Most folks are more than familiar with the following idiomatic phrases: “diversification is the key to success” and “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” And many are familiar with them in a business context. For example, when you sell products and services from your company’s website, you benefit by increasing the number of sales channels available to your customers – diversification is the key to success. Selling through a third-party marketplace also helps you mitigate the financial...

Amazon is one of the most formidable 800-pound gorillas to ever walk into a room. From drones to membership perks to fulfillment centers and web services, Amazon seems to be paving the course before anyone else even knows which direction they’re heading. And that’s why Amazon is constantly making headlines. The business-savvy gorilla is hard to ignore. The most recent attention-grabbing news coming out of the Amazon headquarters came in the form of its new relationship with Twitter. According to an...

Other than Peapod or FreshDirect, shopping for groceries online leaves something to be desired. Although some of the United State’s biggest and most successful supermarkets offer the service, many of the websites are old, slow and clunky. To say the least, the user experience is lackluster – and that’s not even taking into consideration the limited selection that many of these sites make available.   So if anyone were to come to the rescue, Amazon would be the one to do...

With earnings season in full swing, investors are anxious to see positive report cards from U.S. companies – partially for the potential those reports can have in wiping away the bad vibes that the government shutdown created. For anyone in the retail or eCommerce industries, that desire couldn’t be more palpable, considering the ripple effect that the government stalemate caused on consumer confidence and therefore, consumer spending.   eBay: On Oct. 17, eBay reported earnings, which are down more than 5%....

Since its inception in 1994 and its web launch in 1995, Amazon has been an online retailing force to reckon with. It is, in fact, the world’s biggest online retailer. Year over year, its growth rates have been through the digital roof. But despite nearly two decades of streamlining and perfecting its operations, Amazon realizes that now is not the time to rest on its laurels.   In an article published by Internet Retailer, Amazon’s market share is slipping due to...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has more than 6,000 reviews on Amazon.com, and the movie Mean Girls has nearly 5,000. In addition to proving the popularity of J.K. Rowling or Lindsay Lohan, it just goes to show how much consumers like sharing their opinions on the things that they buy.   And thank goodness for consumer reviews because how could consumers possibly shop without them? These days, it seems almost impossible to purchase something without first consulting with...

As any e-tailer knows, getting all your eggs into one basket is an ongoing task. And it’s one that requires a mighty big basket. From social media initiatives to website overhauls, there’s always something that has to be added to the ever-growing to-do list.   Finding new sales outlets isn’t necessarily something new on the list, but it does require a bulk of an e-tailer’s time. For starters, there are a whole host of third-party marketplaces worth considering. Amazon and eBay...

From Florida oranges to Japanese beetle traps, Amazon nearly has it all. With at least 160,000,000 products, the online retailer literally has everything plus the kitchen sink. Beyond the vast array of stuff to buy, Amazon also offers free shipping, product reviews, shopper forums, daily deals, web services, sponsored links and job boards. The list goes on. What this all adds up to is the biggest and fastest-growing online retailer out there. Put it head to head with the world’s biggest brick-and-mortar...

In one iteration or another, the stories of life have always included a standoff between the little guy and the big guy. And despite a few fairy-tale-like happy endings, it’s usually the big guy that prevails. So has been true in the realm of online retailing. “One of the major reasons people turn to sites like Amazon when they start browsing for products and services is the fact that customer feedback and reviews are prominently incorporated into individual listings,” according to...

When it comes to selling your product or service, using a third-party marketplace just makes sense. The wider your coverage base, the bigger the sales, right? Well, probably. The success you find with websites like eBay and Amazon will be based on your familiarity with how the services work, harnessing those services to their fullest extent and choosing the right platform that meshes well with your customer demographics. According to New York Times editor, Kelly Spores, there are a few rules...