We all know that starting any business is not an easy task but we also know that the times are changing and a lot of people are thinking about starting a new business as the old one is having some problems or they got bored of it. Talking about starting a new business, we all have a lot of ideas but the one that a lot of people have is starting a sticker business because of a few reasons such as its low cost of setting up as well as it is fun to run such a business as well.

If you are among those who also want to start a sticker business online then there are a few things that you must know. First of all, it is not as easy as simply printing the stickers and you start a business. You have to register for copyrights, decide on your printing material, make sure that you ship the stickers properly and a lot of other things as well. In this article, we will tell you all the different aspects that you need to take care of while starting your own custom sticker business in 2023.

How to start a sticker business in 2023?

As we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different areas you need to navigate and nail down when you want to start any business, be it a sticker business or something else. Talking about a sticker business, we will tell you exactly what are the steps you need to take in order to start your own custom sticker business.

1. Decide your sticker style

When we talk about sticker printing, there is not only one type of sticker that is available in the market so the very first step in the sticker printing business is to decide which type of sticker will you print. It is worth noting that there are mainly three types of stickers and they are:

• Paper
• Polyester
• Vinyl

Now, it is worth noting that the paper stickers are the easiest to print as they require a very low cost and their machinery is also affordable but they also have a very low lifespan because we know that paper does not work well with water or other liquids which means that it will get damaged easily.

For polyester and vinyl, we know that vinyl works best with water and it is very long-lasting but the machines needed to make vinyl stickers are costlier. Having said that, the trend for vinyl stickers is currently at the top so we suggest you go for vinyl sticker printing only.

2. Understand your target audience

The next step after selecting which type of stickers you want to print is to understand your target audience. Basically, you need to figure out the audience who is going to buy your stickers. If you don’t do this then you will start your business and then figure out who you want to sell and you don’t want to be doing that.

For example, your target audience can be a work-from-home crowd who want stickers for their laptops or bags to show people that they work from home. This is how you can understand what your target audience is.

3. Design your stickers

Once you have figured out your target audience, you will obviously know what designs the stickers will have. So understanding your audience helps you nail this aspect of your business as well. We have seen that there are custom sticker businesses as well so you can ask for designs from your customers and then make sure that you print them.

4. Decide between in-house production or outsourcing

As we mentioned above, the custom sticker printing business is a costly one as the machinery to print stickers comes at a cost upfront but the fact that you can select between in-house products and outsourcing is a major benefit where you can decide not to get the machines and just outsource your orders to someone else who already runs a sticker business.

In our opinion, it is always better to outsource the orders if you don’t get more than 15-20 orders per day but once you know that outsourcing the stickers is not working for you then you can establish your own setup as well. The problem with setting up everything up front is that you don’t know if it will work or not and then you are stuck with all the money invested with zero returns.

5. Build a website and decide your pricing

Now, the next step in your sticker business is to build a website where your customers will come to order your stickers. Here, you can show them the designs you have available and then they can select their preferred design and order the stickers. We have seen that people start their business from Instagram or other social media platforms but we suggest you to make a website as it looks more professional and save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

After building a website, you need to decide the pricing of your stickers as well. You don’t want to be pricing the stickers too high but you don’t want to be selling them at a loss as well. So think of whatever pricing feels the right for you after taking into account all the costs associated with the business and make sure to keep a profit margin as well.

6. Select a shipping method and prepare a return/refund policy

After pricing your stickers, you need to ship them to your customers as well so decide if you want to ship them with a courier partner or if you want to use some other delivery service. Also, you need to prepare and publish a return or refund policy for your business. In the sticker business, we have seen that people usually offer refunds only as no returns are accepted due to the nature of this product.

7. Promote your business

Now that you have everything set up for your business, you need to sell your stickers so that you get actual orders and use all the systems that you have created. For that, you need to promote your business because how will someone know you have started a new business unless you tell everyone about it.

Don’t hesitate to promote your business as much as possible and you can use organic as well as paid means such as ads. If you already have a thriving follower count on social media then you can do this organically and once your business grows, you can then start paid promotions as well.

As a means of promotion, you can go to some events and give away free stickers so that the people who apply them on their laptops or other items will get to know the quality of your stickers and order them if they like what they see.

All in all, it is worth noting that the sticker business is a very lucrative one if you know how to run it properly and the best part about this business is that you can outsource almost everything and just count the cash that is coming your way. The main thing in this business is to be ahead of the trend and design stickers that stand out of the rest and market them so that people get to buy them.

PO system stands for Purchase Order system and it is basically a system which is used to make sure that businesses can keep track of all the orders they have created and the invoices they have generated to be paid to the vendors. Small as well as medium-sized businesses need to use the Purchase Order system in order to streamline the process of tracking and documenting all the orders.

With the help of a PO system, small businesses can forecast the demand and make orders to the vendors based on the recommendations given by the system. A PO system also helps avoid fraudulent activities as it keeps track of each and everything so that nothing can be undocumented during the process.

Nowadays, it is not mandatory to have PO systems inside your own factory or warehouse as the systems are now cloud-based as well which means you just need to take a subscription from a good PO system such as Coupa Procurement. It is also worth noting that the PO systems have become essential in the functioning of any small business because vendors demand invoice as well as tracking of payments which means that you need to automated these tasks with the help of such systems.

It is also very interesting to note about the life cycle of a Purchase Order which involves the various aspects such as:

• Choosing the vendor
• Negotiating terms with the supplier
• Preparing a PO
• Receiving orders and inspection of quality
• Invoice processing
• Payment processing

There are various types of PO forms as well as such as standard, planned, blanket, and contract. For this article, we will keep things simple and just tell you about how to set up a simple PO system.

Why do you need your own PO system?

Before we delve deep into how you can create your own PO system, we will tell you about the reasons why you need to have your own PO system. As we already mentioned, small businesses need to have a PO system in order to streamline their business but there are 5 main reasons why you need a PO system and here they are:

• Legal Reasons

It is obvious that if you are going to start a new business, there will be legalities involved in it such as copyright issues and everything else. In order to standardize and comply with all the standards, a PO is required. With the help of a PO system, you can also avoid the risk of duplication and fraud.

• Save Time and Money

You can also save time and money with the help of a Purchase Order system which is automated because we have noticed that manually created POs have a lot of duplication due to discrepancies in data which means that the vendors have an issue with them as well. Also, PO system make sure that you avoid price fluctuations as the price mentioned in POs is legally binding.

• Easy tracking and documentation

With the help of a PO, you can track exactly how the vendor is processing your order and if it has already been dispatched or not. This is also a legal documentation to show exactly how your order was processed to make sure that there are no legal issues afterwards.

• Improve Efficiency

You can easily improve the efficiency of your employees as they don’t need to manually create POs and instead give their energy on tasks which help you run the business optimally.

• Improve Planning and Forecasting Orders

As we mentioned earlier, the main reason why you need a PO system is to forecast the demand of your orders and make sure that a new order is placed in order to not get out of stock, it also helps you not spend more than needed by letting you know when you will stock out.

How to set up your own PO system?

Now that we have mentioned why a PO system is needed, the next obvious question is how to set up a PO system for your small business. Well, here are the exact steps with which you can create your own PO system.

There are various features of a PO system that you need to keep in mind while setting up your own PO system and they are as follows:

• Request and Quote module
• Authorization and approval
• Product and Service Catalog
• Budget module
• Invoice matching
• Audit trails
• Supplier management
• Access management
• Ease of use
• Integration with other systems

In order to create a good PO system, you need to keep all of the above features in mind and get started with setting up your own based on the characteristics of your own business as every small business is unique in nature and requires a different set of instructions. To create a PO system from scratch, you need three main steps as mentioned below:

• Define the purchasing policy

As we have mentioned already, there are different policies for every small business and your business might have a different policy compared to the rest. In order to understand the current purchasing policy of your business, you need to review the existing workflow of vendor selection, roles and permissions in the company as well as other things and define the policy accordingly.

• Choose the purchasing software

Once you have understood the purchasing policy of your organization, the next step is to figure out how you solve all the loopholes that are present in the current policy with the help of a new PO system. For that, you need to choose the right PO software which is ideally cloud-based so that you can access it from anywhere. We have already recommended Coupa Procurement as the ideal Cloud PO software for your business.

• Implementation

Once you have understood the policy and also chosen the purchasing software, the next and final step is to deploy it in your organization and start making your Purchase Orders. However, it is worth noting that you should not implement the system in one-go for the entire organization because there are chances that things could go wrong. For that reason, it is always preferrable to deploy the software in a phased manner and it should be implemented first for those who have the highest decision-making power such as the top-level managers.

Any kind of business, small or large, will benefit from using a PO system and we have listed all the benefits, features, and use cases of a PO system in this article. Going a step further, we have also mentioned how you can set up your PO system inside your organization and we recommend you to use an already available option so as to save time and setup costs.

One thing we have seen in the e-commerce industry ever since it came into existence is the fact that the companies that have nailed their delivery system have survived whatever has come their way in the industry but those who have focused on everything else but don’t have their delivery systems sorted are still struggling to make their mark in the industry despite all the fundings in the world behind them.

Yes, the first name that comes to mind is Amazon which has its own delivery unit but did you know that even Amazon uses other delivery services such as FedEx in some parts of the world.

This is because companies like FedEx and others have literally nailed the area in which they are operating and they have systems which protect both the parties when it comes to deliveries so that no one gets hurt.

Now, there is an option inside FedEx where you can ask them to not deliver your parcel and just hold it for you at their location and then you can re-request them to deliver whenever you are back home so that everything is safe and secure.

Now, we know that such a system exists for Amazon as well where you can ask their excellent customer service agents to hold your parcel from being delivered for some reason or the other which includes that you are not at home or you don’t want to risk losing it as there might be some valuable item inside it.

So, talking about FedEx, such an option exists and we are going to tell you all about how it works in this article.

How does FedEx hold at location work in 2023?

As we mentioned earlier, FedEx gives you the option to hold your parcel at location in case you want the added security of collecting the parcel by yourself and not wanting to deliver it when you are not at home or you just want to surprise someone and do not want to ruin the surprise by getting it delivered.

Also, it is possible that the parcel requires your signature but you are not available at your location then that could also be the reason why you want your FedEx parcel to be held at location. Since this is possible, we will tell you how you can request FedEx hold at location in 2023.

• First of all, you need to go to the FedEx website and visit their tracking page and then enter your tracking number which would have been sent to your phone as well as registered email address.
• After that, you can select the option of Manage Delivery and then select the Hold at Location option from the dropdown which will make sure that your parcel is held at location and not get delivered.
• Now, you will get a list of locations where FedEx will hold your parcel and make sure to select the location nearest to you because it is also the location from where you will need to pick it up once you are back. If you are somewhere else then you can choose the location nearest to you at that time so that your parcel is held at that location which means that FedEx will ship your parcel to that location.
• Once it reaches your nearest location, you will get a confirmation message that your parcel is ready to be picked up and you can do so at your convenience. Note that home delivery will not be possible once you request the hold-at-location option from FedEx.

It is worth noting that FedEx locations are not limited to FedEx Office or FedEx Ship Center stores but can include several other businesses that are working with FedEx to provide this service, like:

• Independently-owned FedEx Authorized ShipCenters
• Participating Walgreens locations
• Participating Albertson’s, Kroger, and other grocery stores
• FedEx Office inside some Walmart locations

When do customers need the FedEx Hold at Location option?

Now, the obvious question that will come to your mind is when do i need to use the FedEx hold at location option because such a situation has never arrived to you ever before. Well, same was the case with us as well but as they say, things happen to you for the first time and then you realize the importance of the options you have.

That is exactly how we got to know about the FedEx hold at location feature because I was worried when there was a travel plan coming up and my parcel was arriving on the day when I was about to leave for another country.

Apart from this, there are various reasons why you might need to use the FedEx hold at location option and they are as follows:

1. Customer is away from their location

One of the main reasons why you need to use the FedEx Hold at Location option is when you are not at the location where your parcel is going to be delivered and this may be your residence, office, or any other location. This is the primary reason why you need to request the company to hold your parcel at their participating locations from where you can pick it up once you are back.

Other reason is that the delivery might require your signature to mark it as delivered and since that is the case, if you are not at your location then the parcel will not get delivered which is why you can request it to be held at location from where you can pick it up by signing.

2. Parcel theft issue

If you live in an area where you fear that your parcel will be stolen since you might not be at the location for most of the time and your parcel will be delivered in an open area and you don’t have security then this is the best use of FedEx Hold at Location because this way, you can make sure that you collect your parcel on your own without any risks whatsoever.

3. Delivery issue

This is a common issue as well where FedEx is unable to deliver your parcel because of issues with your location or something else then in order to get your parcel as quickly as possible, you can request the parcel to be held at location and select the location which is the most convenient for you and pick it up from there from your way back to work.

Conclusion

As we have already mentioned, there are a wide variety of reasons why you might want to use the FedEx Hold at Location option for your delivery. It is worth noting that FedEx does not take any charges from you for requesting this option unless you request it quite far away from your original location.

You must be aware that one of the most important aspects of any e-commerce business is the fact that you have to manage the supply and deliver it on time. Now, the fact that you need to manage the inventory is one of the challenging tasks for any business, and this is where inventory management experts as well as tools, come into play. Talking about an e-commerce business, there are multiple options to host them, but a lot of people use Shopify as it is one of the best when it comes to ease of usage.

While Shopify offers a lot of the things you need to run a business inside the platform, there are things that need to be run by other apps as well. For example, Shopify does provide a more-than-basic inventory management tool within the platform but if you need to manage the inventory properly then you need to rely on third-party tools to do the job for you. For this reason, we are here to tell you about the best inventory management tools for your Shopify store.

15 Shopify Inventory Management apps to scale up your business

Shopify Inventory Management apps will help you automate the entire process of managing your inventory right from managing the stocks as well as alerting you as soon as there is low stock so as to increase production. It will even let you know not to accept new orders when the inventory gets over so as not to get understocked and even overstocked as well.

1. LitCommerce

LitCommerce is certainly one of the best Shopify inventory management apps because of the variety of features it has. LitCommerce also supports 17+ largest marketplaces of the world such as eBay, Etsy and others. It also provides you an option to import CSV files automatically to your Shopify store in bulk from any marketplace you are operating on and help manage your workload.

LitCommerce also supports multichannel selling which means you can track the live view of selling on different channels from the same dashboard which will always be in front of you. It also supports live chat support and support tickets as well as gives you a lifetime free plan with some limitations so that you can use the software even without paying for it.

2. Stock Sync

Stock Sync is next in the list of top Shopify inventory management apps where you can sync inventory across multiple sales channels and also import and export data from various sources in a CSV file for easier access later on. You can remove a discontinued product with ease from the list as well.

It also determines product pricing and also lets you know about stocking your inventory automatically based on orders so that you never go out of inventory and does not let your inventory go overstocked as well. You have a free trial available with this tool but the paid plans start at $5 and go up to $49 per month depending on your usage.

3. Stocky

Stocky is one of the best free Shopify inventory management apps where you can easily install it to your store without any cost which means that you do not need to add the cost of this tool to your expense while still managing your inventory.

As always, you can manage your inventory with this tool along with transferring your inventory to different locations so as to make space for your inventory. It also gives you in-depth stock analysis as well as recommendations so that you save hours and know which product is the most profitable for you.

4. CedCommerce

CedCommerce is also one of the best inventory management systems because of the fact that you can get automatic and regular price and inventory sync options with this tool along with the fact that your order fulfillment and creation of shipping templates is handled right there as well.

Only thing that is lacking from CedCommerce is that it lacks the ability to create multichannel selling experience right from a single dashboard which is also one of the reasons why some people prefer it less over other.

5. Back in Stock + Restock Alerts

As the name suggests, Back in Stock + Restock alerts is a tool that lets you add a notify me button to your Shopify store which means that you will be able to let your potential customers know when some of your items are back in stock and it will also let you know if any items need to be restocked by alerting you about the same.

At the moment, this tool comes with a free plan as well as a 14-day free trial but you can also get a monthly subscription of this tool starting at just $5 and it goes up to $19 per month.

6. Sellbrite

Sellbrite is another one of the powerful Shopify inventory management tools which lets you sell on some of the largest marketplaces in the world including Amazon which means that you have all the bases covered if you have Sellbrite in your armory.

It is also worth noting that Sellbrite is useful for accessing multiple inventory locations and cherry on the top is that you can even connect it with Fulfillment by Amazon also known as FBA program where the shipping will be handled by Amazon so you don’t need to move a needle once you have shipped the item to Amazon’s warehouse.

7. Katana

Katana is also known as Katana MRP which means that it is a fully powered inventory management app for those who have their own manufacturing units as well because of the fact that it offers a lot of features that are related to manufacturing your own products such as live look at all moving parts of your business including raw materials, packaging and barcode scanning.

You can add multiple Shopify stores in Katana and sync data across them so you can track what is missing from which store and manufacture them accordingly and it includes data from offline as well as online including your POS machines too.

8. ShipHero

ShipHero is one of the oldest Shopify inventory management tools that we know about and we definitely recommend it to everyone who is looking for one to solve their inventory management issues. ShipHero is also an inventory tracking app that owns 7 warehouses across North America and also integrates with the major services such as UPS, USPS and even FedEx.

ShipHero also gives you purchase order information, batch order processing as well as real time syncing functionality which enables you to manage inventory across different channels. The only problem with ShipHero is that it is quite expensive compared to the competition which is also the reason why only large Shopify stores make use of it.

9. Skubana

Skubana is one of those inventory management apps for Shopify that does everything for you and you can remain stress-free which is why it is preferred by a lot of store owners who don’t have a big team working for them. It offers a one-click import option to manage all your inventory.

The problem with Skubana is also the same as ShipHero as its subscription comes at $1000 per month which is decent for the things it offers but it is definitely not affordable for small to medium scale Shopify stores.

10. EasyScan

EasyScan, as the name suggests, is an inventory management tool that makes perfect use of barcode scanners as well as SKUs to keep track of stocks as well as order creation can be done with it as well.

You can also create packing slips, multi-order picklists as well as bin locators are also available to find desired items quickly without having to look for it in all locations. EasyScan is quite affordable starting at $9.99 per month and goes up to $49.99 per month depending on usage.

11. Inventory Planner

Inventory Planner is one of those inventory management apps for Shopify that does a niche job but does it very well so much so that it is recommended only for doing one or two tasks which is not the case with other tools in this list. The main task of Inventory Planner is to plan inventory and it does it very well. This tool provides store owners the insights of how their inventory is performing so that they can plan their production or restocking accordingly.

It also does a good job of forecasting accurately when the products will be produced or restocked so that you don’t go out of stock or you have inventory left which takes up space. One thing to note is that it is on the expensive side at $249.99 per month but we think it is worth it for the large stores.

12. ShipBob

ShipBob is one of the highly rated inventory management tools that not only works for Shopify but also for WooCommerce and BigCommerce as well which means that it is the most versatile out of this list so far. The only thing that lacks in ShipBob right now is that if you are not very tech savvy then there is a big learning curve to it and also the fact that there are many upsells inside the tool is also something that should be kept in mind.

13. QuickBooks Commerce

QuickBooks Commerce is the Shopify Inventory Management tool from the house of Quickbooks which is very famous for its accounting management across industries and its Shopify tool is very popular among the users too which is also the reason why it is featured in this list. It lets you track and manage your business’ aspects such as order and inventory management as well as multi-currency tracking and more.

You get the option to forecast demand as well as manage your warehouse with this tool and it is power-packed even on its most beginner plan which is a great thing to see. However, it does have some issues with Shopify integration which should be the basic for a tool such as this which is why it is lowered down the order.

14. Veeqo

Veeqo is also an inventory management system for Shopify which also integrates with more than 21 different tools, offering built-in shipping software from DHL, DPD, Royal Mail, and more. It provides real-time visibility across different sales channels from a single place and it also allows returns management which is something that a lot of tools don’t offer even today.

Veeqo does have some drawbacks though and one of them is that its software is quite buggy which should not be case when you are managing inventory for a Shopify business and that is the reason why we don’t recommend it despite the features.

15. Order Tagger

Order Tagger allows you to build an unlimited number of simple and/or complex workflows that analyze your orders against conditions and criteria that you’ve defined. However, Order Tagger can’t be called a complete inventory management system for Shopify because it is not. It does not offer a lot of features that the other tools offer and one of them is order backdating which is included as an upsell instead of being included in the regular plans.

So there we go, this is the most comprehensive list of Shopify Inventory Management tools that you will find on the entire internet right now and we are confident of the recommendations we have made as they were tested and their pros and cons were properly analyzed as well.

Do let us know how you like our suggestions and let us know which one of these tools are you already using or planning to use for your Shopify or WooCommerce store in the near future.

It is worth noting that there is a common saying in the online world that when there is anything good that starts in the market, it is often riddled with scams and people trying to get the benefits out of them and since the company is a customer-centric one which means that they care about their customers and believe whatever they say is right, they will get away with it as well. We are talking about the biggest e-commerce marketplace in the world right now which is Amazon.

If you don’t already know, Amazon is totally filled with buyer scams and customers who are trying to cheat the buyers for their hard-earned money just for the fun of it or for reasons best known to them. We are here to tell you about the different types of scams that take place at Amazon and it is also worth noting that Amazon might take action on them but the scammers create hundreds of new accounts daily in order to dupe the sellers so the marketplace is also helpless in most of these situations. Since Amazon is known for their customer care, buyers pretend to be genuine in their requests which is when the sellers have to suffer.

Talking about the various scams on Amazon, it is worth noting that there are loopholes being found every day on it and they are patched as soon as possible too but the fact is that there are loopholes being discovered every other day by these scammers which means that when you fix the first one, they have found multiple other ones which they take advantage from. However, there are some Amazon scams that are so common and have been around ever since the platform was started.

You must be aware that Amazon has a no-questions-asked return policy which means that the customers can return any products they don’t like and the cost will have to be beared by the sellers as the company and the buyers can benefit from this program. While we know that there are some products and returns that are genuine because of quality or other issues, there are returns created for products that are perfectly fine but the order was placed just to frustrate the buyer or it is also seen that the return parcel does not have the same item that was ordered which is one of the most common scams on Amazon.

In this article, we will tell you about the 7 most common types of buyer scams on Amazon that you as a seller need to be aware of:

1. Failed Delivery Scam

Everyone who is running an e-commerce store will attest to the fact that failed delivery is one of the most common type of scams being run by buyers and this is not just limited to Amazon but it works very well on Amazon because of their customer-centric approach where they believe whatever the buyer claims is true.

Basically, what happens in this type of scam is that once the delivery of any product from Amazon is out and the delivery partner delivers the order then the buyer claims they have not received the delivery and while Amazon delivery partners take proof of delivery, it gets missed sometimes and that is when the buyers can scam the sellers since Amazon takes buyer’s side.

2. Fake Replacement Scam

Another common type of Amazon buyer scam is the fake replacement scam and this is prevalent the most on Amazon in the gaming sector because of how easy it is to find replacement of the same product. Talking about this scam, it is seen that the buyer who receives the product creates a return request where he/she will send you the product back but upon receiving the product, the buyer would notice that the product they received back is not the one they originally sent.

Basically, the buyer sent you a faulty or fake replacement product. In this situation, what the buyer can do is attach stickers on parts of the product that do not need to be opened so that if the stickers are tampered or not present at all then you can confirm that the returned product was not the same as the one you sent. You can communicate this to Amazon as well so that they also the proof of your method.

3. Phishing

Phishing scams are common not just on Amazon but everywhere around the world be it on mail or SMS or somewhere else. However, phishing scams on Amazon work too well because of the fact that they pretend to be from Amazon and send you a link inside the phishing mails which you are most likely to click thinking that the item you ordered has some changes to its delivery date or something else. Once you do that, you are part of this phishing scam.

4. Email Scam

As we mentioned in the phishing scam, email scams are also similar where you get an email from someone pretending to be from Amazon but always note the email from where you received it because Amazon’s official mails are always sent from addresses ending with amazon.com. Apart from that, Amazon says “The emails you get from buyers will appear in your Seller Central Account.” Amazon will also never ask you to log in to your account or share your credentials so never share them in any case.

5. Returns Scam

Similar to the fake replacement scam, the returns scam is also very common on Amazon where the buyer would raise a return request as soon as the product is delivered and quickly replace the working product with the one they have that is not working. In some cases, we have also seen that the product being returned is not a product at all but just some deadweight such as stone or something else just to make sure that the return pickup guy accepts it.

6. Credit Card Scam

One of the most troubling scams on Amazon being run nowadays is the Credit Card scam where the buyers purchase the items from a stolen credit card or credit card information they have found from a BIN which means that it is most likely to get a chargeback request raised as soon as the credit card holder finds out that they have been charged for a purchase they have not done.

Now, the problem here is that Amazon is pretty fast on their deliveries which means that if the delivery is done and then the chargeback is raised then the seller can’t do anything else as the buyer’s information is fake and the delivery is often requested on a location which is different from the original one as well.

7. Address Forwarding Scam

Address Forwarding Scam has been recently found out on Amazon and a lot of Amazon sellers have started complaining about the same as well. It is worth noting that there is a niche where this works very well and these are for the products that are delivered by sellers and not by Amazon. Basically, such orders are merchant-fulfilled orders.

When the merchant decides to fulfil and order by themselves and not pay Amazon for their services, the scammers who already know about this raise a request to forward the order to another address claiming that they have moved or something else. 

Now, the problem here is that the buyer can’t do that because it is against Amazon’s policies and it is obvious that the buyer will now raise a refund request which Amazon will have to fulfill as the order is not delivered so even if the seller has sent out the order, they will have to face the refund request as well as the lost money in couriers.

Things you can do to avoid these scams

After reading all the above scams, you would have known that some of them are pretty obvious but they do work and if you are a seller then you must have been affected by such scams too. Now, we know that Amazon trusts the buyers a lot but you as a seller can also take advantage of Amazon’s customer service by showing them the proofs of what you have done so that they can take your side as well.

First of all, it is worth noting that you as a buyer should always use tamper-proof seals for your products which can’t be removed or even if they are removed then they can be visible so that you can know and even prove that the product has been tampered with.

Apart from that, you should always use shipping methods that have trackers in order to let Amazon know that you have really shipped your order and the buyer can’t claim that their package wasn’t delivered because you can tell the delivery partner to take proof of delivery as well as request customer’s signature.

Also, you should always send a shipping confirmed message to your buyer so that they, as well as Amazon, get informed that the order has been shipped which also means that you have proof that the order was shipped out to the location and the buyer will know that there is no chance to scam here.

Businesses lose profits in tunes of trillions by losing their customers to competitors. For this reason, companies need to find ways to prevent customer defection.

If you are looking to spark revenue growth for your e-commerce business, you shouldn’t look only at ways to attract new customers. Retention should be a priority strategy. Customer retention is as crucial as customer acquisition.

Implementing a robust customer retention program will help increase the frequency of purchases, your reach through referrals, and the value of orders. This guide will give you insights into the top customer retention strategies that will charm your customers and grow your revenue.

1. Create a Customer Loyalty Program

This is one of the easy ways to master retention. E-commerce businesses have more creative opportunities to affect the programs. Point systems where customers can accumulate points every time they shop with you are one of the ways.

If you enjoy gambling, it may interest you to know that Golden Euro Mobile Casino has such programs in place in the form of bonuses, promotions, special contests, loyalty points and more.

In case you are wondering when to award customers loyalty points, you have plenty of options. They include when setting up an account, referrals, first purchase, following your page on social media platforms, and even points for every dollar they spend in your store.

The best way for brands to build loyalty is by figuring out how to create emotional connections with their customers, and there is no better way to do it than to roll out incentive-based loyalty programs. It will show them that you value the business they bring you.

2. Provide Outstanding Customer Support

Customers will stick to your brand if you offer the quality of support they require. If you can get customers to trust your customer service team, they will always return. Ninetety percent of customers will leave your brand if they experience poor customer service.

Therefore, you must ensure your customer support desk is interactive, reliable, and effective. Customers judge brands based on how promptly they respond to their issues. How do you ensure that you appeal to consumers?

Ensure that the customer support desk communicates clearly to your customers when they present an inquiry. Pay attention to your customers’ needs and pain points so you are able to provide an effective solution. Be empathetic so they can feel they can communicate with you freely.

Incredible customer service helps you attract clients and ensures they stay with you long-term. It is the foundation of retention.

3. Build a Comprehensive Onboarding Program

The first stage of your retention strategy is onboarding, which begins with an educational welcome email. Provided you have a business, you have customers.

However, ensure they continue to support your brand. A transparent customer onboarding procedure is the best method to accomplish that. A good onboarding program will help consumers learn more about your goods or services. It also entails guiding your clients to get more information on your brand, fostering a stronger sense of loyalty.

What goes into creating a customer onboarding program? Ensure the program objectives are well-defined and consistent with your strategic business plan. Use customer journey mapping to discover more about the program components.

For the purpose of teaching your current customers, provide a learning course and include interactive components in the content, like puzzles and games.

4. Personalize Communication

You need to personalize your communication, especially if your customers are not from a single demographic, which is often the case. Customers needs, wants, and interests differ. Therefore, if you are reaching them with the same generic message, their interest in your brand and what you offer will decline sooner than you notice.

Successful e-commerce businesses give their customers the opportunity to relate to their brands through personalized messages and experiences. Personalized communication across all channels is a sure way to win the loyalty of your customers.

Before sending emails, research and analyze data linked to their purchase history and consumer habits. This way, you will be better positioned to grant them personalized offers and also send targeted offers on special days such as birthdays.

Another approach is identifying customers who have abandoned their carts and sending them coupon codes over their emails to encourage them to complete their journey. Alternatively, after confirming a customer’s interest in a product, you can send them discount codes or personalized reminders to compel them to proceed with the checkout process and pay.

5. Offer Convenience

Convenience is among the factors that affect customer retention in e-commerce. Most customers will stay with brands that offer them a convenient shopping experience. Convenience drives e-commerce growth, so businesses should compete on more than prices alone.

While pricing is a crucial factor consumers consider before purchasing, over fifty percent confirm that convenience influences their decisions. While online shopping is already convenient, customers are looking for more, and that is time efficiency and a seamless checkout process.

Your brand should provide a customer-centered and convenient experience by offering options like same-day delivery and in-store pickup to increase conversions and repeat purchases.

Take Away

From 2023, e-commerce businesses should pay attention to retention. Brands will nurture relationships with new and existing customers and build trust and loyalty through retention strategies like implementing loyalty programs, customer onboarding programs, and offering convenient shopping experiences and reliable support.

In today’s rapidly changing ecommerce world, sellers really need to stay up to date. With the constant change, it’s hard to keep up with all this information.

This is where eCommerce blogs come in that provide valuable insights, tips, and tricks so that you can be sure to always stay on top of things.

In this article, we will share 10 different ecommerce blogs which you should join.

1. eComBusinessHub

Want to learn everything there is to learn about dropshipping? It’s a blog that consists of dropshippers and ecommerce merchants. They are the #1 Resource to learn everything about Dropshipping, Dropshipping Courses, and eCommerce Platforms like Shopify. They also do a ton of research and provide the most unbiased reviews on eCommerce tools and products!

• eCommerce Platforms
• Dropshipping
• eCommerce Tools

#2. Shopify Blog

Shopify’s Blog is your essential resource for eCommerce insights, marketing strategies, and success stories. Whether you’re starting or growing your online business, this blog provides the knowledge you need to excel in eCommerce.

• eCommerce
• Marketing
• Success Stories

#3. ShipBob Blog

Shipbob’s blog is a great resource for ecommerce businesses looking to improve their logistics and fulfillment operations. The blog covers a variety of topics, including inventory management, shipping, order management, and more. Shipbob also provides case studies that highlight how other businesses have leveraged their services to improve their operations.

• Ecommerce logistics
• Fulfillment
• Supply chain management

#4. Klaviyo Blog

The Klaviyo blog provides a wealth of information on email marketing, including tips for crafting effective email campaigns, best practices for email reporting, and examples of successful email campaigns. The blog also covers topics related to omnichannel marketing, such as SMS marketing, Facebook Ads, and personalized product recommendations.

• Email marketing
• Omnichannel marketing
• Success stories

#5. BigCommerce Blog

The BigCommerce Blog is more than just a resource; it’s your partner in navigating the ever-changing eCommerce landscape. With a focus on unleashing commerce potential, marketing mastery, and industry foresight.

• eCommerce Insights
• Marketing Mastery
• Success Stories

#6. A Better Lemonade Stand

A Better Lemonade Stand blog talks specifically about ecommerce platforms, including tips for choosing the right platform, best practices for setting up an online store, and examples of successful ecommerce businesses. Additionally, the blog features articles on marketing and how to optimize your online store for search engines.

• Ecommerce platform
• Online store
• Marketing

#7. Wix eCommerce Blog

Wix’s eCommerce blog covers a variety of things such as tutorials on how to setup an online store, examples of other successful ecommerce brands, providing actionable advice on improving your store.

• Internationalization
• Dropshipping
• Ecommerce business strategy

#8. Neil Patel’s Marketing Blog

Neil Patel’s blog focuses on digital marketing, including tips for creating effective marketing campaigns, best practices for SEO, and examples of successful marketing campaigns 1. The blog also covers topics related to content marketing, such as how to create engaging content, how to promote your content, and how to measure the success of your content 12.

• Digital Marketing
• SEO
• Content marketing

#9. Hotjar Blog

Hotjar’s blog is a great resource for UX, product, and digital empathy experts. The blog covers a wide range of topics, including behavior analytics, user research, CRO, e-commerce, and more. It also features product updates and insights from the Hotjar team.

• User Experience
• Data-Driven UX
• Digital Discovery

Welcome to the sprawling industry of digital commerce. Where innovation and convenience combine in perfect harmony. This beautiful online world is full of opportunities as well as threats. 

You need to safeguard your online retail business against these lurking threats!

As e-commerce continues its meteoric rise, so do the ingenious tactics of malevolent bots. Bots that seek to exploit, manipulate, and dismantle the very foundations of online shopping.

Bot attacks have evolved from mere nuisances to full-fledged adversaries. They are now capable of draining your revenue streams and destroying your consumer trust.

According to a report by Juniper online payment fraud will exceed $48 billion globally in 2023. This indicates how important mitigating these attacks is to your business. You don’t want to become part of this statistic, do you?

Let’s examine some advanced strategies that can act as your digital guards. So that you can ensure that every click is genuine, and every purchase is 100% safe.

Guard against digital threats

Identifying the threats

Do you know how to identify digital threats to your business?

The threat of bots is now more common than ever before. To safeguard your e-commerce empire, it’s crucial to detect their presence rapidly. Here are some practical ways to spot these attacks:

• Unusual Traffic Patterns: Keep a keen eye on sudden spikes in website traffic or activity. Especially during non-peak hours. Bots often operate under the radar. They exploit quieter moments during the business day.
• Rate of Interactions: Monitor the frequency of interactions from a single IP address. A high number of rapid interactions may indicate bot activity trying to manipulate your systems.
• Inhuman Mouse Movements: Bots lack the nuanced mouse movements of humans. Use tools that analyze cursor behavior which discerns unnatural patterns like these.
• Anomalous User Agent Strings: Examine user agent strings thoroughly for inconsistencies. Bots may reveal themselves through abnormal browser and device details.
• CAPTCHA Bypass Attempts: Frequent CAPTCHA bypass attempts are a telltale sign of bots attempting to access restricted content.

The rise of intelligent safeguards

With these threats becoming so frequent, a new generation of intelligent safeguards has arisen. These digital safeguards are enhanced by advanced AI-driven algorithms. Their unique technology comprises: 

• data pattern analysis
• anomaly detection
• behavior recognition

These algorithms unmask the most intricate of schemes. As well as stopping attacks dead, before they even manifest.

These solutions can predict, detect and neutralize any risks. As a business owner, you should consider implementing these steps to safety:

• Real-time Anomaly Detection: Use solutions that constantly monitor transaction patterns. They will alert you to any unusual activity indicative of fraud.
• Behavior Analysis: Implement tools that assess user behavior. These can differentiate genuine customers from fraudulent bots, based on interactions.
• Adaptive Learning: Choose safeguards that continuously learn from new data. This ensures they stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics.
• Collaborative Threat Intelligence: Work with platforms that share insights from various industries to collectively combat emerging threats.

The adaptive future

The world of online retail is constantly reshaping. These bots are continually updating tactics to deal with these changes. How can you guarantee your business is safe and secure? 

One-dimensional defense mechanisms have become relics of the past. The adaptive future markets demand solutions that evolve with every keystroke. Here are some other innovative measures to consider for your organization:

• Machine Learning: Use AI and machine learning to analyze vast datasets. This can easily uncover hidden patterns of fraud in real time.
• Behavioral Biometrics: Implement biometric authentication methods that analyze user behavior. This will make it significantly harder for malicious bots to infiltrate your systems.
• Data-Driven Insights: Take advantage of data analytics. You will quickly discover any anomalies in your systems. This will ensure you can avoid all futuristic fraud tactics.

So when you are looking for the right solution to protect your business, make sure to find one that suits your business needs. Weigh in your options carefully. For example, solutions like SEON utilize whitebox machine learning algorithms which can be amazingly useful if you are in the financial niche. These can analyze your transaction history, allowing you to detect fraud patterns and create rules for your transactions. 

You can then implement fully explainable rules to block certain user actions. These could include:

• suspicious logins
• identity theft
• fraudulent transactions

Retail security with AI fraud prevention

Are you seeking slick security for your retail business?

The perfect solution is the hi-tech capabilities of AI. The invention of AI-powered solutions has allowed organizations to use new strategies against all forms of digital deception. 

Finally, you can breathe a sigh of relief! Your business can be safe in the modern digital age.

AI in fraud prevention

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new pioneering technology that drives smart decision-making. AI can:

• analyze patterns
• processes colossal data streams
• derives insights that were once unfathomable 

AI is used for real-time pattern recognition. Because AI can analyze vast data streams, identifying patterns and anomalies can occur in real time. This allows for swift detection of fraudulent activities and prevents potential breaches.

AI software is coded with machine learning models. These AI algorithms learn from historical data. This allows the system to predict certain factors and adapt to new fraud tactics. 

Retail success through AI

Employing AI systems in your business will lead to a streamlined customer experience. AI-powered fraud prevention can easily reduce all friction in your customer’s journey. 

Legitimate transactions are now authenticated swiftly. This will result in enhanced user satisfaction.

If your business implements AI solutions, it shows your commitment to customer security. This will develop further trust between your customers and your business. 

Safeguard B2B transactions

What’s the best way to ensure the safety of your B2B transactions? 

In the modern industries of B2B ecommerce, transactions keep the wheels turning. The complexity inherent in B2B transactions demands a multi-faceted approach to fraud detection and prevention. 

The dynamics of B2B E-commerce security

The B2B e-commerce industry is characterized by intricate supply chains. It is also known for substantial transaction volumes. For this reason, the strictest security is required for every single transaction. Any breaches could reverberate across the entire ecosystem.

Elevated B2B e-commerce security

Transactions are not the only aspect that requires security. Your business can implement a multi-step verification process. This could include: 

• confirmation from both parties
• documentation review
• a digital paper trail

Such rigorous verification adds an extra layer of accountability to the process. Further reducing the risk of digital threats.

Often global supply chains can be convoluted. Maintaining supply chain visibility is critical. Implementing blockchain technology can help in tracking each component’s journey. This ensures transparency and minimizes risks of counterfeits or tampering with your products.

Your businesses can employ data analytics to identify patterns of fraudulent behavior. By analyzing historical data and identifying anomalies, your company can create a unique fraud detection model. 

The role of collaboration

Through transparent communication and collaboration, B2B partners can build trust gradually. Regular updates, sharing of market insights, and maintaining open lines of communication contribute to a relationship built on mutual trust. This trust becomes a solid foundation for future growth.

Efficient processes not only prevent fraud but also streamline operations. Implementing automation tools for: 

• order processing
• Invoicing
• payment 

can significantly reduce errors and expedite transactions. This benefits all parties involved.

Your business now has a few innovative ideas that can assist your ultimate success. Now you can use B2B transactions with confidence, by using our suggestions. They will ensure that every interaction is a smooth symphony of trust.

Securing digital storefronts

We are witnessing a huge amount of innovative fraud prevention products in 2023. Especially those with a particular emphasis on e-commerce needs.

In a recent report by Cybersource, it was discovered that eCommerce merchants now spend 11% of their annual revenue on fraud management. This shows how important fraud detection is to safety-conscious businesses.

Security for digital storefronts

Does your business need a way to operate a safe and secure online store?

Your business can benefit from these new innovations. Here are some advanced security options to explore:

• Biometric Authentication: Utilizing biometric data, such as fingerprint recognition and facial scans, will strengthen the authentication processes. This advanced technology ensures that only authorized individuals can gain access to your digital storefront. This will minimize the risk of unauthorized transactions.
• Blockchain: Implementing blockchain technology in transactions will increase transparency and accountability. Each transaction is recorded in an immutable and tamper-proof ledger. This reduces the likelihood of any fraudulent alterations.
• Risk-Based Authentication: This is done by analyzing user behavior and contextual data. Risk-based authentication assesses the likelihood of fraud. This approach adds extra layers of verification to transactions that exhibit unusual patterns.

Enhanced user experience 

Your business needs to have an enhanced user experience to stay ahead of the competition in 2023. Many companies employ convenient solutions geared to help this. Your company could implement some of these advanced features as unique selling points.

Online retailers frequently use e-commerce solutions that accept many forms of payment. Digital wallets and payment gateways have evolved to offer tokenization on Blockchain. Each transaction generates a unique token. This makes it useless for potential threats, even if intercepted.

You could incorporate image recognition technology, like many online platforms. These enable users to visually verify transactions through images or videos. This visual confirmation adds an extra layer of security, as your users can validate transactions visually.

Secure E-commerce future

Modern retail is a place where innovation meets disruption. The task of countering bot attacks has become a daily routine for online businesses. You can avoid these risks if your business works with the synergy of advanced AI and uses some of the tips and tricks we have presented in this article. 

The path to secure transactions may be a tricky one, but it is possible to get there in the end! Your business should adopt these new standards and innovations to safeguard your assets.

Get ready for your customers to enjoy advanced security while using your online store. Step into the future. A fraud-free future.