Arie Shpanya says, “Pricing hacks are small tactics that can make big impacts on your ecommerce sales. If you’re a retailer, the idea of trying something new might warrant a bit of caution moving forward. Doing things the old way is safe, and you don’t have to worry about garnering unfavorable results. But the safe road isn’t always the right road, especially when it comes to pricing strategies for online retailers. Here’s why: The Amazon example Imagine if Bezos decided selling books online out of his garage was too much of a risk. What if Steve Jobs simply embraced... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “Ecommerce is killing it! My inbox is filled with press pitches about the growth of ecommerce this holiday season, based on vendors’ work with their customers: Year-over-year revenue from social rose by 115 percent, Renee Newby Friedman wrote, based on MarketLive data. Online shopping traffic was up 16% year-over-year, according to Monetate. “Signs are pointing to this holiday season being big for ecommerce,” Lucinda Duncalfe, CEO, said. Smartphones saw a 7% increase in revenue compared to 2014, according to Wendi Makuch, Director of Sales & Marketing, 4-Tell. Average... [...]

Juliana Crispo says, “Every holiday season, it’s like the floodgates burst open: All of a sudden, there are holiday marketing campaigns everywhere. Every business is trying to cash in on the spending frenzy with emails, social media posts, television advertisements, and other related efforts. While these campaigns can sometimes seem out of control, many brands out there actually do their holiday marketing very, very well. How? They create campaigns that delight customers. They evoke emotions and promote sharing. And sometimes, they connect people with their loved ones or partner... [...]

Michael Guta says, “One of the pressing issues in the digital world is security. Whether you are a small business with an eCommerce website or an individual making payment for a service, the security threat landscape is very real and ever present. A new partnership announced between GoDaddy and SiteLock looks to bring some peace of mind to small businesses and their customers with a security solution designed to protect WordPress websites. The collaboration between both companies has been in the works since April 1, 2014. The result is an effective hosting service from GoDaddy for WordPress... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “Consumer expectations have changed dramatically in recent years, and customer loyalty is at an all-time low.  People will simply seek out not only the best deal but also the most satisfying customer experience, so online retailers must do everything they can to remain competitive. Delivery service has a huge impact on the overall ecommerce customer experience. According to Hayley Silver, Vice President of Bizrate Insights at Connexity: As the demand for faster shipping intensifies, companies such as UPS and FedEx are raising their rates and the courier landscape is becoming... [...]

Antony Maina says, “If your small business regularly sells products via Google Shopping, a new reorganization of the company’s policies is on he way. Though the company insists the new policies are mostly a simplification of the way merchants currently do business. However, Google also insists those using the service do review the changes to make sure noting is missed when the new policy takes over. Google’s Shopping Policy Center will be updated come February 2016. Announcing the upcoming changes in a Merchant Center Help Page, Google said the company will be launching a “new and... [...]

Antony Maina says, “This year’s holiday season promises to be the strongest in five years with mobile eCommerce playing a bigger role than ever. A study by eMarketer, a research agency for insights on marketing in a digital world, projected a 5.7 percent increase in retail sales in November and December, reaching $886 billion. If that’s fulfilled, it will be a significant adjustment from the 3.2 percent growth rate that was predicted earlier in the year and it will also be the biggest increase since 2011, which saw a 6.3 percent rise. Mobile made its first big showing as a transactional... [...]

Corey Beale says, “It’s no secret that the digital media industry needs new business models. As our 2014 Digital Publishing Benchmarks Report points out, digital media companies are operating in a volatile time of transition and discovery. The biggest challenge? It’s a time of uncertainty. Publishers know that ad revenues are on the decline, and they’re experimenting with new monetization channels like sponsored content, webinars, and courses. Consequently, Media companies are also facing option overload, with options spread thin across multiple channels. It’s times like these that... [...]

Georges Berzgal says, “Marketers are very aware of the potential that social media holds for ecommerce retailers. In particular, Pinterest and Instagram are proving to be popular with many brands, as the image-based networks enable them to provide engaging content directly to consumer’s devices. However, what hasn’t always been obvious is how to convert these followers into sales. Both platforms recently developed new tools to more easily facilitate commerce across the board. So what are the inherent benefits of services like Pinterest and Instagram, and which provides the best platform... [...]

Conner Burt says, “As Q4 winds to an end, there are inevitably open deals needing to be shut and (hopefully) shoved into the “closed-won” bucket. Just one problem — this is far easier said than done. Below are a few tips I gave the Lesson.ly sales team on closing before the opening of Q1 2016. 1) Adjust your mindset. Have you ever heard a sales colleague load on the excuses towards the end of the year? I’ve heard complaints about the short schedule, the vacations, the lack of responsiveness, the lack of decision making, and a million other things. If you’re hearing this from... [...]