Intro E-Commerce Articles, Items 1 to 37

"Intro E-Commerce Articles" includes 37 items
This page contains items 1 to 37

1. Ecommerce Primer: What You Need to Set Up Shop Online, by Vangie Beal, Ecommerce-Guide.com, 8-31-2009 Brief overview of the steps to e-commerce: domain name, web hosting, site design, making online transactions work, merchant accounts and payment gateways, shopping carts, and site security.
2. Cost-Cutting E-tailers Look to Retain Customers, by Michelle Megna, InternetNews, 5-5-2009 As the souring economy persists, e-tailers are spending more attention to keeping the customers they have, turning to social media and other emerging marketing techniques.
3. Ecommerce Know-How: Writing Product Descriptions that Sell, by Armando Roggio, Practical eCommerce, 5-13-2009 Provides 3 steps to writing effective product descriptions: (1) know your audience, (2) get your customer's attention, and (3) communicate, persuade, tell a story. Gives examples.
4. Six Ways To Improve Your Online Store, by Armando Roggio, Practical eCommerce, 5-4-2009 To improve your store: (1) upgrade your product descriptions, using 3 sentences or less, (2) use video for product demonstrations and merchandising, (3) use Adobe Flash, Flex, and jQuery plug-ins to merchandise and cross promote specials, (4) implement product reviews and ratings, (5) add a cross-selling suggestions tool, and (6) get a single-page checkout.
5. Survivor: E-retail, by Don Davis, Internet Retailer, 4-1-2009 While buffeted themselves by the economic turbulence, online retailers have been spared the battering of their main competition: bricks-and-mortar stores. E-retailers are finding ways to turn the gaps left by store closings to their advantage.
6. Ecommerce Know-How: Seven Steps to Starting Your eBusiness in a Recession, by Armando Roggio, Practical eCommerce, 3-11-2009 Steps are: (1) plan, set goals, don't rush, (2) create a business plan, (3) choose a legal structure, (4) locate suppliers, (5) hire experts, (6) market your store, (7) provide amazing customer service.
7. The History of E-Commerce, by , Internet Retailer, 3-1-2009 Here's a brief history of e-commerce, starting with Peapod groceries in 1989, with milestones through early 2009.
8. Holiday Online Sales Dip for First Time, by Frank Reed, Marketing Pilgrim, 12-29-2008 Online spending Nov 1 to Dec 24 was down 2% compared to 5.5% to 8.5% for retail as a whole. Amazon had a good seasons by offering discounts, Apple by providing innovative products, and Wal-Mart offering low prices.
9. Nineteen Online Marketing Steps for (Almost) Instant Success, by Michelle Megna, Ecommerce-Guide.com, 10-23-2008 Article offers tips from a recent conference: 7 steps for increasing sales while reducing turnover, 6 user-generated marketing tactics, 3 steps to success with data feeds, and top 3 tactics to improve natural search.
10. Financial Meltdowns and Internet Retail, by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim, 9-26-2008 Sees e-tailers that meet certain criteria able to weather financial storms because: (1) most e-tailers can scale back infrastructure if necessary and still survive, (2) Internet retail is still growing while traditional retail is shrinking, (3) failing retailers will reduce the competition.
11. Five basic steps to maximize online sales in any economy, by , Ecommerce Insights.com, 7-30-2008 Ways to maximize sales include: (1) deploy product comparison tools, (2) create customer ratings and reviews facilities, (3) personalize, (4) coordinate on- and off-line marketing activities, and (5) searchandise, that is delivering search results based on the customer's personal profile and the merchandiser's strategy.
12. 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.
13. Marketing for holiday season should begin in October, by , 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.
14. Plan to engage holiday shoppers with dynamic hot-product lists, experts say, by , 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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%
19. A tweak here and a tweak there boosted holiday sales for online merchants, by , 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.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. The Internet Retailer Hot 100 Retail Web Sites, by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer, 12-1-2007 Various insights from the top 100 online retailers.
23. 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.
24. 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%.
25. 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.
26. State of the Industry: Digging deeper, by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer, 7-1-2007 Overview and history of the Internet retailing industry.
27. The MarketLive Performance Index: Key Benchmarks and the Tactics that Drive Results, by , 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.
28. 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.
29. 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 .
30. 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.
31. 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.
32. 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.
33. 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.
34. “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.
35. 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,
36. Understanding the Consumers behind the $300 Billion e-Commerce Market, by , 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.
37. Holiday season starts earlier and ends later online, OneUpWeb study finds, by , 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