An Ultimate Guide to E-Commerce Glossary and Resources

Many times, having a conversation about something you don’t know leaves you scrambling for a dictionary no matter whom you are talking with. Yes, just like having a conversation with an eCommerce expert, and you aren’t alone. Businesses are new to eCommerce, whether you are a buyer, seller or enabler, should be well-versed in the eCommerce jargon that gets passed around in everyday discussion.

If you have already decided to be aware of that jargon, renowned keywords, trendy words, and phrases used in the eCommerce market, we will help you know in an easy-peasy way. We will discuss the different eCommerce terms used in today’s time and let you know where they are using.

The following are the eCommerce terms with a short description:

• E-Commerce

Starting with eCommerce only, so, the method of buying and selling online is called eCommerce. And as the name suggest, this term refers to online retail as a whole, or more specifically, the transaction type.

• Brick and Mortar

You might have heard many times somewhere, so, brick and mortar mean a business that has a physical presence or store and customer can visit rather than just having an online presence.

• Conversions

This is one of the favorite terms every eCommerce store owner dream of. Yes, one of the essential parts of eCommerce and it is the process of converting the user to a customer. This is not always a financial transaction, as the conversion occurs when a visiting user requests a quote, fills out a contact form or places an order. It can be revenue-driven, but not necessarily. The conversion depends on what your organization has decided to track.

• Abandonment

In eCommerce, this term is like someone telling you are good, but you don’t! This means a visitor has visited the website and has left the webpage without making the desired action. In this, buyers are almost ready to make a purchase, but while placing items in their shopping cart, they leave without purchasing them due to any reason.

It is also called cart abandonment. There are many types of abandonment like booking abandonment, shipping abandonment etc., but in the tech world, shopping cart abandonment is widely used.

• CTA (Call-to-Action)

You may be aware of the term CTA called Call-to-Action or the heading on your page motivating the visitors to take action and click your buy button. CTA is solely having an impact on conversion rates. These are words incorporated in a message or sales script that induces a viewer, reader or listener to take immediate action.

Typical CTAS used in marketing and advertising buys now, call now, click here etc. Such words prompt an immediate response or motivate visitors to make a purchase. CTAs have greatly proved its impact on conversion rates.

Effective use of CTAs in different transitions can also be helpful. This CTA message crops up from the bottom of the page when going through the blogs on the site. The transition in which it appears on the screen was the best part of their design. And to top it all, it displayed what you were seeking, hence, persuades the user to click on it.

• Dropshipping

This type of eCommerce arrangement where the distributorships directly to your customers is often in generic packaging. This means you don’t hold stock but expect to pay a greater value per item sold.

Dropshipping is a type of eCommerce where the goods are directly shipped from the manufacture to the retailer. This retail fulfillment method deals in the direct delivery of goods without having to stock them.

Here are the two ways with shipping can be made:

Some merchants have tie-ups with manufacturers and arrange so that they don’t store products. Instead, the merchant buys the goods as required from the third party to meet order needs.

Some merchants partner themselves with suppliers and provide the shipping address to them to ship the product directly to the customer upon request.

Such a fulfillment strategy opted by show owners saves them from tracking inventory and incur if the item didn’t make a complete sale.

• A/B Testing

This is a method of showing two variants of the same web page, marketing campaign, etc. to different segments of consumers at the same time to compare which variant drives more conversions.

• Above the fold

Above the fold is a visible screen that describes an eCommerce website a user sees without scrolling. And that why it also referred to as above the scroll.

• BOGO (Buy one, Get one Free)

BOGO is a promotion that offers the user a free product to purchase an item of greater or equal value. You can consider this as one of the attractive price promotions for consumers in an eCommerce business. Meanwhile, a type of promotion for sellers to enhance the value of an offer without giving a price discount.

• Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that leave an online store after only viewing one page or product without making a purchase.

• Customer Lifetime Value

Customer lifetime value is also called CLV. It is a metric to define the expected monetary value of a customer to a business during their lifetime. The CLS allows businesses to evaluate, whether customer acquisition and marketing costs will amortize over the customer journey of the customer relationship.

• Customer Experience

Customer experience is nothing but the communication between a customer and a company throughout their entire business relationship. The type of interaction can comprise of awareness, discovery, cultivation, advocacy, purchases, and service. These are the specific aspects that impact customer experience:

1. User experience
2. Pricing model
3. Shipping and logistics
4. Customer service
5. Customization
6. Localization

• Customer Relation Management

CRM refers to the practices, plans, and technologies a company uses to manage and organize its interactions with potential and existing buyers throughout the customer lifecycle. A solution that helps a company to manage and analyze customer interaction during the customer lifecycle.

A CRM system is used to aggregate customer information and include anything from sales to marketing or communications data to help enhance customer relationships. CRM can help you manage every detail of the customer and improve business operations.

• Customer Reviews

This is necessary for any business, no matter what type, as this ensures that you are and what people think about your business. When it comes to eCommerce, you need to make sure that people are satisfied with your products and business to get positive opinions, and that’s nothing but the reviews.

Customer reviews usually define the functionality, ease of use, and perceived value for money ratio of a product or service.

EndNote

To conclude,  these are the popular eCommerce terms that may help you know what exactly eCommerce is and how you can run your store. These are the common and popular buzzwords that we have to define as the list is endless and goes on. We hope you understand these terms easily and improve your eCommerce terminology.

Are you ready to set up your E-Commerce store? M-Connect Media can help you as we have helped many eCommerce stores with setup, design, development, suggestions and tips. Consult our eCommerce experts to know more about eCommerce terms and discuss your needs. Dial us now!