Las Vegas Market kicked off last night and we hear it's going to be better than ever this year!

There's an Instagram takeover planned (follow #viewonvegas), tons and tons of exhibitors and all kinds of fun to be had. It's one of our favorite event of the year - and not just because it's Vegas. 

If you're a first-timer, there's a great guide for that -- check it out here. 

And if you're an old hat, we hope you find something new and exciting to enjoy this year.

Check out the Market site -- www.lasvegasmarket.com -- for all the information you'll ever need, and if you're there, let us know in the comments what you're enjoying most.

To follow everything Market, check out their social media hashtag, #LVMkt on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Searching for an ecommerce payment gateway that isn’t PayPal?

You’re not the only one. There are a good many alternatives, though maybe none as well-known from a consumer standpoint.

​When it comes to managing your payments and financials, there are a lot of things to consider, and every case is a little different, so it’s worthwhile to do your research when someone else is counting your pennies. 

We all remember a time when having cursory internet skills made us slightly more attractive to employers, and opened up some opportunities for those of us with businesses to expand a bit.

That was then; this is now. It’s hard to imagine a strategy that would allow your online business to flourish without a dedicated, consistent presence in social media. While Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and the other major sites used to be a fun, experimental way to attract interest in an ecommerce platform, they now may be considered essential marketing tools.

And why not? The U.S. Bureau of Census estimates that the proportion of commercial product sales conducted online rose from .06 percent in 2001 to 8.5 percent in 2016.  That’s a staggering number considering sales that by nature primarily occur locally—food and groceries, retail malls, area-specific specialty items, bakery goods, etc.
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If that growth rate holds, online transactions will dominate the picture in the next few decades. Ecommerce players like Amazon are determined to increase their gargantuan market share and to carve out new markets, so it’s likely to happen.

It seems to be a thing with your online store as it is with many other commercial undertakings, and that is the idea that consolidation is key.

You’re fully aware and engaged in using every available tool to grow your business, and have signed up for every conceivable social media platform. You’ve even spent time developing business profiles there in hopes of attracting a following.

But here’s what you’re missing: You may be spending too much time on that. That’s why you should consider integrated digital marketing.

Among recent developments designed specifically for ecommerce merchants are apps and programs that tackle social media outreach and maintenance in one shot. This means an elimination of several daily log-ins to gauge interest, update elements, and track trends among competitors.
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Such a tool will spare needless wasted hours while accomplishing everything you’d otherwise be laboring over yourself. As it turns out, the “social” part of social media can be time-consuming to a fault.

There’s no shame in admitting you lack the inherent outgoing personality of a marketer. Hey, just because you’re striking out into the vast jungle of online merchants, that doesn’t mean you’re a dynamo in the various aspects of self-promotion.

But here’s a news flash you can’t escape: swimming in the ecommerce jungle means you will need to establish a personality and set yourself apart. That, or you self-destruct.

You’ve put together an impressive inventory and have crafted a list of worthy objectives. You’ve even had someone with graphic design skills set up a fetching website on which you’ll hock your stuff. Boom.
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So, what now? You’ll need to attract and retain customers. You have to demonstrate that you aren’t a bit player engaging part-time in pawning wares, but rather a committed vendor who is responsive to the needs and goals of her base.