Jargon Buster
PWA (Progressive Web App)
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) offer Ecommerce brands a seamless, app-like shopping experience directly from a web browser. They're fast, reliable, and work offline, enhancing customer engagement and boosting sales without the need for downloading. Ideal for customer retention & repeat orders with minimal effort.
Paid Search
Paid Search is a powerful tool that lefts you bid for prime spots on search engines. This ensures your products are front and centre (using text ads) when customers search relevant terms, boosting visibility and sales. It's a smart investment for Ecommerce brands looking to stand out in a crowded online market. Google Ads and Microsoft Ads are the largest networks and "Text Ads" can appear on Google, YouTube, Google Display Network, Microsoft Audience Network, Bing, Yahoo, Ecosia, Ask etc.
Paid Social
Paid Social is a strategy where Ecommerce brands invest in adverts on social media platforms to boost online visibility, drive sales, and engage with potential customers directly. It's a powerful tool to target specific audiences, offering measurable results and increasing brand loyalty.
Pay For Performance
Pay For Performance is a results-driven approach for Ecommerce brands, linking your payment to the actual sales or leads generated. This model ensures you invest in marketing that truly delivers, maximising your return on investment by paying only for success, not promises.
Performance Max
Performance Max is a Google Ads solution tailored for Ecommerce brands, designed to amplify your online presence across YouTube, Search, Display, Discover, Gmail, Maps. By harnessing AI, it optimises your ads in real-time, ensuring maximum visibility and sales by reaching potential customers precisely when they're most interested in what you offer. Why this can work well for brands, it's not optimal for merchants/resellers.
Personalisation
Personalisation in Ecommerce is about tailoring your online store to meet each customer's unique preferences. By analysing shopping habits and preferences, Ecommerce brands can offer bespoke product recommendations and tailored experiences, making shopping more relevant, enjoyable, and efficient for every visitor.
Phygital
A horrendous buzzword that no self respecting Ecommerce manager or Digital Marketer should use. Just imagine Olivia Newton-John singing "Let's get Phygital-Phygital" 🤣
Productivity
In the world of Ecommerce, productivity signifies efficiently managing your online store. It's about streamlining processes, from inventory management to customer service, ensuring tasks are completed swiftly and effectively, boosting sales and enhancing customer satisfaction. Embrace smart tools and strategies to thrive in the Ecommerce landscape. On average Ecommerce Scotland attendee companies generate £474k per employee.
Profit
"Profit" is the financial gain your business achieves after subtracting all costs from your sales revenue. It's the clear indicator of your Ecommerce success, spotlighting how effectively you're converting sales into earnings, essential for growth, scaling, and long term business health.
REST API
A REST API enables Ecommerce businesses to seamlessly exchange data between systems, facilitating tasks like updating product listings, processing orders, and managing customer information across various platforms. It simplifies operations, ensuring a smooth, efficient online shopping experience for both merchants and customers.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
ROAS, or Return on Ad Spend, is a crucial metric for Ecommerce brands/merchants, indicating the revenue earned for every pound spent on advertising. It helps Ecommerce merchants gauge the effectiveness of their ad campaigns, ensuring they invest wisely for maximum profit.
ROI (Return on Investment)
ROI, or Return on Investment, is a key measure for gauging the profit earned from investments in marketing, inventory, and technology. It helps you understand the financial return on every pound spent, enabling smarter, more profitable decisions for your Ecommerce business.
Reels (Instagram)
Reels on Instagram offer Ecommerce brands a dynamic platform to showcase products through engaging short videos. This tool boosts visibility, engages potential customers, and drives sales by creatively highlighting product features and user experiences, making it an essential strategy for Ecommerce success.
Reskilling
Reskilling in the Ecommerce world involves training your team in new digital skills to stay competitive. It's about embracing technology and innovation to improve online sales, customer service, and operational efficiency. This continuous learning ensures your brand remains relevant and thrives in the fast-paced Ecommerce landscape.
Retargeting vs Remarketing
Retargeting focuses on recapturing the interest of website visitors through targeted ads, while Remarketing re-engages past customers via email campaigns, aiming to prompt repeat purchases. Both strategies are vital for Ecommerce brands to boost sales and build lasting customer relationships.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of enhancing your Ecommerce website to improve its visibility on search engines like Google. By optimising your site, you'll attract more customers, boost sales, and stand out from competitors. It involves refining site content, structure, and technical aspects for better search rankings.
SOAP
SOAP, or Simple Object Access Protocol, is a messaging framework enabling systems to exchange data over the internet. It facilitates seamless communication between different systems, ensuring smooth transactions and data sharing for enhanced customer experiences and operational efficiency in the Ecommerce world.
SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures)
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are step-by-step guidelines for Ecommerce brands to ensure consistency and efficiency in their operations. They help in streamlining tasks, from order processing to customer service, ensuring a reliable and smooth shopping experience for customers.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS, or Software as a Service, are a cloud-based services which help streamline operations, from inventory management to customer engagement, without heavy upfront costs. It's a flexible, scalable solution that lets merchants focus on sales, not software maintenance.
Seasonality
Seasonality in Ecommerce refers to the predictable changes in shopping behaviour and sales trends throughout the year, influenced by seasons, holidays, and events. Understanding these patterns helps brands strategically plan promotions, stock levels, and marketing efforts to maximise sales and customer engagement.
Shopping Ads
Shopping Ads offer a visual showcase of your products directly in search engine results on e.g. Google, YouTube, Bing, Yahoo. They feature product images, prices, and your store name, they boost visibility and drive targeted traffic to your website, enhancing sales opportunities.
Short Form Video
Short form video is "easily digestible" brief, engaging clips which are ideal for capturing consumer attention. It boosts product visibility and enhances online shopping experiences, making it a must-have for Ecommerce brands aiming to connect with their audience and drive sales. Examples are: TikTok, Instagram Reels & Stories, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight & stories.
Startup
The "Startup" phase is the beginning of a business's journey. Here, the focus is on turning a unique idea into reality, launching the first products or services, and attracting initial customers. Success relies on understanding market needs, effective planning, and beginning to build a brand in the Ecommerce world.
Strategies vs Tactics
In the Ecommerce world, strategies are your long-term battle plans aiming for growth and market dominance, while tactics are the clever, short-term moves to win customer loyalty and boost sales. Together, they pave your path to Ecommerce success, marrying vision with action.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Supply Chain Management (SCM) in Ecommerce involves overseeing the entire journey of a product, from sourcing and manufacturing to delivery to the customer. It aims to streamline this process, ensuring efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and customer satisfaction by managing inventory, suppliers, and logistics smartly.
Synergy
A horrendous buzzword that no self respecting person should use :)
TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in Ecommerce refers to the comprehensive sum of expenses tied to an online shop, beyond the initial setup. It encompasses ongoing costs like hosting, maintenance, updates, and marketing, providing a realistic financial outlook for Ecommerce brands/merchants to strategise and budget effectively.
Tech Stack
A Tech Stack in Ecommerce refers to the combination of technologies an online shop uses to ensure smooth operations. It includes software for website development, payment processing, inventory management, integrations, dashboards, backoffice systems, customer service etc. This enables Ecommerce brands/merchants to efficiently sell products and engage with customers.
Third Party Cookies
Third Party Cookies in Ecommerce track user activity across different websites to personalise ads and analyse traffic. For Ecommerce brands, they offer insights into customer preferences, enhancing marketing strategies and improving user experience. However, privacy concerns mean brands should ensure transparency and secure user consent.
ToFu, MoFu and BoFu
In Ecommerce, ToFu (Top of Funnel) captures potential customers' attention, MoFu (Middle of Funnel) nurtures their interest, and BoFu (Bottom of Funnel) converts them into buyers. It's a strategy to guide shoppers from discovery through to purchase, ensuring a smooth journey towards becoming loyal customers.
Transaction
In an Ecommerce setting, a transaction is the process where customers purchase products or services online. This involves selecting items, adding them to a shopping cart, and completing payment. It’s a crucial moment, seamlessly connecting Ecommerce brands with their customers, ensuring a smooth and secure exchange.
Upskilling
Upskilling in the Ecommerce world means enhancing your team's skills to boost online sales and improve customer experience. It involves training in new technologies, marketing strategies, and customer service excellence, ensuring your brand stays competitive and responsive to evolving online shopping trends.
WMS (Warehouse Management System)
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is essential software for streamlining storage and dispatching goods efficiently. It optimises inventory tracking, order fulfilment, and returns, ensuring accurate, timely deliveries to boost customer satisfaction and repeat sales.
Web 3.0 (Crypto)
Web 3.0 is the delusional pipedream of Crypto-bros, DeFi dreamers and anarcho-capitalists, who are still grasping at straws trying to find a legitimate use case for "Crypto" beyond NFT/Metaverse scams.
Websockets
Websockets enable real-time, two-way communication between a user's web browser and a server, enhancing interactive experiences on websites. This technology is particularly beneficial for Ecommerce platforms, allowing instant updates for chats, live price changes, and more, without needing to refresh the page.
XML
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a versatile tool for web developers, enabling the structured sharing of data across different systems. It's particularly useful for Ecommerce, allowing for clear, human-readable data for data interchange and website integrations
XSLT
XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) is a powerful tool used in web development to transform XML documents into different formats, such as HTML, XML, or plain text. This is particularly useful for rendering dynamic data on websites and in Ecommerce platforms, allowing for flexible presentation of information across various devices and platforms.
YoY (Year over Year)
YoY, or Year over Year, measures your Ecommerce brand's growth by comparing current sales, revenue, or other key metrics against the same period last year. It's a clear indicator of performance, helping identify trends, successes, and areas for improvement to drive strategic decisions.
YouTube Bumper Video Ads
Bumper video ads are short, snappy adverts, lasting just 6 seconds. They play before or during online videos, quickly showcasing products or deals, perfect for grabbing attention without interrupting your viewing. Ideal for Ecommerce, they efficiently spread the word about special offers, making shopping online even more exciting!
YouTube Non-skippable Ads
YouTube Non-skippable Video Ads offer Ecommerce brands a powerful tool to engage audiences without interruption. These ads, lasting up to 20 seconds, ensure your message is fully delivered, boosting brand awareness and driving sales by captivating potential customers right before they watch their chosen content.
YouTube Skippable and in-feed video ads
YouTube's Skippable and In-feed Video Ads offer Ecommerce brands a dynamic way to showcase their products. These ads appear before or during videos and in users' feeds, inviting viewers to learn more about your offerings with the option to skip, making it a flexible solution for engaging potential customers.
YouTube Video Ads
YouTube Video Ads offer Ecommerce brands a dynamic platform to showcase their products through engaging visuals and storytelling. This powerful tool increases brand visibility, drives sales, and enhances customer engagement by reaching a wide audience right where they consume content daily.
Zero-party data
Zero-party data is information that customers willingly share with Ecommerce brands, such as preferences and purchase intentions. This direct insight enables brands to personalise shopping experiences, fostering trust and loyalty while ensuring privacy. It's a win-win for enhancing customer satisfaction and driving sales.
gRPC
gRPC is a modern, open-source framework that allows web developers to build efficient, high-performance communication between servers and apps. It supports multiple languages, making it versatile for Ecommerce platforms, and uses HTTP/2 for fast data exchange, enhancing user experiences with rapid, seamless interactions.