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Showing posts from 2011

Live Nation and Groupon Team up for New Ecommerce Solution

Groupon is a group-buying ecommerce solution that has been all over the net recently, especially after announcing their tie-up with Live Nation. These two powerhouses (Groupon dominating the daily deal market and Live Nation dominating the live music space) are now teaming up to give concert goers a new way to get tickets for their favorite concerts. This new ecommerce solution will be called GrouponLive. How exactly this solution will service has been kept under wraps, but insiders say that it should be ready by the summer concert season. Since GrouponLive has immediate access to Live Nation’s expansive roster of events and performers, this solution will be the next best ecommerce site for live event deals. This tie-up will give Groupon another way to dominate the market and bring in more money. They’ve already been on a roll recently. GrouponLive will be the latest channel to bring value to fans and at the same time help artists reach out to a wider audience.

Using Social Media Techniques in your Ecommerce Site

Every ecommerce owner should develop a sort of platform. But what is a platform and how is it related to ecommerce? A platform is very relevant to anyone who wants to connect with others online, whether they are buyers or sellers like you. A platform is basically a base of people who know what you sell and who want to buy what you sell. Once you have such a platform, you can sell your products to it. But how does one develop a platform? Through networking! By networking through person or online, one can develop a vast platform. Social networking has become the latest rage today and using sites like Facebook and Twitter or blogging sites can be very effective. But it is still important to conduct lectures and make media appearances in order to develop a strong, word-of-mouth market. Most ecommerce entrepreneurs are fully-equipped with all the basics, from a blog and an official website to a Twitter feed and a Facebook page. Ecommerce owners also send out regular newsletters every year.

Growth in Ecommerce Website Development

The first quarter of 2011 has revealed that there was tremendous growth in ecommerce development. This quarterly report was released yesterday and focuses mainly on the ecommerce freelancing areas and jobs. The data gathered was based on more than 15,000 freelance projects for hundreds of sites across the Web. It has been established that a near 27% increase in the number of ecommerce freelance projects was seen and there was some amount of rivalry between medium and small ecommerce businesses. Here are some of the findings: The top ecommerce platforms were Magento and osCommerce. Both these platforms now lead the market for their open environment. The demand for ecommerce projects is constantly on the rise. Last year, Europe and Japan had the greatest demand. The United Kingdom has the most number of projects and Germany has the fastest growth. XCart professionals were found to be the highest paid. iPhone application development has also increased by nearly 33%; higher than Android, m

Ecommerce Owners worst nightmare – Abandoned Shopping Carts

Right since the emergence of ecommerce sites some 10 odd years back, the online shopping cart has come as a boon to online customers as it helps them to compare, think and consider before they make a buying decision for a product they want. But ecommerce website owners would do anything to transform those potential purchases into real purchases, and this is why they are constantly developing new and sophisticated methods of doing this. But then again, the situation can never be the same forever, what with the growing competition. The biggest reason why customers abandon online shopping carts is because he or she is not interested enough to actually go ahead and buy the products. It is very important to understand why your customers abandon their shopping carts. There can be plenty of reasons and sometimes you cannot control this. Shopping cart abandonment can help you find ways to better service your customers. It is important for ecommerce owners to analyze and follow up with their cu

New Ecommerce Site Launched for Fashion Accessories

Send the Trend is a new and innovative ecommerce store that offers a unique selection of custom fashion accessories for women. The site has raised nearly3 million dollars in its Series A funding which was led by Battery Ventures. The company first raised the initial capital from its angel investors. Today, the company is also launching an updated website that features a brand new design with customer-centric features such as social sharing, voting and one screen checkout. Send the Trend provides customized and affordable accessories from fashion jewelry to scarves and sunglasses. Visitors have the option to complete a style survey that will guide the company’s stylists to tailor product options for them every month. Once the customer makes her first purchase, she will then receive a few recommendations based on her style preferences. The company aims to make it simple for female shoppers to discover and make decisions online. The women of today do not have the time to visit ten differe

Surveys show that Small Businesses Underestimate Ecommerce

A recent survey about the concerns of independent business owners has found that most of the small business owners lack interest in ecommerce initiatives. Only 20 to 25% of small businesses accept payments online, suggesting that most business owners do not use websites as a tool to sell their products and services. However, the survey has also shown that the number of small businesses using ecommerce will increase in time as more and more businesses become more comfortable with conducting business online. The biggest factors why businesses don’t take ecommerce seriously include: their site being old and outdated, clients not knowing what to do and where to go, business and markets changing, site requiring a makeover, site written in an outdated language, etc. Ecommerce has become a major part of the American economy today. It is very important for small businesses owners to use ecommerce in order to compete with bigger businesses. The Internet makes all companies equal in the market,

What does it take to become a successful Ecommerce Entrepreneur?

You’ve probably asked this question a million times. What does it take to become a successful ecommerce entrepreneur? The answer can come as quite a surprise. If you’ve tried searching on the Internet for “must have entrepreneurial skills” or for “crucial business skills”, you’ll find thousands of articles that offer their own versions on which skills and attributes you should possess in order to start your own business. Some people think you should have the leadership quality, while others think that a strategic vision is a must and still others think that empathy, empowerment and operational focus are the key attributes. Here are a few practical skills that you can learn and execute. The ability to write well: Writing well means having the ability to communicate your points across with proper grammar and spellings. You should have a well-written product description for each of your products. You’ll need to write a return policy, privacy policy, “About Us” page and any or all emails.

Australian Dollar will not affect the growth of Ecommerce

Earlier this month, a conference was held with regards to Internet retail and has declared that online shopping will not be affected when the Australian dollar subsides. While there will be some overseas online transactions that are buoyed up by the strong Australian dollar, it would be highly dangerous for Australian online retailers to think that the whole thing will come to an end once the dollar subsides. Reliable sources have said that online items such as supplements and vitamins are not likely to be affected by the current dollar fluctuations. Australians are still twice as likely as Americans to shop for vitamins online. Another category that showed support of online shopping irrespective of the dollar’s strength was the cycling equipment category. It was also reported that last year, the overall revenues of nearly 2000 of the top eBay sellers increased by 38 percent, and with the soaring Australian dollar, cross-border ecommerce is now being encouraged as more and more shopper

Ecommerce is more popular in Shanghai than in Europe

Today, shoppers in Shanghai are now turning towards online shopping for a whole variety of reasons, ranging from value of money to convenience and a lack of crowds. Surveys have shown that Shanghai shoppers are increasingly choosing this retail shopping option; more so than their European and American counterparts. A survey was released earlier this month and was conducted amongst 150 white collar workers in Shanghai. The study showed that nearly 25 percent of this group has either bought drinks, groceries or even personal care products from online supermarkets in the past few weeks, thus showing the rise in popularity of online stores. Online shoppers in Shanghai have said that one of the main reasons why they shop online is because it provides them with a better shopping environment because of the lack of crowds. It also provides them with a wider range of products to choose from, it is convenient and gives good value for money.

Why Google can help with your Ecommerce Business

Before the Internet came into the picture, it was a challenge to drive traffic to any business. A variety of traditional methods like television advertising, newspapers and word-of-mouth methods were used. Today, we have Google. When you take into consideration the percentage of all the paid, organic and shopping search results, Google accounts for nearly 80 percent of the traffic driven to ecommerce sites. You cannot ignore your website’s ranking on Google if you truly want to be successful. Here are some interesting facts about Google: Nearly 35 percent of the traffic from the top 20 ranking sites comes from organic search. Most conversions come about when traffic lands on a product page. Nearly 70 percent of ecommerce sites do not have their user reviews indexed. While most of the top ecommerce sites don’t have their user reviews indexed, many of the industry leaders like Amazon and Apple do. These websites have their user review keywords indexed and picked up by the Google spiders.

Clothing Ecommerce has become more popular in the last 5 years

Clothing-themed online stores and ecommerce businesses have become extremely popular in recent years. Studies have shown that apparel sales online has nearly doubled in the last 5 years! Nearly 5 billion dollars were spent on clothes through ecommerce sites in the last five years, thus ensuring that the purchase of clothes online has grown by a whopping 152 percent! Until a few years back, fashion outlets did not have an online presence or an ecommerce store where people could buy clothes. However, today all of this has changed and most people prefer to buy their clothes online and try them on in the privacy of their own homes than in the rush and bustle of a changing room. Most people have the option of ordering multiple sizes and can send back the ones that don’t fit.

How to get your Ecommerce Business right?

2010 was a great year for ecommerce businesses, what with consumers spending nearly $70 billion on products and services bought over the Internet. All signs have shown that this trend will continue to improve in 2011, as more and more entrepreneurs have been setting up their businesses online. Getting your ecommerce site up and running is much simpler today than it used to be, but it is very alarming how most online businesses focus more on visual aesthetics than on important things like how their customers will pay for products. When customers buy from a store, the first thing they do is reach out for their wallet or credit card and hand it over to the cashier, who in turn will hand them a receipt and that’s the end of the purchase. Ideally, it should be just as straightforward with online shopping. But there are still plenty of clunky and unprofessional looking websites with multiple checkout pages that are confusing for the customers. Research has shown that successful ecommerce bus

Grows Up – An Ecommerce Platform for Entrepreneur Moms!

Savvy moms make great shoppers – they know just what they want for their kids, but are sometimes limited by their busy work schedules. Grows Up is an online ecommerce site that has been designed specially moms, and brings together a carefully selected list of boutiques for babies, toddlers and young kids alike into one ecommerce platform. Founded by Stephanie Robesky, Grows Up taps into the online niche and gets its influence from the power of social buying. Grows Up is an ecommerce site for moms and kids with a difference. The company supports smaller manufacturers and mom entrepreneurs and provides moms with shopping carts that are more original. It also offers trendy clothing and other products for children. Most of the products sold here are eco-friendly. The shopping cart on Grows Up features a highly intuitive search that provides product results based on age, gender and category. By adding an online profile, this site helps to bring a more tailored and technological approach to

Online Ecommerce retailers should focus on Delivery and Logistics

Businesses are constantly looking to improve their ecommerce operation and should do so by focusing specifically on delivery and logistics. The latest Global Ecommerce Delivery Report 2011 has said that it is very important to be efficient as far as delivering high levels of customer service is concerned. In the United States, many traditional retailers have been looking for new and better ways to compete with the efficiency of the online ecommerce retailers by creating new ways to process online orders as well as the ones at their retail shops. A great way of advertising an ecommerce site during the holidays is to offer free shipping services. Competition is also very important as far as ecommerce is concerned.

Is Ecommerce as effective at gaining customer loyalty as a Brick-and-Mortar store?

According to a recent survey, the average Australian shopper spends only about one-third of the total amount on ecommerce than their American counterparts. What’s more, further surveys were conducted in response to this, in order to gain a deeper insight into the habits and attitudes of the average Australian consumer. The surveys showed that the main obstacles that dissuaded people from actually making any online purchases were the wish to physically hold the product, payment safety and delivery concerns. However, the surveys also showed that nearly 77 percent of the transactions were from domestic platforms and show that a good way for Australian merchants to connect with prospective customers is to first invest in a physical store and then build an online one.

An Easy way to develop your Ecommerce Site for Mobile Phones

Today, most people find it more convenient to access the Internet on their mobile phones instead of heading home to sit at a PC. Mobile optimization of websites has become an increasingly important function, especially in an era where mobile devices are outselling computing devices. As far as ecommerce websites are concerned, optimizing your site for mobile applications is very important. Today, there are plenty of ecommerce distributors who offer optimization and development services to make a website more favorable for mobile phone users. Here are a few tips to use for optimizing your ecommerce site for mobile phones: Prepare a good Layout: The layout is very important to any web development project. It is important to remember that ecommerce websites can be accessed in an entirely different way on mobile phones. So create a few mobile pages with various URLs to support a mobile phone. Keep your mobile site simple and include a lot of images: Make sure that all the images that you in

5 Things that Consumer’s absolutely hate about Ecommerce Sites!

Ecommerce sites should ideally be engaging and secure enough to inspire customers and make it easy for them to shop, thus leading to an increased number of sales. Unfortunately, many ecommerce stores fall short in more than one area. Here, I will show you 5 things that consumers absolutely hate about ecommerce sites, and why you should avoid these areas for a better site. Poor Design: This is one area that should be obvious to any online merchant. Most customers will not buy from a site that does not look trustworthy. Site aesthetics is probable the most important factor that contributes to how a shopper will judge your professionalism and reliability. Nearly 50% of online shoppers judge a site by its design. Consumers hate a poorly designed ecommerce site, so take the time out to design a great looking site. Poor Customer Service: Your customers will not want to hear from you unless they have a problem. When your customers have a problem, they will want to get through to you immedia

Top Design Tips for your Ecommerce Website

As far as your ecommerce website is concerned, design is just about everything! If you are looking to make profits, then your website is going to have to be designed to look appealing as well as comforting to the visitor. It doesn’t matter whether you are selling the nest products in the industry or if your products have the best prices, but if your website is poorly designed, you are going to run at a loss! Here are a few design tips to help propel your ecommerce website in the right direction. Clean up your Site: A clean and visually appealing ecommerce site is very important if you want to make any kind of money online. Surprisingly, there are thousands and thousands of cluttered and broken-linked ecommerce sites still available out there. Make sure your site does not belong to this category, as your users will not be able to shop properly and will eventually go somewhere else. Colors speak more than Words: Any amateur web designer will tell you that the color scheme on your site s

Will Facebook ever become an Ecommerce Hub?

A big part of what Facebook envisions for its future (which is totally justified considering its market value of $75 billion) is the idea that the social networking site will one day become an ecommerce hub, generating billions more in revenue from major brands and online retailers. But is this possible? Many web analysts do not think that this is particularly realistic. As far as ecommerce is concerned, and driving huge amounts of revenue, Facebook may not get any bigger than what it currently is. Surveys have shown that many retailers (big as well as small) who have used Facebook as a sales channel have found that it offers small pockets of opportunity, but can never compete with the opportunities presented by Google. This is probably because many of the Facebook-based stores are ineffective, especially for the larger retailers, and that the click-through rates are also largely anemic. Although hundreds of millions of people use Facebook on a daily basis, the ability of this site to

Important factors for Successful Ecommerce in 2011

This year, the competition online and in the ecommerce industry will be much stronger than in all the years gone by. And if you have an ecommerce business, then you can’t waste any time in falling behind. This year, there are better and newer ways to integrate ecommerce into your online business. It’s not only about improvising your checkout process or streamlining your site for customer convenience and safety; it’s about more than that! It is no longer enough to just include search engine optimization into every section of your site. If you are looking to truly stand out this year and maintain a successful future in ecommerce, then you have to be fully committed to ecommerce. Simplify the checkout process: As more and more people take to online shopping, it is very important for your site’s checkout process to be as simple as possible. Once your prospective shopper adds a product or two to his shopping cart, your chances of making a sale are higher. This is why your checkout process s

Which CMS to Choose for your Business?

The main aim of any web development firm will always be to provide their clients with websites that not only look good but are also fully-functional and highly manageable. Today, more and more content management systems are competing for the top spot. Content management systems make it easy to add articles, products and just about anything to your site, making them highly important. And this is why a lot of web owners ask whether they should download a free CMS or whether they should opt for a paid solution. Every website developer will be familiar with CMS’, but marketing executives and other decision makers aren’t as educated on the topic. So if you’re torn by tough choices, here the top ten CMS’ for your ecommerce or general site. Best open source content management systems for product management are: 1.Magento 2.osCommerce 3.Zen Cart These 3 CMS’ provide a well-structured source code that allows for better and easier collaboration between developers and designers, and also enables

Making the most out of Facebook and Twitter for your Ecommerce Site

There was a time when everybody had to keep a phone book in order to find a business contacts details. Fortunately, those days are long gone. What with ecommerce and social media taking over our lives, we can now access some of our favorite brands right from some of the most popular social networking sites. However, today it is no longer enough to just interact. Consumers are increasingly looking for promotions, discounts and freebies. In fact, surveys have shown that most people follow various brands on Twitter and Facebook to check for coupons and discounts. So how effective are Facebook and Twitter in promoting your brand? Are they really capable of increasing your sales? Many companies and ecommerce businesses have benefited from social media sites in the past. The key to achieving positive returns for your efforts is to promote your brand in such a way so as to encourage maximum interaction. Define your business goals: It’s surprising how so many businesses fail just because they

Google Improvises its ecommerce search tool

Search engine giant, Google, has recently improvised and enhanced its ecommerce tools that it has been offering to retailers who are looking for safe online shopping options. Google’s Commerce Search Functions has been given a number of new features that users will already be familiar with from the company’s main search site. The feature helps you search as you type, which basically updates all the results in real time to let browsers see a list of products or services that they may be looking for, even before they are done with typing out the complete name. This feature is a key addition to the new tool. The new Commerce Search tool also allows users to use a spell check in cases where they do not know the exact spelling of a product or service or information that they are looking for. What’s more, product recommendation is also going to be added so that consumers can see all the other similar products to the one they are searching for. This helps to enhance the online shopping experi

Tips on how to Optimize your Ecommerce Site for Search and Navigation

Improving your website’s search and navigation capabilities can only increase your sales. If visitors to your site find that they can’t find a specific product on your site, then they will just simply click away from your site. Here are a few tips on how you can improve your user’s experience on your site: Offer your customers various options at every stage of their journey in your site. If they come across a page where no products are returned and no alternatives mentioned, then they’ll just leave your site. Having a highly optimized zero results page will help by displaying your top products, product links to key categories and provide advice on how to use your search facility. If your customers want to buy a product, they sure as hell don’t want to spend hours going through your site to find what they want. So, make sure your customers get to the relevant pages within the least number of clicks possible. Reaching any page within 3 clicks is ideal. Having a dynamic navigation facilit

Ecommerce Sites makes it easier for browsers to compare prices

With the emergence of online information, consumers are now finding it easier to compare prices, thus resulting in an increased surge of ecommerce website on the web. Many high-end retailers feel that having a strong online presence is very important, what with the popularity of ecommerce growing every day. Today, online shopping accounts for nearly 7% of all the retail spending that takes place and this number keeps growing by the day. Surveys have revealed that most consumers take to the Internet to look for various discounts and deals that can be availed through ecommerce sites online. Currently, nearly 84.3% of consumers prefer to shop online, but there is still room for growth, what with customers using both in-store as well as high street means to purchase products and services. So, what we can expect in the future is an increasing number of stores and consumers who make use of ecommerce websites for shopping purposes.

How to Create a Successful Ecommerce Site

What with customers finding it easier to go online for shopping purposes, it has become increasingly important to have an ecommerce website these days. Presently, there is a cut-throat competition that exists n this sphere and everyone is striving to represent their businesses in the best way possible. If you are looking to create your own ecommerce website, then there are certain strategies that you should learn in order to be successful. Get user Feedback: If you want to improve the usability of your website, then the best way to do so is to improve your user’s shopping experience on your site. What your user’s experience when on your site and how satisfied they are with your products and services are important elements to your site’s success. So, try to connect with all your visitors on a personal level and then build your image through specific marketing techniques. Send out customized sales messages: When you specifically target your audience, your chances of making more sales wil

Ecommerce Shopping is more lucrative than Visiting a Store

Many retailers have claimed that the rising fuel prices have made it more and more difficult for delivery companies and other retail outlets to function effectively, thus sparking off a debate that online shopping is fast becoming the preferred way of buying items today. Price is a huge concern for most people and today, with traveling becoming more expensive, people prefer to save their money instead of spending on fuel. The best alternative to shopping outdoors of course is going online and ordering products. Surveys have shown that nearly 65% of people prefer online shopping because they would rather go online to shop than visit a brick and mortar store because by shopping online, they are exposed to a lot more advantages from saving on fuel, getting better discounts, flexibility, convenience, easy-to-use, etc.

Tips for Protecting your Domain Name

Picture this – The number of visitors to your ecommerce site has suddenly dropped to zero during peak hours! A retailer’s worst nightmare to say the least! Normally, most ecommerce website owners can makes hundreds of dollars worth of sales during the peak hours, but what do you do if your business has come to a standstill? It is indeed a nightmarish scenario but highly possible if you lose control of your domain name. If someone manages to gain access to your account by using your domain name, they can then continue to divert your visitors to their site and even access your email! And if they manage to steal your domain name by converting into their name, then you are going to face a long and very expensive legal battle to get it back. There is no reason why you should lose your domain name to a cyber criminal. If you ignore it or forget to renew it, then it could be snapped up by its new owner in a perfectly legal way! If this happens, then you can say goodbye to your domain name! He

Ecommerce Tips for 2011

Now that we are already into 2011, the sales figures for the 2010 Christmas Season are already doing their rounds. The daily online sales in 2010 exceeded $1 billion, which is double the amount made in 2009! So, with so much money floating around, why are all the small ecommerce websites feel like they aren’t getting any action? If you are getting a steady stream of targeted traffic, but they just aren’t converting, then the problem could be in your website and how you are presenting your products. Here are a few changes you could make to your product page to help convert those visitors! When people visit your ecommerce site, they expect to see your products and services immediately. It shouldn’t take them more than a click from your home page to get there. Including extensive amounts of content is great for attracting the search engines, buy you’ll lose your customers if they have to read paragraph after paragraph of sales copy. So, get to the point immediately! Take a look at your we

Social Ecommerce – Can it help Retailers and Brands evolve

One of the biggest shifts in trend that was observed last year was the emergence of social ecommerce! Retailers and brands started taking to social networks not only to enhance their visibility, but also to rake in the money and increase their revenues. The Internet supports the sharing of information amongst various networks, and does so at a speed and scale that can never be achieved in the offline world! Statistics have shown that nearly 90% of people tend to trust recommendations made by friends above any kind of advertising. In the United States, users spend nearly 41.1 billion minutes surfing through Facebook. Facebook has 500 million users and keeps adding to this figure every single day! This is the power of social media! Owing to this, there are many social ecommerce solutions that have hit the market today and are constantly evolving. Retailers and brands have started capitalizing on this to increase their revenues and make it big in the social networking scene as well! Let’s

Why you should choose Zen Cart for your Small Business

Zen Cart offers many small business owners a great many ecommerce solutions that are effective in creating a successful online business. This open source platform can be used to customize your ecommerce solutions. Before customizing it, the Zen Cart offers many important SEO elements for you product pages. From a web based admin for processing orders to a complete shopping cart, it is also offers multiple options for payment check out and a lot more. You can use your Zen Cart platform to handle your online business of selling products and services. With the Zen Cart, you can now transform your store into anything you want it to look and feel like. The PHP files allow you to customize any of the new features that a business owner is looking for. The key features of Zen Cart are: 1.You don’t need a web developer if you want to make changes to your promotional banners. 2.You get an unlimited category structure. 3.You get to customize your product pages with the “Add to Cart” button. 4.It