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Tag: ecommerce

  • Digital Shopping Is Shaping Up To Become The New In-Store Retail Experience

    Digital Shopping Is Shaping Up To Become The New In-Store Retail Experience

    Despite stubbornly high inflation and aggressive interest rates biting into consumers’ disposable income, as prices remain elevated, new data suggests that shoppers are continuously looking for more seamless digital experiences in retail and department stores. 

    At the end of January, online grocery sales declined by 1.2% finishing off at $8.4 billion in the U.S. market. Demand for ship-to-home was also down, which includes the likes of FedEx, UPS, and USPS. 

    Experts suggest that the decline in these services was largely driven by the uptick in big-box retailers now offering direct-to-home delivery for shoppers, taking on logistical responsibilities themselves, instead of using third-party carriers. 

    Mass demand for online shopping during the height of the pandemic helped solidify the future of the online retail industry, and today shoppers can find nearly anything and everything they need online. 

    While this has created a massive opportunity for retailers, from all industries to transition their operations online, and present consumers with a more accessible channel – grocery retailers were slow to adapt, despite seeing steady growth during the pandemic era. 

    With many pandemic-related concerns now in the rearview, grocery chains and mass stores are creating a more digital in-store experience, as it hopes to draw in walking customers to their brick-and-mortar locations. 

    The drive to digital 

    Consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of online shopping, whether it’s for home goods, clothing, or even groceries. Everything they want and need can be found online, price-matched, and shipped straight to their door. 

    On top of this, shoppers can shop from any device they see fit. From computers to tablets, smartphones, and even mobile apps – it’s all accessible through a few clicks and swipes. 

    The rise of smartphone adoption among consumers in recent years has meant that retailers can create a multifaceted shopping experience. Research shows that around 82% of shoppers will consult their phone before making an in-store purchase. 

    With the internet so readily available, shoppers can now quickly compare prices from different retailers and stores, read reviews, or in this case, follow up on nutritional and dietary information relating to their grocery purchases. 

    What’s more, is that nearly every popular and big-box retailer now offers an online option. In the past, a few niche brands and businesses had a website, with a small online store – today, the picture is completely different. 

    A February report showed that around 7.8% of U.S. consumers purchase groceries online. That’s because big names such as Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Krogers, among others, all now offer online shopping and delivery services. 

    Even more, these stores are making use of their delivery teams to get items from stores and warehouses to consumers, in record time. 

    The competition for same-day delivery means that retailers are constantly looking at how they can deliver online purchases to shoppers quicker than their nearest contender. 

    That’s because consumers want convenience. They also want to see which retailer has the best deals or online benefits. The same February report showed that 62% of shoppers cite convenience as the reason for shopping online rather than in-store. A further 52% cited that online benefits and app-only deals led them to use online platforms for their grocery shopping. 

    In a similar vein, some have found that buying groceries online is often more affordable than having to go to a store. 

    A Travel Daily News article found that buying groceries online in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can cost consumers less. The reason why consumers can save more money on their grocery bills is that they have more access to digital channels that allows them to compare prices, look for coupons, bundle deals, and even free at-home delivery. 

    There’s plenty to get excited about when a mass store or a household brand offers online deals – and now grocery chains are noticing that they need to step up their digital game if they want to continue playing with corporate contenders such as Walmart and Amazon. 

    The digital experience coming to a store near you 

    Digital needs are creeping into every known industry, and as the Internet of Things (IoT), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) become more mainstream, we could soon see technological innovations reach our favorite local grocery store.

    In this instance, the case may be true for a small handful of well-known grocery chains that have already started mapping the customer journey through digital and technological innovation. 

    Kroger has more than 2,800 stores nationwide across 35 states and operates other grocery retail stores including Ralphs, Dillion, Smith’s City Market, Jay C, Pay Less, and Bakers, among a list of others. 

    In the last couple of years, Kroger’s introduced digital product displays on shelves in some of its stores. Powered by Microsoft Azure, the digital sensors, or EDGE – Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment – can help process data generated by customer behavior, buying trends, and demand for certain products. 

    EDGE is connected to IoT sensors, which can deliver real-time data to stores, allowing them to monitor which products have low inventory levels, require restocking, and for customers display discounted prices. 

    Idaho-based grocery store, Albertsons, which has more than 2,500 stores, has steadily been experimenting with digital “smart” shopping carts in some of its stores. 

    Albertson’s “smart” shopping carts allow customers to ring up items as they place them in the cart, eliminating the need for them to go use checkout points. 

    This is similar to what we’ve seen Amazon has been trialing the last couple of years with its self-checkout stores, which the company heroically named Amazon Just Walk Out. 

    Research by McKinsey found that if a grocery store can properly implement tech-enabled self-checkout, it can help improve in-store productivity by 6% to 12%. This means that grocery stores will require less in-person labor at checkout counters during operational hours. 

    While it shows how technology can benefit grocery stores, not only in terms of physical in-store sales, customer experiences, and productivity, it’s still not able to compete on the same levels that eCommerce can offer consumers. 

    Final thoughts 

    While it’s hopeful that grocery stores will in the coming years adapt for the more digitally native consumer, it’s perhaps a race against time for some to ensure their longevity and ensure their long-term growth. 

    While eCommerce and online retail remain the triumphant winner, the introduction of digital can only further enhance an already well-known practice that has helped shaped the virtual shopping reality. Yet this time round, it’s up to grocery chains and big-box names to bring digital back to where it was once considered irrelevant. 

  • Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    “Shopify is evolving into the world’s first retail operating system,” says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein. “We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify.”

    Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, discusses how COVID has dramatically sped up the timeline for commerce moving online and has also moved Shopify closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first retail operating system:

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Most people assume that Shopify is an ecommerce provider. We have more than a million stores on Shopify. If you were to aggregate our stores in the US we’d be the second-largest online retailer in America. Of course, we’re not a retailer but we’re a platform. But we now have these great economies of scale that we’re using to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That being said, what really Shopify is evolving into is the world’s first retail operating system. 

    What we’re trying to figure out is what do brands and entrepreneurs and retailers need, not just now but in the future? We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. This idea of enabling Shopify merchants to very easily push their products to the Amazon Marketplace or the eBay marketplace or now the Walmart marketplace, that gives them access to a new set of consumers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify. 

    Then we’ve gone ahead and asked what else can we do for these merchants? Can we do capital? We’ve now given out about a billion dollars worth of cash advances and loans to small businesses. We’re doing fulfillment and we’re doing shipping. We’re increasing the scope and the relationship that we have with the million stores on Shopify. This is allowing them to become category leaders.

    COVID Speeds Up The Ecommerce Revolution

    From our view, it seems like the commerce world that would have existed in the year 2030 has really been pulled into the year 2020 (as a result of the COVID crisis). We’ve seen ecommerce as a percent of total retail go from 15 percent to 25 percent in the last three months. That’s the same growth rate that we’ve seen over the last 10 years. What really has emerged here is sort of this tale of two retail worlds. On one side you have these resilient retailers that are doing great, they’re pivoting, and they’re expanding their businesses. On the other side, you have these resistant retailers who have not made it. In many ways, it’s probably the most exciting time for retail in a very long time. 

    We talk a lot about these direct to consumer brands that are becoming category leaders. The Allbirds and the Gymsharks who started on Shopify when they were very small and have grown to become the incumbents in their industry. Every 25 seconds a brand new entrepreneur makes his or her (products) for sale on Shopify. We talk a lot about those new startups, those new DTC brands. But actually, what we’re also seeing on Shopify are companies like Lindt Chocolate or Heinz ketchup or Chipotle. They are signing up for Shopify and basically from like five days from contract to launch they are completely changing their businesses. 

    This resiliency isn’t simply in the hands of just the smallest of brands. Big companies are also beginning to think a lot more about how to stay resilient in this time. They’re moving well beyond ecommerce or thinking about offline commerce now. They’re thinking about how do they sell across social media? How do they sell across different marketplaces? So no, I don’t think it’s too late (to enter ecommerce) but I do think they have to rethink their strategies.

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System Says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein
  • eCommerce Email Marketing: Why Do You Need It?

    eCommerce Email Marketing: Why Do You Need It?

    eCommerce email marketing is one of the earliest forms of internet advertising, and studies show that it’s still just as effective today. Social media advertising may be new, flashy, and appealing to younger audiences, but when choosing between an eCommerce email marketing agency and a social media marketing agency, there are a few other factors to consider. Emails have been a tried and true method of marketing for a long time and are trusted by many generations of consumers. While social media allows for more creative expression in terms of graphics, gifs, and video—as well as the interactive nature of comments—social platforms like Instagram are quickly becoming oversaturated with ads. Not all of these ads are trustworthy or legitimate, and it’s not infrequent for scam ads to appear on social feeds.

    Partially due to the increasing scams and oversaturation of ads on social media, eCommerce email marketing is many consumers’ preferred form of advertising. While you do want to use marketing mediums that fit your team members’ expertise, your consumers are the ones who are ultimately exposed to the finished product. Moreover, if you or your team members are struggling considerably with writing creative email copy, it may be worthwhile to invest in an eCommerce email marketing agency. But why is email marketing such a preferred advertising method by employees and consumers alike? What makes it superior?

    What is the Difference Between eCommerce Email Marketing and E-Marketing?

    Before exploring the ways in which eCommerce email marketing can improve your business, it’s essential to understand what eCommerce email marketing does. Any company can use email marketing—that is, sending product information or ads for new products via email. It’s becoming increasingly rarer for a store to have a physical shop without an online shop, but those stores that do can still make sure of email marketing. If you have a business, you can send out marketing emails. Similarly, if you have an online store, you can send out eCommerce marketing emails. This means that a non-profit can use email marketing but not eCommerce email marketing. E-Marketing, on the other hand, refers to any online marketing medium, including social media platforms and email. eCommerce email marketing can include general emails about upcoming sales in an online shop or emails that are tailored to a shopper and the items in their cart.

    Consumer Control

    Unlike social media marketing, email marketing allows consumers more control over the advertisements, coupons, and deals that they receive. Because consumers are required to subscribe to your company’s mailing list or newsletter in order to receive emails from you, consumers are less likely to receive emails from brands that they don’t know and trust. Any scam emails are directed to spam, and consumers have the freedom to unsubscribe from a mailing list in order to stop receiving product information.

    More Trustworthy

    While it may seem counterintuitive to allow consumers to stop receiving product information from your company, it is imperative to win their trust. In fact, 77% of consumers prefer to receive marketing information via email. It makes sense that emails are the most trustworthy. We’re already using our email addresses for work and networking so it feels professional whereas social media ads are fun, but a little too casual to be legitimate. Email marketing feels trustworthy and professional, but how can it work for your business? How do you ensure that your emails are being opened and your content consumed?

    High Open Rates and ROI

    It’s more likely than you think that consumers will open your marketing emails. According to Forbes, 65% of small businesses report that between 11 and 50% of their marketing emails are opened. It’s easy to track open rates using tools like Cirrus Insight. Even if a customer doesn’t open your email as soon as they receive it, there is a potential that they may do so later. Social media posts, on the other hand, disappear as soon as someone refreshes their feed—meaning they might never even see it. It’s also hard to beat the price and return on investment of marketing emails.

    Forbes tells us that you earn $42 for every dollar you spend, and most email marketing campaigns cost very little. You might find that your open and click-through rates become even higher when you put effort into the design and layout of your emails. As long as you don’t flood your consumers’ inboxes (40% of small businesses send marketing emails weekly while 30% send them at least once a month), your clients are sure to appreciate a thoughtfully made email with memorable colors and graphics. Cleverly worded subject lines that include slang and emojis are especially popular with more “hip” brands like skincare lines and fashion companies.

    Conclusion

    Even with the rise of social media, eCommerce email marketing is still a trustworthy form of marketing—and, in fact, one that is usually preferred by consumers. The return on investment and ease of content creation makes email marketing a no-brainer for your next campaign.

  • 3 Ways Online Courses are Changing eCommerce & Digital Product Sales

    3 Ways Online Courses are Changing eCommerce & Digital Product Sales

    According to a recent study, in 2020 alone, nearly 5.4 million students took at least one class on the Internet. The practice has gotten so popular that about 10% of all postsecondary institutions now offer online courses of some kind, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

    But the key thing to understand is that online courses aren’t solely changing the world of education, but are also having a major impact on business industries, like eCommerce and digital product sales. These Internet-driven educational opportunities are shaping the way digital products are sold thanks to the fact that they bring with them benefits to both businesses and consumers alike. This reigns true in a range of ways, all of which are worth a closer look.

    1.  Online Education is Making New Opportunities Accessible to All

    Thanks to online education, gone are the days when you had to attend one of a handful of specialized schools in order to pick up a particular or niche skill set. Now, it’s possible to get a robust education in practically anything if you know where to look, all from the comfort of your own home.

    Case in point: wholesale real estate investing. As individuals are now pursuing this real estate investing method at a higher rate, they need specialized knowledge and insight on top of their existing real estate education.

    Now, thanks to online courses including educational mentorship programs, leaders like Real Estate Skills are getting more people successfully into the wholesale mix. It has quickly ballooned into a popular investment strategy, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when record demand met low inventory and the types of low interest rates the market hadn’t seen in decades.

    2.  Preparing the Next Generation of Workers

    By far, one of the biggest ways that online courses are changing eCommerce and digital sales has to do with how they’re adequately preparing the next generation of workers for the shifts that are about to happen in these industries.

    The use of concepts like artificial intelligence and cloud computing were already present in eCommerce, but the COVID-19 pandemic acted as an accelerant that supercharged trends like these. They’re big, structural changes that are going to eliminate some jobs and create entirely new ones, the latter of which it has already started to do.

    This type of disruption always requires people to learn new skills, be it by way of up-skilling, re-skilling, or something else entirely. Online courses are already helping enormously to that end, teaching people how to coexist with things like automation and teaching them what they need to know to function in the more technical roles that have already started to appear.

    Another recent study indicated that in 2021 alone, more than 20 million new users registered for at least one online course from Coursera. That is equal to the growth in online education for the three full years prior to the pandemic. Reasons like this go a long way towards explaining “why”.

    3.  Online Courses are Leveling the Playing Field

    The rise of eCommerce giants left many smaller, often local businesses and suppliers at a disadvantage. Now, thanks to online courses and education, the pendulum is finally swinging back in the opposite direction. For a (relatively) low up-front cost, smaller businesses can pick up the skills they need to adequately compete with their larger counterparts. They don’t have to outspend them, but rather outthink them.

    With the right education it is possible for even individuals to generate 24/7/365 income, all without worrying about opening up a physical store in their area. Anyone can build a brand and sell to customers globally, while still pricing and shipping their products in a competitive way.

    But most importantly, online courses give people the opportunity to embrace one of the most important trends of the modern era: a truly personalized customer experience. No business is too small to offer the personalized level of care and attention-to-detail that the modern consumer demands. You just have to leverage the right technology and have the skills and education necessary to make it happen.

    That is perhaps the single biggest benefit that online courses provide to both consumers and entrepreneurs working in the world of eCommerce and digital product sales today.

    Online Courses are Changing the Way We Think About eCommerce

    In an overwhelming number of sectors and spaces, online courses are changing the way we think about eCommerce and digital product sales The education that you can pick up quickly and efficiently is invaluable, to the point where both businesses and individuals can leverage it to grow their sales and reach the largest possible audience at the exact same time.

  • The Growing Importance of Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) in Ecommerce

    The Growing Importance of Supply Chain Visibility (SCV) in Ecommerce

    Supply chain visibility (SCV) is the ability to track and monitor a product or shipment from its origin to its destination. This allows businesses to stay informed on their shipments’ progress, anticipate delays, and make adjustments if needed.

    With eCommerce growth continuing at an exponential rate, supply chain visibility has become increasingly important for companies looking to remain competitive in today’s digital marketplace. Not only do businesses need to meet customer demands for fast delivery times, but they also need to manage costs, minimize losses, and ensure security. 

    Be that as it may, only 65% of companies are able to report full visibility across their supply chains, and 43% of small businesses are not tracking inventory levels at all. With economic uncertainty on the horizon and customer expectations at an all-time high, now is the time to invest in supply chain visibility so you don’t find yourself falling behind while your competition sails away with their loyal customers.

    Benefits of Supply Chain Visibility for Ecommerce Businesses

    There are a multitude of benefits to be realized through the implementation of supply chain visibility in eCommerce. These include:

    Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty

    The more visibility you have into your own supply chain, the better equipped you are to anticipate customer needs and deliver products in a timely manner. With improved visibility, eCommerce businesses can increase customer satisfaction by reducing their response times, improving delivery accuracy, and providing customers with real-time updates about the status of their orders. This helps foster greater loyalty from customers, which in turn increases the likelihood of repeat business.

    Reduced costs associated with inventory management

    “Knowing inventory costs is extremely important because they affect the majority of decisions one makes as a retailer,” explains Abir Syed, co-founder of UpCounting, an eCommerce accounting firm.

    Unsurprisingly, inventory management is the single largest expense for eCommerce businesses. For every dollar a US retailer generates through revenue, they have $1.35 tied up in inventory. As such, being able to accurately track and monitor inventory levels is essential for minimizing losses and maximizing efficiency.

    By leveraging supply chain visibility technology, businesses can reduce the amount of inventory they need to keep in stock and their associated costs. This can be achieved through better forecasting and planning, more precise order fulfillment processes, and improved inventory accuracy.

    Increased efficiency and speed of delivery

    Knowing where products are throughout their journey allows businesses to better plan and adjust for delays, ensuring customers get their items as quickly as possible. Supply chain visibility also facilitates increased collaboration between all parties involved in the delivery process, allowing for a transparent and overall more efficient supply chain.

    Enhanced flexibility and scalability in supply chains

    As the demands of customers and markets shift, businesses need to be able to quickly adjust their supply chains accordingly. With supply chain visibility, businesses can quickly adapt to changing conditions, such as unexpected spikes in demand or supply disruptions. This increased flexibility and scalability of the supply chain is essential for businesses to remain competitive and responsive. This scalability also benefits businesses as they grow and expand into new markets. 

    Increased control over returns management 

    Returns are an unavoidable part of eCommerce and managing them can be difficult. Supply chain visibility gives businesses the ability to track a returned item as it moves through the supply chain and make adjustments to minimize losses. This includes tracking returned items on their journey back to the supplier, identifying potential issues and quickly resolving any discrepancies.

    Challenges of Implementing Supply Chain Visibility

    While the benefits of supply chain visibility are clear, there are still some challenges associated with its implementation. These include:

    Establishing and maintaining relationships with suppliers

    Before any supply chain visibility technology can be deployed, businesses need to build relationships with their suppliers. This requires open communication and collaboration between all parties involved, as well as a certain level of trust.

    “When it comes to choosing partners, it’s wise to do some research to ensure the best deal possible while emphasizing transparency and flexibility. This is invaluable during times of frequent supply chain disruption,” explains Roei Yellin, Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer of 8fig, a planning and funding platform for eCommerce companies. 

    “Sellers shouldn’t be afraid to negotiate for a better deal and they should make sure that communication is open and honest. This is true of suppliers, 3PLs (third-party logistics providers) and any other partners brought in to help manage the supply chain,” concludes Yellin.

    Complexity of the supply chain and data formats

    Securing buy-in from all parties and managing the data exchange between different organizations is challenging. Not only do various supply chain participants have differing needs and processes, they also use different systems. Unifying these systems and ensuring harmonious data exchange can be difficult.

    To overcome this, businesses need to create a single source of truth that all supply chain participants can work from. This means creating common protocols and standards that all parties are comfortable with and can adhere to, and potentially leveraging a third-party solution to manage the data exchange.

    Costs associated with technology and infrastructure

    The technology and infrastructure required for supply chain visibility can be costly. Businesses need to invest in the right hardware, software, and people to ensure that the system is secure and effective.

    Fortunately, there are solutions to this issue. RFID and code-based tracking solutions, in particular, are relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. Companies such as Scurri allow you to easily create a single bar code for all carriers, as well as a reporting dashboard that gives you full control over your operations with actionable insights. 

    Cybersecurity concerns

    Data is the lifeblood of supply chain visibility and ensuring its security is paramount. However, supply chains are coming under increasing attack from hackers and malicious actors, making them vulnerable to data theft and manipulation.

    In fact, 97% of organizations say they have experienced the negative consequences of a supply chain cyber breach within their operations, demonstrating just how prevalent these attacks have become.

    As such, businesses need to ensure that they have the appropriate protocols in place to protect their data from cyber-attacks. This includes using secure networks and encryption, as well as regularly auditing system access and usage. Multichannel cyber security solutions, such as VMware, can also be of great help in mitigating cyber risks.

    Conclusion

    Supply chain visibility is becoming increasingly important in today’s volatile and highly competitive marketplace. However, if businesses are to reap the full benefits of a visible supply chain, they must first overcome the various challenges associated with implementation.

    Ultimately, with careful planning, a comprehensive approach to risk management, and the right technology in place, businesses can ensure that their supply chain visibility efforts are successful and that they remain agile and competitive in the long run. 

  • 5 Best Tips To Improve eCommerce User Experience

    5 Best Tips To Improve eCommerce User Experience

    With the increasing competition in the eCommerce market, it has become challenging to keep the clients interested long enough to make the sale.

    Around two billion people purchase goods or services online. In fact, by 2025, world eCommerce sales are likely to exceed $7.3 trillion.

    Moreover, there are around 12-24 million online stores globally. However, only 6,50,000 generate annual sales over $1000.

    This shows that the market is huge, competition is high, and the number of eCommerce sites is increasing, but only a few are able to generate sales.

    Therefore, the best way to gain customer attention and drive sales is by improving user experience.

    Here are the reasons, why a seamless user experience is important to the success of your eCommerce business:

    ●  51% of customers switch to competitor brands if they have one negative experience.

    ●  68% of customers are ready to pay more for products and services from a brand that offers a good customer experience.

    ●  89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase if they receive a positive customer experience.

    ●  Businesses can improve their revenue to 4% to 8% above their market by prioritizing better customer experience.

    But how will you improve the eCommerce user experience?

    Well, this guide explains the top five ways that you can use to offer a great customer experience.

    Let’s start!

    1- Provide Personalized Customer Experience   

    Around 80% of shoppers are more likely to purchase from an eCommerce business that offers a personalized experience.

    Here are the best personalization strategies that you can try:

    ●  Build personalized homepages: If you are collecting cookies on your eCommerce website, then you can use that information to understand your customers better. Use this information to remember your customer’s interests and preferences and create personalized homepages for them.

    ●  Offer personalized guide: Provide on-site assistance to your visitors with quizzes and size, style, and budget guides. This will help you to offer personalized product recommendations. 

    ●  Display recently viewed product: Create a recently viewed section that allows customers to see what products they checked the last time. Add strong call-to-action, such as ‘Pick up where you left off’ to remind your customers about the products from their last session.

    ●  Personalize product pages based on location: Customize your product page based on location. Provide options to your customers to choose their country. You can also use geo-targeting to display relevant campaigns based on the customer’s location.

    ●  Make more personal recommendations: 31% of eCommerce revenue is generated from personalized product recommendations. Suggest similar or complementary items on the product page to your customers. One of the best tactics is by using product recommendations on abandoned cart emails.

    You can also think of using third-party tools, such as Barilliance, Monetate, and Evergage to personalize your visitors’ shopping experience.

    2- Choose Faster Hosting Service Provider

    No doubts, slow websites kill conversions.

    Around 47% of customers expect websites to load in two seconds. In fact, 40% leave a website if it takes three or more seconds to load.

    A one-second delay in page load time can result into:

    ●  Decrease of 11% in page views

    ●  25% decrease in conversions rates

    One of the major factors that affect your site speed is hosting service and infrastructure. 

    Therefore, when you choose a hosting plan, check:

    ●  Memory or bandwidth limits for scaling and seasonal promotion.

    ●  Expected traffic and peak user load to avoid crashes from a sudden spike in visitors

    ●  Compare the top hosting providers based on starting cost, money back, load time, uptime, and customer support services. For instance, BlueHost offers an uptime of 99.96% while Siteground has an uptime of greater than 99.99%.

    3- Utilize Third-Party Online Ecommerce Platforms

    It is better to go for third-party online eCommerce platforms if you do not have the time or resources to build your own websites. They help you in setting up a website, offering pre-made templates, ensuring necessary security features, and scalability potential.

    The top three most popular hosting solutions are:

    ●  Shopify: It is quite easy to set up a store and start selling products on Shopify. Also, it is inexpensive to build your shop on Shopify. You can sell unlimited products and have unlimited bandwidth. However, you have to pay for features such as abandoned shopping cart recovery. Brands such as GE, Tesla, and Red Bull use Shopify as their online shop. The starting price at which Shopify offers its services is $14/month.

    ●  BigCommerce: It is another great option for small to midsize businesses. It offers inventory management tools, boosts SEO strategies with customizable URLs and robot.txt access, provides plug-in POS integrations to leading providers like Square and Clover, and sells more with channel integrations like Amazon, eBay, and Facebook. You can create your own store on BigCommerce at $29.95/month.

    ●  Magento: Magento is an open-source platform, which is great for those who want to develop a long-term professional eCommerce site. The basic features provided by Magento are product, category, and inventory management, client account, customer service, order management, different payment options, and promotional and marketing tools.

    4- Hire Skilled Customer Management Team

    Focus on improving your customer support service. One of the best ways is by hiring the right members. Select candidates with a master’s degree in business administration.

    Look for candidates who can grow customer loyalty, build a competitive edge in the market with their communication skills, and develop real brand ambassadors for your organization.

    To fast track the hiring process and get the skilled customer support team faster, you can use the following ways:

    ●  Tap into your professional networks, such as network referrals or staff referrals.

    ●  Search LinkedIn and LinkedIn groups.

    ●  Search in specialist customer support job boards, such as Support Driven Jobs, Slack at Work, Remote OK, We Work Remotely, and AngelList Jobs.

    5- Create an Omnichannel Experience for Your Users

    Customers are present across all channels on the internet. Therefore, it is crucial that you deliver an omnichannel customer experience.

    Using three or more channels in an automated and linked way leads to an engagement rate of 18.96%.

    Here are the ways to create an omnichannel experience for your users:

    ●  Develop your mobile capabilities. Create a website which is mobile-friendly. Consider having a mobile app

    ●  Incorporate live chat

    ●  Integrate social content into your website

    ●  Add your product listings into social media posts

    For example, Starbucks uses an effective omnichannel strategy. Customers can use their app for information and ordering. They also provide a newsletter to engage across touchpoints.

    Final Thoughts

    As the number of customers interacting with online businesses is increasing, eCommerce sites need to prioritize the customer experience to stay ahead in the competition. Ensure that your website is simple, responsive, user-friendly with clear images, videos, engaging content, and a smooth checkout process.

    Therefore, designing your eCommerce stores that match customers’ expectations makes it way easier for you to increase conversions and stand out.

  • How To Increase Sales and Traffic With eCommerce Mobile App Development

    How To Increase Sales and Traffic With eCommerce Mobile App Development

    There is no doubt that the popularity of online shopping keeps increasing year by year. Customers prefer to use their PCs or smartphones for making purchases of everything from drinks to apartments. That’s so simple, efficient, and profitable that no buyer can stay aside from such an attractive offer.

    As a result, the popularity of eCommerce apps has also grown. According to the latest statistics, more than 90% of the time mobile users spend on mobile software. And almost 80% of people have an experience with online shopping. So developing an app does really make sense. This is your opportunity to increase traffic, sales, and revenue in the end. 

    If you haven’t launched a mobile app for your project yet then hurry up to do it. While you doubt your rivals attract customers, sell their goods, and get insane profits. And if you have already developed mobile software for your company then take care of its promotion. Make people want to install and use your app. Try these tips to make your eCommerce mobile apps truly popular and efficient.  

    Follow the Requirements of ASO

    The basic principles of App Store Optimization are called to promote your application in the App Store and Google Play. By using proper keywords, adding informative descriptions, placing relevant screenshots, and so on you will allow users to find your software among thousands of other apps.  By increasing your recognition, you’ll notice a higher amount of downloads.

    In general, ASO is powerful enough to guarantee the following benefits:

    – increase retention rate. It demonstrates that the number of active users installing your app is much higher than the number of those customers who have uninstalled it;

    – scale the loyalty of users. Paid ads also boost your mobile app traffic but organic search forms a loyal community of people truly interested in using your software for a long time;

    – further app improvement. By getting feedback from your users you will be able to detect bugs and get rid of them efficiently. 

    Take Advantage of Email Marketing

    Newsletters and promotional emails aren’t dead in marketing meaning, as you may think. No matter new and original advertising tools, email marketing is still known as one of the most efficient and low-cost tools to reach desired goals. By sending regular emails and newsletters you are able to share with subscribers new information about your sales, promote special offers, gift them with personal discounts, and so on.

    Many companies use email marketing to announce the launch of their apps. You can propose users download the app and get special benefits, for instance, a coupon or early access to a new collection of your products. 

    Use a Landing Page

    A customized landing page is a great mobile eCommerce platform to promote your shopping offers. It helps in brand recognition so potential buyers can find out more about your company. In addition, powerful CTA elements will intrigue users and motivate them to try your software for a better shopping experience. 

    All you need is to create a one-page website with a detailed description of your app’s features and advantages. Don’t forget to add downloading links so the visitors of your landing page can easily reach your software. 

    Promote Your Apps on Social Media

    Depending on the type of your business, you may be interested in investing more funds in SMM marketing. It means you need to grow the number of subscribers and share with them viral content. Such an approach is powerful because an average user spends approximately 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media every day. 

    If you have a successful account on social media platforms you should definitely promote your app. There are many ideas on how to encourage your subscribers to do it. For instance, you can explain the beneficial eCommerce app features and customers’ benefits. Launch a relevant hashtag and let people share their opinions about your offer. Thanks to using the power of your social media accounts, you can make your app popular too.

    Launch Referral Marketing

    Have your friends ever shared with you any link, product, or app? This is an example of referral marketing. It means the recommendation of something to other people for a bonus. Person A only needs to have a unique affiliate link or code to share it with user B. After user B installs your app, user A will receive a reward. 

    As you can see, the mechanism of referral marketing is very simple. No need to invest funds in software ads – your users will be your ambassadors for free. As a result, you can reach your planned goals: increase the number of app installs, save money on advertising campaigns, scale your loyal community, etc. 

    Try to Work with Influencers 

    Influencer marketing isn’t a new thing. You can contact social media personalities with great bases of subscribers for cooperation. Such influencers may advertise your mobile eCommerce app without noticeable signs of traditional advertisement. That’s the point of native marketing: by working with influencers you’ll make your ads look like friendly recommendations. 

    As a result, online buyers will be much more excited to purchase your products using your mobile software. Once the social media personality shares a recommendation with them, they may rely on it and give your offer a chance. 

    Develop Your Business with a Mobile App

    A mobile app is a key to massive sales nowadays. It allows you to reach new target audiences, motivate your loyal customers to make orders, improve conversation rate, increase brand recognition, build better relationships with customers and, finally, reach your business goals. 

    It seems you can generate mobile app sales. It’s possible that your app isn’t good enough to bring you desired results. Then you must improve it to make its features and interface user-friendly. But if your software is great but traffic and sales leave much to be desired then rely on the listed above tips. Make a step forward in your eCommerce success now and your business will demonstrate better results soon.

  • Retailers Should Focus On The Last Mile, Says Justuno CEO

    Retailers Should Focus On The Last Mile, Says Justuno CEO

    “Conversion optimization is the same as it’s been for a while,” says Justuno CEO Erik Christiansen. “People still don’t want to focus on the last mile. We’ve kept to the same message that retailers should be investing in their current website visitors. There’s always low-hanging fruit to improve your business. How do you take one marketing dollar and stretch it as far as you possibly can? It’s all about creativity. That’s what marketing is and that’s what retail is.”

    Brand growth expert Austin Brawner of Ecommerce Influence interviewed Justuno CEO Erik Christiansen about conversion optimization:

    Retailers Should Focus On The Last Mile

    Conversion optimization is the same as it’s been for a while. People still don’t want to focus on the last mile. Finally, in 2020, we saw that shift when advertising got so expensive. Everyone is like, okay, we have minimal budgets, how do we stretch them? Finally, with all the competition from COVID where everyone’s shifting online everyone, they are saying that we can’t keep just throwing money at this. We’ve got to come up with the real problem.

    When we first launched we had to pivot immediately because when we mentioned the word coupon or the word pop-up people just ran the other way. It’s been ten years of education and we’ve kept to the same message of investing in your current website visitors. Our main job still is to educate the online retailer about the basics. We ask most businesses, as you know with email, are you doing a 30, 60, 90 day, the basics? Are you doing a cart abandonment email? You cover the basics and you get so much further ahead.

    There’s always low-hanging fruit

    Everyone thinks businesses are run perfectly but most businesses are just a mess. What I’ve been trying to do is challenge my team to look at the basics. There’s always low-hanging fruit to improve your business. When it comes to retail, where’s the low-hanging fruit? Let’s break out your business to the basics like new visitors versus repeat. With the new ones, how many are there? What percentage of emails are we capturing? Are we sending those emails to your ESP? Are we putting in the basic workflows? There’s so much low-hanging fruit.

    Then, you’re sending these emails, are you reinforcing those campaigns on-site? You spend so much time designing the email, sending it. Then it comes to that shopping cart abandonment. Do you even know how many people come to your cart each day? Do you know how many carts get abandoned and the dollar value? What can we do? The basics are still very much there in terms of opportunity to help people increase their sales lead capture and sales. How do you take one marketing dollar and stretch it as far as you possibly can? How do you also get creative? It’s all about creativity. That’s what marketing is and that’s what retail is. Retail is retailing and getting your hands dirty.

    Retailers Should Focus On The Last Mile, Says Justuno CEO Erik Christiansen
  • How the Ecommerce Theme You Choose Helps to Deliver the Best Brand Experience

    How the Ecommerce Theme You Choose Helps to Deliver the Best Brand Experience

    Ecommerce is a lucrative market for many businesses. By now, nearly every retail brand has either started or is working on launching an ecommerce store.

    Global ecommerce revenue is projected to reach 5.4 trillion US dollars by 2022. Therefore, more and more retailers have jumped into the ecommerce space to make more money. With increasing competition, however, it has become crucial for ecommerce businesses to deliver the best brand experience for improved customer retention and brand loyalty.

    The choice of your website’s ecommerce theme plays a vital role in preparing an UX-friendly digital destination that helps to acquire more customers.

    What is an ecommerce theme?

    An ecommerce theme is a pre-built design that you can select for your online store. It helps to deliver the best user experience to your customers.

    Why is the choice of your ecommerce theme significant?

    Around 40% of site visitors will stop interacting with your site if the layout is unattractive. Selecting the right ecommerce theme for your online store helps your customers to do business with you with ease.

    What features should you look for in your ecommerce theme?

    The features that you should have in your site depends on the kind of website that you are looking to build.

    That having been said, here are the top features you should look for in every ecommerce theme:

    Responsive Design

    A responsive website is mobile-friendly. Having a responsive site design ensures that your website’s look and functionality stays the same irrespective of the browsing device. It doesn’t matter whether the visitor is visiting your store using a mobile device or a desktop, they will be able to complete the purchase easily.

    A responsive design also has a positive impact on Google rankings, because Google and other search engines consider site design, user experience, and mobile browsing experience before ranking a website.

    Hence, a responsive website has more chances of ranking higher in the search results as compared to a non-responsive site. Besides, a responsive site is easy to maintain and cost-effective.

    Speed

    Faster loading websites naturally offer a more smooth user experience. Google and other search engines now consider site speed in their ranking algorithm.

    The recent Page Experience update from Google takes into account Core Web Vitals as a key ranking algorithm factor. Core Web Vitals comprises metrics such as LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), FCP (First Contentful Paint), and FID (First Input Delay), which collectively measure the real world user experience. Sites that pass the Core Web Vitals test have the best chances of being placed higher in the search results.

    You can use the Page Speed Insights tool to check the page speed score of a website. The higher the score, the better would be the UX and organic rankings.

    Therefore, before selecting a theme, you should conduct some research on the theme loading speed. Sometimes, fancy elements and design don’t matter much when compared to simple site design with a high speed.

    Ease of Use

    You should always select an ecommerce theme with a simple and easy to use navigation.

    For example, your theme should have a search bar, because often visitors are looking to search for a particular product to complete the purchase. If your site doesn’t have a visible search bar, then it might lead to poor conversions and a high bounce rate.

    Opt for a theme that has nicely designed “breadcrumb navigation” and prominent category and subcategory links. Besides, the CTAs should be large and clear. There are maximum chances of conversions when the CTAs are placed higher in the page leading to more clicks.

    Security

    Website security is crucial for a good user experience. Google takes website security very seriously. Make sure your ecommerce site offers good security.

    Opt for an SSL certificate and pick a trustworthy web host. Ensure, your ecommerce theme does not have any vulnerabilities that makes it easier for hackers to steal customer data.

    Support for integrations and widgets

    Most of the time, you will realize that it is much easier to install a widget or an app to add an additional feature to your online shop.

    You can find essential apps and plugins in the respective directories of your ecommerce platform. Plugins are powerful because they let you add beneficial functionalities to your store without the need to hire a developer. You can easily search and install a plugin of your choice to add different functionalities to improve UX and SEO.

    Hence, you should see whether your chosen theme is compatible with the plugins you plan to use. You should select an ecommerce theme that offers the support for maximum plugins, apps, and widgets.

    Final thoughts

    Building and managing your ecommerce business is challenging nowadays. The choice of your ecommerce theme decides the future of your online business.

    An SEO friendly store layout helps to acquire relevant organic traffic to your site. Besides, an UX-friendly theme keeps customers happy as it improves conversion and retention, which are significant to boost your online revenue.

    You should have a brilliant online marketing strategy, powered by a robust ecommerce theme to drive more qualified traffic to your site.

  • 6 Criteria to Choose The Right Payment Gateway For Your E-Commerce Business

    6 Criteria to Choose The Right Payment Gateway For Your E-Commerce Business

    It is just as crucial, if not more so, to choose the appropriate payment gateway for your online store as it is to design the site itself. Customers expect having a pleasant experience; thus, having a payment gateway that annoys them while they are trying to check out might cause a significant increase in the number of carts that are not completed.

    You aren’t sure how to choose the payment gateway, are you?

    How Does Payment Gateway Function?

    Payment gateways make it possible to make transactions even when a physical credit card is not available, which is why they are an essential component of any e-commerce platform. (Companies like Stripe, Square, and CardPointe are examples of those)

    When a customer enters their credit card information for online payments, the gateway immediately establishes a safe, encrypted connection with the card-issuing bank. After that, the bank does a verification check and verifies the purchase. The ideal situation is one in which customers simply see a straightforward checkout form.

    1. Security Capabilities of the Payment Gateway:

    Encryption of data occurs when a user’s web browser reads and displays the data. When this occurs, the transaction details are sent from the gateway to the payment processor that is used by the gaining bank for the seller. But the security dimension is critical for a payment gateway. Why you ask? Because it needs to fulfill all the steps below for a secure transaction.

    Responding To The Inquiry:

    The payment request that pertains to the merchant and the client is sent to the payment gateway for authorization by the processor. After the portal has received this answer, it will then send it to the site or interface that will handle the processing of the payment.

    Checking The Delivery Address:

    The payment gateways conduct a comparison between the delivery address provided at the payment gateway and the one listed in the database.

    Checks using the AVS system:

    These are carried out by the payment gateway in the event of transactions using virtual cards. Checks using the Address Verification Service (AVS) are used in the fight against online fraud. When a user’s billing address and bank address do not match, the Automatic Verification System (AVS) will not work properly.

    Analysis Of Velocity Patterns:

    It is a method for detecting fraudulent activity that is used by payment gateways. The recurring transaction patterns are reviewed within a set period as part of the Velocity pattern analysis. This is done to either prevent the same patterns from occurring again or, if they do, warn the card’s owner.

    Tracking Geolocation:

    It is another function of payment gateways that enables you to monitor locations of transactions and report any that seem to be erroneous.

    2. Payment Methods Accepted:

    Do you think it would be beneficial for your company to accept cryptocurrencies? What about currencies that are used all around the world? How many different types of credit and debit cards do you want your customers to use to pay for their purchases at your store? Do most of your clients use electronic checks as a method of payment? What about gift cards and certificates? If your company operates based on subscriptions, having reliable recurring billing capabilities is going to be very crucial to you.

    Finding out which kinds of payments are required can help you choose the payment gateway that is most suitable for your website.

    3. Technical Capabilities for Integrations

    Certain web platforms interface with certain payment gateways in a more frictionless manner than others. The vast majority of online merchants whose preferred platform is WordPress, for example, use WooCommerce as the foundation for their online shop. For the card processors that are conducting the transactions on your cards, WooCommerce enables an open source to be used. This gives you the ability to compete for the best prices on your online purchases by bidding with several merchants. It’s possible that your company already makes use of accounting software that may be easily integrated with a certain payment gateway.

    4. User Experience

    The majority of clients these days choose to use mobile applications rather than desktop software. Therefore, it is important to choose the e-commerce payment gateway that performs admirably across both the mobile and the online interfaces.

    5. Accepted Throughout The World:

    While countries capitalize on the benefits of the global market, you should make sure that the payment gateway you use is compatible with businesses in other countries. Your customers might come from any part of the world. Therefore, you ought to make universal payments possible.

    6. Costs:

    The fiscal repercussions of your decision should be given almost equal weight to its technical implications. Before making a final choice, it is important to investigate all the potential routes (multiple gateways and varied service plans provided by a single provider), as this will help you choose the best option.

    Check to see that there aren’t any hidden costs or limits to the plan that might require you to spend more than you intended. Commission or transaction fees are often charged by most online payment gateways. In addition to this, there is a possibility that some may want a set-up charge besides a monthly or yearly membership price.

    Conclusion:

    If you are familiar with the requirements of your company, selecting the payment gateway and putting it into action won’t be nearly as challenging or expensive as you would think. You can have an instant and excellent influence on your client’s knowledge, just as you can have an immediate and positive effect on your revenue and productivity if you do it properly. Before deciding on the best payment gateway, all you need to do is do thorough research and consider the factors that have already been covered.

  • How to Increase Sales in Online Marketplaces

    How to Increase Sales in Online Marketplaces

    If you’re not selling online, are you really selling? This is a question you likely asked yourself in the beginning stages of building your business. And if you’re an executive of a company who has been selling online for a while, you may be trying to figure out how to sell more online. Even if you have the most revolutionary product lineup, getting into the hands of your audiences is not easy. 

    As the pandemic demonstrated, nearly everything is available online and ready to ship to your door instantaneously. From toilet paper to milk, bedding to televisions, everything you could possibly want, need, or desire can be found online. This fact is mindblowing when you think about how shopping used to be strictly done in-person. Now you can pre-order your groceries from the comfort of your couch and order school supplies for your kids at the same time. 

    The online marketplace is cluttered with literally millions of brands competing for the same consumers. Differentiating yourself as a brand can be tricky, no matter if you are a small business or a large retailer. If you’re looking to increase your brand’s sales online, then you’ve come to the right place. Below are three ways to boost your sales and get consumers coming back for your products time and time again.  

    1. Make Friends with Amazon

    Despite your personal feelings toward Amazon, the truth is, selling on Amazon can be extremely beneficial. Consumers who are willing to try a new product will likely first search on Amazon to see if it’s available. Free, expedited shipping for Prime customers is a gamechanger for consumers in this must-have-it-now landscape. And while buying on Amazon may be simple, selling on this e-commerce site is a different story. 

    Before you start selling on Amazon, be sure to read all of its rules and regulations. Skipping this step may lead you to a suspended amazon seller account. This often happens due to lack of performance, like policy violations or a lack of sales. It can also happen, however, if you have multiple selling accounts or you are selling something prohibited by the site. Having a suspension can be a frustrating experience, and it can take days if not weeks to get your account restored. 

    Your best bet to selling successfully on Amazon is to do your homework. Make sure your business is set up with proper documentation. Once you’re on the e-commerce site, be responsible to your purchasers. If something is delayed due to inventory, communicate this with your buyers. Also, if you receive a negative comment, be sure to respond to the feedback on the site directly. These small tips will boost your Amazon seller profile and hopefully keep you far away from a suspension. 

    2. Be Active on Social Media 

    Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are making it even easier for users to stop what they’re doing mid-scroll and purchase products. As a business, you want to capture users’ attention when they are most vulnerable and most likely to purchase. You can do this by being an active brand on social media. This can look like creating funny or memorable Instagram Reels or having an enticing giveaway. 

    If you aren’t socially savvy, that’s alright. There are plenty of tutorials online to get you started and inspire you to create buzzworthy content. If you’re still at a loss, you may consider hiring a social guru either as a full-time employee or contractor. Having a dedicated social media person on your team can ensure your business is at the forefront of latest trends. This will pay off quickly when you see how many new customers are finding your brand through social apps. 

    Another thing to note: make sure your checkout experience is simple. The more seamless the checkout experience, the more likely someone is going to buy right away. If the process is tedious or laborsome, users will click back and continue scrolling. The likelihood of them coming back to your site to purchase is slim to none. Monitoring your consumers’ purchase journey is one key way to ensure they are completing their orders quickly and efficiently. 

    3. Manage Your Inventory

    This last tip is especially relevant today. Shortages have become relatively normal since the onset of the pandemic. Currently, everything from baby formula to tampons to Sirarchia is in low supply. The reason for these shortages stems from a weak supply chain. Raw materials are limited, human labor is varied, and shipping or transportation is unstable. This can lead to your business suffering from less or delayed inventory. 

    As a business, being upfront with your customers is key. If you are facing inventory shortages, it’s important to let your customers know before they checkout. This can look like putting a banner on the top of your website communicating this to them. Nobody wants to be surprised after they’ve already paid to find out the new item they bought will be shipped weeks from now. The sooner you communicate issues with your consumers, the more they will trust you as a brand and repeat business. 

    If you are selling on multiple platforms — like your website, Amazon, and social — then keeping up with your inventory is key. You may want to look into an inventory management system to help you and your team keep track of what is available. Moreover, implementing this system can help you track what items are in demand and when you need to order more. 

    Takeaways

    Selling online isn’t as simple as selling lemonade at your neighborhood block party. You have to get in front of the right audience in the moment they are looking to buy. You also have to create a seamless shopping experience and communicate openly to increase customer satisfaction. While you will definitely face hiccups from your online marketplaces, remember that honesty is always the best policy. Represent your business and show up for your customers with respect to become a favorable brand in their eyes. 

  • Handy Tips For Ecommerce Success

    Handy Tips For Ecommerce Success

    If you’re an e-commerce store owner, you know the challenges of running an online business. There are so many moving parts to keep track of that it can often feel like your business is constantly in flux. In order to avoid feeling overwhelmed by all the different responsibilities that need to be taken care of, here are a few tips for keeping your e-commerce store successful:

    Choose your e-commerce platform wisely

    Choosing the right e-commerce platform is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for your store’s launch. As an entrepreneur, you have limited resources and time to devote to your business. You don’t want any part of your e-commerce project to be a burden or drain on any of those precious resources; you need it all directed towards maximizing sales and increasing revenue.

    To ensure this happens, select an e-commerce platform that’s easy to use and integrates smoothly with other services like email marketing software (MailChimp) and social media marketing tools (Buffer). The more seamless these experiences are, the better customers will feel about their experience interacting with you as a brand!

    Another thing to consider is whether or not this platform will scale as sales grow—and if so, how easy will it be? Some platforms offer plugins that make scaling much easier than others—so make sure it’s one of those before committing long-term!

    The last thing worth mentioning here is that platforms that allow for quick updates also help manageability for staff members who might not be tech-savvy but still need access to run their teams efficiently.

    Invest in quality images

    If you want to create an engaging brand, then you need to invest in your visual assets. The best way to do this is through consistent, high-quality photos of your products. A good picture will help your customers visualize what it would be like if they owned that item, which will likely make them more likely to click “Buy Now!”

    Having a solid tech stack with the best tools for e-commerce will help you keep up with such needs and more.

    Optimize for mobile

    Mobile is the future of e-commerce, and if you want to be a part of that future, you need to make sure your site is optimized for mobile.

    Make sure your site is responsive.

    Responsive design means that the layout of your website adapts based on how it’s being viewed. The full version will load if accessed from a desktop computer. If it’s accessed from a mobile device (phone or tablet), then smaller images will be shown, and text will be easier to read. It’s important that whichever way someone accesses your site, it looks good and works well at all times, so they have an enjoyable experience every time they come back!

    Use social proof

    Social proof is a great way to build trust with your customers. To demonstrate social proof, you may include reviews, testimonials, case studies and product ratings—all of which will help customers decide about buying from you.

    Another great thing about social proof is the positive results it can have on your Ecommerce store’s conversion rate. You should create a strategy to get more reviews from happy customers on your website. Not only does this help increase trustworthiness, but it also gives potential customers an idea of what they can expect when they make a purchase from your store.

    Conclusion

    Ecommerce is an exciting venture, but it can also be challenging. You need to invest time and energy into your business, as well as have a clear plan for what you want it to accomplish. These tips will help you get started on the right foot and give you some ideas about where to go next once you’ve got your feet wet with online sales.

  • How eCommerce Brands can Expedite the Checkout Process to Increase Conversions

    How eCommerce Brands can Expedite the Checkout Process to Increase Conversions

    With over 263 million Americans shopping online yearly, it is no surprise that shoppers are constantly looking for the most efficient eCommerce sites to make their shopping experience seamless. Having the ability to buy your favorite items from the comfort of your own home is a great feeling and shouldn’t be ruined by an inconvenient checkout process. In fact, approximately 50 percent of US shoppers are less likely to buy something online if the entire checkout process takes more than 30 seconds. Having a rapid checkout can make or break a shopper’s experience; by streamlining the checkout process, merchants have the potential to increase their conversion rates up to 35 percent. However, while some merchants are unsure of how to go about this, others are not using mobile app developers that support these capabilities adequately.

    The setback for some merchants is their failure to find the right mobile app developer when they initially launched. As their brands grow, their mobile stores’ needs become more specific. Retail brands with apps that directly fulfill the experience that shoppers desire are on a solid path to success; this is why finding the right app developer is imperative.

    Find the right mobile app developer for brand needs

    Third-party developers like Tapcart, the no-code app developer for Shopify, allow merchants to customize their checkout settings to create a frictionless checkout experience while enabling tools to help increase conversions. With the aid of these third-party developers, merchants can implement features like single-page checkouts and pre-filled shipping forms that allow for a quick checkout experience. Conversion features including checkout navigation, which automatically navigates customers to checkout when they add products to their cart, have contributed to Tapcart’s popularity amongst retail giants like Fashion Nova and Pier 1 Imports. 

    Reduce the number of form fields

    Over 18 percent of shoppers will abandon their cart if the checkout process is too long or complicated. In order to combat this, merchants should reduce the number of form fields so that shoppers have less to fill out. Fewer form fields ensure a frictionless checkout experience that increases conversion rates up to 160 percent. 

    On average, merchants include 2 times more form fields than necessary. With these large amounts of forms, it can be tedious for a shopper to complete them for just one or two items. Reducing the typical number of checkout form fields can result in fewer abandoned cart rates, a checkout process that takes just  5 seconds to complete, and ultimately a significant jump in sales.

    Accept various payment methods

    With the rise of alternative payment methods, shoppers are no longer solely opting for credit and debit cards. In fact, 31 percent of shoppers say that they are more likely to use alternative payment methods (APMs) since the start of the pandemic. Providing APMs, like buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), which can be implemented through companies such as Affirm and Quadpay, allow eCommerce customers the freedom to choose their preferred payment method, ultimately resulting in a more streamlined checkout experience that caters directly to consumers.

    Adding various payment methods is a simple way to attract new customers who, on other eCommerce apps, might not be able to use their preferred payment method. As a result, customers will flock to merchants’ mobile apps with the knowledge that they don’t have to change their choice of payment and instead can focus on their excellent shopping experience. 

    Allow customers to shop as guests or create accounts

    Having a customer account on an eCommerce website can provide prefilled shipping info, order history, and real-time order tracking, making a customer’s shopping experience optimal for quick and simple transactions. However, some customers prefer the guest checkout experience, as it requires less commitment and leads to faster first-time purchases. With a guest checkout feature, a shopper doesn’t have to fill out forms and create an account to purchase on a website, allowing a swift shopping experience without all of the extra steps involved.

    Implementing an expedited checkout will increase customer loyalty to eCommerce mobile apps  and further success by decreasing cart abandonment rates. If the conversions aren’t meeting the quota initially intended, effectuating one or more of these tips is a great way to begin boosting numbers and meeting eCommerce goals.
    To ensure your eCommerce store is having all of its needs met for maximum success, it is imperative that merchants find the right mobile app builder. Launching a high-converting mobile app can be easy with the right mobile app builder that offers features to ensure the most frictionless checkout experience.

  • Replacement Lenses: a New eCommerce Option

    Replacement Lenses: a New eCommerce Option

    It’s an inevitability that any pair of prescription lenses will have to be replaced with time. Regardless of if this comes due to scratches, a break or shatter, general wear out of the frame, or simply losing their use as a proper vision adjustment, they simply don’t last forever.

    Most people opt to go to their local retailer and find a new pair of frames, update their prescription, and wait a few weeks to get their new glasses. These new glasses cost an average of $173, without even mentioning the prescription update. This is a purchase made, on average, every 1-3 years. 

    The Alternative to New Glasses

    There is an alternative path to this process though, one that can be cheaper, easier, and faster. Most glasses frames are going to outlive the lenses inside of them, for these cases it may be important to consider replacement lenses. Replacement lenses take any pair of frames and put a brand new set of lenses within them.

    This is especially useful for those who have a more unique pair of frames, those that like antique and vintage frames but need new lenses, those that want a slightly more affordable alternative to completely new glasses, and those that want multiple pairs or styles to choose from. 

    When looking at the market for lenses, and specifically replacement lenses, there are lots of options that didn’t exist in the past. On top of the average single vision lenses, there’s the bifocals and trifocals that those with particularly poor eyesight may use. A more modern alternative is also progressive lenses, lenses that have multiple prescriptions but with less harsh cutoffs as bi or trifocals. 

    You Have Lenses Options

    While most lenses today are plastic, it’s important to know that it’s not the only option. Glass lenses are much less likely to scratch and are the clearest vision offered but tend to completely shatter and are heavy. Polycarbonate lenses are 100% UV blocking, effectively shatterproof, and are lightweight but tend to scratch easily and are a bit more expensive.

    Finally, there’s a lot of tinted lenses that have become more commonplace today. Pink lenses help with depth perception and reduce migraines, brown reduce eyestrain in bright light, yellow and orange help with contrast in low-light contexts, and gray reduce fatigue and can act partially as sunglasses.

    These are just some of the different lens adjustments one can consider adding when ordering a new pair of lenses, replacement or not. And even beyond these there’s also lens coatings. Some lens coatings, things like scratch resistance and UV protection can be seen on most lenses today. Although others like fog resistance, reflection resistance, and blue-light resistance are newer options that can be very helpful at a minor price increase.

    In Conclusion

    This is all to say that there’s a lot of options for anyone considering getting a new pair of glasses in the near future. Regardless of if that means a new pair of frames as well as lenses, replacing an old pair of frames, adding a bunch of new features to the lenses, or just keeping it as basic as possible. There is more freedom now than ever in the eyeglass market.

    The World of Replacement Lenses
    Source: LensFactory
  • How To Ensure You’ve Found the Right eCommerce Website for You

    How To Ensure You’ve Found the Right eCommerce Website for You

    In this day and age, shopping online is easier than ever. No matter what you may be after, you can nowadays simply launch your web browser, enter some keywords and you’ll be presented with numerous results almost instantly. This is true no matter if you’re looking to buy a new pair of shoes, in search of the best place to get live silver spot price charts, or if you’re looking to hire some type of service.

    And while there is a plethora of eCommerce websites out there, it’s important to keep in mind that not all of them are created equal. What this means is that while all of them may be offering the same or similar products, the prices may significantly vary from one website to the other. On top of that, one may accept your preferred payment methods, while the other may not; one can have stellar customer support, while the other may not have it at all, and so on.

    That’s why it’s crucial that you find the right eCommerce website when looking to purchase products online. Here are some pointers on how to do that.

    Do some research

    First and foremost, you should do some research when looking for a good eCommerce site. Here, make sure you check reviews and ratings of websites you’re considering, as you can rally learn a lot about them from these. Gaining insight into other people’s experiences will provide you with a lot of value and even help you avoid making the same mistake or having a negative experience with an eCommerce site.

    Feel free to shop around

    Additionally, feel free to shop around when looking for products or services online. Just because you came across a website that initially seemed good, that doesn’t mean you won’t find one that’s even better – provided that you go looking for it, of course. So, never settle for the first option you come across, as chances are that the next one will be better than the previous one.

    Make sure all of your needs are met

    A good eCommerce store will ensure that all of their customers’ needs are met – at least the ones that are realistic. So, don’t feel guilty abandoning a store at the very end of the purchasing process if you feel like your needs are not being met. If the eCommerce store doesn’t offer your preferred payment method, doesn’t have customer support that is available 24/7, has more than questionable security and tries to impose some hidden costs, simply abandon ship. Remember, eCommerce stores need customers more than customers need a particular store, so there really is no reason to settle for anything less than stellar service.

  • How to Start Your Wedding Ecommerce Website

    How to Start Your Wedding Ecommerce Website

    Businesses have undergone immense transformation moving from the traditional mortar and brick forms to virtual establishments. The wedding and jewelry industry experiences the same too. This lucrative business is something worth your investment. There are many more people interested in buying jewelry for their wedding than ever before. However, you need a strategy to succeed – own a website.

    Modern businesses are now thriving online. Therefore, you will need a wedding e-commerce website to boost your jewelry business. Creating an online presence for your business is vital for growth and success in this present age of the internet and technology. In that case, you will need more than knowing what goes on in the industry.

    An e-commerce website for your Wedding business

    Establishing an online platform gives you organic reach to your target audience without geographical limitations. Therefore, you will gain a lot by establishing an online business for wedding accessories. Here is what you need to do to get started:

    1. Pick an eCommerce platform

    An e-commerce platform requires a website, which is the main tool of operations. The platform takes into account key features and hosting options. Therefore, it is vital to understand the main differences to pick what will work for the business.

    1. Understand the ownership costs

    With the choice of a platform, it means understanding the costs of owning it. You need a budget for that and the key features covered in the cost. These costs cover things like design fees, app development and such things as a monthly subscription.

    1. User-friendliness and Flexibility

    The essence of having a website is to sell your wedding products. Therefore, it is important to make the site a lot easier to use for everyone. Visitors should be able to navigate through the site with ease. Flexibility has to do with providing unrestrained bandwidth and capabilities during high traffic.

    1. Check on website scalability

    Everyone starts a business with the hope that it will grow. Therefore, you should not confine your site to certain lengths. Leave room for scaling up and accommodating more features and content going into the future.

    Make use of free website trials before making your final choice. Testing various trials will help you know what works for your business before making the final commitment.

    1. Include Omnichannel Capabilities

    Having a website is good but not enough. Therefore, you should make sure that there are possibilities to integrate it with social media accounts. Connecting your website to other channels helps enhance organic traffic to your site. Most importantly, the site should provide search engine optimization (SEO) tools.

    1.  Secure your website

    A safe work environment is vital for business growth and development. The same applies to online platforms. Ensure that there is enough protection for your site and your client’s information as well. Your customers should feel safe transacting through your platform.

    1. Specialize by picking a niche

    Wedding businesses are wide to cover everything. Instead of doing everything in the industry, you could choose a niche and run with it. It works well if customers realize you have specialization in a specific area.

    1. Add products to your site

    Once everything is set up, it is time to add wedding products to the site. Therefore, ensure that there is enough content for people to see before publishing your site. Focus on user-friendliness and be as creative as possible. It is all about impressing your audience.

    Optimize your site for mobile use so that customers can access it from their mobile gadgets. That way, they can reach you from anywhere and every part of the globe. This means working on page load speeds. That way, you will have good conversion rates within the first few seconds as is in a company like MoissaniteCo jewelry. In addition, use good quality images so that they do not slow down your site. Keep updating your content to maintain relevance.

    Final Thoughts

    You can make your wedding business what you like. Therefore, use this guide to go beyond any limitations. Get the help of experts and consult widely for the best solutions in the market. Most importantly, the quality of your platform, its security and the ability to scale up will be vital for the growth of your wedding business.

  • How to Save Your eCommerce Business Time and Money

    How to Save Your eCommerce Business Time and Money

    When it comes to running a retail brand, it is important to find ways to be as efficient as possible.

    Why? Well, when you’re spending too much time and money trying to accomplish the simple things necessary to get your product out to your customers, it really can eat into your profits and make it harder to grow for the long term.

    The good news is that there are certain steps you can take to eliminate waste and improve your processes. In fact, most are so simple that you might have even overlooked them. Here are eight ways to save your eCommerce business time and money.

    1. Make It Easy for Customers to Buy

    One of the easiest ways to streamline eCommerce business operations and improve your overall bottom line is to make it easy for customers to buy the products you’re selling.

    This means offering multiple payment options, such as credit card, Apple Pay, or Paypal. Some online sellers also opt for layaway plans through specific apps as a way to reach more buyers.

    In addition, you can revamp the user experience of your website to make the checkout process simpler. After all, the easier it is for someone to buy, the more sales you’ll start to see over time.

    2. Identify the Best Sales Channels for Your Target Market

    To streamline your eCommerce business, you should also take the time to identify the best sales channels for your target market. Again, this might sound simple enough, but it is something that a lot of brands overlook.

    Begin by thinking about where your target customer is generally looking for products. Is it an impulse buy on social media? Do they trust influencers and always buy when certain brands promote an item? Or are they dedicated to using Google search results?

    Make sure you’re considering other sales channels like Walmart, Amazon, and others as options, too.

    3. Hire 3PL Shipping Experts

    Simplifying the shipping and warehousing process is another way to save time and money for your eCommerce business. 3PL, or third-party logistics, refers to when you use a third party to store and manage the items you sell, and then fulfill and ship your orders as customers make purchases.

    Often, this is less expensive and more efficient than buying or renting a warehouse and paying employees to staff it. Furthermore, most 3PL companies get better shipping rates based on the volume of orders they process across multiple brands, which ensures you’re saving money getting those items out to customers.

    4. Use Coupons and Discounts Appropriately

    Another area where eCommerce brands can save money in their operations is by using coupons and discounts appropriately. What do we mean by this?

    Sometimes new brands think it is super important to always have a special offer or coupon going out to their new and existing customers. While this can be an excellent promotional tool, you still want to be smart about how you do it.

    For example, if you’re using an offer of free shipping, make sure you’re not accidentally costing your business more than your profit margin. The same goes for discount codes, which should always fall somewhere below your margin for expenses including shipping and warehousing.

    5. Find Ways to Incorporate Social Media

    Saving time starts with better brand recognition. After all, if your target market already knows who you are, you don’t have to work as hard to make that first sale.

    To accomplish this, always look for ways to incorporate social media into your brand. Essentially, the goal is to leverage these digital platforms as a way to boost your sales and save you time.

    For example, have a page that you constantly add new products to on Facebook or Instagram. You can also utilize digital marketing and paid advertising elements like Facebook ads, Instagram shopping profiles, use of influencers, etc.

    6. Know Your Strengths

    One really important aspect of saving your eCommerce business time and money is to know your strengths. Some newcomers to the industry try to do too much, which leaves them running around trying to do everything on their own.

    The best process is to handle what you can but work with an outside expert on certain things that you might not have the time or resources to fully accomplish.

    A good example of this? Warehousing and shipping. In many instances, eCommerce brands aren’t fully equipped to handle all that this entails, which equates to a lot of time and money waste.

    7. Negotiate Shipping Rates

    If you aren’t already using a 3PL company to handle your shipping, make an attempt to negotiate your shipping rates. Most of the major carriers offer discounts based on volume or can cut you a deal if you’re doing a fair amount of monthly sales.

    For big items, consider working with a shipping broker who has an understanding of the types of products you sell. This can often be a great way to still ensure you’re getting the best rates while still ensuring items get to the customer in a timely fashion.

    8. Look at Packaging Costs

    Another area to make simple changes is your packaging costs. Often, those boxes and mailers cost a lot more than you thought at the beginning. To help reduce waste and eliminate added fees, take a look at what you’re currently using and see if there’s a better alternative.

    Most box companies these days also offer custom solutions, which give you the option of adding your logo and creating shipping supplies that meet your specific needs more efficiently. In addition, you can even switch to green materials that are far better for the environment.

    Wrap Up: Saving Your eCommerce Business with Simple Changes

    While most of these ideas seem simple enough, it is easy for a lot of brands to overlook them—especially in the beginning. By making just a few changes and refinements, however, you can rest assured that your eCommerce business is running as smoothly, efficiently, and profitably as possible.

  • 8 Key eCommerce Conversion Rate Benchmarks

    8 Key eCommerce Conversion Rate Benchmarks

    What would you say is the most important metric for a business? Is it profit? Revenue? Customers served per day? The answer may surprise you. In fact, according to eCommerce conversion rate experts, the number one metric for any business should be its conversion rate.

    Conversion rates indicate how effectively your marketing strategy attracts visitors and converts them into customers. To help you get started on improving your conversion rates, we’ve laid out some of the most critical benchmarks in this blog post.

    1 – eCommerce Conversion Rate 

    This is currently around 6%. Though the average conversion rate may vary by industry, this is a good eCommerce benchmark to aim for. As per the SimilarWeb eCommerce benchmarks report, the average conversion rate for eCommerce sites in 2021 was around 6.6%. If your conversion rate is below this number, there’s room for improvement. If it’s above this number, you’re doing well but could still stand to make some tweaks.

    Also, it’s important to note that the average conversion rate varies significantly based on traffic source. Paid search and email campaigns typically have higher conversion rates than organic search.

    2 – Mobile eCommerce Conversion Rate 

    This is typically 1.3% for mobile. While desktop conversion rates are still higher, the gap is narrowing, as more and more people shop on their mobile devices. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you’re missing out on potential business.

    The good news is that there are many simple things you can do to improve your mobile conversion rate, such as ensuring your site is easy to navigate and has a responsive design.

    3 – Social Media eCommerce Conversion Rate

    This is about 0.35%. Yes, that’s a tiny number, but it’s multiplying as people shop on Facebook or Pinterest. According to research from Monetate, social media conversion rates have doubled over the past year. One-third of all online purchases now come from social media.

    So, if you’re not yet using social media to drive conversions, it’s time to start. The best way to do this is by creating targeted ads and optimizing your site for social sharing. Social media also strongly influences SEO and should be optimized accordingly.

    4 – Cart Abandonment Conversion Rate

    This is typically around 68% – the percentage of people who add items to their cart but never complete the purchase. If you want to improve your conversion rate, you need to address this issue.

    There are some ways to reduce cart abandonment, including providing incentives for customers to finish their purchase, such as free shipping or discounts, and providing detailed product information and images.

    Also, cart abandonment rates vary by industry, so you need to benchmark your rates before making any optimizations. The average cart abandonment rate for health and beauty products, for example, is much higher than the average for digital downloads.

    A bigger percentage of online shoppers abandoned their shopping carts because of poor page layout and design. The shopping cart abandonment rate is now the leading indicator for eCommerce website performance, as it can rise to as high as 97% before a site is abandoned. That means if your site shopping cart abandonment rate hovers around 70%, you’d better know why.

    5 – Checkout Process Time

    This typically takes customers around 3 minutes. Once a customer has decided to purchase something from your site, you want to make the checkout process as quick and easy as possible. If you ask customers to fill out lengthy forms or provide too much information, they will abandon their carts.

    The good news is that you can do several simple things to improve your checkout process, starting with only asking for the information you need and providing detailed product descriptions. The checkout screen is notorious for being the abandonment focal point, so improving the UX and design of the page will lower your abandonment rate.

    No need to reinvent the wheel here. Website builders devoted numerous man hours to create checkout pages based on best practices. In their most recent product release, Elementor, the leading WordPress website builder, put a special focus on improving their WooCommerce checkout widget, for this reason exactly.

    Just keep in mind, checkout process length varies by industry, so benchmark your site before you make any optimizations. 

    6 – B2B eCommerce Conversion Rate

    B2B companies have lower average conversion rates than other industries, around 3%, especially eCommerce companies. B2B transactions typically involve a longer sales cycle and more complex buying decisions.

    Though the average B2B conversion rate is lower than that of other companies, there are some things you can do to improve it. One example is using content marketing to position yourself as an expert.

    Another is implementing a lead nurturing program that allows you to build trust with tips while identifying their specific pain points and needs. By providing value at every step, you’ll be able to close more deals in less time.

    7 – Average eCommerce Order

    The number varies significantly by industry, but it’s a good benchmark to use as $122 when setting your own goal for average order value. There are many ways to increase your average order value, including offering discounts for larger orders, providing free shipping on orders over a certain amount, and bundling products together.

    You can also improve your conversion rate by increasing the average sale amount of each customer. You can do this by providing more detailed product information, including images and videos, and using targeted marketing such as creating shoppable videos to increase the value of each purchase. The order value of eCommerce also varies by region, so make sure to benchmark your site before making any changes.

    8 – Conversion Rate for Paid Search

    This typically falls around 2.35%. Search engine optimization is still the best way to drive traffic to your site, but the paid search can be a valuable addition to your marketing mix. Paid search allows you to target specific customers who are already interested in what you offer. You can then bid on keywords related to your products or services and show ads to those customers.

    The average conversion rate for paid search varies by industry. The average conversion rate for the travel industry, for example, is much higher than the average for the legal industry.

    Conclusion

    The eCommerce landscape is constantly changing, and it’s more important than ever to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. By understanding these statistics, you can ensure your eCommerce site is performing at its best.

  • 4 Reasons ADA Compliance is Important for Ecommerce Stores

    4 Reasons ADA Compliance is Important for Ecommerce Stores

    Accessibility has been garnering interest for the last 5 years – and it isn’t stopping soon. Everywhere in the digital world, people are adapting their presence (website, social media, forums, etc.) to include a wider range of audiences and lending a helping hand to people who were earlier ignored.

    Think of the time when all stores had to install ramps for wheelchair access, similarly, now there is a need to make all online e-commerce websites accessible to a range of differently abled visitors. It involves including people with a wide range of barriers to access – permanent, temporary or situational. People included range from completely blind, color-blind to low vision. Of course, it does not only involve visual states, but also people who are deaf, have mobility impairments and even cognitive impairments.

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990. It prohibits discrimination against anyone based on ability or disability. Under the ADA, web content should be accessible to blind users, deaf users and those who must navigate by voice, screen readers or other assistive technologies. Failure to do so can result in a hefty lawsuit.

    In fact, in August of 2021, ADA lawsuits were on course to reach the highest ever recorded number. We are now in 2022, and it will come as no surprise when this prediction proves true.

    Not only can these lawsuits cost your business thousands of dollars, but they also make your company look careless and irresponsible.

    Let’s take a look at four additional reasons ADA compliance is necessary for your ecommerce store:

    It Increases the Number of Potential Customers for Your Store

    The most obvious benefit of including everyone in your user pool and making sure a wide range of visitors can access your site is that the more people that can use your website, the more people can convert and actually buy something. It’s the easiest way to grow your presence – and actually cater to people that have the intent to buy, but are being blocked by lack of access.

    In the world, it is estimated that over 650 million people have a disability and some say it is as high as 15% of the global population. This user group has a purchasing power of up to 175 billion dollars. Just having a website that is accessible to them opens up to a greater market share of these users — and at the end of the day, it also improves the experience for current users as well.

    It Develops Customer Trust and Increases Brand Calue

    Trust is one of the biggest aspects of what makes a customer choose to engage with a business. Trust comes with a company being consistent and understanding, which is reflected in the way the platform relates to their users. This can be exhibited by being there for users that have different abilities as well – and score brownie points with your users.

    Today, seven in ten US Millennials actively consider company values when making a purchase — compared with 52% of all US online adults. Many company core values include words like inclusive, empathetic, understanding, etc. So the real question is – how can one have a company motto or core values that revolve around inclusivity and at the same time potentially exclude a significant portion of the population of people who want to do business with your company? Walk the talk!

    It Keeps Your Business Safe From Legal Risk and Customer Dissatisfaction

    Trust once created can also be broken. A lot of legal cases and customer outrage have involved accessibility in the recent years. In an iconic case, a student at the University of California-Berkeley (president of the California Association of Blind Students), sued Target for having a website that was inaccessible to blind users. Supported by the National Federation of the Blind, Target had to pay 6 million dollars in eventual settlement and continue to collaborate with the NFB to ensure accessibility. The suit is used to spotlight many corporate sites that don’t play well — if at all — with screen reading technology, and is widely referenced even today.

    It Keeps Innovation Going

    By embracing accessibility and inclusive design practices, many organizations are able to reach new innovations as a valuable byproduct. People have found that designing with a more diverse group of people in mind results in better overall creations and new ideas that apply to all users. There are many everyday examples: capabilities like screen magnification, captions, and voice control are in regular use by the public without people thinking of them as purely accessibility features.

    The largest companies have understood this and deemed accessibility to be a basic human right. They drive their products to be better and more human. Microsoft has found success in recent years thanks to an increased focus on accessibility and has integrated this into their marketing as well. Google also has innovation in the area of not just natural language processing, but non-language processing, a way to process sounds and intonations — a way to benefit the hearing-impaired. Apple, too, is not far behind in pioneering braille access and other accessibility measures into their products.

    It is essential for ecommerce platforms to have accessible designs. But how does one make sure their website is accessible? One thing to do is to understand the ADA compliance guidelines and follow them in the next redesign. You can also outsource your efforts to platforms that handle end-to-end accessibility for your platform.

    There is no question that accessibility is the way forward for each platform today.

  • Sezzle Is the Creditization Of a Debit Card, Says CEO

    Sezzle Is the Creditization Of a Debit Card, Says CEO

    “Consumers love our product because it represents purchasing power but also budgeting for them,” says Sezzle co-founder and CEO Charlie Youakim. “They feel safe with it just like they do with the debit card. We’re driving a new wedge into payments between credit and debit. I call it the creditization of a debit card. I think it’s here to say because of that safety element that we give to the consumer.”

    Charlie Youakim, CEO and co-founder of Sezzle, discusses the massive growth of the Buy Now, Pay Later industry and how that is reshaping ecommerce and retail in general:

    Focused Uniquely On Credit Building

    Sezzle is generally focused on the ecomm space, that’s where we do most of our work. We are present on over 44,000 merchant websites. The Buy Now, Pay Later industry, in general, is typically focused on ecommerce. So as that push back into ecomm occurs (potentially due to increases in COVID causing more people to shop from home) we generally benefit from that.

    We compete in this space by really focusing on our stakeholders, focusing on the merchants, focusing on the consumers, and doing the right thing by both of them. We really stand on the high road for the consumer. We are the only player in the space that focuses on credit building which is totally unique. We love it, our consumers love it and our merchant partners love it. By focusing on their needs, these consumers’ needs, and doing right by them and right by the merchants, you have a chance to do a really strong job within the sector.

    Sezzle Pushing Into the Enterprise

    With SMB’s we’ve been growing like wildfire. It just continues for us. That’s how we have that big count of merchants and we expect that to continue. We’re doing a great job there and the merchants love us. It’s viral in that space. For us now the push is into enterprise and in Target, Bass Pro Shops, those are two great examples of that for us. The reason we’re doing that is that our consumer wants to shop with us everywhere so we have to be everywhere. That means we have to be with SMB, we’ve got to be with mid-market, and we’ve got to be with enterprise.

    That will be the push for Sezzle to continue to push in those spaces. If you look at the enterprise players in those spaces, what they want is they want a brand that they can believe in. That’s where you have Sezzle and our halo around doing right by the consumer helping them build their credit score up and being a partnerships player. That’s what really sets us apart.

    Sezzle: The Creditization Of a Debit Card

    The average order value per customer has been relatively stable. We’re around $100 per order. The only reason it’s been tracking a bit up for us is we’ve been expanding our services. We started with a pure ‘pay in four’ for over six weeks interest-free and so that’s where we tracked right around $100. But as we add long-term into the mix we’ve been starting to track upwards. The order values on a 12-month order or 12-month installment plan, tend to track towards $1,000. We feel it’s probably going to stay stable, it’s just going to be a mixed shift that creates any change for Sezzle.

    We see from our consumers that they love our product because it represents purchasing power but also budgeting for them. They feel safe with it just like they do with the debit card. We’re driving a new wedge into payments between credit and debit. I call it the creditization of a debit card. I think it’s here to say because of that safety element that we give to the consumer.

    Sezzle Is the Creditization Of a Debit Card, Says CEO Charlie Youakim
  • eBay’s Journey to Sustainable Commerce

    eBay’s Journey to Sustainable Commerce

    A business’s goals and the planet’s future don’t have to be at odds.  The truth is that businesses won’t have a successful future if the earth cannot support human life.  Companies need customers to buy their offerings and they need resources to bring those offerings into existence.  Climate change threatens businesses on both counts.  Investments in sustainable commerce are more than philanthropy; they’re investments in the company’s future.

    One company that understands this mission is eBay.  The online commerce platform has made its commitments known in their recent sustainable commerce report.  To use the company’s words, “we work to integrate environmental best practices across our global business to support a healthier planet for our community and generations to come. Across our offices, we invest in clean energy, divert waste from landfills and create efficiencies in water usage. We also encourage responsible consumption through the resale of items on our platform, helping to preserve the world’s finite resources.”

    Since inception, eBay’s normal business operations have had a positive impact on the environment.  Given their popularity as a resale site, used products avoided the landfill by changing hands on eBay’s platform.  The more consumers buy second hand products, the less demand there is for new goods to be produced.  This combination of waste diversion and resource conservation has had a major impact on the planet.  In the areas of apparel and electronics alone, sales on eBay have conserved 720,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.  That’s more than the three million people living in Puerto Rico emit every year!

    But eBay isn’t only sticking to what their company does naturally.  They have announced a wide variety of goals that reflect both their abilities and their ambitions.  Recent reports also illuminate eBay’s commitment to seeing their goals through.  For example, eBay has the goal of powering their data centers and offices with 100% renewable energy by 2025.  As of 2020, they were 74% of the way to their goal, up from 66% a year prior.  One of the ways eBay has been able to make this switch to renewable energy is by partnering with other companies.  Last August, McDonalds and eBay teamed up for an agreement to purchase power from Lightsource bp, the largest solar project in Louisiana.  Not only is eBay making a difference in their own company, but they are helping other actors do the same. 

    In a more recent announcement, eBay also made it known that they will reduce their Scope 1 and 2 emissions 90% by 2030, using 2019 as their base year.  Also included is their commitment to become carbon neutral in 2021.  While these measures may seem dramatic, they are achievable.  More importantly, eBay is taking them up in accordance with the Paris Agreement; specifically, the goal to limit global temperature warming to 1.5 ℃.  

    Keeping the planet habitable requires everyone to make contributions.  eBay is not waiting for the government to act, and nor should their business peers.  More should follow eBay’s example of sustainable commerce.

    eBay sustainability and recommerce