Practical Ecommerce
How-to advice and e-commerce insights for online merchants.
Iris Founder Talks AI-Powered Finance
Iris, an AI‑driven financial‑modeling platform founded by former investment banker Drew Fallon, offers brands a data infrastructure that automates finance and operational workflows. The service integrates with Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, QuickBooks, Gusto and other systems, enabling AI agents to generate cash‑flow forecasts, inventory plans, and CAC profitability analyses. Iris also deploys agents that crawl the web for real‑time M&A news, highlighting a 2026 deal boom that includes Unilever’s $1.2 billion purchase of Grüns and Danone’s $1.1 billion acquisition of Huel. Launched two years ago, the platform aims to replace costly fractional CFO functions with scalable AI solutions.
Big Difference in E.U., U.S. Return Rules
The European Union enforces a statutory 14‑day right of withdrawal for online purchases, obligating merchants to process refunds within that window and reimburse original delivery costs. In contrast, the United States lacks a federal return law, allowing retailers to craft...
Google Patent Signals New Search Layer
Google secured U.S. patent US 12536233 B1 for a system that creates AI‑generated landing pages tailored to individual users and queries. The invention evaluates candidate pages, grades them, and dynamically produces customized versions that feed user‑behavior signals back into the model. If...
‘Ask Maps’ Elevates Local Merchants
Google Maps introduced an AI‑driven "Ask Maps" feature that answers consumer queries with localized shopping and activity suggestions. The tool pulls data from Google Business Profiles and website content, surfacing nearby merchants for low‑intent searches. By providing detailed business information,...
EcomFuel Founder on 2026 Industry Trends
EcomFuel’s 2026 Ecommerce Trends Report surveyed 300 high‑revenue merchants about traffic, margins, AI, and channel mix. The data show a 50% rise in manufacturers and a 50% drop in drop‑shipping, while Amazon’s revenue share steadied at 20% despite 63% of...
Digital Goods Could Now Face Tariffs
After three decades of WTO protection, the moratorium on customs duties for electronic transmissions lapsed on March 31, 2026. Brazil and Turkey blocked consensus to extend the rule, leaving the door open for individual nations to levy tariffs on software, digital...
AI Creative Tools in Google Ads
Google has launched Asset Studio, an AI‑powered creative suite inside Google Ads that lets advertisers generate and edit images and videos with simple text prompts. The tool can produce lifestyle product shots, turn a single photo into a 5‑second video,...
5 Content Marketing Ideas for May 2026
May 2026 presents ecommerce marketers with five timely content ideas—from the historic Freedom 7 anniversary to Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, National Paper Airplane Day, and Miles Davis’s centennial. Each theme is positioned to generate organic search traffic, feed‑algorithm visibility, and AI‑readable snippets that...
SEO Wins From Reddit Pro
Reddit has launched Reddit Pro, a free dashboard that gives businesses on‑platform analytics, visibility tools, and ad options. The suite includes a Trends section that tracks keyword mentions, provides AI‑generated sentiment analysis, and offers a Questions filter for content ideas. Users...
My Ideal Second Business
Eric Bandholz outlines his vision for a second business: a direct‑to‑consumer ecommerce brand selling small, consumable products that encourage repeat purchases. He highlights the need for high gross margins that can fund Meta advertising and stresses targeting large, under‑served markets...
Smarter Ecommerce Delivery in Africa
Delivery failures remain the biggest obstacle to ecommerce growth in Africa, where landmark addresses and cash‑on‑delivery preferences drive high return rates. Venture‑backed fulfillment firms such as Gig Logistics, Loop and Faramove are now using AI‑powered address verification, risk‑scoring APIs and...
SEO Tactics for GenAI Visibility
Generative AI search agents like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini now rely on traditional SEO to surface content, making low‑ranked pages invisible to AI‑driven queries. Keyword research must shift toward longer, intent‑rich phrases that mirror conversational prompts, while optimized, problem‑solving content...
Ditch the Discount, Says Brand Marketer
Cherene Aubert, founder of Growth Capital, advises D2C brands to stop discounting slow‑moving inventory and instead use bundles or free‑gift tactics that preserve margins. She recommends pairing a popular full‑price product with a discontinued item, allowing customers to perceive added...
AI Drives Smarter Ecommerce Pricing
AI is shifting ecommerce pricing from static, rule‑based models to real‑time, shopper‑specific offers that protect margins. By analyzing intent, timing and browsing history, AI decides whether to intervene, what type of incentive to apply, and how personalized it should be....
How CRO Drives Ecommerce Longevity
Founder Adam Pearce explains that ecommerce longevity hinges on diversified traffic sources and a robust conversion rate optimization (CRO) program. He details how CRO improves advertising efficiency, strengthens organic search and generative‑AI visibility, and fuels personalized email marketing. Real‑world examples—from...