As an eCommerce retailer (or like me, someone who works with one or more), there are several important reasons to spend some time each day finding out what’s happening in the wider market. Without fail, every morning I will spend around 15 minutes scanning my favourite online eCommerce news sources.
I share anything important with my SEO colleagues, clients and (when I’m feeling particularly generous) industry peers.
Now that I’m in such a good routine, I thought I’d share my reasons for keeping myself and my team up to date with eCommerce news, and I’ll even show you where to find the best online news sources for eCommerce retailers.
Reasons to read eCommerce news
First up, why even bother reading the news? It’s time away from doing “actual work”, right? Maybe that is the case depending on how you personally describe what work is, but I’ve found it to be a really beneficial addition to my daily routine.
As a Client Partner in an SEO agency, knowing what is happening in the eCommerce industry is incredibly important for me. It means that I know what is happening at a business level for my clients and their competitors, and it also helps me to understand companies that could be a sales prospect in the future.
I know about board level changes, profit gains or drops, stock levels, mergers and acquisitions, global expansion… The list really does go on and on.
These are the reasons that are at the heart of my role, but there are even more that might be more relevant to you:
- Industry Trends: Staying informed about the latest news and trends in the eCommerce industry is crucial if you’re a retailer. You’ll better understand the wider landscape, emerging technologies, and changing consumer behaviors. Keeping up with industry news means you can stick to or adapt your strategies, stay ahead of the competition, and identify new opportunities.
- Market Insights: Reading the daily news will show you current market conditions, consumer preferences, and economic factors that can impact your business. This might impact your decisions about product selection, pricing, promotions, and expansion plans.
- Competitive Analysis: Stay on top of competitor product launches, marketing campaigns, partnerships, or acquisitions. By monitoring the news, you’ll gain insights into your competitors’ strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. This information can be used to refine your own business strategies.
- Regulatory and Legal Updates: eCommerce is subject to various regulations and legal frameworks, including data protection, privacy, taxation, and consumer rights. There is nearly always news in this area, particularly for the EU market. Staying updated with the evolving legal landscape will help you to understand any changes in regulations, anticipate potential impacts on your business operations, and take necessary actions to ensure compliance.
- Technology Advancements: eCommerce is always changing from a technology point of view. Advancements in artificial intelligence, mobile commerce, blockchain, and logistics, make change an inevitable reality! Find out what technology is on the horizon, and who are the early adopters in your sector.
- Customer Insights: News can provide valuable insights into consumer preferences, behaviors, and emerging market segments. This is especially true during a weakened economy, as it’s important to see who is spending, where and on what. This might impact your plans for sales or product launches, or give you new ideas for products that might better meet customer demands.
Of course, there are many more reasons! But hopefully this is enough to convince you to take up the habit of reading the eCommerce news on a daily basis.
Now you know “why”, I guess you’ll want to know “where”. Below, you’ll find a list of great eCommerce news sources, grouped into two lists. The first list are the websites I check without fail every day, and the second list are the domains I’ll explore if I have a bit of extra time available in my schedule.
Where to find eCommerce news online
My top eCommerce news sources
- Retail Dive [https://www.retaildive.com/]: this is primarily eCommerce retail news relating to the US market. It is updated daily which means there’s always something new to read. This is where I’ll read about profit and revenue gains/losses, new product launches, and a good amount of opinion pieces too.
- Ecommerce News Europe [https://ecommercenews.eu/]: this website is the go-to place for wider market information relating to eCommerce in Europe. It frequently looks at country-level performance and preferences, and also reveals a lot of information on regulatory and legal updates. You won’t see new stories everyday, but it’s updated at least a few times a week.
- The Retail Bulletin [https://www.theretailbulletin.com/]: if you want UK eCommerce and retail news, this is the place to go. There are stories about offline stores too, but I find this really helpful to better understand a retailer’s wider business plans. This website has a lot of information on board level changes and profit reports.
- Retail Gazette [https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/]: this usually has many of the same stories as The Retail Bulletin, but it’s always helpful to see things from another angle. Again, this coverage is primarily for UK brands. If you have some spare time, be sure to read the articles in the ‘Insight’ tab.
- Retail Week [https://www.retail-week.com/]: the UX of this website makes it easy to read and digest. There are some helpful data pieces referenced here, such as articles about consumer confidence and spending habits. This is another good source of UK based retail news for eCommerce.
Other eCommerce news sources
- Ecommerce Platforms: websites dedicated to ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify’s blog [https://www.shopify.com/blog] or BigCommerce’s blog [https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog] have both platform specific and wider eCommerce news.
- Ecommerce Times [https://www.ecommercetimes.com]: this is a comprehensive news source covering various aspects of eCommerce. It provides industry news, analysis, and expert opinions on topics like online retail, digital marketing, logistics, and technology advancements.
- Internet Retailer [https://www.digitalcommerce360.com]: this is a well-known publication that covers news, trends, and research on eCommerce and digital retailing for the US market.
- TechCrunch [https://techcrunch.com]: this is more technology based, but it covers the latest developments that could affect the market. It often features news and analysis related to eCommerce platforms, emerging technologies, funding rounds, and industry disruptors.
- Econsultancy [https://econsultancy.com]: this is a digital marketing and eCommerce-focused publication with a mix of industry news, research reports, case studies, and expert insights.
- Business Insider Retail [https://www.businessinsider.com/retail]: offers a mix of news, analysis, and feature articles focused on the US retail sector, including eCommerce. It covers retail industry trends, digital transformation, consumer trends, and company profiles.
Don’t forget that you can always use Google News [https://news.google.com/] to search for the types of stories that might be helpful to you.
Have a play around with this by searching for topics including ‘ecommerce’, your own brand name, and your competitor brands as well. It’s helpful to use the “follow” button for topics that are of particular interest to you. See what I mean in the screengrab below.
So there you have it. At least six reasons why you should spend time each day getting familiar with the latest eCommerce news, and also exactly where you can find it.
You’ll be making better decisions in no time, and also impressing your closest stakeholders with a goldmine of new information.
