A few days ago, eBay’s Green Team was publically introduced to the world. A specific part of eBay’s website is now dedicated to educating buyers and sellers on how to reduce their impact on the environment.

The initiative was inspired, in part, by the record number of customers choosing to buy items that could be classified as “used”, “organic”, “refurbished”, “vintage”, “sustainable” or “remainder.” It was recognized that customers’ decisions to purchase these types of items were better for the environment, in comparison to the resources required to build new products.

This got me thinking about the environmental impact of the average online business. In particular, I began to think of simple ways that every online business could reduce carbon footprints regardless of the types of products they were selling.

Continue reading Shipping Green: Your Next Smart Business Decision

Posted in Ecommerce

Ah, live chat. Every day, I become more convinced that it’s the king of all customer service options.

You might be wondering what makes live chat so great. How, you ask, might live chat be so different from the traditional customer service routes of email and phone support?

Well, let me counts the ways…

First, live chat has a reputation for not only decreasing shopping cart abandonment, but increasing average order value by at least 30%. It’s not too shabby as a conversion rate increaser. CompUSA, for example, boasted a ten-fold increase after implementing live chat on their website. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Continue reading Liven up Conversions With Live Chat

Posted in Ecommerce

I know people who still wish for the uncomplicated days of the old eBay.

The days to which I’m referring are, of course, those that included a more open circuit of information between sellers, buyers and potential bidders. It was during that period when sellers, buyers and bidders enjoyed the same level of transparency- it was when bidders knew who they were bidding against and when sellers recognized potential customers even before any auctions were won.

Those days have been replaced with the present. The present now boasts privacy requirements that just sort of cramp everyone’s style. It’s been that way for about a year now.

Continue reading Auction Privacy Can Make Prospects Go Into Hiding

Posted in Ecommerce

Most business owners know what loyalty programs are. Too few actually implement them. Even less use programs that customers aren’t tired of seeing.

I have a problem with that.

At worst, a customer confronted with a loyalty program that they’ve seen too many times before can feel burdened. It’s almost like you’re requesting them to do extra things that other businesses have asked them to do, too. And before you.

The solution? A unique loyalty program.

Continue reading Use Unique Loyalty Programs to Drive Up Sales

Posted in Ecommerce

Merchant accounts aren’t for everyone. Sometimes, accepting credit cards directly on your website requires too much hassle and legal rope jumping. You can bypass all the registering, applications, credit approvals and other associated- and tedious- tasks you would have to perform to acquire a merchant account by choosing a third-party processor.

If you opt for a third-party option, you’ll save time, have your account up and ready in less than an hour and you won’t have to spend lots of money on monthly fees to use the service like merchant accounts may require.

First, the obvious: PayPal is a great service, but some business owners find that using the service has its drawbacks. At best, it can be a love/hate relationship like Bobette Kyle says. I say that, at worst, it can be like one of those nutty, co-dependent relationships that Lifetime movies are made out of.

Continue reading Pick Your Processor: PayPal Isn’t The Only Third-Party Option

Posted in Ecommerce

By now, we’ve all wound down from the holiday season rush.

That doesn’t mean that we can sit back and relax, though.

This recession means that a rough road lies ahead for some business owners. For them, coming up with strategies to attract prospects is still at the top of their wish lists.

I know that there are business owners who tried bundling during the holiday season to keep up with comparable offers from competitors or competitors who just plain offered free shipping. I’m sure that profits were made. But now, those same business owners are probably back the same ol’ standard shipping option. I’d like to give them some reasons to keep bundling after the holidays. And there are more than a few.

Continue reading A Case for Bundling After the Holidays

Posted in Ecommerce

In 2000, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation reported that 10% of Internet users had a disability that interfered with their ability to access the web.

That same year, ICann reported that disabled Internet users owned $188 billion in disposable income.

That was almost 10 years ago.

Imagine what those numbers look like now.

Yet, there’s a stunning curiosity in the world of ecommerce today- substantial resistance to making websites accessible to all users, including the disabled.

Continue reading Open the Door to Disability Accessibility on Your Website

Posted in Ecommerce

Yesterday, I gave you a few reasons why welcome emails shouldn’t be dismissed.

Today, I’d like to provide some practical tips for those who already utilize welcome emails.

That’s straightforward enough, right?

Well, not really.

Some of these tips may require you to look at welcome emails in an entirely different light. It might even be easier for you to disregard everything that you’ve done up until this point.

Continue reading Seven Ways to Improve Your Welcome Emails

Posted in Ecommerce

By now, you’ve probably heard of this great “war.”

Blogs have been written about it. Books have been themed around it. But most importantly, it effects your experience as a business owner and your customers’ experiences as buyers.

Some claim that PayPal is winning the war.

It would be easy to think so. PayPal’s positive aspects are obvious:

• Small business-friendly
• Welcomes international customers
• One-stop third-party payment processor
• Great anti-fraud measures
• Recognizable and trusted brand

Continue reading PayPal vs. Google Checkout and Why You Should Offer Both

Posted in Ecommerce

In 1999, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants released some research about security and ecommerce after customer information was compromised on certain popular websites. I can already hear you questioning its relevance in 2009. But before you dismiss it, you should know one thing: it’s just as applicable today as it was then. Some may say that it’s even more so.

Take this excerpt:

“Consumers are looking for better ways to research and buy online, all the while requiring a reasonable amount of assurance and trust that the sites are safe and secure and that their information is kept private.”

Sound familiar? It should. Consumers on the Internet never stop trying to find better ways to shop and they are always concerned with the privacy and security of a business’s website- even if the company is established and they’ve personally had numerous successful transactions with it in the past.

Not convinced?

Continue reading Secure Your Business’s Website to Make Conversions a Lock

Posted in Ecommerce