The world of ecommerce and online marketing is changing everyday – no one can blame you if you haven’t committed every acronym and each new platform to heart. But we’ve got you covered.

We have assembled one of the most comprehensive, exhaustive ecommerce glossaries you can find. If you’re looking to peruse new ideas, or simply find a quick cheat sheet for your next conference call, this glossary is just the thing, covering everything from Nanotechnology to Zillenials.

Quick links: 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z

T

Tagline
A brief and catchy promotional slogan used by a company that describes who they are or what they do.

Target market
A particular group of consumers a business chooses to communicate with and market a product or service at.

Transmission control protocol (TCP)
A standard that defines how to establish and maintain a network connection that allows application programs to share data. Along with Internet Protocol (IP), TCP act as the basic rules of the internet.

Tech governance
The frameworks, processes, and policies that facilitate the risk management, funding and resource allocation, and measurement necessary to deliver effective tech strategies.

Technology business management
Enabling and supporting the acceleration of the business technology agenda through the adoption of tools and processes to shift the management of technology costs to technology value.

Technology innovation chain
A series of similar technologies that build upon one another to create breakthrough opportunities.

Technology-driven innovation
Unleashing disruptive change through an advanced discipline of rapid technology experimentation.

Technology-guided business strategy
Using emerging technologies to project the impact of technology change on customers and markets and strategically planning and investing accordingly.

Template
A frame that surrounds each page of a website, providing consistent structure regardless of which page your visitors are on.

Terminal
A device that accepts and processes card payments.

Terminal identification number (TID)
Unique numerical identifier that indicates the individual Point-of-Sale device or computer where a payment transaction initiated.

Test data generation
An aid in application development and testing, test data generation is the process of generating fictitious business data based on defined requirements.

Text analytics
Technologies that identify patterns and structures in text and translates them into actionable insights to drive better business outcomes.

The digital self
The sum of all digital information relevant to me, which can include what I collect and create as well as information about me that others collect or create.

Third-Party processing
When transactions are processed by service providers acting under contract to card issuers or acquirers.

Threat intelligence
Specific information regarding the intent, capabilities, and motivations of internal and external threat actors. Threat intelligence’s primary purpose is to better inform business decisions regarding the implications and risks associated with threats.

Three word-of-mouth marketing types
Employee advocacy, category influencer, and customer advocacy.

Through-channel marketing automation
Refers to when enterprise marketers utilize a distributed marketing system to scale and enable local marketing program execution through channel partners, with governance to protect brand integrity.

Time lag
This summarizes how many days it took for website visitors to finally become customers.

Title tag
Text describing the main topic or theme of a particular Web page. Visitors will typically see the title tag on browsers and search engine result pages. This is the most important SEO real estate on a page and should contain the most relevant keywords for search optimization and is a crucial component in user experience.

Token service provider (TSP)
Within the payments ecosystem the token service provider is responsible for managing and issuing tokens, including mapping customer card numbers to payment tokens.

Token/Security token/authorization token
Tokens can be passed electronically without exposing actual customer account data, and act as a unique identifier that replaces a credit card number and other sensitive data during the processing of a payment transaction to prevent credit card fraud.

Tokenization
This refers to a data-security process that substitutes random non-sensitive numerical sequences for sensitive credit card data during a digital transaction so it can be passed over the internet without exposing the data to cybercriminals.

Total Economic Impact
A methodology that offers a thorough cost and benefit analysis framework that clearly integrates an evaluation of business flexibility, future technology, and associated risk.

Toxic data
Refers to sensitive information one would prefer to dispose of but must hold onto for the sake of business operations. Could include personal financial information, personally identifiable information, intellectual property, and personal healthcare information.

Transaction
An agreement between a seller and a buyer to exchange payment for goods or services.

Transaction date
The date on which a transaction occurs.

Transaction fees
A service cost or fee incurred by a merchant on a per-transaction basis.

Transaction ID (Trans ID)
Used for sorting transaction data, a transaction ID is a unique identification code assigned to a specific credit or debit transaction.

Transaction status
The particular standing of a transaction during the processing cycle. Some specific transaction statuses include: authorized/ pending capture, declined, voided, under review, credited, general error, pending, etc.

Transform analytics
Converts unstructured information such as spreadsheets to XML and other data forms, transform analytics is a subset of content analytics.

Transformative innovation
The aim of shifting perspectives and transforming culture for the digital reality.

Translytical database
A unified database that supports analytics, transactions, and other access and workload patterns in real time without sacrificing performance, transactional integrity, or scalability.

Travel & entertainment cards (T&E cards)
A general term for payment cards used primarily by businesses for travel and entertainment of clients.

Turnkey
A custom-designed software product that’s completely built and ready to operate once it’s sold.

U

ucommerce
A general term that refers to commerce that is enabled between buyers and sellers anywhere, anytime, and on any type of device.

Ultra-modular computing
The radical adoption of modular principles to simplify the environment for creating, operating, and delivering applications within an enterprise, based on using commodity components in a standardized architecture

Unauthorized transaction
When a credit or debit card transaction is not authorized by the account holder, often as the result of cybercrime or fraud. Important to note that this is different from when the issuer declines to authorize for payment on a transaction.

Under review
The practice of reviewing a potentially high-risk or fraudulent transaction, done by the payment processor, prior to submission for processing.

Unified communications as a service (UCaaS)
A cloud-delivered unified communications model that supports six communications functions: mobility, unified messaging, enterprise telephony, communication-enabled business processes, instant messaging and presence, and meetings (audio/video/web conferencing).

Unified endpoint management
Managing and securing employee laptops and mobile devices from a single console via products that provide a centralized policy engine.

Unified marketing impact analytics
The assigning of business value to each element of the marketing mix at both a strategic and tactical level through a blend of statistical techniques.

Unified measurement
Assigning business value to each strategic and tactical factor affecting marketing performance across all customer touchpoints through the application of statistical analytical methods.

Upselling
The sales tactic of trying to get customers to purchase more expensive versions or upgrades of what they’re buying, so as to maximize the value of their purchase.

Usability testing
Assessing the usability of a service or product by testing it with a member of the target audience, recording their reaction to the service or product, and analyzing the results.

User experience (UX)
Customers’ emotions and attitudes about using a product, service, or system.

User interface
The various elements by which a user and a computer system interact, whether on a vehicle, device, appliance, or other product or system.

User-generated content
Content created and published by an individual for consumption on online platforms by a general population or community, often in video, image, or written form.

Urchin tracking model (UTM)
A code that can be attached to a custom URL in order to track a source, medium, and campaign name.

V

Value proposition
A promise of value that companies use to be more attractive to customers, by guaranteeing customers a beneficial or quality experience from their products, services, or company values.

Value stream management tools
Tools that empower users to visualize, map, and govern business value flow via heterogeneous enterprise software delivery pipelines.

Value-added resellers
A company that adds features or services to original manufacturers’ equipment (hardware, software, or networking equipment) and resells it as an integrated product or turn-key solution.

Values-based consumers
Consumers who evaluate purchases through a lens that takes into account not just the direct benefits they’ll receive but also a company’s political and social stances, values around employment and manufacturing practices, and commitment to other causes or beliefs.

Vendor viability
Based on its own risk factors and the client’s tolerance for the supplier’s risk, the likelihood that a vendor will be a capable long-term supplier to the firm.

Virtual network infrastructure (VNI)
VNI creates a fabric of horizontally interwoven networking components, and also automates and orchestrates infrastructure to deliver the right services to each user, and uses virtualized and physical infrastructure,

Virtual reality (VR)
An immersive digital experience made to feel realistic with features like 3D sound, several degrees of physical freedom for movement, and the addition of body cues like 360-degree views.

Visit
When a person sees at least one page on a merchant’s store any time during a visit.

Visit origin
Describes how a visitor arrived at the site.

Visitor
A person who has visited a merchant’s store. Visitors can be browsing through or purchasing something (customers).

Voice authorization
A means of authorization dependent on voice communication between a merchant and an authorization center via normal telephone.

Voice commerce
A way of shopping that allows customers to engage with products, finding and purchasing products and services using their voice.

Voice of the customer program
Making business decisions based on a systematic approach to collecting customer feedback and mining that feedback for insights.

Voice of the employee
Any feedback from partners or employees that relates to their ability to provide great customer experiences.

Voice referral
The process which may follow an authorization request, consisting of the communication of further information about the cardholder or transaction, or involving the merchant being requested to contact its acquirer for further instructions.

Voice user interface
Makes spoken interactions between humans and computers possible by using speech recognition to understand spoken commands and questions.

Void
The cancelling of a transaction that has not been completed yet.

Voided
A debit or debit transaction cancelled by the merchant, after authorization but prior to completion and settlement.

W

Wallets
Also known as an eWallet, this refers to a software application that helps facilitate electronic payments using a smartphone or computer as well as purchases at physical stores. Digital wallets need to be linked to user’s bank account.

Warehouse management systems
Technology that helps manage the flow of goods through a warehouse or distribution center. Primary functions include loading and shipping, receiving, put away, picking, and order selection.

Web analytics
Collecting, measuring, analyzing and reporting website data via a set of strategic methodologies in order to determine the behavior of website visitors and optimize the website itself.

Web content management system
A strategy for delivering contextual experiences for customer and partner engagement on websites and other digital touchpoints.

Webpage
A document suitable for the World Wide Web which can be viewed through a web browser and displayed on a computer screen.

Website analytics
A compendium of organized information used to measure a variety of data contained on a website. These analytic tools can track site traffic, how long viewers stayed on a page, click-paths, the success of channels like organic search and paid search, etc.

Website governance
The establishment of processes, ownership, policies, and compliance for interacting with a website. Governance areas include copyright and trademarks, home pages, content, navigation, security, design, access and permissions, archives and library, feedback, funding, linking, and site management.

Z

Zillenial
People who were born after 1995 and who straddle between being associated with Millennials and Generation Z.