Author: Dailyusastory

Listeners and readers of “Ecommerce Conversations” know I occasionally depart from interviews to share my experiences owning and operating Beardbrand, the direct-to-consumer brand I launched a decade ago. To date, I’ve addressed hiring, branding, profit-building, priority-setting, exiting, overcoming setbacks, and top business models. This too is a solo episode, addressing entrepreneurial doldrums, when a business is seemingly stuck in no growth or worse. Certainly that’s the story of Beardbrand over the past couple of years. So here are 36 ideas to jolt a company forward. Think of this as a checklist for tackling new projects, cutting costs, or simply resetting…

NASA, in collaboration with IBM and research partners, has introduced Surya – a new artificial intelligence foundation model designed to analyze and forecast the Sun’s activity. Trained on nine years of continuous data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, Surya demonstrates how advanced AI can transform heliophysics and space weather prediction. Surya applies a foundation model architecture that learns directly from raw solar data rather than requiring extensive labeling. Its design combines spectral block layers with a long-short transformer backbone, enabling it to detect both long-term solar cycles and short-lived phenomena such as sunspots and flares. Preliminary benchmarks indicate that Surya…

A page’s visibility on search engines and generative AI platforms depends on six key elements: Title, Meta tags, HTML headings, Links, internal and external, Images, Structured data. When optimizing a page, I rely on three free browser extensions to quickly reveal those components: Devaka Tools, Site Inspector, and SEO Meta in 1 Click. What follows is my explanation of the six elements, followed by a side-by-side table comparing the three extensions. Title of page The title tag is the most important on-page optimization element because search engines use it to understand the page’s purpose. Descriptive and keyword-focused page titles improve…

From the manufacturer Super Dry Mode is especially helpful during the monsoon season and on rainy days as it removes excess moisture from the air by condensing water vapor on the evaporator coil. This keeps your space feeling fresh and free from damp & humidity. The anti-corrosive coating protects the AC’s coils from rust and corrosion caused by moisture, dust, and pollutants. This ensures long-lasting performance even in India’s extreme climate. Breathe cleaner and fresher with Voltas, by keeping the dust & pollution away. The anti microbial air filter traps dust, allergens and microbes, to…

October 2025 presents content marketers with a rich mix of content themes and topics. Halloween headlines the month, but there are also inspirational cultural observances, industry celebrations, and seasonal transitions. Content marketing is the process of creating, publishing, and promoting content such as articles, videos, or podcasts to attract, engage, and retain customers. Content marketing is closely associated with search engine optimization, generative engine optimization, and social media marketing. While so-called evergreen content has its place, in 2025 search engines, large language models, and shoppers often seek fresh stories and angles. What follows are five content marketing ideas your business…

A new Threat Intelligence Report by Anthropic has shed light on how cybercriminals are exploiting artificial intelligence to conduct increasingly sophisticated schemes, ranging from large-scale extortion to fraudulent employment and ransomware development. The findings underscore both the growing risks of AI misuse and the urgent need for stronger safeguards. The report highlights how malicious actors are embedding AI tools across the entire lifecycle of their operations. Once limited by technical barriers, criminals are now leveraging advanced models to profile victims, analyze stolen data, craft fraudulent identities, and execute attacks that previously required years of expertise. Researchers warn of a troubling…

From back-to-school through the winter holidays, the busy retail season is also a time to forecast sales, set budgets, and plan for the coming year. Here are 12 new and time-tested books to help make informed choices. Could Should Might Don’t: How We Think About the Future Could Should Might Don’t by Nick Foster Thinking seriously about the future is a must for those who hope to shape it. This just-released book guides readers in going beyond the usual “lazy certainties and fearful fantasies” to imagine and create what comes next. Distancing: How Great Leaders Reframe to Make Better Decisions…

The aim of the 1930 U.S. Tariff Act was to eliminate low-cost imports from customs and duty processing, thereby saving money. Initially pegged at $1 per package, the so-called “de minimis” threshold gradually increased to $800. The exemption became crucial for cross-border dropshippers, fast-fashion brands, and other ecommerce sellers. President Trump eliminated the de minimis exemption effective August 29, 2025. Most U.S.-bound shipments valued at $800 or less will incur applicable duties, taxes, fees, and other charges, although the change affected packages from China and Hong Kong as of May. And the U.S. Postal Service, in collaboration with other domestic…

This week’s rundown of new products and services from vendors of ecommerce merchants includes AI-generated product images, fulfillment, social commerce, digital advertising, affiliate marketing, less-than-truckload shipping, autonomous ground deliveries, and more. Got an ecommerce product release? Email releases@practicalecommerce.com. New Tools for Merchants Google Ads launches Asset Studio beta. Google Ads has released, in beta, Asset Studio, a built-in creative hub streamlining how advertisers produce and scale ad assets with AI. Asset Studio appears in Google Ads under “Tools” and provides native creative features directly in the Ads interface. Advertisers can use it to generate images with text prompts, create lifestyle…

Merchandising is an ongoing process of presenting products to boost sales. Every ecommerce site merchandises its products either consciously or by default. Nike features in-season sports and products on its home page. Amazon reminds shoppers of their recent searches. Wayfair bundles and cross-sells complementary items. Many ecommerce platforms have basic merchandising built in directly or in popular themes. These built-ins make merchandising easy, but not necessarily optimized. Nike’s home page hero slide is seasonal. It features spots or products, such as this example of inspiring shoppers to dress like tennis star Carlos Alcaraz. Strategy Merchandising techniques vary. Some focus on…