Toluu

Practical eCommerce Articles

Articles, resources, strategy and a community for internet retailers, online business owners and ecommerce developers.

BabyAge.com Co-founder Cites 10 Guiding PrinciplesYesterday

When BabyAge.com co-founder Jack Kiefer worked for one of the first video conferencing companies in the early '90s, he thought commerce online had possibilities. By 1999, Kiefer had co-founded BabyAge.com. He is now its CEO. Fast forward to 2008 and BabyAge's gross revenue reached $30 million, with 2009 revenue expected to exceed $41 million. Practical eCommerce recently visited with Kiefer at the 50,000 square foot BabyAge warehouse facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. PeC: What was your inspiration to create BabyAge.com? Kiefer: "In 1996, when Babies'R'Us arrived, you had a major retailer trying to centralize baby products under one roof. I was working at iBaby at the time, and saw a real opportunity to consolidate wholesal...

Cart of the Week: Tiger CommerceYesterday

There are more than 350 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer or management and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. This week, we'll hear from Neil Smith, ecommerce director for G-Forces Web Management Ltd. His company owns Tiger Commerce, a hosted shopping cart located in Bearsted, Kent, England. After a decade in the business, G-Forces has more than 2,000 stores using its cart software. We'll also hear the views of Chris Smith (no relation), managing director of LIME, a seller of gaming console headsets, and a Tiger Commerce user. PeC: How much does the...

Field Test: Conversion Strategies Part IIJuly 2

Practical eCommerce periodically gathers seasoned ecommerce merchants and asks each of them the same questions around a given topic. We publish their responses in "Field Test," and the topic in this installment is conversion strategies. The participating ecommerce merchants are: Dave Norris, House of Antique Hardware; Justin Hertz, MuttMart; Lars Hundley, Clean Air Gardening; Richard Kuipers, Windmill Trading; Chris Moleski, Wetsuit Wearhouse; and Bryon Tabor, Practical Sports. The responses of three of six participants were published previously. Here are the responses of the three remaining participants, published anonymously to maintain candor. PeC: Roughly how many visitors come to your ecommerce site each day? FIELD TESTER 1: 8,...

The Shopping Experience: Icon Dock Excels at Downloadable GraphicsJuly 2

Icon Dock is a beautifully designed, easy-to-use online retailer specializing in downloadable, vector graphic icons. Each month, Practical eCommerce sends me shopping. I make a purchase from a real online merchant—like Icon Dock—and report back to you about the overall checkout process, customer service experience, and website aesthetics. This review should provide a consumer's perspective about the featured merchant in particular, and about online retailing practices in general. To avoid receiving preferential treatment, I do not notify the merchant about the impending review. Think of it as a secret shopper program for the Internet. This month, I went shopping for website icons and found Icon Dock an ecommerce outlet for Toronto-bas...

Ten Great New Ecommerce Ideas for July 2009July 1

Practical eCommerce asks industry insiders each month to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company succeed. Here’s what ten of them had to say for the July 2009 installment. Focus on Upsell Products "To succeed with your ecommerce solution, it is extremely important to focus on having the customer picking an upsell product with better profit, or adding accessories together with the product they are purchasing. This is no more than a time commitment, but well worth it. Find products that you can add as accessories, not only to a few of your products but to all of them." Roy Andre Tollefsen Lead Designer Silverthemes Silverthemes.com -- Automation is Not a Substitute for Outstanding Support "It is critic...