Category: E-commerce

Shopify Raises Monthly eCommerce Subscription Fees by 34%

Posted on January 25, 2023 by - E-commerce

Shopify fees

Shopify has urged online retailers on its eCommerce platform to switch from monthly to annual payment plans to avoid a steep increase in fees from April 23, 2023. The price increase will see monthly fees across all of its plans increase as follows: Monthly Shopify Subscription Fees Basic: From $29 to $39 – an increase of 34% Shopify (Standard): From $79 to $105 – an increase of 33% Advanced: From $299 to $399 – an increase of 33% By locking into an annual agreement before the April 23 deadline, retailers will continue to enjoy current pricing for the next 12 months. However, retailers renewing annual subscription fees after the deadline will also see significant price increases. Why Is Shopify Doing This? Explaining the… Read more »

What’s on Your eCommerce “To-Do” List for 2023?

Posted on January 3, 2023 by - E-commerce, Frooition

2023 eCommerce

It would be too easy to start this blog post with phrases like “cost of living crisis”, “industrial action”, and “supply chain crisis”, but here at Frooition, we are great believers in a little bit of optimism going a long way. This is especially true if that optimism is backed-up with a bit of extra focus and a lot of hard work. While many eCommerce businesses are facing challenges in the current economy, now is not the time to sit on your hands and let circumstances weigh you down. Our motto in 2023 is definitely going to be “optimise everything”, – so let’s bring it on. Optimise Everything Optimising everything starts with a good list. Every eCommerce business owner I… Read more »

Black Friday Email Marketing Campaign Strategies

Posted on October 20, 2022 by - E-commerce

email marketing black friday

With Black Friday just around the corner, many online retailers will be focused on creating marketing campaigns to help them win a share of what could be a $10bn sales opportunity. As a low-cost, high-return marketing channel, email marketing should play a significant role in this strategy. However, with so many campaigns hitting consumers’ email inboxes In the days before the big day, it will be difficult for campaigns to stand out from the noise. So what does a successful Black Friday email marketing campaign look like? Black Friday Email Marketing Mistakes Marketers often make several “rookie” email marketing mistakes in the run-up to major sales events like Black Friday. These include: Last Minute Campaigns: By the time Black Friday… Read more »

Online Returns: 1 in 4 Big Brand Retailers Charge For Returns

Posted on October 13, 2022 by - E-commerce

man returning online purchase

The days of free online returns may be numbered according to a recent report published by the post-purchase and customer experience company ParcelLab. The report suggests that 25% of the UK’s biggest online retail brands are now charging customers for returns. This figure represents a 14% increase from the previous year. According to the report, retailers not offering free returns charge an average of £3.53 per return and take approximately nine days to refund the purchase. Is It Becoming More Difficult to Return Online Purchases? It’s important to remember returns aren’t going away anytime soon (ever). Distance selling regulations in the UK demand the right to return goods for any reason. What is changing is the way retailers manage their… Read more »

The Cost of Living Crisis: How Online Retailers Can Weather The Storm

Posted on August 26, 2022 by - E-commerce, eBay

The cost of living crisis caused by rising energy costs and the subsequent squeeze on household budgets will hit online retail businesses hard this winter. Not only will people have less money to spend on little luxuries and everyday essentials, but the cost of doing business will also soar as suppliers pass on ever-increasing expenses to their clients. We are not pulling any punches here. Christmas 2022 is going to be challenging for many retailers. While there is no “magic bullet” to solve the problem, there are a number of levers businesses can pull to help them better weather the storm. 10 Tips To Help Online Retail Businesses Survive The Cost of Living Crisis Liquidate Distressed Inventory Immediately: When every… Read more »

Common Mistakes That New eCommerce Businesses Make and How To Avoid Them

Posted on April 29, 2022 by - E-commerce, eBay

Selling online has never been easier. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still potential pitfalls that many new eCommerce businesses regularly fall into. With more than 16-years of experience helping sellers build successful eCommerce brands across multiple channels, including online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon and their own eCommerce stores, we’ve seen and addressed almost every mistake an eCommerce business can make. We’ve compiled a list of the top six most common mistakes online retailers make so that you can avoid them. Six Common eCommerce Mistakes If you build it, they will come: Not only is this an often misquoted line from a Kevin Costner film, but it’s also a terrible strategy to build a business on. With as… Read more »

Six Reasons Why You Should Meet Frooition at Internet Retailing Expo (IRX)

Posted on April 26, 2022 by - E-commerce

As a global business that is proud to call Birmingham home, we are always delighted when the Internet Retailing Expo (IRX) rolls into town. IRX will return to the Birmingham NEC on the 11th and 12th of May, and the Frooition team will be there to help you optimise your eCommerce business in time for your peak selling season in 2022 and beyond. While many people know Frooition for its eBay design services, there are many other reasons why you should consider swinging by our booth (C36) at this year’s IRX event. Here are just six ideas to get the conversation started: eBay Optimisation: Design is just one component of the eBay optimisation journey. We speak to many retailers who… Read more »

An inconvenient truth for eBay and Amazon sellers

Posted on March 22, 2022 by - E-commerce, eBay

Your business is fraught with risk when you rely 100% on online marketplace sales. Just because you are busy with marketplace sales doesn’t mean that your business is in good shape. In many ways, those eBay and Amazon sales are like a diet rich in sugar. They will give you a short-term energy boost but, in the long run, will potentially leave you feeling empty and prone to a crash. eBay and Amazon Suspension Consider what would happen if a marketplace you were selling on suddenly became unavailable to your business. This isn’t some distant threat. We regularly receive emails from retailers desperate to re-instate their eBay or Amazon account after being temporarily or even permanently being suspended from selling.… Read more »

How to Build, Support and Grow a Profitable eCommerce Business

Posted on March 16, 2022 by - E-commerce

When Frooition’s eCommerce design and build team hands over a new eCommerce site to a client, we do so on the understanding that the project is never truly finished. An eCommerce site is so much more than a static sales venue. It’s a living, breathing, ever-evolving marketing channel that will require ongoing care and attention to flourish in the long term. The question of ongoing support is a concern for many online retailers hoping to make the leap from marketplace seller to fully-fledged eCommerce business. That’s why Frooition offers all of their eCommerce clients two different support options that can be tailored to the individual needs of their business. It’s also why so many online retailers come to us after… Read more »

From the High Street to the West Country — A Retail Entrepreneur’s Journey with BigCommerce and Frooition

Posted on November 2, 2021 by - Bigcommerce, E-commerce, Frooition

Elston&Son

After a long career in retail management and eCommerce, working with major brands, including HMV and Clarks, Dave Elston decided it was time to invest his knowledge and experience into something he could call his own. So, in 2020, he started on a new journey which saw the launch of Elston & Son, a family-run business selling artisan food and drink supplied by local producers in the West Country. We sat down with Dave to discuss the challenges of launching an online food and beverage business. He also shared his experience about how the skills he developed in the corporate world benefited him as an entrepreneur in the SME arena. Finally, he told us why he partnered with BigCommerce and… Read more »