eCommerce terms and abbreviations
In this article, we bring you a list of abbreviations and terms that are often used in conversations and texts about eCommerce.
Frequently used abbreviations in eCommerce
You will often find abbreviations like these in the texts and discourse of people within the eCommerce industry. We bring a brief overview of what each of them means.
1. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning system)
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning - a Business Information System which is the central place where a company conducts business. It is a program in which all product data is stored and processed, including names, technical specifications, purchase prices, sales prices, inventory status, sales data and more. It is used mainly in the context of the integration of ERP and webshop, which means that product data is sent from ERP to the webshop, and in the opposite direction, data on new orders is sent from the webshop to the ERP.
2. CMS (Content Management System)
CMS CMS is a background (administrator) interface through which content is managed on the webshop or on a website: adding, editing and deleting images, texts, products, etc.
3. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
CRM CRM is a program through which customer data and their interactions with the webshop are monitored, analyzed and managed. This includes not only purchases, but also their visits to websites, unfinished cart etc.
4. CDP (Customer Data Platform)
CDP is an extended CRM, a system that is further enriched with customer data that they give us (zero-party data) or that we collect about them on our website (first-party data). CDP is a system used by marketing professionals to reach customers in the best possible way.
5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO optimization is a set of activities on and off the page whose collective goal is to better organically position the website on search engine results.
6. PPC (Pay-per-Click advertising)
PPC PPC means advertising in which you pay for a click, not for the displayed ad, the so-called impression. This most often reffers to Google Search or Display or Facebook advertising. When it comes to Google Search advertising, such results appear at the top of search results.
7. SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
SEM is a set of all activities that result in better positioning on the search results page. So SEM includes SEO and PPC. The best option is when you have two positions on the first page of the results - paid and organic.
8. SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
SERP or search engine results page is the display we get on Google search after we type a term and click search. Paid ads appear at the top of the results, while organic results appear below that.
9. UX (User experience)
UX signifies user experience and determines the way they interact with the web shop. It is used in the context of webshop design, in terms of positioning and navigation structure, CTA buttons, product views and payment flow. It ensures that the user's interaction with the website is & nbsp; efficient and fluid. UX determines the structure and functionality, ie. the ways in which customers communicate with UI elements.
10. UI (User Interface design)
UI design is actually the graphic layout of a website, web shop or mobile application. It includes creating design elements such as banners, click buttons, text wrapping, photo processing, icon design and other elements that the customer uses to interact with the web shop
More on the webshop design theme and the combination of UX and UI design here.
11. API (Application Programming Interface)
API is a set of specific rules and specifications that developers follow so that they can link two separate applications or programs, in terms of sending data from one to the other. Webshops are mostly used in the context of integrating webshops with third systems (ERP, payment gateway, etc.)
12. B2B (Business-to-Business)
B2B in a broader sense means doing business with companies. In the context of eCommerce, it means a webshop whose target customers are companies. B2B webshops are characterized by the necessary registration of customers, after which they are often shown special prices with already applied rebates and discounts that their company realizes. The B2B webshop is a kind of extended arm of wholesalers and commercialists who are in direct contact with customers.
13. B2C (Business-to-Customer)
B2C stands for business with individuals. In the context of eCommerce B2C webshop is one where anyone can buy items on their own behalf. In the B2C webshop, a company can make a purchase and get an R1 account, but the user experience will be the same as for any other visitor.
In the combined B2B and B2C webshop, the user experience (display of items, display of prices, product description, etc.) may differ for B2C and B2B users after logging in.
14. CTA (Call to Action button)
CTA buttonThe CTA button is a field that clearly invites the user on the webshop to click on the next action. Most often on the webshop it is 'Buy' or 'Add to cart', but it can also be something else like 'Notify me when it becomes available'. In eCommerce, the CTA button is extremely important because the user needs to be given a hint at all times where we want them to click next.
15. CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)
CRO CRO or customer conversion rate means the process of increasing the percentage of webshop visitors who eventually make a purchase and become customers. This process includes an excellent understanding of the user's movement on the page, the actions they take and the points at which they give up the purchase process (eg. choosing the method of payment, delivery price, etc.)
16. KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
KPI is a measure of the success of a company's business. In eCommerce, it is common to monitor certain KPIs to evaluate the success of the webshop itself:
- total sales revenue,
- average order amount,
- cart abandonment rate (unfinished cart),
- conversion rates,
- webshop attendance.
17. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer certificate)
SSL is the encryption or encryption of data from plain text into encrypted text that is understandable only to those who have a decryption key. SSL encryption enables secure communication over computer networks. that is, securely sending confidential data over the Internet because the data is first encrypted after entry and then forwarded. Nowadays, it is necessary for a webshop to have an SSL certificate in order to gain the trust of customers.
How to recognize if a website is SSL certified??
There are two ways:
- web page URL starts with https, instead of http, in which s stands for secure.
Pages starting with http are not considered secure enough because they allow access to confidential information, as well as online accounts that the user of the website has. - there is paddlock icon next to the URL or the address field is green.
18. URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
A URL is actually the address of a website. Each subpage on the webshop has its own URL. URL structure is very important for SEO, especially in webshops.
19. COD (Cash-od-Delivery)
COD is an abbreviation that means cash on delivery, ie the method of payment in which the customer pays in cash (rarely by card) when picking up the package from the delivery service.
Frequently used terms in eCommerce
1. eCommerce
eCommerce is the common name of the online sales industry that includes companies that develop and implement web stores, companies that own and sell online stores, marketing agencies that deal with advertising, delivery services that deliver packages and all other companies that directly participate in online sales.
2. Platform
In the context of eCommerce, the term platform refers to the software solution on which the web store is built. One example is our Shape Core eCommerce platform.p;
3. Checkout
Checkout on the webshop means the process of completing the purchase process from the moment the user has added all the desired products to the cart to the moment of order confirmation. Checkout may include:
- entry of personal data, login or registration
- choosing the delivery method
- choosing the payment method
- making that payment
- receiving a confirmation email that the order has been received and executed
The checkout process is a very important step in the entire online journey of the customer, so great emphasis is placed on adapting the checkout process to customers and their specifics.
4. Payment Gateway
Payment Gateway is an interface that allows us to receive card payments on the webshop.
How does it work?
The owner of the web shop signs a contract with the company that provides the payment gateway service and agrees on the terms (% of the subsequent collection of this method of payment), followed by the integration of the payment gateway with the webshop. Once everything is set up, payment is made automatically, and depending on the settings you choose (reserving funds on the card or automatic transaction), you may need to access the payment gateway interface to complete the transaction.
5. A/B Testing
A/B Testing in eCommerce involves testing two options, two versions of the same element, one process or one page, in order to find the best option. Sometimes in the initial design it is difficult to determine the best possible look or flow of a process on the webshop. That is why A / B testing is done, ie 2 versions are set that are released to users in parallel, and are evaluated after the same number of uses of both options. For example, 1000 users go through 2 different checkout processes, so we see which of these two processes resulted in more purchases).
6. Above the fold
Above the fold refers to the view of the webshop that the user sees on the screen upon opening the page, before scrolling. So this is the first image that the user gets about the web shop and accordingly we should present the main values of the webshop and clearly send the message we want the user to receive - e.g. look at the action, explore a wide range or similar.
7. Landing Page
Landing page is a special page on the webshop that is created specifically as the landing point of a marketing campaign. It will be visited by customers who click on a Google or Facebook ad, and the main goal of the landing page is to present the current offer and encourage them to further action - such as adding products to the cart, subscribing to the newsletter, joining the loyalty program or similar.
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