a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. Here are five reasons to start an ecommerce business now. 1. Worldwide, ecommerce is expected to grow by as much as 13 to 25 percent. Projections from eMarketer are showing rapid worldwide ecommerce growth through 2018. This year is expected to peak at nearly $1.6 trillion... [...]

Patrick Stox says, “Many companies don’t understand why visitor data and e-commerce sales are underreported in Google Analytics, and this tends to cause confusion. In this article, I’ll explain why what you see in Google Analytics doesn’t jibe with what you view in server logs and sales data. Google Analytics doesn’t have access to the actual sales data, only the data that is reported to it. While the Google Analytics data should not be used for financial reporting, it is a good indicator of sales and useful for data analysis. Here are some reasons why the data is not accurate. Missing... [...]

Morgan Jacobson says, “Whether you want to start an ecommerce endeavor or just expand the products you offer, keeping up with inventory is a definite concern. Whether you need the space or the manpower to keep all your products within reach and accounted for at all times, the fact remains that this particular concern could shut you down before you even get started. Unless you discover the beauty of dropshipping. What Is Dropshipping? When you outsource your shipping responsibilities to the manufacturer of your ecommerce goods, that’s drop shipping. In other words, you sell the products... [...]