If you’re searching the web for the best eCommerce books to help you accelerate business growth, you’ve reached the right place.

This is where you’ll learn all from books on eCommerce like Accelerate eCommerce Growth and a bunch of others—picked by entrepreneurs who’ve read them and are now nudging those who haven’t.

You’ll also get a pleasant bonus at the end of the article: the newest books for eCommerce business owners (2022–2023 releases) + some valuable guides from Convertcart. 

Prepare for a reading jump and discover how to grow your eCommerce business.

And—go!

Must-Read Books for Every eCommerce Business Owner

Reading is the shortest way to gain knowledge, so the right books can make all the difference when it comes to business success.

Here’s a comprehensive reading list that all eCommerce business professionals can learn something from.

1. The Digital Marketing Handbook by Robert W. Bly

Year: 2018

Amazon customer rating: 4.4

What you can learn from it

"Marketing is king."

How many times have you heard this phrase?

In this book, you’ll find out how to put this king on your website’s throne and let it rule your online sales with:

• Lead magnets
• Banner ads
• Influencer marketing campaigns
• Newsletter and email marketing
• Podcasts
• Social media
• Webinars, and more

The author also teaches you how to merge online and offline marketing by linking print and web with QR codes—and this is just one example. 

In addition, this handbook covers the marketing funnels for business-to-business eCommerce. 

Robert W. Bly provides examples of HubSpot, Grainger, D&B Hoovers, MarketingProfs, and other B2B companies.

Who recommended it?

Jerry Han, CMO at PrizeRebel:

“As a marketing manager, I can’t help but recommend The Digital Marketing Handbook. Why? Because it works. Especially if you focus on interactive content like surveys, quizzes, contests, giveaways, etc.

Besides, you get the top software and services to create a website that sells. You can find them in the appendix section. These are highly helpful tools for business owners and marketers.”

Check this out: 5 stages of an eCommerce conversion funnel (+ways to improve each step)

2. Boost eCommerce Sales and Make More Money by Alex Harris

Year: 2014

Amazon customer rating: 4.3

What you can learn from it

300 hundred conversion rate hacks for eCommerce!

It’s one of the best eCommerce books with sure-fire techniques on how to grow your leads pool and many more how-tos like as follows:

• How to improve navigation and overall website design
• How to grow your email list
• How to use social proof
• How to make your calls-to-action irresistible
• How to polish the shopping cart page and other pages

And tons more tips and tricks.

Who recommended it?

Nate Tsang, Founder & CEO of WallStreetZen:

“It was the first book on eCommerce that clearly explained how to showcase our unique value proposition and differentiate our stock research platform from the competition.

Many eCommerce sites typically speak to a broad audience. This book tells you what you should do to personalize experiences and make your potential customers feel special. For example, we offer a stock analysis tool for part-time investors specifically.”

3. Smartphone eCommerce by Benjamin Gundgaard

Year: 2018

Amazon customer rating: 4.2

What you can learn from it

Need a warm welcome into the world of mCommerce?

Here you go.

It’s a 101 guide on mobile commerce from Benjamin Gundgaard, an eCommerce expert and Founder of CustomerSense.

From mobile landing page to mobile checkout, he gives you all the recipes on how to multiply conversions and sales, as well as push repeat purchases.

Who recommended it?

Nick Bionda, Owner of Handshake Fleet:

“It’s the only book on mobile eCommerce you need. What I particularly find useful is that the author takes a methodological approach and walks you through every area on your mobile site to improve it for higher conversions. Every chapter contains mobile tests and real-life examples of such e-shops as Amazon.com, Zalando, Staples, and others.

My favorite chapter though is the last one—it’s a summary of 200+ guidelines and hacks on how to turn mobile web lurkers into customers.”

You might like: 25 amazing (& high converting) mobile checkout examples

4. Omni-Channel Retail and the Supply Chain by Paul Myerson

Year: 2020

Amazon customer rating: 5.0

What you can learn from it

If you can’t tell the difference between multi- and omnichannel strategies or can’t find balance in your supply chain, no foreplay is necessary. Just grab the book right away.

If you still need some convincing… Well, then…

Paul Myerson starts slowly with the history of retail and then moves on to naming the exact strings you should pull to make the supply chain speed up your eCommerce success within hours. He also dwells on some hardships, like eCommerce customer segmentation or channel conflict, usually encountered by entrepreneurs.

Who recommended it?

Jonathan Elster, CEO at EcomHalo:

“I always recommend this eCommerce book as a must-read for retail entrepreneurs. It answers the most typical questions about the two distinct concepts in the world of business: retail and supply chain.

Paul Myerson also lays out the omnichannel supply chain options for retailers: in-house, outsourced, or hybrid. He gives reasons when they work and when they don’t. He’s the person to help you tackle the ‘make or buy’ challenge.”

5. The Best Damn Website & eCommerce Marketing Optimization Guide, Period! by Stoney deGeyter

Year: 2021

Amazon customer rating: 4.3

What you can learn from it

In his book, Stoney deGeyter describes a holistic approach to optimizing your eCommerce site and allowing leads to easily convert into customers.

According to the author, it’s paramount to address the following:

• Gather, sort, and organize keywords
• Design a high-converting eCommerce homepage
• Build a powerful online reputation
• Spice up your product pages
• Beat Google’s algorithm
• Combine SEO and UX principles

Who recommended it?

Morgan Taylor, Co-Founder of Jolly SEO:

“Nobody could have explained website optimization and SEO better than Stoney deGeyter, an author at SearchEngineLand and a digital marketing veteran with 20+ years of experience.

When it comes to SEO, quite often, eCommerce business leaders underestimate metadata like meta descriptions or meta tags. That’s when his book can work as a guidepost to harness the power of metadata.”

6. Launch by Jeff Walker

Year: 2014

Amazon customer rating: 4.4

What you can learn from it

How to launch your product from scratch?

Follow the evergreen pieces of advice from Jeff Walker, a stay-at-home dad who started from his basement and made $106,000 in just a week (with no employees!).

He shares his secret product-launch formula + three fundamental strategies:

• Initial Launch
• Seed Launch
• Joint Venture (JV) Launch

Walker also explains how to use product launch email to “activate your tribe”, as he says, and drive massive sales.

Who recommended it?

Ken Savage, Owner at Ken Savage:

“Launch is the best book for eCommerce business founders ever written because it’s an incredible hands-on experience from an entrepreneur who nailed the product launch.

I also like his idea of breaking the launch itself into three stages: pre-prelaunch, prelaunch, and launch. After that, you can proceed to the post-launch.”

7. Accelerate eCommerce Growth by Brendan Hughes

Year: 2021

Amazon customer rating: 5.0

What you can learn from it

Think of the central driver of your eCommerce business.

Not money. Not marketing (because marketing is the king that moves everything in the needed direction, if you recall it from The Digital Marketing Handbook).

Customer.

Customer is the driving power of your business growth.

Brendan Hughes emphasizes that and demonstrates how customer relationship management changes the game in the era of digital marketing. He also explains why you need customer journey maps and how to build a digital ad strategy based on the data collected from your customers.

Who recommended it?

Shawn Plummer, CEO at The Annuity Expert: 

“It’s one of the greatest eCommerce business books that made a huge difference for our insurance agency. For example, now we support the customer journey by offering educational videos on retirement planning and annuity calculators on the website.

In my opinion, the most useful chapters from the book are about cold, warm, and hot audiences. Besides, the checklists after every chapter define how each audience should be approached. Finally, the reader gets references and links to all the cited materials (reports, statistics) at the end of the book.”

Check this out: 20 behavioral targeting ideas for 2023 (+ some inspiration)

8. Legal Guide to Social Media, Second Edition by Kimberly A. Houser

Year: 2022

Amazon customer rating: 5.0

What you can learn from it

You do know the significance of social commerce and social media marketing.

But do you swim well in their legal “seas”?

For example, let’s take the most obvious ones mentioned in this book:

• Social media defamation and libel
• Copyright and IP rights
• Advertising laws
• Data security risks
• Privacy laws

Kimberly A. Houser, the Professor of Business Law, guides you on how to legally implement your social media ideas and avoid some ethical problems that may arise.

Who recommended it?

Mark Pierce, CEO of Colorado LLC Attorney:

“It’s crucial to understand the legal considerations when setting up an online business and promoting it on social platforms. This legal guide is aimed at just that—to help eCommerce entrepreneurs get prepared and eliminate social media mistakes that can result in legal trouble.

Undeniably, it belongs to the best books about eCommerce on my list.”

Bonus Read: Top 10 Books on eCommerce Business From 2022–2023

So, what are the freshest eCommerce books worth reading?

Consider the following titles that have the highest ratings on Amazon.

Top 5 eCommerce Books From 2022

• How to Start and Grow an E-Commerce Business by Charles Camisasca

Read this book to scale your online business in any industry.

• Effective Holiday Marketing Strategies by Elwood Gambone

Read this book to rock your holiday sales every year on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, Labor Day, and so on.

• Social Media Marketing Workbook 2022 by Shaun Howell

Read this book to go social and win your audience over.

• Dropshipping E-Commerce Business Model 2022 by Phil Ortiz

Read this book to set up and scale your Shopify dropshipping store.

• Marketing Metrics: Leverage Analytics and Data to Optimize Marketing Strategies by Christina Inge

Read this book to drive better decisions after tracking the most essential metrics for eCommerce founders.

Top 5 eCommerce Books From 2023

• Start an E-Commerce Business from Scratch by Grace Hayden

Read this book to find your flagship product as a new entrepreneur.

• Shopify Made Easy 2023 (3-book bundle) by Veronica Jeans

Read this book to boost your Shopify conversion rate.

• One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane

Read this book to do exactly what the author did.

• The Google Ads Strategist’s Handbook 2023 by Matthieu Tran-Van

Read this book to strategize pay-per-click marketing with Google Ads.

• Affiliate Marketing for Beginners 2023 by Vincent Harvey

Read this book to build a successful affiliate program.

Top 5 Guides for Online Business Owners From Convertcart

Download the following free PDFs to skyrocket your conversions:

• 100 Conversion Hacks for eCommerce (2023 Edition)
• The “Get Out of the Spam Folder” Checklist
• 42 Irresistible Email CTAs for eCommerce Stores
• 10 Surefire Ways to Blow Up Your eCommerce Revenue From Emails
• eCommerce Homepage Conversions Guide

Read more eCommerce guides by Convertcart.

Before we call it a wrap…

Whether you’re a first-timer or an experienced business leader, the above eCommerce must-reads can help you boost conversions and sales.

But first, you need to get the lay of the land and see the state of things on your eCommerce site.

After all, 98% visitors drop off because of UX issues.

And our work at Convertcart has been about helping 500+ businesses improve their user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.

** This is a guest post by Erika Rykun, Editor-in-Chief at Booklyst.net