Webinar recap: It’s not just the content — it’s what you do with it

March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Tuesday’s “Competing with Amazon” webinar dove deep into the topic of content, exploring how merchants can define and differentiate their brands through .

As MarketLive founder Ken Burke analyzed Amazon’s offerings and identified how merchants can go above and beyond to create unique brand experiences, an important subtext emerged: it’s not just the content itself, but what merchants do with it that matters. “If you build it, they will come” is a fine line for a movie script, but for merchants to maximize their content investments, they need to find creative ways to use content throughout the eCommerce site and across touchpoints. Just a few of the ideas the webinar discussed:

Merchandise product and lifestyle content. On the eCommerce site, merchants should promote content all along the path to purchase — not just on the product page or in siloed content sections. MarketLive merchant Cost Plus World Market showcases an in-depth content section about its Africa Collection not only on product pages, but on the home page and the category page.

Content example from World Market

Similarly, apparel merchant Lilly Pulitzer includes a promotion of the company’s history on a product index page — enabling shoppers easy access to a compelling story that creates a personal connection with the brand.

content example from Lilly Pulitzer

Share your brand value proposition everywhere. Merchants have long known the value of emphasizing their brand’s unique expertise, service and reputation, whether through a logo tagline or a compelling “about us” story. But merchants should find a way to share their brand’s core value statement on every page of the site — or at the very least on every product page, where shoppers can factor in the reputation of the merchant as they make their purchase decision. Auto parts merchant AutoAnything places an easy-to-scan list at the top of product pages, highlighting the expertise and service that back every product.

Content example from AutoAnything.com

Do double duty with user-contributed content. Merchants should take advantage of tools that enable reviews and “question and answer” content to be cross-posted to Facebook and the eCommerce site — thereby elevating visibility of the features for social followers and encouraging participation across touchpoints. Benefit Cosmetics offers an “Ask and Answer” section on Facebook that allows followers as well as Benefit staff to chime in. Readers can rate contributions as well as submit their own; the questions and answers are displayed on the relevant product page of the eCommerce site as well as on Facebook. A question about a product called Dallas received 11 enthusiastic responses from customers, which were also displayed on the product page alongside nearly 100 reviews and ratings.

content example from Benefit

Give video star status. Given Amazon’s paltry video offerings, merchants would do well to adopt a “video first” strategy when it comes to developing content — and to highlight video content across touchpoints. On the product page, for example, video should be given equal prominence with still images, as on the Brookstone site, where a tabbed format gives product demonstration videos equal prominence with still images. A “Play” icon on the default image further signals that video is available.

Content example from Brookstone

And content that goes beyond product demonstration videos can make for a compelling experience across touchpoints. Buy.com’s weekly “BuyTV” program, spotlighting timely product categories such as Easter, attracts users not only to the main eCommerce site’s video content section, but on YouTube and Facebook as well.

content example from Buy.com

For more winning content strategies and examples, replay the webinar or . How are you using content across touchpoints to increase brand engagement?

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

March 11, 2013 by

As discussed in our 2013 trends webinar, the top priority for merchants this year is brand differentiation. The competition for consumers’ dollars is fierce, with top mega-brands attracting the lion’s share of revenues on one end of the spectrum even as the field of small- and mid-sized merchants becomes ever more crowded.

This polarization is so marked that we thought it worthwhile to take a look at the biggest of the big sellers — Amazon.com — and to examine how merchants can successfully position themselves and compete. Amazon’s playbook is certainly worth studying, based on the site’s success: in the past five years, U.S. eCommerce sales grew an average of 14% annually, while , at  an average of 36% per year, according to industry researcher Forrester.

Small- to -mid-sized merchants can gain brand exposure by participating in Amazon’s network of Marketplace sellers, but ultimately, they want to establish a direct relationship with consumers. That’s a difficult proposition when Amazon’s economies of scale enable it to offer the most efficient shipping — and a low free shipping threshold — along with discount prices on nearly every item.

But there’s evidence that consumers recognize value beyond pricing. When asked what factors influence their buying decisions, 77% of shoppers said they consider a brand’s reputation, 79% said they value a broad assortment of items, and 66% said a unique selection is important, according to the MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey. These statistics suggest that merchants who can articulate their uniqueness as a brand — especially when compared with Amazon’s mega-warehouse identity — can not only survive, but thrive.

On Amazon, nearly everything under the sun is available – but all those items are presented and merchandised identically, without calling attention to unique product attributes or supporting the lifestyle of the potential buyer. In short, Amazon sells products; the rest of us have the opportunity to sell brand experiences.

A key component of creating a brand experience is content, which will be the focus of , the first in a series devoted to competing with Amazon. Previously, we’ve discussed how content can and connect them with consumers across touchpoints. As it turns out, the right combination of text, images, videos and user contributions can also create a wholly unique and irresistible value proposition, one that presents a viable alternative to Amazon.

The webinar will examine and explicitly compare Amazon and successful specialty merchants in four key areas for developing uniquely alluring content:

Unique product pages. Merchants can not only exceed the amount and depth of information presented on Amazon’s product pages, they can break free from the standard format to design and create content that caters to their specific audiences. For example, the specialty merchant eBags helps shoppers match their laptops with appropriately-sized backpacks and satchels — a specialized tool Amazon doesn’t offer.

Content example from eBags

User-generated content beyond ratings and reviews. At first glance, it seems like small- to mid-sized merchants can’t compete with Amazon when it comes to user-generated content, as Amazon’s massive audience almost guarantees that it will have the largest number of ratings and reviews. But sheer volume isn’t everything. Specialty merchants have the ability to go beyond reviews on the product page to tap a wide range of user-generated content that conveys brand identity – from social media contributions to customer service support. For example, the brand testimonials offered by fitness program creator Beachbody go beyond simple ratings and reviews or even the before-and-after pictures offered for their products on Amazon. Testimonials such as this one from Robert R., who describes gaining “happy weight” in the first years of his marriage, identify situations prospective buyers can identify with.

Content example from Beachbody

Deep value-added content. To create a truly superlative brand experience, merchants should supply still another category of content: authoritative value-added content that demonstrates the brand’s in-depth knowledge of the customer’s lifestyle. Buying guides with personality, behind-the-scenes content, expert advice and blogs all give merchants the opportunity to distinguish their brands. The founder of apparel brand Lilly Pulitzer originally ran a juice stand and made her first fashion creations with bold prints to cover up the juice stains; a section of the eCommerce site on the company’s history is presented with bold graphics in the same vivid colors as the company’s now-famous prints. The history serves to ground the brand in a personal story and add meaning to the products on offer.

Content example from Lilly Pulitzer

Video. More than 50% of the nation’s population watched an online video in January of 2013, according to measurement firm comScore — but it’s a format that’s conspicuously absent from Amazon.com. Apart from scattered video reviews submitted by customers and a handful of online video tutorials for its own branded Kindle e-reader products, Amazon has no video content to speak of. This lack presents a huge opportunity for other merchants to provide shoppers with a compelling brand experience they can find nowhere else. By developing video content to support products and lifesyle, and encouraging consumers to submit their own, merchants can win a definite advantage over Amazon.

Tune in to the webinar tomorrow at 10 a.m. PDT — and meantime, let us know: what content has proven compelling for your brand?

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

Should you implement responsive design?

February 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

As merchants strive to serve shoppers on a growing array of devices, the concept of responsive design has definite allure. And with over a quarter of merchants planning a site redesign this year and more than 40% saying mobile and tablet development are a priority, according to industry researcher Forrester, responsive design may become one of 2013’s top buzzwords.

The premise is that a single base of code can serve multiple touchpoints by detecting the device and browser used and changing the layout and functionality on display accordingly — promising merchants a streamlined process for updates and maintenance. But is responsive design really the right choice when it comes to building a seamless brand experience? There are a number of pros and cons to weigh, among them:

Ease of maintenance vs. ease of use. It’s true that responsive design makes site maintenance easier for merchants — but it’s even more important to consider the site experience for shoppers. While sophisticated use of code can resize, rearrange and even add or omit elements on the page, it can be difficult to create a truly device-specific experience that meets or exceeds shoppers’ expectations. For example, the footer on the desktop browser version of the responsive site for Perry Ellis brand Original Penguin includes an 800 number and a badge indicating shoppers can pay with Paypal, both of which are dropped from the mobile version of the same page. But arguably, the phone number — with click-to-call functionality built in — is more important than ever on the mobile site, where merchants should use every means at their disposal to build trust and ease communication with consumers wary of making purchases on their phones. Similarly, the Paypal badge should be even more prominent than on the desktop site, given that more than two-thirds of transactions on mobile phones are completed using alternative payments rather than entering credit card data.

Responsive design example from Original Penguin

Desktop footer

 

responsive_op_mobile

Mobile footer

It’s important, too, to consider the content of shared elements and whether they truly scale to fit different formats. U.K. electronics giant Curry’s uses responsive design to deliver different sites to mobile and desktop browser users. The main rotating promotions on the home page, however, don’t exactly fit the designated space when viewed on the mobile browser — and some of the images containing multiple products are just too tiny to be effective.

responsive_currys

Desktop home page promo

responsive_currys_mobile

Mobile home page promo

SEO boost vs. performance drag. Another potential benefit to responsive design is that all inbound links from any device or browser point to a single URL — giving that flagship site maximum potential relevance when being ranked for natural search engine results. It’s a worthwhile consideration, since the number of inbound links originating from mobile is significant; for example, — and potentially share product links, “likes” and reviews there.

At the same time, the complexity of the code required to build a truly responsive site can add to page weight, affecting site performance and frustrating the potential customers who clicked on that page-one search results link. As of 2010, , penalizing slower sites as potentially less credible — thereby potentially canceling out some of the positive SEO impact of having a single URL. And on mobile devices, the expectation for speed is more acute than ever; performance monitoring firm Gomez found that 59% of mobile users expect sites to load in 3 seconds or less, while 46% of mobile users would be unlikely to return to a site that had experienced load time problems.

Of course, using separate sites for different devices can cause problems of its own — namely, the loss of speed associated with redirecting shoppers to the right URL. And as with usability and functionality problems, there are ways to avoid performance problems associated with responsive design, such as starting with the mobile version and adding enhancements for tablets and desktops, rather than trying to go from large to small. But the majority of responsive design sites currently don’t employ these techniques, according to performance firm Akamai, which found that 86% of responsive sites’ mobile pages were at least 90% as big as the desktop browser versions.

responsive_akamai

The upshot? Merchants undertaking a redesign should consider using responsive design, as it has great potential. But they should weigh the costs of doing it right versus the costs of maintaining separate sites for different devices — and recognize that responsive design isn’t a cheap silver bullet for solving all their multi-touchpoint needs.

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Search Engine Marketing

February 15, 2013 by

As noted in our last post on 2013 trends, using social login can help merchants individualize the shopping experience for brand followers. And research shows that consumers appreciate the option: according to marketing firm Monetate, on the eCommerce site.

But despite the potential upside, few of the largest U.S. merchants have taken the opportunity to implement social login — just 30 of the merchants in Internet Retailer’s Top 500 have done so, according to marketing firm Sociable Labs. The threat of brand dilution posed by displaying other sites’ logos on the eCommerce site, and the fact that merchants don’t own the data shared by social login users, are perhaps among the reasons driving this reluctance. As , the key is to avoid assuming social logins can solve all a site’s conversion and engagement challenges. Merchants need to assess the potential upside of social logins for their own unique brands and act accordingly.

Despite the caveats, we believe social logins have the potential to drive significant brand engagement, and worth pursuing. But doing so is more than a matter of simply putting a button on the first page of checkout. To maximize the effectiveness of social login, merchants should consider the following strategies:

Know which logins matter to your audience. By far the most popular social login is Facebook’s, according to the Monetate study; fully 60% of shoppers use it, while other social networks’ logins each have less than 15% share. Given that , according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, most merchants considering social login should plan to implement . But depending on their audience, merchants should also consider adding logins from other social networks, from Twitter to LinkedIn. Careful study of analytics and an assessment of which social networks have the largest audience of brand followers can help merchants assess which logins to use. The key is to offer the right mix for the audience without presenting an overwhelming array of options for shoppers.

Integrate fully. Too many merchants who use social login go on to ask shoppers to set up a separate account password for the eCommerce site — but the aim of using social login should be to smooth the path to purchase, not erect more barriers. Of course merchants should strive to establish their own direct relationship with shoppers; but they should implement a phased approach that encourages existing social login users to deepen their relationship, rather than forcing the issue up front. 1-800-Flowers gives Facebook Login users full access to the eCommerce site’s account tools, such as reminder services and address book creation, without creating an additional password.

Facebook login example from 1-800-Flowers

Develop true social shopping opportunities. As a corollary to the above, merchants should make it worthwhile for shoppers to connect via social login by doing more than pre-populating a few checkout fields. Easily-shareable wish lists are a good starting point, but merchants should also develop shopping experiences that draw on shoppers’ social profiles to bring their network of friends and their personal preferences into play. Apparel merchant Charlotte Russe enables social login users to view a real-time stream of what items are being liked and commented on. Shoppers can filter the stream to view only their friends’ picks, and control whether their own selections are shared or not.

Merchants should also consider reminder services that incorporate social login users’ friend feeds. Amazon.com not only lets shoppers know which Facebook friends have birthdays coming up soon, but also makes gift recommendations based on friends’ prior purchases and history of product “likes” on Facebook.

Give users privacy controls — and message prominently. With Facebook and other social networks often grabbing headlines for privacy gaffes, it’s crucial for merchants to clearly outline how social login functionality will work, what user data will be culled from their social profiles, and what information will be shared with users’ friends by the merchant — and social login users should be able to exercise privacy control at multiple points along the engagement path. When designing their social login experiences, merchants should pay special attention to:

  • Signup messaging. Shoppers offered the option of a social login should understand the benefits and what information will be shared before beginning the process. Then, once they’ve opted to use the social login, they should be able to exercise control over how their information will be shared. On the first page of checkout, Wine.com gives shoppers an extensive explanation in a pop-up window of how Facebook Login works. Those who opt to use the social login are then notified of which data the tool will use and given the option to control how information is shared on the social network.

  • Sharing “likes.” When social login users add products to their list of favorites or “like” the items, they should be alerted to how that information will be shared — and given the option to edit the settings. Department store Barney’s launches a pop-up window when a shopper first uses the “Favorites” tool and lets shoppers select whether or not to share their picks.

  • Global control. From any page of the site, shoppers should be able to access their account and turn social sharing on or off; they should also be able to log out completely. Accessory retailer Claire’s offers a drop-down menu in the global navigation that enables shoppers to switch sharing on or off without leaving the browsing experience; users can also opt to log out completely. A fly-out help menu clearly delineates how sharing works and offers the further option of disconnecting from Facebook altogether.

Are you using or considering social logins for your site? Why or why not?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Facebook

Webinar recap: Shopping without borders

February 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

If there’s one theme that emerged from last week’s webinar on trends for 2013, it’s that this year will see shopping escape the confines of the eCommerce site.

MarketLive founder Ken Burke explained how often-discussed but rarely-implemented concepts such as social commerce and multi-channel execution are due to come to fruition, resulting in an experience where shopping seamlessly blends with a consumer’s individual lifestyle. Rather than having to seek out products nested within eCommerce site categories, shoppers will be able to access items in new formats, presented with their individual devices, locations and situations in mind.

Finding new ways to marry shoppers’ preferences with products is an essential means of brand differentiation, which — as discussed in our preview of the webinar – will be merchants’ core challenge for 2013. By attuning technology to match shoppers’ priorities and the core identity of their brands, merchants can stand out in the crowd. A few top strategies the webinar covered:

Designing tablet-specific experiences. Burke estimated that 25% of all online shopping now takes place on tablets — and there’s growing evidence that tablet shoppers are more likely to buy, and buy more, than mobile and perhaps even desktop shoppers. So it behooves merchants to take advantage of the devices’s unique properties — not only its screen size and swipe-and-tap navigation, but the environment in which shoppers use tablets. Tablet owners use them at home 74% of the time, according to eMarketer, while just over a third use them in stores. By contrast, the vast majority of smartphone owners go online on their devices from on-the-go locations, with 75% using them in stores, industry researcher Forrester found. Merchants should optimize the shopping experience for tablets with display-driven formats that enable swiping to browse, as Staples has done with a  tablet-specific site that includes an array of “hot deals” and best sellers for shoppers to swipe through.

Tablet example from Staples

Connecting on-the-go browsing to buying. Smartphone shoppers are 14% more likely to convert and make a purchase in the store than non-smartphone users, according to data from Deloitte — the trick is to provide deep, location-relevant content that encourages purchasing. As a corollary benefit, developing mobile content intended for in-store use helps merchants quantify and track consumers’ movement across touchpoints – enabling them to tighten the mobile-to-purchase connection and justify further investment in mobile efforts. QR codes are increasingly prevalent, with one in five U.S. consumers having scanned one in the past month, so merchants would do well to experiment with this format for physical stores. As an extreme example, Burke showed how eBay has transformed its Inspiration Shop window at 404 Park Avenue South in New York into a buying opportunity using QR codes to link passersby to products and transactions.

eBay physical store with QR codes

 

Embedding products in pictures. Merchants have long known that multiple images and product videos help increase conversion; now, it’s possible to make the transition from image to transaction even more seamless, with product links and displays built into rich media that can be syndicated far beyond the eCommerce site. Barney’s New York used a behind-the-scenes video to showcase products with a product popup display that allowed shoppers to add items to the cart without disrupting their viewing experience. A timeline across the bottom of the display lets shoppers scroll back to items of interest.

Shoppable video example from Barney's

Redefining social shopping. At first, merchants who wanted to monetize social media focused on Facebook stores as a way to enable shoppers to buy within the social environment. Those efforts have seen mixed success, largely because merely adding a “buy” button fails to take advantage of the unique properties of the medium. Rather, by integrating social data with products merchants can create an engaging experience for brand followers. On social networks, that means building interactive social media experiences that allow shoppers to share and tailor product arrays. But perhaps even more exciting is the prospect of bringing social data back onto the eCommerce site, where merchants can blend shoppers’ personal preferences and social data with relevant products using Facebook login and other social connector tools. When shoppers use Facebook in conjunction with accessory retailer Claire’s, they can access a “Fashion Feed” showing which items other shoppers — everyone or just friends — are tagging as favorites, and they can opt whether to add their product picks to the mix.

Using social login is so important that we’re planning a post dedicated to best practices for implementation — watch for it in the coming week. Meantime, to access more key strategies for 2013, replay the webinar — and tell us: what are your priorities for the year?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Facebook, Tablets, Video

Webinar preview: trends to help brand stand out in the crowd

February 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Now that the exuberance of the successful holiday season has worn off, for many merchants the reality of 2013 is setting in – and while they have every reason to be optimistic, they also face a fundamental challenge: how to stand out in the crowd.

The online marketplace is increasingly polarized, as the top mega-brands attract the lion’s share of revenues on one end of the spectrum even as the field of small- and mid-sized merchants becomes ever more crowded. While overall U.S. eCommerce sales grew an average of 14% annually from 2007 to 2011, per year for the same time period, according to industry researcher Forrester.  And nearly 78% of the total 2011 revenues reported by Internet Retailer’s Top 500 merchants was generated by the 50 biggest names on the list. With over two million online retailers in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, merchants must differentiate themselves in order to survive, let alone succeed.

The challenge of creating uniquely irresistible appeal will be at the heart of tomorrow’s webinar examining 2013 trends, which will explore three key themes merchants can adapt to their individual businesses to present a relevant combination of products, offers and services across screens and in new formats. Among the topics MarketLive founder Ken Burke will discuss:

Multi-screen shopping becomes the norm. As merchants have deployed mobile offerings, they’ve largely focused on browsing and researching – activities that support eventual offline or computer-based purchases.  After all, , compared with the 96% who’ve researched products and gone on to make purchases offline or on a larger screen, according to research from Google and Ipsos. But the imperative is growing to focus on driving sales directly from mobile offerings. One key reason: the growing audience of than smartphone shoppers, in part due to the larger screen size that makes it easier to view products and complete checkout forms. But even on smartphones, merchants have an opportunity to better drive mobile revenues, whether by smoothing the path to purchase or tightening the mobile/offline connection so that they can better attribute eventual sales to mobile influence.

The end of the product page as we know it. Rather than seeking out static product information sequestered within a hierarchy of categories and subcategories, increasingly consumers can shop from a variety of online settings that are seamlessly permeated with opportunities to browse and buy. This revolution in content and product presentation is an outgrowth of advances in mobile technology that allow device users to search and identify non-textual content – from visual search tools such as Google Goggles, which delivers search results based on images rather than keywords, to Shazam, an app that can identify songs based on an audio snippet.  QR codes that connect consumers to content via scannable codes are also part of the trend; their usage has grown exponentially, with fully one in five U.S. smartphone users scanning a QR code in April of 2012, according to data from comScore. Shoppable videos and artful product-and-text layouts appeal to the same sensibility of being able to “point, know and buy”.

Shoppable video example from Barney's

Personalization moves to the next level. Merchants have been making increasingly earnest efforts at personalization, and for good reason: the rewards for tailoring products, content and service are potentially significant. More than one in three consumers say they buy more from retailers who personalize the shopping experience and 34% say they buy more from retailers who send product recommendations based on past buying and browsing behavior, according to research from personalization firm MyBuys and The E-Tailing Group.  With an ever-expanding array of information available about individual behaviors, and a growing expectation on the part of consumers that products will be relevant to their specific situation, the bar is being raised on personalization. Merchants should now explore ways to incorporate location-based data from mobile devices and personal details gleaned from social networks as way to add further context to the shopping experience. But personalization in 2013 is also about drawing on shoppers’ explicit input and providing individualized services that make every transaction unique.

Sign up now for the webinar to explore these trends in further depth, complete with examples and more data. We look forward to the conversation!

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

Holiday wrapup: Sales grew 28% despite lull in final week

January 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Two weeks into 2013, the final reports from the 2012 holiday season are rolling in — and the results should make merchants optimistic for sales in the year to come. Industry-wide, spending was up 14% over 2011 for November and December, according to measurement firm comScore, despite leveling growth in the final weeks of the season as consumer confidence was shaken by the “fiscal cliff” negotiations in Washington.

Data from the MarketLive Performance Index shows a similar lull in year-end activity, with engagement and conversion dipping slightly for the week ending December 30. Revenue still grew 2.2%, however, thanks to increased visits of more than 13% and a nearly 5% jump in average order value.

Despite the year-end slowdown, the Index shows significant year-over-year gains, with revenue increasing more than 28% and conversion rates up 7.4% — suggesting that small- and mid-sized merchants held their own against mass merchants and discount sites.

Holiday data from the MarketLive Performance Index

Although the holiday season is officially over, merchants haven’t let up the pace. Post-Christmas sales have given way to Valentine’s Day promotions and previews of new spring merchandise. They’re also taking advantage of the more than 25% increase in visits over the holiday period to acquaint new brand followers with relevant offerings in the hopes of maintaining engagement. To that end, our next two blog posts will explore how to make the most of new audiences by selling socially beyond the “buy” button and keeping new email subscribers engaged — stay tuned!

Overall, the holiday challenge merchants faced to differentiate their offerings in a crowded marketplace will become a year-round preoccupation in 2013, as big brands get bigger and smaller merchants battle fiercely for ownership of their niches. We’ll explore this concept in-depth — as well as look at the top trends and strategies merchants can adapt to fit their brands’ unique needs — in a webinar slated for February 6. Register today — and meantime, let us know: what are your top priorities for the year to come?

 

Filed under Connected Commerce, Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2012 Holidays, MarketLive Performance Index

Using on-site search to support shopping across touchpoints — without inventory integration

January 14, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Merchants by now are well aware that consumers expect a seamless shopping experience across touchpoints. Actually delivering that experience can be a daunting prospect, conjuring as it does the expensive specter of integrating disparate technology systems and silos of information, restructuring personnel and revolutionizing fulfillment. While such mega-projects are indeed important to consider, merchants needn’t be immobilized meantime. They can implement relatively quick fixes that boost cross-touchpoint convenience, without breaking the bank.

Take on-site search. It doesn’t grab headlines or generate hype, but a third of site visits include use of on-site search, resulting in contribution of 34.48% of total online revenue, according to the MarketLive Performance Index  – making site search the top single feature to generate eCommerce sales. And with the Web due to influence 44% of all retail purchases, not just online sales, by 2016, according to industry researcher Forrester, there’s still more revenue to be derived from a robust on-site search tool that not only connects shoppers with product information, but supports migration to physical stores to complete transactions.

While integration of in-store inventory is the ultimate way on-site search can support cross-touchpoint shopping, simpler changes can significantly boost convenience and access to information for shoppers. Merchants with physical outlets should consider adding these capabilities:

In-store availability as a product attribute. Even if merchants can’t drill down into inventory to show the availability of an individual item in an individual store, it’s helpful to let shoppers know whether items in a results set can be purchased in stores at all, versus being offered online exclusively. Many merchants already flag online exclusives as a way to encourage purchasing through the Web — but they can use the same product data attribute to let shoppers filter results sets to view only items also or only available in physical locations.

Portable searches – online and offline. Merchants should encourage shoppers to save for later reference particular keyword terms or individual products from a search results set; that way, shoppers can not only easily return to a shopping session on their computers, but they can use mobile devices in-store to pull up their prior finds. As suggested in earlier posts, adding the capability to save such information doesn’t necessarily mean requiring shoppers to register: for example, shoppers could add items to a wish list they could then email to themselves for future reference, or instantly email themselves a link to a results set using “forward to a friend” type functionality. Similarly, shoppers heading to stores should be able to print search results for quick reference — an option Home Depot offers within its eCommerce site on-site search tool.

On-site search example from Home Depot

Connection to relevant in-store events. Making in-store event listings keyword-searchable can alert shoppers to happenings they may not have known were offered. Merchants should display relevant in-store events alongside product results and link the event information to store details such as hours and location. Cookware merchants Sur La Table uses a tabbed layout to present “cooking classes” alongside product results and recipes related to searchers’ keyword terms. Searches can use a faceted-search-style menu in the left-hand column to narrow the class listings to those available at a particular store.

On-site search example from Sur La Table

What search tools do you use to support cross-touchpoint behavior?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce Tagged with On-site search

Top 2013 priority: proactive customer service

January 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

With our optimization series winding down at the peak of the holiday season, you may have missed the final installment on customer service — but it’s well worth checking out, as it may be the most important topic we covered.

After all, while social media, SEO and mobile strategies may or may not fit a given merchant’s target audience and business goals, every seller strives to deliver stellar service to potential and returning customers. And the stakes couldn’t be higher: with consumers more empowered than ever to voice their opinions, failure to meet expectations carries a heavy price. Nearly a third of consumers have complained about poor service using social feedback methods such as social networking sites or third-party review sites such as Yelp, according to Forrester,  and 45% of consumers say they’ll quickly abandon an online purchase altogether if they can’t find a quick answer to their questions.

The good news is that empowerment is a two-way street. Merchants now have the ability to move beyond reactive customer care and into the realm of proactive relationship building. The ability to deliver targeted service messaging appropriate to the touchpoint customers prefer means that merchants needn’t wait for the phone to ring to demonstrate excellent service.  And just as poor service risks damaging the brand, merchants who meet consumers’ high expectations stand to reap substantial rewards. Satisfactory service interactions can lead to additional purchases from existing customers and a cost savings due to reduced customer churn. In addition, a positive customer service experience can lead to a boost in word-of-mouth recommendations: for example, shoppers who use social networks for customer service are three times as likely to recommend a brand after a successful interaction, according to a survey by NM Incite. In addition, merchants who can differentiate their brands through superior service are better positioned to compete against online behemoths such as Amazon: stellar service can help contribute value to the brand that goes beyond discount pricing.

To achieve such gains, merchants should not only invest in optimizing service across touchpoints, but they should take a proactive stance in shaping customer communication and building relationships. Delivering fluid, user-driven customer service helps merchants provide information that’s relevant to the audience and the touchpoint – enabling sales and boosting loyalty. Download the whitepaper to read how merchants can
•    lay the groundwork with organizational changes that boost consistency and open communication
•    build substantial self-service content – with help from customers
•    adopt a proactive approach, touchpoint by touchpoint

Will customer service be a focus for you in 2013? Why or why not?

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

Free Shipping Day last-minute tips: Navigating the discount merchants love to hate

December 10, 2012 by 3 Comments

The peak holiday season is underway, and merchants are rapidly approaching the finish line for 2012. With holiday purchasing going full throttle, the approach of Free Shipping Day on Dec. 17 is likely to cause anxiety as well as anticipation.

There’s no doubt that for shoppers, free shipping offers are the brass ring of holiday promotions. According to the 2012 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey, free shipping with no conditions is the discount most likely to spur purchasing, with 85% of shoppers saying they’d be likely to take advantage of such a promotion. Last year, Free Shipping Day generated more than $1 billion in sales, more than Black Friday, according to measurement firm comScore.

For merchants, of course, free shipping is another story altogether. While a free shipping offer can boost overall orders, margins suffer — and especially this late in the season, there’s a risk that delivery issues will prevent gifts from arriving on time, causing customer dissatisfaction. To successfully negotiate the potential pitfalls and score sales wins on Free Shipping Day, merchants need to promote what discount they offer widely, while at the same time clearly communicating deadlines and limitations. Consider incorporating the following tactics into your strategy:

Go deep and wide to promote your free shipping offer. Merchants should make the most of the free shipping offer they’ve devised by prominently promoting it throughout the brand experience. That includes:

  • Signing up on the official Free Shipping Day Web site, freeshippingday.com.
  • Highlighting the offer throughout the eCommerce store. Merchants should not only promote free shipping on the home page, but also
    • on individual product pages. Help nudge shoppers toward the add-to-cart by listing free shipping offers prominently on the product page. If there’s a threshold, indicate whether individual items qualify on their own, as Moosejaw does on its product pages. Not only does the global header state the site’s policy of free shipping on orders over $49, but the message is reinforced on the product page by flagging qualifying items, such as this child carrier, with the note “Free shipping on this item.”
    • Shipping example from Moosejaw
    • in the drop-down global shopping cart. If merchants employ a global cart that displays the contents, add a flag letting shoppers know a free shipping offer is in effect, and what the threshold is, if any, so they can be sure to qualify. Lifestyle merchant Gaiam’s global cart highlights the site’s free shipping offer, including a link to detailed information that includes delivery method and the offer end date.
    • Shipping example from Gaiam
    • on the main shopping cart page. If possible, merchants should help shoppers do the math and calculate how much more merchandise they need to add to qualify for any threshold.
  • Sending the offer to email subscribers. Let them know free shipping is available and, if there’s a threshold, highlight items that qualify. Be sure to message the expiration date on the offer prominently to create a sense of urgency, as Beauty.com does in this promotion from last year. Not only is the offer flagged as being available “today only”, but the message text restates the deadline of 11:59 p.m.
  • Shipping example from beauty.com
  • Sharing the offer socially. Let brand followers know about the free shipping offer and include links to qualifying items or categories.
  • Flagging the discount for mobile shoppers. Highlight the free shipping alert on mobile devices with a prominent display on the mobile Web site, as beauty merchant H2O Plus does on its mobile home page.
  • Shipping example from H2O Plus

 

Step up visibility of delivery timelines and deadlines. With the holiday countdown clock ticking, merchants should use Free Shipping Day as an opportunity to let shoppers know now is the time to commit to their final gift purchases. If they aren’t already, delivery deadlines should now be accessible from everywhere the free shipping offer is promoted. In particular, consider:

  • A global element on the eCommerce site. Use the global header and/or footer to communicate shipping deadlines and link to detailed delivery information to ensure that shoppers can access the information from everywhere on the site. Last year, the Gap included a reminder to order by December 20 in its global header alongside its free shipping offer.
  • Shipping example from gap.com
  • A reminder in the eCommerce shopping cart. Reinforce delivery timelines in the cart by spelling them out explicitly. The Sharper Image includes estimated delivery dates alongside each shipping method’s cost, helping shoppers select the timeframe that meets their needs.
  • Holiday example from The Sharper ImageTimelines in email marketing. Add to the sense of urgency of the Free Shipping Day offer by displaying shipping cutoff dates as part of the marketing message, as Garden Botanika did last year by headlining its offer “Last Day”.
  • Holiday example from Garden Botanika

Reassuring shoppers with trust-building elements. In addition to clearly communicating delivery timelines, merchants should message reliability throughout the shopping experience to let shoppers know their Free Shipping Day order will be in good hands. Consider boosting the visibility of customer service contact information and product guarantees:

  • In the cart on the eCommerce site. Help shoppers at this crucial juncture on the path to purchase by messaging reliable delivery and easy access to customer service, as ThinkGeek does with a banner headlined “Ordering from ThinkGeek is safe and awesome.” The message stresses “secure shopping, fast shipping and super friendly customer service” and the accompanying display includes third-party certification badges as well as information about payment methods accepted.
  • Holiday example from ThinkGeek
  • On social outposts. Convince brand followers to take advantage of Free Shipping Day offers by stepping up customer service messaging and highlighting it prominently, as Land’s End does on its Facebook page. The summary information about the brand includes its trademark product guarantee and 800 customer service number, while a prominent link to customer service information leads to a page outlining further details about the product guarantee and messaging 24/7 support, free returns and other crucial holiday information.
  • Holiday example from Lands' End

Are you participating in Free Shipping Day? What offers will you promote?

Filed under Connected Commerce, Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2012 Holidays, Shipping

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