Electronic commerce websites boomed in 2011 compared to a few years back when people weren’t so into buying stuff online.  And with the start of 2012, you can expect that these e-comm sites to bring out the big guns, offering more affordable and unique buys.

E-comm has evolved from simple online shops to the now more popular flash sale sites that everyone loves.  But even if you’re an online seller, you still have to deal with the basics of running a business, like accounting and tracking sales.  So if you’re not an accounting major don’t fret, there are some tools which can easily help you run your business smoothly.

Metricorn

Etsy, the e-comm website dedicated to selling handmade, vintage and arts & crafts stuff, has found a great business partner.  Checklet, the company founded by two couples living on two different continents who love having an excuse to work together on projects, developed Metricorn, a $15 a year-old tool that helps you do the math involved in running a business.

“We heard from so many Etsy sellers that you desired more of an understanding of how your Etsy shop performs over the course of the year, more ways to visualize your data (not just see numbers, but see pictures too), and help from us on how to maximize your craft business – that we couldn’t ignore you any longer. We had to create Metricorn,” said Checklet co-founder Ashley Jennings.

Yotpo

Yotpo, a Tel Aviv startup, launched the “first social micro-reviewing app,” which provides a quick and elegant solution for reading, writing, and distributing reviews made for e-comm sites.

“Each reviewer has their own analytics, which draws customers back to shop and check insights from their reviews. The ultimate goal is to increase conversion,” said Yotpo co-founder Tomer Tagrin.

Tagrin stated the benefits of the e-comm app for online shop owners:

• Stay in touch with your customers: after making their purchase each customer is automatically emailed and invited to review the items they bought.
• Improve your shops SEO using social data.
• Enable customers to read and write reviews using their social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Foursquare.

You can download the Yotpo app in the Shopify App Store starting at $14.90 per month.

The shift to mobile commerce

The e-comm boom is also influencing another closely related sector: mobile commerce.  With more people owning smartphones, m-commerce is on the rise.  Capital Online Revenue is teaching online resellers a thing or two about e-comm sites to m-comm sites.  And one particular site who utilized Capital’s thoughts is 1-800-Flowers.com.

“Integrating relevant critical functionality from a company’s E-commerce site into a mobile offering is something mobile-savvy shoppers have come to expect from their preferred retailers,” commented the Vice President of Online Marketing, Mobile, and Social Media for 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., Kevin Ranford. “Our new mobile site was about building an experience that helps catalyze a positive outcome for our customers whether they are looking to find a quick gift or check the status of an existing order.”