E-commerce marketing is everything you do to attract shoppers to an online store and turn them into repeat customers. This glossary explains more than 80 online retail terms from A to Z in plain language, each tagged Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced, from conversion rate and AOV to COD, RTO, fulfillment and retention.
E-commerce marketing is the set of activities that attract shoppers to an online store, convert them into buyers and bring them back to buy again. It combines search, ads, email, social, product-page and checkout optimization, and post-purchase retention.
Start with the Beginner terms, such as conversion rate, AOV, abandoned cart, SKU and upsell. Move to Intermediate terms as you optimize the funnel, and use the Advanced terms for pricing, margin and operations.
Search by term or filter by level above. Related terms link to each other, so you can follow an idea from one concept to the next.
How you store and ship products shapes your margins, delivery speed and risk. Most growing stores mix more than one model.
| Model | Who holds the stock | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-fulfilled | You | Small catalogs and handmade or custom goods | Your time and space limit growth |
| Dropshipping | Your supplier | Testing products with low upfront cost | Thin margins and less control over quality and speed |
| Third-party logistics (3PL) | A fulfillment partner | Scaling stores with steady order volume | Fees per order and storage, and less hands-on control |
| Marketplace-fulfilled | The marketplace | Fast delivery badges and trusted shipping | Marketplace fees and rules, and limited customer data |
| Click and collect | Your physical store | Retailers with shops | Needs store stock to be accurate and staff to be ready |
Quick answers to the most searched e-commerce basics.
E-commerce marketing is everything you do to attract shoppers to an online store, convert them into buyers and bring them back. It covers search, paid ads, email, social media, product-page and checkout optimization, and loyalty and retention programs.
It varies widely by industry, price point, traffic source and device, so compare against your own history and similar stores rather than one universal number. Mobile usually converts lower than desktop, and returning visitors convert far better than new ones.
Cart abandonment is when shoppers add items but leave without buying. Reduce it by showing total costs early, offering guest checkout and popular payment methods, speeding up pages, building trust with reviews and badges, and sending recovery emails or messages.
Average order value, or AOV, is revenue divided by the number of orders. Raise it with bundles, cross-sells and upsells, a free shipping threshold set just above your current average, and tiered discounts that reward larger baskets.
An upsell encourages a customer to buy a higher-value or upgraded version of the item they are considering. A cross-sell recommends a complementary product, such as a case with a phone. Both raise order value when they are relevant and not pushy.
Dropshipping is a model where you sell products without holding stock. When a customer orders, your supplier ships the item directly to them. It needs little upfront money, but margins are thinner and you have less control over quality and delivery times.
COD is cash on delivery, where the customer pays when the order arrives. RTO is return to origin, when a delivery fails or is refused and the parcel comes back. Reduce RTO by confirming COD orders by call or message, offering small prepaid discounts, and checking addresses before dispatch.
A product feed is a structured file listing your products with details such as title, price, availability, images and identifiers. Google Merchant Center, Meta and marketplaces read it to show your products in Shopping ads and free listings, so accuracy directly affects performance.
Omnichannel retail connects every place a customer shops, such as your website, mobile app, marketplaces and physical stores, into one consistent experience. A customer might browse on a phone, check stock in a store and collect an online order in person.
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