30 Most Essential E-Commerce Terms and Glossary

Have you ever seen a term online but didn’t know what it means?

It’s a common problem for those who are just starting out in the e-commerce world.

So, to help you out, here’s a curated list of 30 most used essential e-commerce terms:

1. Conversion Rate: The percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase.

2. CTA (Call-to-Action): A prompt that encourages the user to take a specific action, like "Buy Now" or "Subscribe."

3. Drop-off Rate: The percentage of users who leave a multi-step process before completion.

4. Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who navigate away from a site after viewing only one page.

5. Landing Page: A dedicated web page designed for a specific marketing or advertising campaign.

6. A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of a webpage or app to determine which performs better.

7. Cross-Selling: Recommending additional products to customers based on their current purchase.

8. Upselling: Encouraging customers to buy a more expensive version of a product.

9. Average order value (AOV): A metric indicating the average monetary value of orders placed on your e-commerce platform.

10. Cart Abandonment: When a shopper adds items to their cart but leaves the website without completing the purchase.

11. Retargeting: Displaying ads to users who have previously visited a website.

12. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): Creating a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action from customers.

13. Churn Rate: The rate at which customers stop subscribing or using a service.

14. Flash Sale: A brief, time-sensitive discount or promotion to drive sales.

15. Lead Magnet: An incentive offered to potential customers in exchange for their contact information.

16. Open Rate: The percentage of email recipients who open a marketing email.

17. Click-Through Rate (CTR): A percentage measuring the number of users who click on a specific link.

18. Customer Acquisition: The process of gaining new customers through marketing and promotional activities.

19. Point-of-Sale System (POS): Software and hardware combination used for processing sales transactions, managing inventory, and tracking customer data in physical retail stores.

20. M-commerce: Mobile commerce, referring to transactions conducted via mobile devices.

21. Wholesale: Selling goods in large quantities at lower prices to retailers.

22. User Experience (UX): The overall experience a person has while interacting with a website or application.

23. SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Strategies and techniques to improve a website's visibility on search engine results pages.

24. CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Software designed to manage and analyze customer interactions and data.

25. Dropshipping: A fulfillment method where a store doesn't keep the products it sells in stock.

26. Fulfillment Center: A facility used to store, pack, and ship products on behalf of e-commerce businesses.

27. Merchant Account: A type of bank account that allows businesses to accept payments.

28. Responsive Design: Designing websites to provide an optimal viewing experience across various devices.

29. Inventory Management: The process of efficiently overseeing the constant flow of units into and out of an existing inventory.

30. Chatbot: An AI-powered program that can simulate conversation with users, often used in customer service to provide instant assistance.

Obviously, there are many more terms in e-commerce, but these are some of the most used ones.