eCommerce Blog

Marketing automation – heard of it? Over the last few years, software built to automate marketing has sprung up everywhere, and email marketing isn’t left in the dust.

The main selling point behind email automation is that it enables marketers to catch the consumer at the right moment, when they’re ready to buy.

Like any new technology, plenty of marketers hopped right on board. As an ecommerce business owner, you’re a little more cautious. You want to see how this new tech plays out, to find[...]

For every e-commerce company that exists, there is another with a similar offering and similar products.

Customers don’t have to shop with you and in most cases, they have no loyalty to you. So, if you want your e-commerce business to succeed you need to have a serious think about your pricing because it will play an important role in how well it sells.

More specifically, you need to think about how you optimize your pricing. Pricing optimization is an ongoing approach that seeks to help you[...]

People shop on eBay because they're looking for desired items at the best possible price they can get. You know they're looking for bargains, so you can make your own listings stand out from the crowd with eBay promotions. All customers everywhere are more likely to buy when a promotion is in effect, and in fact, 75% of eBay customers are hunting for promotions specifically!

You can set up eBay promotions with the eBay Promotions Manager, which gives you several options. To get started, enter[...]

Starting a business is a long, involved process, but you can make it a lot easier on yourself by following a structured plan.

The secret to completing any task is knowing what to do, and when and how to do it — and while starting a business might seem like a massive undertaking, it really isn't if you break it down appropriately. The process is long and involved, but like everything else, it's just a matter of completing the steps one by one until you get there!

This checklist will summarize[...]

Website development is a tricky concept that many retailers and businessmen are still trying to figure out.

Designing your own e-commerce website is definitely not an easy feat, especially if it’s your first time. E-commerce websites are not just a place where you find product listings and scores of catalogs. No, the platform offers customers a comprehensive shopping experience, and that includes the page design and payment options etc. as well. Building a shopping website is just the first[...]

Is your business making use of the ecommerce opportunity at your fingertips?

When we talk about ecommerce, most of us imagine retail powerhouses like Amazon or Wayfair – but the B2B ecommerce potential is even bigger. In fact, the business ecommerce market topped $7.7 trillion in 2017. That’s a huge opportunity.

Why the popularity of ecommerce for B2B transactions? There are a lot of reasons for ecommerce’s growth in B2B sales, but the biggest reason isn’t so different from the B2C world:[...]

The world of commerce is turning away from physical storefronts and going digital. It seems like customers can buy almost anything online nowadays, and more customers love the ease of online purchasing.

With big-name businesses like Amazon leading the way in the online frontier, it’s no wonder so many physical businesses are transitioning to the digital sphere. This transition is a natural step, but it’s easier said than done. There are a lot of things to consider when moving online, and you[...]

Shopping cart abandonment is an epidemic in the ecommerce world.

Recent data shows the average cart abandonment rate is almost 70 percent. That means only 3 out of every 10 people who places an item in their cart actually buys it.

Cart abandonment comes with the territory of owning an ecommerce store, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it. Customers abandon shopping carts for all kinds of reasons, but many online store owners commit the same common mistakes that drive up[...]

If you're interested in selling more online, you could be starting from a few potential points.

Maybe you already have an online store of your own and you're looking to break into a larger market. Maybe you're already selling on a large marketplace like eBay and you want to expand your reach. Or, maybe you're just starting out, you have no website or item listings anywhere, and you have yet to make a single sale.

These are very different situations, but they have a lot in common, and that's the[...]

Where do your new customers come from? Facebook ads? Google search results? Thin air?

Time and again, studies show that email marketing is the most effective channel for customer acquisition. Reports estimate 44% of all consumers made a purchase based on an email newsletter last year. McKinsey & Company found that email helps acquire new customers 40 times better than social media.

Conversion rates and click-through-rate in those emails are 3x better, and the value of those conversions can be[...]

The vast majority of shoppers these days browse from their mobile devices, and eBay shoppers make up a strong portion of them.

It's common for eBay users to rely on their smartphone even more so than most online shoppers — eBay users who bid on auctions like to be able to check them frequently with a device they keep close at hand.

Even if you don't auction your items and sell only for a Buy it Now price, you still need to optimize your listings for mobile devices in order to appeal to the huge[...]

From May 25^th 2018, the European Union will be enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). While the law is designed to protect the personal data of EU citizens, the act is the first of its kind in a number of ways: it applies to all organizations with which EU residents can interact; compliance will be enforced globally; and fines will be far higher than existing rules.

With time running out to fulfill the new regulations before they are brought into effect, Sage have compiled[...]

We're excited to announce the release of Version 8.1 of the 3dcart platform!

In v8.1, 3dcart store owners will have access to new payment solutions and new and improved features. Plus, we've fixed some bugs and issues to ensure the smoothest eCommerce experience possible for both merchants and customers.

As the first update of 2018, we're introducing major features like Google Pay and Square Register  to online stores powered by 3dcart. but there is much more in this release to help retailers in[...]

Building an e-store relies heavily on the products you’re selling and the financial elements of the business. However, there’s another feature that can help you master the former two bits of your eCommerce business – customer awareness. This concept refers to the degree to which your potential buyers are aware of the existence of your eCommerce brand.

This is a two-way relationship.

On the one hand, eCommerce entrepreneurs are aiming at spreading the word about their brand and increasing their[...]

More and more online stores have embraced dropshipping, a business model that leverages third parties to add efficiency to an ecommerce website. In fact, anywhere from one-quarter to one-third of all online stores use dropshipping as their preferred fulfillment method.

Of course, implementing dropshipping as a business model isn’t as simple as it seems. You need to arm yourself with a strong business plan to help mitigate the numerous challenges associated with dropshipping.

Which challenges do[...]

If you've decided it’s time to start selling online with your very own eCommerce website, you're about to embark on one of the most rewarding journeys in the world: entrepreneurship!

Of course, it's not always going to be easy, and there's a lot to learn before you can even really get started.

You could imagine that eCommerce is like its own ecosystem, where web design, online security, credit cards, shipping, and more all come together in a relationship that makes everything work. It's[...]

In the pantheon of internet culture-defining websites, Craigslist ranks highly. You’ve probably used it in some way, shape, or form: to find a place to rent, recruit a guitarist for your band, track down a romantic “missed connection,” buy an inexpensive second-hand couch, even pick up a little extra work on the side.

Craigslist is just as infamous as it is famous, claiming a wide range of asterisks, especially when it comes to business transactions. Considering the marketplace isn’t highly[...]

For any ecommerce business, it’s impossible to know what’s working and what isn’t without the help of a robust analytics program. Problem is most out-of-the-box analytics platforms are built for website measurement, analyzing surface metrics like pageviews, time on page, bounce rate, and exit rate.

These are all important metrics for your business. But ecommerce websites are different. If the goal is to understand where you can improve your sales funnel, you need to see your customer journey[...]

If you sell business-to-business, it's in your best interests to make every step of the purchase and checkout process as smooth and easy as possible. B2B buyers rely on a streamlined experience — that's why they prefer to make their purchases online in the first place. Keep in mind, too, that B2B buyers are often pressed for time and working within a strict budget, which makes it even more important to nurture the relationships you've formed with them. Think of it this way: if you're always[...]

Most customers these days are used to shopping online, and they generally know what to expect. However, these expectations can work against you if your store operates any differently than how the customer thinks it will. If you lay out your store policies in an easy-to read format, and in an easy-to-find location on your website, you can help avoid misunderstandings with your customers and keep them satisfied.