Your Ecommerce Article Library – 100 of the best marketing resources arranged by topic

22 March, 2017

The Ecommerce Article Library

Click on your eCommerce marketing category of interest and you’ll find a collection of the most reliable, insightful and practical articles on your topic to help you keep your industry knowledge ahead of your competition.


If you have an eCommerce question, problem or query, where do you go to solve it?
Why you need to bookmark The Ecommerce Jungle Gym Library

The library – said no eCommerce professional ever.

If none of your team members or friends has any ideas, you probably engage the services of your free eCommerce information consultant. This consultant knows almost everything there is to know about eCommerce marketing. You’ll have your question asked and answered with thousands, if not millions of answers in less than a second.

Your old pal Google sure is a handy friend to have.

We all have access to this incredible online encyclopaedia of information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Google never takes a day off. In fact, you can carry your portable question-answerer around in your pocket with you all day.

There’s just one big problem with using Google as your eCommerce information source…

It takes you so long to find the best articles amongst the infinite pile of information.

It’s almost impossible to filter through the best industry advice, info and news amidst the abundance of content worthlessness scattered across the online marketing ‘blogosphere’.

You have a business to work for. You have sales to make. You have repeat customers to delight.

You don’t have time to be reading 17 different articles every time you want some eCommerce inspiration. You need a swift way to work out which advice is most reliable and relevant to your cause.

That’s the difference between your cool, new pal Google and the good, old-fashioned library. There was always a friendly, cardigan-wearing librarian at the help who separated the best resources from the rest and arranged them into easily searchable categories, so you could make a quick journey to the correct aisle and find the information you were looking for.

We want to help you find the best eCommerce articles of the online marketing jungle in one simple place

The Ecommerce Jungle Gym is dedicated to helping you grow your online retail business. Each week our tribe members pour over the newest eCommerce insights from around the marketing web to extract the best info and deliver it straight to the inbox door of our faithful email subscribers.

Every Tuesday our readers receive one neat little package of eCommerce marketing helpfulness – and inside they find three interesting, valuable and strategic articles from around the web, hand-picked by our expert team of Gorillas (you should subscribe now for your weekly bundle of learning excitement if you haven’t already).

But we don’t just want to help our loyal tribe of Jungle Gym subscribers. We want to make sure the next time you want to brush up on your industry knowledge and find the best eCommerce marketing info – you can come back to our virtual online library full of verified online retail resources.

Turn those hours of annoying research into instant online learning gratification with our Ecommerce Article Library.

So, we’ve analysed all of the articles included in the last 12 month’s of our weekly Ecommerce Jungle Gym Update to come up with our favourite 100 eCommerce marketing articles of the year.

We’ve arranged these top 100 articles into an online library of 12 different categories to help you filter through each virtual aisle to find the info you’re looking for.

Short On Time? Your Skim-Read Summary:

Too busy to read all 100 articles? I hear ya!

Here are direct links to each of our 12 eCommerce article categories.

You can click on the topic that takes your fancy and head straight to the relevant section (and make sure you check out our top 5 favourites while you’re here).

Brand Case Studies

#1. Are Your Pants Vagisoft?

Publisher: Medium

This is the whimsical (and beautifully written) eCommerce startup story of BetaBrand – an online retailer building user-generated content into their business model with unfathomable success. The crowdfunding concept fuelling BetaBrand’s growth is novel and fascinating. Matter’s Brian Moylan provides a captivating insight into the inner workings of a brand which may be the prototype for building an audience of eCommerce repeat customers.

#2. The Inside Story of Uber’s Radical Rebranding

Publisher: Wired

How Uber came to replace the ubiquitous “U” logo is about more than corporate rebranding. This brand is one of the fastest-growing and most recognisable eCommerce brands in the world, and this article is a fascinating coming-of-age tale delivered by Jessi Hempel of Wired.

#3. Sex, Drugs, And V-Neck Tees: Inside The Cult Of American Apparel

Publisher: Refinery 29

Refinery 29’s Shakespearean story of the comic tragedy that is the one-time retail golden child, now shameful laughing stock – American Apparel. CEO, Dov Charney is a truly unbelievable character, defined by the contrast of his incredible marketing talent overtaken by irresistible flaws. This article reads as a guide on how to ruin a strong differentiated retail brand with incompetent, unethical and borderline criminal activity.

#4. How Chubbies is Conquering the Men’s Shorts Business to Make the Weekend Great Again

Publisher: Medium

A heart-warming, thigh-pleasing tale of 4 mates – quote – “turning out Chubbies up the wazoo”. This college bro-brand is showing eCommerce entrepreneurs (with far more experience, budget and venture capital) exactly how sustainable growth is done. Chubbies are an Ecommerce Jungle Gym ‘Best of eCommerce’ award winner – and for good reason. This is a remarkable story of success, belief, branding and balls.

#5. Can Everlane Make Ethical Chic?

Publisher: Bloomberg

In 2011, when Everlane launched, CEO Michael Preysman put some numbers on Everlane’s Facebook page. He figured the cost of making a T-shirt at a Los Angeles factory was $6. He said the price of a similar shirt at a traditional retailer was $45. The price at Everlane – $15. Publicising info that other retailers consider a trade secret helped Everlane gain following and more funding. Preysman has raised $9 million so far. This is the story of a retailer with a social conscience and a bulging bottom line. Fingers crossed Everlane will be the prototype for 21st Century eCommerce.

#6. Meet Frank, the Ecommerce Content Marketing Casanova (and our favourite case study)

Publisher: The Ecommerce Jungle Gym (yup, that’s us)

Meet Frank. He’s an Australian eCommerce marketing phenomenon. He’ll show you exactly how to build a niche online retail brand that makes millions of Australian twenty-somethings fight each other to profess their love for you. If you haven’t heard of Frank, you need to get acquainted…

#7. Why age is no barrier for Ian McLellan’s $15 million eCommerce startup

Publisher: Shipping Easy

Ecommerce startups aren’t exclusively founded by twenty-somethings with tight chinos, single-origin coffees and a podcast feed full of entrepreneur success stories. Shipping Easy would like to introduce Klika co-founders Ian McLellan, Boris Zaitsev and Scott Gladstone. This trio launched an online home and outdoor retailing business in their mid-fifties. Ten years later these middle-aged marketing mavens are still actively involved in the $15 million e-tailers, which sells an eclectic collection of gazebos, chainsaws and home dance poles.

#8. The investors willing to bet $300 million on disgraced American Apparel CEO Dov Charney

Publisher: Bloomberg

Somehow, a bunch of investors are willing to stump up $300 million to give American Apparel’s infamous ex-CEO Dov Charney another shot at redemption. This is a recap of his truly bizarre story – just months after Refinery 29 published their less than flattering portrait.

#9. AMA with Chip Neff – VP of Marketing at lifestyle eCommerce retailer Neff

Publisher: Growth Hackers

The incredibly helpful Chip explains apparel and headwear eCommerce brand, Neff’s audience-building strategy in explicit detail – giving invaluable info to any retailer targeting young males.

#10. The front doors of REI stores are staying locked on the biggest shopping day of the year

Publisher: CNN Money

Outdoors retailer REI is living the mission of their brand in the most surprising of ways. Thanksgiving is one of the most lucrative retail holidays on the calendar, and REI zigged when others zagged during the event – staying true to their philosophy and encouraging their members to enjoy the outdoors instead. CNN Money explains exactly why REI was closed for business on the biggest shopping day of the year. You could do much worse than following REI’s content marketing map to dominate your niche.

#11. How Content Marketing Powered $2 Million in Sales For Man Outfitters

Publisher: Shopify

Shopify’s Master’s podcast is well worth a weekly dabble. This ep profiling Man Outfitters sheds light on the merits of an editorial-first eCommerce business model, on the tribe of Gorillas here at The Ecommerce Jungle Gym whole-heartedly support.

#12. Why do people seem to be hating on Sears?

Publisher: Reddit

This Reddit thread is a perfect internet lesson about why your post-purchase customer experience matters so, so much. Marketing doesn’t end at the add-to-cart click, and somewhere along the way, Sears forgot.

#13. How Burberry became the top digital luxury brand

Publisher: Digiday

You might not have the same marketing riches as the UK’s most socially savvy luxury brand, but you sure can learn an eCommerce lesson or two from these digital pioneers.

#14. Why This Ecommerce Startup Made a $100 Million Gamble on a 100-Year-Old Factory

Publisher: Inc. Magazine

The incredible story of Harry’s – an inspiring eCommerce success story for any budding entrepreneur that underlines the risk versus reward conundrum. Harry’s are a US $122.5million venture-backed powerhouse. How did Harry’s pull this off? The founders kept asking themselves one question – ‘How do we get more sales and more repeat customers?’ Their online store, their email marketing, their magical blog and their innovative direct-to-consumer business model hold the answers.

Ecommerce Strategy

#15. Patagonia’s anti-growth Strategy

Publisher: The New Yorker

A fascinating exploration into the anti-growth strategy of outdoors online retailer Patagonia. This brand is a genuine paradox that proves the power of standing for something above all else. Now, more than ever before, the profit-at-all-costs mentality of the corporate mega powers who dominated 80’s and 90’s retail is being questioned. The new retail rules mean millennial consumers are flocking to brands with a purpose and staying loyal. Patagonia might just have blazed the trail for the future of eCommerce.

#16. Customer Value Optimisation: How to Build an Unstoppable Business

Publisher: Digital Marketer

This is the stuff they don’t teach in business school. Learn the steps to Customer Value Optimisation with the Founder of Digital Marketer – online marketing expert, Ryan Deiss.

#17. Ecommerce is a Bear

Publisher: Medium

An oldy, but still a goody. Andy Dunn, CEO of eCommerce chino wunderkind’s Bonobos, explains how your online store should go about surviving without awakening the beast that is Amazon. You can overcome your Goliath with one of four strategies. Farewell on your quest.

#18. 5 Questions to Get You on the Path to $10mil in Annual Revenue

Publisher: R.J. Metrics

Top-performing eCommerce companies get to $10 million in annual revenue within their second year of business. As for their counterparts? After year three they’re still falling short of this mark. RJ Metrics’ Daniel Levine explains the difference between these two eCommerce groups to help you find and replicate the qualities of these top performers.

#19. The future of e-commerce: bricks and mortar

Publisher: The Guardian

Amazon just made their most surprising business decision yet. The Western world’s biggest online retail just decided to do something Jeff Bezos and his team had said would never happen for more than a decade. You should probably consider it too…

#20. 6 Vital Ecommerce Growth Metrics You Need To Monitor

Publisher: Ometria

The team of personalisation experts at Ometria have put together a fundamental list of metrics your eCommerce brand should be tracking, what they tell you, and how you can action all this beautiful data. Learn your vital stats. Get an action plan. Boost business.

#21. Does Anyone Expect to Pay Full Price Anymore?

Publisher: The Business Of Fashion

Post-recession, retailers started discounting as a way of winning over a more cautious consumer. As Black Friday caps off a season of slow sales, BoF asks one of the most important questions for the eCommerce industry (a question we’ve been screaming out to anyone who’ll listen): is discounting bad for business?

#22. Beardbrand’s guide to building a brand

Publisher: Reddit

Beardbrand Founder Eric Bandholz jumped on Reddit and spilt the beans on the eCommerce strategy that took his brand to $120000 revenue/month within one year of launching. Eric explains exactly how he and his team managed to grow a niche content marketing powerhouse (and a luscious beard).

#23. Pulse of the Online Shopper

Publisher: UPS

With digital and brick-and-mortar experiences permanently blurred and no universal template for success – a consistently excellent customer experience is critical. This super report from UPS offers insights on the behaviours, expectations, customer service and logistics companies can use to dominate online.

#24. Ecommerce Lies That I Wish Were True

Publisher: Medium

Nic Haralambous, Founder of menswear innovator Nic Harry, pens an honest and heartfelt personal story of the long and hard lessons about eCommerce (and retail) as a business.

#25. eCommerce Game Changers: A Retrospective of the Last 8 Years

Publisher: Get Elastic

One of the industry’s longest-serving eCommerce blogs, Get Elastic has put together a neat little overview of the last decade of online retail. It’s been an interesting (and rapid) ride.

#26. Retail Experts On What You Can Do to Prepare for the Future of Shopping

Publisher: Vend

As the retail industry becomes increasingly competitive, brands need to innovate and evolve to meet ever-changing market conditions. After all, one of the keys to succeeding in the future is to anticipate it faster than the rest. The fantastic team at Vend interviews 14 industry experts to get their views on the big issues set to shape retail in 2017 and beyond.

#27. 8 profitable discount pricing alternatives to stop you from making deals with the devil

Publisher: The Ecommerce Jungle Gym (yup, that’s us)

A red discount sticker is the marketing equivalent of sweeping the mess under a rug… It’s so easy to sell more stuff with a big old 50% off sign. But your brand’s problems remain unsolved. At some point, you need to face up to the reality that not enough people are prepared to pay full price for your items. You need to clean up the mess for good and start building a brand that rewards customers for paying full price for your products. Here are eight strategic discount pricing alternatives to help you develop long-term profitability, and banish the evil discounting impulse to marketing purgatory.

#28. How digitisation is changing small and medium-sized businesses

Publisher: Magento

This joint study from “The National Center for the Middle Market” (what a group!) and Magento Commerce is well worth a download if you’re ready to step up and dominate.

#29. Tapping Generation Z

Publisher: The Business Of Fashion

If you’re targeting that ever-elusive demographic so endearingly referred to as ‘millennials, you need to sit down for 5 with this story from The Business of Fashion.

#30. Beyond walls: How retailers can bring back the magic of shopping

Publisher: Retail Dive

You need to work harder on the theatre of your shopping experience. How can you turn your online store into a miniature Disneyland destination for your target customers? This Retail Dive story has the inspiration you need.

#31. How A New “eCommerce” Will Reach You

Publisher: Medium

Ecommerce entrepreneur Web Smith gives us his version of the future of online retail, and we Gorillas hope he’s on the money. According to Web, “The new wave of superior eCommerce companies will be the earnest ones, non-gimmicky, and they’ll have a long-term vision of connecting the in-store with the offline.” Amen.

#32. Coming soon to a website near you: The carnage of Indian e-commerce

Publisher: Quartz

The battle for a share of India’s burgeoning urban, young internet shoppers, is getting bloody. You might like to keep an eye on things over in the sub-continent. There are hundreds of millions of people with smartphones, internet access and increasing levels of disposable income. Those eCommerce brands daring enough to enter India now could reap the rich rewards of a first-mover advantage.

#33. The Opportunities and Challenges of Building A Lasting Ecommerce Brand

Publisher: Medium

The biggest challenge in eCommerce today is being able to launch and develop an online-first product and then build a really strong brand around it. Danny Rimer is a partner at Index Ventures, and he tackles this online retailing conundrum with fascinating strategic insight. Danny’s a smart dude. You should listen in.

#36. How you can overcome the biggest future challenges of eCommerce

Publisher: The Ecommerce Jungle Gym (yep, that’s us)

This article will help you turn your online store into a lean, mean, repeat-sales-generating machine. To get you a head-start on the rest, we’ve rounded up 10 eCommerce industry experts and asked them all to pinpoint the biggest future challenges facing online retailers, and what you need to do to make next year the best one yet.

#35. The Ometria Consumer Census 2016

Publisher: Ometria

One of the eCommerce industry’s best software providers, Ometria has surveyed 2,000 consumers about their attitudes towards the online retailers that email them. Download the report to find out what your subscribers really think about your email marketing.

#36. Michael Preysman on Iterating Everlane and ‘Fixing’ Fashion Retail

Publisher: The Business Of Fashion

Everlane founder Michael Preysman explains why fashion retail is broken, and how his eCommerce wunderkind, Everlane intends to fix it.

#37. The dawn of an African eCommerce goldrush may be a false one

Publisher: Quartz

With serious questions being raised about just how quickly Africa’s consumer class is actually growing, investors putting their money into the seemingly bottomless pit that is e-commerce will be hoping the rate of development quickens to make their expenditure worthwhile.

#38. Battle of the Data-Driven Bra Startups

Publisher: Inc.

Jill Krasny, writing for Inc. Magazine, shares the fascinating story of a bunch of online retail entrepreneurs disrupting an industry with a long-neglected shopping experience. The challenge: Make shopping for intimates online, well, a little more intimate.

Social Media/Advertising

#39. How One Agency’s Completely Blank 4-Minute YouTube Video Got 100,000 Views

Publisher: Adweek

How a 4-minute blank video bought 100,000 views. Actually, this article is really about how broken online advertising has become. The incredible revelations exposed by Adweek inspired a series of detailed investigations into the problem with online advertising and the uncovering of systematic bot fraud within the industry.

#40. Lessons from 7 Retailers Owning Social Media Right Now

Publisher: Ometria

From clever community engagement to inspiring imagery, Huw Jenkins from Ometria breaks down the social programs of some of the best online retail brands. Like. If you’re interested in more brand examples from online retailers using social media platforms to meet and keep more repeat customers, The Ecommerce Jungle Gym put together a best-of list for each of the four most common social marketing channels:

#41. How Facebook Plans to Dominate Digital Over the Next 10 Years

Publisher: Contently

“Facebook is attempting to connect two-thirds of the world’s population that doesn’t have access to the Internet.” Dillon Baker from Contently explains in a nutshell how Facebook plans to connect the entire globe over the next decade. If you sell online, you’d better listen in. Facebook’s content ecosystem is just the beginning. The owners of WhatsApp and Messenger plan to dominate mobile commerce, with billions of users signed up already. And the acquisition of Oculus Rift means Facebook is getting serious about virtual reality technology. Dillon’s article on artificial intelligence’s future role in marketing is another fascinating must-read on this topic.

#42. Why Snapchat’s Influencer Economy Runs on Hot Tubs, Selfies, and Whey Protein

Publisher: Bloomberg

What even is Snapchat? Unless you’re below the age of 23 or you have a secret obsession with Kourtney Kardashian – you probably have no clue. So, when someone asks you whether your brand needs a Snapchat strategy, you turn white with horror. This article from Bloomberg will help. It’s a fascinating insight into the ‘influencer economy’ being constructed around new media.

#43. Facebook Messenger: How Zuckerberg’s app for everything could change retail forever

Publisher: Wired

These Silicon Valley elites aren’t mucking around. Zuck and co. have some serious plans for Facebook’s Messenger app, and although it’s early days, it’s not an exaggeration to suggest these plans could change the fundamentals of retail forever.

Search Engine Optimisation

#44. The SEO Myths You Need To Leave Behind In 2016

Publisher: Hubspot

A cracking downloadable guide from Hubspot to help you refresh your knowledge on SEO. Separate the myths from the realities. Some practical eCommerce insights to be had from this piece.

#45. Ecommerce SEO – The Definitive Guide

Publisher: Backlinko

Brian Dean is the author of this exhaustive guide. He is one of the online world’s most respected SEO experts. The first line of the article says it all – “This is the most comprehensive guide to Ecommerce SEO online.” Almost every online marketer making this proclamation can’t deliver on such a clickbait headline. Brian delivers. This guide is well-researched, exhaustive in detail and invaluably helpful.

#46. Topics Over Keywords: An SEO-Driven Approach To Content Marketing

Publisher: Anum Hussain

Anum Hussain is ahead of her time in the content marketing world. She has a future-proof approach to managing SEO and dominating organic Google rankings. Anum’s team at SaaS marketing giant Hubspot have proven this SEO strategy works, and you need to do your rankings a favour by giving this one a read.

Content Marketing

#47. What Needs to Change in Content Marketing for Nike to Save Grantland

Publisher: Sorry For Marketing

Jay Acunzo’s call-to-arms raises an incredibly important strategic consideration for any eCommerce marketing manager. Some months ago ESPN decided to wind up a much-loved sports publication, Grantland. Jay wonders aloud why a brand couldn’t have saved the day. We all know the value of a highly engaged loyal subscriber base. Content marketing strategy is all about building an audience of repeat customers. But why do you have to go all the time and effort building that audience? Why not just buy one? Apart from Jay’s Grantland example, we Gorillas have watched Australian e-retailer Surfstitch try out this approach, and we penned an article about their purchase of two high profile surfing industry publications:

#48. 7 UX Principles to Include in Your Content That Will Hook Readers

Publisher: Content Marketer

“Content that simply provides information won’t do anymore. We need to raise the bar and wrap it in an immersive experience”. Tom Whatley shares a crash course on user experience design to help you make your content easier to read and enjoy.

#49. How to nail your brand’s tone of voice

Publisher: Ometria

When it comes to eCommerce marketing, tone of voice is crucial; it’s a way of communicating your brand’s personality to the rest of the world. There are thousands and thousands of brilliant eCommerce brands out there, but only a few have truly mastered the art of tone of voice. Ometria shares 6 of the best to help you learn how to create a truly differentiated brand.

#50. The Ins and Outs of User Generated Content and How to Make it Work for Your Online Business

Publisher: Big Commerce

Expert copywriting insights from some of the very best in the online marketing business – including conversion rate optimisation genius Hunter Boyle, content promotion wizard Will Blunt, and email marketing maven Stephan Hovnanian.

#51. Walking the fine line between creating and being truly creative

Publisher: Unthinkable

So much of what we marketing pro’s read and learn about online is dedicated to advertising and promotion. It seems like nobody is trying to help us understand how to improve the craft of creating the content we promote. If you care about creating better marketing, you need to listen to Jay Acunzo’s weekly Unthinkable Podcast.

#52. Picky Customer Goes Online Shopping for Lightsaber

Publisher: Metrilo

Don’t be fooled by the headline – this article from Metrilo is one of the funniest (and most insightful) eCommerce marketing stories you will read all year.

#53. 7 Companies That Are Killing It with Brand-Driven Storytelling

Publisher: Content Marketer

The Founder of whimsical South African sock e-retailer Nic Harry calls bullshit on eCommerce clichés that just aren’t actually true.

#54. 4 strategic reasons your brand needs a content marketing strategy

Publisher: Content Marketing Institute

Savings, Sales, Growth and Profits. These are four important business objectives you can satisfy with an effective content marketing program. Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose of the Content Marketing Institute explain why you need your own miniature media company inside your brand.

#55. What is the ROI of Content Marketing?

Publisher: Lush Digital

Most budget holders and decision-makers want a guarantee before they even consider making an investment. Lush explains why this mindset might not be the right one.

#56. Complete Beginner’s Guide to Content Strategy

Publisher: UX Booth

Content marketing and content strategy are two different things. If that makes no sense to you, have yourself a 10-minute read right at the UX Booth.

Email Marketing

#57. 5 Top-Notch Replenishment Email Examples to Show You How it’s Done

Publisher: Ometria

A replenishment email is an automated email reminding a customer to re-order consumable products when they run out. If you sell a product or service that requires regular purchase, this article from Ometria’s ever-insightful eCommerce blog explains a money-making process you need to start putting into action.

#58. The Huge Mistake We Had Been Making With Our Emails

Publisher: Drift

This one article will help (more than anything else you read this year) to reshape your email marketing approach and improve the conversion rates of any automated email series you send.

#59. What’s Your Normal Email Open Rate?

Publisher: Ok Dork

This is a right forehead slapper. In one sentence, email marketing expert Noah Kagan will have you wondering why you haven’t thought of this simple little tactic before…

#60. 7 Tips for Getting More Responses to Your Emails

Publisher: Boomerang App

Writing emails that get responses is an incredibly valuable skill – and what makes an email likely to get a response is hard to determine. The guys at Boomerang are knee deep in this niche, and this article gives 6 clear takeaways.

#61. Welcome Emails: What We Learned From Subscribing to 60 Fashion Newsletters

Publisher: Ometria

Everything you could possibly want to know about optimising your welcome emails is covered in this post. Hat tip to Ometria for some super research.

#62. 20 Reasons to Love NET-A-PORTER’s Welcome Email Series

Publisher: Ometria

NET-A-PORTER’s welcome email series might just be the very best of the best. Our friends at Ometria show you how they do it.

Conversion Rate Optimisation

#63. What is Bernie Sanders A/B Testing?

Publisher: Medium

While the US presidential race was at a fever pitch, this fantastic analysis of Bernie Sanders’ phenomenal conversion rate optimisation kept all of us marketing professionals sane. Why? Well, turns out Bernie Sanders (or at least his digital manager) is a conversion rate savant.

#64. Home Page Sliders – Pass or Pause?

Publisher: Ecommerce Illustrated

Can we all agree on this right now? Homepage carousels don’t work. Linda Bustos will convince you. And give you some useful alternatives.

#65. What are sticky eCommerce elements?

Publisher: Econsultancy

They are much more important (and much more sterile) than you might have thought. Econsultancy’s Ben Davis explains one of the most helpful UX design features you can use to improve your eCommerce shopping experience.

#66. 4 Design Decisions That Hurt eCommerce Conversions

Publish: Lemon Stand

If you’re constantly tweaking conversion optimisation tests and still not getting results, maybe it’s time to go back to the basics and focus on what matters to your customers: the user experience. LemonStand takes you through the common website elements that punish your conversions.

#67. Almost every possible eCommerce CRO tactic in the book

Publisher: Moz

This exhaustively detailed conversion rate optimisation checklist is a valuable resource for any online retail pro. Huge props to Pancham Prashar from CueBlocks for the helpfulness.

#68. Clinton vs. Trump: 18 CROs Tear Down the Highest Stakes Marketing Campaigns in US History

Publisher: Unbounce

18 conversion rate optimisation experts tear down the highest stakes marketing campaigns in US history. There’s an enormous amount for any online retailer to learn from these multi-million dollar operations and the rich analytics and testing used to support these unprecedented fundraising efforts.

#69. 7 Ways to Provide an Awesome Customer Experience in 2016

Publisher: User Testing

Hannah Alvarez from User Testing gives you 7 oh-so-simple ideas to make your online store more customer-friendly. Short, sharp and soothsaying helpful.

#70. How to Skyrocket Your eCommerce Conversion Rate – with Peep Laja

Publisher: Ecommerce Fuel

Peep Laja knows CRO better than you know your uncle. This Ecommerce Fuel podcast interview will give you have you converted.

#71. Why Your Conversions Suck (And How to Fix It)

Publisher: Kissmetrics

What does Hard Rock Cafe have to do with conversion rates? You’ll be surprised. You’ll learn some hard truths about the problems with your online store while you’re at it.

#72. How to drive growth with an eCommerce customer retention rate optimisation

Publisher: Usability Tools

If you only read one article about CRO this year, please make it this one. If there were an eCommerce CRO Academy Award, these guys would be the winner.

Retention

#73. Online Retailers Should Care More About the Post-Purchase Experience

Publisher: Harvard Business Review

A purchase is just the start of the journey for your customer. It’s the beginning of a relationship. When a customer makes a purchase online, there’s an “experience gap” from the time the customer checks out to when the product arrives. This is the new moment of truth for online shoppers, and the smartest retailers are working on ways to optimise this experience.

#74. Cultivating Brand Loyalty in Even the Toughest Customer

Publisher: The Business Of Fashion

There was a time when having a loyalty program differentiated you from others. Now, that’s not true, and this New York Times piece explains what retailers need to add to their loyalty programs. Customers are both more loyal and more fickle than ever before, judging by the number of customer rewards cards they have and the number they actually use. So why use loyalty programs, and do they work at all?

#75. Order Gap Analysis: What It Is and How It Can Help with Customer Retention in Ecommerce

Publisher: Ometria

OGA calculates the average time between all the consecutive orders made by each customer, leaving you with an average time it takes your repeat customers to repurchase. Ometria explains why you need to start using this metric.

#76. Why Every eCommerce Site Should Have a Membership Offering

Publisher: Member Up

Anyone who runs an eCommerce store knows the challenge of growth is in getting customers to come back and buy again. If they don’t, the costs of continually acquiring new customers can cripple your business. We couldn’t agree more with the sentiments of this must-read article from Michael Steele.

Delivery and Returns

#77. How do e-commerce startups handle the fulfilment side of their business?

Publisher: Quora

Anything Matt Carroll writes on Quora is worthy (or anywhere else for that matter) of your devoted attention. His three-part analysis into the eCommerce strategy of Huckberry.com is the most detailed eCommerce case study we Gorillas have ever seen.

#78. The Definitive Guide to eCommerce Shipping

Publisher: Smart Company

Meet the innovative Aussie entrepreneur behind the eCommerce startup Klika, now worth $15 million. Did we mention he’s 65 years old?

#79. How to Deal with Product Returns in Retail

Publisher: Vend

Your job’s not done when you ship. People need to return stuff. If you screw it up, they won’t buy it again. Vend shows you how to make returns easy.

#80. Your new eCommerce marketing strategy – think like a gift-giver

Publisher: The Ecommerce Jungle Gym (yep, that’s us)

When you’re selling online, things can get a little ‘transactional’. It’s all ‘click-click-click, ‘buy-buy-buy’, ‘enter your details here, ‘sign up for discounts’ there. When you strip it all down, an overwhelming number of eCommerce sites are still glorified digital catalogues, set up to sell as much stuff as possible. The eCommerce marketing mindset needs to shift. We need to set up our online stores not to sell as much as possible, but instead to create the best possible customer experience. We need to start thinking like a gift-giver. The moment you deliver a package to your customer should fill them with the same pang of excitement they feel when receiving a gift from a friend. This article shows you how to make it happen.

#81. You need to face facts – most online clothes shoppers send something back

Publisher: BBC

New figures suggest almost two-thirds of shoppers who bought women’s clothes online in the last six months sent at least one item back.

Roundups

#82. 4 Superb Examples of Retailers Using Online Quizzes to Drive Sales

Publisher: Ometria

This tactic may not be on your radar, but our good friends at Ometria have some compelling examples that will make you think twice about the power of the Buzzfeed phenom.

#83. The 48 Most Important eCommerce Books For Hyper Growth

Publisher: LinkedIn

Everything published under the author tag of William Harris is bound to be an eCommerce marketing must-read, and this collection should go straight into your bookmarks list.

#84. 40 Must-Have Tools For Scaling Your Ecommerce Business

Publisher: Sellbrite

There are so many eCommerce tools out there, and it’s easy to know which ones to trial, test or use. The crew at Sellbrite share their analysis on the best performers, with tools grouped into 5 main categories of Marketing, Analytics, Customer Service, Product Management, and the rest…

#85. 21 killer tools and apps specifically for eCommerce pros

Publisher: Ecommerce Influence

Austin Brawner of Ecommerce Influence peeks under the hood of over 20+ eCommerce retailers ranging from $500k in sales to over $150 million. He knows eCommerce tools and apps better than most. Here are 21 of his favourites.

#86. 50 Ways to Make Your First Sale

Publisher: Shopify

Sean Work from Kissmetrics and Mark Hayes for Shopify co-authored a fantastic guide titled “50 Ways to Make Your First Sale”.

#87. 54 Essential Email Marketing Resources

Publisher: Vero

The Internet provides us with quantity, but not always quality. For this reason, Chris Hexton and Jimmy Daly from Vero, have put together an exhaustive (and selective) list of the best email marketing tips, blogs, guides, templates and webinars to help you turn your eCommerce emails into something your subscribers actually want to receive.

#88. Nine startups that could revolutionise your eCommerce efforts

Publisher: Econsultancy

Ecommerce tech is bursting at the seams with the pressure of startups disrupting the scene. But which ones warrant your time and money? Here’s 9 you should keep close.

#89. 10 Digital Marketers to Follow

Publisher: Campaign Monitor

Not an eCommerce-specific list, but these online marketing pro’s are well worth tossing into a Twitter list for you to browse periodically.

#90. Revised: Recommended Books for the UX Beginner’s Library

Publisher: UX Booth

We’re all for a good biz book roundup. Get your office a monthly book budget, block out a weekly reading timeslot, and start with one of these UX titles.

#91. Ecommerce Software in 2016: Which is the Best for You?

Publisher: Ecommerce Platforms

If you ever so much as consider updating your CMS, make the Ecommerce Platforms blog your research advisor. This 2016 comparison guide is a good place to start.

#92. 25 Must-Have Pages for Your E-commerce Website

Publisher: Barrel

Yvonne Weng from New York’s Barrel agency, explains the online store pages that now act as table stakes for sustainable eCommerce success.

Holiday Marketing

#93. How to spot a gift shopper (and activate them this holiday season)

Publisher: Ometria

How do all you eCommerce marketers know when a customer is purchasing an item as a gift? And how should you incorporate that customer into your marketing strategy once the festive period is over? Ometria’s Abi Davies investigates an issue all online store owners should be thinking about.

#94. 12 examples of early Christmas marketing from online retailers

Publisher: Econsultancy

Econsultancy’s Nikki Gilliland has put together a quick analysis of 12 online retailers who have developed their Christmas marketing promotional program nice and early, on-site, via email and through their social media channels.

#95. How you can use an eCommerce Christmas landing page to create a magical online gift shop

Publisher: The Ecommerce Jungle Gym (yep, that’s us)

It’s time you turned your online store into a must-visit holiday destination. Christmas is your one annual opportunity to meet a huge stampede of new customers. There is a really simple way to create a magical Christmas eCommerce shopping experience for your end of year gift-shopping influx… Create a dedicated Christmas Gift Shop landing page. Make gift giving easy. We’ll show you how to create an experience designed specifically for the needs and wants of browsing gift shoppers to pump up your conversion rates and delight your new potential customers.

#96. Where Your Unwanted Christmas Gifts Get a Second Life

Publisher: Wall St Journal

The underbelly of eCommerce is a booming business in which little-known companies collect, process and often resell piles of returned presents. This story from the Wall St Journal tells the tale of the mounting deluge of unwanted Christmas gifts, and what happens when customers take up your returns policies.

#97. Why peak discounting is hardly the Yuletide gift brands want to receive

Publisher: Internet Retailing

Monetate’s Mike Harris explains why retailers need to think bigger this Christmas. The old fashioned holiday season discount is lazy. Think about your brand’s target audience. What do they value most in a Christmas shopping experience? Mike points to the future of silly season eCommerce. Let’s hope it’s filled with more than 20% off.

#98. How to Optimise Your Checkout for the Busiest Shopping Day of the Year

Publisher: Justuno

Black Friday is the opening of the US Christmas shopping season, and one of the craziest weekends for any international online store. You simply cannot afford any mishaps with your store’s checkout process. This article provides a simple 5-step guide to making sure your process is clean and simple for the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

#99. Is Holiday Season Discounting Worth It?

Publisher: Sydney Morning Herald

Is Holiday Season Discounting Worth It? Straight up – we think not. Discounting devalues your products and your brand. There’s plenty of alternatives that don’t sacrifice your margin (and long term success). The Sydney Morning Herald’s Lucy Cormack tries to pose the question – is Click Frenzy, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday worth the hit?

#100. How to tweak your triggered emails for the festive season

Publisher: Ometria

Triggered emails get left behind at Christmas time. This is surprising: automated campaigns continually outperform regular emails giving you a great opportunity to get your key Christmas messages in front of shoppers. Abi Davies from Ometria has some practical advice to help you improve your email marketing performance.

Our Favourite 5 Ecommerce Articles

#1. Does Anyone Expect to Pay Full Price Anymore?

Publisher: The Business Of Fashion

Post-recession, retailers started discounting as a way of winning over a more cautious consumer. As Black Friday caps off a season of slow sales, BoF asks, is discounting bad for business?

#2. Are Your Pants Vagisoft?

Publisher: Medium

This is the whimsical (and beautifully written) eCommerce success story of BetaBrand – an online retailer building user-generated content into their business model with unfathomable success.

#3. Picky Customer Goes Online Shopping for Lightsaber

Publisher: Metrilo

Don’t be fooled by the headline – this article from Metrilo is one of the funniest (and most insightful) eCommerce marketing stories you will read all year.

#4. How do e-commerce startups handle the fulfilment side of their business?

Publisher: Quora

Anything written by Matt Carroll on Quora (or anywhere else for that matter) is worthy of your devoted attention. His 3 part analysis into the eCommerce strategy of Huckberry.com is the most detailed eCommerce case study we Gorillas have ever seen.

#5. Why Snapchat’s Influencer Economy Runs on Hot Tubs, Selfies, and Whey Protein

Publisher: Bloomberg

What even is Snapchat? Unless you’re below the age of 23 or you have a secret obsession with Kourtney Kardashian – you probably have next to no clue. So, when someone asks you whether your brand needs a Snapchat strategy, you turn white with horror. This article from Bloomberg will help. It’s a fascinating insight into the ‘influencer economy’ being constructed around new media.

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