Global eCommerce Business: Learn from Birchbox, Braintree and HotelTonight
Do you sometimes wonder how you would expand your online store into a global eCommerce business?
We often hear how eCommerce is wonderful because you have the opportunity to tap a global market. While this is true to some extent, often a business will derive the majority of their success from a single market.
And just because something has worked well in the U.S., it won’t necessarily be a winning strategy in China, Brazil or Indonesia.
If these sorts of quandaries sound familiar to you, keep reading.
Selling Coffee Online with WooCommerce
Over the weekend, Brent and I were lucky enough to return to home soil to attend WordCamp Sydney.
It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the Australian WordPress community and to spread the word about The Wonderful World of WooCommerce.
One of the highlights was sampling the delicious coffee offerings of The Bearded Roaster, aka Tony Cosentino, who is using WooCommerce to sell his small batch coffee.
Tony’s hairy brand is so memorable, and his coffee (even the decaf) was truly delicious.
The experience inspired us to find some other businesses that are building a brand for selling coffee online using WooCommerce.
A Saucy Pet Business, Powered By WooCommerce
Do you wish you had something you could pour over your pet’s dry food, which would not only make it delicious, but also provide them with the nutrition they need?
After all, condiments have been used by people for years to help convince children and fussy eaters to finish their vegetables.
Bringing the power of condiments to pet nutrition is the idea behind a Colorado-based pet business Petchup, which was started by Anthony (Tony) Williams and his wife Toni.
Petchup is a fantastic idea, executed with fun and humanised branding. And we’re happy to report that the online store is powered by WooCommerce.
60 Minute Delivery; Do We Need All eCommerce Products Instantly?
Imagine you are lusting after a new item of clothing, let’s say a comfy sweater.
You scan a variety of online stores. Perhaps you check out Macy’s and Nordstrom, and then visit the websites for another couple of well-known brands, like Anthropology and Uniqlo.
You don’t see anything you really like.
Then you come across an eCommerce store that not only has some great-looking sweaters, but also promises to get your purchase to you within the same day, or even better, the same hour.
Would you buy from them?
In China, eCommerce is a Lifestyle
“In other countries eCommerce is a way to shop, in China it is a lifestyle.” – Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba
With the excitement building for Alibaba’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) tomorrow (it’s expected to be the largest IPO in US history), I thought it might be time to start developing a better understanding of the world’s fastest growing eCommerce market.
eCommerce Website Checklist: What’s Missing From Your Site?
Most eCommerce stores you’re likely to encounter will vary wildly: different product ranges, different appearance and different strategies.
Despite the lack of similarities at first glance, most eCommerce stores follow the same set of underlying principles—a blueprint for success, if you like.
Today, I have looked at a number of the Internet’s biggest eCommerce stores, and put together a checklist of twenty “things” they all had in common.
Learn from the experts, and give yourself the best opportunity for success.
Let’s dive straight in.
5 Bits of eCommerce News Worth Noting This Week
This has been a big week in tech news and analysis (hello Apple Watch), including for those of us who follow eCommerce.
So—at the risk of a backlash at publishing TWO listicles this week—I thought I’d summarise five bits of eCommerce news from the week that are worth noting.
5 PetCommerce Companies Powered By WooCommerce
We love finding sites using WooCommerce to sell cool and unusual things.
After viewing a couple of cute dog memes my sister sent me last week (like this funny little fella), I thought to myself, “I bet there are some interesting WooCommerce pet businesses out there!”
Sure enough, it turns out there are plenty of sites around the world that are using WooCommerce for pet-related businesses. And they’re not just boring, run of the mill, online dog food stores.
Introductory Guide to Dropshipping with WooCommerce
Packing in your traditional 9-5 job to start an online business is less far-fetched than it sounds—people just like you are taking the leap every day.
Most people have a burning passion inside them, and running an eCommerce business is one of the most viable opportunities for turning a passion into a profitable business—whether it’s your passion for a certain hobby, or the desire to build something from the ground up that drives you.
Unfortunately for many, that great idea, dream or passion will never become a reality, for two simple reasons: risk and cost.
Even if we have an amazing blueprint in front of us, there’s no guarantee of success. With mouths to feed and mortgages to pay, do we have the spare cash and the appetite for risk to bring that idea to market?
However, not all eCommerce business models come steeped in risk.
Dropshipping is a business model that actually circumnavigates these major issues, making it one of the most accessible forms of online business opportunities.
2 Reports To Help You Understand International eCommerce
One of the great things about eCommerce is the opportunity to tap a much larger, potentially global, market.
But tapping the global market means contending with, and understanding, a diverse range of factors.
These factors influence the popularity and prevalence of eCommerce in particular markets. For example, some countries may have very favourable regulations, tax and customs practices, logistics and financial infrastructure and levels of income.
Others may have high levels of technology adoption and a preference for buying on mobile devices (mobile commerce).
Others still may rely heavily on the opinions and thoughts of family and friends, emphasising the importance of social commerce.
While we understand that considering all of these factors can be overwhelming, we found a couple of reports last week that might help you better understand at least some of the intricacies of the global eCommerce market.