Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Engaged couple Nick and Jo James were finding the experience of shopping for bedlinen extremely frustrating when they hit on the idea for Bedfolk.
Traditionally dominated by one or two department stores, Nick and Jo decided to set up an online business exclusively selling the finest cotton sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases. They are inspired by other online vendors who specialise in one bespoke product, such as Harry’s razors.
James says: “For a product you spend a third of your life in, it seemed ripe for disruption, getting better quality at better prices.”
The couple spent a year researching the bedlinen market, trying to source the best suppliers. The couple spent their honeymoon romantically or not, depending on how you see it, visiting textile factories in Portugal before settling on one in particular.
James says: “We go and do the hard work to find the best materials and the best makers and because we’re online we can do it at a fraction of the traditional luxury retail price.”
The couple, who like many entrepreneurs were working full time while pursing their start-up dream, sold their London flat to raise working capital and persuaded a Portuguese
Tag Archive for E-commerce
Hot Business News Today
Bring your small business online to survive coronavirus – Itzik Levy Q&A
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Managing a small business is challenging, and the global Covid-19 pandemic is making it far harder. Moving your business online can be the best way to keep it alive.
Why is moving online the best advice for small business owners?
Right now, with hundreds of millions of people worldwide under lockdown or self-isolating, everything is taking place online. It’s the only way to learn, chat with friends, or shop right now. The coronavirus pandemic was caused in part by our hyper-connected society, which enabled the virus to zip around the world on planes within a couple of weeks, but our hyper-connected society can also be the solution, at least for small business owners.
We are already used to carrying out regular daily activities online, like chatting, making transactions, and researching purchases, so moving your interactions with customers online won’t feel like a radical change for them. Covid-19 has just given people who resisted an extra push to sign up to virtual experiences.
What’s more, you have a whole wealth of online tools to choose from to support your business. Zoom video is a great resource. Google Hangouts Meet, the enterprise version of Google Hangouts, is free till
Hot Business News Today
Coronavirus small business diary – Stitch & Story CEO Jennifer Lam
by Jennifer Lam • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Jennifer Lam on Small Business
Jennifer Lam is co-founder (alongside Jen Hoang) and CEO of digital crafts brand Stitch & Story, which sells a range of knitting kits, equipment and yarns, accompanied by a range of online tutorial videos to teach viewers knitting techniques.
Its products are aimed at people of all ages and abilities, with a range of products aimed at anyone from beginner to expert.
Here is her coronavirus small business diary:
9th March
Canary Wharf announces they’ve evacuated several office buildings because someone tested positive for Covid-19. In the Stitch & Story shared office, we see people putting up government health advice posters on all the walls and toilet cubicles. Our office is only one stop away from Canary Wharf and there’s some nervousness among our team. No one is admitting to it, but we can tell on our faces that something strange is happening.
The site manager called us for an emergency meeting to reassure us there are no plans for the building to shut but that we should prepare for the scenario. We’ve advised our Stitch & Story team to take their laptops home every night. There’s also a new rule – no personal belongings on our desks
Hot Business News Today
7 tricks to help boost your website sales
by Enni Al-Saiegh • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Enni Al-Saiegh on Small Business
Although there is no magic trick to boost your website sales overnight, there are certain strategies you can implement. These can help boost your website visitors who can be converted into customers, and ultimately increase sales. Once you have a visitor on your site, there are key points to focus on to maximise the potential of turning the visitor into a customer including enticing visitors to stay on your site, encouraging them to make a purchase and persuading them to return at a future date.
In one word, what it is about is personalisation, and once you have that nailed down, converting site visitors to buyers falls into place.
>See also: How can I promote my small business website?
Below, I’ve explored 7 tricks that can help to boost your website sales.
#1 – Ensure your site is user-friendly
First and foremost, you need to make sure that your ecommerce site is completely user friendly. Even if a potential customer has come to your site specifically to make a purchase, if the page they land on is a mess then there is every chance they will take their custom elsewhere.
Loading speeds need to be fast – as this
Hot Business News Today
Small business will pay price for government’s digital tax, says Amazon
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Amazon has said that it could pass the cost of the government’s planned 2 per cent digital tax onto small businesses that sell through it.
The 11 March Budget is expected to introduce the “digital services tax”, a 2 per cent levy on UK revenues of technology businesses, which pay little or no domestic corporation because their European headquarters are based in tax havens such as Ireland or Luxembourg.
The government expects the new tax to bring in almost £500m a year.
>See also: Essential Black Friday tips for Amazon sellers
However, Amazon UK country manager Doug Gurr, told the Financial Times that the tax could raise costs for small businesses which use its sales and delivery platform.
When France introduced a 3 per cent levy in July 2019, Amazon hiked its charges for small business sellers by the same amount.
Gurr said: “If you are not careful in the design, these taxes can actually hit all of the small businesses that use our services. The majority of sales on our marketplace are independent businesses. If that tax is passed on to them, that is quite a significant hit.”
In America, more than 1.9m US-based small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs)
Hot Business News Today
How to Secure Your E-Commerce Website: 6 Basic Steps
by Gadjo C Sevilla • • 0 Comments
E-commerce platforms offer unlimited opportunities for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to increase sales, but cybercrime and online fraud are also at an all-time high. Follow these basic steps to keep your site, your customers, and their data as safe as possible.
Hot Business News Today
8 Crucial Steps You Need to Take Before Launching an E-Commerce Business
by The Oracles • • 0 Comments
Bethenny Frankel, Gary Vaynerchuk, and other online sales experts explain how to be part of this trillion-dollar opportunity.
Hot Business News Today
How Physical Stores Can Survive E-Commerce
by Jonathan Jeffery • • 0 Comments
Size Up Supplements’s CEO helps break down three ways for brick-and-mortar businesses to take advantage of the digital landscape.
Hot Business News Today
What’s the best website builder for my small business?
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Nearly two million small and medium-sized businesses do not even have a website. Yet it has been estimated that the cost to any business that doesn’t have a website averages at £173,769 per year in lost revenue, despite the average monthly running cost of a website being less than £18.
If creating a website for your business can boost your profits by nearly £200,000 a year, the only question left to ask is…
What’s the best website builder for my small business?
Site 123Wix Business UnlimitedWeebly*GoDaddy online storeSquareSpace online store basic*Basic Shopify
Accept online payments☑☑☑☑☑☑
No transaction fee☑☑☑2.2% + 20p online credit card / 1.7% in person
Unlimited bandwidth5GB☑☑☑
Storage10GB35GBUnlimitedUnlimited
Connect your domain☑☑☑☑☑
Ad free☑☑☑☑
10 video hours☑
Analytics☑☑☑☑☑
Free domain for one year☑☑☑
Free SSL security☑☑☑☑☑
Site searchProduct onlyProduct only
Product badges☑☑
Inventory management☑☑☑
Shipping calculator☑☑
Integrated shipping labels☑☑☑
Shipping discounts☑☑
SEO☑☑☑☑☑☑
Lead capture and contact forms☑☑☑
Support☑☑☑☑
Mobile optimized websites☑☑☑☑
Products on Instagram☑☑☑
Integrated accounting with digital accounting☑☑
Staff accounts2☑☑
Sales channels☑☑☑
Discount codes☑☑☑
Abandoned cart recovery☑☑☑
PayPal button☑☑☑☑
Email marketing☑☑
Social media integration☑☑☑☑
Built-in shopping cart☑☑☑
Product reviews☑☑☑
ADI☑☑☑
Pricing plan pm£10£16£18£19.99£20£23
Source: company websites
*verified
Below are capsule reviews of six of the most popular off-the-shelf e-commerce platforms in Britain to help you choose the best website builder.
Until a few years ago, you had to hire a website designer if you wanted to sell off the internet.
Hot Business News Today
Strong Customer Authentication is complicating online payments
by Iain McDougall • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Iain McDougall on Small Business
What is Strong Customer Authentication?
SCA or “Strong Customer Authentication” is a major piece of e-commerce regulation that is being introduced across Europe on September 14 2019. From this date, every time a consumer buys something online that costs over €30, simply plugging their details once will no longer be enough. Instead, they’ll need to additionally confirm their identity by something they know (a PIN or password), something they have (such as a smartphone), or something they are (biometric facial features or a fingerprint). This is known as two-factor authentication and has been around in various forms for a while – think about those situations where putting your username and password isn’t enough, for example when you’re sent a six-digit code to input via SMS.
In real terms, however, this means that from September more than 300 million ordinary European consumers will regularly have to change the way they buy online, introducing an extra layer of friction at the checkout for everyday transactions.
SCA will mean all European shoppers will have to double authenticate all online payments over €30 – having profound implications for how businesses handle online transactions. It’s set to be big as GDPR,