Category: Retail & eCommerce

eCommerce, Online Retail & Retail News

Over Half Of Retailers Struggle To Identify Most Valuable Customers Despite Data

Yes Lifecycle Marketing has a new study out finding that half of retailers are struggling to identify and and engage their most valuable customers, even though they know information like full names, phone numbers, and purchase histories.

It also found that 42% claim their store associates know nothing about in-store customers, which the company says indicates that a lack of consumer knowledge expands to the brick-and-mortar experience in addition to the online world.

“In the retail industry, personalization proves powerful,” a spokesperson for Yes Lifecycle Marketing tells WebProNews. “Brands can take personalization efforts further using clienteling, which help retailers build strong relationships with customers using data that indicates their preferences, behaviors and purchases. To differentiate their brand among the rest, retailers must take a clienteling approach, but many fail to do so.”

“Clienteling leverages omnichannel customer data to create personalized customer experiences,” says Yes Lifecycle Marketing President Michael Fisher. “By utilizing clienteling best practices, retailers can drive more in-store traffic, engagement, sales and loyalty.”

Other findings from the study include:

– 13 percent of store associates currently have access to customer data to ensure a successful in-store customer experience.

– 43 percent of retailers leverage social media for customer service.

– 36 percent of employees use past purchase history to personalize their interactions with customers.

– 35 percent of retailers send personalized messages and recommendations across channels.

The company polled about 200 retailers for the study showing that concerns about utilizing available customer data are quite legitimate.

You can find the full study here. Yes Lifecycle Marketing also has an e-book about clienteling available here.

Image via Thinkstock

September 14, 2015
Etsy Manufacturing Marketplace Announced To Pair Sellers With Outside Manufacturers

Etsy announced that it will soon launch Etsy Manufacturing, a new program that pairs product designers with manufacturers. A couple years ago, Etsy began letting approved sellers use production assistance, and the new move could be seen as something of an expansion of that.

The company says it wants to make it easier for sellers to “source responsible production assistance” when they need it.

“We changed our policies in 2013 for a few reasons,” says Etsy’s Heather Jassy. “First, we’d encountered a number of artists who were working in truly thoughtful ways that weren’t allowed within Etsy’s policies. We’d also been following the evolution in small-scale manufacturing, and believed (as we still do) that designers and makers can work cooperatively with others to bring their ideas to life in ways that are good for communities and good for commerce. Most of all, we wanted to empower sellers to construct their businesses and lives in ways that work best for them, on their own terms. Our sellers tell us over and over that growing responsibly is important to them, and we want to enable that.”

Since June, Etsy has approved about 5,000 outside manufacturers, resulting in over 7,800 partnerships. When the company reviews seller applications for manufacturer partnerships, it focuses on authorship, responsibility, and transparency. Creation of items must begin with the seller, the seller must be “invested and knowledgeable” about production of the items, and the seller must represent their products “openly, honesty, and accurately”.

“Our vision of responsible manufacturing centers on people, access and transparency,” says Jassy. “It’s a model in which Etsy designers can preserve the spirit of craftsmanship and grow responsibly by collaborating with small-scale manufacturers to make their goods. We believe that the often faceless, opaque model of mass manufacture is due for an overhaul; the people and processes behind partnerships can be celebrated.”

Etsy Manufacturing takes the form of a new marketplace in which sellers can find and connect with prospective manufacturers. Etsy is starting with the apparel and textiles, machining and fabrication, printing, and jewelry and metalwork categories. While this is all fine and good, the company admits that during the program’s pilot, sellers have found it difficult to find a good partner. Ultimately, finding a good one still falls upon the seller. While Etsy does review applications, it doesn’t do direct audits or site visits.

Etsy went public in April and has been making plenty of moves to benefit buyers and sellers alike, and ultimately spur more sales. Last month, they made Etsy Local available on their mobile apps.

Etsy Manufacturing will launch in the United States and Canada.

Image via Etsy

September 14, 2015
eBay Has Some New Changes For Sellers

eBay announced its fall seller update with what it calls “simpler, more objective seller standards” and a new shipping metric as well as a new seller hub. It says it expects the changes to help sellers grow their businesses. Will sellers agree?

Will eBay’s latest seller changes help people grow their businesses? Let us know what you think in the comments.

So what exactly is in this update? Let’s start with the “more objective seller standards.”

The standards, coming in February, mean that the following will no longer impact the seller’s defect rate: buyer feedback, detailed seller ratings (DSRs), return requests that aren successfully resolved with the buyer, and items not received requests that re successfully resolved with the buyer.

“New seller standards will focus on what buyers care about the most—getting the item they ordered on time, and effective customer service to resolve any requests for help,” eBay explains. “A new, simplified defect rate will include just two measures: Seller-cancelled transactions for items that are out of stock or cannot be fulfilled for any other reason, and cases that are closed without seller resolution. A new on-time shipping metric will measure shipping performance, based on what you control—shipping your item on time.”

Here’s a better look at what is changing:

There’s also a new on-time shipping metric so sellers will be recognized for on-time shipping if tracking shows an item was either shipped within the stated handling time or delivered by the estimated delivery date. If tracking isn’t available, eBay will check with the buyer and if the buyer confirms the item was delivered on time, the seller will be recognized for on-time shipping. Here’s an infographic showing how on-time shipping works:

With the new seller hub, the company says it is giving you everything you need to grow your business.

eBay explains, “Ideally suited for professional sellers currently using My eBay Selling, Selling Manager, or Selling Manager Pro, Seller Hub puts all your listing and marketing tools—along with insights and selling recommendations—into one place. You’ll get a centralized overview of your listings and order activities, detailed sales information, access to marketing and promotional tools—and competitive listing guidance to help you grow your business.”

You can sign up for early access here.

Next Thursday, eBay will be holding a broadcast on eBay Radio discussing the seller update, which you might want to tune into if it concerns you. You can also find further discussion on this community board.

Are you pleased with the changes eBay is making for sellers? Share your thoughts in the comments.

September 11, 2015
Google Wallet Gets A Brand New App

Google launched a new Google Wallet app in the Google Play store. It’s a separate app from the existing Google Wallet app that you already know.

In fact, if you search for Google Wallet in the store, you’ll still find the old one. 9to5Google, however, points us to the new one, which is labeled “Google Wallet (New)“. The publication suggests that the old version will likely be converted to Android Pay when that becomes available, and the new one will function as the continuing Google Wallet.

The new one lets you send money to anyone in the U.S. with an email address regardless of whether they have a Wallet account. You can send money directly from your debit card, bank account, or Wallet Balance. You can also use it to manage your Wallet Card, cash out, and keep track of your spending.

On the app’s page in the Google Play Store, Google notes that the Android Pay app is coming soon.

Android Pay was unveiled at Google I/O earlier this year at Google I/O as the company’s answer to Apple Pay. Google described it as “the simple and secure way to pay with your Android phone”. It lets you pay for things in stores as well as in apps. Partners include best Buy, Coca-Cola, GameStop, Jamba Juice, McDonald’s, Macy’s, Pepsi, Office Depot, Staples, Walgreens, Toys R Us, Whole Foods, Domino’s, Dunkin Donuts, Lyft, Groupon, LivingSocial, Etsy, Priceline, Uber, and Chipotle to name a few.

Loyalty programs and special offers are automatically applied at checkout. More on that here.

Images via Google

September 10, 2015
eBay Launches New Mobile Experience As ‘eBay 4.0’

eBay announced he launch of eBay 4.0, a major overhaul of its mobile experience on Android and iOS. It includes what the company refers to as a “more browsable” design and provides users with improved access to top deals, promotions, and events. It’s also more personalized than previous versions.

The app builds on eBay’s recently redesigned iPad experience, but adds adds more tools for sellers to manage listings and buyers to find the items they’re looking for.

Introducing eBay 4.0 from eBay Newsroom on Vimeo.

“Focused on creating more vibrancy in our marketplace, we’ve elevated selling within eBay 4.0, and have designed a more personalized experience based on a seller’s level and activity,” says Chief Product Officer RJ Pittman. “The new app offers more information to help first-time and new sellers be successful, and a new dashboard for more regular sellers with at-a-glance activity updates. We are passionate about creating a great experience for our buyers and enabling the continued success for our sellers.”

“And we continue to engage our community for input,” Pittman adds. “Last month we introduced the largest public beta program for the new apps on both iOS and Android. The feedback from early testers has been quite positive, honest, and invaluable. We greatly appreciate our customers’ insights about key features and functionality, and their input on the design and overall experience.”

eBay 4.0 is currently available in the App Store and Google Play.

Image via eBay

September 8, 2015
New Requirements For Google Shopping Data Feeds

Starting on September 15, Google Shopping will require feeds targeting Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States to submit valid GTIN and brand information for all products when the “brand” is a designated brand and the condition is “new”.

Beginning at that time, Google will not approve offers that don’t meet these requirements. The company explains in a blog post:

With Google Shopping, finding the right customers starts with creating a good product data feed: the better your feed, the more easily we can connect you with online shoppers, searching for what you sell. Key to creating a complete feed is clearly and accurately specifying which products you have for sale.

For most products, the manufacturer will provide a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) to uniquely and completely identify a product in the global marketplace. We’ve found that providing GTINs in your product data feed increases the likelihood that your offers are matched to the Google Shopping product catalog. This helps us surface relevant, accurate results on Google Shopping; in fact, early experiments indicate that offers matched to the catalog receive up to 40% more user clicks than those that do not.

If you don’t have the right GTINs or complete ones in your data feed, you can find them individually or in bulk. Individually, you should look for the 12 or 13 digit number printed below the barcode on the product’s packaging. They can be exported in bullk from warehouse management systems. Google says to check with your IT colleagues to see if they can help you with that.

The company says merchants can sometimes mistakenly provide incorrect brand info. An iPhone case might incorrectly be labeled as Apple for example. Just make sure you get that right or it won’t be approved.

Google talks more about all of this here.

Image via Google

September 8, 2015
Uber Will Soon Make A Big Ecommerce Product Delivery Announcement [Report]

Uber is getting ready to make a big push into ecommerce product delivery, according to a new report from Re/Code citing three anonymous sources. This wouldn’t be the first time the company has delved into this area, but it sounds like it’s going to be a much more serious push this time around.

According to the report from Jason Del Rey, Uber will be making an announcement later this month or early next month about new partnerships with “big retailers and fashion brands that could number in the dozens, as it looks to make Uber an express delivery option for shoppers on a wide range of shopping websites and apps.”

The launch will reportedly begin in New York City with San Francisco coming either at the same time or shortly thereafter. Beyond these partnerships, the report says Uber has also been in talks with software companies Bigcommerce and Shopify, which could potentially add thousands of small businesses into the delivery mix.

Uber already has a food delivery service called UberEats in a handful of cities. It also offers UberRush, a messenger service.

Earlier this year, we heard about the company talking with over 400 retailers including Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, and Tiffany’s. This came after it shut down its on-demand delivery service pilot UberEssentials.

UberEats, which was initially only available in an app separate from the main Uber app, now has a place there as well. It will be interesting to see if the new product delivery offering launches from the main app.

Uber is planning to go public sometime within the next couple of years if recently leaked documents are any indication. Meanwhile, it continues to research self-driving cars.

Image via Uber (Facebook)

September 4, 2015
PayPal Gives You Your Own Link to Request Money

PayPal has just launched its own peer-to-peer payment service to compete with the likes of Square Cash and Google Wallet.

It’s called PayPal.me, and it’s a custom URL that’s linked to your PayPal account.

Users can send their custom URL to friends and family as an easy way to request money.

“PayPal.Me is a free, simple, and personal way to request money from anyone across the globe. It’s a link you can personalize with your name and send to groups of friends, family and colleagues for a quick, hassle-free way to pay you back quickly. It’s an instant, safe, unique link that works on any device no matter where you’re talking to people – in a text, email, instant messenger, social media post, blog, or on the web,” says PayPal.

You can head on over to PayPal.me right now to snag your own custom URL. I got PayPal.me/joshwolford, so if you go right now you might be able to grab your name without incident (depending on how common your name is).

Here’s what it looks like when someone clicks on your custom URL:

The service launches today in 18 countries: U.S., Germany, UK, Australia, Canada, Russia, Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Austria. PayPal says this will help put a dent in the $51 billion in IOUs floating around in friend and family debt. I don’t know about all that, but it is definitely an easier way to use PayPal.

September 1, 2015
GoDaddy Online Store Gets Email Marketing, Shipping, Security Features

GoDaddy announced the integrations of GoDaddy Email Marketing, Shippo, and McAfee Secure Certification with GoDaddy Online Store to help users grow their small businesses without having to “deal with disparate technologies.”

“GoDaddy Email Marketing will help small business owners easily communicate with current customers and start relationships with prospects,” a spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews. “Shippo will give Online Store users a single dashboard to manage and track orders, print shipping labels, and offer small businesses shipping rate discounts which gives a leg up against other sites that attract customers with promises of low cost shipping. Lastly the McAfee SECURE trustmark will help ensure the security and safety of GoDaddy online stores to visitors.”

GoDaddy Online Store first launched last year, and now has over 40,000 customers.

The email marketing integration will enable small businesses to easily collect email addresses, manage contacts, and send email campaigns. This and the other features join previously released updates like integration with Facebook stores (through a partnership with Shopial) and the inclusion of customer reviews (via a partnership with Yotpo).

“We created Online Store to make it easier for small businesses to build ecommerce websites. We are proud to expand our offering with GoDaddy Email Marketing integration, Shippo, and McAfee SECURE certification,” said Lauren Antonoff, SVP Presence & Commerce at GoDaddy. “We are constantly working to provide tools that improve the lives of small business owners who need our products to work without having to sift through technical details. Online Store answers this call for functionality without hassle; our customers will now be able to easily keep in touch and with and better serve their customers, driving more repeat business.”

GoDaddy Online Store is available to small businesses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Philippines, Singapore, and India.

Image via GoDaddy

August 31, 2015
Demandware Compares iOS/Android For Shopping

Demandware recently released its Shopping Index for Q2, finding that phones accounted for 94% of the increase in visits and 74% of the increase in basket creation. By the end of the year, it says, phones will be the most trafficked digital shopping device.

They also looked at how Android and iOS compare. Demandware’s Rick Kenney writes:

We re-examined the order share and traffic share of the leading touch-based operating systems, iOS and Android. iOS trumps Android when tablets and phones are both factored in, but when we look at phones alone, the story is more interesting. Globally, iOS holds a 15-point lead over Android in order and traffic share, 57% to 42%.

iOS devices snag a higher average order value over Android, $107 to $96. In certain countries, like Germany, Android actually leads the order and traffic share. On the flip side, luxury apparel shoppers clearly prefer the iPhone, as their share is much more skewed to iOS. What’s the lesson for retailers? When designing experiences for specific operating systems, like native applications for phones, know your shopper. Is your shopper spending $50 or $5,000 on your products? If you simply put an “I’ first, you risk alienating nearly half of your addressable market.

Mobile is of course driving email opens these days, and as the holiday marketing season approaches, increased phone-based shopping should mean good things for ecommerce-related email marketing.

Images via Thinkstock, Demandware

August 28, 2015
Infographic Looks At Stages Of B2B Digital Marketing Journey

Find and Convert released the following infographic earlier this year, but it was just brought to our attention by a post at Social Media Today. It looks at the B2B Digital Marketing Journey, breaking it down into three main stages.

While the graphic is based on anecdotal experiences from a digital marketing agency with B2B clients rather than research findings, it’s an interesting look at the similarities and differences of marketing depending on the age of a company’s digital marketing experience.

Embed This Infographic Visit B2B Digital Marketing Journey Assessment

Find and Convert CEO shares his thoughts about the information presented in a blog post here.

Image via Find and Convert

August 28, 2015
Here’s Your Guide To Getting More Out Of LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn’s Sponsored Updates have been available to all advertisers for two years now. As more and more online marketers look to the professional social network to expand their reach, these are likely to become a bigger part of the marketing mix.

LinkedIn now has an ebook out looking at “10 Ways to Drive Killer Results with Sponsored Update,” which you can download for free.

It goes well beyond a list of ten tips to include plenty of data, charts and additional advice. Here’s an example of the kind of stuff you’ll find:

In announcing the ebook, LinkedIn’s Selin Tyler says:

Content marketing is simple in theory: Professionals love reading good content. Why not create branded content to help them in their buyer’s journey while effectively introducing them to your brand and offerings?

Because it is such a simple and attractive concept, 98% of B2B marketers say it is core to their marketing strategy. Yet only four in ten think that their efforts are effective. So while the concept is so simple, execution is everything.

The guide gets into how to tailor your content to your audience, create effective campaigns for conversions, and extend the shelf-life of the content you have.

Image via LinkedIn

August 26, 2015
New Study Looks At Email Open Rate Factors

Email marketing software company Constant Contact just released a new study looking at open rates, finding that subscriber email domain and industry are major factors. According to the firm, segmented, personalized subscriber lists see higher open rate success and mobile devices now make up over half of all opens.

The study pulls data from over 100 billion emails sent from Constant Contact this year and last.

According to the study, personalized campaigns can result in open rates being raised by 150%. Those sent to 35 people or less (which suggests a more personalized campaign) saw open rates of 55% compared to the average rate of 22%. Those sent to over 7,500 subscribers (lower personalization) averaged about 14%.

“This study provides conclusive proof that personalizing the emails you send, so that you’re speaking directly to specific interests and wants of a subscriber, not only strengthens the relationship with subscribers, it results in better campaign performance,” said Constant Contact chief analytics officer Jesse Harriott. “Small businesses tend to be great at developing authentic customer relationships and this data underscores the marketing value of those relationships.”

As mentioned, the study found subscriber domain to play a significant role. It found that campaigns sent to Comcast, Verizon, and Cox email addresses had the highest open rates. AOL, Hotmail, and Yahoo addresses were at the opposite end of the spectrum.

It also found that nonprofits get higher click-through rates than B2C and B2B campaigns. They also get better open rates. The average is 29% compared to 23% for B2C and 20% for B2B.

Here’s a look at industry:

“Whether it’s a religious organization or school, nonprofits generally have a passionate and engaged subscriber base that enjoys seeing regular updates and communications,” said Harriott. “However, the data also shows that—with the right type of execution—it is possible for businesses to replicate that kind of engagement. For example, if a fitness center keeps tabs on which exercise classes their members have taken in the past, sending relevant upcoming class schedules to the right members will inevitably result in higher open rates and well attended classes.”

51% of all emails are opened on either a smartphone or tablet, the study found. 38.8% are opened on a smartphone and 11.9% are opened on a tablet.

“Constant Contact has found that three-quarters of subscribers say they will delete an email if they can’t read it on their mobile device,” said Harriott. “When combined with these recent mobile open findings, the conclusion is clear: Small businesses must have a mobile-first mindset when it comes to their email marketing.”

Earlier this year, we looked at what various professionals from the industry think it takes to improve email open rates. You can read that here. Also check out this infographic running down ten tips for doing so.

Image via Thinkstock

August 25, 2015
Etsy Local Now Available On Android, iOS

Late last year, Etsy launched the Etsy Local pilot program, which enabled select shoppers to get push notifications from the Etsy Android or iOS app that alerted them when an Etsy seller is selling at a local event.

“Etsy Local push notifications are a new way for Etsy sellers and buyers to connect locally and in-person,” a spokesperson for Etsy told us at the time. “It connects sellers participating in fairs and markets to shoppers in their area; shoppers can meet and buy from sellers in-person, supporting both the Etsy community and their own local economies.”

The company just announced that the feature is now getting a proper launch on both operating systems. A spokesperson tell us in an email:

Etsy is committed to finding ways to bring the online world together with offline shopping experiences, creating even more meaningful connections between buyers and sellers. And now, with Etsy Local for mobile, people can shop just around the corner! Through the Etsy app for iOS and Android, shoppers can now more easily discover nearby stores that feature their favorite sellers, and connect in-person when a seller is at a market or an in-store event.

Etsy Local not only allows shoppers to discover great boutiques and markets in their local area to shop vintage and handmade, but also view recommended stores and events in their area that are tailored to their tastes based on the types of shops and sellers they have previously engaged with. The Etsy Local experience also incorporates a newer member of the Etsy community – retailers – and encourages buyers to shop from them, supporting their local communities.

When you open the Local tab fro the app, recommended nearby retailers and events (tailored to user tastes) will appear. They’re based on shops and sellers you’ve previously engaged with through favoriting, purchasing, and browsing. You can find the feature from the Home page and click on a map or listing to see more info, like hours of operation, available items, etc.

Another cool part about the feature is that you can use it when you’re traveling to find shopping destinations.

Naturally, the feature will benefit sellers who sell offline as the feature should up their visibility a great deal.

Etsy talks more about the feature in a blog post here.

Image via Etsy

August 25, 2015
GiantGator Launches To Be ‘Most Extensive Search Engine for Freelance Jobs’

A new freelance job search engine called giantGator launched today, aggregating job postings for freelancers from a number of sources including Freelancer.com, eLance, UpWork, Guru.com, and others.

A spokesperson for giantGator tells WebProNews, “Thanks to the Freelancer’s Union study, we know that an estimated 53 million Americans are freelancing – but how many freelance jobs are out there, and how easy are they to find?”

The estimated number of posted freelance projects giantGator has aggregated since February is 1.36 million, and the average number of projects posted daily is 8,245. The typical lifespan of a posted project is about four days, it says.

“These new numbers demonstrate how extremely fast-paced the freelance marketplace is operating,” the spokesperson says. “giantGator aims to streamline the daunting search process for freelancers by aggregating opportunities in one place.”

The interface is simple, and certainly nothing fancy, but it’s useable, and to the point, which is really all you need when you’re looking for a job. No need to overcomplicate things.

It gives you a couple of sliders that let you indicate what kind of wages you’re looking for (see image above), which helps you refine your searches.

The running count of how many new projects have been added in the last 24 hours is nice too, as it can give you an idea of how much the job pool is being updated. You can also set alerts for specific searches.

GiantGator can be used to search for jobs in writing, application development, database administration, design, sales, SEO, data entry, ecommerce, video services, marketing, lead generation, research, etc.

Image via giantGator

August 24, 2015
Will Facebook’s Dominance Of Social Ecommerce last?

Facebook is (by far) the leading driver of social media referral traffic to websites and apps. That includes those selling products. While the social network completely dominates the landscape today, new research finds that other networks are growing much faster, while Facebook’s growth has become relatively stagnant.

Are you comparable (to Facebook) benefits from other social media platforms when it comes to selling products online? Let us know in the comments.

A new study out from Pew says, “Facebook remains the most popular social media site – 72% of online adults are Facebook users, amounting to 62% of all American adults. Growth on the site has largely plateaued. There has not been a significant change in the overall share of users since 2012. Those on Facebook remain highly engaged with 70% saying they log on daily, including 43% who do so several times a day.”

“Usage continues to be especially popular among online women, 77% of whom are users,” it says. “In addition, 82% of online adults ages 18 to 29 use Facebook, along with 79% of those ages 30 to 49, 64% of those ages 50 to 64 and 48% of those 65 and older.”

Last month, Facebook reported having 1.49 billion monthly active users. It had 968 million daily active users.

According to the Pew study, both Pinterest and Instagram are really on the rise when it comes to people using them every day. Luckily for Facebook, it owns one of those.

In September of 2014, 49% of Instagram users reported using the site every day. Just since then, it’s already climbed to 59%. How much higher will it be in another year?

Pinterest has doubled its users since 2012. 27% of those use it daily. That’s up from 17% last September.

A couple months ago we looked at research from commerce data provider Jirafe, which looked at the impact of Pinterest and Facebook across 80,000 profitable ecommerce sites. It found that Facebook visitors spent 3.5X more than the average visitors from Pinterest, and Facebook traffic converted 17% higher, though the conversion rates for both sources were still less than 1%. Still, Facebook drove much greater traffic at a ratio of 8:1.

The study also found that Facebook drove 23X more orders than Pinterest for merchants over the first five months of the year. Across Jirafe’s merchant base Facebook also drove $32 in revenue for every $1 that Pinterest generated.

Later that month, we looked at research from BI Intelligence, which measured the impact of social media on ecommerce by looking at conversion rates, average order value, and revenue generated by shares, likes, and tweets. It found that that social is already driving “much bigger” increases in retail traffic than any other online channel with referrals having increased about 200% between Q1 2014 and Q1 2015. It also found that Facebook continued to grow its lead as the dominant social commerce platform, accounting for 50% of total social referrals and 64% of total social revenue.

Earlier this month, research from ChannelAdvisor come out looking at online retail trends based on a poll of 200 online retailers including 100 in the US and 100 in the UK. It also showed that Facebook is performing better than Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and others in terms of conversions from social media platforms for the vast majority of those polled. About two thirds (64%) said Facebook creates the most sales conversions for their businesses. The number is about the same in both countries. 19% said Twitter, while 9% said Instagram, and just 5% said Pinterest, which is often looked looked upon as the ecommerce darling of social media. 2% said “other”.

Facebook is doing more than anyone to become a better means of selling products. Beyond its buy button functionality, it’s testing various features, including the ability to shop from Facebook Pages and even a new “Buy & Sell” feature from its main navigation, which will point users to places to buy (and sell) things, basically transforming Facebook into an ecommerce marketplace.

At the same time, it’s facing increasing competition on ecommerce features from Twitter and Pinterest, not to mention other non-social channels.

Long story short, Facebook looks like it’s going to be your best means of social media-generated sales for the foreseeable future, but don’t sleep on efforts from rivals, particularly Pinterest. Also, you’re going to want to keep a close eye on the tools Instagram makes available to you as it’s only becoming more of a staple of people’s everyday lives.

Do you think Facebook continue to dominate social ecommerce by such a wide margin, or do you see the playing field becoming a bit more level? Let us know what you think.

August 21, 2015
Survey: Enterprises Struggle With Full Digital Transformations

BMC is sharing results from a survey of fortune 1000 company IT managers, finding that only five percent of those polled have fully implemented digital services and mobile technologies, though sixty-three percent are currently working on incorporating them.

According to the firm, the findings confirm that digital transformation is a top priority for increasing productivity as well as improving customer satisfaction and lowing costs. At the same time, however, the companies are having a hard time securing the resources they need to maintain current systems and develop new ones.

“The transformation to digital services is a top priority for every CEO and public sector leader I meet,” said BMC CEO Bob Beauchamp. “Leaders are striving to deliver better user experiences while also searching for new revenue channels and product opportunities. If this transformation isn’t effectively managed, companies run the risk of security breaches, operational shutdowns, wasted investments, and significant delays in changing the way they do business in the digital economy.”

Eighty-nine percent of respondents said becoming a digital enterprise will help their company increase employee productivity. Seventy-seven percent said it will increase customer satisfaction, and sixty-eight percent said it will lower costs, increasing profitability.

Sixty-four percent said the challenge or “roadblock” they most experience is not having enough resources to maintain current systems and develop or incorporate new digital services.

“Effective management, delivery and support of today’s unpredictable, ever-changing digital business solutions is critical for success and innovation, but it strains traditional data center management strategies and tools to the breaking point,” said Mary Johnston Turner, research vice president, Enterprise Systems Management Software at IDC. “BMC’s Digital Enterprise Management initiative updates and streamlines many of its product offerings with the goal of enabling much stronger cross-product orchestration and analytics in order to meet the dynamic, real-time needs of today’s digital enterprise transformation agendas.”

Here’s a slideshow looking more closely at the findings:

IT Managers Answer Questions about the Future of the Digital Economy from BMC Software

Image via Thinkstock

August 18, 2015
Square Cash For Apple Watch Lets You Pay From Your Wrist

Square just announced Square Cash for Apple Watch, which will enable owners of the device to easily send money money to their friends right from their wrist.

“The latest Square Cash release provides an even easier way to send money to friends, family or anyone nearby, freeing customers from fishing around in a pocket or purse, or unlocking their phone to send money,” a spokesperson for Square tells WebProNews. “We’re really excited about this news – providing people with more ways to make a payment no matter what device they use.”

Here’s what Square Cash looks like on the watch:

“The Square Cash app for Apple Watch conveniently complements the mobile app for iPhone,” the company says. “Square Cash for Apple Watch streamlines payments by enabling customers to easily send money using virtual stacks of cash in the form of $1, $10, $20, $50, or $100 bills with just a few simple taps on their Apple Watch. The app also provides actionable notifications, allowing the ability to approve and reject payment requests directly through the watch. Like the Square Cash app, Square Cash for Apple Watch also provides the option to send money to anyone nearby using Bluetooth LE technology, making payments quick and convenient to send. Square Cash also added the ability for anyone to sign up for Square Cash on the web, without needing to download the app.”

The Square Cash app for is available in the Apple App Store, and can be used with Apple Watch starting today. Make sure to grab the latest update.

Earlier this year, Square launched business-friendly “$Cashtags” for businesses in the U.S. to take advantage of Square Cash. Increased device support should only help businesses accept payments in more ways.

Images via iTunes

August 18, 2015
Study Shows Google Apps For Work Saves Businesses Big Money

Google commissioned Forrester Consulting to look at the total economic impact (TEI) of the value Google Apps for Work customers get out of the product. The study spans three years of organizations’ use of it, including the moving from legacy on-premise solutions to Google’s cloud-based product.

Google for Work president Amit Singh says, “To quantify the complete value of Google Apps for Work, including collaboration and productivity benefits, they interviewed six of our current customers. They then aggregated each piece of customer feedback to create a representative composite organization on which to base the development of a Total Economic Impact model.”

“The composite organization is a global B2B multinational services company with 10,000 employees using Google Apps for Work and $4 billion in annual revenue,” he adds. “The analysis they completed showed that this composite organization would realize millions in collaboration and mobility efficiencies in the course of three years.”

According to the findings, Google Apps for Work generated a risk-adjusted $17.1 million in benefits and ROI of 304%. It also suggests that the collaboration tools save employees about two hours per week, which adds up to over $8 million in savings over the three-year period. It also says the ability for employees to work from anywhere and join meetings remotely saves about $5 million in 3 years, while decommissioning legacy servers, software and phone systems saves another $4 million.

Take a look at the infographic Google is sharing:

Images via Google

August 17, 2015
Salesforce Community Cloud Gets Buy Button

Buy buttons are all the rage right now, and the latest to jump on the trend is Salesforce with its Community Cloud.

The company launched Community Cloud roughly a year ago aimed at enabling companies to create their own LinkedIn-like communities, which are connected to their own business processes. With the new announcement, it’s getting an ecommerce element.

“The new e-commerce capabilities enable communities of customers to discover, research, discuss and buy products in a single location while introducing a new sales channel for businesses,” a spokesperson for Salesforce said in an email.

“Now, companies can put a buy button right where their customers are already gathered and engaged,” they added. “Customers including PonoMusic and Avid Technology are already deploying custom e-commerce solutions.”

Essentially, it’s a way for companies to offer a similar experience to what the social giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are starting to offer, from their own communities.

Salesforce points to numbers from a eMarketer report showing that ecommerce sales are slated to reach $349.1 billion this year.

The company also announced new Lightning components, which are generally available with the current release of Salesforce and are included in all Community Cloud licenses.

“With new e-commerce Lightning Components from Salesforce partners like CloudCraze, Demandware and Bigcommerce, companies will be able to seamlessly incorporate e-commerce into their communities,” the company said in an announcement. “Lightning Components are reusable building blocks that enable companies to quickly add rich new capabilities into their communities without programming. The Winter ‘16 release of Community Builder will enable customers to easily drag and drop Lightning Components into any community.”

AppExchange for Components is also live and available for everyone. Partner components on the AppExchange are priced individually on a per user or per Salesforce instance basis, the company said. New ecommerce Lightning Components from partners are expected to be generally available early next year.

Image via Salesforce

August 13, 2015
Infographic Shows A Lot Of Helpful Pinterest Stats For Marketers

Last week, we looked at Ahalogy’s recently released 2015 Pinterest Media Consumption Study,which includes a ton of interesting stats about how people are using it. It literally runs through the who, what, when, where, and why. They polled over 1,000 people and determined that 82% are female and 18% are mail, but that men on Pinterest have increased 4% since 2014, for example.

The company has also released an infographic (via SocialMediaToday) showcasing a number of helpful findings that can help marketers shape their own Pinterest strategies.

You might want to take a look at the profiles of those top ten brands people want to follow and get an idea of the kinds of things that are working for them.

If you’re a B2B company, read this.

Image via Ahalogy

August 13, 2015