Intro E-Commerce Articles, Items 1 to 50

You are NOT Logged In. Most e-commerce topics do not show URLs or full description unless you are logged in. Logging in is a privilege reserved to paid subscribers of Web Marketing Today, our premiere e-commerce newsletter. We invite you to subscribe today or, if you are already a subscriber, login now and try again.

"Intro E-Commerce Articles" includes 235 items
This page contains items 1 to 50

---

1. Best eCommerce Blogs, by Eileen Shulock, Web Digest for Marketers, 7-28-2008 Best e-commerce blogs include: CSE Strategies, Digital Money Forum, E-Commerce and Search Marketing Blog, Get Elastic, Kelsey Group, Shop.org, Shopping Cart Reviews, The Chatter, The Omniture Blog, and Walmart's blog.
2. Marketing for holiday season should begin in October, Internet Retailer, 7-10-2008 According to MarketLive, during Q4 2007, merchants experienced an overall conversion rate of 4.8%, and 18% increase from Q3. Performance jumps the day after Thanksgiving on also. They offer suggestions for activities each week for the 10 weeks preceding Christmas.
3. Plan to engage holiday shoppers with dynamic hot-product lists, experts say, Internet Retailer, 7-10-2008 Three ways to engage holiday shoppers: (1) dynamically changing lists of 10 hot items, (2) gift finders, and (3) limited-time sales. As inventory drops, items in the top 10 list should be replaced by popular well-stocked items.
4. It’s summer; Santa is getting near, by Paul Demery, Internet Retailer, 6-1-2008 Describes how various larger online retailers are getting ready for the holiday season. Some quick fixes include: product comparison tools, store locaters, ratings and reviews, gift finders, gift cards, testing, accurate inventory, etc.
5. Raising the Stakes: Attracting Existing Customers, by Don Davis, Internet Retailer, 5-1-2008 As the ranks of consumers who have not shopped online thins, etailers must work to increase sales from existing customers. To draw them back the author suggests social elements such as reviews and product ratings, online video, customer created content, blogs, teen hangouts, larger type options, and selling outside the US.
6. The Internet star rises in a down economy, by Kurt Peters, Internet Retailer, 4-1-2008 Many retailers are looking to web sales to salvage what could be a tough year for retail sales. Looks at larger e-tail strategies in the light of a recessionary economy.
7. 2008 Predictions for Internet Retail, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 1-7-2008 Predictions for 2008 online retail: (1) Death of the little guy. (2) Retailers will depend less on SEO. (3) Social marketing explosions. (4) Online fraud will increase. (5) Manufacturer action ton control pricing. (6) Online retail will grow less than 20%
8. A tweak here and a tweak there boosted holiday sales for online merchants, Internet Retailer, 12-27-2007 Miscellaneous tips from retailers who tried various promotions: PayPal promotion, personalization offers, Google AdWords, e-mail coupons and offers to previous customers.
9. 12 Ways to Increase Sales on Your Site, by Eileen Shulock, Search Engine for Marketers, 12-3-2007 Was to increase e-commerce sales: (1) position products carefully for best pricing, (2) offer optimization, (3) identify the opinion leaders in your blogosphere, (4) set goals and meet or beat them, (5) focus, (6) build loyalty through customer service reps, (7) target and speak to specific customer segments, (8) update constantly, (9) customize your navigation, (10) take advantage of "pause points," (11) highlight exclusives, and (12) figure out what your best at and focus on that.
10. Ten More Great Ecommerce Ideas, by Practical eCommerce Staff, Practical Ecommerce, 11-26-2007 Quick ideas from online selling experts with a range of backgrounds, such as buying high-quality, semi-abandoned content sites to drive traffic, sending hand-written thank-you's to customers, and adding affiliate products to your store mix.
11. The Internet Retailer Hot 100 Retail Web Sites, by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer, 12-1-2007 Various insights from the top 100 online retailers.
12. A six-step plan to be profitable in internet retail, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 8-27-2007 Important tips for a successful e-commerce retail site: (1) Build a content-rich site. (2) Have a long-term strategy. (3) Invest in getting quality inbound links. (4) Develop your own brand. (5) Don't skimp on design. (6) Track metrics and focus on improving them. Notes that selling online costs more than it used to.
13. Six Reasons NOT to try to be an online retailer, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 8-24-2007 Negatives: (1) Startup costs for online retail now exceed those of traditional retail. (2) It takes much knowledge these days. (3) SEO is becoming out of reach for small companies. (4) No paid ad options are lucrative for small companies. (5) Inventory costs are climbing. (6) Trends indicate that startup conditions will get worse not better. Also notes that total e-commerce growth is slowing to 20%.
14. Six Surefire Ways To Boost Sales, by Jim Edwards, Practical Ecommerce, 7-2-2007 A grab-bag of useful techniques for improving your webstore's performance, including testing alternative headline copy, guarantees and audio instructions for shoppers, offering extended payment plans, starting a blog, and following up with customers.
15. State of the Industry: Digging deeper, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 7-1-2007 Overview and history of the Internet retailing industry.
16. The MarketLive Performance Index: Key Benchmarks and the Tactics that Drive Results, MarketLive, 6-1-2007 To increase retailing results: (1) convey action and activity with "new items," "most view items," etc., (2) use a contrasting color for the "add to cart" button, (3) used enhanced imagery options, (4) incorporate customer reviews, and (5) make the checkout process easier.
17. The Death of the Small Guy, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 5-25-2007 Back in the late 1990s the Internet wasn't "normalized," and it was easier for the "small guy" to make money. Now it's difficult and expensive. But start now, because it'll be more difficult in the future.
18. E-commerce: The shape of things to come, by Paul Demery, Internet Retailer, 5-1-2007 A look at the future of Internet retailing includes (1) tighter integration of customer service information across the web, store, and call center, (2) more online video and move toward web TV, (3) mcommerce, (4) social retailing, (5) new web applications .
19. Stand Still!, by Mary Wagner, Internet Retailer, 4-1-2007 The lightning pace of e-commerce business developments forces retailers to hit moving targets at budget time. Discusses how retailers react with speed to changes in the marketplace.
20. Errors Made By Ecommerce Site Owners, by Mitch Bettis, Practical Ecommerce, 3-1-2007 Short quotes from various small e-commerce sites explain mistakes they made and learned from. Learnings included the importance of site design, conversion factors, images, cart software, hosting services, etc.
21. Errors Made By Ecommerce Site Owners, by Mitch Bettis, Practical Ecommerce, 2-28-2007 Succinct tips and advice from a dozen small-business e-tailers based on their own experiences getting their online stores up and running. Most focus on understanding the conversion process better, or on choosing a hosting and e-commerce platform that is flexible and scalable.
22. Find Your Niche for Fun and Profits, by Michelle Megna, ECommerce-Guide, 2-22-2007 Newcomers to e-tailing are well advised to develop an online shop around a narrowly-focused product category. A case-study look at how this has worked for three startups, selling ball bearings, a Beerbelly beverage container, and "Back to the Future" memorabilia.
23. “The Sky is Falling” on eCommerce Spending, by Jordan McCollum, Marketing Pilgrim, 2-7-2007 Overview of predictions of the growth of e-commerce spending. Notes that the rate of growth will slow, but not necessarily the same amount of growth. JupiterResearch suggests a 10-15% plateau range. By 2011 the Internet will influence or dive almost half of all offline sales through online research or advertising.
24. Managing E-Commerce, by Mary Wagner, Internet Retailer, 2-1-2007 Discusses various approaches to managing a multi-channel retailer's internet function. Examples from Roots Canada, Bare Necessities, J&R Electronics, Jewelry Television,
25. Understanding the Consumers behind the $300 Billion e-Commerce Market, ATG Insight Online Newsletter, 1-31-2007 Future growth will come from buyers who have a less-positive attitude toward technology as current buyers. Thus they're more hesitant to trust online shopping, and will gravitate towards brands they know and trust. Online shopping is price-driven. It is the preferred channel for research. Retailers should look for new, secure payment methods as well as new ways to build loyalty and drive sales through content, experience, and reinforced branding messages.
26. Holiday season starts earlier and ends later online, OneUpWeb study finds, Internet Retailer, 1-11-2007 A study by OneUpWeb based on traffic generated by paid campaigns and transactions from more than a million customers found an overall upward trend beginning the week of Oct 9-15 and continuing through the week of Dec 4-10 before dropping off. Halloween is a more appropriate marker of the holiday season launch date. Though the week of Dec 18-24 shows a major drop-off, conversion and sales were still higher than the base week for the study. Biggest sales days were Dec 4, 11, and 13, with Dec 13 the highe
27. Shop, shop, shop around the clock is coming, Internet Retailer, 12-15-2006 According to CyberSource, consumers like to shop from work, but a subtle shift to near-24-hour shopping is taking place. The difference between the highest and the lowest volume hours is diminishing, especially during holiday periods. Growing broadband availability is credited with the changes.
28. The Internet Retailer Best of the Web Top 50 Retail Sites, by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer, 12-1-2006 The best e-retailers of 2006 have leapt forward, soaring ahead of myriad other retail sites by adding the latest features and functions that are starting to help differentiate successful e-commerce sites from middling ones. Lists the top 50 e-retailers by category.
29. 4 Strategies To Help You To Make Money From Your Website, by Trey Pennewell, SiteReference, 9-27-2006 Discusses: (1) conversions, (2) linking for traffic, (3) linking popularity, and (4) link baiting. These are needed to make money on your site.
30. Why one web merchant thinks the days of the pure-play appear numbered, Internet Retailer, 9-21-2006 Nathaniel Burke, who co-founded OutdoorDecor.com, thinks the days of many pure-play merchants may be numbered unless they can build a robust infrastructure and conduct marketing campaigns successfully across multiple channels.
31. The Views from the Top, by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer, 10-1-2006 Retail CEOs foresee a shift in 2007 to a focus on customer service, site personalization, latest technologies and improved multi-channel integration.
32. Internet Retailer 2006: Report from the conference, Internet Retailer, 8-1-2006 This article contains notes on each of the sessions at the Internet Retailer 2006 Conference & Exhibition, June 5-7, 2006, which revolved around using technology to meet customer needs.
33. Retail Bonanza Begins Online, by Paul J. Bruemmer, Website Services Magazine, 5-1-2006 Provides an retail e-commerce overview and its relation to SEO and Paid Search.
34. The Lowdon on Ecommerce, by PetePrestipino, Website Services Magazine, 4-10-2006 An overview of e-commerce, shopping carts, payment processing, fraud, SSL, site design, support, and a marketing plan.
35. Racing Ahead, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 7-1-2006 2006 is shaping up as another year of record sales, with retailers shifting their attention to customer retention from acquisition. Discusses creating repeat business, spending on applications and services, shifting to search marketing, and investor acquisitions.
36. Weighing spending options, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 7-1-2006 Online retailers are purchasing more e-commerce technology, but they're also pickier and want more tools that drive traffic and convert sales. Shows results of a survey of readers on e-commerce technology spending. Nearly all expected to increase spending by at least 6%, many at 20% to 25%. Most expected to replace their e-commerce platform as a high priority this year.
37. The Top 500 Guide, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 6-1-2006 2005 was another banner year for the Internet retailing industry with merchants across the board achieving significantly higher sales, average tickets, conversion rates and traffic. Special features on JCPenney.com, Blockbuster.com, and InsideStore.com.
38. Following the money trail, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 6-1-2006 Web retailers are doing well at growing the top and bottom line. In an Internet Retailer survey, most retailers taking part in the survey are established, profitable for at least the last two years and expect robust sales growth, with 40% anticipating growth of 30% over 2005. But chain retailers, catalogers, virtual merchants and consumer brand manuf
39. The Internet revolutionizes U.K. retailing, Internet Retailer, 5-25-2006 Studies from The Interactive Media in Retail Group (KMRG) and GfK report online sales in the U.K. will reach £30 billion this year, up 51% from last year. A study of Internet vs. High Street prices shows rapid price depreciation created by easier comparison shopping, especially in MP3, digital camera, and smart phone sales.
40. Starting An Online Store: The Essential Checklist, by James Maguire, Small Business Computing, 4-25-2006 Assembling everything you need prior to launch will save you numerous headaches. And it will better prepare you to compete with established businesses, which are operating with full toolboxes. Checklist.
41. Starting An Online Store: The Essential Checklist, by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide, 4-17-2006 This multi-part article offers a checklist and capsule description of 15 essential steps you must take to launch an online store successfully, stressing that if you gather everything you need before you launch, you'll be far ahead of most people who take the plunge into e-commerce.
42. eBay Careers: How to be an eBay Trading Assistant, by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide, 4-24-2006 Setting yourself up as an eBay "trading assistant" - using your online auction expertise to sell other peoples' goods on eBay for a commission - is an ideal 1-person entrepreneurial opportunity. A detailed explanation of what it takes, and how to do it.
43. The E-Tailing Group 5th Annual Merchant Survey, The E-Tailing Group, 4-1-2006 Executive summary of annual merchant survey. Describes how various e-tailers are using the Web.
44. Why Your Web 2.0 Business Plan Doesn't Work, by Sean Carton, Publish, 2-13-2006 Opinion: That which works best online is that which can only work online. Call it what you will (I prefer "Carton's Law of Online Publishing," but that may be seen as a little immodest), but if you look around the Web, this axiom holds true. From e-commerce to e-zine publishing, sites that offer no benefit beyond their "old media" counterparts fail while others that offer additional value in the form of features old media can't emulate
45. Bright Ideas, by Mary Wagner, , Online shoppers want more power to choose—the web invents new ways to serve it up. Discusses price comparison by phone, fuzzy search, RSS, and e-catalogs.
46. Optimism up among online retailers, Shop.org speakers say, Internet Retailer, 1-24-2006 Recap of current state of e-commerce. 75% of online retailers saw sales growth of 30% during Q4 2005.
47. Google heading toward ‘e-commerce 3.0,’ analyst says, Internet Retailer, 11-14-2005 Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy sees Google's moving toward using search to buy anything from anyone, anywhere -- a challenge to eBay and Craigslist.com. Sees E-commerce 3.0 taking e-commerce to the local level including an online payment system.
48. Going Back to School with eBay U, by Frank Fortunato, ECommerce-Guide, 11-2-2005 Review of eBay's own offering of 3 day-long courses covering all aspects of selling on eBay ('eBay Basics,' 'Beyond The Basics,' 'eBay For Business'). They are low cost, expertly taught, and well worth while for anyone getting into eBay sales.
49. Retailing: What's Working Online, by Christopher Grosso, McPherson, and Shi, McKinsey Quarterly, 10-18-2005 Tracks for successful online retailing models: (1) Efficiency machines, (2) niche leaders, (3) traffic drivers, and (4) triple plays. Web-only retailers do better with 1 and 2, multi-channel retailers with 3 and 4. Includes reasoning and definition of terms.
50. Starting Your Own E-Business: Part 1 - The Plan, by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide, 9-19-2005 It isn't simple to succeed as an online merchant. There's plenty of opportunity, but the competition is fierce. The first (and hardest) thing to do is to develop a workable plan, paying attention to what distinguishes your business from all the rest, knowing the target market, and understanding the competition.