The Echidna Blog

Quoting is not the reason your products cannot be sold online. Unexamined quoting workflows are. Sort your order volume honestly, move the standard majority to self-service, give the negotiated remainder a visible digital workflow, and measure quote abandonment the way you measure cart abandonment.

B2B site search fails when it speaks catalog language instead of buyer language. The evidence is sitting in your search logs right now, and most of the fixes are content and configuration work, not a replatform.

‍

We rank nine real use cases by whether they are delivering ROI in production today, whether they are conditionally working depending on the substrate underneath, or whether they remain experimental for most enterprise teams. The framing matters. Investing in a use case in the wrong bucket is how AI budgets quietly disappear in year two.

‍

After working with enterprise B2B commerce teams for seventeen years, including most of the past three years deep in AI implementation work, a pattern is clear. The companies pulling ahead are not the ones investing the most in AI. They are the ones operating with the clearest framework for what AI is actually changing in commerce, and what it is not.

‍

AI commerce features rarely succeed or fail cleanly. They tend to deliver real value in narrow places and underperform in others, with the net result obscured by attribution challenges, attribution overlap with other initiatives, and metrics that were not set up at the start of the project to answer the question that finance is now asking.

The teams that hold up well in their year-two budget conversations are not the ones with the biggest results. They are the ones with the clearest measurement. Six metrics, in our experience working with enterprise B2B commerce organizations, cover the picture honestly. Together they tell finance whether the AI investment is paying back, where it is leaking, and what to fund next.

‍

A failed or underperforming integration does not just delay your go-live. It creates ongoing operational drag that undermines the business case for the entire commerce investment — for years. This guide gives enterprise teams a practical framework for evaluating integration partners: what to look for, what to ask, and what answers should give you pause.

‍

Enterprise eCommerce integration projects have a failure rate that the industry does not talk about enough. Failure as in the integration was built, went live, and then proceeded to quietly undermine the commerce experience it was supposed to power. These are not edge cases. They are the normal outcome of integrations that were designed without enough rigor, implemented without enough governance, or handed off to teams who lacked the context to maintain them.

‍

‍

B2B eCommerce integration is not a technical afterthought. It is the connective tissue that determines whether your commerce platform works as a real business capability or as an expensive storefront with a broken backend.

The organizations that treat integration as a strategic investment — architecting it deliberately, governing it continuously, and partnering with specialists who understand the complexity — are the ones whose commerce channels actually deliver the ROI they were promised.

‍

Most B2B eCommerce projects launch. Few scale. The difference is strategy—defined before the platform is chosen and executed long after go-live.

‍

Most B2B eCommerce sites look fine and perform poorly. Here's what enterprise buyers need from a digital commerce experience—and where most designs fail.

‍

Boomi is how Echidna builds that foundation. Not as a simple data pipe — but as the central nervous system of the enterprise, transforming and cleaning data in transit, enabling parallel workstreams, and making it possible to modernize legacy systems without replacing them.

‍

Choosing the wrong platform costs millions and years. This guide walks through the evaluation criteria that actually matter for enterprise B2B organizations.

‍

Enterprise eCommerce integration projects have a failure rate that the industry does not talk about enough. Failure as in the integration was built, went live, and then proceeded to quietly undermine the commerce experience it was supposed to power. These are not edge cases. They are the normal outcome of integrations that were designed without enough rigor, implemented without enough governance, or handed off to teams who lacked the context to maintain them.

‍

‍

Boomi is how Echidna builds that foundation. Not as a simple data pipe — but as the central nervous system of the enterprise, transforming and cleaning data in transit, enabling parallel workstreams, and making it possible to modernize legacy systems without replacing them.

‍

Let’s debunk a popular myth before we start: Continuous innovation is not a one-off event or just a buzzword. It’s not about having that one groundbreaking idea that skyrockets your business to success. True innovation is a continuous process. It’s about applying strategic, tactical, and operational strengths consistently to prepare for future shifts. In a world where technology evolves at breakneck speed, staying relevant requires more than a flash of brilliance. It demands a relentless, ongoing commitment to change.

In recent years, voice search technology has transformed the way people interact with their devices and access information. This innovation allows users to search the internet, control smart home devices, and perform various tasks simply by speaking commands. Voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant have become integral parts of our daily lives, making voice search an essential aspect of modern SEO strategies.

Throughout 2022 and early 2023, there was an explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that captivated business leaders, investors, and society as a whole with its impressive ability to create new and seemingly human-made text and images.

You know that providing a seamless, personalized experience to your customers is the key to success. With online purchases on the rise and the growing popularity of omnichannel retail, chatbots have become the go-to tool for businesses looking to improve customer service and increase sales.

Construction Specialties has been at the forefront of providing specialty building products worldwide for more than seventy years. With a presence in twenty countries, they have obtained more than 40 registered product patents and produced ten distinct product lines. Their products can be found in or on some of the world's most famous buildings.

With eCommerce sales doubling in the past five years and markets expected to almost double again by 2026, companies are making sizable investments in their eCommerce capabilities.

In a time when every company is digital to some degree, your strategy is the differentiator. The stronger your strategy the easier it is to not only navigate rapid change and innovation, but as a result those companies also see higher conversion rates.

The automotive industry is at a crossroads. One way maintains the current status quo with little room for competitive edges and scalability, while the other path leads to reimagining its core operations and focusing on digital channels. While the latter path might seem intimidating at the moment, it is important to understand that the industry is moving towards digital selling as a business model for both B2B and B2C markets. Choosing to ignore buyer demands can hurt automotive brands in the long term.

We’re living in an accelerated world of eCommerce.

10 years growth in 3 months according to a recent study by Bank of America and Forrester Analytics. While it can be debated how this measured, we can all agree things have changed rapidly in digital.

We knew this year would require brands to work on the ongoing challenge of optimizing the customer experience. However, being able to embrace a customer-first approach through digital operations has turned instrumental for brands in 2020. As merchants work towards the post-coronavirus future, what does that look like?

Quoting is not the reason your products cannot be sold online. Unexamined quoting workflows are. Sort your order volume honestly, move the standard majority to self-service, give the negotiated remainder a visible digital workflow, and measure quote abandonment the way you measure cart abandonment.

B2B site search fails when it speaks catalog language instead of buyer language. The evidence is sitting in your search logs right now, and most of the fixes are content and configuration work, not a replatform.

‍

When a B2B buyer gets stuck on your site, they do not generally abandon the relationship. The site's conversion rate is technically unaffected, because the buyer never entered the funnel at all. Meanwhile a sales engineer spent part of their afternoon reading a spec sheet aloud. Your support volume is the usability report your analytics cannot produce. Here is how to read it.

‍

Most B2B eCommerce sites look fine and perform poorly. Here's what enterprise buyers need from a digital commerce experience—and where most designs fail.

‍

You don’t need another pep talk about “putting the customer first.” You need levers. The good news: modern UX testing tools are exactly that—levers that move revenue, reduce cost-to-serve, and de-risk big bets.

In today’s competitive online market, cutting the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of your eCommerce platform is critical for long-term profitability. Believe it or not, one of the most effective ways to do that isn’t about the technology—it's about user experience (UX). Here’s how enhancing UX can help you slash costs, boost conversions, and reduce hidden operational drag.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, mobile users demand seamless, intuitive experiences. A mobile UX audit is the key to uncovering friction points, optimizing usability, and boosting engagement. Whether you’re launching a new mobile app or optimizing an existing one, following best practices ensures your mobile experience meets user expectations and drives conversions.

Seamless system integration has become foundational for success in B2C and B2B eCommerce. As companies shift to digital-first strategies to remain competitive and responsive to client demands, integrating systems like ERP, CRM, and inventory management is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Once upon a time, the most advanced digital assistant many of us knew was Clippy—the quirky, ever-helpful paperclip in Microsoft Office. For all his flaws, Clippy was groundbreaking: the first mainstream, interactive UX assistant that tried to understand what users were doing and offered guidance (even if often unrequested). Though Clippy fell short in many ways, he introduced the idea of proactive assistance in a digital workspace—a concept that has since evolved dramatically.

The holiday shopping season is already in full swing—don’t panic! There’s still time to make quick, impactful adjustments to your eCommerce site that can help you handle the holiday rush like a pro. 🎁 With these last-minute tips, you can boost site speed, optimize your checkout process, and leverage social media to drive more traffic and sales. Let’s dive into the tweaks you can implement right away to get your site holiday-ready.

The industrial goods sector has seen a significant shift toward eCommerce in recent years, with businesses increasingly turning to online platforms to purchase tools, machinery, and raw materials. However, selling industrial goods online comes with unique challenges—ranging from large and complex product catalogs to diverse customer needs, such as procurement managers, engineers, and technicians seeking highly specific items. In this evolving landscape, AI personalization in industrial goods eCommerce is becoming a key driver for success, as buyers now expect tailored product recommendations, custom pricing, and seamless navigation through large inventories.

In the rapidly evolving world of automotive eCommerce, data-driven decision-making is no longer just an advantage—it's a necessity. With the rise of online vehicle shopping, managing customer expectations, inventory, and competitive pricing has become increasingly complex. Automotive eCommerce managers need more than just intuition to succeed in this environment; they require the power of data to make informed decisions that drive growth and enhance customer experiences.

From meeting your brand goals of multi-channel offerings, to strong personalized targeting, and the never to be forgotten site performance - the facets to review and understand when preparing for the holiday season are endless. And right now is a critical time to start planning and executing various aspects of your holiday planning. This doesn’t necessarily mean a complete website re-design or total back-office overhaul of systems. Instead, build on your existing merchandising and marketing to cater to holiday shoppers, offering them easy-to-find gifts for others (or themselves) with ease and convenience. Echidna calls attention to a few pieces of the digital puzzle to ensure our clients are planning not only for Summer or Fall, but for what many merchants call their bread and butter - holiday shopping season. Here are four hot topics to consider when planning for a strong digital holiday season.

“Ecosystem” has become a buzzword within the commerce industry, so the team at Echidna thought it was time to shed some light on the subject. First, we did some hard-core research (i.e.: Wikipedia the definition). This is what comes up:

This is the first of a three-part series on -- you guessed it -- mobile apps and your brand. In part one, we’re going to be taking a look at when it makes sense to build an commerce-focused mobile app, along with some best practices in the app space.

Cloud technology has developed rapidly over the past decade. So much so, that today it offers retailers and other organizations — small or large — access to sophisticated software and hardware that few companies would be able to buy, develop and maintain on their own. A retailer can leverage cloud-based technology resources with little more effort than a consumer flipping a switch as she walks into a room. There’s massive investment and sophisticated technology behind that light switch, but the consumer doesn’t have to know a thing about electricity generation or transmission to turn on the lights in her living room. It’s almost that easy for retailers to access state-of-the-art systems through the cloud.

On October 17, 2016, Kibo, a leader in cloud-based omnichannel commerce solutions, announced its acquisition of Mozu, a cloud-based enterprise commerce platform designed to help brands manage their entire online presence — commerce, branding, customer engagement and publishing — in a single, powerful and enjoyable experience.

Think about the last time you made an important purchase. Did you have to buy each individual piece and build the product to the correct specification? More often than not, the answer is no. If you’re buying a car, you expect it come assembled by a trained and certified technician and mechanic. Looking for a new smartphone? Packaged nicely and ready to use is usually preferred.

Theresa Kuske, Digital Marketing Manager at Ergodyne, was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about why Ergodyne is such a cool brand, the constantly evolving digital marketing landscape, and how Echidna transformed Ergodyne’s commerce.

With the increasing intersection of the commerce and cloud industries, Echidna has put significant capabilities and processes in place to implement a wide range of commerce websites quickly, safely, and with high quality due to our creation and use of a robust implementation methodology. Put simply, our abundant experience has created a process to ensure we can do great work for you.

With the recent release of Magento 2.0, there's been a lot of buzz at the Echidna office. As an commerce agency, many of our clients not only come to us design and development, but consulting on platform options. Those currently on Magento are wondering if upgrading 2.0 is the right fit, and in some cases wondering if they should move away from the platform and evaluate other providers altogether. It also has those retailers on other platforms asking if moving to Magento 2.0 would benefit them. All of these questions had us running to catch up with Amzed Hussain, who is Echidna’s Senior Director of Technology Delivery & Innovation, to get his insight the topic.

commerce is constantly evolving. But some things just don’t change. Early in my career, I led software development teams that worked on the first commerce platforms for Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. This was right around the time of the dotcom bubble burst. Behind the scenes, as the executives were deciding whether this new “online shopping” thing was going to turn into something, we were trying to figure out what commerce should look like for our company. Our job was to design an commerce platform that could serve the unique needs of the largest retailer in the world. And there were a lot of unique needs!

Echidna is excited to announce Gold status as an Oracle Commerce Cloud implementation partner. It only makes sense that Echidna would be partnering with Oracle Commerce Cloud. The combination of our record of experience with Oracle, our leadership in the cloud-based SaaS commerce world, and the way Oracle Commerce Cloud complements our current service offerings made it a simple decision.

Cloud-based commerce has firmly established itself as the leading trend in the retail industry, and for good reason. While the concept of "the Cloud" might seem intangible—after all, data must be stored physically somewhere—it represents a significant shift in how businesses manage their digital infrastructure. Instead of bearing the weight of data hosting and security, retailers are increasingly turning to specialist commerce platforms like Kibo to streamline these aspects.

Replatforming does not have to cost you your search traffic or your place in AI answers. The teams that come through clean treat SEO and AI visibility as first-class requirements of the migration, with an owner, a checklist, and a monitoring window, not as a task for launch week.

B2B site search fails when it speaks catalog language instead of buyer language. The evidence is sitting in your search logs right now, and most of the fixes are content and configuration work, not a replatform.

‍

If your brand sits in that sweet spot—north of $10M, south of $5B—social shouldn’t just be “posting and hoping.” In 2025, social is a performance channel, a customer research lab, a talent magnet, and for many categories, a storefront.

Let’s be honest: digital marketing budgets are under more scrutiny than ever.

When it comes to showing up in search, your site isn’t just competing for attention—it’s fighting for relevance. And in 2025, the rules of SEO are sharper, smarter, and more user-focused than ever. If you want better rankings, more organic traffic, and a website that actually converts, it starts with a solid on-page SEO audit.

Unlock Better PPC ROI with the Right Strategy and Execution

Why eCommerce Platform Implementation Matters

A Strategic Approach to SEO and Digital Marketing for Sustainable Growth

The holiday shopping season is already in full swing—don’t panic! There’s still time to make quick, impactful adjustments to your eCommerce site that can help you handle the holiday rush like a pro. 🎁 With these last-minute tips, you can boost site speed, optimize your checkout process, and leverage social media to drive more traffic and sales. Let’s dive into the tweaks you can implement right away to get your site holiday-ready.

Imagine this: A small eCommerce business invests $500 in a PPC campaign and, within a month, sees a return of $2,000 in sales. That’s a whopping 300% return on investment (ROI). This scenario isn’t a fairy tale but a real possibility when PPC campaigns are executed effectively. However, achieving such high ROI isn’t just about luck; it’s about leveraging data to drive decisions.

In the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization (SEO), staying ahead of the curve is crucial for success. Recent developments have shed light on new opportunities and challenges within this dynamic field. A glimpse behind the curtain has provided us with a deeper understanding of how Google possibly evaluates and ranks content, underscoring the importance of adapting our strategies to align with these newly uncovered criteria. However, Google does caution against making assumptions based on potentially outdated or incomplete information contained in these documents.

The boundaries between social media and eCommerce are becoming increasingly blurred. Today's buyers expect not only to interact with brands through social platforms but also to make purchases there without skipping a beat. This shift has given rise to a new phenomenon known as social commerce, a fusion of online shopping and social media that is transforming the way brands interact with their customers.

In our latest client case study, we go behind the scenes of the digital commerce success achieved by a global manufacturer for adhesive coated and laminated materials and photoluminescent films and sheets- Jessup Manufacturing.

Working together while working apart has become commonplace and will continue to be more important than ever these upcoming weeks and even months. Thousands of in-office workers are experiencing their first foray into the world of remote working as businesses try to manage the threat of COVID-19 by asking their employees to stay home. Since Echidna’s founding, we’ve served many companies as a virtual extension to their teams- building a proven practice of team collaboration, project governance, and reliable delivery whether team members are in the office or distributed far-and-wide. We’ve put together this informative blog and free downloadable resource to help you navigate remote teams' best practices.

The coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented challenge for eCommerce merchants. The long-term impact of COVID-19 will have on digital commerce is unknown, but for some, it means near-term planning to keep afloat while others are thinking about once the crisis has passed and what the new normal will look like. We recognize the difficulties merchants are facing to pivot their business strategies with little or no staffing and stay-at-home orders nationwide. So how do you navigate what’s next when the news is changing at a rapid pace?

There has been no slowing down since Adobe announced its acquisition of Magento Commerce back in 2018. With Magento Commerce joining the Adobe Experience Cloud, they are now bringing the Imagine Conference community to join forces with the Adobe Summit at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from March 29 through April 2. This co-location will allow Magento Commerce experts and pioneers the ability to expand their learning and networking opportunities, along with giving access to all Adobe Summit keynotes, events, and well over 400 sessions and labs. So what’s in store for those attending Magento Imagine 2020 @ Adobe Summit, and where can you find Echidna? Read on to find out.

Echidna, a Gold-level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), is pleased to announce that Construction Specialties (CS) chose Oracle Commerce Cloud to replace legacy systems and collaborated with Echidna to implement the technology to improve their overall user experience.

Echidna is gearing up to join hundreds of fellow industry experts and merchants at the 2019 Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, NV. This year should prove to be extra exciting as our client, Frontpoint Security, as been announced as a finalist for the Best Commerce Experience category at the Adobe Experience Maker Awards. With so many reasons to attend Adobe Summit we have narrowed down the top 3 moments we are most looking forward to this year.

Omni-channel personalization is something brands are quickly looking to implement into their digital strategies if they have not already. Echidna is excited to announce our partnership with data and predictive analytics platform, 4-Tell, who is an innovator and pioneer in the space. Through this partnership, Echidna will be able to further offer our clients the customer loyalty, engagement, and the superb user shopping experiences they require to stay competitive.

Echidna, a leading digital agency that provides expertise around building digital strategy, user experience and e-commerce systems, has announced the promotion of Michael Braun to the newly-created role of Chief Experience Officer effective January 1, 2019. Michael has been with Echidna since its inception in 2010, during which time he has held positions as the Director of Experience and Vice President of User Experience.

Echidna, a leading digital agency and e-commerce service provider, is pleased to announce their continued partnership with Magento Commerce as a Magento 2 Trained Professional Solutions Partner and Diamond Sponsor for the 2019 Magento Imagine Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Echidna, a leading digital agency that provides expertise around building digital strategy, user experience, and e-commerce systems announced today that they are accepting meetings from companies interested in improving their e-commerce operational efforts.

Ergodyne has been pioneering the development of products that make workplaces safer since 1983. With 124 global patents and 104 trademarks, they contacted our team at Echidna to help them improve their overall digital commerce experience and move them over to Magento Commerce.