It’s time to wrap up EDC’s eight-part e-commerce series, but I, along with our partners Shopify, Google, Canada Post and many others, hope your company will continue to use this as a starting point to build and strengthen your e-commerce platforms. As businesses of every size are discovering, selling online is a powerful way to find new markets, recover, and even thrive in our COVID-19 economy—and beyond. 

Since we covered a lot in this series, we decided to post this final wrap-up so you could make sure you hadn’t missed anything, with links to all of the blogs, all in one place:

The new e-commerce: An eight-part series to help your company thrive: In collaboration with industry giants like Shopify, Google, major shippers and others, EDC examines how COVID-19 amplifies forces that were already driving Canadian businesses online, in this first of eight blog posts. It sets the stage by analyzing how the retail environment is changing, how to gain a competitive edge over slow movers with an e-commerce strategy, and ways to overcome internal corporate barriers to adopting e-commerce.

Selling online has never been easier… or more necessary: Discover how companies like Shopify can help you develop an omni-channel strategy that puts your customers at the centre of everything you do. It includes links to five helpful resources to get your started, including a step-by-step guide to setting up an online store on Shopify’s e-commerce platform. 

Getting online with Google: What your customers want: Developed in collaboration with Sara Scurfield, e-commerce Marketing Lead, Google, this blog offers insights and tips to evolve your digital strategy in the face of COVID-19’s impacts. It features links to more than 10 free downloads covering all aspects of digital strategy development, including a Digital Starter Kit, COVID Ads Guide, Google for Small Business Resource Hub, setting up e-commerce, getting started with online advertising, how to price and ship your goods and much more.

How to boost sales by localizing your shopping cart for new markets: According to statista.com, about 77% of online purchases are abandoned once they reach the checkout—racking up an annual loss of approximately $4.6 trillion in unpurchased merchandise. One reason? Not all shopping carts reflect the language, currencies and customs of different countries and regions. This blog post investigates the issue and recommends three ways to address cart abandonment rates that can unlock the potential sales localized shopping carts offer. 

Costing and financing e-commerce platforms: Not only does the blog series look at the why, how and what aspects of evolving your e-commerce strategy, it also addresses the big issue: how to pay for it. This blog post explores:

• The four types of e-commerce platforms
• The three cost components linked to building a platform
• Four sources of financing for your e-commerce platform, including EDC’s Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)

It also highlights the role e-commerce is likely to play in the post-pandemic business environment going forward.

A fulfilling endeavour: Get your online store ready to fill orders: You can’t open a store, online or otherwise, unless you’re prepared to fulfill the orders. This blog helps you ensure your company has the organizational, financial and operational resources required for growth by exploring:

• How to find resources and your tribe for trade
• Plan ahead to mitigate financial risk
• Localize and diversify your supply chain
• Conduct inventory forecasting
• Get packing
• Know the rules, regulations and logistics

Getting your e-commerce store ship-shape: If the thought of incorporating shipping processes into your business makes you shy away from e-commerce, there are tons of resources and services to help your company take on these tasks, and stay resilient through these challenging times and beyond.  

This blog post will help you understand:

• What your customers want
• How to offer free shipping on a budget
• Regulations, duties and logistics for international shipping
• How to manage returns