More and more bills have been proposed and passed in the past couple of years, fighting ecommerce sites that do not charge tax on their items. Amazon.com is often the center of these battles, since they have offered tax free items to most states until these bills started changing that. Now not only does Amazon.com have to collect taxes in New York, Texas and  South Carolina, but Indiana as well by 2014.

Right now by federal law, retailers only have to collect tax in states they have a physical presence. Amazon now has a warehouse in Indiana, so collecting tax has become mandatory. It’s the reason why many ecommerce sites can offer their products tax free, though.

Of course, there are many people out there who want to change the law completely and make it mandatory for every online store to tax their items and there are plenty of sites who want to fight that change.

Would it necessarily deter people from buying online? Probably not, but it may disgruntle those of us who love to search for coupon codes just to get 10% off. So paying an extra few dollars on tax may not be the most embraced  change for online shoppers.

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Everyone nowadays seems to have a smartphone. Even I, who avoided buying one for years, finally caved in over the summer of 2011 and bought an Android. And while it seems as though you might not need one if you have a computer, you’d be amazed at how much easier it makes things, including e-commerce.

Not only can you make purchases easily online, most of the time you don’t even have to open a web browser to do it. With apps coming out left and right for most major retailers (and even the smaller ones), you can use them to make purchases and store your information so it makes everything that much quicker. Probably a bad idea for the shop-a-holic, but over all a really convenient way of shopping online.

Some smartphones have capabilities to scan bar codes and make purchases on site for vending machines and specific brick and mortar stores.  So not only is it opening up the ability to buy online, but it’s making in person purchases that much easier as well.

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Online shopping is getting a whole lot of makeover. We thought it was convenient that sites like Amazon and eBay were created. After their big explosion in popularity big name companies re-worked all of their sites to make online shopping a priority. Nobody wants to trek all the way to the mall anymore when all you have to do is type,click, and checkout. It’s a testament to both our laziness and our ingenuity as a society.

Now with the advent of mobile devices we’re seeing this process evolve. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Target, and Starbucks jumped on the mobile app bandwagon. You can now access your accounts, add payment options, and order directly from your tablet or phone. You can be out on the go and still not have to set foot in a shop. So, even when you are outside being active you don’t have to participate in the madness that is in-store shopping. And, should you feel so inclined to head to the stores yourself you can download a bar code scanner to give you product details.

The items are delivered to your door within a few days time and you can get other chores done. Or, more than likely you’re getting leisure-time in the ever-expanding time gap. This is why we created the internet. To make our lives easier and so we relieve ourselves from the stresses of everyday shopping.

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It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t enjoy the beauty and ease that is e-commerce. Shopping online is just so darn convenient and e-commerce sales continue to climb each year. Although tons of businesses offer online shopping, not every business is profiting from this new form of technology. Shopping online should be so easy that a small child could do it. Users want simplicity. They should be able to easily navigate your site and find what they’re looking for. Offer them multiple ways to browse and search. Products need be correctly categorized and it shouldn’t take a customer more than a few minutes to find it.

There always needs be a search bar for those of us who know exactly what we want. Each product should have plenty of pictures and a zoom option. I can’t hold this item in my hand so I want to know what every nook and cranny looks like. Descriptions need to be…well descriptive! I’ve seen too many websites that offer practically no information about the product. I don’t want to know just measurements and weight. I need to know how it was made, what features it has, everything I could possibly want to know about it. Customers don’t need a novel, but they do need relevant information that could push them along to make the purchase.

The bottom line is that you need a great website. Without one, customers will X out and find somewhere else to shop. Make web design a number one priority in your office.

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Seems many people have jumped on the bandwagon for the new social network site from Google, Google +. But should your business hop on the train before it’s too late? My advice is definitely not, and for good reason. For starters, businesses can’t even use the current beta version because Google is only allowing individuals to create pages. So unless you want to associate your business with person’s name and age, you can forget about promoting your company.

Of course in time Google will expand to the outer reaches of cyberspace. But when that day arrives, I still wouldn’t recommend bothering. Sure Google saw millions of people sign up within the first  few weeks, but the hype is long gone. Numbers are slowly tapering off, mostly due to the fact that you need to be invited by a friend to join. Who really needs another social networking site though? Do you really have time to update your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter? Maybe your company even has a Foursquare and a YouTube page. That’s a lot of updating and you have a business to run.

My prediction is Google+ will soon join MySpace in a cyber graveyard. Be social, but don’t let it reach the point of overkill.

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With each innovation of social networking there are both risks and potential opportunities for various companies. For some web retailers the ability for folks to comment on a Facebook page or respond directly and publicly in Twitter form can be a risk. That risk is even more pronounced with the launching of Klout a website built to measure your influence within a social network.

On Klout normal people tend to hold quality numbers while businesses who’s Tweets are purely promotional fall by the wayside. In this environment it is hard for a business to stand out, however there are ways. The Subway restaurant chain for example offered gift-cards to folks with relevantly high Klout scores and influence within Subway’s targeted subject. This meant that there would be influential networkers mentioning Subway just to get the gift card.

Contests are a fantastic way to get people Tweeting your name and engaging with those who do is a great way for businesses to pick up heat on the web. Each tweet is a valuable way for your business to connect with a wider audience but you must also be fully prepared to answer individual customers concerns in a public way that remains fun and professional.

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Time keeps on passing us by, and if you aren’t paying attention, so will the latest trends in online shopping. Consumers are more concerned than ever with getting the best bang for their buck and a few emerging trends show how this is coming into effect.

For example, this March, Denmark launched digital stamps, which can be bought online as a code. Write it down on an envelope and it’s as good as a stamp. And for a year or so, apps such as Square have accepted payment by credit cards. Cashless economy here we come.

Everyone wants to feel special, and companies are taking notice. A bunch of companies such as Men are Useless and Jangeus Design offer male grooming products and eco-friendly kitchen tablecloths, respectively, delivered monthly to your door.

With consumers lives becoming ever-faster, a desire for newer stores, more sales and more accurate information is all on the rise. We want to know about all the latest, and sites such as Speedsale demonstrate that. This site offer deals on books and DVDs, but only for four seconds. Moda Operandi allows invitation-only members to buy runway fashions for only 48 hours after a show. And 1band1brand offers one of each weekly with discounts for subscribers.

So it’s important to pay attention to what’s happening in the world of online shopping. Because more and more the online world is leaving lasting effects on the offline world. Keep up with the trends and shop online and all of your friends will start reporting to you to see what’s new and cool.

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Something sucks in Canada? Well that’s shocking. Juuuust kidding. I have nothing against Canada. It actually seems like a very nice place to live, what with all the free healthcare and friendly natives.

But I digress. The point is that apparently one thing that is actually no good in Canada is their e-commerce. According to Ali Asaria, the fact that he was able to recognize this is what has rocketed his business to success.

“We think this is a huge, huge opportunity,” he said of Well.ca, now the largest health and beauty web store in Canada. “We’re seeing spikes we’ve never seen before.”

Well, it’s aboot time! Amirite?

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Sadly, it’s not a real building with shops like The Poke and Farmville Accessoriez LTD, but a new application developed by online e-commerce platform Payvment.

Essentially, the application will simplify the Facebook shopping experience (who knew there was one?), bringing together all the Payvment shops to one page, allowing customers to check out with one cart, no matter how many different sellers they’re buying from. They’ll also be able to “like” purchases and items, and will be given recommendations based on their interests.

Right now there are upwards of 50,000 shops using Payvment, which means anyone who uses the Shopping Mall app will in theory be able to purchase something from each of those shops at once, unless of course their computer can’t handle it and explodes.

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A recent study by ForeSee Results polled 10,000 online shoppers about their customer service experience with various online retailers. Amazon and Netflix were in the top two, with sites for Sears and Macy’s losing a few points from last year’s study. And what they are finding overall is that the right or wrong customer service can either seal a purchase, or lose one.

It’s always been said for every one person who talks about a good customer service experience, ten more will complain to others about a bad one. It sticks with us more and we are more likely to warn people against shopping somewhere than praise it. Even if you feel your products sell themselves, you still need to have a good customer service reputation if you want steady sales.

Communication is key: Always have open and consistent communication with your customers. Whether it’s just you running an Etsy shop and answering questions over e-mail, or if you have a the ability to have a call center, you want to always have someone available. It’s been found that most customers who can’t find some sort of help from a live person often abandon their online purchase.

Make your contact information easy to find: Ever  been to a site and have spent way too long finding a contact number or e-mail? Make sure yours is easy to find. a customer service link at the top of the page is the most direct way, but also include it on an “About Us” page. Give them multiple ways to find what they need to get to you.

Make returns and exchanges simple: If everything your customers ever bought was perfect to them, the world would be wonderful. Unfortunately, returns and exchanges are common. Make sure you have a clear policy and that during the process you keep your customer updated on the status.

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