Weekend reading: February 26th

Wow – didn’t February disappear out on us quickly?! As we write this post, the skies are blue and the sun is shining, and we’re starting to believe spring, and better times are coming – especially with the government announcement on Monday suggesting that normality might be just around the corner. We hope you have a great weekend, and are able to get out in the sun over the next few days.

The latest from us

COVID-19 has presented all of us some major life changes, and we’ve seen a number of entrepreneurs grow their business over the lockdown periods. With that in mind, we posted about how eCommerce businesses can save money in their first year this week.

We’ve been busy adding to our playlists on YouTube again – if you’re not subscribed, you can do so here.

A number of great suppliers made their products available for you to source over the past couple of weeks – we’ve got a supplier of specialist teas and tea accessories, and a supplier of high-end scarves and accessories. Log into your account to see the new products. If you want these updates directly to your WhatsApp, sign up here.

The weekend reads

TikTok and Shopify announced that they are extending their partnership to UK users this week, meaning that if you’re already making the most of being able to market to customers on TikTok, you can now sell directly. Since more around 83% of TikTok users are inspired to make a purchase after seeing trending content, it is well worth considering TikTok as a sales channel if you’re marketing to a younger age group. There is more about the TikTok and Shopify partnership – including how to get free TikTok ad credits – here.

Have you got a charitable, or social aspect to your business? eBay has launched a new support package for retail businesses in that have a social enterprise aspect to them. eBay for Change will help to create jobs and opportunities post-coronavirus in vulnerable and marginalised communities. If this sounds like something your business could benefit from, and that could help you to do more in your community, find out more here.

Is your business being impacted by the increase in fees that Mastercard and Visa are going to be making this year? Experts are suggesting that cryptocurrencies could be a way for retailers to keep costs low. We think this could have a huge impact on how businesses run, so it is worth keeping an eye on these developments. If you’re interested, there is more here.

Ready for another sales channel? Facebook Shops are now available in the UK for the first time, as of this week. If you’ve already got a good following on your Facebook page, then this is one definitely not to be missed! Find out more about Facebook Shops on this post.

Did you take our advice about selling on OnBuy yet? Don’t just take our word for it – eCommerce industry expert Chris Dawson at Tamebay states that the OnBuy marketplace is now one of the default marketplaces to sell on for eCommerce retailers. See which other marketplaces made it on the Tamebay UK Marketplaces Rankings Tracker here.

Dates for your diary

eCommerce Expo is running between March 2nd and March 4th, with three days of online events that pretty much everyone in the industry is going to want to know about. There are eCommerce marketing events, discussions about delivery and fulfilment and multichannel marketing – to name but a few! You can register for free here.

We’ve mentioned these next two events before, but only because we’re certain that they are going to be useful for our sellers and suppliers:

Tamebay has a webinar with Avalara on 30th March at 11am about the UK and EU eCommerce VAT reforms. Find out more, and register on this page.

Registration for eBay Open Online (which is being held in August) opens on May 3rd – and this event is one we’re sure you won’t want to miss out on, whether you’re selling on eBay right now, or considering doing so in the future.