eCommerce terms you need to know as an online store owner!

Surya SK
January 7, 2022

Getting to know marketing terms, eCommerce jargon, and fancy technical terms might be exciting and quite essential too. However, there are times where you might have to comprehend and use specific terminology to stay on par with the personnel related to your domain.  

Sometimes even the most experienced marketers or eCommerce professionals can come across specific terms that can be confusing or new. Well, worry not as we have all been there. 

Keeping up with new jargon and eCommerce terms can be challenging. 

This article will bring out some of the most essential and repeatedly used eCommerce jargon with their exact definitions to clarify the use of these terms and jargon. Sounds interesting? Let's get right into it!

Table of contents

Most essential eCommerce terms to know in 2022

Now you certainly do not need to know every single complicated jargon out there. But, it sure does help to learn the basics and essentials. So, here are some of the critical eCommerce terms to get to know:

1. Average time spent- To make calculated decisions about the website, Marketers need to get to know the average time spent by the visitors of a particular site. 

2. A/B testing- A/B testing refers to testing two different B2B marketing tactics simultaneously. A/B tests are a critical part of the finest B2B marketing campaigns. For best results, you should run them side by side simultaneously. This will give you the best chance to find out which B2B digital marketing campaign suits better for your business.

3. AOV- 'AOV' termed as 'Average order value' illustrates the average amount an individual customer spends while placing an order in a shop. 

4. Bounce rate- Bounce rate is detailed as the number of web visitors who exit your site instantly without carrying out any specific functions. Bounce rate is a vital metric to keep a check as it can define the design and outlay of a website. The better the outlay of a website, the longer your customer goes through your site. 

5. Buy-to-detail rate- The Buy-To-Detail Rate is termed to depict the ratio of the number of times your visitors have viewed your product pages to the number of customers who actually purchased your products. The Buy-to-detail-rate is a metric that helps you to analyze the point where your customers leave So that you can develop your product page in a way to increase more conversions.

6. CTA- A CTA depicts the functions that need to be performed by your customers when they land on a specific page. The CTA can be of any form, A button or a link placed on product catalogs or landing pages in a certain way that catches the eye of the visitor in a transparent manner. 

7. Cart abandonment rate- The Cart Abandonment Rate depicts how customers load products to their shopping cart but don't make any purchase after adding products. They abandon your page without making any form of payment. This is another critical indicator to focus on. This shows that the customer is actually interested in the product but is hesitant to make a purchase for various reasons. 

8. Churn rate- Also called customer churn or attrition rate, Churn Rate is depicted as the number of customers who unsubscribe to your products or services through a given period.

9. Conversion rate optimization- Conversion Rate Optimization depicts a set of strategies that work to develop your website or landing page or any other aspect that might be of help to convert your visitors into customers. 

10. Chargeback- A Chargeback is pretty much a refund. You give a chargeback to your customers when the product you sold has low-quality standards or if a customer, in general, has a legit complaint raised against you.  

11. CRM- CRM is abbreviated as 'Customer relationship management.' It is software that can store and take care of all the data relevant to your customers. You can give out a customized experience for your customers by streamlining your marketing/sales activities and enhancing the relationship with your customers. 

12. Dropshipping- When a customer makes an order, the products are shipped to the customers or retailers. That specific store gives out the details of the order to the fellow dropshipping supplier, and they simultaneously deliver the product to your customers. This process is called dropshipping.

13. Inventory turnover- The term 'Inventory Turnover' depicts the total number of times your company has sold and renewed the stocks or inventory through a specific period. Inventory turnover is a metric that showcases how efficiently you take care of your inventory sales.  

14. Marketing automation- Marketing automation plainly depicts the usage of automation software to automate specific processes like marketing of goods and services on various channels and automating recurring tasks that can task when done manually. 

15. Order fulfillment- Order fulfillment is the process that all organizations have to undertake to complete the orders placed by their customers. Order fulfillment starts from when your customer places an order until the time your customer receives the product, and you get notified about it. 

16. PPC- PPC is an online advertising base where the advertiser has to pay a certain designated amount to the publisher whenever a visitor clicks the ad on Google or other advertising platforms.

17. ROI- The ROI is the company's total profit or loss generated upon investing in a specific product, platform, or service.

18. SKU- An SKU consists of a unique scannable barcode printed on the product labels in a retail store. Vendors use this to track inventory and determine which products require reordering, provide sales data, etc.

19. Store credit- A Store Credit is an official document that is given by a particular store when you return products that are not eligible for a refund. With store credit, you can buy other products that are of the same value. This is basically done to increase customer retention.

Upselling is an effective sales strategy to persuade your customers to buy even more additional products that add value to their purchasing process. Businesses use this strategy to be exposed to new products that they have not considered purchasing, thus enhancing the conversion rates.

20. B2B- B2B eCommerce (business-to-business electronic commerce) is when a business sells directly to another company through an online platform. An example of this could be a business selling office supplies, software, or services to another industry. 

21. B2C- Alternatively, B2C is when a business sells directly to a consumer without a median. 

22. D2C- D2C's direct abbreviation is direct-to-consumer. D2C allows a company to produce a given product, pack it and distribute it among its channels in the convenience of its facility without having to split margins. The channels through which the business operates can be an e-commerce platform, social media platform, or even a retail store. D2C business model works in almost any given industry.

23. B2B2B- B2B2B (Business-to-business-to-business) models can bring in new clients to your business at a faster rate. All B2B2B models are connected with a CMS, which helps you to gather data and make the right decisions to communicate with your customers. B2B2B has multiple payment types, which allows users to explore payment options. 

24. B2B2C-  When a consumer uses business 'A' to order a product from the business 'B,' that is a classic example of B2B2C (Business-to-business-to-consumer). Meaning, anytime you call from a company using a mobile application, it represents a form of B2B2C. Take your food delivery apps, for example. They sell their delivery service to a restaurant, and in return, they can sell their delivery service to the consumers. 

25. JIT- JIT inventory is a meticulously planned supply chain management system for efficiency to reduce errors and stock handling expenses. It lets you order and receive materials only when it is needed.

26. Inventory management- Inventory management is associated with the business pipeline of product renewal and forecasting. Inventory management mainly revolves around domains like when to reorder your products and how many units to order, to avoid falling short or holding too much in stock. Inventory management also makes sure that the right products are placed in the right place and time.

27. Lead time-  Lead time depicts the time between the beginning of a specific process and its end. In terms of manufacturing, lead time covers the sourcing and preparation of raw materials, their manufacture into finished products, and their dispatch.

28. Purchase order- A purchase order is a legal document a buyer issues to a supplier to authenticate a purchase. PO outlines what the buyer intends to purchase and how much of the specific order they would like to take in. This simple agreement helps both the buyer and seller to keep track of transactions.

29. Headless commerce- Headless commerce is a solution that many brands are practicing due to its extensibility on the backend. The SEO benefits, the content, and the digital marketing abilities of headless commerce make it an excellent choice for eCommerce platforms that are looking to establish themselves. Headless eCommerce gives businesses a higher authority over the content and eventually navigates until customer journey to checkout.

30. Order management- For all orders placed in an online store, a background process keeps running till the product reaches the customer in hand. This process of keeping track of the entirety of the process is referred to as order management. Order management is responsible for keeping track of orders and processing the steps needed to deliver the product to the customer.

31. Quotation management- Quote management involves the administration of quotes that come up with an opportunity to make sales. 

Conclusion

With all of that being said, Getting to know these essential eCommerce terms, eCommerce jargon, and definitions will probably give your peers extra edge and confidence. Keeping yourself updated in your game and adapting to different trends will make you grow exponentially in your domain. The minimum effort you put in to acquire essential knowledge can come a long way with you. Good luck!