Top connected commerce priorities: Inventory and fulfillment

June 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Most merchants understand the concept of connected commerce — providing a seamless shopping experience across channels and devices. But for merchants working with limited budgets and clunky standalone technologies, the goal can seem overwhelming and elusive.

New research suggests that inventory and fulfillment integration tops the list of consumer priorities. In a talk at this year’s Internet Retailer Conference and Expo, Lauren Freeman of The eTailing Group revealed results of a consumer survey that found . Specifically, consumers rated the following features as important influencers of their purchase decisions:

  • Not surprisingly, nearly two-thirds of online shoppers — 62% — wanted the ability to have items purchased online delivered to their homes.
  • But more than half of shoppers rated as important the ability to get the product within a day or two. Depending on the cost and availability of expedited shipping, for some shoppers the only way to meet this criteria is through in-store pickup or purchase.
  • Fully 45% of shoppers wanted to know whether items researched online were available to purchase locally at a physical store.
  • The ability to purchase online and pick up in store was rated as important by 33% of shoppers.

The upshot? For merchants still struggling to begin integrating business processes, inventory and fulfillment should top the priority list. Furthermore, those who already offer such capabilities should highlight them as a differentiator. Just over half of merchants offer in-store pickup for items ordered online, according to a new multi-channel report from RSR Research — and the percentage of merchants offering in-store returns of items ordered online has dropped compared with 2011.

Data about cross-channel integration from RSR Research

To promote delivery flexibility and inventory visibility, consider the following tactics:

Put the emphasis on speed and savings. Most merchants offering in-store pickup position it as a free alternative to home delivery — a factor worth highlighting, given that most shoppers seek savings on shipping costs. In addition, merchants who can promise instant availability in stores should promote speed as a benefit so that shoppers understand they won’t need to wait for an item to be delivered to their local outlet. Sears promotes instant in-store availability in a global promotional banner which promises shoppers can “get it today with free in-store pickup.” The product page drives the message home with a tabbed display that highlights free in-store pickup along with current free home delivery offers.

In-store pickup promotion from Sears

 

In-store pickup example from Sears

Don’t forget mobile. The ability to view in-store availability and flexible delivery options is especially important for shoppers on the go, so  put in-store inventory and pickup front and center when designing your mobile commerce offering. Walmart gives “Find in store” equal footing with the “Add to cart” button on the mobile product page as well as displaying in-stock status and the ability to select free shipping to stores for online orders. Clicking “Find in store” displays inventory levels at stores within a 50-mile radius of the shoppers’ current location, with a link to store directions listed along with the phone number and item number.

Inventory example from Walmart

 

Have you integrated in-store inventory and cross-channel fulfillment into your eCommerce site and mobile offerings? If not, what’s holding you back? If so, how do you promote the service?

 

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce

Webinar recap: Unboxing your content

June 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Wednesday’s webinar on content for connected commerce included a bevy of great examples and tips — if you didn’t catch it live, you can view the replay and download the associated whitepaper.

A key takeaway from the session: The importance of thinking “outside the box” when it comes to content. Specifically:

Find new ways to present content for every stage of the customer lifecycle. It’s easy for merchants to rely on tried-and-true content strategies; for example, by now most merchants include customer reviews and multiple images on the product page and have launched social outposts for connecting with brand followers using targeted discount offers and lifestyle-related posts. But to ensure content is relevant for shoppers at every stage of their engagement with the brand, and to create an immersive content experience that spans devices and channels, it’s helpful to think outside the box. For each phase of the customer lifecycle, consider which medium is best for the message:

  • Product content. Most typically associated with the eCommerce product page, product content provides all the details about the merchandise itself. It can take many forms, such as how-to videos, care instructions and color swatches.
  • Value-added content. At one remove from the core product content, value-added content inspires shoppers to make purchases by demonstrating how the brand and the products serve their needs. Buying guides, fashion look books, tips, how-tos and even customer service content such as store locators and return policies and guarantees all fit in this category.
  • Social content. Social content resides in that fluid boundary where brand-issued material such as blog entries and Facebook posts mixes with user-generated input such as customer reviews and comments. It’s a rich medium for engaging shoppers, generating conversation about the brand, and receiving feedback.

The content matrix below shows each stage of the customer lifecycle along the left-hand side, and then the three classifications of content in columns to the right. To optimize your content, consider new ways to fill in slots on the grid.

eCommerce content planning matrix from MarketLive

For example, material related to getting customer service help seems to fit most readily in the “value-added content” bucket – but MarketLive merchant Gaiam has gone above and beyond by providing customer-service-related product content, in the form of detailed specs that might otherwise trigger a question to the call center. In addition, Gaiam has created social customer service content using its Q and A feature, which allows staff and customers to respond to questions about products posted by shoppers.

Example of customer service content from Gaiam

 

Social customer service content from Gaiam

 

Use manufacturer content as a starting point. Questions during the Q and A period of the webinar focused on how to use manufacturer content most effectively, given that search engine algorithms favor original material. Ideally, every merchants would create wholly original content for every product; but in the real world of limited resources, using manufacturer content is often a necessity. The key is to “unbox” the content, repurposing it for your target audience and integrating it fully — not just cutting and pasting. For example, MarketLive merchant Title Nine features a skort by manufacturer Mountain Hardwear on its site — but rather than simply reposting the manufacturer’s bulleted list of features, such as “Wide low-profile waistband for comfort,” Title Nine translates for its audience of fitness-conscious women. The product name is “Do-It-All SWB”, or Skirt With Benefits, and the description cites the skort’s “Wide, yoga-inspired waistband”.

Original manufacturer content from Mountain Hardwear

 

Product description adaptation example by Title Nine

 

MarketLive merchant Sport Chalet has made the most of robust manufacturer content by building immersive environments around the “Shop by Brand” concept. Not only does the eCommerce site feature a section full of brand content such as videos and fit guides, but the content is carried over into email campaigns and specialized landing pages, as in this example from Brooks. The email compels recipients to click on to the landing page, whose look and feel match the original message and whose content gives shoppers key information about what makes the Pure Project product line unique. The eCommerce Web site section dedicated to Brooks Pure Project features detailed technical information and videos.

Brand-focused email from Sports Chalet

 

Brand content example from Sport Chalet

 

Brand content example from Sport Chalet

How are you unboxing new content opportunities for your business?

 

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Connected Commerce Tagged with Business Optimization

June 18, 2012 by

It’s a common experience nowadays: A brand’s Web site has comprehensive content, but the Facebook page is barely populated. There’s a Twitter feed full of helpful tips, but none of that information is listed in the customer service section of the company’s mobile offering. Email marketing doesn’t match mobile messaging. A search ad landing page fails to incorporate relevant customer reviews.

We’ve all heard the mantra “content is king.” Rich content that helps shoppers connect with products can not only smooth the path to purchase, but can boost brands’ relevance when it comes to search engine rankings.

The good news is that the volume of shopping content is growing as merchants manage brands across a growing number of customer touchpoints. But the bad news is that the content is often disjointed and sprawling, just when consumers’ expectations are higher than ever for cohesive, relevant information. One indicator of these heightened expectations is the “1-and-out,” or bounce, rate, which measures the percentage of visits ending after just one page. According to the MarketLive Performance Index, the “1-and-out” rate increased more than 12% from Q4 2010 to Q4 2011 alone. More shoppers than ever are abandoning sites almost as quickly as they arrive, indicating their impatience and lack of willingness to go deeper into a site that doesn’t immediately seem to address their needs.

MarketLive Performance Index data about bounce rates

With shoppers ready to click away from sites at a moment’s notice, it’s up to merchants to communicate relevance instantly — a challenge that requires a cohesive, well-considered content strategy. Moreover, as online shopping competition intensifies, great content can create new pathways to purchase. With search engine algorithms being increasingly fine-tuned to give preference to authentic content, merchants can score big SEO wins for unbranded keyword terms by creating comprehensive lifestyle content that demonstrates the brand’s expertise.

MarketLive chart showing new pathways to purchase via lifestyle content

MarketLive’s Optimized Commerce: Content Webinar Wednesday will address how merchants can plan their content to address shoppers’ needs, create effective content across customer touchpoints, and assign tangible success metrics so content can be monitored, evaluated and modified.  There’s still time to register, so sign up now and join in at 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday, June 20.

Meantime, what strategies do you employ to create and maintain great content?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Business Optimization

3 new reasons to use alternative payments

June 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Alternative payment services such as PayPal, Bill Me Later and Google Checkout are now commonplace on eCommerce sites, with good reason. Industry researcher Forrester estimates that fully one in five eCommerce transactions are completed using alternative payments, reaping merchants $64 billion in U.S. sales. That percentage will grow to nearly one in four — 23% — in the next four years, Forrester predicts. It’s not surprising, then, that when we surveyed checkout processes last fall, nearly 60% of the largest U.S. merchants already used alternative payments.

While the prospect of implementing a new payment process may cause logistical headaches, we believe merchants should make the project a priority. Alternative payment options smooth the path to purchase for Web shoppers — and new research suggests alternative payments are crucial for expanding into new channels and markets. Alternative payments:

1. Facilitate mobile buying. In a study of mobile purchases made over the past two months, 67% of those transactions were completed using an alternative payment system versus a credit card, according to a study from eCommerce provider ShopVisible. By giving shoppers a way to avoid entering credit card payment details, alternative payments help overcome two top barriers to mobile purchasing:

  • Convenience.  In the 2011 MarketLive Consumer Survey, conducted prior to the holiday season, the top reason shoppers gave for not making mobile purchases was “shopping is still too awkward on my phone” — an opinion shared by 37% of survey participants. Alternative payments help speed the purchase process.
  • Security. Nearly one-third of consumers are anxious about sharing credit card information over their mobile networks, the MarketLive Consumer Survey found. With alternative payments, shoppers need only enter a username and password, and their financial information isn’t shared.

To reassure mobile shoppers who are hesitant to become mobile buyers, merchants should highlight the availability of alternative payments within their mobile shopping environments, as MarketLive merchant Armani Exchange does on the home page and category pages within its mobile site.

Alternative payment example from Armani Exchange

2. Appeal to international customers. For merchants casting an eye toward the rapidly-growing European eCommerce market, alternative payments are a must. PayPal is used by half of online shoppers in the U.K. and Germany, and by 40% of European online shoppers overall, according to Forrester.  U.K. mass merchant Argos highlights its PayPal service on the eCommerce site home page in a promotion messaging “easy online shopping.”

Alternative payment example from Argos
3. Connect online and offline purchasing. With 15 major merchants now planning to use PayPal at physical store point-of-sale terminals, alternative payments are becoming a means for consumers to make purchases wherever they roam. Such integration creates a seamless shopping experience for buyers, while for merchants, the ability to track purchase data across channels and devices helps build a holistic profile of customer behavior.

How are you promoting alternative payments? If you haven’t yet adopted alternative payment systems, what’s holding you back?

 

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Alternative Payments

Updating your global header: What’s hot — and what’s neglected

June 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Back in the olden days — say, 10 years ago — designing an eCommerce site global header was relatively straightforward. Of course devising the right lineup of product categories and navigation items has always been as challgening as it is crucial. But otherwise, back then the global site header needed to serve only a few more functions —  to convey the brand’s identity, connect shoppers with customer service and physical stores, and perhaps offer a means for signing up for email updates. Simple, right?

2005 global site header example from Office Depot

 

Nowadays, the job is far more complex. In addition to displaying product categories, on-site search, and customer service links, designers are often asked to shoehorn in an array of promotions, social networking links, account functions and merchandising categories.

2012 example of global site header from Office Depot

As the example from Office Depot from 2005 (top) and this year (immediately above) shows, there’s now a lot more to juggle in what’s still a relatively small — but crucial — amount of real estate. So, how should merchants proceed?

To answer that question, we surveyed a selection of the 50 largest sites from the 2012 Internet Retailer Top 500 and tallied what’s in their headers.

Data on elements of the global site header

The results point to a few general trends:

  • What’s in: Promoting functionality. Merchants are going beyond offering an account login for registered customers; they’re spotlighting the ability to track orders and save products to wish lists and registries. Furthermore, on-site search (which was featured in every site header we visited) often offers a drop-down filter option to help shoppers
  • What’s out:  Static signup invitations. Email subscription links that are anchored in the header are fairly uncommon, with less than a third of merchants using them in the global header. Somewhat surprisingly, those links haven’t been replaced by invitations to “follow” brands on social networking sites; static links to Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter are featured on only 14% of sites.
  • What’s hot: Flexible promotions. Merchants are using the global header like never before to include marketing messaging, with 80% of sites we surveyed featuring a promotion of some type — such as the free shipping offer and link to the print ad in the recent Office Depot example. Seasonal features, enticements to sign up for mobile alerts and links to sale categories often rotate, banner-ad style, in the header space.
  • What’s neglected: Customer service links. More merchants were using the global header for promotions than for a link to customer service, which was only featured on 68% of sites —  a dangerous oversight. Putting customer service help within easy reach is crucial to winning shoppers’ trust and helping them complete purchases. If you can’t devote space to displaying every available customer service option, such as a live chat link and an 800 number, then at least include a link to “Customer Service” or “Help”
  • What’s smart: Highlighting gift cards. Gift cards are an ever more popular option — for example, they comprised more than 18% of total 2011 holiday sales, an increase of more than 20% over 2010.  So placing links to gift cards in the global site header is a smart move.

With these trends in mind, use the following tactics to update and optimize your global header:

  • Organize links with colors, layers or both. Help shoppers navigate a thicket of options with design techniques that group sets of links together. Many sites now employ horizontal bands in different colors, with one layer for service links such as account login and another for product navigation. Mass merchant JC Penney goes even further, with a grey band at the top offering links related to individuals’ accounts, such as “track my order,” and then a middle layer that includes searc and popular links such as “May books”, “find a store,” and “gifts,” above the standard product category navigation. A fourth layer promotes free shipping in a bold green banner.

Global site header example from JCP

  • Don’t let search get lost in the shuffle. More than a third of shoppers use on-site search, and those users tend to complete purchases at a higher rate than other visitors, according to volume 15 of the MarketLive Performance Index — so ensure the search box stands out among all the other links and functions in the global header. On the Barnes and Noble site, the search box stands out despite being on a pale background, thanks to blue and green border coloring and black type in the box itself promoting the site’s 30 million products, along with a drop-down box for filtering results.

Global site header example from Barnes & Noble

  • Consider a floating footer for secondary links. Using a footer that remains visible at the bottom of the browser window as shoppers page and scroll through the site gives you another highly visible option for key links. Land’s End uses its universal floating footer for customer service links and a gift card promotion that includes an eye-catching graphic.

Global site header and footer example from Lands' End

  • Test, test, test. Give every link and label in the global site header the same consideration you use when devising product categories and navigation schemes — and that means testing, tweaking and refining. As with everything else, over time your global site header should adapt to the changing needs of your business.

What elements are in your global site header? How have you tweaked the design over the years?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain

2 considerations for attracting tablet shoppers

May 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last week brought more evidence that mobile is changing the way consumers shop — with tablets playing an especially lucrative role. According to initial results from the 2012 State of Retailing Online study by Shop.org and Forrester Research,  49% of retailers reported that average order value from tablet customers was higher than on the traditional browser-based eCommerce site.

While the tablet market is still relatively small, it’s growing fast, with nearly 38 million U.S. consumers forecast to own one by year’s end — a more than 250% increase since the tablet first came into existence a mere two years ago. The new Shop.org study data is in line with earlier research suggesting that these technology early adopters are well-educated, affluent, and more likely to use their devices to buy than smartphone owners.

For retailers, the new data underscores the importance of mobile as a game-changing mode of shopping — and the need to develop and execute a sound mobile strategy. As we’ve stated previously, whether to target tablet shoppers right now depends on your business and your target audience; research is key to devising a mobile strategy that will serve shoppers best and drive sales most efficiently.

Assuming tablet shoppers form an important target market for your brand, weigh these considerations as you formulate your mobile strategy:

Design for swipes and taps as well as clicks. With shopping content being deployed across smartphone devices as well as tablets and desktop browsers, flexibility of presentation is key. And don’t forget email; according to the Shop.org report, one in five emails are viewed on a mobile device. Specifically for tablets, consider these elements:

  • “Landscape” or “portrait”? Like on smartphones, tablet shoppers have the ability to swivel views of content horizontally or vertically — but the impact is especially dramatic on tablets’ larger screens. Adaptive designs that adjust to the width of the viewer window automatically are best.
  • Tappable menus. Drop-down menus shoppers hover over with a computer mouse before clicking to select a sub-category need modification for tablets, which have no “hover” equivalent. Set menus so that a tap displays the drop-down menu.
  • Appropriate text size and spacing. As with smartphone displays, easy selection of the right menu item or text link is crucial, so allow for adequate space to accommodate finger taps.
  • Think swipe. Take advantage of the ability to page horizontally through content with filmstrip displays and plenty of “forward” and “back” arrows. MarketLive merchant Armani Exchange’s “Looks” section works equally well on desktop browsers and iPads, with a “shuffle” button reminiscent of an Apple music player that presents ensembles for both genders in random order.

Tablet-friendly design example from Armani Exchange

Consider the timing of promotions. Tablet usage spikes in the evenings, according to data from social software provider Bazaarvoice, with 5% of all traffic to shopping sites coming from iPads at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. — double the amount of tablet traffic generated earlier in the day. The shift to mobile devices makes sense — by day, consumers are tethered to desktops at work — but the surge in tablet traffic is far more dramatic than for smartphones.

Data on device usage from Bazaarvoice

To take advantage of this usage pattern, consider the nature and timing of promotions and cater messaging to tablet shoppers as they couch-surf online as well as channel-surf on the TV.

  • Do your products have tie-ins to prime-time TV shows or sports events? Consider spotlighting these items during the evening hours.
  • With tablet shoppers generating a higher average order value, consider “night owl” promotions such as free shipping on full-price items for a limited window of time in the evening, or a nighttime sneak peek at the latest seasonal wares.
  • Target email messaging to users with mobile devices, and send those messages during prime time to reach tablet shoppers as they browse.

How substantially do tablet shoppers contribute to your brand’s sales, and how are you catering content and promotions to tablet users?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Tablets

Four ways to showcase the faces behind the brand

May 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The world of online shopping is both growing and shrinking. There are now more brands online than ever — while at the same time, the landscape is increasingly dominated by mass-merchant behemoths like Amazon. A new study by WorldPay found that fully 43% of shoppers worldwide have used Amazon.com in the past three months; in the U.S., the number is even higher, at 83%.

For small to medium-sized merchants to thrive in this environment, it’s crucial to communicate a strong brand identity. Brands that occupy a unique position in the marketplace distinguish themselves from the crowd and can compete against the big brands by giving shoppers a sense of community with other brand followers who share the same vision, outlook or lifestyle.

One of the best ways to communicate that identity is by showcasing the brand’s expertise and authority. Toward that end, merchants have long employed expert buying guides and lifestyle content to help define their brands.

Now, with the advent of social media, merchants are taking the concept further and showcasing the individuals whose passion and knowledge collectively contribute to the brand’s expertise — not just founders and CEOs, but employees from all aspects of the business. Consider these new ideas for showing off the faces behind the brand:

Take buying guides to the next level – Rather than one-size-fits-all product lists, publish buying guides with personalities behind them. Let the authors be opinionated and write copy in their own voice about why they endorse the products that make the list.  J. Crew’s home page features a summer style guide by Gayle, “our do-it-all super-stylist”. The guide is assembled like a magazine layout, with callout quotes from Gayle about fashion trends, such as “for me, stripes are a neutral;” shoppers can click on looks to select individual products for purchase. A link on every page of the guide connects viewers to a profile of Gayle, with personal details such as her predilection for Ritter Sport chocolate. The overall effect is a highly personal take on fashion trends from an authoritative voice.

Brand identity example from J. Crew

Brand identity example from J. Crew

BRand identity example from J. Crew

Go social – Social outposts are a great opportunity to communicate the brand’s voice through status updates and posted photos and videos. To add individual faces to the mix, showcase employees whose passions and expertise support the brand’s identity. MarketLive merchant Title Nine uses its Facebook page to showcase staffers who participate in local athletic events — as in the entries below about  runners and cyclists participating in races. The message is that the company doesn’t just sell women’s athletic apparel, but is comprised of individuals who live the same lifestyle as their customers. The post on runners even led to a product discussion, with one poster asking, “Now tell me which sports bras are good for not chafing while running a marathon” and brand followers and employees chiming in with their opinions.

Brand identity example from Title Nine

Brand identity example from Title Nine

Forge in-store connections – Bricks-and-mortar retailers have a unique source of brand expertise: store associates, whose individual areas of expertise contribute to the shopping experience. Bring that expertise online with features that spotlight individual store representatives, as Guitar Center did with the “Experts” section of its site. Store staffers have individual profile pages detailing their music expertise, including photos, videos and audio, along with recommended gear lists. Shoppers can browse profiles to find associates with interests similar to theirs, shop directly from  associates’  gear lists, and send direct messages. The page below for Scott H. shows shoppers that this store representative doesn’t just sell guitars, but uses them in his own performances and has extensive musical training. The profile showcases the depth of expertise of the Guitar Center staff, adding to the overall credibility of the brand. In addition to being accessible from the global navigation link, profiles are displayed on the pages for individual locations accessed through the store locator — signaling to shoppers that their nearest location is staffed by experts. Shoppers browsing local inventory can access profiles relevant to the category they’re perusing.

Brand identity example from Guitar Center

Don’t forget behind-the-scenes staff. When showcasing employee expertise, feature personnel who contribute to the brand’s core identity, even if they aren’t responsible for front-line sales. For example, recreational outfitter REI has given its sustainability director the opportunity to post about his work on the REI blog — such as in this post about eliminating plastic packaging for shipped goods. The in-depth article gives shoppers a peek into the company’s sustainability efforts and bolsters the environmentally-conscious image of the brand.

Brand identity example from REI

How do you spotlight the personalities behind your brand?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations, Social Commerce

How to help apparel shoppers find the perfect fit

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Online apparel sales are poised to grow by leaps and bounds in 2012, with research firm eMarketer predicting revenues of $41 billion, or one-fifth of all U.S. eCommerce sales. But apparel merchants face a persistent sales hurdle: helping shoppers find the right fit without being able to physically try on items before purchase. The problem isn’t trivial: a recent Wall Street Journal article reported that between 20 and 40% of all apparel orders are returned, with poor fit being the top reason.

With those returns biting into profit margins, merchants have a huge incentive to help shoppers select the right items the first time around. And that means going beyond traditional fit charts, which list sizes and dimensions in inches in a static grid. Using a tape measure to get the right fit — and measuring in just the right place — is too onerous for most buyers, many of whom are shopping online in the first place because they expect the process to be quick and convenient.

There are plenty of ways to guide shoppers to a perfect fit, ranging from simple solutions to elaborate technologies. Depending on your budget and your target audience, consider these fit solutions:

Develop an at-a-glance system. Go beyond the numbers and develop a system appropriate for your merchandise that conveys key fit information — whether garments are meant to be loose-fitting or tight or whether watches are rugged or delicate, for example. Display these icons prominently on the product page, along with a link to an explanation of the system. MarketLive merchant Peruvian Connection employs a fit guide for its hand-crafted sweaters to let shoppers know whether selections are drapey or snug.

Apparel fit guide example from Peruvian Connection

Save the numbers. If you ask shoppers to supply their dimensions, save the information to their profile for future reference — a time-saving feature shoppers will appreciate — and use the data to present products that are most likely to fit, whether on the eCommerce site or in targeted email or mobile offers. Retailer DestinationXL asks shoppers to select five size criteria for apparel and shoes, then uses the information to display only those items that are available in the selected sizes. Shoppers can turn off the feature and modify their information, and opt to save it for a single session or as part of a permanent profile.

Fit guide example from Destination XL

Synch sizes across brands. If shoppers know their size in a particular brand, you can use that information to help match them to other garments. You can make this process as simple as creating an equivalency chart for shoppers to consult, or you can employ a matching technology such as TrueFit, which asks shoppers to create a profile based on a sampling of brands that fit well, plus information about body type. The portable profile lets shoppers visiting the sites of participating merchants view which items are likely to fit them well, as at the Macys.com denim shop for women.

Fit guide example from Macys

Personalize with photos. Let shoppers upload their own images to help them select flattering products. Again, tools can be fancy or simple, depending on your budget and how likely your audience is to spend time customizing their avatar. For example, LensCrafters offers a simple photo upload tool that lets shoppers determine their face shape, with guidelines for what glasses styles will fit each category. It’s a simple and quick process that adds a touch of personalization to the fit guide.

Fit guide example from Lenscrafters

By contrast, U.K. retailer Tesco’s Facebook fitting room app asks shoppers to upload both face and body shots, and then to pinpoint features such as the top of the inseam, to create a full-body avatar than can be rotated 360 degrees for viewing how garments might fit.

Fit guide example from Clothing by Tesco

Go for the intangibles. You can also help guide shoppers to the right products by going beyond dimensions to pinpoint general styles that are likely to be most flattering. Plus-size retailer Lane Bryant’s FashionGenius tool uses a questionnaire to identify which fit challenges shoppers face, and asks them to rate a sampling of individual items, before displaying likely matches.

Fit guide example from Lane Bryant

Fit guide example from Lane Bryant

What tools and features do you use to guide your customers to the right fit?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations

Putting reviews to use in product development

April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment

By now, most merchants recognize the value of customer reviews — they give brands credibility with shoppers who seek authentic product information; they have word-of-mouth marketing potential; and their content can help boost relevance for search engine optimization.

New research points to another use for customer reviews: future product development. In its third Conversation Index report, social software provider Bazaarvoice found that 12% of reviews include product suggestions — and those suggestions are most often found in reviews that award products positive ratings of four out of five stars.

Research from Bazaarvoice on customer reviews

Moreover, most product suggestions contain ideas for further improvement or requests for expansion with additional colors or styles, rather than critiques of intrinsic problems, Bazaarvoice found.

The upshot: Mining customer review data for product suggestions is a great way for merchants to connect with largely satisfied customers, who have the potential to become even more valuable as loyal brand advocates. To encourage product feedback in reviews — and to let consumers know their voices will be heard — take the following steps:

Help reviewers aggregate their opinions using tags. While you can’t control what customers write in their reviews, giving them the ability to tag their posts with keywords — and to use tags others have submitted — is one way to gather information on which product attributes are most popular, and which could use improvement. REI asks reviewers to select tags for “pros,” “cons,” and “best uses,” displaying which keywords individual customers selected within their reviews, as well as a summary at the top of the reviews section of the page.

Customer review example from REI

Search for “pivot words”. Bazaarvoice suggests glean product suggestion content from reviews by scanning for keywords such as “however,” “although,” and “if only”, which signal that the contributor has included ideas for improvement alongside a generally positive review.

Take suggestions social. If product reviews reveal a recurring theme, broach the topic on social networks to gather further information — for example, by polling Facebook followers as to which additional colors or styles they’d prefer. This tactic can extend beyond product features to include crowdsourced merchandising strategies, as Soap.com did during the holiday season, when Facebook followers could vote on which brands would be discounted for the peak Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping days.

Customer feedback example from Soap.com

Connect with top contributors. Frequent reviewers are a potential gold mine — they’re willing to contribute significant time to share opinions and offer suggestions. Merchants should connect with these individuals directly and invite them to participate on a more substantive level, whether through a focus group or a customer feedback panel.

Let customers know they’re being heard. When you take action based on customer reviews, be sure to report back to the reviewers to let them know their voices were heard. You can also publicize the new product modifications more broadly, both as a sales driver and as an incentive for others to contribute reviews, by using language such as “you asked … we listened!”

Best Buy has made a significant commitment to gathering customer feedback through its IdeaX forum, where consumers can post ideas for service and product improvements and vote on others’ suggestions. Best Buy flags each contribution with a response —  including“Tell Us More” to gather more information and “Under Review” to show that the suggestion is under consideration.

Customer feedback example from Best Buy

How are you using customer feedback content to guide future product selection or development?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Social Commerce Tagged with customer reviews, customer service

Best practices for attracting loyalty club members

April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With large portions of the marketing budget dedicated to acquisition tactics such as search marketing and social media, customer retention often takes a back seat.

But one strategy has bucked the trend and caught on: loyalty or free shipping clubs — paid membership programs that offer participants exclusive benefits, starting with discounted or free shipping. There’s a reason these programs are increasingly commonplace: they’re proven to drive repeat business.

According to industry researcher Forrester, participation in free shipping clubs grew by a third from 2010 to 2011 – from 9% to 12% of U.S. online consumers. And of those participants, 66% say they plan to shop more with the brand whose club they’ve joined.

Research on free shipping clubs from Forrester

If your brand doesn’t yet offer an online loyalty club, now is the time to consider adding one — it’s a big investment, but one with the potential to pay off handsomely.  If you already have a program in place, maximize its effectiveness and profitability with these best practices:

Put shipping front and center — but play it smart. Shipping costs remain the top reason consumers abandon online shopping carts, so giving loyalty club members a shipping price break makes sense. To offer value while maintaining margins, consider these tactics:

  • Make it a flat rate. Taking the variability out of shipping costs may be enough of an incentive for your customers to join the club. Assigning a flat, low rate for ground delivery eases the purchase process for them by making total order costs easy to calculate.
  • Offer “free” strategically. Rather than defaulting to free shipping all the time, consider offering club members generous, but periodic, free shipping windows — for the month of their birthdays, for example, or for the last two months of the year for holiday gift purchases.
  • Sweeten the deal for the holidays. Whatever your default offer, give loyalty program members an even better discount during the peak holiday season — free expedited shipping once the ground shipping threshold has passed, for example.

Round out the package with other benefits. While shipping discounts may be a primary driver of loyalty club membership, you can increase participation — and compensate for not offering free shipping by default — with a bevy of other enticing benefits. Consider offering members:

  • Advance notice of sales, particularly when stock is limited.
  • Advance notice of sought-after new products.
  • A discount on every order, exclusive discounts throughout the year, or additional discounts during major sales.
  • Access to members-only events in stores.
  • Exclusive opportunities to give feedback, such as customer advisory panels.

MarketLive merchant Title Nine puts it all together to offer new members free shipping on their first order, combined with flat-rate shipping for the rest of the year, along with a 5% discount on orders and other benefits. Club T9 is given prominent placement in the shopping cart, where consumers are enticed by the promise of instant free shipping.

Loyalty club example from Title Nine

Promote the program everywhere. To drive maximum participation, give your loyalty program prominent placement throughout the eCommerce Web site and beyond. Feature it:

  • Side-by-side with links to shipping information. Wherever shoppers can consult shipping rates, they should also see a promotion for the loyalty club — on product pages, in the customer service section, and on the shipping rates and information page itself.
  • In the shopping cart and through checkout. Let would-be buyers know that they can score a shipping discount instantly if they join the club.
  • In post-purchase transactional emails. When sending customers notice that their items have shipped, let them know they can save on shipping costs for their next purchase if they join the club. Post-delivery, include an invitation to join the program along with an invitation to submit a customer review.
  • On social networks. Let brand followers know they can reap even better deals and score shipping discounts by joining the loyalty program; enable purchase of gift memberships directly from Facebook.

Spell out the benefits clearly — and repeat the message. Create a product page for memberships on the eCommerce site that lists benefits prominently and includes all the related fine print, such as whether subscriptions renew January 1 regardless of signup date. Be up-front about restrictions on free shipping: are gift orders included? How about international or corporate orders? Is there a minimum purchase amount?  Once customers have bought a membership, follow up with a detailed “welcome” email that reiterates all the policies and procedures, including how they can log in to take advantage of their discounts and access their account information.

Wine.com aggressively promotes its StewardShip program throughout the eCommerce site, with links to program information from product index pages as well as from the shopping cart, where the difference between the estimated shipping cost and the program membership is displayed so consumers can see how much more they have to pay to join. The program is explained on an attractive page that lists comprehensive details and links to frequently-asked questions as well as member testimonials.

Loyalty club example from Wine.com

 

Loyalty club example from Wine.com

Do you offer a loyalty or free shipping club? What tactics do you employ to boost membership?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Client Innovations Tagged with Shipping

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