Jargon Buster
ACoS & TACoS
ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sale) and TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sale) are key terms. ACoS shows the slice of sales spent on ads, while TACoS reveals how ads affect overall sales. Together, they help make smarter, cost-effective advertising choices.
AOV & ATV
While AOV are similar ATV. AOV is "usually" the Average Order Value for products purchased (ex delivery, ex VAT, ex other charges). ATV is usually the Average Transaction Value for everything in the transaction i.e. products + VAT + delivery + any other charges.
API
An API, or Application Programming Interface, in the ecommerce world, is like a helpful middleman. It lets different computer systems chat smoothly, making it easier to manage online shops, track orders, and connect with customers. It's the behind-the-scenes magic that keeps everything running smoothly and efficiently.
Ad Blocker
An ad blocker is a handy tool that stops pesky adverts from popping up as you browse online shops. It keep shoppers experience smooth and distraction-free, letting users focus on finding what they love without any annoying interruptions. While good for users it make life much tougher for advertisers!
Advantage+ (Meta)
Advantage+ by Meta is a smart tool designed to boost your online shop's visibility. It automagically finds and targets potential customers on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, making sure your products reach the right eyes.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing in the Ecommerce world is like a partnership. Imagine a friend recommends a shop and gets a thank you gift when you buy something. In affiliate marketing, websites promote products, and in return, they earn a commission for every sale made through their recommendation. It's a win-win for everyone!
Amazon Business
Amazon Business is a B2B marketplace tailored for companies of all sizes, offering bulk purchasing options, business-exclusive pricing, and VAT invoicing. It simplifies procurement, making it easier for businesses to find, compare, and buy products they need, all in one place.
Amazon Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) is a handy service where Amazon stores, packs, and ships your products for you. It’s perfect for online sellers looking to save time and delight customers with quick delivery. Simply send your goods to Amazon, and they take care of the rest!
Amazon Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM)
Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM) is where you, as an online seller, handle storage, packing, and shipping of orders yourself. It's a great choice if you want full control over your inventory and delivery. Simply sell on Amazon, then pack and post products directly to your customers!
Amazon Seller Central
Amazon Seller Central is a user-friendly platform where businesses can sell products directly to Amazon's vast customer base. It's an essential tool for e-commerce, offering easy management of inventory, orders, and payments, helping sellers grow their business in the online marketplace with ease.
Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SPF)
Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SPF) is a brilliant option for businesses selling on Amazon. It lets you offer Prime benefits like fast, free delivery, directly from your warehouse. This means happy customers and more visibility for your products, without needing to use Amazon's own fulfilment centres.
Amazon Vendor
Amazon Vendor is a programme where businesses sell their products directly to Amazon, who then sells them to customers. It’s like supplying your goods to a big online shop, making it easier for you to reach more people without worrying about the selling process
Analytics (web)
Web analytics in ecommerce helps you understand your online shop's visitors. It tracks where they come from, what they like, and how they shop, helping you make your website friendlier and boost sales. It's like having a map that shows you how to delight your customers even more!
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) empowers Ecommerce brands by automating customer service, personalising shopping experiences, and optimising inventory management. It analyses data to predict trends, making operations more efficient and enhancing customer satisfaction. AI is a game-changer for Ecommerce, offering smarter, faster, and more personalised services. It also makes bidding much easier, see "Automated Bidding Strategies".
Attribution (marketing)
In Ecommerce, attribution is about understanding which marketing activities lead shoppers to make a purchase. It's like piecing together a puzzle to see what really convinces customers to buy, helping businesses make smarter decisions on where to invest their marketing budget for the best results.
Audiences (marketing)
In Ecommerce, "audiences" refer to groups of people who might be interested in what you're selling. By understanding these groups—like young parents or fitness enthusiasts—we can offer them exactly what they're looking for, making shopping easier and more enjoyable for everyone.
Automated Bidding Strategies
Automated bidding strategies use smart technology to manage your online ads, aiming to get the best results within your budget. They adjust bids in real-time, targeting customers more likely to buy, ensuring your ecommerce ads are seen by the right people, making advertising simpler and more effective for you.
B2B Ecommerce
B2B Ecommerce is a digital marketplace where businesses buy and sell products or services online to other businesses. It's like a virtual shop for companies, making trading faster, easier, and often cheaper. This approach streamlines purchasing, offering a convenient and efficient way for businesses to work together.
B2C Ecommerce
B2C Ecommerce is when businesses sell products or services directly to customers online. It's like your favourite online shop, where you can browse and buy items from the comfort of your home, any time. It's easy, convenient, and offers a world of choices right at your fingertips
B2G, B2PA or B2PS
B2G (Business-to-Government), B2PA (Business-to-Public Administration), and B2PS (Business-to-Public Sector) refer to companies selling products or services directly to government bodies, public administrations, and the public sector, streamlining processes and enhancing public services.
BI (Business Intelligence) Dashboard
A Business Intelligence (B.I.) Dashboard is like your online shop's control centre. It shows you, in real time, how your sales are doing, where sales are coming from, what your customers love, and where you can improve. It's all about making smart decisions to grow your business, displayed simply and clearly.
Backend (website)
In the world of online shopping, the website backend is like the engine room of a ship. It's where all the magic happens behind the scenes, managing orders, customer details, and stock levels, ensuring your shopping experience is smooth and hassle-free. It's the powerhouse that keeps the shop running smoothly!
Backoffice Systems
Backoffice systems are the behind-the-scenes heroes in Ecommerce, managing everything from orders and inventory to customer support. They keep your online shop running smoothly, ensuring customers are happy and stock levels are just right. Think of them as the control room for your online business success!
Blockchain
A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Blockchain is a legitimate technology, however it's been tarnished by the crypto community and comes with many flaws e.g. scalability, energy consumption & limited use cases.
CCI (Consumer Confidence Index)
The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) measures how optimistic consumers feel about their financial situation and the economy and is a crucial indicator for Ecommerce brands/merchants. A high CCI suggests consumers are more likely to spend, highlighting potential growth opportunities for Ecommerce merchants through strategic marketing and inventory planning.
CDP (Customer Data Platform)
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a powerful tool that collects, organises, and activates your customers' data across all touchpoints. Tailored for eCommerce brands, it enables personalised marketing, improves customer experience, and drives sales by providing a unified view of your customer journey.
CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) in Ecommerce measures the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer throughout their relationship. It helps brands focus on long-term value, guiding strategies to retain customers and boost profits by understanding their worth over time.
CMP (Consent Management Platform)
In Ecommerce, "channels" refer to the various ways you can buy or sell goods online e.g. like websites, social media, mobile apps, Amazon, eBay & curated marketplaces.
CMS (Content Management System)
A Content Management System (CMS) in an Ecommerce setting is a digital platform that lets brands easily create, manage, and modify website content without needing technical skills. It streamlines product updates, marketing, and sales processes, ensuring your online shop remains current and customer-friendly.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
Cost Per Click (CPC) is a digital advertising metric where businesses pay each time someone clicks on their ad. This approach helps control marketing budgets effectively, ensuring you only spend when potential customers show direct interest in your products, enhancing your chance of boosting sales.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is a digital tool that helps Ecommerce brands/merchants manage and enhance their relationships with customers. It tracks interactions, purchases, and preferences, enabling personalised marketing, improved customer service, and increased sales through better understanding and engagement.
CSS (Comparison Shopping Service)
CSS (Comparison Shopping Service) offers an efficient way for Ecommerce brands/merchants to display their products on Google. By integrating with CSS, merchants can significantly enhance their online visibility and save up to 20% on Cost Per Click (CPC) expenses compared to Google CSS, optimising advertising spend and increasing reach.
CWV (Core Web Vitals)
Core Web Vitals (CWV) are essential metrics that gauge the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of your ecommerce site, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable shopping experience for your customers. Optimising these vitals can boost your website's performance, potentially increasing customer satisfaction and sales.
Cashback Sites
Cashback affiliate websites partner with online shops to offer you a slice of your spend back as cashback. Simply shop through these sites, and earn money back on your purchases. It’s an easy way to save while buying your favourite things online! Online shops benefit as generates new sales and creates loyal customers.
Channels
"Channels" are the various pathways you can use to buy or sell goods. Think of them as different shops on the internet, each offering a unique way to explore and purchase your favourite products, making your shopping experience easy and enjoyable.
Consent Mode
Consent mode interacts with your Consent Management Platform (CMP) or custom implementation for obtaining visitor consent, such as a cookie consent banner. Consent mode receives your users consent choices from your cookie banner or widget and dynamically adapts the behavior of Analytics, Ads, and third-party tags that create or read cookies.
Content Creators
"Content creators" in the Ecommerce world are digital artists and storytellers who craft engaging, brand-focused content. They use videos, blogs, and social media posts to connect with audiences, showcase products, and drive sales, making them invaluable partners for ecommerce brands looking to captivate and expand their customer base.
Conversion Rate
Your "Conversion rate" is the percentage of visitors to your online store who make a purchase. It's a crucial metric for Ecommerce brands, highlighting how effectively your site turns browsers into buyers and guiding improvements to boost sales.
Conversions API (Meta)
The Conversions API by Meta allows Ecommerce brands to securely share key transaction events, like purchases, directly with platforms like Facebook. This enhances ad targeting and measurement, optimising marketing efforts for better sales outcomes, all while keeping customer data protected. It's a smart way to boost online sales efficiently.
Cross-Channel (marketing)
Cross-channel marketing in the Ecommerce world means engaging with your customers through multiple online platforms, like email, social media, and your website, to create a seamless shopping experience. It’s about meeting shoppers wherever they are online, boosting your brand's reach and sales.
Curated Marketplaces
A "Curated Marketplace" is a invite only marketplace that large Ecommerce merchants setup on their own website. This allows Ecommerce merchants to scale at low risk without needing to stock/dispatch products as this is done by curated best in class dropshippers. Examples of UK site that have "Curated Marketplaces" are e.g. B&Q, Robert Dyas, John Lewis and hundreds more.
Customer Loyalty
In Ecommerce, customer loyalty refers to shoppers consistently choosing your brand due to satisfaction and trust, while retention is about strategies to keep customers coming back. Both are crucial for sustained success, with loyalty focusing on emotional connection and retention on ongoing engagement.
Customer Retention
A customer retention strategy is your blueprint for keeping shoppers coming back. It involves engaging tactics like personalised marketing, rewards programmes, and exceptional customer service. This approach not only boosts your sales but also strengthens brand loyalty among your customers.
D2C / DTC (Direct-to-Consumer)
D2C, or Direct-to-Consumer, is a retail model where brands sell directly to customers online, cutting out middlemen. This approach offers better margins, closer customer relationships, and personalised shopping experiences. Ideal for Ecommerce brands looking to control their sales journey and engage directly with their audience.
Database (Ecommerce)
A database in the Ecommerce world is a digital storehouse where all vital information—product details, customer data, sales transactions—is securely kept. It enables brands to efficiently manage inventory, understand customer preferences, and tailor experiences, ensuring smooth operations and personalised shopping journeys for every customer.
Death of Cookies
As Google Chrome phases out third-party cookies in 2024, Ecommerce brands face a turning point. This change challenges merchants to adopt alternative, privacy-respecting methods for understanding customer preferences. It's an opportunity to embrace innovative tracking solutions that prioritise user consent, ensuring a personalised yet secure shopping journey.
Demand Capture
Demand capture in Ecommerce is about identifying and engaging with potential customers who are actively seeking your products. It involves using strategies like SEO, targeted ads, and optimised website design to ensure your brand stands out and meets shoppers' needs, effectively turning their interest into sales.
Demand Gen Ads
Google Demand Generation Ads empower Ecommerce brands to capture shopper interest with targeted, engaging adverts. By showcasing products across Google's vast network, these ads help increase visibility, drive more traffic, and boost sales, making it easier for brands to connect with potential customers at the right moment.
Demand Generation
Demand generation is a strategic approach designed to cultivate interest and demand for your brands & products. For eCommerce brands, it's about engaging potential customers through targeted marketing efforts, aiming to increase awareness, drive traffic, and ultimately boost sales by nurturing a connection with your audience.
Demographics
Demographics refer to statistical data about the characteristics of a population, crucial for Ecommerce brands to tailor their marketing strategies. This includes age, gender, income, and location, enabling businesses to understand their audience better and craft personalised marketing campaigns that resonate, driving sales and customer loyalty.
Discovery Ads
Google "Discovery Ads" have been replaced with Google "Demand Gen" ads, see above.
Display Ads
Display ads are vibrant online banners or visuals placed on websites to promote your Ecommerce products. They grab attention, direct potential customers to your shop, and boost brand awareness. Easy to set up, they're a cost-effective way to increase sales and reach your target audience. Care should be taken as many networks are riddled with spam and there can be high levels of fraud.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, is a digital system allowing companies to exchange business documents swiftly and accurately with suppliers. This technology streamlines orders, invoices, and shipments, reducing errors and saving time, making business operations smoother and more efficient for merchants.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a powerful system designed to streamline your Ecommerce operations. It integrates all facets of your business, from inventory and order management to finance and customer relations, ensuring efficiency and boosting growth. Simplify processes and make informed decisions with ERP, the backbone of your Ecommerce success.
Ecommerce
Ecommerce (e-commerce, electronic commerce), as defined by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), involves the online buying and selling of goods and services, including business-to-business (B2B) transactions and electronic data interchange (EDI). According to the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK "Ecommerce" sales via websites reached a staggering £459.2 billion in 2021. Of this total, "Ecommerce Retail" accounted for 34.5% (£158 billion), while Ecommerce Wholesale was 18.3% (£84 billion). Together, these web-sales accounted for around £246 billion and are now more commonly referred to simply as "Ecommerce". The UK is the third-largest market globally for Ecommerce, following China and the US. The UK is seen by many as an Ecommerce powerhouse and a key driver for technology, innovation and business processes for the web-based sale of physical goods.
Ecommerce - Online Retail
"Ecommerce Retail" or "Online Retail" accounted for 34.5% (£158 billion) in the UK in 2021 according to ONS stats. It's shopping over the internet to buy products from your home or anywhere using a computer or mobile. It's easy, fast, and often offers more variety and better deals than traditional shops. "Online Retail" is what most people mean when they say "Ecommerce", albeit "Ecommerce" (technically) includes the buying selling of goods and services, including B2C, B2B & EDI etc. See above for more information.
Ecommerce Chasm
The "Ecommerce Chasm" refers to the critical gap many online retailers face when trying to grow from a small to a medium-sized business. It's the challenging phase where expanding your market reach and scaling operations efficiently becomes essential to bridge this divide and achieve sustainable growth.
Ecommerce Platform
An Ecommerce platform is a comprehensive online system that enables Ecommerce brands and merchants to manage their website, sales, and operations seamlessly. It offers tools for creating a web store, processing payments, handling inventory, and engaging customers, simplifying the journey from product listing to final sale. Examples of industry leading platforms are: Magento, Adobe Commerce, Shopify & BigCommerce.
Enhanced Conversions (Google Ads)
Enhanced Conversions for Google Ads boosts your ecommerce sales by improving ad tracking accuracy. By securely sharing customer data, it refines ad performance insights, leading to smarter ad placements and increased conversions. It's a straightforward upgrade, ensuring your ads reach the right audience more effectively.
Eprocurement
The ONS tracks how Ecommerce is growing in the UK, finding that in 2021, over £670 billion was spent online! That's a lot of shopping from the comfort of home.
First Party Data
First party data is the information you collect directly from your customers through your Ecommerce activities. This includes details from purchases, website interactions, and feedback, enabling you to understand and serve your customers better, tailor experiences, and boost loyalty and sales effectively.
Flows (Email Marketing)
Flows in email marketing are automated sequences designed to engage your ecommerce customers at key moments. They help deliver personalised messages, from welcome emails to cart abandonment reminders, boosting sales and enhancing customer relationships. Simple to set up, they're an effective tool to grow your brand.
Frontend (website)
The frontend of your Ecommerce site is its digital shopfront, where customers browse and buy products. It's essential for a smooth, appealing online shopping experience, combining user-friendly design with intuitive navigation to ensure your visitors effortlessly find and purchase what they need.
GMC (Google Manufacturer Center)
Google Manufacturer Center (GMC) is a free platform designed for brands and manufacturers to enhance their product visibility on Google. It allows you to provide detailed product information, improving how your products appear in Google Shopping, thus driving higher quality traffic to your listings.
GMC (Google Merchant Center)
Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a digital tool that lets Ecommerce brands/merchants showcase their products on Google. By uploading product data to GMC, merchants can appear in Google Shopping searches, Local Inventory Ads & free listings, to increase visibility and driving sales. It’s an essential platform for boosting online retail presence.
GSC (Google Search Console)
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that helps Ecommerce brands understand how their site appears in organic search result listings. It helps with SEO by offering insights into website performance, search queries, and identifies issues to optimise visibility, ensuring customers can easily find your products online.
GTM (Google Tag Manager)
Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that lets Ecommerce brands easily manage and deploy marketing tags (small snippets of code or tracking pixels) on their website without the need for coding. This simplifies tracking sales, understanding customer behaviour, and enhancing digital marketing efforts.
Generative A.I.
Generative artificial intelligence is artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images or other data using generative models, often in response to prompts. Generative AI models learn the patterns and structure of their input training data and then generate new data that has similar characteristics.
Google Looker Studio
Google Looker Studio offers Ecommerce brands a powerful, user-friendly platform for visualising and understanding their data. By integrating sales, customer behaviour, and marketing analytics in one place, it empowers merchants to make data-driven decisions, optimise marketing strategies, and drive growth efficiently.
GraphQL
GraphQL is a powerful query language that enables fetching precise data with a single request. This optimises website & app performance, enhancing customer experiences by providing quick, tailored access to products, prices, promotions, etc. GraphQL API can be used to communicate with Magento allowing dwevelopers to create headless storefronts, PWA frontends and Composable Commerce.
Growing vs Scaling
In an Ecommerce context, growing means increasing resources to boost sales linearly, while scaling involves expanding sales significantly without a proportional rise in costs. For Ecommerce businesses, scaling offers a sustainable path to elevate profits by leveraging efficient processes and technology, achieving more with less.
Headless CMS
A headless content management system, or headless CMS, is a back end-only web content management system that acts primarily as a content repository. A headless CMS makes content accessible via an API for display on any device, without a built-in front end or presentation layer.
Headless Commerce
Headless commerce is an Ecommerce architecture where the front-end (head) is decoupled from the backend commerce functionality and can thus be updated or edited without interfering with the backend, similar to a headless content management system (CMS).
IPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)
iPaaS, or Integration Platform as a Service, simplifies connecting and automating your Ecommerce tools and data. It enables seamless integration of various applications, streamlining operations, enhancing customer experience, and boosting sales by ensuring your Ecommerce ecosystem works together efficiently and effectively.
Influencers
Influencers are key players who sway customer choices through their trusted opinions and recommendations, often showcased across social media platforms. Unlike general content creators who focus on broad content, influencers specialise in engaging specific audiences, guiding them towards brands and products, thus driving sales and enhancing brand visibility.
Insights
"Insights" in Ecommerce help brands understand customer behaviours and preferences through data analysis. This enables merchants to tailor offerings, enhance user experience, and boost sales by making informed decisions. Essentially, it's about using customer data smartly to grow your Ecommerce business effectively.
Integration
Integration in an Ecommerce context refers to seamlessly connecting your online shop with external systems, such as inventory, backoffice systems e.g. ERP, OMS, CRM tools. This process enhances efficiency, improves customer experience, and drives sales by ensuring all your business functions work together harmoniously.
Inventory Forecasting or Demand Forecasting
Inventory Forecasting, or Demand Forecasting, is a crucial tool for Ecommerce brands, enabling them to predict future product demands. By analysing past sales data, it helps merchants stock the right products in optimal quantities, reducing stockouts and excess inventory, thus boosting sales and customer satisfaction.
Lifecycle Marketing
Lifecycle Marketing in Ecommerce is about engaging customers at every stage of their journey with your brand. From first visit to loyal advocacy, it ensures relevant communication and offers, aiming to boost satisfaction, repeat purchases, and referrals, ultimately driving long-term growth and stronger customer relationships.
Local Inventory Ads (LIA)
Local Inventory Ads (LIA) allow Ecommerce brands to showcase their in-store products online, connecting customers with real-time stock levels nearby. This seamless integration boosts visibility, drives foot traffic, and enhances the shopping experience, making it easier for consumers to find and purchase your products locally.
Logistics
In the Ecommerce world, logistics refers to the entire process of managing how goods are acquired, stored, and delivered to customers. It's the backbone ensuring your products seamlessly reach buyers, combining warehousing, transportation, and delivery services to boost customer satisfaction and streamline operations.
MACH (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, Headless)
MACH architecture revolutionises Ecommerce, offering flexible, scalable solutions through modular services (Microservices), seamless integrations (API-first), enhanced performance and security in the cloud (Cloud-native SaaS), and bespoke user experiences without backend constraints (Headless). It's the future-proof way to adapt, grow, and thrive in the digital marketplace.
MDM (Master Data Management)
"Master Data Management provides a central repository for all company-wide data, creating a single source of truth for organisational information that can be used to execute internal processes and operations."
MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) or Blended ROI
Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER), or Blended ROI, measures how effectively your advertising spend generates revenue. It's a straightforward gauge of your marketing campaigns' success, blending all advertising costs against total sales to highlight your investments' true value.
MQTT
MQTT, short for Message Queuing Telemetry Transport, is a lightweight messaging protocol for small sensors and mobile devices, optimised for high-latency or unreliable networks. Within web development, it enables efficient, real-time communication in Ecommerce and IoT applications, ensuring swift data exchange even in constrained environments.
Machine Learning
Machine Learning in Ecommerce helps brands predict customer behaviour, personalise shopping experiences, and streamline operations. By analysing data, it identifies trends and preferences, enabling merchants to offer targeted recommendations, optimise inventory, and enhance customer satisfaction, driving sales and loyalty.
Magento or Adobe Commerce
Magento, now known as Adobe Commerce, is a powerful Ecommerce platform designed for brands and merchants seeking to create bespoke, scalable online stores. It offers extensive customisation, seamless integration capabilities, and robust analytics to drive sales and enhance the customer shopping experience.
Magestack (Paas)
MageStack is a PaaS; a cloud operating system that consists of multiple open source and licensed applications combined into a single scalable environment that scale horizontally and vertically with ease. The key to its scalability is that it offers enterprise service architecture within a singular OS.
Marketing Automation
Marketing Automation in Ecommerce streamlines your digital strategy, automating tasks like email campaigns, social media posts, and targeted ads. It's your virtual assistant, ensuring personalised customer engagement while boosting sales and efficiency. Embrace it to make your Ecommerce brand more responsive and profitable with minimal effort.
Marketing Funnel
In Ecommerce, a marketing funnel is a journey your customers take from discovering your brand to making a purchase. It helps you understand and enhance their shopping experience, increasing sales by guiding them from initial interest through to action with targeted, relevant strategies.
Marketplaces
Marketplaces in the Ecommerce realm serve as bustling online hubs where brands and merchants can showcase and sell their products directly to a wide audience. These platforms simplify the buying process, making it easier for businesses to reach more customers and expand their market presence. Examples are Amazon, eBay, ManoMano, Walmart, Etsy, Curated marketplaces etc.
Meta
Meta (formerly named Facebook) owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, among other products and services.
Monolithic vs Composable Commerce
In Ecommerce, Monolithic Commerce offers a one-size-fits-all platform, integrating all features tightly. Composable Commerce, however, allows brands to select and integrate various best-in-class services as needed, providing flexibility and scalability tailored to unique business needs.
OMS (Order Management System)
An Order Management System (OMS) is a digital tool designed to streamline their order processing. It automates sales, inventory tracking, and customer service, ensuring accurate, efficient fulfilment. By simplifying these operations, an OMS enhances customer satisfaction and supports business growth.
ONS (Office for National Statistics)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics, offering invaluable insights into economic, social, and demographic trends. For Ecommerce brands, leveraging ONS data can unlock market understanding, customer behaviour analysis, and strategic planning opportunities, driving informed decision-making and growth.
Omnichannel
Omnichannel (sometimes referred to in the UK as bricks and clicks), is an Ecommerce strategy integrating online, mobile, in-store, and catalogues ("flips") for a cohesive shopping experience. It ensures your brand offers personalised interactions across all platforms, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty by meeting them wherever they choose to shop.
PIM (Product Information Management)
Product Information Management (PIM) is a tool that helps Ecommerce brands streamline and manage all their product data in one place. It ensures accurate, consistent information across all sales channels, enhancing customer experience and boosting sales efficiency. Given it's high cost, it only really provides ROI for medium to large Ecommerce brands.
PMI (Purchasing Managers Index)
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is a vital indicator for Ecommerce, reflecting the economic health within the manufacturing and service sectors. For instance, a construction PMI above 50 suggests industry growth, signalling a ripe moment for Ecommerce businesses in related fields to ramp up inventory or launch targeted promotions. Simply put, PMI helps Ecommerce merchants gauge demand trends, making informed decisions to stock up on popular products or diversify offerings accordingly.
POAS (Profit on Ad Spend)
POAS, or Profit on Ad Spend, measures the profit your Ecommerce business earns from advertising. It's a crucial metric, helping you understand the real value of your marketing efforts by comparing the profit generated against your ad spend. Optimising POAS ensures your advertising investments are truly paying off.
PPC (Pay Per Click)
PPC, or Pay Per Click, is a powerful Ecommerce strategy where you pay a fee each time one of your adverts is clicked. It's a way to buy visits to your site, boosting sales by targeting customers actively searching for products like yours. Simple, cost-effective, and highly targeted.