As massive retailers such as Sears and Payless are leaving vacant storefronts, online indie retailers and pop-up shops have been moving into the brick and mortar spaces. More e-tailers are finding out the importance of having a physical presence, but getting the funds to move into a storefront can be a bit difficult. That’s where […]
E-Commerce
Instagram Launches In-app Checkout
Online sellers, rejoice. Instagram has announced a new feature called “Checkout” that allows shoppers to buy directly from your posts without leaving the app. The feature is still in beta testing, but has big implications for the future of online shopping. Over the past few years, Instagram has added more and more consumer-focused features such […]
Online Fraud: Should You Be Worried?
We live in a very digitally-conscious age where anyone can do virtually anything with a smartphone. Consumers can make a bill payment, purchase products online, and store their credit card information in their phones so there’s no need to carry around a wallet. As easy and convenient as all of these things are, the protection […]
How to Win a Customer for Life
For many independent online sellers, getting your website in front of potential shoppers can be challenging. Optimizing SEO is harder and more competitive than ever, with preference often given to larger companies. Social media promotions offer greater visibility, but at a cost, and that landscape is also very crowded. In other words, once a customer […]
Tips for High-Quality DIY Product Photos
Having high-quality photos is no longer a luxury for retailers, but a necessity. 90% of the information transmitted to our brain is visual. So, no matter how detailed your product description is, the quality of your photo can make or break a sale. Use Your Smartphone. A high-quality camera helps, but it’s not necessary. You […]
We Know Amazon.com – But what is AWS?
Amazon monopolizes much of the conversation around retail, between its popular Prime program, advances in shipping logistics, Amazon Go’s payment technology, and most recently the HQ2 contest and the circus than ensued. But, there is one sleeping Amazon giant that arguably has played an even bigger role in startup, ecommerce, and technology innovation: Amazon Web […]
Is Facebook Still Effective for Startups?
Many successful ecommerce retailers built their brands on Facebook. Specifically, direct-to-consumer startups from recent years like Brandless, Casper, Allbirds, Framebridge, and BarkBox built revolutionary retail brands almost exclusively on social media. At National Retail Federation’s BIG Show in January, CNBC’s Lauren Thomas held a discussion panel with executives from BarkBox and Framebridge, among others, to […]
How to Incorporate Amazon’s Free Sample Program in your Store
Whenever the word ‘free’ is mentioned anywhere, customers are all over it. Giving out something for free with a purchase can help customer loyalty, encourage them to buy the full sized product, or get them to spend a certain amount of money in your shop so they can get the free product. Many retailers use […]
Ingredients for a Successful Direct to Consumer Startup
What do Casper, Allbirds, Brandless, Burrow, and Snowe all have in common? For starters, they are all ecommerce startups launched within the past few years that are extremely successful in terms of revenue, brand identity, and recognition. What else do they have in common? They all used the same brand company to launch their business. […]
How to Sell on Instagram: Using the New Shopping Features
Instagram is a great visual marketing tool for showcasing products, lifestyle shots, and raising brand awareness. According to Mashable, “there are more than 25 million businesses that have Instagram profiles, and the photo-sharing app has become one of the most important platforms for smaller and direct-to-consumer brands.” Throughout 2018, Instagram implemented a lot of features […]
