Richard Stubbings - Practical Ecommerce

Articles by: Richard Stubbings

Richard Stubbings

Richard Stubbings

Prior to moving to Norwich, England, Richard Stubbings had 20 years IT experience — designing and building major computer applications. He then set up a bookshop concentrating on science fiction, crime, and horror. He soon started selling horror and movie-related figures alongside the books. The shop, called Kulture Shock, went online in 2000. Over the years, he used numerous shopping carts and the ecommerce site (which he has since sold) grew to be successful.

Business
Post Brexit, U.K. Ecommerce Sales Remain Strong

June 22, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

January 2021 was the first month of the U.K. not belonging to the E.U. According to the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics, exports to the E.U. dropped 40.7% in January from December 2020.
Business > Merchant Voice
The benefits of a thriving consumer forum

March 16, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

An ecommerce website can have content other than products for sale. Consider a forum, for example. What makes a good forum? In my experience, it is where participants can ask questions and receive relevant answers within a few hours, no longer.
Business > Merchant Voice
The best way to select a software vendor

February 15, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

As a company grows, so does its reliance on software. The right software drives efficiency and profits. It can lower employment costs. But software cannot become an obstacle. It cannot prevent a business from growing or evolving. When it does restrict growth, change your software.
Business > Merchant Voice
Local consumers are your next online customers

January 12, 2021 • Richard Stubbings

In normal years, January and February is the time to review the just-completed holiday sales and look for ways to improve. But not much is normal about the last three months. Instead, look ahead. What if you had mainly local customers?
Business > Merchant Voice
Serious changes are coming to the E.U. VAT

December 24, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

As I write this in mid-December, there is no Brexit trade agreement between the U.K. and the E.U. Businesses in the U.K. have no idea what will happen on January 1, when the U.K. formally exits from the E.U. However, the real problem for U.K. and other merchants will be adjusting to changes in the E.U.'s value-added tax.
Business > Merchant Voice
‘Shop local’ applies to ecommerce businesses, too

November 30, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

The pandemic has altered the behavior of consumers, moving from in-person shopping to online. We have experienced it here in the U.K. Online ordering has increased significantly.
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
My response to negative Amazon reviews

October 27, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

In last month's post, I described instances of giving preference to an Amazon customer rather than one from my own site. I hated that. It is one of the reasons I scaled down my Amazon listings. For me, customer service is paramount. It is one thing an independent retailer can do better than the large box shifters.
Business > Merchant Voice
After 20 years of ecommerce, change is the only certainty

September 17, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

Designing, building, and launching a website is just the beginning of an ecommerce business. Attracting and converting visitors is the next, all-important step. A website alone does not guarantee anything. But the most critical factor in long-term success is the ability to change and adapt.
Business > Merchant Voice
The 3 rules of ecommerce design

August 20, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

My ecommerce website went through many visual changes in the 20 years that I operated it, from 2000 to 2020. Sometimes I retained a designer, and sometimes I did it myself using the ecommerce software I was using at the time. One of the worst designs was by a professional in 2002 who persuaded me that my demographic of science-fiction geeks would love it.
Business > Merchant Voice
Lessons from 20 years of ecommerce

July 28, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

My first ecommerce site was a supplement to my brick-and-mortar shop in 2000. There was little online competition. Amazon sold only books. Most of my competitors were small independents like me, and it was easy to stand above the crowd. I advertised the site on shopping bags, on leaflets at conventions, and in an occasional magazine. This post is the second in a series on starting and growing an ecommerce business.
Business > Merchant Voice
Launching an ecommerce business: the first steps

June 9, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

My previous post described the launch of many ecommerce businesses in the U.K. due to the pandemic. It reminded me of when I started roughly 20 years ago. One of my first tasks was to think of a domain name.
Business > Merchant Voice
New U.K. ecommerce businesses need guidance

May 28, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

It has been two months since we started the lockdown in the U.K. It seems longer. One thing has occurred during the lockdown that I did not predict but is obvious in hindsight: There has been an explosion of small internet businesses.
Business > Merchant Voice
Planning my business for a new world

April 23, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

Journalists in the U.K. keep pressing the government about ending the Covid-19 lockdown. Governmental leaders prefer not to say, concentrating on the here and now. A business, however, should plan now for the end of the lockdown. How will your company operate?
Business > Merchant Voice
How Covid-19 affects U.K. businesses

April 10, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

Unsurprisingly, many ecommerce businesses in the U.K. have reported an increase in sales during the pandemic. Sales of fashion, clothing, and luxury items, however, have dropped. The U.K. government has put in place measures that should help my business and many others.
Staffing > Merchant Voice
What I look for in an employee

March 9, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

What should you look for in an ecommerce employee? In this post, I’ll describe my hiring process. To start, I list job duties. Then I list skill requirements in two columns:
Staffing > Merchant Voice
Need good employees? Be a good employer

February 4, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

Hiring and managing employees is among the most challenging tasks of business owners. An employee-employer relationship is much different than a social one. You'll spend many hours a day together. But employers should never forget that the relationship is about business.
Business > Merchant Voice
For 2020, use pre-orders to avoid dead stock

January 21, 2020 • Richard Stubbings

It is time to plan for the new year. Consider offering pre-orders. It's a topic by itself — researching suitable products, marketing to potential customers, and then communicating with those prospects about their requirements.
Fraud Prevention > Merchant Voice
Plan for fraud (but try to prevent it)

December 23, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

As much as 7.5 percent of all online transactions are fraudulent in one way or another. They all cut into profits. Merchants should plan for fraud and build it into cost calculations and into the necessary margins to cover. Merchants should also strive to prevent it.
Business > Merchant Voice
E.U. anti-fraud legislation emphasizes mobile

November 7, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Recent E.U. legislation requires banks and payment processors to use two-step authentication. For online transactions in the E.U., the payment now requires not only the card number and the three-digit ...
SEO > Merchant Voice
My experience with SEO

October 4, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Relying on organic search traffic is risky for small ecommerce businesses in my experience. Other marketing channels, such as Facebook, could generate a better return on investment. Traditional methods of ...
Business > Merchant Voice
What’s the best ecommerce platform for your business?

September 20, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

I recently read arguments in forums regarding the best ecommerce platform. Two self-appointed “experts” stood out. One argued passionately for custom, bespoke coding for producing the most efficient system.
Business > Merchant Voice
Quality, low-volume goods are a growth market

August 27, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

There is a growing concern for the environment. Conserving resources is becoming more popular. Have you considered how your business can help the environment and make money whilst doing it?
Business > Merchant Voice
Migrating ecommerce platforms is more than moving data

August 6, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

The first question in selecting a new platform is to decide if it's worth the price. Set aside emotions. Does your ecommerce site make a decent profit? Will it make enough money to recoup the investment in a new platform? Does it have the potential to grow?
Platforms & Apps > Merchant Voice
After Magento 1, build something special

June 24, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Magento will soon stop supporting version 1. Many ecommerce businesses running Magento 1 will be looking for alternatives. There is no shortage of recommendations and advice. Leading contenders include Shopify, WooCommerce, and Open Cart, among others. All have strengths and weaknesses.
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
A seller is never bulletproof on Amazon

May 10, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Relying on one or two platforms for ecommerce revenue is risky. It is relatively easy to build a business on Amazon and eBay. Both marketplaces can present your merchandise to millions of potential customers. But the tradeoff is becoming vulnerable to their foibles.
Cross-border Selling > Merchant Voice
My plan for surviving a trade war

April 28, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

For most businesses, daily operations do not change based on who is in political power. Companies are primarily affected by their own decisions, not by the government. However, occasionally there are exceptions. Trade policies are an example.
Marketing & Advertising > Merchant Voice
How I advertise my ecommerce site

March 19, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Last week whilst I was walking my dogs I noticed an advert on the back of a bus. It was promoting adverts on the back of buses. It suggested that ...
Business > Merchant Voice
Magento 1.9: Going, going, gone?

February 6, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Time is running out for the thousands of merchants still using Magento 1.9 or older. Support for Magento 1.9 is due to expire by June 2020 at the latest. But ...
Business > Merchant Voice
U.K. merchant on likely impact of Brexit

January 8, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

Large companies and suppliers that import goods may be affected by increases in tariffs. There could be delays in receiving the goods. But this should not affect small to midsize merchants. And most of the problems will likely occur between the U.K. and mainland Europe.
Business > Merchant Voice
Cultural changes affect all merchants — ecommerce and brick-and-mortar

January 3, 2019 • Richard Stubbings

As an ecommerce retailer, you may assume you're ahead of the game and thus will reap the reward of consumers migrating online. This is a dangerous assumption. All businesses have to be ready for cultural changes.

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