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The words “global ecommerce” are thrown about very easily these days.  The words “cross-border ecommerce”, not so much.  They are related, but they are also are very different ways in which merchants can conduct business globally.  So, what does it matter to merchants?  That all depends on whether a merchant wants to cater to customers directly in certain countries – or if they want to have a single presence with a single marketing message and sell the same products to all its customers.  If a merchant has the bandwidth to support multiple web sites (in various languages), various distribution channels, and offer multiple payment options, cross-border ecommerce would be the path to take.  Continue reading "Going Global – Is Ecommerce The Same for All Merchants?"

Having an e-commerce site is no longer just about a building an attractive and interactive web site.  If merchants want to reach mobile consumers, they need to include various options, which include mobile-optimization and mobile apps.  Mobile optimized sites are, in simple terms, a scaled down version of a web site, optimized for viewing on a mobile phone.  Mobile apps are much more involved and require app-enabled smart phones.

In order to make sense of which option is best, merchants should take a step back and put on their consumer shoes. Continue reading "How Important is a Mobile Site for E-Commerce Merchants?"

Okay, so these may not be all that ‘secret’, but it seems as if sometimes they are.  Some online merchants are so focused on the business side of their business, such as adding new products and services, integrating security policies for data protection, modifying their web site or sending out email promotions, they don’t realize that if it weren’t for customers buying their products or services, they wouldn’t have a business at all. Continue reading "Secret Rules For Successful E–Commerce"

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1-800-Flowers is paving the way, yet again, for retailers to reach consumers. The company has jumped on the Facebook bandwagon and is taking advantage of the viral social networking phenomenon. In late July, they became the first store to sell their products directly through Facebook, via a Facebook application. They simply added a “Shop” tab to their page where users can shop, purchase, and ship, all without leaving Facebook. Continue reading "New Avenues For E-Commerce"

Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company that provides advice about technology’s impact on business and consumers, recently released estimates on ecommerce growth over the next four years. As we see and read about traditional sales dropping all across the nation, ecommerce will continue to grab the lost market share. Forrester said, “When we asked where consumers would shift their retail dollars, the channels with the greatest shifts were the mass merchants, warehouse clubs, and web retailers.”

There are still some advantages to retail shopping, such as many people like the ability to see and touch what they are buying. However, that will not stop online sales from reaching as high as $176.9 Billion in 2010. Amazon.com and eBay have significantly discounted their merchandise over the past year to compete with retail stores. The National Retail Foundation forecasts that traditional retail sales will drop .5% in 2009.

Continue reading "Ecommerce Sales Grow as Retail Stores Shrink"

Online shopping is at an all time high. According to The Nielsen Report, over 875 million consumers have shopped online. This is up 40% in the last two years. The most purchased items are books, clothes, accessories, video games, airline tickets and electronic equipment. While 2008 holiday purchases at retail locations were down 5 percent, shopping on the internet was up 15 percent, on Cyber Monday alone. If your business is not online you are missing out on huge potential profits.

Once your business is online and your shopping cart has been built, you have to select a payment gateway. Many merchants select their payment gateway based on what their merchant services provider tells them. There are hundreds of payment gateway options out there, and not all of them measure up.

A gateway facilitates your online payments by connecting your secure order from your merchant account to a processing bank. Something as important as the transfer of money should take some research. When selecting a gateway, consider available features, reliability, and support.

Continue reading "Does Your Payment Gateway Measure Up?"

Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) is an open protocol which has the potential to play a large role and dominate the market in providing secure electronic transactions. Jointly, Visa and MasterCard and vendors such as IBM have worked to create SET as an open standard for protecting the privacy, and ensuring the authenticity, of electronic transactions. SET is critical to the success of electronic commerce over the Internet; without having a system for authenticating consumers and merchants, it leaves all parties involved vulnerable. Security measures need to come from the top down, and bring uniformity to each industry. SET may sound like a necessity, but has not been popular in the United States.

Consumers in the United States spend billions of dollars over the internet each year, and it is reported by MasterCard that the majority of the purchases are made without using SET. Most merchants who sell over the internet are using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for their internet stores. Typically this would be enough, but fraud is on the rise.  The economy is contributing to increased instances of internet theft and identity theft.

Continue reading "SET Technology is Back on Visa and MasterCard’s Plate"

When starting a new business, most merchants generally focus on the features of their cart and how the website itself looks. We pick our colors and how much items cost. We look for how the customer will enter their order, or how we will track shipping. The most important consideration is: When customers buy your product, how do they pay you?

There are many different shopping cart options for people to choose. Every online business is different, and shopping carts are customized to fit your business needs.

First, when looking for your business’s shopping cart, it is important to know what features you would like it to accommodate. Most shopping carts can total orders, calculate tax and shipping costs, and transmit information via a payment gateway to process a sale.

Continue reading "Is One Shopping Cart Better Than Another?"

With 80% of online shoppers using credit cards, you can’t afford NOT to take credit cards. Did you know that merchants offering credit cards as a payment option increase their profitability by estimated 50%? With the inherent advantages involving credit card processing, should you really go with your initial instinct and choose the cheapest option?

Let’s face it – we all strive to have that BMW as opposed to a Dodge Neon, and even shop around for the best appliances. Knowing this, have you ever stopped to wonder why we, as business owners, opt for the lowest bidding credit card processor for something as important as our business?

As with other products, cheaper does not necessarily equate to better. How about reliability? If your customers are charged the wrong amount, or transactions are declined due to an unreliable or inaccurate gateway, who do you think they will blame? That’s right, YOU! Consider this – is the money you’re saving using the cheapest solution worth the cost of losing future business?

Let me share with you this example, a few weeks ago, a merchant was having trouble getting cards approved on his website. He then had his funds held by his processor. His merchant services provider told him it was his gateway and conversely, the gateway provider told him it was his merchant services provider. Needless to say, this merchant chose his provider based on the lowest bid, and what he got as far as service and reliability was a whole lot of finger-pointing and denial of liability.

I’m sure as business owners you are bombarded with calls and mailers from merchant services companies on a daily basis claiming their fees are the lowest. Fees for merchant services are an unfortunate reality, irrespective of the processor you choose, so it is important to choose the right company to partner up with. Here are some things you should know when deciding on a merchant services provider:

• Make sure whatever gateway you choose is compatible with your shopping cart software.
• Rates and fees are determined by many factors: length of time in business, percentage of sales made over the phone or the internet, type of business, personal credit rating, and dollar amount of sales per month. A typical rate should be about 2.30% to 3.5%, but some companies charge as high as 6%. Poor personal credit or business type may warrant a much higher rate.
• Do not agree to a high discount unless you are sure no other company will process your charges for lower.
• Be sure to ask about all fees involved such as Gateway fees, ACH fees, monthly minimums, Address Verification Fees, transaction fees and statement fees.
• Read all agreements closely to determine the circumstances for which your money can be put on hold.
• Find out if there will be a hold or reserve on your account. If so, how much with be held and how long will it be held for?
• What types of fraud and risk monitoring does the processor and gateway provide?
• Who do you call when you have questions? For instance, a processor offering its own gateway is a better choice since there will be fewer support calls to make in the event of service interruption.

In my experience in this business, I have come across numerous merchants that got exactly what they paid for – very little.

Take my advice, do your homework and don’t settle for the lowest bidder.