As 2011 comes to a close, reporters, bloggers and now we at Blueport Commerce are talking about the hot e-commerce trends and predictions for the new year. After 2011, a year in which e-commerce sales grew year-over-year despite the floundering economy, we’re expecting to see some of the seedlings of trends blossom into their own in a new year where technology and consumers’ adoption of e-commerce will continue to explode.
Trend #1: Online or Offline, Customer Experience Counts
Customers expect to be able to shop wherever and whenever they want. To facilitate this, retailers need to create a seamless experience so that there is no difference for consumers, whether they are shopping online or in-store. IMediaConnection used the term “phygital” to refer to the engagement between brands and their customers and how the relationship needs to be consistent regardless of the medium. The consistency builds the relationships, the relevancy and sales.
In this regard, beyond marketing message, online retailers need to make their products as relevant online as they are in person. Consumers expect to have a rich online experience that will stand in for the offline experience they would otherwise have. Expect to see richer product descriptions and imagery, product videos and even user-generated content that is detailed and visual to give fellow consumers additional product information.
Trend #2 Mobile Commerce and Tablet Commerce Will Continue to Grow
If you didn’t believe it before, certainly the 2011 holiday shopping’s couch commerce tells you that consumers are buying via mobile devices, whether smartphones or tablets. Experts predict that mobile transactions will grow to make up 20 percent or more of all e-commerce transactions. Online retailers need to continue to brush up on their mobile presentation, as well as get ready to leverage the geo-location information provided by such devices to reach consumers when they are nearby and to close the gap on closing sales.
Trend #3: Increased Social Integrations with Increased Options for Customers and E-Retailers
While it is doubtful f-commerce will truly take off any time soon, Facebook and social networks are not going anywhere, and nearly half of consumers who are on e-commerce websites will simultaneously be on a social network. E-retailers will integrate more with Facebook, beyond the “like.” Perhaps following online content sites’ “recently read” features, e-commerce sites will adopt “recently bought” or “recently browsed” to encourage relevant social sharing.
Additionally, brands will further use social networks to develop those ever-important relationships with their consumers. Strong bonds through such networks will help online merchants close the sale and keep the customers coming back.
What do you think of our 2012 trends? Do you agree or have more of your own? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
3 Key E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011 by
Morgan Woodruff
Rethink Shopping Cart Abandonment on Your E-Commerce Site
Friday, December 16, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Cart abandoners are not the enemies of your online retail business, skewing your site metrics. In fact, they could be your best prospects.
So says research conducted by ClickZ’s Charles Nicholls to be compiled in an e-book this month. His analysis of the behavior of more than 600,000 online users and 250,000 e-commerce transactions show that shopping cart abandonment is now a natural part of the buying process. The key for e-commerce merchants is to recognize cart abandonment as such and then to create marketing programs to capitalize on the different situations in which customers abandon their carts.
Nicholls split customers who abandon their carts into three segments: one-time abandoners, serial abandoners and recent goal abandoners. Serial abandoners appear to be the sweet spot for conversions.
Serial Shopping Cart Abandoners
Serial shopping cart abandoners put items in their carts and then abandon their purchases multiple times within a one-month timeframe. Forty-eight percent of these customers will convert after being remarketed to – that’s more than twice the rate at which one-time abandoners who are remarketed to convert. An average of 18 percent of one-time abandoners will pull the trigger on purchasing after being remarketed to.
Recent goal abandoners are e-commerce customers who have already completed purchases with your website but then come back to your site and abandon their carts. These customers, who have already bought from your e-commerce website, are the most likely to abandon their carts again, but they are also the most likely to make another purchase from you.
How E-Commerce Retailers Can Capitalize on Shopping Cart Abandoners
E-commerce merchants need to recognize shopping cart abandonment as a natural step in the buying process and create plans that offer specific messaging and service to cart abandoners. Here at Blueport, we have helped many of our clients find success by creating marketing programs like these:
Remarketing Emails
Your e-commerce retail business should have an email plan in place to reach out to customers who abandon their shopping carts. The messaging can be fairly specific since you know a lot about these customers, including the specific items and categories they are shopping for.
And don’t forget to reach out to those who have bought from your website. Follow up with additional offers and related products based on their purchases. If you win a customer over with one purchase, you could have a customer for life.
Remarketing Advertising
Similar to an email strategy, you can use display advertising to remarket to your customers once they have left your site. While there is debate about how Big Brother remarketing and retargeting ads can feel to consumers, when implemented correctly, they can lead to increased conversions.
Related Posts:
So says research conducted by ClickZ’s Charles Nicholls to be compiled in an e-book this month. His analysis of the behavior of more than 600,000 online users and 250,000 e-commerce transactions show that shopping cart abandonment is now a natural part of the buying process. The key for e-commerce merchants is to recognize cart abandonment as such and then to create marketing programs to capitalize on the different situations in which customers abandon their carts.
Nicholls split customers who abandon their carts into three segments: one-time abandoners, serial abandoners and recent goal abandoners. Serial abandoners appear to be the sweet spot for conversions.
Serial Shopping Cart Abandoners
Serial shopping cart abandoners put items in their carts and then abandon their purchases multiple times within a one-month timeframe. Forty-eight percent of these customers will convert after being remarketed to – that’s more than twice the rate at which one-time abandoners who are remarketed to convert. An average of 18 percent of one-time abandoners will pull the trigger on purchasing after being remarketed to.
Recent goal abandoners are e-commerce customers who have already completed purchases with your website but then come back to your site and abandon their carts. These customers, who have already bought from your e-commerce website, are the most likely to abandon their carts again, but they are also the most likely to make another purchase from you.
How E-Commerce Retailers Can Capitalize on Shopping Cart Abandoners
E-commerce merchants need to recognize shopping cart abandonment as a natural step in the buying process and create plans that offer specific messaging and service to cart abandoners. Here at Blueport, we have helped many of our clients find success by creating marketing programs like these:
Remarketing Emails
Your e-commerce retail business should have an email plan in place to reach out to customers who abandon their shopping carts. The messaging can be fairly specific since you know a lot about these customers, including the specific items and categories they are shopping for.
And don’t forget to reach out to those who have bought from your website. Follow up with additional offers and related products based on their purchases. If you win a customer over with one purchase, you could have a customer for life.
Remarketing Advertising
Similar to an email strategy, you can use display advertising to remarket to your customers once they have left your site. While there is debate about how Big Brother remarketing and retargeting ads can feel to consumers, when implemented correctly, they can lead to increased conversions.
Related Posts:
- New Insights on How Consumers Research Products and Shop Online
- Engaging Site Visitors Through Email
- Online Research Is Critical for Big-Ticket Purchases
- Will You Make Back Your Online Advertising Spend in Store Sales? Yes!
Amazon’s ‘$5 to Leave the Store’ Promotion: Reactions Mixed, But a Sign of Things to Come
Friday, December 9, 2011 by
Carl Prindle
This Saturday, Amazon is running a one-day promotion that gives consumers who use Amazon’s Price Check app while shopping in a store a 5% discount (up to $5) on select items. Consumers can redeem the offer up to three times.
This offer -- luring shoppers from local stores to instead buy online via Amazon’s e-commerce site -- has been met with a bit of consumer backlash. Even so, it feels like a harbinger of a future retail landscape that’s divided in two: retail in categories where stores still matter and retail where they don’t.
Consumer Reaction: ‘Kind of Sleazy’
The Wall Street Journal’s AllThingsD blog was among the first to report on this story, and consumers were quick to react to what they saw as Amazon’s effort to intercept local shopping. Comments on the story included:
- “This seems unethical at best. Amazon is encouraging people to go into a store with no intention to buy, incurring costs for the retailer in staffing and wear and tear on store premises…. Kind of a sleazy move by Amazon.”
- “This is not about comparison shopping per se. Of course, I’m all for getting the best price. What I’m NOT a proponent of is giving my business to any retailer, online or brick-and-mortar, who blatantly scams to have their customers ‘spy’ for them, and try in the grander scheme of things to shut down the very business who contribute to the local economy.”
- “As a supporter of local small businesses, I find this appalling. But, hey, if you want do Amazon’s market research for them for a measly 5 bucks, feel free. Me, I’ll take my 5 bucks and funnel it into MY local economy….”
The Future of Retail: What Do Stores Do?
I completely understand these sentiments, but at the same time, one starts to wonder: For lower ticket, commoditized items, what value does a store really bring to a shopper?
With a maximum value of $5 off, Amazon is clearly targeting items in the under $50 range. And, for price check to work, the items need to be commonly available. For these commodity-type items, does a store add much (other than cost) to your purchase?
There’s a segment of the retail economy we think will ultimately move largely online. In these commoditized categories, stores don’t bring enough to the table to justify the cost they add. Once Amazon can deliver same day, one of the last reasons for running to the store to buy a low cost, common product will be gone.
Honestly, this end of e-commerce isn’t one that excites us much. Like any commodity market, it will be dominated by players with the scale to cut costs and offer the cheapest price. In this regard, Amazon and Wal-Mart aren’t so different.
At Blueport, we think the other end of e-commerce -- using the Internet to engage, rather than replace, local stores -- is a far more interesting space.
In the categories we commerce-enable -- furniture, appliances, flooring -- stores add a tremendous amount to the consumer experience. They offer expertise, a place to “touch and feel,” local delivery and installation, and ongoing service for big-ticket purchases. We use the Internet to drive sales for these local businesses with walk-in traffic, leads, and yes, e-commerce.
It’s an exciting segment to be in right now. Retailers in these categories have been slow to adopt e-commerce, mainly because they couldn’t see how the Amazon model could work for them. Now, big-ticket retailers are jumping into multichannel e-commerce with both feet. And, I suspect, they may be around far longer than some of their more commoditized counterparts.
Related posts:
- E-Commerce 2.0 -- The Next Wave
- Shopper Know-How and the Retail Ranaissance
- Will You Make Back Your Online Advertising Spend in Store Sales? Yes!
- Forrester's Online Retail Growth Forecast
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday -- How Did E-Commerce Do?
Friday, December 2, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Combined together, Thanksgiving Day's couch commerce, Black Friday's mobile shopping on the go and Cyber Monday’s work surfing all made the official opening to this year’s holiday shopping season quite the event. Numbers across the board have been record-setting, and both brick-and-mortar and online retailers are excited as this is just the start of the holiday shopping season.
Here’s a roundup of articles and blogs reporting on these successful online shopping days and what might come next:
Thanksgiving & Black Friday
TechCrunch – Thanksgiving Day Online Holiday Sales Up 39%; Mobile Shopping on the Rise: “As we heard a few weeks ago, retailers were expecting Thanksgiving Day to be a major online shopping day as more and more consumers are hitting their laptops, tablets and more to get a head start on sales in between Turkey time. It looks like early results point to the day being a profitable one for retailers. According to IBM’s Coremetrics retail data, online Thanksgiving 2011 sales were up 39 percent over Thanksgiving 2010.”
E-Commerce Times – E-Commerce Rings Up Boffo Black Friday: "Though Black Friday is typically the day shoppers make a beeline for the big box stores and malls, there were plenty of sweet e-commerce deals to be had, and shoppers swarmed online to snap them up. On Black Friday alone, $800 million in online spending occurred."
Business2Community – Black Friday Saw Strong Increases in Online & Mobile Sales: “As many could have predicted, consumers continued to turn to online and mobile to make purchases on Black Friday. And as it turned out, brands with a strong, integrated retail marketing strategy in place took the cake. According to IBM Smarter Commerce CSO, brands [that] came out on top were those [that] ‘delivered a smarter commerce experience with compelling, relevant deals that people could easily access from their channel of choice.’”
Cyber Monday
New York Daily News – Cyber Monday Sales Break Records, Soaring 33% As More Shoppers Do Their Holiday Buying on the Go: “Cyber Monday turned out to be a monster hit for retailers. On the heels of a supersized Black Friday, Cyber Monday broke the record for the most e-commerce sales ever, with sales rising a whopping 33%, according to IBM Benchmark.”
Wired – Cyber Monday Pays Off Big Time: “Cyber Monday, until last year the often over-hyped alter-ego of Black Friday, has not only broken over $1 billion for the second year in a row, but has seen last year’s billion and raised some. There was a time when the busiest online shopping day of the year was generally sometime closer to Christmas, when people were getting last-minute gift-shopping done. But now the race is on hours after Thanksgiving, in both the bricks-and-mortar and virtual worlds.”
E-Commerce Times – Cyber Monday Racks Up Impressive Gains: “So far, so good for e-commerce this holiday season. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw robust sales with surprising gains over last year's performance. Whether consumers will continue to spend beyond expectations, however, is questionable.”
Marketing Pilgrim – Cyber Monday Beats Black Friday: "Cyber Monday is over and the results are in. It’s a HIT! According to IBM Benchmark, Cyber Monday sales were up 33% over last year. The average order value also rose from $193.24 to $198.26. Unlike Black Friday, there were two peaks during the day, one at 11:05 PST and again late in the evening…. Except for the early morning hours, Cyber Monday beat the pants off online Black Friday buying to the tune of 29.3%."
Sign on San Diego – New Shopping Pattern Emerged on Cyber Monday: “The biggest surprise this Cyber Monday was that consumers didn't do most of their shopping at work, according to an IBM analysis of online activity. In the past, people would shop online mostly during the work day. But this year, they did a significant amount of shopping before and after normal commuting hours, using everything from PCs to laptops to iPads.”
Cyber Week & Beyond
ZippyCart – Cyber Week Off to a Successful Start: “Holiday shopping season 2011 got off to a great start with retailers reporting record-breaking Black Friday sales in both brick-and-mortar and online storefronts. According to research by comScore…online sales in the US surged on Black Friday and generated an estimated $816 million, up from $648 million last Black Friday…. The report released by comScore showed that ecommerce spending on Black Friday jumped 26% this year, even though researchers thought brick-and-mortar store deals would detract from the amount of consumers opting to shop online.”
Yahoo! Finance – Cyber Monday’s Unintended Consequences & Other Key Themes Emerging in Retail: “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us, it's time to move past the retail euphoria and look ahead to the sustainability of strong retail sales through the key holiday shopping season. The effects of this season's earlier sales onset and increased doorbuster openings is a must-watch situation moving forward, according to Sucharita Mulpuru, e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research…. ‘All of the research that we've seen is that when there is a really, really strong Cyber Monday and free shipping offers, what we see in the days that follow is some softening,’ Mulpuru says.”
UPI.com – Retailers Extend Cyber Monday Throughout Week: “Some U.S. online retailers extended Cyber Monday sales through the week as shoppers spent a projected $1.2 billion on the year's biggest online shopping day.”
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Here’s a roundup of articles and blogs reporting on these successful online shopping days and what might come next:
Thanksgiving & Black Friday
TechCrunch – Thanksgiving Day Online Holiday Sales Up 39%; Mobile Shopping on the Rise: “As we heard a few weeks ago, retailers were expecting Thanksgiving Day to be a major online shopping day as more and more consumers are hitting their laptops, tablets and more to get a head start on sales in between Turkey time. It looks like early results point to the day being a profitable one for retailers. According to IBM’s Coremetrics retail data, online Thanksgiving 2011 sales were up 39 percent over Thanksgiving 2010.”
E-Commerce Times – E-Commerce Rings Up Boffo Black Friday: "Though Black Friday is typically the day shoppers make a beeline for the big box stores and malls, there were plenty of sweet e-commerce deals to be had, and shoppers swarmed online to snap them up. On Black Friday alone, $800 million in online spending occurred."
Business2Community – Black Friday Saw Strong Increases in Online & Mobile Sales: “As many could have predicted, consumers continued to turn to online and mobile to make purchases on Black Friday. And as it turned out, brands with a strong, integrated retail marketing strategy in place took the cake. According to IBM Smarter Commerce CSO, brands [that] came out on top were those [that] ‘delivered a smarter commerce experience with compelling, relevant deals that people could easily access from their channel of choice.’”
Cyber Monday
New York Daily News – Cyber Monday Sales Break Records, Soaring 33% As More Shoppers Do Their Holiday Buying on the Go: “Cyber Monday turned out to be a monster hit for retailers. On the heels of a supersized Black Friday, Cyber Monday broke the record for the most e-commerce sales ever, with sales rising a whopping 33%, according to IBM Benchmark.”
Wired – Cyber Monday Pays Off Big Time: “Cyber Monday, until last year the often over-hyped alter-ego of Black Friday, has not only broken over $1 billion for the second year in a row, but has seen last year’s billion and raised some. There was a time when the busiest online shopping day of the year was generally sometime closer to Christmas, when people were getting last-minute gift-shopping done. But now the race is on hours after Thanksgiving, in both the bricks-and-mortar and virtual worlds.”
E-Commerce Times – Cyber Monday Racks Up Impressive Gains: “So far, so good for e-commerce this holiday season. Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw robust sales with surprising gains over last year's performance. Whether consumers will continue to spend beyond expectations, however, is questionable.”
Marketing Pilgrim – Cyber Monday Beats Black Friday: "Cyber Monday is over and the results are in. It’s a HIT! According to IBM Benchmark, Cyber Monday sales were up 33% over last year. The average order value also rose from $193.24 to $198.26. Unlike Black Friday, there were two peaks during the day, one at 11:05 PST and again late in the evening…. Except for the early morning hours, Cyber Monday beat the pants off online Black Friday buying to the tune of 29.3%."
Sign on San Diego – New Shopping Pattern Emerged on Cyber Monday: “The biggest surprise this Cyber Monday was that consumers didn't do most of their shopping at work, according to an IBM analysis of online activity. In the past, people would shop online mostly during the work day. But this year, they did a significant amount of shopping before and after normal commuting hours, using everything from PCs to laptops to iPads.”
Cyber Week & Beyond
ZippyCart – Cyber Week Off to a Successful Start: “Holiday shopping season 2011 got off to a great start with retailers reporting record-breaking Black Friday sales in both brick-and-mortar and online storefronts. According to research by comScore…online sales in the US surged on Black Friday and generated an estimated $816 million, up from $648 million last Black Friday…. The report released by comScore showed that ecommerce spending on Black Friday jumped 26% this year, even though researchers thought brick-and-mortar store deals would detract from the amount of consumers opting to shop online.”
Yahoo! Finance – Cyber Monday’s Unintended Consequences & Other Key Themes Emerging in Retail: “With Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us, it's time to move past the retail euphoria and look ahead to the sustainability of strong retail sales through the key holiday shopping season. The effects of this season's earlier sales onset and increased doorbuster openings is a must-watch situation moving forward, according to Sucharita Mulpuru, e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research…. ‘All of the research that we've seen is that when there is a really, really strong Cyber Monday and free shipping offers, what we see in the days that follow is some softening,’ Mulpuru says.”
UPI.com – Retailers Extend Cyber Monday Throughout Week: “Some U.S. online retailers extended Cyber Monday sales through the week as shoppers spent a projected $1.2 billion on the year's biggest online shopping day.”
Related posts:
- Big-Ticket E-Commerce Should Be Ready for the Holidays
- Holiday Emails Trump Social Media
- The Big Online Opportunity for Big-Ticket Retailers This Holiday Season
- 'Tis the Season for Multichannel Shopping
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Hyperlocal Beyond Marketing -- Think Localized E-Commerce!
Friday, November 11, 2011 by
Carl Prindle
Earlier this week, Forbes.com ran a guest post titled "The Benefits of Geolocation Marketing." It discusses how online marketing needs to be hyperlocal to appeal to an audience that prefers to make purchases close to home.
It’s a good read that makes some good points – particularly that 80% of consumers’ disposable income is spent on businesses within 10 miles of where they live, and that marketing needs to be location based to effectively influence this spending.
What struck me, however, was the opening sentence of the article. “The seeming ubiquity of e-commerce…masks a very contrarian reality,” the authors warn, “Most shopping is still local.” What a late-nineties view of e-commerce! People either buy via e-commerce or locally? These two ways to buy aren’t contrary in the least.
At Blueport, we’ve been hyperlocalizing e-commerce since the early 2000’s. In today’s world, both your online marketing and your e-commerce experience should be hyperlocal to best meet your shoppers’ – and your business’ – needs.
Localized E-Commerce
Consumers want to shop locally because they want trusted service from brands they know. They want to be able to talk to people, experience the merchandise, get local deals and have the instant gratification of having merchandise in their homes as soon as possible, delivered by someone who can provide service after the sale if needed. And with the right technology, even a large retailer can combine these powerful benefits of its local stores with the convenience of e-commerce.
We work with our retailers to help them sell big-ticket items on the Web. All of our sites reflect local markets – from hyperlocal selection, deals, delivery and service. It’s everything consumers like about local stores, effectively ported online so that consumers can conveniently research and buy our clients’ merchandise, knowing they’ll get the same local store experience they love – especially for big ticket purchases.
So yes, hyperlocal marketing is important. But viewing it only as a way to drive people into stores misses a huge opportunity. Hyperlocalizing both your online marketing and your e-commerce presence ensures the best of what your stores have to offer is leveraged where today’s consumer can be found – online.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
It’s a good read that makes some good points – particularly that 80% of consumers’ disposable income is spent on businesses within 10 miles of where they live, and that marketing needs to be location based to effectively influence this spending.
What struck me, however, was the opening sentence of the article. “The seeming ubiquity of e-commerce…masks a very contrarian reality,” the authors warn, “Most shopping is still local.” What a late-nineties view of e-commerce! People either buy via e-commerce or locally? These two ways to buy aren’t contrary in the least.
At Blueport, we’ve been hyperlocalizing e-commerce since the early 2000’s. In today’s world, both your online marketing and your e-commerce experience should be hyperlocal to best meet your shoppers’ – and your business’ – needs.
Localized E-Commerce
Consumers want to shop locally because they want trusted service from brands they know. They want to be able to talk to people, experience the merchandise, get local deals and have the instant gratification of having merchandise in their homes as soon as possible, delivered by someone who can provide service after the sale if needed. And with the right technology, even a large retailer can combine these powerful benefits of its local stores with the convenience of e-commerce.
We work with our retailers to help them sell big-ticket items on the Web. All of our sites reflect local markets – from hyperlocal selection, deals, delivery and service. It’s everything consumers like about local stores, effectively ported online so that consumers can conveniently research and buy our clients’ merchandise, knowing they’ll get the same local store experience they love – especially for big ticket purchases.
So yes, hyperlocal marketing is important. But viewing it only as a way to drive people into stores misses a huge opportunity. Hyperlocalizing both your online marketing and your e-commerce presence ensures the best of what your stores have to offer is leveraged where today’s consumer can be found – online.
Related posts:
- Online Advertising: Now Delivering Local Shoppers -- Is Your Website Ready for Them?
- Will You Make Back Your Online Advertising Spend in Store Sales? Yes!
- Consistency Is Key in This Multichannel Retail World
- E-Commerce Logistics and the Element of Localization
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
E-Commerce Shopping Sites vs. Social Sites
Friday, November 4, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Last month, Performics, a global marketing performance company, conducted its Social Shopping Study, which examined how 1,000 people interact with social, shopping and deal websites. The study had some interesting findings:
Related posts:
- Men are more likely to visit company/brand/product pages on social sites as part of their purchase decision-making process.
- Women are more likely to interact with a company/brand/product page after purchasing.
- When examining a range of shopping activities (including finding specials and deals, product reviews, product information, product comparisons), consumers choose e-commerce shopping sites as their go-to destination.
- Only 46% of those who responded will look to social networking sites while in a store on a website, but 55% will go to a shopping site in that instance.
- When consumers do consult social networks for advice before making a purchase, 60% wait no more than 10 minutes.
Related posts:
- New Insights on How Consumers Research Products and Shop Online
- Get Your E-Commerce Site Ready for Daily Deals
- Can Groupon Work for Big-Ticket Items?
- 5 Ways for Online Retailers to Be a Little Fab
- Could Branded Social Games Increase Your E-Commerce Conversions?
Luxury Websites: If You Don’t Have E-Commerce, Why Not?
Friday, October 28, 2011 by
Morgan Woodruff
Many luxury brands have been slow to cultivate their online presence, and even slower to integrate e-commerce capabilities. They seemed to think that the mass appeal and convenience of online shopping would dilute the value and prestige of their brands or that consumers would not be willing to pay big-ticket prices via the Web. This has been proven wrong, as research shows that wealthy people shop online more frequently and spend more per transaction. As of late, many luxury retailers have come around to see the value of the Internet for driving sales, and, even more, the value in allowing customers to transact on an e-commerce site.
According to a recent study by PM Digital, 81% of the luxury websites surveyed now have e-commerce, and the sites with e-commerce get 98% of the traffic that goes to these luxury sites. About a third of this traffic comes from search engines, and there is very little cross traffic, since luxury shoppers are very loyal to their brands. Surprisingly, only a very small amount of luxury brands’ traffic (0.29%) comes from luxury daily deals sites, like Gilt Groupe, ideeli and RueLaLa.
What Makes Luxury E-Commerce Successful?
When selling big-ticket luxury items online, however, it’s not as simple as using a plug-and-play e-commerce solution. Luxury brand customers expect a high-end boutique experience whether in-person or online. Here are some aspects to consider when selling luxury via e-commerce:
According to a recent study by PM Digital, 81% of the luxury websites surveyed now have e-commerce, and the sites with e-commerce get 98% of the traffic that goes to these luxury sites. About a third of this traffic comes from search engines, and there is very little cross traffic, since luxury shoppers are very loyal to their brands. Surprisingly, only a very small amount of luxury brands’ traffic (0.29%) comes from luxury daily deals sites, like Gilt Groupe, ideeli and RueLaLa.
What Makes Luxury E-Commerce Successful?
When selling big-ticket luxury items online, however, it’s not as simple as using a plug-and-play e-commerce solution. Luxury brand customers expect a high-end boutique experience whether in-person or online. Here are some aspects to consider when selling luxury via e-commerce:
- You need to provide rich product descriptions. The more expensive an item is, the more information the consumer will want you to provide.
- Offer exceptional customer service, getting as close to what you offer in-store with a personal shopper. On the Web, that translates to online chat.
- The entire online shopping experience should be like going into one of your boutiques. Craft a strong welcome message on your home page. And then as customers drill down into products, allow them to zoom in on the images or even watch product videos – the goal is for them to handle the product, virtually.
Big-Ticket E-Commerce Should Be Ready for the Holidays
Friday, October 14, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
There was a time when some big-ticket retailers didn’t think they could cash in on the holiday shopping season, let alone such e-commerce-fueled events as Cyber Monday. But then again, there was also a time when no one expected anyone to buy anything online and computers filled entire rooms.
Whether it’s a push from e-commerce or the trend that holiday shopping starts earlier and earlier, we’ve found that big-ticket merchants, like furniture stores, which had traditionally been slow over the holidays, have been able to share in some of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday cheer.
At first, we would ask our clients what their plans were for these major dates on retail calendars, and they would often tell us they had nothing special planned. But slowly, we helped them to turn these potentially down days into big sellers with special events. For example, one of our clients began with a special Thanksgiving Day offer. It wouldn’t compete with stores, so what would be the worst that could happen? And it worked!
From exclusive email offers to Black Friday doorbusters and Christmas Day specials, our retail clients have been able to boost their fourth quarter sales. One client now mirrors the types of deals you see in retailers across the country with 12 days of deals leading up to Christmas; the big difference is our retailer is selling bigger ticket items like furniture and appliances as well as some electronics – and all three categories perform well.
So whether your big-ticket business can benefit from consumers being poised to spend over the holidays or you can take advantage of shoppers looking for great deals and not just gifts, holiday-timed offers can be a gift to your bottom line.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Whether it’s a push from e-commerce or the trend that holiday shopping starts earlier and earlier, we’ve found that big-ticket merchants, like furniture stores, which had traditionally been slow over the holidays, have been able to share in some of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday cheer.
At first, we would ask our clients what their plans were for these major dates on retail calendars, and they would often tell us they had nothing special planned. But slowly, we helped them to turn these potentially down days into big sellers with special events. For example, one of our clients began with a special Thanksgiving Day offer. It wouldn’t compete with stores, so what would be the worst that could happen? And it worked!
From exclusive email offers to Black Friday doorbusters and Christmas Day specials, our retail clients have been able to boost their fourth quarter sales. One client now mirrors the types of deals you see in retailers across the country with 12 days of deals leading up to Christmas; the big difference is our retailer is selling bigger ticket items like furniture and appliances as well as some electronics – and all three categories perform well.
So whether your big-ticket business can benefit from consumers being poised to spend over the holidays or you can take advantage of shoppers looking for great deals and not just gifts, holiday-timed offers can be a gift to your bottom line.
Related posts:
- Holiday Emails Trump Social Media
- The Big Online Opportunity for Big-Ticket Retailers This Holiday Season
- 'Tis the Season for Multichannel Shopping
- Keep Your E-Commerce Site on Target and Avoid Outages
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Why E-Commerce Should Be Fired Up About Kindle Fire
Friday, October 7, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
On the first day of preorders, 95,000 units of the Kindle Fire were sold. With the product’s release set for November 15th, this all equals a lot of people sitting on the couch after a filling turkey dinner, thumbing through apps and browsing the web on their shiny new tablets.
The release of the new Kindle Fire just in time for some of the busiest e-commerce shopping days of the year (Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday), could mean some extra business for online retailers.
According to a survey from the Ponemon Institute, 12% of heavy web-using consumers plan to use their tablets for holiday shopping, and a third of them say their e-commerce purchases will exceed their purchases in stores. And retailers also report that purchases from tablets can be as much as 20% larger than average orders from other devices.
Tablets tend to be great for e-commerce for a number of reasons: the screen size, the presentation (much like an old-school catalog) and the portability. With the Kindle Fire comes affordability, relatively speaking, as well.
There are many who think it is the profile of the tablet owner, rather than the tablet itself, that is responsible for more e-commerce conversions. But with the Kindle Fire’s $199 price tag, the demographic of tablet users could shift. Whether their buying habits do remains to be seen.
Related posts:
The release of the new Kindle Fire just in time for some of the busiest e-commerce shopping days of the year (Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday), could mean some extra business for online retailers.
According to a survey from the Ponemon Institute, 12% of heavy web-using consumers plan to use their tablets for holiday shopping, and a third of them say their e-commerce purchases will exceed their purchases in stores. And retailers also report that purchases from tablets can be as much as 20% larger than average orders from other devices.
Tablets tend to be great for e-commerce for a number of reasons: the screen size, the presentation (much like an old-school catalog) and the portability. With the Kindle Fire comes affordability, relatively speaking, as well.
There are many who think it is the profile of the tablet owner, rather than the tablet itself, that is responsible for more e-commerce conversions. But with the Kindle Fire’s $199 price tag, the demographic of tablet users could shift. Whether their buying habits do remains to be seen.
Related posts:
- "T-Commerce" Reinvented As iPads Reshape Multichannel Retail
- Retail E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2011
- A Big Screen for Big-Ticket: In Defense of the iPad
- Square Register Lets Retailers Play with the iPad Too
5 Tips for Handling Inventory Stock Information on E-Commerce Sites
Friday, September 30, 2011 by
Carl Prindle
“I always remember that it costs a lot to get people in a store…and takes very little to convince them not to come back.”
This quote was from a recent Practical Ecommerce article about inventory stock status on e-commerce websites. The consumer who is quoted had a very bad experience shopping online. He tried to purchase the discontinued HP TouchPad once it went on sale for $99 (originally $399).
Like him, many other shoppers went online to make the same purchase, and, like him, many were successful – at least in placing an order and having their credit cards charged. Unfortunately, the stores oversold, and instead of getting their new tablets, these consumers received emails apologizing for unexpected demand and saying that their orders would be cancelled.
It’s remarkable that the massive players mentioned in the article still have this issue, especially selling a fairly simple item that, if in stock, is easy to fulfill. The resulting outrage points to how high consumers’ expectations have become in the area of fulfillment.
Blueport’s focus is meeting these high expectations, even in the toughest logistical categories. When you’re browsing our sites, you’re seeing real-time local inventory. If you order a sofa, you know it’s in stock and when you’ll get it – often as soon as tomorrow and for a very low delivery price. What Amazon has done for UPSable items, we’re doing for sofas, appliances, large electrics and more.
Regardless of what you’re selling online, the article concludes with a few excellent suggestions:
The overarching theme here is to be straightforward with your customers about the merchandise you have on your website. You could potentially miss a sale or two today, but the long-lasting result of creating a trusting relationship between customers and your e-commerce site can be priceless, especially in categories that are difficult to fulfill.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
This quote was from a recent Practical Ecommerce article about inventory stock status on e-commerce websites. The consumer who is quoted had a very bad experience shopping online. He tried to purchase the discontinued HP TouchPad once it went on sale for $99 (originally $399).
Like him, many other shoppers went online to make the same purchase, and, like him, many were successful – at least in placing an order and having their credit cards charged. Unfortunately, the stores oversold, and instead of getting their new tablets, these consumers received emails apologizing for unexpected demand and saying that their orders would be cancelled.
It’s remarkable that the massive players mentioned in the article still have this issue, especially selling a fairly simple item that, if in stock, is easy to fulfill. The resulting outrage points to how high consumers’ expectations have become in the area of fulfillment.
Blueport’s focus is meeting these high expectations, even in the toughest logistical categories. When you’re browsing our sites, you’re seeing real-time local inventory. If you order a sofa, you know it’s in stock and when you’ll get it – often as soon as tomorrow and for a very low delivery price. What Amazon has done for UPSable items, we’re doing for sofas, appliances, large electrics and more.
Regardless of what you’re selling online, the article concludes with a few excellent suggestions:
- Be up-front about product availability.
- Communicate when inventory is low – it might even help you sell the item.
- Be clear about any stock disclosure policies you have in place to protect yourself.
- Explain who is fulfilling the orders for your product.
- And should you a sell a customer an item that is no longer stock, take care of the problem: Let the customer know you are sorry, explain what happened, and then offer a discount toward a future purchase. Do not automatically add the customer to your email list for marketing promotions.
The overarching theme here is to be straightforward with your customers about the merchandise you have on your website. You could potentially miss a sale or two today, but the long-lasting result of creating a trusting relationship between customers and your e-commerce site can be priceless, especially in categories that are difficult to fulfill.
Related posts:
- Keep Your E-Commerce Site on Target and Avoid Outages
- How Does Your E-Commerce Shopping Software Manage Stock-Outs?
- Shopper Know-How and the Retail Renaissance
- Online Expectations, Offline Experience
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Online Expectations, Offline Experience
Friday, August 26, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
PSFK, the self-proclaimed “go-to resource for new ideas and inspiration for creative professionals,” recently released its 2011 Future of Retail report, which explores the new trends driving the industry. This year, the focus is on the use of technology and how it will revitalize retail stores, both on and offline.
The study outlines three emerging megatrends:
Online Expectations, Offline Experience
For this megatrend, PSFK identified three smaller trends:
In a future blog post, we’ll take a closer look at more of the underlying trends from this report.
Related posts:
The study outlines three emerging megatrends:
- Online Expectations, Offline Experience
- Shopper Know-How
- Refined Retail Cartography
Online Expectations, Offline Experience
For this megatrend, PSFK identified three smaller trends:
- Digitally empowered staff: We’ve posted on this blog about the power of the iPad for retail. This trend is all about giving staff access to additional product information and real-time inventory – information we think are important components of an item’s product page on any e-commerce website. Having this information right at salespeople’s fingertips will allow them to spend more time selling and assisting customers by locating or ordering items.
- In-stories: In-stories give customers access to additional product information in an entertaining manner. Including QR codes in your bricks-and-mortar store could allow customers to conduct the additional research on products that you want them to. Why not allow them to access your e-commerce site’s user reviews?
- Scanned shoppers: This trend is all about interactive technology entering the store to help customers make purchasing decisions, such as what they should make for dinner or what size to get a specific shirt in. We’ve seen some of these types of tools exist on stores’ websites. Customers crave this interactivity everywhere.
- Gesture-based browsing: Gesture-based browsing allows customers to interact with a display via non-contact movement (think Kinect). Such displays will pull customers into the store and the shopping experience. In addition to providing an entertaining experience, it also gives the store information on how the consumer navigates through the display and what the consumer ultimately chooses.
In a future blog post, we’ll take a closer look at more of the underlying trends from this report.
Related posts:
- Consistency Is Key in This Multichannel World
- E-Commerce Is About More Than Online Shopping: Think Digital Marketing
- E-Commerce 2.0 - the Next Wave
- Marketing to the Smarter Consumer
The Economy May Be Looking Down, But E-Commerce Sales Keep Looking Up
Friday, August 19, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
According to comScore’s State of the US Online Retail Economy in Q2 2011, despite an increased consumer perception that the economy is getting worse, Q2 e-commerce spending was up 14% YOY. Here are some interesting findings from the recent report:
Online Shopping
E-commerce sales growth is growing at double the rate of total retail sales growth, indicating that consumers are shifting from shopping in-store to buying online. The number of online shoppers increased 16% YOY for Q2 – there are now 170 million people shopping online.
Big-ticket items like furniture, appliances and equipment have shown moderate growth of 5% to 9% YOY for Q2.
Cutting Back on Spending
Because of their economic concerns, consumers are looking to save. They are now switching brands, shopping only when items are on sale, looking for deals online and going to different retailers in order to spend less.
Get Smart About Smartphones
The number of consumers using their smartphones to browse retail content in some form is now at 78 million. 22% of smartphone owners say they have made purchases via their smartphones, 50% have used their phones to find nearby stores and 40% have used their smartphones while in a store. The top reasons for using the smartphone in-store? To compare prices or to compare an item to other items not available in the store. 36% of consumers who abandon in-store purchases after using their smartphones end up buying online instead.
Social Media Matters
Overall, retailers not taking full advantage of the opportunity social media presents. For example, retail ads only make up 15.4% of the display ads on social networking sites.
If you are looking to expand your social media presence, comScore offers insight on Facebook: Once consumers like a page, they are very unlikely to return to that page. Facebook users spend the majority of their time on the newsfeed, so what and how you post will account for much of their interactions with your brand. Fans and their Facebook friends who are exposed to your brand on Facebook via advertising and status posts have a much higher brand engagement, which includes visiting your e-commerce website.
Related posts:Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Online Shopping
E-commerce sales growth is growing at double the rate of total retail sales growth, indicating that consumers are shifting from shopping in-store to buying online. The number of online shoppers increased 16% YOY for Q2 – there are now 170 million people shopping online.
Big-ticket items like furniture, appliances and equipment have shown moderate growth of 5% to 9% YOY for Q2.
Cutting Back on Spending
Because of their economic concerns, consumers are looking to save. They are now switching brands, shopping only when items are on sale, looking for deals online and going to different retailers in order to spend less.
Get Smart About Smartphones
The number of consumers using their smartphones to browse retail content in some form is now at 78 million. 22% of smartphone owners say they have made purchases via their smartphones, 50% have used their phones to find nearby stores and 40% have used their smartphones while in a store. The top reasons for using the smartphone in-store? To compare prices or to compare an item to other items not available in the store. 36% of consumers who abandon in-store purchases after using their smartphones end up buying online instead.
Social Media Matters
Overall, retailers not taking full advantage of the opportunity social media presents. For example, retail ads only make up 15.4% of the display ads on social networking sites.
If you are looking to expand your social media presence, comScore offers insight on Facebook: Once consumers like a page, they are very unlikely to return to that page. Facebook users spend the majority of their time on the newsfeed, so what and how you post will account for much of their interactions with your brand. Fans and their Facebook friends who are exposed to your brand on Facebook via advertising and status posts have a much higher brand engagement, which includes visiting your e-commerce website.
Related posts:Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Can Groupon Work for Big-Ticket Items?
Friday, July 29, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Earlier this month, when Groupon’s first big-ticket deal for $199 for $500 toward a new car at a Detroit area dealership failed, it didn’t only make for amusing headlines (“Groupon Hits the Skids,” for example). It also got people asking whether the daily deal model can work for big-ticket items.
As a company that provides the technology and services to help its clients localize big-ticket retail online, Blueport Commerce takes the stance that daily deals can work for big-ticket items if executed correctly. The Groupon car deal was not.
Why Conventional Daily Deals Work
Daily deals are so popular, because they are great deals. Groupon’s subscribers expect a significant discount on the goods or service being sold. Half off a dinner? Wonderful, and I’ve been meaning to try new places!
So far, successful daily deals have been somewhat simple and often for items subscribers were likely to spend money on anyway. Salon services at 70% off? Well, I do need a haircut anyway.
Lastly, the offer is usually concrete. I will pay X and get Y. Any variables in what I spend beyond what I paid for the Groupon are easily in my control.
So What Was Wrong with the Automotive Offer?
The offer was to buy $500 that could then be used toward a new car. A quick look at the dealer’s website has cars starting around $16,000. So someone who bought the deal is only getting at most a few percent off his final purchase.
Among the things that makes daily deals so successful is the easy spontaneity of it all. You only have a short amount of time to choose this deal, and then it’s gone. But it takes people some time to research a purchase like a car.
A recent article from The Atlantic, points out that one issue with this deal is that car price is negotiable. The piece quotes Ben Edelman, an associate professor at Harvard Business School as telling Reuters: “This voucher is for a very small portion of the cost of a car or lease, so it’s basically an agreement to buy or lease a car from LaFontaine. That’s poor negotiating because the dealer could take advantage f that by offering the same car for more money. They (Groupon) need to fix that before this part of the model can take off.”
The Big-Ticket Daily Deal Challenge
Many folks are saying that daily deals won’t work for big-ticket items. Perhaps these are the same people who years ago told us that consumers would not buy furniture online. But people do buy furniture and other big-ticket items online, so eventually daily deals in this arena could take off.
Our client The RoomPlace actually did a successful daily deal with LivingSocial not too long ago. The offer was $150 worth of furniture for $75. This worked because even though the offer was for big-ticket items like furniture, consumers could choose from a large price range and could choose whether they purchase something solely for the face value of the deal or use it toward a larger purchase.
Big-ticket retailers can look to daily deal sites, or create their own, in order to drum up business. For great results, they need to turn their big-ticket deal into something that is concrete for users. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
As a company that provides the technology and services to help its clients localize big-ticket retail online, Blueport Commerce takes the stance that daily deals can work for big-ticket items if executed correctly. The Groupon car deal was not.
Why Conventional Daily Deals Work
Daily deals are so popular, because they are great deals. Groupon’s subscribers expect a significant discount on the goods or service being sold. Half off a dinner? Wonderful, and I’ve been meaning to try new places!
So far, successful daily deals have been somewhat simple and often for items subscribers were likely to spend money on anyway. Salon services at 70% off? Well, I do need a haircut anyway.
Lastly, the offer is usually concrete. I will pay X and get Y. Any variables in what I spend beyond what I paid for the Groupon are easily in my control.
So What Was Wrong with the Automotive Offer?
The offer was to buy $500 that could then be used toward a new car. A quick look at the dealer’s website has cars starting around $16,000. So someone who bought the deal is only getting at most a few percent off his final purchase.
Among the things that makes daily deals so successful is the easy spontaneity of it all. You only have a short amount of time to choose this deal, and then it’s gone. But it takes people some time to research a purchase like a car.
A recent article from The Atlantic, points out that one issue with this deal is that car price is negotiable. The piece quotes Ben Edelman, an associate professor at Harvard Business School as telling Reuters: “This voucher is for a very small portion of the cost of a car or lease, so it’s basically an agreement to buy or lease a car from LaFontaine. That’s poor negotiating because the dealer could take advantage f that by offering the same car for more money. They (Groupon) need to fix that before this part of the model can take off.”
The Big-Ticket Daily Deal Challenge
Many folks are saying that daily deals won’t work for big-ticket items. Perhaps these are the same people who years ago told us that consumers would not buy furniture online. But people do buy furniture and other big-ticket items online, so eventually daily deals in this arena could take off.
Our client The RoomPlace actually did a successful daily deal with LivingSocial not too long ago. The offer was $150 worth of furniture for $75. This worked because even though the offer was for big-ticket items like furniture, consumers could choose from a large price range and could choose whether they purchase something solely for the face value of the deal or use it toward a larger purchase.
Big-ticket retailers can look to daily deal sites, or create their own, in order to drum up business. For great results, they need to turn their big-ticket deal into something that is concrete for users. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Be sure that a consumer could leave your store or website with an item or service for the value of the deal.
- Consider offering a specific item at a steep discount rather than following the voucher model.
- Once the consumer cashes in on the deal, be sure you do what you can to keep in touch, such as offering an at-register email sign-up or customer survey.
- Get Your E-Commerce Website Ready for Daily Deals
- E-commerce 2.0 – The Next Wave
- When It Comes to the Newest Technology, Set Objectives First
- Online Advertising: Now Delivering Local Shoppers -- Is Your Website Ready for Them?
- See, Like, Buy - Capitalizing on Group Buying and Facebook This Holiday Season
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
What Retailers Can Learn from Netflix’s Big Multichannel Mistake
Friday, July 22, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Last week, Netflix announced a change in its subscription plans and their cost structure. The news was met by anger from many of its customers. In an Econsultancy blog post, Patricio Robles summed up the misstep: “At the end of the day, Netflix is making the same mistake many publishers are: It's hoping to charge consumers by the channel. Want to watch movies on DVD? You have to pay for that. Want to stream movies over the Internet? You have to pay for that separately.”
This forces customers to choose between the two methods, which, from the pricing, Netflix proposes are equal. But with the discrepancy in the number of titles available in the DVD library versus the streaming library, consumers disagree and are enraged.
This is another case, where the retailer is seeing the business differently than the consumers who ultimately foot the bill. And in this economy, consumers will not pay for something unless they see the value – no matter how loyal they have been to the company until now.
Your customers expect a consistent experience with your brand, no matter how they are accessing it, whether in person, on your e-commerce site, or even elsewhere on the Web, like your Facebook page or Twitter account. And your customers expect you to be available in these different venues so they can interact with your brand on their own terms. At Blueport, we work with our clients to be sure the messages customers see online are what they would see in-store, from consistent local pricing to real-time availability.
Related posts:
This forces customers to choose between the two methods, which, from the pricing, Netflix proposes are equal. But with the discrepancy in the number of titles available in the DVD library versus the streaming library, consumers disagree and are enraged.
This is another case, where the retailer is seeing the business differently than the consumers who ultimately foot the bill. And in this economy, consumers will not pay for something unless they see the value – no matter how loyal they have been to the company until now.
Your customers expect a consistent experience with your brand, no matter how they are accessing it, whether in person, on your e-commerce site, or even elsewhere on the Web, like your Facebook page or Twitter account. And your customers expect you to be available in these different venues so they can interact with your brand on their own terms. At Blueport, we work with our clients to be sure the messages customers see online are what they would see in-store, from consistent local pricing to real-time availability.
Related posts:
- Consistency Is Key in This Multichannel Retail World
- Marketing to the Smarter Consumer
- Cross Channel Commerce: How The Home Depot 'Gets It'
- 5 Ideas to Help Multichannel Retailers Beat Big Internet Discount Sites
- Online Advertising: Now Delivering Local Shoppers -- Is Your Website Ready for Them?
Online Advertising: Now Delivering Local
Shoppers -- Is Your Website Ready for Them?
Friday, July 8, 2011 by
Carl Prindle
According to a recent eMarketer article, 90% of national ad agencies have clients asking for geographically targeted online ad campaigns. Daily deal sites, like Groupon, and mobile check-in sites, like foursquare, are hot because they can deliver local shoppers.
Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said location was key in helping national brands reach their target audiences, and more than 50% said the ROI on geographically targeted ads is higher. It makes sense -- if you’re looking to buy a new sofa in Chicago, would you be drawn to an ad about stylish sofas or one about stylish sofas in Chicago?
Local advertising brings what the consumer is looking for that much closer. Local means you can see it in a store; maybe get a local deal; and get it quickly and cheaply (and even get service if you have to).
But is your ecommerce platform ready for local shopping? Very few are.
Local Commerce Makes Good on Local Advertising
Remember the early days of ecommerce, which promised to “Amazon” everything? Stores were to become obsolete, and as a result, most ecommerce platforms were built as national channels, designed to bypass local stores entirely.
That’s a real problem for most bricks-and-mortar retailers. The promise of a local ad falls flat when a customer clicks to a homogenized, national website.
To monetize local ads, you need to provide your customers a complete location-based experience that delivers on the ad’s local promise. A landing page isn’t enough -- you need to deliver local online shopping.
At Blueport Commerce, we enable local online shopping experiences for our clients. Blueport’s clients present localized content to their shoppers based on location, including merchandise trends, selection and availability, in-store inventory and pick up, local pricing and deals, fast, cheap local delivery, and even “About Us” pages, managed by stores, and that can speak to a local store’s place in a community.
It’s seamless cross-channel shopping between online and a local store, and it dramatically improves the already impressive ROI of local online advertising.
Your customers are ready for a complete local commerce experience -- are you?
Related posts:Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Seventy-five percent of survey respondents said location was key in helping national brands reach their target audiences, and more than 50% said the ROI on geographically targeted ads is higher. It makes sense -- if you’re looking to buy a new sofa in Chicago, would you be drawn to an ad about stylish sofas or one about stylish sofas in Chicago?
Local advertising brings what the consumer is looking for that much closer. Local means you can see it in a store; maybe get a local deal; and get it quickly and cheaply (and even get service if you have to).
But is your ecommerce platform ready for local shopping? Very few are.
Local Commerce Makes Good on Local Advertising
Remember the early days of ecommerce, which promised to “Amazon” everything? Stores were to become obsolete, and as a result, most ecommerce platforms were built as national channels, designed to bypass local stores entirely.
That’s a real problem for most bricks-and-mortar retailers. The promise of a local ad falls flat when a customer clicks to a homogenized, national website.
To monetize local ads, you need to provide your customers a complete location-based experience that delivers on the ad’s local promise. A landing page isn’t enough -- you need to deliver local online shopping.
At Blueport Commerce, we enable local online shopping experiences for our clients. Blueport’s clients present localized content to their shoppers based on location, including merchandise trends, selection and availability, in-store inventory and pick up, local pricing and deals, fast, cheap local delivery, and even “About Us” pages, managed by stores, and that can speak to a local store’s place in a community.
It’s seamless cross-channel shopping between online and a local store, and it dramatically improves the already impressive ROI of local online advertising.
Your customers are ready for a complete local commerce experience -- are you?
Related posts:Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Consistency Is Key in This Multichannel Retail World
Friday, July 1, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
We’ve all read the news – most likely on a tablet or e-reader of choice – that brick-and-mortar bookstores are closing left and right as their electronic counterparts comparably flourish. But recently, I needed a book.
As do many shoppers, I began with online research. I went straight to a major book retailers’ website and located the title. I was disappointed that I could no longer order the book online for in-store pickup or even find out if my local store had the book in stock. But I could locate the closest store, which took some doing in light of the above-mentioned closings.
In-store, the item was priced 30% more than on the retailer’s website. The manager explained it was for the convenience of coming into the store, and no, it’s not confusing, because the company gets the money either way. I left unlikely to buy from the store or the e-commerce site again.
A Seamless Experience Between Online and In-Store
Of all the retail categories to know the right way to sell in a multichannel retail environment, you would expect books to have it mastered. After all, e-commerce began with bookselling.
Seeing where the book retailer got it wrong, while we here at Blueport are able to get it right as we help our retailers sell big-ticket items online, reminded me of just how new e-commerce and getting different retail channels to work together is.
But consumers are ready, and delivering a consistent experience between all of your retail channels is a must, particularly for considered purchases like furniture and appliances. This is why we tie into our retailers’ existing systems to show their customers consistent local pricing, real-time availability and a way to see the items in a store or to order online. We allow our retailers to give their customers control, so they can get the information they need, whenever and however they want it.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
As do many shoppers, I began with online research. I went straight to a major book retailers’ website and located the title. I was disappointed that I could no longer order the book online for in-store pickup or even find out if my local store had the book in stock. But I could locate the closest store, which took some doing in light of the above-mentioned closings.
In-store, the item was priced 30% more than on the retailer’s website. The manager explained it was for the convenience of coming into the store, and no, it’s not confusing, because the company gets the money either way. I left unlikely to buy from the store or the e-commerce site again.
A Seamless Experience Between Online and In-Store
Of all the retail categories to know the right way to sell in a multichannel retail environment, you would expect books to have it mastered. After all, e-commerce began with bookselling.
Seeing where the book retailer got it wrong, while we here at Blueport are able to get it right as we help our retailers sell big-ticket items online, reminded me of just how new e-commerce and getting different retail channels to work together is.
But consumers are ready, and delivering a consistent experience between all of your retail channels is a must, particularly for considered purchases like furniture and appliances. This is why we tie into our retailers’ existing systems to show their customers consistent local pricing, real-time availability and a way to see the items in a store or to order online. We allow our retailers to give their customers control, so they can get the information they need, whenever and however they want it.
Related posts:
- 5 Ideas to Help Multichannel Retailers Beat Big Internet Discount Sites
- Cross Channel Commerce: How The Home Depot Gets It
- E-Commerce CRM Becomes More Meaningful in a Multichannel, Social World
- Multichannel Communication: A Marketer's Dream or Nightmare?
- E-Commerce Marketing: Multichannel Analysis Is a Must!
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
New Insights on How Consumers Research Products and Shop Online
Friday, June 24, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
We’ve already written about today’s smarter consumers, but a new study from PowerReviews, a Blueport Commerce partner, and the e-tailing group takes a closer look at how today’s sophisticated online shoppers use a variety of tools to research items before buying.
Of the 1,000 consumers surveyed, 70% research their purchases for at least a day before taking action. A ZippyCart piece also covering this survey offers this insight: “one reason for this longer-term research…could be the fact that most online purchases are for bigger-ticket items (TVs, other consumer electronics, etc.).”
Unsurprisingly, most of those surveyed said they begin their online shopping either at a search engine or a major retailer’s website. And 90% said product reviews had the biggest impact on their decision to buy.
At this point, only a third of respondents use social media sites, like Facebook, for researching products and instead look to them to find deals. But consumers are using their mobile phones to search for product ratings and reviews from within physical stores.
How Does This Change Your E-Commerce Business?
While these insights may not change how you run your e-commerce store, it does give you a few things to continue to focus on or try out. Including:
Of the 1,000 consumers surveyed, 70% research their purchases for at least a day before taking action. A ZippyCart piece also covering this survey offers this insight: “one reason for this longer-term research…could be the fact that most online purchases are for bigger-ticket items (TVs, other consumer electronics, etc.).”
Unsurprisingly, most of those surveyed said they begin their online shopping either at a search engine or a major retailer’s website. And 90% said product reviews had the biggest impact on their decision to buy.
At this point, only a third of respondents use social media sites, like Facebook, for researching products and instead look to them to find deals. But consumers are using their mobile phones to search for product ratings and reviews from within physical stores.
How Does This Change Your E-Commerce Business?
While these insights may not change how you run your e-commerce store, it does give you a few things to continue to focus on or try out. Including:
- Retargeting advertising: If consumers are spending more time online researching, retargeting allows you to keep your brand in front of them during their time online.
- Search engine optimization: SEO comes down to content creation. Be sure you have unique, helpful content on your product pages and consider branching out and creating content to help users buy your products. These tactics will aid consumers in their research and you in your search engine rankings.
- Product ratings and reviews: This is just another form of content, which will help with SEO and informing your customers. And even better, since ratings and reviews come from their peers, consumers trust them.
- Retailers, Meet the XTreme Shopper
- 3 Reasons Why Quality Content Could Be Your Key to E-Commerce Success
- Retail E-Commerce Trends to Watch in 2011
- Facebook's Role in Social Shopping
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Could Branded Social Games Increase Your E-Commerce Conversions?
Friday, June 10, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
Social gamers are a very attractive audience for e-commerce merchants. An eMarketer report projects that 68.7 million Internet users will play at least one social game per month by 2012. And according to GigaOM, 55% of social gamers in the US are women with an average age of 48 years old; 38% of those women play social games multiple times a day. Retailers selling big-ticket, highly considered products know that this profile aligns with the consumers who possess the income and decision-making power to buy.
Social Games and E-Commerce Conversion Today
As with many aspects of social media marketing, social gaming’s e-commerce conversions are not necessarily as high as merchants would hope. The accepted approach is to cast a very wide net to compensate for the low conversion rate. Often, consumers are much more interested in playing Bejeweled for free, and the advertising is just secondary noise on the screen.
Could Branded Games Perform Better for E-Commerce?
Some companies are looking to use branded social games to cash in on the medium. HSN, or Home Shopping Network, has added social games to its e-commerce site, allowing players to post and share scores on Facebook. Two of the games have direct product tie-ins, including a jigsaw puzzle of an item that’s only on sale for 24 hours. All HSN's games will show a steady stream of featured products playing alongside them.
Other companies have created their own games to create brand awareness, like Purina’s Purina Pet Resort on Facebook or VinTank’s multiplatform VinPass, which aims to help wineries connect with consumers. Marriott has gotten in the game with its own version of FarmVille – My Marriott Hotel – for recruiting purposes.
Is Social Gaming Marketing Is Right for You?
A recent iMedia Connection article suggests you ask 3 questions before marketing your brand in the social gaming space:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Social Games and E-Commerce Conversion Today
As with many aspects of social media marketing, social gaming’s e-commerce conversions are not necessarily as high as merchants would hope. The accepted approach is to cast a very wide net to compensate for the low conversion rate. Often, consumers are much more interested in playing Bejeweled for free, and the advertising is just secondary noise on the screen.
Could Branded Games Perform Better for E-Commerce?
Some companies are looking to use branded social games to cash in on the medium. HSN, or Home Shopping Network, has added social games to its e-commerce site, allowing players to post and share scores on Facebook. Two of the games have direct product tie-ins, including a jigsaw puzzle of an item that’s only on sale for 24 hours. All HSN's games will show a steady stream of featured products playing alongside them.
Other companies have created their own games to create brand awareness, like Purina’s Purina Pet Resort on Facebook or VinTank’s multiplatform VinPass, which aims to help wineries connect with consumers. Marriott has gotten in the game with its own version of FarmVille – My Marriott Hotel – for recruiting purposes.
Is Social Gaming Marketing Is Right for You?
A recent iMedia Connection article suggests you ask 3 questions before marketing your brand in the social gaming space:
- Does your target audience already play social games?
- Will your brand be able to be relevant and integrated into the game, creating a good user experience for the gamer?
- Will you be able to entertain and reward players to create deeper engagement with your brand?
- Will You Make Back Your Online Advertising Spend in Store Sales? Yes!
- 4 Tips to Boost E-Commerce Site Traffic from Rapper Lil B
- 3 Reasons Why Quality Content Could Be Your Key to E-Commerce Success
- There’s a Lot to Like About Facebook and Ecommerce Marketing
- Facebook's Role in Social Shopping
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Will You Make Back Your Online Advertising Spend in Store Sales? Yes!
Friday, June 3, 2011 by
Carl Prindle
All retailers want to know that the money they spend online is coming back to them some way, somehow. It's become a mantra that the majority of consumers who buy in stores research online first, but in truth, it can be hard to follow customers from their keyboards to retailers’ registers.
We at Blueport see the value that local e-commerce and online marketing bring to our brick-and-mortar clients every day. But, it certainly helps when a company like Google offers Online to Store research that quantifies cross-channel results.
Google set out to prove that online advertising leads to in-store sales. For one national retailer, testing keyword advertising specific to one product category not only lifted in-store sales for that category by 3.6%, but the online advertising had a halo effect, lifting sales in all other categories by 1%. And, the bigger the ticket, the better the results were.
HP Case Study Shows ROI Is Higher with Bigger-Ticket Items
The Google Retail Advertising Blog post about Hewlett-Packard and the study discusses the following findings:
In an interview, analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik offers some ideas for getting quantitative information on how your online efforts contribute to in-store sales.
Some ideas you might be able to implement for your retail business:
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
We at Blueport see the value that local e-commerce and online marketing bring to our brick-and-mortar clients every day. But, it certainly helps when a company like Google offers Online to Store research that quantifies cross-channel results.
Google set out to prove that online advertising leads to in-store sales. For one national retailer, testing keyword advertising specific to one product category not only lifted in-store sales for that category by 3.6%, but the online advertising had a halo effect, lifting sales in all other categories by 1%. And, the bigger the ticket, the better the results were.
HP Case Study Shows ROI Is Higher with Bigger-Ticket Items
The Google Retail Advertising Blog post about Hewlett-Packard and the study discusses the following findings:
- Overall, HP’s online to store campaign had a 530% overall return on ad spend
- The top 25% of markets in the test had a 1,090% return on ad spend
- Higher-end models correlated with a higher increase in store sales.
In an interview, analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik offers some ideas for getting quantitative information on how your online efforts contribute to in-store sales.
Some ideas you might be able to implement for your retail business:
- Offer an online survey as consumers exit your website, asking where they plan to buy and how likely they are to buy based on the experience they’ve had online.
- In-stores, include a call-to-action to take an online survey for a chance to be entered into a sweepstakes and ask questions about where their interactions with your brand began.
- Use a store card program, where you have a number attached to customers when they interact with and buy from you online and in-store.
- Allow customers to order online and pickup in-store, and then track additional in-store purchases as a result of the pickup.
Related posts:
Copyright 2010, Official Blog of Blueport Commerce
Should Your E-Commerce Site Offer Live Chat?
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 by
Betsy Miller
There’s been a lot of chatter about live chat lately. This month, LiveChat announced new features for triggering prospects and measuring conversions from its software, and Bold Software and The E-Tailing Group released the results of a study on the effectiveness of live chat for e-commerce websites. Does your e-commerce platform need to incorporate live chat functionality?
Live Chat Allows Customers to Contact You in the Way They Want To
E-commerce is about convenience. It’s about consumers being able to purchase from your retail business the way they want, when they want. And this convenience should extend to how customers can communicate with your company. Today’s consumers want to be able to choose the options that work for them, and well-thought-out live chat is an option the consumers you want to reach are interested in.
The Bold Software/E-Tailing Group research finds that 20% of shoppers prefer live chat. And this 20% of consumers tends to include those age 31 to 50 with above average income and who are more likely to be college educated and spend more online on an annual basis than other shoppers. Can you afford not to appease this audience?
The Right Way to Execute Live Chat
If you’ve decided live chat is the right option for your e-commerce business, you need to be sure to implement it correctly. Customers who engage in live chat say its success completely lies with the chatting customer representative. They found the chat software’s features to be far less important.
The E-Commerce Edge Is Customer Service
At Blueport, when we work with clients that are implementing live chat, we instruct them to really think about who they are assigning this task. We find the ideal chatters to be web-savvy and have a good mix of customer service and sales skills. Deep knowledge of the product catalog is essential.
Your retail chatters need to be clear on their goals, which should most likely be customer satisfaction and closing the sale. Chatters should also keep in mind that the customer decided to reach out to them via chat, so they should tread carefully about sending users to alternate medium, like the phone or in-store, for resolution. Your chatters need to be empowered to quickly answer questions and resolve issues all within online chat or in the follow-up method each customer prefers.
Are You Going to, or Have You Already Implemented, Online Chat for E-Commerce?
If you’re thinking of incorporating live chat, remember that the software is just a piece of the puzzle. Go to sites that offer online chat and see what does and does not work for you as a consumer. How long of a wait for the retailer rep to begin the chat is too long? Could the chatter answer your catalog questions, or could you learn more from the product page? If an item was out of stock or not what you wanted, were you offered alternatives? When you said you’d come back later or go to the store, were you given an incentive to buy today. Note what your frustrations and what you liked so you can incorporate best practices into your own implementation.
If your website already has live chat, how do you know if you’re maximizing this opportunity? Regularly review the transcripts to see what opportunities may have been lost and to see if you have given your chatters the information and tools they need to make the customer interactions successful. And be sure to engage in live chat on your website as a customer every now and then to see that the experience is what it should be.
Related posts:
Live Chat Allows Customers to Contact You in the Way They Want To
E-commerce is about convenience. It’s about consumers being able to purchase from your retail business the way they want, when they want. And this convenience should extend to how customers can communicate with your company. Today’s consumers want to be able to choose the options that work for them, and well-thought-out live chat is an option the consumers you want to reach are interested in.
The Bold Software/E-Tailing Group research finds that 20% of shoppers prefer live chat. And this 20% of consumers tends to include those age 31 to 50 with above average income and who are more likely to be college educated and spend more online on an annual basis than other shoppers. Can you afford not to appease this audience?
The Right Way to Execute Live Chat
If you’ve decided live chat is the right option for your e-commerce business, you need to be sure to implement it correctly. Customers who engage in live chat say its success completely lies with the chatting customer representative. They found the chat software’s features to be far less important.
The E-Commerce Edge Is Customer Service
At Blueport, when we work with clients that are implementing live chat, we instruct them to really think about who they are assigning this task. We find the ideal chatters to be web-savvy and have a good mix of customer service and sales skills. Deep knowledge of the product catalog is essential.
Your retail chatters need to be clear on their goals, which should most likely be customer satisfaction and closing the sale. Chatters should also keep in mind that the customer decided to reach out to them via chat, so they should tread carefully about sending users to alternate medium, like the phone or in-store, for resolution. Your chatters need to be empowered to quickly answer questions and resolve issues all within online chat or in the follow-up method each customer prefers.
Are You Going to, or Have You Already Implemented, Online Chat for E-Commerce?
If you’re thinking of incorporating live chat, remember that the software is just a piece of the puzzle. Go to sites that offer online chat and see what does and does not work for you as a consumer. How long of a wait for the retailer rep to begin the chat is too long? Could the chatter answer your catalog questions, or could you learn more from the product page? If an item was out of stock or not what you wanted, were you offered alternatives? When you said you’d come back later or go to the store, were you given an incentive to buy today. Note what your frustrations and what you liked so you can incorporate best practices into your own implementation.
If your website already has live chat, how do you know if you’re maximizing this opportunity? Regularly review the transcripts to see what opportunities may have been lost and to see if you have given your chatters the information and tools they need to make the customer interactions successful. And be sure to engage in live chat on your website as a customer every now and then to see that the experience is what it should be.
Related posts:
- A Fluid Online Shopping Experience Trumps Deals and Offers
- Marketing to the Smarter Consumer
- E-commerce 2.0 – the Next Wave
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