9 Billion Reasons Alibaba Loves Loneliness
It’s the world’s biggest online shopping day in the world’s biggest eCommerce market.
You might not have even heard of Singles Day, but it just made Alibaba over $9 billion.
Why Payments Are So Hot Right Now
Payments, payments, payments. I could write about them all day. In what’s shaping up to be the next innovation battleground, there’s just so much going on lately.
To that end, Accenture released its 2014 North American Consumer Payments Survey of 4,000 consumers last month. The survey canvassed respondents’ attitudes to different ways of making payments, as well as their expectations of the future.
WooConf 2014: The Best WooConf Ever
WooThemes may have peaked too early… We have no idea how they are going to top their first WooConf, held November 3rd and 4th in San Francisco.
The Prospress team were thrilled to be a part of it, and all agree that the event totally exceeded our expectations!
For anyone that missed out (or if you want to relive the experience) we’ve pulled together all the links we could find in a recap, so that you can try to recreate the experience in your own home.
Be warned though, the teams at WooThemes and A2E did an amazing job decking out The Village with purple hues and creative touches (WooThemes jenga, nerdy terreriums), which would be hard to replicate.
But perhaps you can dust off your purple lava lamp (or stick some purple cellophane over a light), mix yourself a Bloody Mary, and begin to recreate the vibe…
Does Location Matter for eCommerce?
You run an online store, which means that location doesn’t matter, right?
Not necessarily. Even though we spend a lot of time in the digital world these days, the physical world still exists, and still has an important influence on us.
Where we live, our friends, the local weather, local brands—these factors still heavily influence what we prefer and buy, including online.
And with the rise of mobile—and wearable—devices, location is playing an even more important role in our online experience.
In this post we ask the question: does location matter for eCommerce?
Sell With Stellar, Using WooCommerce
We’re excited to announce that we’ve launched a new, free WooCommerce Stellar Gateway extension.
There are over three million Stellar Facebook authorisations, but very few are selling via the Stellar protocol or in the Stellar cryptocurrency.
The WooCommerce Stellar Gateway is a way for non-developers to sell with Stellar.
If you can set up WordPress and WooCommerce, you can sell with Stellar.
Doing Things Differently: The Story of White Gum Wool
What do small-scale, ethical sheep farming in Tasmania and WooCommerce have in common?
You might not think much, but that’s only if you haven’t yet heard of Nan Bray, founder of White Gum Wool.
Nan has kept an open mind and an inquiring eye on her farm and business. By paying attention to the behaviour of her flock, and using her scientific background to do some research of her own, Nan has discovered an ethical and sustainable way to graze sheep.
Nan’s willingness to do things differently has meant her 1,000 or so Merino sheep have flourished. And because of their superior health and nutrition, Nan’s flock produce wool so fine that it could be used in top-of-the-line Italian suits.
The Cost of Setting up an Online Store
If you’re new to the eCommerce world, the idea of setting up a website from scratch can seem intimidating.
Many potential eCommerce store owners have a misconception that you require huge amounts of technical skills and an overly-healthy bank balance to get started—it’s not the case.
Armed with some basic knowledge—some of which can be gleaned from our Complete Beginner’s Guide to eCommerce—the entire process seems far more accessible, manageable, and, best of all, affordable.
That’s the purpose of today’s guide: to educate you on the cost of setting up an online store.
What is Really Going on With Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is mysterious. Is it the cryptocurrency used by criminals? A tool of anarchists? Or is Bitcoin simply a way to buy goods on Overstock.com?
Last week, Bitcoin news resource Coindesk released its Q3 State of Bitcoin Report for 2014, which helps unpack what is really going on with Bitcoin right now.
Online Grocery Shopping: Can the U.S. Copy the U.K.’s Success?
With AmazonFresh, Instacart and Google Shopping Express competing against each other to find the perfect home grocery delivery solution, things are really heating up in the world of online grocery shopping. From a consumer’s perspective, this could revolutionize the way we buy groceries—the competition could lead to more choice, lower prices, and, of course, unrivalled convenience.
Despite the significant investments into finding that solution, the online U.S. grocery market is still in relative infancy. Yet while these three juggernauts are busy working out logistics and marketing ploys to encourage U.S. consumers to jump online to buy their food, elsewhere the online grocery market is reaching maturity.
In the U.K., for example, it’s been relatively common for families to do their grocery shopping online for years. In fact, this has led to the U.K. being heralded as one of the world leaders in the field of online grocery sales and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
Why has the U.S., with all its resources, lagged behind for so long when the rewards for cracking this market are so huge?
The Bearded Roaster: Shipping Hacks, DIY Branding and Seizing Opportunities
Tony Cosentino might just be a small-business branding genius.
His business name—The Bearded Roaster—is fun and entirely memorable. The way Tony tells it, he came up with the name rather effortlessly.
Tony had a similar experience when naming his WordPress consulting business, The WordPress Guy. In both cases, it was what people had naturally started calling him anyway.
Along with his natural talent for simple, yet effective branding, Tony is taking advantage of some other very clever business ideas. These include an Australia Post shipping hack, and deftly taking advantage of an opportunity to get his coffee in front of customers.