Edition I

Welcome to the first issue of the E-Commerce Insider, a monthly newsletter designed to provide U.S. firms with access to knowledge and services to succeed in global e-commerce.

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• Activities
• Industry Insights
• Tool of the month
• Outreach

Meet the Global E-Commerce Team

The U.S. Commercial Service launched the eCommerce Innovation Lab (EIL) earlier this year to advance U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker’s Digital Economy Agenda. Its core mission is to exponentially increase the number of U.S. companies exporting through e-commerce. Its strategic pillars include:  Creating new services that meet the needs of e-commerce companies Building the capacity of the Commercial Service’s Trade Specialists to effectively counsel clients on e-commerce strategies Building private-sector partnerships that leverage shared data, expertise and resources to empower SME e-commerce exporters Supporting inter-agency digital economy initiatives.  Learn more at www.export.gov/ecommerce.

Needs Fulfilled: EIL Inaugural training session held at IRCE in Chicago, IL

Chicago, McCormick Place – During the week of June 6th, 2016, 16 Commercial Service Trade Specialists participated in the eCommerce Innovation Lab’s (EIL) first major Global E-Commerce Specialist Certification Course to enhance their exposure to the latest in cutting edge e-commerce industry trends.  Hosted on site at the Internet Retailers Conference & Exhibition, an industry epi-center of internet retail solutions dialogue, these newly minted Global E-Commerce Certified Trade Specialists were trained by experts in topics including cross border payment processing, logistics, website optimization and overseas digital brand building.  Instructors included notable presenters from industry heavyweights like Pitney Bowes to specialized companies and consultants such as SimilarWeb, Planet Payments, NeoPost and B2X.

“It’s taken serious planning and curating in order to determine the baseline needs of the business community, and how to effectively equip our specialists to address our clients’ core pain-points,” says James Bledsoe, deputy director of the EIL.  This resulted in the week-long training and industry contextualization event that transformed trade specialists into multipliers that will echo the findings at the show throughout the Commercial Service’s network of small and medium-sized clients.

After the formal training it was up to each of the newly educated team members to head out to the exhibition hall to connect with the key players at all levels of e-commerce, providing the much needed toolset to propel U.S. businesses into the global market via proven, efficient e-commerce pathways.  “When government collaborates with show organizers like IRCE it stays on pace with industry, fast-tracking the integration of cutting edge solutions into the export strategies of our small-to-medium size business clients,” said Joshua Halpern, director of the EIL team.  As we walked through the sometimes dizzying array of technology on the floor, it is clear that he has identified an effective, if not essential mechanism for bringing companies into the global digital economy.

Following the initial training, the team will be actively working to provide additional resources, materials, and client-focused cross media training, which will result in the e-commerce competitive edge for U.S. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Keep an eye out for more information on www.export.gov/ecommerce.

Activities

Virtual Product Pitch Program

Pet Products Virtual Product Pitch - Week of August 15th, 2016 Did you know that Brazil has the world's 2nd largest market for pet products? Register today for our Virtual Product Pitch designed to connect U.S.  pet product manufacturers (food, accessories, health, etc.) with Brazil's leading distributors and largest e-commerce platforms. Application Deadline: August 5th Contact:Mindi Hertzog, U.S. Consulate, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Email: mindi.hertzog@trade.gov Register

Webinar

E-commerce for the Healthcare Sector
Host: IBT Partners
Description:  Expert speakers Pete Read, CEO of Global Growth Markets and Susanna Hardy, IBT Partners, share views and advice on how companies can take advantage of online developments in the healthcare sector to trade internationally.
Date:  Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Time:  12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
There is no cost, however registration is required.
Register 

Events

eTail East - Boston, MA - August 15-18, 2016
This is a private-sector hosted event for e-commerce & multi-channel retail innovators to learn about and share thoughts around the latest trends.

Retail's Digital Summit - Dallas, TX - September 26-28, 2016
This is a private-sector hosted event by the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org. This event helps retailer companies incorporate digital retail into their future strategy.  

Industry Insights

"52% of consumers who watch product videos say those videos make them more confident about purchases, according to Invodo. In a new study, the e-commerce video provider suggests that the main reason consumers stop watching a particular video is if it offers little information that helps with decision making; on the other hand, 66% of consumers who watch information-heavy videos about a product watch them two or more times before buying."  - Internet Retailer

Find out how eBay sellers in your area are succeeding globally through eBay’s five-year report.
Report

Tool of the month

Based on web traffic to the top 25 U.S. Retailers online, Canada, China, and the U.K. lead the way in overseas interest in leading U.S. retailer sites. SimilarWeb has created a free report for the EIL looking at traffic and engagement from foreign markets to leading U.S. retailers. Download SimilarWeb's report for free. The EIL met with SimilarWeb, a digital market intelligence company used by 100,000+ businesses for global multi-device strategic insights, to evaluate their free tool. We think it is worth a visit to www.similarweb.com to plug your URL into their free tool to see your global, country and category ranking and see where your overseas traffic is coming from. You may consider new markets based on this tool. If your site traffic is small, the free results will be limited but it is worth 30 seconds of your time.

Outreach

Contact Us

EIL has included third-party content in this newsletter to provide additional relevant information to small and medium-sized U.S. exporters on e-commerce-related resources.  References and links to this content are for the convenience of readers.  The U.S. Department of Commerce is not responsible for the availability or content of any third-party content, whether found on an external site or otherwise; nor does the Department endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information described or offered in any third-party content.  Please be aware that when you follow a link to an external site, you are then subject to the privacy and security policies and protections of the new site.