Author: Dailyusastory

Every week we publish a list of new products from companies offering services to ecommerce merchants. This installment includes tools for AI-powered shopping assistants, video production, search engines, payment platforms, financing, and user-generated content. Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com. New Tools for Merchants Storfund launches financing option with TikTok Shop. Fintech Storfund has partnered with TikTok Shop to create an embedded financing option for the U.S. social media app. Called Daily Advance, the new product enables Storfund to advance money to sellers as soon as they ship their goods. By providing access to quicker payouts, Daily Advance will…

From an ethical perspective, it’s clear that adopting an inclusive outlook is the right thing to do. What may surprise you, however, are the wide-ranging strategic advantages it can also provide your business. 

Los Angeles, like many big cities, has its share of problems. One of them is access to healthy food. This is a serious socio-economic issue and, unfortunately, lower-income neighborhoods are especially vulnerable to it.  When former baristas Michelle Johnson and Ezra Baker, and their third co-founder, Eric J. Grimm, launched Ghost Town Oats in Los Angeles in June 2022, they weren’t only introducing another oat milk brand—they were addressing a crucial gap in the plant-based beverage market. Oat milk is typically served in wealthier parts of town, and available in the communities that want it, not necessarily in the communities…

Getting products into the hands of your customers is often more complex than connecting the dots from point A to point B. A luxury perfume retailer might source rare vanilla extract from Madagascar, glass bottles from Italy, and sustainable packaging materials from Canada before shipping finished products to customers around the world.  Each step of this process is filled with dependencies: multiple suppliers, different production timelines, and various transportation methods. At any time, supply chain disruptions—from crop failures to manufacturing flaws—could leave the company scrambling to source the components.  As supply chains grow more complex, supply chain analytics can help…

As your business expands and your customer base grows, your inventory management and warehouse capabilities need to keep pace. An online sporting goods retailer might expand to stock hundreds of items with separate stock keeping units (SKUs)—everything from golf balls and tennis rackets to lacrosse sticks and grip tape. This growth brings new challenges: the need to fulfill more orders quickly while avoiding costly errors that could disappoint customers. Traditional order-picking methods, like paper-based systems and handheld scanners, may strain to meet the demands of a scaling retail operation. But voice-picking technology can help modernize your warehouse operations, equipping your…

The internet is where just about everyone goes to learn, socialize, and shop. If you run a website, it’s imperative everyone has equal access to it. To make your website available to everyone who wants to visit, you need to be cognizant of how people with different disabilities use the internet. There are a few simple tools you can use to ensure your website is fully accessible.  What is website accessibility? Website accessibility is a set of best practices that ensure websites are functional for everyone, including people with physical, cognitive, and learning disabilities. To make a site as accessible…

Imagine your ecommerce website is a room where potential customers enter, spend some time, and leave satisfied. The door to that room is the first thing customers see. If the door looks sketchy, your potential customers will likely leave and stay away. Your website copy essentially functions as this door, and if it’s well-written and appealing, it welcomes customers and invites them to linger.  Concise and compelling copy captures your brand message and draws in customers, driving traffic to your site and increasing conversions. But, before we get into the techniques and strategies that make for good copywriting, let’s start…

Have you ever craved a snack that you can only get at a specific store? Maybe some vegan pumpkin spice protein bars? Or some coconut chocolate milk? Both are specialties of the plant-based protein bar and drink maker Aloha. Unlike some businesses that have formal loyalty programs with punch cards and points, the protein-packed snack purveyor built its customer base by offering unique goods and a shopping experience that fosters a sense of community. Whether you’re selling a good or a service, a strong foundation of both new and existing customers can help your business flourish. Learn more about how…

Emotion is a powerful driver of decisions. You’ve probably experienced the struggle to listen to reason over emotion, and yet experts claim that subconscious emotion drives nearly every decision you make. For marketing teams, this means that appealing to an audience’s emotions is more than half the battle. Brand engagement focuses on creating a positive emotional connection between an audience and a brand, laying the foundation for a fruitful relationship. What is brand engagement? Brand engagement is a strategy to build up relationships between your brand and your customers. Depending on the context, it can refer to a psychological process,…

Ever told a crush you like them and didn’t hear it back? It’s awkward, even when you know the feeling is mutual. You’ve gone out on a limb, and you hope for confirmation in kind.  The same goes for placing an online order. Customers don’t just trust you’ll deliver—they need proof. Online business owners meet this need with order confirmation emails. Here’s what to include in them and some order confirmation best practices for ecommerce businesses. What is an order confirmation email? An order confirmation email is a transactional email indicating that you’ve received a customer’s order request and successfully processed…