by Tom Shackleton

Your online store may be performing well now, but eCommerce moves fast. If you don’t keep up to date with the latest developments you risk missing out on new customers, or even losing your existing ones.

Your online store may be performing well now, but eCommerce moves fast. If you don’t keep up to date with the latest developments you risk missing out on new customers, or even losing your existing ones.

You need to invest time immersing yourself in the world of eCommerce. Get out and talk to fellow merchants, follow influential figures and keep your finger on the pulse.

Missing a big change to browsing habits or letting a huge new feature pass you by isn’t an option if you’re to continue running a successful eCommerce store.

Here’s how you can keep up to date with changes in eCommerce:

Read Industry Blogs

There are some fantastic eCommerce industry blogs out there, filled with great insights and the latest developments.

Keeping track of these is a simple but very important way of keeping your eCommerce knowledge current.

You can set up a popular feed reading tool like Feedly to store all of your industry blogs in a single place. This means you only have to check in with your feed reader, rather than each site individually.

If you’re not sure how to get started with industry blogs, you’ll find some great sources on our essential eCommerce blogs article.

Network with Fellow Merchants

While reading industry articles is a great place to start, getting out there and networking with your fellow merchants is essential.

Network with Merchants

Other eCommerce merchants will have stories to tell and experiences to share that can help you not only stay up to date with changes, but get the most from them.

Forming strong relationships with other eCommerce stores will give you the insight into new technologies they’re using, new marketing opportunities they’re exploring or any other new developments.

Join Online Communities

You can’t always get out to meet other merchants and eCommerce experts in person, and there are plenty of great online communities which give you many of the same benefits.

Whether you start by using fantastic platform specific forums like Shopify University, or just start a conversation on Facebook, online communities can be hugely beneficial.

Platform specific forums and communities will be full of experienced users, as well as representatives from the platforms themselves. Making them a fantastic way of gaining insight straight from the horse’s mouth.

You’ll also find a wide array of eCommerce focused communities on social networks like Facebook. Getting involved with a few of these is another good tool for asking about the experiences of other merchants and monitoring industry trends.

Sign up to Mailing Lists

Running a busy eCommerce business day to day, sometimes you just don’t have time to go searching for insight.

Sign up to newsletters

Signing up to mailing lists will feed the latest eCommerce news and views right to your inbox. Look for sites that collate the best news and insights, then sign up to their mailing list to keep on top of everything without any real effort on your part.

At Statement, we send out regular email newsletters that round up the latest developments in eCommerce, along with useful resources for merchants. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can sign up to our mailing list using the form in the top right of this article.

Attend Meetups & Events

Meetups, conferences and other eCommerce events are incredibly important for any eCommerce merchant looking for a deep understanding of the industry.

At these events, you’ll find expert speakers talking on topics at the forefront of eCommerce technology. You’ll also get to pick their brains on topics and issues that really effect your store.

Having such valuable and personalised advice can be vital for keeping up to date with changes, as well as helping to inform your strategy moving forward.

You’ll find meetup events taking place all over the country all year round. We ourselves run Shopify Meetup events in the North of England every few months.

In Summary…

If you’re to stay up to date with important changes to eCommerce, you’ll need to keep a check on at least a few of these sources. Try to mix online insights with meeting and networking with industry experts in person,

You’ll gain some valuable knowledge from online blogs and newsletters, but also attending events and making use of more personalised insight and experience is just as important.

Once you’ve built up a strong list of trusted sources, you’ll find keeping on top of changes in eCommerce an enjoyable and rewarding task.

What to know how Statement can help you take advantage of the lastest eCommerce tools and technologies? Just get in touch and we’d be happy to meet with you and discuss anything you may need.

Picture of the author

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest ecommerce goings on and site launches.

By providing my email I agree for Statement to contact me via email with eCommerce advice, events and Shopify launches. Your data is stored securely and we never pass it on to third parties.