Satish Meena says, “During Tuesday’s 11.11 (Singles’ Day) Shopping Festival, Alibaba set new online retail records: 278.5 million orders with a GMV exceeding RMB 57 billion ($9.3 billion) (43% of which came from mobile devices). This comes on the heels of the world’s biggest IPO earlier this year, in which Alibaba raised $25 billion. Alibaba’s smaller rival JD.com, which raised $1.7 billion in its own IPO, received more than 14 million orders (40% of which came from mobile) on Singles’ Day 2014, an increase of more than 120% over November 11, 2013. Powered by the cash that their... [...]

Eric Siu says, “Just because we’re marketing things doesn’t mean we really know the science behind what makes people buy. But marketing without that information is like walking outside with a blindfold on — it’s going to be very hard to end up at your destination without a scratch. To catch up on the latest and greatest research about online buyer behavior, keep on reading. Below, we’ll cover eight data sets on buyer behavior, their key findings, and the lessons you should take away from each piece of research. Take the ones that apply most to your business... [...]

Robert Bruce says, “In the latest episode of Rainmaker FM, Brian Clark and I talk about the big picture of digital commerce. Many of us are now familiar with platforms like Udemy and Skillshare, but in 2007 Copyblogger launched its first product, one that was aimed directly at the myth that people wouldn’t pay for digital content. A lot has happened in those seven years, and a lot of businesses have moved (and been born) online. What does this mean for you?”. The Crucial Starting Point For Building a Digital Commerce Business ‘Copyblogger’ Blog  [...]

David Rakuc says, “Well, it’s here. Halloween has officially passed and Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. At this point, retailers should be well on their way to nailing down a solid holiday strategy. But here’s one area you may not have considered: the three policies that can make or break your customer’s confidence at checkout. Shipping, delivery, and return policies often play second string to promotional and discount strategies, but they can be just as significant when it comes to influencing actual sales. Here are some actionable tips to apply before the holidays: Return... [...]

Jason Del Rey says, “Alibaba beat sales estimates for its first earnings report as a public company. The giant Chinese e-commerce company recorded earnings of 45 cents share on revenue of $2.74 billion in the September quarter. Analysts were expecting on average earnings per share of 45 cents on $2.64 billion in revenue. Net profit, meanwhile, fell 39 percent to $485 million. The shares were up about 3 percent in early trading. The report comes a month and a half after Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange by raising $25 billion in the largest-ever IPO. Alibaba’s stock price... [...]

Charlie Dai says, “Previously, when CIOs and enterprise architecture professionals talked about “business-to-business” (B2B) commerce in China, most people thought of third-party B2B marketplaces like Alibaba.com or HC360.com. Very few companies use professional B2B solutions internally, instead relying on a combination of order management systems, customer relationship management, and third-party B2B marketplaces to trade with their business partners. This is going to change. We have observed a few trends in the Chinese market that will become major drivers for the adoption of enterprise... [...]

Liam Curley says, “Few e-commerce companies launch with the intention of growing a multinational retail business. However, when their website begins to receive inquiries and sales from abroad, many companies start considering the opportunities available for online export. Recently, we at Smoke & Croak published an interactive infographic on search engine optimization for an international website. It’s a step-by-step guide on how to conduct SEO to grow visibility on international search engines. And although it provides useful insight from sources around the Web on how to promote... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “”Testing is the only way to find customer logic.” The above quote is from a respondent to the MarketingSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark Study survey. In this chart, we’ll look at data generated from responses by 2,151 marketers and explore the correlation between A/B testing and ecommerce success“. How are successful and unsuccessful ecommerce companies approaching online testing? MarketingSherpa  [...]

Amberly Dressler says, “Alibaba may be valued at more than eBay and Amazon combined, but China’s e-commerce powerhouse has low brand recognition among American online shoppers of all generations. Bizrates Insights, a division of Connexity (formerly Shopzilla), surveyed more than 3,500 online buyers and found that 63 percent are still not familiar with Alibaba, which is said to soon be entering the U.S. market. Of the online shoppers who are familiar with Alibaba (or have even interacted with the site), 35 percent indicate they would not even browse, much less purchase from a Chinese e-commerce... [...]

Jordan Elkind says, “What is common to McDonald’s, Whole Foods, Nike, Starwood, Groupon, and Uber? Answer: They are all launch partners of Apple Pay, Apple’s new mobile payment service for online and store-based retailers, announced a month ago and available to use as of earlier this week (October 20). The new iPhone and iPad models – iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 3 – are the first devices embedding Apple Pay. These devices will enable consumers to pay with their phones or tablets online through the Touch ID interface using one’s fingerprint”. What Apple Pay Means... [...]