by Nawaz Charania | Ecommerce Business Tips |

Companies who get serious about data-driven retention efforts have a significant competitive advantage over those who don’t. A new study by RJ Metrics, a site analytics software vendor, underscores the value of tracking customer metrics to determine which customers are most likely to become big spenders– but that value only materializes when e-commerce retailers make the effort to market to these customers at the right time, using the right methods.

The average customer lifetime value over the first year as a customer with an e-retailer is $154, according to the E-commerce Buyer Behavior report by RJ Metrics. However, a whopping $106 of that amount will be spent in the first 30 days of that relationship. While only 30 percent of new customers make a second purchase during that first year, they typically will make that second purchase within the first 30 days after purchase number one…. Read the full article

by Nawaz Charania | Ecommerce Business Tips |

Positioning for Real, Sustainable Growth

As you likely know at this point in your browsing of Appath, or as one of many satisfied customers, Appath offers tools to effectively automate and streamline your ecommerce order processing operations across multiple channels. The key to this successful automation is Appath’s bridging of communication between your selling channel systems, shopping carts and outlets.

In utilization of such tools, one can sit back and expect the cash to flow in from customers from all over the webosphere, correct? Well, while the perfect scenario of the perfect world would provide an affirmative answer to this, that would neither be responsible nor correct…. Read the full article

by Nawaz Charania | Ecommerce Business Tips |

Poor shipping policies are one of the major causes for conversion failure. The cost for shipping is not the only reason shoppers abandon their carts before checking out. Potential customers can also be turned off by the shipping carrier provided, slow packing and shipping times, no access to tracking and poorly packed goods.

Here is how you can build trust in your shipping policies and convert more shoppers into buyers:… Read the full article

by Nawaz Charania | Ecommerce Business Tips |

What does it take to ship a package? It is often a lot more than a label, and there are the many technicalities that you, as a retailer, may overlook. For example, if you are a multichannel ecommerce retailer who sells on such popular sites as eBay, Amazon, Newegg, Bigcommerce, and others, you may handle your shipping or you may drop ship.

Either way, you have to accept that your shipping process is not “hands free” on your end. There is the need to verify the shipping address, obtain the item or alert the shippers that it is to be sent, print the shipping labels, and more. There is also usually the need to work with more than a single shipping provider. After all, if you are to remain competitive in any online retail channel you have to make things like overnight, second day, international, and even discount shipping an option to buyers…. Read the full article

by Nawaz Charania | Ecommerce Business Tips |

Using proprietary software from your shipping vendors is unlikely to save you money because they won’t extend any discounts to you for using their labels, software, and so on. The only way to cut costs with vendors is to negotiate better rates, and this is something few will do right from the start. Instead, they want you to establish a longer term relationship with them, do a specific amount of business, and only then will they decide if they’ll give you any sort of discount or special rate.

This is a bit annoying to anyone interested in an online retail business because it means that you cannot rely on lower shipping costs as part of your overall business plan. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have no options…. Read the full article