Category: Retail & eCommerce

eCommerce, Online Retail & Retail News

eBay Breaks Up with PayPal for Another Partner

Even in business, some partnerships are just not meant to last. Despite working closely together for more than a decade, eBay recently announced that it would be ditching long-time partner PayPal as its primary payments processor by 2020.

In a post on its company website, eBay announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Adyen, to replace PayPal. Ayden is an Amsterdam-based global payment company and one of PayPal’s rivals.

eBay acquired PayPal in October of 2002 for $1.5 billion. At the time, the two services seemed to be well-paired with eBay controlling the lion share of the online auction market while PayPal was the top player in online payment processing. However, by July of 2015, the two returned to being standalone businesses.

While Adyen will eventually be easing out PayPal from its current role, eBay assures that PayPal will remain one of the payment options that buyers can choose upon checkout. eBay further revealed it has an “Operating Agreement with PayPal, which remains in place through mid-2020.”

EBay will shift its payments business from long-time partner PayPal to Dutch processor Adyen #tictocnews https://t.co/o14hG40LmR pic.twitter.com/1yFsvEYgpT

— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) February 1, 2018

According to the auction giant, the shift to Adyen will bring in multiple benefits to both sellers and buyers. The cited benefits to sellers include lower costs and a simplified pricing structure, easier tracking of transactions and payment information as well as greater sales conversion due to the expanded payment options.

Buyers, on the other hand, will now have more payment options upon checkout. eBay likewise promised a more streamlined checkout experience.

Working together with eBay is a big win for Adyen especially considering the company’s relatively small size. Adyen posted a net revenue of $178 million in 2016. In comparison, rival PayPal posted almost $11 billion in revenue for the same period.

Understandably, eBay’s announcement negatively affected PayPal shares with its price plummeting by as much as 10 percent on Wednesday’s trading. However, it is unclear how much the Adyen deal will affect its bottom line. At the moment, PayPal’s market value is around $102 billion, more than twice Ebay’s value of $42 billion. In addition, PayPal seems to be doing fine and has recently reported a 59 percent rise in profit for the fourth quarter of 2017.

February 1, 2018
Google to Launch Cloud-Based Digital Store, Teams Up with Mobleiron

Google is trying its best to catch up to its competitors in the cloud computing industry, especially the current market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS). In a recent announcement, the search engine giant—and one of the top players in the cloud segment—revealed that it will launch a digital store offering a slew of white-label cloud-based software products for use by companies and organizations.

Google will launch the online store in a joint venture with MobileIron, a company that offers cybersecurity tools for cell phones. Google also plans to bring Orbitera’s commerce platform to the deal while MobileIron will capitalize on its expertise in app distribution, analytics, and security to make the project work.

With the new online store in place, a company will be able to purchase cloud services for eventual distribution to its employees while, at the same time, keep its corporate data secure. The platform, which is expected to roll out later this year, will be accessed through mobile telecom providers.

In its online post, Google promised a host of advantages that the online cloud store could bring to resellers, enterprises, OEMs, and ISVs. For instance, customers can customize bundles, customize branding for both the marketplace and its customers, offer one centralize bill for various services, enjoy a more secure cloud access as well as analyze usage data to see when apps are being used.

In 2016, Orbitera was acquired by Google in a deal estimated to be worth around $100 million, a move that could help Google compete against cloud rivals AWS and Microsoft Azure. Orbitera created a buying and selling platform for cloud-based software.

News on MobileIron’s partnership with Google was positively received by the market. MobileIron shares climbed as high as 14 percent or a high of $4.60 during Tuesday’s trading until it eventually settled $4.62 by afternoon’s close.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 31, 2018
13 Ways to Grow Your Brand With Pinterest

Pinterest is not quite a social media behemoth like Facebook and Twitter, but with 200 million users a month, it can certainly hold its own. The platform’s user base also covers a wide demographic, making it an ideal place for businesses of all kinds to find new customers. As a matter of fact, 50 percent of all millennials in the U.S. use Pinterest. Older people use the platform as well, with 68 percent of American women aged 25 to 54 happily pinning and creating boards. Men are getting into the action as well, with 40 percent of new users being males.

If you never considered using Pinterest as a marketing tool before, here are 13 ways you can use the platform to grow your brand in 2018:

How to Grow Your Brand With Pinterest

1. Integrate Save Buttons to Your Website

It’s always a good idea to make it easy for people to take action, and adding a Pinterest Save button allows them to Pin your content. You can even choose between using automatic or hover buttons. The former appears on every image on your site while the latter appears when the mouse hovers over an image.

2. Concentrate on Amazing Visuals

Pinterest is a largely visual medium, so you have to make sure you’re using well-crafted images. Use photos that are bright, have good composition and are in focus. You can also add some text to give people an idea about your content.

3. Pin Daily and Wisely

Consistency is critical when it comes to Pinterest. The best practice is to have a minimum of one Pin day. If you’re planning on posting a lot of content for the week, divide them up so you’ll have several posts per day. Meanwhile, post seasonal or themed Pins about 45 days ahead of the event.

4. Have Good Timing

When to Pin and post largely depends on your target demographic. You’ll have to do some testing to identify which times are ideal. But generally, the optimal times to post are between 2-4PM EST and 8PM-1AM EST and on Saturday morning.

5. Utilize Rich Pins When Necessary

Rich Pins are upgraded Pins that utilize metadata from your website to give additional information on what Pinners will find when they click on the Pin. These Pins can be used for apps, articles, recipes, and products. More importantly, it highlights the link to the article and has a clear call-to-action button.

6. Optimize Pins

All Pins have a uniform width, although the length varies. Pins that are 800px by 1200px are considered the perfect size. Long pins are also good and are shared more.

7. Try Instructographics

A term coined by Pinterest, instructographics/infographics are very popular with users. Advertisers also love it because of the platform’s length allotment. So if possible, try this style with your content.

8. Take Advantage of Analytics for Better Results

Pinterest analytics can provide you with crucial information, like the most popular Pins and content. From there you can tweak and enhance your strategy so that you’ll target the right audience.

9. Re-Pin Regularly

You want to keep your brand in people’s minds, and re-pinning content from other users can do that. It also keeps your own page populated with new content. But never re-pin posts from rivals.

10. Encourage Engagement

Never forget that Pinterest is a social platform so you have to be engaged and engaging. Follow relevant boards and engage with Pins in your niche. Encourage employees and influencers to join an share something on your group boards.

11. Try Out Promoted Pins

Also known as Pinterest Ads, Promoted Pins are another way to give your brand more exposure. These posts are clearly distinguished by the “Promoted” tag underneath the Pin and when clicked, shows your brand name. Data has shown that companies using these ads received a 20 percent boost in organic clicks.

12. Diversify Your Board

Don’t limit yourself by focusing on Pins about a specific niche. Branch out to slightly different topics as they can draw in a different audience. If you’re selling kitchen appliances, Pins about recipes can pave the way for other groups to become interested.

13. Include Pins in Your Newsletter

Help your customers find your Pins by sending it directly to them. Include the latest ones in your newsletter. It will also lead your direct subscribers to your account.

Pinterest is a very diverse platform, giving you the perfect opportunity to reach different demographics. Grow your brand and become a force to be reckoned with in the Pinterest community with relevant content and well-crafted images.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 30, 2018
5 Ways to Boost eCommerce Sales with Product Recommendations

Businesses know that acquiring new customers is more difficult and costlier than selling new products to existing customers. This is why eCommerce businesses prefer to invest in a good loyalty program. And product recommendations is one of the best marketing tools that a retailer can have in its arsenal. After all, the right recommendation helps sell more products to existing customers.

Simply put, recommendations are suggestions made by the retailer on various things that the customer might also be interested in. But in order to do this, the company has to know its customers and what they want. This is to avoid scenarios like recommending red stilettos to a client who prefers white trainers.

The question now is how to successfully use recommendations to improve eCommerce sales. Here are five suggestions:

1. Generate Personalized Product Recommendations

Personalized recommendations are carefully calculated and chosen products that are offered with the customer’s shopping behavior and history taken into consideration.

[Image via Amazon.com]

Amazon is a prime example of personalized recommendations. First-time site visitors will initially see some generic suggestions that are either crowdsourced bestsellers or what other visitors are checking. But once a purchase has been made, they’ll see recommendations based on items they’ve bought or searched for recently. These suggestions are found in the product description of the item a customer is currently checking or on the homepage that they’re logged into.

2. Have Well-Timed Customized Email Recommendations

Email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing strategies. It’s affordable, practical, and can boost conversions. But to have a more robust customer engagement, personalized email recommendations are the way forward. After all, the more relevant the email’s content is, the higher the rate of emails opened, website visits and sales.

Amazon is again a good example of this strategy. The company’s AI sends well-timed emails that recommend products that the customer has just browsed on the site. The emails are also sent as soon as the customer leaves the site, thereby ensuring that they’re still receptive to recommendations.

3. Make Product Pages More Appealing With Relevant Suggestions

The product page is one area where you can make more recommendations. However, it’s important that you find the best way to showcase your items because at this stage, you’ll either push your client towards the checkout process or drive them away altogether. Data-backed recommendations can provide shoppers with more choices at this key stage. By putting together selections based on the customer’s interest, the odds of conversions can increase by as much as 411%.

[Image via Shopify.com]

Brands can boost conversions by suggesting complementary items. For instance, if the shopper is looking for shoes, they can cross-sell by suggesting a shoe rack. Product recommendations can also be based on the shopping patterns of other shoppers. For example, if previous shoppers also bought a necklace after buying a blouse, then the product page would recommend what “people who bought this product also bought.”

4. Don’t Stop at a Confirmed Order

A successful order confirmation doesn’t mean you have to stop making recommendations. This stage of the shopping process can still be a good arena for recommending items that the customer could buy. Think of it as a last chance to add more products to the deal.

There are two good ways to make the most of order confirmations. One would be to have recommendation popups. Aside from thanking your customers for their latest purchase, include messages that suggest “you might be interested in this product.” The second way would be to integrate recommended products in the order confirmation email. Make your offer more compelling with the promise of freebies or discounts in their next purchase.

5. Making Friendly Referrals

As already mentioned, recommendations shouldn’t stop just because a purchase has been made. Recommendations can be used as a referral tool, one that can push a brand further, generate traffic, and boost more sales.

Brands can do this by asking customers to share the news of their latest purchase with their friends via social media. Bear in mind that people are more likely to buy or use the same brand that a trusted friend has used and recommended. To make this easier for your customer, integrate a “Share This” button on the customer’s order confirmation page.

There’s no question that recommendations have positive results. It’s a marketing strategy that eCommerce businesses can easily adopt. So this year, put more emphasis on recommendations and see your sales numbers grow.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 29, 2018
Apple Announces ‘Business Chat’ with Upcoming iOS Update

It seems that more and more tech companies are starting to monetize their messaging apps to meet the communication needs of businesses. The latest company to go this route is Apple, which recently announced that it will be launching Business Chat, a feature that was actually unveiled during last year’s Worldwide Developer Conference.

Apple will be releasing a new operating system update this Spring, the iOS 11.3. The company will also introduce a host of new features along with the iOS update, one of which is the Business Chat.

With the Business Chat feature in place, users will be able to talk directly with a company’s business representative via the iMessage app. In addition, the new feature will offer payment capabilities via Apple Pay as well as make appointments if such is applicable to the business.

Apple is preparing to roll out a new feature in iMessage that will allow consumers to chat directly with businesses through Apple’s messaging platform. The feature, called Business Chat, will debut this spring https://t.co/KdEUjWI0Jg pic.twitter.com/ZIGRjnhDIQ

— Message.io (@message_io) January 25, 2018

The move seems to signal Apple’s serious intent to enter into the niche. SnapChat made a similar move earlier this month by launching its own WhatsApp Business app.

While many people may not be used to using chats to contact companies, demand for business messaging is increasing. In fact, a Facebook-commissioned Nielsen study concluded that the majority of consumers would actually prefer messaging a business than calling their hotline. Based on the survey, 56 percent expressed a preference in using text to contact companies. Furthermore, a total of 67 percent believed that business messaging is going to pick up in the next two years.

However, it will be a big challenge for Apple to make it big in business messaging given its smaller number of users. Facebook Messenger has a head start with around 1.3 billion users using the app with 80 percent of its 65 million businesses users already using the platform to connect with customers.

While WhatsApp may be a bit late in entering the business chat segment, Apple can’t compete in terms of the size of its user base. WhatsApp has around 1.3 billion users worldwide.

January 25, 2018
How Your eCommerce Business Can Emotionally Connect with Customers

Most business owners know that providing good customer service is crucial to fostering customer loyalty or winning new clients. While this is true, there is another element to doing good business that often gets overlooked, and that’s making an emotional connection with your customers.

In addition to offering the best shopping experience or quality products and services, brands should consider appealing to customers’ emotions. As Harvard Business Review succinctly explained it, businesses should meet their clients’ “deep, often unspoken emotional needs.”

However, the idea is particularly challenging to eCommerce companies, as most conduct their business solely online. Connecting emotionally with customers without the help of physical staff or a brick-and-mortar store experience can be difficult, but it can be done. Here are some suggestions how:

Create a Story for Your Brand

Brand stories give your company the opportunity to show off the characteristics and values it puts in high regard. It also gives customers something they can relate to and it helps explains how your brand faces your clients’ problems. The more open and transparent your brand’s story is, the higher the chances are of customers trusting your company. A simple and direct narrative that clearly speaks about your brand’s purpose can be a very effective way of generating positive emotions from customers.

A good example of this approach is Trader Joe’s. The company replaced its “About Us” page with an “Our Story” page and the rest is history. The story humanizes the brand by explaining the company’s approach to doing business and what it values most. The new page also has a link to a company timeline that shows how it grew from a small chain of convenience stores to becoming a nationally recognized brand with over 400 locations.

Irresistible Images Make Compelling Emotional Triggers

Videos and photos are good at providing instant emotional triggers, regardless of whether that emotion is joy, sadness, fear, love, or lust. Intersperse interesting videos and eye-catching photographs throughout your website that visitors would love to share with their friends and family. You can also use photos of your staff, your offices, and maybe some behind-the-scenes images so visitors to your website will see who’s behind the brand. Putting a face to the people behind the brand makes it more relatable.

Apple, for example, does an excellent job of using emotive imagery in its marketing campaigns. This has helped it to maintain one of the highest rates of customer loyalty among corporate brands.

Tap Into People’s Greed

Greed has been the unabashed battle cry of the 80’s, thanks to Michael Douglas’ awesome portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. While the emotion might be considered a deadly sin in some social circles, there’s no question of its effectivity in persuading people. Consider how the words “free,” “all yours,” or “valuable” are often used in advertising. Whether it’s a free gift or a limited time offer, advertisers know that tapping into people’s greed can reap rewards. After all, it’s human nature for people to want to believe that they’re getting something good for almost nothing.

If you want to use this emotion, you have to give your customers a little push and help them realize what they will be missing if they act too slow. Using phrases like “Limited Offer” or “Buy Now Before It’s Too Late” have always been effective. You can also emphasize the benefits they’ll get or the return of investment they’ll enjoy.

Touch on People’s Desire to Give Back

Most people want to give something back to the world, and brands that support a charity or are deeply involved in their community engenders a lot of positive emotions among consumers. A Cone Cause Evolution Study determined that 83 percent of Americans want the services and products they support to also support charities. It’s not surprising then that 80 percent of American consumers are likely to change brands to ones that do support a charity.

TOMS epitomizes this idea. In its One for One campaign, the company pledged that for every purchased pair of shoes, they would also donate a pair to underprivileged kids. So far, the company has already donated 45 million pairs to charity.

Finding a way to incorporate charity or community work will boost your brand’s awareness, reputation, and revenue.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 25, 2018
Stripe Announces That it Will Stop Accepting Bitcoin in April

Stripe, the Ireland-based payment platform, seems to be backtracking on its previously enthusiastic stance on cryptocurrencies as a mode of payment. In a statement issued January 23, the company announced that it is winding down support for Bitcoin and plans to ditch the cryptocurrency.

The announcement was made by Stripe product manager Tom Karlo in a blog post on the company’s website. According to Karlo, the company will slowly wind down its support for BTC and, in three months, will totally end support for the cryptocurrency by April 23. Of course, this move is a reversal of its position on cryptocurrencies four years ago, when it proudly announced that it was the first payment platform to accept bitcoin as a mode of payment for transactions.

Stripe will end bitcoin support because customers aren’t interested https://t.co/UFdKfWzZWy pic.twitter.com/NWQscalOQ1

— The Verge (@verge) January 23, 2018

Karlo gave three major reasons why Stripe is ending Bitcoin support. One reason for the company’s withdrawal is lengthy transaction confirmation which sometimes leads to failed transactions. “Transaction confirmation times have risen substantially,” Karlo explained. “This, in turn, has led to an increase in the failure rate of transactions denominated in fiat currencies.”

Another reason is that Bitcoin’s price volatility makes it less than ideal as a means of payment. In fact, it is said that it sometimes takes hours for entering a transfer into a blockchain. Coupled with Bitcoin’s lengthy transaction confirmation, its price fluctuations could spell disaster for either of the transacting parties. “By the time the transaction is confirmed, fluctuations in Bitcoin price mean that it’s for the ‘wrong’ amount,” Karlo points out.

And, lastly, Karlo explained that the hefty transactions fees were another reason for dropping Bitcoin. He pointed out that BTC fees cost about as much as bank transfers, making it less attractive as a payment option. “For a regular Bitcoin transaction,“ a fee of tens of U.S. dollars is common, making Bitcoin transactions about as expensive as bank wires,” Karlo observed. “Bitcoin has evolved to become better-suited to being an asset than being a means of exchange.”

But Stripe is not totally discounting cryptocurrencies as payment options and is closely monitoring developments in the segment which might justify “enabling support for in the future.”

[Featured image via Stripe]

January 24, 2018
4 Best Platforms for Launching Your eCommerce Store
Picking the right eCommerce platform is one of the most critical decisions that small businesses can make in this digital age. This is because mobile commerce and eCommerce are set to grow exponentially in the coming years as more people shop online.

The booming eCommerce trend shows that brands that chose the right platform have steadily grown their markets. Some have even cornered their niche. However, no two eCommerce platforms are alike, as each one has its distinct advantages and disadvantages.

To help you make the right choice for your eCommerce business, here’s a quick overview of today’s top platforms.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce is one of today’s top eCommerce software providers. It also hosts more than 55,000 online stores, with brands like Toyota and Martha Stewart choosing to do business on the platform.
- Pros: The platform is known for its handy built-in features, like analytics, coupons, newsletters, and shipping. It also boasts a powerful tech support service that includes educational videos and a setup wizard. Users also love the fact that BigCommerce doesn’t charge any transaction fee and that all their themes, whether it’s free or paid, are very responsive and adapt to give a great mobile experience.
- Cons: Choice of themes is a bit limited with BigCommerce, as the platform offers only seven free ones. But the company does have an impressive list of premium themes that allows for extensive customization.
- Best For: BigCommerce has been described as the go-to platform for those who don’t have the time, inclination, or technological know-how to work around digital code.
Shopify

Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms today. It’s the runaway winner with regards to what people are looking for and the number of people showing interest in product online.
- Pros: The platform has a number of features going for it, including shipping rates, automatic taxes, and support for different languages. One of the platform’s best features is its built-in support for abandoned carts.
- Cons: One of the biggest disadvantages of Shopify is how expensive it can be once transaction fees and the add-ons are computed. However, basic plans are very affordable, but the platform charges about 2 percent per transaction. Fees are also tacked on for credit card transactions and the additional apps that you want to integrate into your store.
- Best For: Shopify is perfect for startups and small businesses. Retail companies who have finally decided to wade into the waters of eCommerce will find this platform ideal.
WooCommerce

Companies that already have a WordPress site will find WooCommerce to be the perfect partner. WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress, making it a wonderful way for small businesses to integrate an online shop and a checkout process to their existing website.
- Pros: WooCommerce’s almost seamless integration with the existing theme of your WordPress site is a major draw. That means you also don’t have to deal with complicated built-in themes unless it’s being offered by WordPress.
- Cons: One obvious downside to this platform is its dependence on WordPress. Businesses who want to use WooCommerce also have to set up a WordPress site. Hosting is another stumbling block. The platform also lacks many of the functionalities and tools that platforms like Shopify offers.
- Best For: WooCommerce is another great solution for startups and small organizations that prefer to utilize WordPress for their main business requirements and use the platform only as a secondary function.
Yokart

This platform was designed with the express purpose of assisting startups to build their eCommerce system easily. It’s pricing models and features make it ideal for starting multi-vendor stores.
- Pros: Aside from being a ready-to-launch multiple vendor solution, Yokart is also mobile-friendly and has a dedicated app for markets. The platform provides detailed manuals, FAQs and video tutorials for merchants and a year’s worth of free support for retail owners.
- Cons: YoKart has an unfortunate lack of third-party extensions. It also suffers from a dearth of social commerce capacities, which means that retailers cannot sell on Facebook and other social media platforms yet.
- Best For: YoKart is a great choice for stores similar to eBay and Etsy. It offers a good startup package at $250 that allows small businesses to work out their business model.
The right eCommerce platform for your business depends on the type and size of your organization, and the type of web architecture that you’re already using. Factors like your tech support and expertise, budget, and product should also be considered.

[Featured image via Pixabay]
January 24, 2018
Rupert Murdoch’s Solution to Facebook’s Fake News Problem: Pay the Publishers

Days after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new strategy to determine which news outlets can be trusted, Rupert Murdoch proposed another way to solve the fake new problem that has been bugging the social media platform. Murdoch, executive chairman of publishing empire News Corporation, proposed that social media platforms pay publishers for “trusted” content.

Rupert Murdoch calls on Facebook to pay a carriage fee for ‘trusted’ news publishers: https://t.co/SGDRwMqoyc $FB pic.twitter.com/ywZna8QPNI

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) January 22, 2018

Murdoch is specifically targeting Facebook and Google, the two companies that are now acting as gateways exercising considerable influence on how news gets distributed. Of course, the two companies are considered a duopoly in online advertising, owning the lion share of the market.

Instead of popularizing “scurrilous news sources through algorithms that are profitable for these platforms but inherently unreliable,” Murdoch is now urging Facebook and Google to pay money for content from trusted news sources. Murdoch proposed an arrangement similar to carriage fees or a charge paid by satellite and cable television providers to local broadcast stations as payment for the right to broadcast locally. Murdoch expressed his opinion via a statement on the News Corp website.

“If Facebook wants to recognize ‘trusted’ publishers then it should pay those publishers a carriage fee similar to the model adopted by cable companies. The publishers are obviously enhancing the value and integrity of Facebook through their news and content, but are not being adequately rewarded for those services. Carriage payments would have a minor impact on Facebook’s profits but a major impact on the prospects for publishers and journalists.”

Fake news is a persistent issue that Facebook has been facing lately. Previously, the social media giant was accused of enabling the spread of fake political news during the U.S. and French presidential elections. Last August, this prompted the company to block ads from publishers who share fake news. Just last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a new way to combat news by letting the platform’s users decide for themselves which outlet they think is reliable.

At the moment, neither Google nor Facebook issued a comment on Murdoch’s proposal.

[Featured image via YouTube]

January 23, 2018
How to Deal With After-Christmas Returns in January

People think that the weeks before Christmas are the most profitable time for retail and eCommerce businesses. That certainly is true, as evidenced by the $114 billion that eCommerce businesses are estimated to have generated in the last holiday season. But January is also a very important time for businesses in terms of profit and product returns.

January is the month of the dreaded “return season.” According to the National Retail Federation, Americans returned $284 billion worth of products in 2017. About 25 percent of those products were returned within the weeks following the Christmas holidays, mostly in January. Moreover, the rate of product returns is particularly high for eCommerce businesses with about a 30 percent return of all products ordered online compared to only 8.89 percent purchased in brick-and-mortar stores.

Given the numbers, retailers and eCommerce businesses that do not have a solid return policy in place could see significant cuts into their business’s bottom line at this time of year.

While dealing with product returns is admittedly not ideal, research has shown that customers who had a good return experience also become repeat customers. Here are 3 ways you can deal with Christmas returns and keep customers loyal.

Make Sure Return and Exchange Policies are Clear

It’s vital that your customers know what your company’s return and exchange processes are. Make sure you have clear and easy to understand policies and instructions posted on a page designed specifically for returns. Use several strategies to make this easier for customers, like utilizing a how-to video or web page with diagrams and a list of bullet points. Some retailers even go so far as to include return instructions and return labels in every order.

Have a Sound Return and Exchange Process in Place

Having a reliable exchange process firmly in place before big shopping seasons will ease the pressure on your staff and make transactions go smoother. This is essential for companies that allow goods to be purchased online and returned in the store, and vice versa. This multi-channel system not only ensures customer loyalty, it also encourages shoppers who return items in-store to make additional purchases while at the shop.

But in order for this to be successful, retailers should use a platform where the staff can easily see online and in-store inventories and check whether the product is covered by the company’s return policy. It will also make it easier to see whether there are any cash back or on-the-spot credit promos in place.

Transform Returns Into Exchanges

Another way to deal with returns is to transform it into a product exchange. A lot of customers want to or are willing to exchange an item. Maybe they want to exchange a dress for one with a different color or gadget for one of a different model. However, some consumers are not aware that they can exchange their item for something else.

Make sure your customers know they can do this. Have the information posted on your site or place friendly customer service staff on the floor who can point out promos and explain the exchange process. Remember that exchanges are far better than giving refunds.

Product returns and exchanges are part of doing business. Retailers can cut down on their losses by ensuring that their customers keep coming back. A good return and exchange policy, great customer service and a solid return process go a long way in keeping customers happy and loyal.

January 23, 2018
Amazon’s Checkout-Free Store Opens in Seattle

Amazon could forever change the way we do shopping. Today, Amazon opened its first checkout-free grocery store, a move that will definitely alter the retail scene.

Of course, the system has been tested for a year now. Although previously, the outlet, which is located at 2131 7th Avenue in Seattle, was open only for Amazon employees as they tried to look for bugs in the system.

#AmazonGo opens on Monday, January 22 in Seattle. Get the app to enter the store. See you soon! https://t.co/jt7quQ4rke pic.twitter.com/shIyrifZyk

— Amazon.com (@amazon) January 21, 2018

Also known as “Amazon Go,” the store is outfitted with the latest in surveillance equipment. Cameras and sensors are ever watchful on what items customers remove from shelves to determine the billable amount. Of course, the system also understands that shoppers tend to hesitate and change their minds a lot, so it also tracks the items customers put back on the shelves.

While shopping, customers are allowed to put any item they wish to purchase directly into their shopping bags. And no, they don’t have to unpack the items before exiting the store because there is no one at the counter to swipe them. In fact, the store keeps a real-time tally of exactly what’s in the bag and how much they cost.

The only time customers will encounter a store employee is when they need to be ID’ed for alcohol purchases. Otherwise, there is no checkout line because customers are billed directed to their credit cards on file.

If you plan to go shopping at the new store, you’ll first need to download the Amazon Go app to your smartphone. To gain entry, you’ll then need to tap on the app to unlock the turnstile at the front of the store. Once you’re in, just remember that your every move is being monitored.

The future of retail via Amazon Go pic.twitter.com/jVIjnvi6aZ

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 21, 2018

Of course, it still remains to be seen if customers will warm up to this new shopping experience. With a horde of cameras planted all around the store, it does feel a bit like Big Brother which could be a turn off for some shoppers.

[Featured image via YouTube]

January 22, 2018
4 Tips for Personalizing Your Next Email Campaign

When it comes to online marketing, setting up an effective email campaign frustrates many business owners. Most operate under the assumption that having an email opt-in plugin and signing up with an email marketing service is enough to get high conversions. What they have failed to grasp is the importance of email personalization.

One study has revealed that 70% of businesses neglect to personalize their emails. Making this mistake significantly undermines your campaign, considering that personalized emails boost revenue six times more than generic ones. Personalization yields a 41% higher click-through rate and recipients are also 29% more likely to take action to your message.

[Graphic via FormGet]

So how can you personalize your email marketing to boost your campaign? Here are four tips:

Tailor it to the Demographic

One of the best ways to boost response rates is to tailor your email’s look and message to specific demographic elements, like age and gender. If you’re selling care products, cosmetics would grab the interest of women while men would want to know more about shaving products. Making use of a distinct appeal to the preheader can also encourage open rates. For instance, referencing winter when selling snow boots and winter jackets to people in states experiencing cold weather will catch their attention.

Come Up with the Right Questions

“Ask and ye shall receive” is a good mantra to remember when designing your email marketing campaign. A lot of businesses simply assume they know what the customer wants only to have their messages ignored. Instead of assuming, ask your audience key questions, like their reason for becoming a user, subscribing to a newsletter or visiting their website. It’s simple and can give you valuable data.

Wedding specialist Paper Style hit the goldmine when they asked visitors on their site whether they were preparing for their wedding or someone else’s. Not only did the simple question quickly segmented probable clients, it also gave them insight on the type of correspondence to send to their prospects.

[Graphic via PaperStyle case study]

Time it Well

Timing is everything, especially in email marketing. Every customer has a distinct routine when it comes to emails. Some check once in the morning while others look at their inbox every half hour. Sending an email when your client is most likely to check their inbox and will help boost sales.

[Graphic via Fusion BPO]

However, finding the right time can be challenging. A number of email service providers are now offering tools that can study when subscribers check their inbox and make adjustments to the delivery time.

Personalize Your Brand

Don’t limit personalization to emails or to how you use your customer’s data. Your brand can use a personal touch as well. Personalizing your brand humanizes it, making it easier to connect with your customer. It could even boost your click-through rate.

This was clearly shown in an experiment conducted by HubSpot. The company sent two emails to test what else could be done to make them feel more personal and to enhance customer engagement. One email was from the company itself, while the other was from someone in HubSpot’s marketing team.

[Graphic via HubSpot blog]

Interestingly, the results showed that more people clicked on the message sent by a person than the one sent by a business. This demonstrated that people were more amenable to a more personal touch in business. So if you want a more positive response, a personalized email is the way to go. Aside from using a real person, you can also try making it more informal. Using a conversational tone or the pronouns “I” and “we” can also improve your response rate.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 22, 2018
5 Tips to Help Your Business Identify Payment Fraud

Previous data security breaches that targeted large retailers like Neiman Marcus and Target have caused merchants and consumers alike to be more wary about payment fraud. Credit card companies have automated processes that allow them to spot fraud even before their clients realize that something is wrong.

Unfortunately, payment fraud doesn’t just happen online. Business owners should remember that it can happen in brick-and-mortar stores as well. To avoid this kind of problem, businesses should be able to recognize potential payment fraud.

5 Tips for Identifying Payment Fraud

Suspicious Shopping Behavior

A customer’s behavior while shopping can give a hint as to whether something illegal is happening. Shop personnel should take note of customers who look agitated, nervous, or in a rush to leave. Take into account people who appear to be ringing up purchases in numbers that are greater than what the average customers buy, or those who buy items indiscriminately, regardless of the size or cost.

Other red flags to watch out for are those who seem to take an unusually long time to sign the sales slip or who look at the signature on the back of the credit card before signing.

Unusual Order Amount

It’s practically unheard of to buy 50 items of the same product, especially if they’re expensive. While most consumers won’t do this, cybercriminals would since they’re using stolen cards. Pay attention to multiple orders, particularly if the orders are for electronic devices, clothes, jewelry, and other high-end items.

Billing and IP Address are Not Compatible

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is used to identify devices and to give a general location of the user. So an IP address that’s incompatible with the customer’s billing address requires closer attention. For instance, if the person’s IP address is located in Japan but the credit card is registered to someone in Lexington, Kentucky, the transaction might be fraudulent. Verify details by calling or emailing the card company.

Owning an Abundance of Credit Cards

The typical American consumer only has an average of 2.6 credit cards. Having an abundance of credit cards associated with a lone IP address or account could be an indication of fraud. While it’s possible the account holder just likes having numerous credit cards, it’s still best to take a closer look at the account.

Expedited or Rush Shipping

Some malicious individuals want to give off the impression that they’re in a hurry by demanding rush shipping, regardless of whether the cost of shipping will cost more than the actual value of the purchase. Businesses should be wary of high shipping cost and take additional steps to check the transaction. They should also be extra careful of expedited orders where the billing address is different from the shipping address.

What to do if In-Store Fraud is Suspected

Personnel in brick-and-mortar stores face a conundrum when it comes to probable payment fraud. On one hand, no business wants to antagonize innocent customers but on the other hand, personnel can’t ignore fraud. So what is a business to do?

Major credit card issuers like American Express and Visa have issued guidelines on what staff could do. One very important rule is to never confront or try to apprehend the customer. Doing so would only put the employee and other people in danger.

Employees can also verify the card’s validity by calling the authorization center and ask for a Code 10 authorization. The call involves a series of yes or no questions, so the customers will not know that their purchase is being flagged as a suspicious transaction.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 18, 2018
How to Decide on the Right Social Channel for Your Brand

With the power that social media has in bringing attention to a brand and boosting sales, more and more businesses are crafting marketing campaigns via social channels. In fact, a recent survey by Ascend2 shows that among 271 marketing influencers, using social media channels was considered their most important digital marketing tactic for 2018.

Consider this, more than 66% of marketers are able to improve lead generation just by spending a minimum of six hours on social media. This means that with a modest investment in time and resources, a well-thought-out and implemented social media strategy can do wonders for a company. Conversely, a company can’t expect to develop a sound marketing plan involving social media if it doesn’t know the right channels to use.

How to Choose the Right Social Channel for Your Brand

There are seemingly endless social media channels to choose from, but the top choices among them are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Linkedin, Instagram, and Google+. While each one can generate leads, it’s crucial that you focus on the right channel for you.

Here are ways that will help you select the best social media channel to use:

Identify Your Social Media Objectives

It’s essential that you can connect your social media channel to the objectives of your marketing plan. After all, how can you succeed in your goals if the tools that you are using do not fit?

If your goal is to raise brand awareness, then choose well-established social media platforms with a huge following. But do not use platforms that are new or just caters to a specific niche. Facebook and Instagram are great tools for this objective, as these platforms are the most effective at introducing new brands and products to their users.

However, if your objective is to generate more leads in your niche, then LinkedIn might be a better choice.

Check Current Trends

You should also consider whether the social channel that you’re interested in is following the latest trends in social media marketing. A sound knowledge of present marketing trends will help you make the intelligent decision regarding the right social medium to use. Remember that you will be investing time, resources, and effort into these social channels, so an eye on the trends can help when deciding which one will attract more clients and boost engagement.

Know Your Target Audience

You need to have a clear picture of your target audience in order to create high-quality content that would resonate with them. Try to discover which social media platforms your target market spends most of their time on and how to interact with them. Choosing a social media channel is easy if you know where your prospective clients are.

For instance, if you’re targeting millennials who love a good story but only want to spend a few minutes on it, then use a platform like Snapchat. You can create a lot of videos with an engaging storyline and target millions of daily users. However, trying to promote an exclusively men’s product via Pinterest could be a tough sell, considering that the website caters mostly to women, featuring items related to craft, food, home decor, and gardening.

Check What Channels Your Competitors are Using

Aside from knowing your target audience and the social media platforms they’re on, it’s also important that you know what channels your competitors are managing. This will give you a foundation on which you can measure industry activity and determine what your next course of action will be.

Check what type of content your competitors are posting, how regularly they do it and even how many shares or likes it has garnered. Knowing how active your rivals are on social media and how engaged their audience is will give you important insights that you can then use to succeed in your own marketing strategy.

Think About Your Choice of Content

The kind of content that you want to develop and use is also critical. There are several content formats. Some will complement your brand identity and goals while others won’t. There is also particular content that is better suited to certain social media channels.

Companies that want to share white papers, company news or industry updates would have better success on platforms like SlideShare and LinkedIn. Meanwhile, if you’re targeting a young audience, a short-form video content on Instagram or Snapchat is perfect. Longer videos with a universal theme would do better on Facebook and YouTube.

Identifying the content format you want to focus on in your social media strategy will help narrow down your choice of a social channel.

The Bottom Line

You probably won’t be able to choose the right social media channel on the first try. There’s a lot of trial and error involved as you search for the right channel to use. However, knowing what your objectives and target audience are can help narrow down your search.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 17, 2018
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Contributes $33 Million to ‘Dreamers’ Scholarships

Multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos certainly knows how to spend his money where it counts. Along with wife MacKenzie, the Amazon CEO—who was recently declared the world’s richest man—gave away $33 million on Friday to help fund the scholarships for Dreamers, immigrant youths who arrived in the US without proper documentation.

Mr. Bezos’ donation will go directly to TheDream.US, an organization which aims to help Dreamers get a college degree. The organization provides scholarships to highly qualified immigrants who have DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) status as well as those who are under TPS (Temporary Protected Status) which allows them to legally work in the US.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos donates $33 million to help send 1,000 Dreamers to collegehttps://t.co/hELYau5piH

— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) January 15, 2018

The Amazon CEO’s $33 million donation will help fund the scholarships of 1,000 Dreamers. Each student will receive a total of $33,000 over four years, which will help pay for their tuition, books and other fees. At the moment, around 2,500 students are studying with the help of TheDream.US program.

DACA was put in place during the Obama administration with the end goal of preventing those who entered the U.S. illegally as minors from being deported. However, the Trump administration does not want the program to continue, a move that will affect around 700,000 Dreamers. They will have until March 5 before the Department of Homeland Security declares their permits expired.

The Dreamers, however, have remained steadfast over the issue. On Jan. 9, they scored a small victory when a San Francisco federal judge challenged the Trump administration’s decision on DACA and temporarily blocked steps to end the program.

To Bezos, fighting for immigrants’ rights is a more personal issue as his adopted father is a Cuban immigrant.

“My dad came to the U.S. when he was 16 as part of Operation Pedro Pan,” Bezos explained. “He landed in this country alone and unable to speak English. With a lot of grit and determination—and the help of some remarkable organizations in Delaware—my dad became an outstanding citizen, and he continues to give back to the country that he feels blessed him in so many ways.”

But $33 million is not really that much of a big deal for Bezos. Recent news reports estimated his net worth at $105.1 billion, which not only makes him the world’s richest man, but also the richest person of all time.

With a net worth of more than $105 billion, Jeff Bezos is now the richest person in history 💸 https://t.co/VMAlzcm5oN #finance #Leadership #Business #BIZBoost 🚀 pic.twitter.com/blE8hQpn2Y

— BIZBoost™ 🚀 (@BIZBoost) January 15, 2018

Bezo’s fortune had breached the $100 billion mark last November but fell after just a day. However, less than a week into 2018, his net worth went up by $6.1 billion due to a 6 percent rise in shares of Amazon stock.

Meanwhile, the rank of the second richest man Bill Gates remains steady at around $90 billion. In fact, reports say that if Gates wasn’t so charitable, he would have remained in the number one spot with a net worth of around $150 billion.

[Featured image via YouTube]

January 16, 2018
Facebook Tightens the Noose on Local Marketers and this is a HUGE Mistake

As of this writing Facebook’s stock price is down nearly 4 percent today after its co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is going to deemphasize news and marketing posts in order to make the social platform more social. This is taking Facebook back to its roots of friends connecting with each other and not so much as a place where news is shared and local businesses promote themselves to whoever followed them.

Local Businesses Made Facebook $$$

Unfortunately, it’s local businesses that have made Facebook financially successful beyond even Zuck’s wildest dreams, not individual users. Once Facebook became the platform for communities to communicate Facebook started making money and the platform exploded with new users around the world. If Zuckerberg thinks that Facebook is primarily a place to share baby videos and to view Aunt Jane’s cruise ship photos he’s sadly mistaken. Facebook is much more than that! It is the primary platform in free countries worldwide for community sharing.

Facebook is the Platform for Community Sharing

Where and when is the local Farmers Market? I follow them because I want to stay in the loop and I’ll read the comments like an FAQ to get further details and I may even ask a question myself and it will be answered by someone who is in the know. Where else can this happen if not Facebook?

The local television station just posted a video about a car that crashed into a restaurant that I go to. I’m interested in that and want details. I not only watch the video and follow the link to a related article but I read the comments on Facebook from people who saw the accident. Where else but Facebook?

A bar regularly posts about their happy hour and next music act. I follow the bar to see these posts because I am interested and want their posts to appear in my newsfeed where I will see them, not buried 10 pages deep. The bar owner knows that his bars followers want this information. Because of how effective Facebook is for helping him reach his customers the bar owner pays Facebook to reach other non-followers with posts.

Additionally, the bar owner back in the day spent a lot of money on Facebook to help attract followers in the first place. It’s clearly not fair to the bar owner for Facebook to have taken his money to promote his bars followers to now make the bars posts invisible to most of them. Also, the bars followers want to see the bars posts and if they don’t they will unfollow.

Facebook Friends are NOT More Important than Community Connections

Yes, Facebook will live and die on use by individuals but individuals want to see posts that are relevant from their community, not just their Facebook friends and long lost relatives. Facebook and Zuckerberg must realize that almost everybody has what are commonly known as Facebook Friends, which are people that the person never communicates with in person but they silently like posts and notice updates from on the Facebook platform. There is nothing wrong with a Facebook Friend but those friends who may account for 80% of a persons friends on the platform are not what the platform is truly about.

Facebook is about community connections which may be from your close friends and relatives, your local church group, your local business, your local charity and your local news organizations.

It’s a HUGE Mistake for Facebook to Disconnect it’s Users From Their Communities

I think it is a huge mistake for Facebook to disconnect us from our communities even if their goal is a noble one, connecting us with our friends. Our friends live with us in a community of geography and interests and we all go to the same yoga classes, gyms, bars, restaurants and stores. We help plant trees for charities and provide spare jackets to the homeless.

We connect as a community with Facebook and that makes Facebook important and that’s why businesses invest their marketing dollars on the platform… and that is good.

January 12, 2018
File-Sharing Giant Dropbox Reportedly Makes Plans to Go Public

If you are one of those investors who specialize in trading shares of technology companies, you might have one more company to play with in the coming months ahead. People privy to the deal are now claiming that the next big tech company to go public will be the file-sharing giant Dropbox.

In fact, San Francisco-based Dropbox has already filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO, according to a Bloomberg report. The publication said that the IPO plan has been confirmed by people who are familiar with the details but declined to reveal the sources’ identities because the filing has not officially been made public at the moment.

Shhh! DropBox ‘quietly files’ for IPO https://t.co/edgkhm1F8I

— The Register (@TheRegister) January 12, 2018

According to the unnamed sources, Dropbox, a company privately valued at $10 billion, is gunning for IPO by the first half of 2018. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were named as the possible institutions that will lead in the future listing. Meanwhile, other banks will be approached this month for various roles in connection with the IPO.

At the moment, Dropbox, as well as JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the issue.

If Dropbox’s IPO pushes through, the company will be under close watch by investors. Naturally, the investment community will want to see how the company’s share price will fare in the post-IPO period. The upcoming IPO follows SnapChat’s disappointing performance since its IPO last March 2017. Snap’s share price had fallen 15 percent from its IPO value.

But there are indications that Dropbox won’t be suffering the same sad fate as Snapchat. Unlike Snap, Dropbox has a positive cash flow and a gargantuan annual sales figure breaching the $1 billion mark. In addition, companies in its line of business seem to be resilient. The company called Box, Dropbox’s competitor that went public back in 2015, has been doing well since then. Box’s share price even managed to climb more than 50 percent since its IPO.

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[Featured Image via Dropbox]

January 12, 2018
Why Live Streaming Should Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy in 2018
More and more brands are using live streaming to reach their audience and promote their business.

Companies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat and, Twitch have invested millions of dollars to build and improve their own live streaming platforms. The idea isn’t exactly a brand new one, as it has been around since 2011. But when Facebook launched its Facebook Live feature in 2016, live streaming was brought to the forefront.

Live streaming has rapidly grown in popularity because of its low cost and its sense of immediacy that gives viewers the feeling of being part of the action. In fact, the video streaming market is expected to grow from $30 billion in 2016 to about $ 70 billion by 2021, which makes it important for marketers to understand why it has become popular and how to use it to promote their brand. Here’s some insight:

Live Streaming Gives Instant Gratification

Consumers don’t want to wait a long time to enjoy their “win,” whether this is a discount, deal, or information. Live streaming gives them the instant gratification that they crave, by allowing them to interact immediately with your content.

When users join a live stream, they can instantly start to participate in the commentary. Not only can consumers engage with the host, they can also communicate with others about the topic, the services, products, and other key content. Live streaming also gives the company instantaneous feedback regarding their content, thereby giving them an idea of the interest level of the product.

Live Streaming Humanizes Your Company

Businesses can use live streaming to give their customers a look behind-the-scenes. They can even introduce their teams or other employees this way. This helps give a human face to your brand and improve the relationship between your customers and you.

Live Streaming Reaches More People

Live streaming should be a key tool in your marketing campaign. Unlike email marketing, which only reaches people on your list, live streaming can generate leads from people you haven’t targeted. Word of mouth reviews or recommendations on social media can create interest in groups that the company wouldn’t even have thought of reaching out to.

There are endless possibilities with live streaming, and many companies have already integrated it successfully in their marketing campaigns.

One brand that was able to leverage live streaming effectively was Kohl’s. The retail chain introduced an instant purchase feature via a live stream during New York Fashion Week. Viewers who watched the stream also had access to the different clothing featured on the host catwalk. Kohl’s masterful integration of the product links to the live feed led consumers to view relevant items and closed some sales.

If you intend to use live streaming to promote your brand or eCommerce business, it’s important to be clear on what you want to achieve and what strategy you will use. Here are few ways to make the most of this marketing tool:
- Product Demos: Many consumers don’t understand a product’s value until they really see how it is used. A live stream product demo can show audiences what they need to know about the product and answer their questions. Some companies have even closed sales moments after the release of a live stream demo. Brands with complex products should consider a live stream campaign to explain the principles behind their products.
- Product Launches: Live streaming is a great way to launch new products or introduce additions to a product line. For instance, a handbag company can use Facebook Live to tease or showcase the new designs and colors of their spring collection.
- Entertainment: Companies can live stream company rallies, debates, workout or cooking sessions, or concerts to provide clients with special entertainment. This can help boost a company’s popularity and image.
- Q&A sessions: User-driven Q&A sessions can provide important and actionable data. It also gives brands an image of authority and credibility. These sessions can be hosted by an expert or an influencer. Getting a celebrity to appear will also be a big draw.
- How-tos: How-to tutorials are one of the most successful strategies for content marketing, and using live streaming will boost this to a whole new level. For example, if you’re running an online bookstore, an author reading an excerpt from their upcoming book will attract a lot of views and attention.
There’s a reason why big companies like Coke and Chevrolet have utilized live-stream marketing campaigns. It engages customers quickly and introduces products effectively. Live streaming will continue to be a major factor in marketing, so it’s time your business jump on the technology and uses it to your advantage.

[Featured image via Pixabay]
January 12, 2018
Is Mark Zuckerberg Planning to Bring Bitcoin to Facebook?

Thanks to 2017 being a banner year for a host of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum, everyone on Earth is now aware of the existence of these digital assets. Buoyed by the massive market gains last year, cryptocurrencies, in general, seemed to have passed the litmus test to qualify as a legitimate investment vehicle. With its success, a number of institutional investors have already joined the fray, grabbing up virtual assets to diversify their portfolios.

However, Bitcoins viability as an investment option is not the only exciting part of the equation. Apparently, even big tech companies are amazed at the Bitcoin model and are now looking for ways to adapt the technology behind the cryptocurrency to improve their own businesses.

In particular, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg looks up to the Bitcoin model seeing it a possible solution to problems that Facebook, and the internet in its entirety, are facing today. As Zuckerberg puts it, the internet today is way too centralized, controlled only by a handful of tech giants including Facebook. Now, Zuckerberg wants to study technologies such as encryption and the blockchain as possible means of decentralizing internet control.

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Back in the 1990s during the early years of the internet, many view it as a way to decentralize power – to put “power in people’s hands” as Zuckerberg puts it in his Facebook post. However, the opposite has happened and, today, internet control is so centralized that a few corporations can make sweeping decisions that will affect all netizens. Furthermore, even governments use the technology to spy on its citizens, a far cry from the original promise that heralded the internet as the place where people can be free from any form of political interference.

“But today, many people have lost faith in that promise,” Zuckerberg noted.

“ With the rise of a small number of big tech companies—and governments using technology to watch their citizens—many people now believe technology only centralizes power rather than decentralizes it.”

— Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

The way Zuckerberg sees it, one way to redress the imbalance is to use technologies that are counter-trends to this centralization. This includes encryption as well as cryptocurrencies, technological trends that seem to have the ability to “take power from centralized systems and put it back into people’s hands.”

At the moment, Zuckerberg is just planning to use the technology behind Bitcoin to improve user experience on the social media platform. But of course, it does not mean that he won’t allow Bitcoin itself to be an accepted mode of payment for transactions done via Facebook.

After all, Facebook also harbors ambitions to enter into eCommerce, an area that is currently dominated by well-entrenched rival Amazon. By accepting the popular Bitcoin as Facebook’s currency, the move could unlock the huge eCommerce potential of Facebook’s more than a billion active users.

[Featured Image by YouTube]

January 11, 2018
Why Your eCommerce Business Should Not Ignore Mobile Marketing in 2018

Mobile devices were named the leading digital platform in 2014, overtaking laptops and desktops. Since then, use of these gadgets just kept increasing. And even though some studies show the amount of time spent on mobile devices has gone down somewhat, non-voice mobile use in 2017 was still ahead of laptop and desktop use.

Reasons eCommerce Companies Should Focus on Mobile

Even though people are on mobile devices more often, companies didn’t put too much stock into using them to make sales. After all, most data showed that while people used their smartphones to check out products, most purchases were done on desktops, laptops, or tablets.

However, the tide is now changing, as last year’s Cyber Monday saw $2 billion in sales on mobile devices. Retail visits accounted for 37.6% of sales while 21% of sales were done on smartphones. Conversion rates on these devices were pegged to have increased by about 10% since the previous year.

Retailers have even more reasons to focus on mobile in 2018. Smartphones are expected to dominate this year, with about 36% of people around the world owning one. A large number of millennials are also foregoing computers and just using their smartphones to access the internet.

[Graphic via Hostadvice.com]

Companies are also expected to come out with better retailer apps that are designed to encourage more consumers to purchase. The rise in popularity of PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Wallet for mobile will also introduce fast and seamless transactions.

3 Ways to Boost Mobile Sales

Now that mobile shopping is on the rise, at last, retailers have to decide whether they are really going to focus on this trend or not. Retailers that don’t want to miss out on the growing sales opportunities of mobile devices, will first need to find the best ways to boost mobile sales. Here are some suggestions on how to go about it:

1. Improve Mobile App Designs

Even though most retailers have their own mobile apps, they often have bugs or are not designed for wide-scale consumer use. Because of problems with the interface and functionality, the apps have low conversion rates. Consumers also are not inclined to keep using them. One study revealed that more than 50% of retail apps are used less than 10 times and that 15% of consumers don’t even use shopping apps.

There are several factors that consumers find off-putting with retailer apps. One is the limited visibility they have when checking product images. Push notifications also tend to interrupt shopping time and many apps crash or freeze when the user gets a phone call or text message.

2. Optimize Websites for Mobiles

Companies that have not optimized their websites for mobile viewing miss out on sales opportunities. Consider the fact that 87% of shoppers would first look for the product online before going to the store. About 79% of shoppers actually check a product online while on the store’s premises and 35% after leaving the store. This is an issue that companies should take seriously, particularly as mobile traffic is expected to overtake desktop traffic in the first quarter of 2018.

Therefore, companies should make sure that their websites are optimized for mobile devices. One important factor that should be considered is the site’s layout and how it reacts to various screen sizes. Retailers should also take steps to minimize customer frustrations and mistakes. For example, offering alternative ways to input choices, like drop-down lists or tick boxes, will make for a more fun mobile shopping experience.

3. Offer More Payment Options

Giving consumers more payment options will also help boost mobile sales. Countries like China have already embraced mobile wallets and payments, and companies who want to tap into such a rich market should make sure they offer that particular payment option.

The increasing popularity of mobile payment apps like Android Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal is also expected to result in people relying solely on their smartphones when they go shopping. Offering customers various payment options can also expand a company’s reach to the millions of shoppers who use alternative payment systems.

[Featured image via Pixabay]

January 10, 2018
What’s New with the Google Assistant?

At CES today, Google has announced a series of new partnerships and device connections for the Google Assistant. They say it is now available on more than 400 million devices. Google Assistant is also coming to a slew of new voice-activated speakers from iHome, Jensen,Bang & Olufsen, Altec Lansing, Anker Innovations, SōLIS, Braven, JBL, Jensen, Klipsch, Knit Audio, Memorex, RIVA Audio and LG.

The Assistant to Work on Smart Displays

Additionally, the Google Assistant is now coming to smart displays. “These new devices have the Google Assistant built in, and with the added benefit of a touch screen, they can help you get even more done,” notes Scott Huffman, VP, Engineering, Google Assistant. “You can watch videos from YouTube, video call with Google Duo, find photos from Google Photos and more.”

The Google Assistant to Work in the Car

In the U.S. the Assistant will be accessible via Android Auto starting this week. “Android Auto is available in tens of millions of cars on more than 400 models from 40+ brands, including Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Volkswagen and Volvo,” stated Huffman. “With the Assistant in Android Auto, you can listen to your playlists from apps like Spotify or Google Play Music, get quick directions from Google Maps or Waze, and send or receive messages from services like WhatsApp.”

Google Adds a Million “Actions”

Google is referring to things the Google Assistant can do as Actions. ” Actions include features built by Google—like directions on Google Maps—and those that come from developers, publishers and other third parties, like working out with Fitbit Coach,” says Huffman. “So finding photos with Google Photos would be one Action while meditating with Headspace would be another.”

They have created a new directory page to help users explore all of the Actions. simply go to your Assistant on your phone and select the blue icon in the corner. They plan to add millions of additional actions over time.

January 9, 2018