By: Bogdan Sandu
An ecommerce software is an extraordinary instrument that can help you create an online store regardless of the possibility that you have no specialized slashes.
However, there might be one issue, which one is the best ecommerce software for you?
As to find out which is the best ecommerce software for both small and large businesses, we have investigated a huge number of shopping carts and ecommerce software on many different websites. We also tested them all.
So, in case that you are considering making your own particular online store and searching for a few thoughts for the best online store builder to utilize, this article will reveal some insight into this field for you.
How to build an Ecommerce Website
You can only build an ecommerce website in two ways:
1. Self-hosted ecommerce software
2. Hosted ecommerce website (easier to use)
In both ways, you can get your best online storefront builder. Yet, contingent on the volume of products that you’re offering, the degree of the customization that you need and the quantity of knowledge curve you are ready to undertake, one of these software’s will be more suitable for you.
Hosted Ecommerce Software – Shopping Chart
This software shopping chat will help you to build a store without being a professional!
RESOURCES
Best ecommerce software to build an online shop
Bogdan Sandu 16 min read
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An ecommerce software is an extraordinary instrument that can help you create an online store regardless of the possibility that you have no specialized slashes.
However, there might be one issue, which one is the best ecommerce software for you?
As to find out which is the best ecommerce software for both small and large businesses, we have investigated a huge number of shopping carts and ecommerce software on many different websites. We also tested them all.
So, in case that you are considering making your own particular online store and searching for a few thoughts for the best online store builder to utilize, this article will reveal some insight into this field for you.
How to build an Ecommerce Website
You can only build an ecommerce website in two ways:
Self-hosted ecommerce software
Hosted ecommerce website (easier to use)
In both ways, you can get your best online storefront builder. Yet, contingent on the volume of products that you’re offering, the degree of the customization that you need and the quantity of knowledge curve you are ready to undertake, one of these software’s will be more suitable for you.
Hosted Ecommerce Software – Shopping Chart
This software shopping chat will help you to build a store without being a professional!
Click to download a PDF with 100 free fonts to help you create better designs.
This is the best ecommerce website builder option for the ordinary people that desire to concentrate on their company, and not on the professional side of managing an online store.
Who should use it?
Here you can find the reasons why individuals want to utilize this ecommerce website maker:
You don’t fancy worrying about security, hosting or some technical features of managing your online store.
Essentially, this ecommerce website builder gives you ecommerce features and also takes care of every technical system controlling features of managing a website so you don’t have to perform the role of acting your own IT administrator. This allows you to concentrate on your company instead.
You require a solution where every shopping cart devices appear pre-installed and you can use them right away.
All the devices you will need to manage an online store like payment processors and product management are previously built-in to the received ecommerce builder. There is no unification work and minimal arrangement that needs to be completed. They all work immediately. In case that you get lost, they have committed support teams to assist you with your problem.
You need to be capable of building your website managing easy drag and dropping technology that needs no coding abilities.
The plan is that hosted shopping carts are hiding the codes, and perform easy and non-technical user interface for you to build your personal website,(utilizing drag and drop technology for you to include your content like pictures, galleries, and so forth) upload your products, attach your site to a pay processor, then you can begin selling immediately.
The advantages of these ecommerce store builders is the fact that they are pretty basic to utilize, even in case that you are not a professional in this field.
The disadvantage is that you can’t find much adaptability in case that you need to change the functions represented by these particular ecommerce software providers.
And since you’re looking for an ecommerce solution for your website, you should also make sure that your promotional emails have the best open rate.
There are several tools to help you do that. SendPulse is one of them and it stands out by helping its users maximize open rates automaticall with Artificial Intelligence, Hyper-personalization, and Predictive analysis.
Source: http://www.designyourway.net/blog/resources/ecommerce-software-build-online-shop/
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Monday, February 26, 2018
11 Most Popular eCommerce Posts in 2017
By: Nicole Blanckenberg
The end of 2017 is here… and boy what a great year we have had. Thank you to everyone who has followed, shared, commented and liked our eCommerce guide posts and we look forward to kicking 2018’s butt with you and helping you convert more sales!
To end the year off we are counting down the 11 most popular eCommerce posts from 2017 (based on engagement, feedback and need) according to you! Posts that can help you blast into 2018 and start the first quarter off right. Without further ado let’s count down the biggest eCommerce blog winners.
11. AliExpress Survival Guide: Finding the Right Supplier
“As popular as AliExpress is for drop-shipping, navigating through tens of thousands of suppliers as a new online seller, can seem like trying to find a needle, in well, a stack of needles. But sit back, relax and take a deep breath, we’re going to guide you through it, to help you find just the right supplier for your business in just 7 easy steps.” —> AliExpress Survival Guide
10. 16 Secret Facebook Marketing Features You Can Try Today
“Shh, I’ll let you in on a secret: You don’t need to be a Facebook marketing whiz to up your Facebook game. There are a lot of ‘secret’ Facebook marketing features that you can use today, features that the pros use all the time, which will make managing your own page and campaigns just that much easier and effective… and they aren’t as hard to navigate as you may think…”
Get the secret tips now to up your 2018 Facebook advertising game! —> 16 Secret Facebook Marketing Features You Can Try Today
9. eCommerce Inspiration: 8 Trending Products that Dominated 2016
“If finding trending products to sell online is not on your first quarter to-do list, it should be! Trending products are a good way to boost short-term sales in your niche. We searched the internet for the most viral products from last year…”
Products that you can use to inspire your 2018 product list to increase sales. —> eCommerce Inspiration: 8 Trending Products that Dominated 2016
8. 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Facebook Advertising
“Here’s the thing: even the most seasoned advertiser can get it wrong. We all know Facebook ads are a must, but so many of us are not getting the results that we want for the budget we have; I found myself saying, If I knew then what I know now, quite a lot in the beginning. Whether you’re new to Facebook advertising or are just not seeing the results you want from your campaigns, by learning from others’ mistakes you can get high-performing Facebook ads in less time, for less money…”
Here are the biggest things I wish I had known on day one. —> 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Facebook Advertising
7. Top 2017 Shopify Apps
If you’re looking for some inspiration on which Shopify apps will take your store to the next level, then this post is for you. Find out which Shopify Apps drove more traffic, grew databases, improved customer service, increased sales, took marketing to the next level and built repeat business for eCommercers in 2017. —> Top 2017 Shopify Apps
6. How to Spy on Your Competitors on Facebook
“Let’s not beat around the bush; eCommerce can seem cut-throat. To stay ahead, you’ll have to get your hands on some inside information. No! I am certainly not talking about corporate espionage or putting on your balaclava and sneaking in Oceans Eleven-style. But, if you want to one-up your competitors you are going to have to dig a little deeper. You may be surprised to know that there are actually quite a few ways to take a sneak-peak at what your competitors are doing on Facebook and this guide will have you one-upping the competition in no time!” —> How to Spy on Your Competitors on Facebook
5. 7 Secret Shopify Features You Need to Know About
These hidden Shopify features can help you streamline your business and your day. Read more to find out which 7 Shopify features you need to know about ASAP and see how they can decrease unnecessary admin, increase store security, increase sales, and sneak in some entraupenering if you haven’t quit your 9-5 yet! —> 7 Secret Shopify Features You Need to Know About
4. [Video] How to Scale A Facebook Ad Campaign
In this thirty-minute Facebook strategy workshop leading Facebook advertising expert, Ben Malol, took us through his secrets to successful scaling campaigns to maintain good return on investments, when and how to adjust bids, and mastering CPAs (Cost per action). So grab that cup of coffee, put your advertising hat on and hit play. —> [Video] How to Scale A Facebook Ad Campaign
3. The Online Store Feedback You’ve Been Waiting For
“One of the biggest advantages of being a smaller business owner is the personal touch you get to add throughout your sales funnel. A personal approach that the big guys like Amazon can’t provide. The downside to this is that you have to work extra hard to gain trust. We’ve reviewed thousands of sites and in so many cases even the most experienced merchants can forget even the most basic of things that could really hurt their business and this trust they are trying so hard to build…”
Find out 12 must-do’s for online store owners to guarantee sales. —> The Online Store Feedback You’ve Been Waiting For
2. Facebook Ads Not Performing? Here are 7 Reasons Why
“ It’s easy to panic if your Facebook ads aren’t performing as they should. Why wouldn’t you – low performance means you are paying above average for below average results. When you’re faced with non-performing ads, you need to ask yourself: Am I retargeting correctly, are my ads relevant, are they attracting attention or are they even being seen at all?”
Find out the top reasons why your Facebook ads are not performing and how you can fix them. —> Facebook Ads Not Performing? Here are 7 Reasons Why
And the winner is…. *drum roll*…
1. 31 Must-Join eCommerce Facebook Groups
“There are thousands of entrepreneurs who took the plunge before you, as well as many on the same journey as you, and joining groups is a great way to get in touch…” Find out the top Facebook groups that every budding (or seasoned) eCommerce entrepreneur should join. —> 31 Must-Join eCommerce Facebook Groups
—
There you have it, the most popular eCommerce Posts in 2017…Bring on 2018! If you have any posts topics you would like to suggest for 2018, post them in the comments below. Happy selling!
Source: https://blog.storeya.com/2017/12/popular-ecommerce-posts-in-2017/
The end of 2017 is here… and boy what a great year we have had. Thank you to everyone who has followed, shared, commented and liked our eCommerce guide posts and we look forward to kicking 2018’s butt with you and helping you convert more sales!
To end the year off we are counting down the 11 most popular eCommerce posts from 2017 (based on engagement, feedback and need) according to you! Posts that can help you blast into 2018 and start the first quarter off right. Without further ado let’s count down the biggest eCommerce blog winners.
11. AliExpress Survival Guide: Finding the Right Supplier
“As popular as AliExpress is for drop-shipping, navigating through tens of thousands of suppliers as a new online seller, can seem like trying to find a needle, in well, a stack of needles. But sit back, relax and take a deep breath, we’re going to guide you through it, to help you find just the right supplier for your business in just 7 easy steps.” —> AliExpress Survival Guide
10. 16 Secret Facebook Marketing Features You Can Try Today
“Shh, I’ll let you in on a secret: You don’t need to be a Facebook marketing whiz to up your Facebook game. There are a lot of ‘secret’ Facebook marketing features that you can use today, features that the pros use all the time, which will make managing your own page and campaigns just that much easier and effective… and they aren’t as hard to navigate as you may think…”
Get the secret tips now to up your 2018 Facebook advertising game! —> 16 Secret Facebook Marketing Features You Can Try Today
9. eCommerce Inspiration: 8 Trending Products that Dominated 2016
“If finding trending products to sell online is not on your first quarter to-do list, it should be! Trending products are a good way to boost short-term sales in your niche. We searched the internet for the most viral products from last year…”
Products that you can use to inspire your 2018 product list to increase sales. —> eCommerce Inspiration: 8 Trending Products that Dominated 2016
8. 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Facebook Advertising
“Here’s the thing: even the most seasoned advertiser can get it wrong. We all know Facebook ads are a must, but so many of us are not getting the results that we want for the budget we have; I found myself saying, If I knew then what I know now, quite a lot in the beginning. Whether you’re new to Facebook advertising or are just not seeing the results you want from your campaigns, by learning from others’ mistakes you can get high-performing Facebook ads in less time, for less money…”
Here are the biggest things I wish I had known on day one. —> 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Facebook Advertising
7. Top 2017 Shopify Apps
If you’re looking for some inspiration on which Shopify apps will take your store to the next level, then this post is for you. Find out which Shopify Apps drove more traffic, grew databases, improved customer service, increased sales, took marketing to the next level and built repeat business for eCommercers in 2017. —> Top 2017 Shopify Apps
6. How to Spy on Your Competitors on Facebook
“Let’s not beat around the bush; eCommerce can seem cut-throat. To stay ahead, you’ll have to get your hands on some inside information. No! I am certainly not talking about corporate espionage or putting on your balaclava and sneaking in Oceans Eleven-style. But, if you want to one-up your competitors you are going to have to dig a little deeper. You may be surprised to know that there are actually quite a few ways to take a sneak-peak at what your competitors are doing on Facebook and this guide will have you one-upping the competition in no time!” —> How to Spy on Your Competitors on Facebook
5. 7 Secret Shopify Features You Need to Know About
These hidden Shopify features can help you streamline your business and your day. Read more to find out which 7 Shopify features you need to know about ASAP and see how they can decrease unnecessary admin, increase store security, increase sales, and sneak in some entraupenering if you haven’t quit your 9-5 yet! —> 7 Secret Shopify Features You Need to Know About
4. [Video] How to Scale A Facebook Ad Campaign
In this thirty-minute Facebook strategy workshop leading Facebook advertising expert, Ben Malol, took us through his secrets to successful scaling campaigns to maintain good return on investments, when and how to adjust bids, and mastering CPAs (Cost per action). So grab that cup of coffee, put your advertising hat on and hit play. —> [Video] How to Scale A Facebook Ad Campaign
3. The Online Store Feedback You’ve Been Waiting For
“One of the biggest advantages of being a smaller business owner is the personal touch you get to add throughout your sales funnel. A personal approach that the big guys like Amazon can’t provide. The downside to this is that you have to work extra hard to gain trust. We’ve reviewed thousands of sites and in so many cases even the most experienced merchants can forget even the most basic of things that could really hurt their business and this trust they are trying so hard to build…”
Find out 12 must-do’s for online store owners to guarantee sales. —> The Online Store Feedback You’ve Been Waiting For
2. Facebook Ads Not Performing? Here are 7 Reasons Why
“ It’s easy to panic if your Facebook ads aren’t performing as they should. Why wouldn’t you – low performance means you are paying above average for below average results. When you’re faced with non-performing ads, you need to ask yourself: Am I retargeting correctly, are my ads relevant, are they attracting attention or are they even being seen at all?”
Find out the top reasons why your Facebook ads are not performing and how you can fix them. —> Facebook Ads Not Performing? Here are 7 Reasons Why
And the winner is…. *drum roll*…
1. 31 Must-Join eCommerce Facebook Groups
“There are thousands of entrepreneurs who took the plunge before you, as well as many on the same journey as you, and joining groups is a great way to get in touch…” Find out the top Facebook groups that every budding (or seasoned) eCommerce entrepreneur should join. —> 31 Must-Join eCommerce Facebook Groups
—
There you have it, the most popular eCommerce Posts in 2017…Bring on 2018! If you have any posts topics you would like to suggest for 2018, post them in the comments below. Happy selling!
Source: https://blog.storeya.com/2017/12/popular-ecommerce-posts-in-2017/
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Ecommerce Analytics at Scale: The Art and Science of Data Analysis for Growing Sales
By: Jeremy Moser
There’s no shortage of ecommerce data to track.
And that’s exactly the problem.
Companies don’t struggle with collecting data anymore. Instead, they often have more trouble drawing insights and conclusions from the data they already have.
Ecommerce analytics at scale is both an art and a science. Learning how to understand the fundamental relationships between each data point leads to sound strategic decisions, from marketing to onsite sales to product develops to retention and lifetime customer value.
Here’s why ecommerce data analytics are key for scaling any ecommerce business and how you can use the right tools to understand consumer behavior and capitalize on it.
Ecommerce Analytics Fundamentals that Inform Decisions
Most marketers claim to be data focused, and they might be correct to a certain degree… They have attribution reports up-and-running, along with dashboards covering every KPI imaginable.
But more often than not, people don’t know what to do with that data. The problem is that raw data isn’t good enough on its own. Instead, you should focus on the revenue-generating insights you can derive from the numbers.
As Avinash Kaushik says,
Most businesses today are data rich, but information poor.
Collecting quantitative and qualitative data is the starting point, not the finish line. You then should overlap this information with context.
Absolute vs Relative Analysis
A simple data point might look straightforward on the surface, but different people can draw different conclusions based on the type of analysis they’re using.
Here’s a simple, math-based scenario to illustrate this problem.
If a business increases its conversion rate with a new landing page from 1% to 1.5%, that is a 50% relative increase but a 0.5% absolute increase.
1. Relative increase: 0.5% ÷ 1% = 50% relative change.
2. Absolute increase: 1.5% - 1% = 0.5% absolute change.
That might seem like a tiny, insignificant difference, but it has massive implications.
Let’s take, for example, an analysis that shows that conversion rates only decreased from 4% to 3% (effectively 1%) this month. That doesn’t sound too bad initially.
An absolute change of 1% doesn’t accurately reflect the real change in performance because the relative change ends up being a 25% decrease. A 1% relative decrease, in comparison, would only mean the conversion rate dropped from 4% down to 3.96%.
This problem becomes exacerbated at scale when dealing with larger numbers. One analysis might show a seasonal fluctuation, while another would indicate a massive failure.
And that additional context is critical to correctly interpreting the story the data is telling you.
Guide Your Next Steps with High-Level KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurable values that demonstrate how well a business is achieving their set objectives. KPIs should always reflect higher level business objectives like growth or profitability.
At Shopify, we have created a KPI hierarchy for businesses that are optimizing for revenue growth:
Revenue is at the top of this KPI hierarchy because it's one of the more common business objectives among ecommerce brands.
All data-based business decisions should revolve around your vital metric, whether that's revenue or number of new customers - it all depends on your high level objectives. If your activities or campaigns aren’t ultimately leading to an increase in your main KPIs, they aren’t working.
One level down on this chart you'll see the two metrics that influence revenue - the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) and the number of active customers. The number of active customers can be broken down in many ways, but most businesses find their customer acquisition cost (CAC) to be useful when assessing their business model. These two metrics tell you how much a user is spending over their entire history of doing business with you, and how much it costs you to acquire them in the first place.
Let’s take a deep dive into each to see how they affect ecommerce analytics at scale.
Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value (CLTV or LTV) is made up of both purchase frequency and average order values.
For example, if a customer you acquired last month goes on to spend $500 each year for the next three years, they have a lifetime value of $1,500.
In a study by RJMetrics, the top-performing businesses (as classified by producing more than $45million in revenue in their first few years) had on average, five times higher customer lifetime values than other businesses.
The study found that the top producers began to generate over half of their revenue from repeat customers by the second year, and that the top-performing customers for a given business spend up to 30x more than an average customer over their lifespan.
That means the most successful businesses are experts at retention and reselling. You can’t and won’t convert everyone in your space, but focusing on repeat customers with higher lifetime values is what separates ecommerce that scale from all other small shops.
To identify this information, start by looking at your “Customers over time” report in Shopify:
Dividing revenue by customers in each period will provide a simple way to calculate lifetime value each month.
Diving deeper, you can also pull up individualized spending reports on each of your customers to isolate which individuals are your highest purchasers. Then, you can target them with specific customer appreciation campaigns to build loyalty and increase repurchases.
Customer Acquisition Cost
Your cost of customer acquisition (CAC) includes the amount of money you have to spend to acquire a customer.
Unfortunately, most companies either can’t answer this question or get it wrong because they’re working with incomplete data sets.
Technically, your cost of customer acquisition doesn’t just focus on ad spend. It also includes soft costs like labor, variables ones like outside agencies, and even contractors or sales commissions.
In other words, the effective “marketing spend” number is a lot bigger (and more nebulous) than many realize.
Cost of acquisition can also be slightly misleading. A higher number doesn’t mean it’s bad or wrong or that your activities aren’t working. Instead, it needs to be set in context against the lifetime value of a customer to see if you can afford it.
A $1,000+ cost of acquisition might be high for a transactional B2C ecommerce shop. But for a disability insurance company that gets a commission plus residual amount for 20-30 years, it’s nothing.
Both metrics are critical for deciding what to do next. Here are two ways to put these metrics to work for your business growth today …
Ecommerce Analytics to Fuel High-Paced Growth
Becoming a successful merchant means leaning on data to draw insights that inform decisions.
Using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console are fine for getting basic leading indicators. They don’t tell you how to grow or scale a business year over year, though. For that, you’ll need to understand the trickle-down effect from changes in SEO rankings to traffic fluctuations and conversion rates.
Here are two examples that illustrate how ecommerce data analysis can help you prioritize efforts to grow your business.
Read More at: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/ecommerce-analytics-at-scale
There’s no shortage of ecommerce data to track.
And that’s exactly the problem.
Companies don’t struggle with collecting data anymore. Instead, they often have more trouble drawing insights and conclusions from the data they already have.
Ecommerce analytics at scale is both an art and a science. Learning how to understand the fundamental relationships between each data point leads to sound strategic decisions, from marketing to onsite sales to product develops to retention and lifetime customer value.
Here’s why ecommerce data analytics are key for scaling any ecommerce business and how you can use the right tools to understand consumer behavior and capitalize on it.
Ecommerce Analytics Fundamentals that Inform Decisions
Most marketers claim to be data focused, and they might be correct to a certain degree… They have attribution reports up-and-running, along with dashboards covering every KPI imaginable.
But more often than not, people don’t know what to do with that data. The problem is that raw data isn’t good enough on its own. Instead, you should focus on the revenue-generating insights you can derive from the numbers.
As Avinash Kaushik says,
Most businesses today are data rich, but information poor.
Collecting quantitative and qualitative data is the starting point, not the finish line. You then should overlap this information with context.
Absolute vs Relative Analysis
A simple data point might look straightforward on the surface, but different people can draw different conclusions based on the type of analysis they’re using.
Here’s a simple, math-based scenario to illustrate this problem.
If a business increases its conversion rate with a new landing page from 1% to 1.5%, that is a 50% relative increase but a 0.5% absolute increase.
1. Relative increase: 0.5% ÷ 1% = 50% relative change.
2. Absolute increase: 1.5% - 1% = 0.5% absolute change.
That might seem like a tiny, insignificant difference, but it has massive implications.
Let’s take, for example, an analysis that shows that conversion rates only decreased from 4% to 3% (effectively 1%) this month. That doesn’t sound too bad initially.
An absolute change of 1% doesn’t accurately reflect the real change in performance because the relative change ends up being a 25% decrease. A 1% relative decrease, in comparison, would only mean the conversion rate dropped from 4% down to 3.96%.
This problem becomes exacerbated at scale when dealing with larger numbers. One analysis might show a seasonal fluctuation, while another would indicate a massive failure.
And that additional context is critical to correctly interpreting the story the data is telling you.
Guide Your Next Steps with High-Level KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are measurable values that demonstrate how well a business is achieving their set objectives. KPIs should always reflect higher level business objectives like growth or profitability.
At Shopify, we have created a KPI hierarchy for businesses that are optimizing for revenue growth:
Revenue is at the top of this KPI hierarchy because it's one of the more common business objectives among ecommerce brands.
All data-based business decisions should revolve around your vital metric, whether that's revenue or number of new customers - it all depends on your high level objectives. If your activities or campaigns aren’t ultimately leading to an increase in your main KPIs, they aren’t working.
One level down on this chart you'll see the two metrics that influence revenue - the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) and the number of active customers. The number of active customers can be broken down in many ways, but most businesses find their customer acquisition cost (CAC) to be useful when assessing their business model. These two metrics tell you how much a user is spending over their entire history of doing business with you, and how much it costs you to acquire them in the first place.
Let’s take a deep dive into each to see how they affect ecommerce analytics at scale.
Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value (CLTV or LTV) is made up of both purchase frequency and average order values.
For example, if a customer you acquired last month goes on to spend $500 each year for the next three years, they have a lifetime value of $1,500.
In a study by RJMetrics, the top-performing businesses (as classified by producing more than $45million in revenue in their first few years) had on average, five times higher customer lifetime values than other businesses.
The study found that the top producers began to generate over half of their revenue from repeat customers by the second year, and that the top-performing customers for a given business spend up to 30x more than an average customer over their lifespan.
That means the most successful businesses are experts at retention and reselling. You can’t and won’t convert everyone in your space, but focusing on repeat customers with higher lifetime values is what separates ecommerce that scale from all other small shops.
To identify this information, start by looking at your “Customers over time” report in Shopify:
Dividing revenue by customers in each period will provide a simple way to calculate lifetime value each month.
Diving deeper, you can also pull up individualized spending reports on each of your customers to isolate which individuals are your highest purchasers. Then, you can target them with specific customer appreciation campaigns to build loyalty and increase repurchases.
Customer Acquisition Cost
Your cost of customer acquisition (CAC) includes the amount of money you have to spend to acquire a customer.
Unfortunately, most companies either can’t answer this question or get it wrong because they’re working with incomplete data sets.
Technically, your cost of customer acquisition doesn’t just focus on ad spend. It also includes soft costs like labor, variables ones like outside agencies, and even contractors or sales commissions.
In other words, the effective “marketing spend” number is a lot bigger (and more nebulous) than many realize.
Cost of acquisition can also be slightly misleading. A higher number doesn’t mean it’s bad or wrong or that your activities aren’t working. Instead, it needs to be set in context against the lifetime value of a customer to see if you can afford it.
A $1,000+ cost of acquisition might be high for a transactional B2C ecommerce shop. But for a disability insurance company that gets a commission plus residual amount for 20-30 years, it’s nothing.
Both metrics are critical for deciding what to do next. Here are two ways to put these metrics to work for your business growth today …
Ecommerce Analytics to Fuel High-Paced Growth
Becoming a successful merchant means leaning on data to draw insights that inform decisions.
Using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console are fine for getting basic leading indicators. They don’t tell you how to grow or scale a business year over year, though. For that, you’ll need to understand the trickle-down effect from changes in SEO rankings to traffic fluctuations and conversion rates.
Here are two examples that illustrate how ecommerce data analysis can help you prioritize efforts to grow your business.
Read More at: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/ecommerce-analytics-at-scale
Saturday, February 24, 2018
eCommerce Platforms Research 2018. Which is the best?
By: Iryna Kozhukhova
There are about 300 eCommerce platforms in the world. From free to enterprise solutions. The competition in online retail is constantly growing, and our clients often ask which platform is better. To find the answer to the question “What platform to choose in 2018?”, we decided to pursue a research and to rely on calculations.
This research doesn’t consider the cost of each individual platform, functionality, and capabilities. According to these criteria, the platforms are chosen based on the budget and needs. As a performance marketer, we were primarily interested in the result. The main result for eCommerce Platform is the income.
Since the income is a trade secret and we couldn’t operate this data, we focused on the indicator “traffic”, which conversion is the source of the income, and set ourselves the goal of identifying the platforms that give the best result.
We collected more than 9 million sites on 262 eCommerce Platforms, estimating domains according to 60 parameters and metrics, among which:
1. Total Site Traffic (in dynamics)
2. Traffic Structure (Direct, Organic Search, Paid Search, Display, Referral, Social, Mail)
3. Mobile and Desktop Traffic Split
4. Site Engagement (Average time spent on site, Bounce Rate)
5. Paid traffic Cost etc.
Using the data obtained from the 9 million primarily considered sites, we selected those which receive more than 50,000 visits per month. So, below you will find data about 65 thousand sites that work on 147 platforms (in the next iteration we will share the latest results of the research about sites from 20,000 visits per month).
The most popular eCommerce Platform in the world
First of all, we wanted to determine the shares occupied by the platforms. During the research, we found that most online stores operate the self-contained eCommerce Systems.
According to the information received, 31.7% of sites around the world are implemented on the custom platform.
If we consider individual countries, the part of self-written platforms reaches 75.6% — in Russia, 86.5% — in Japan, 95.5% — in Korea.
Among the open eCommerce Systems in the world, Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce are the most popular.
TOP15 eCommerce Platforms by Total Traffic
Even though one-third of all traffic is spent on resources with self-contained ecosystems, the top 5 platforms receive from 1 billion traffic per month each.
From open eCommerce Systems, Magento is the leader in Total Traffic. Every 11 visit in the world comes from a site that runs on this platform.
TOP15 eCommerce Platforms by Av. Traffic to Website
Next, we decided to consider which platforms receive the most visits, based on the calculation for a separate resource. By the number of traffic, on average on 1 site leads the WebCollage (30 million traffic on average per site).
On the second place runs a close second the Amazon with 21.5 million traffic to the site.
Among other “millionaires” as well k-eCommerce, Oracle eCommerce, IBM, Lengow, Kiosked, Hybris.
Best eCommerce Platform for Mobile
The next step was the research of a mobile traffic. It’s the main driver of the growth in the number of Internet users in most countries. In order to investigate the results from mobile devices, we made a selection on platforms that employ more than 100 sites, receiving from 50,000 visits per month.
It’s interesting that the three leaders of eCommerce Systems have changed: the most mobile traffic comes to the Dealer Spike Platform — 93.9%, Ecshop — 90.9%, BigCommerce — 88.9%.
However, among the most popular platforms in terms of the number of sites using them (more than 3000), are leading Shopify — 80.5%, WooCommerce — 77.7%, PrestaShop — 75.8%.
There is an interesting fact, that for the custom platform, the share of mobile traffic is only 66.6% (comparing with popular platforms).
Traffic Structure
Having received the general data, we made a decision to consider the traffic structure in order to understand what proportion is accounted for the main traffic receiving channels and how the structure varies depending on the platform. Data in the context of sources can be useful for eCommerce-, SEM- and SMM-specialists, and, of course, business owners, in order to determine the platform preferences based on a priority of the promotion channels.
In general, 53% (38.7% organic and 14.3% paid) traffic comes from search engines. Another 22% — direct traffic. The rest of the traffic comes via paid channels. It’s interesting that in the total volume the share of mobile traffic is 73.5%.
Note that in the graph on the left, the Search traffic consists of Organic and Paid traffic, their relationship is shown in the graph on the right.
Traffic Structure for websites on Magento
Sites on Magento receive 38.2% of Organic traffic.
Traffic Structure for websites on Shopify
The leader in mobile traffic Shopify receives 20% of total visits from Social Media. Organic traffic — 32.4%.
Traffic Structure for websites on WooCommerce
WooCommerce receives above average traffic from Search — 58%, including Organic — 50.5%.
TOP eCommerce Platforms by Organic Traffic
There is an opinion that the success of SEO largely depends on the correct choice of the eCommerce platform. Let us verify this assertion. Most often, the platforms are compared by technical parameters and flexibility of the configuration functionality, but let’s start with the main thing — result.
Given the data, we wondered which platform gets the most Organic traffic on average per site. We conducted an analysis of this indicator, because this is the main source, and therefore, important when choosing a platform with a focus on SEO.
So which platforms give the maximum Organic traffic? Weebly eCommerce is leading with the share of organic traffic 55.7%.
TOP eCommerce Platforms by Organic Keywords Volume
We also decided to check which positions are in the top of each of the platforms. These data can tell which platforms are easiest to get to the top of the search engines.
Oracle Commerce and InterShop have more than 8% of Organic Keywords in top3. For Ecshop, IBM Websphere Commerce and Hybris this value is 7.3–7.6%. For Custom Platform — only 4.6%.
Read More at: https://medium.com/ecommerce-platforms-research-2018-which-is-the/ecommerce-platforms-research-2018-which-is-the-best-1d63cc873d48
There are about 300 eCommerce platforms in the world. From free to enterprise solutions. The competition in online retail is constantly growing, and our clients often ask which platform is better. To find the answer to the question “What platform to choose in 2018?”, we decided to pursue a research and to rely on calculations.
This research doesn’t consider the cost of each individual platform, functionality, and capabilities. According to these criteria, the platforms are chosen based on the budget and needs. As a performance marketer, we were primarily interested in the result. The main result for eCommerce Platform is the income.
Since the income is a trade secret and we couldn’t operate this data, we focused on the indicator “traffic”, which conversion is the source of the income, and set ourselves the goal of identifying the platforms that give the best result.
We collected more than 9 million sites on 262 eCommerce Platforms, estimating domains according to 60 parameters and metrics, among which:
1. Total Site Traffic (in dynamics)
2. Traffic Structure (Direct, Organic Search, Paid Search, Display, Referral, Social, Mail)
3. Mobile and Desktop Traffic Split
4. Site Engagement (Average time spent on site, Bounce Rate)
5. Paid traffic Cost etc.
Using the data obtained from the 9 million primarily considered sites, we selected those which receive more than 50,000 visits per month. So, below you will find data about 65 thousand sites that work on 147 platforms (in the next iteration we will share the latest results of the research about sites from 20,000 visits per month).
The most popular eCommerce Platform in the world
First of all, we wanted to determine the shares occupied by the platforms. During the research, we found that most online stores operate the self-contained eCommerce Systems.
According to the information received, 31.7% of sites around the world are implemented on the custom platform.
If we consider individual countries, the part of self-written platforms reaches 75.6% — in Russia, 86.5% — in Japan, 95.5% — in Korea.
Among the open eCommerce Systems in the world, Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce are the most popular.
TOP15 eCommerce Platforms by Total Traffic
Even though one-third of all traffic is spent on resources with self-contained ecosystems, the top 5 platforms receive from 1 billion traffic per month each.
From open eCommerce Systems, Magento is the leader in Total Traffic. Every 11 visit in the world comes from a site that runs on this platform.
TOP15 eCommerce Platforms by Av. Traffic to Website
Next, we decided to consider which platforms receive the most visits, based on the calculation for a separate resource. By the number of traffic, on average on 1 site leads the WebCollage (30 million traffic on average per site).
On the second place runs a close second the Amazon with 21.5 million traffic to the site.
Among other “millionaires” as well k-eCommerce, Oracle eCommerce, IBM, Lengow, Kiosked, Hybris.
Best eCommerce Platform for Mobile
The next step was the research of a mobile traffic. It’s the main driver of the growth in the number of Internet users in most countries. In order to investigate the results from mobile devices, we made a selection on platforms that employ more than 100 sites, receiving from 50,000 visits per month.
It’s interesting that the three leaders of eCommerce Systems have changed: the most mobile traffic comes to the Dealer Spike Platform — 93.9%, Ecshop — 90.9%, BigCommerce — 88.9%.
However, among the most popular platforms in terms of the number of sites using them (more than 3000), are leading Shopify — 80.5%, WooCommerce — 77.7%, PrestaShop — 75.8%.
There is an interesting fact, that for the custom platform, the share of mobile traffic is only 66.6% (comparing with popular platforms).
Traffic Structure
Having received the general data, we made a decision to consider the traffic structure in order to understand what proportion is accounted for the main traffic receiving channels and how the structure varies depending on the platform. Data in the context of sources can be useful for eCommerce-, SEM- and SMM-specialists, and, of course, business owners, in order to determine the platform preferences based on a priority of the promotion channels.
In general, 53% (38.7% organic and 14.3% paid) traffic comes from search engines. Another 22% — direct traffic. The rest of the traffic comes via paid channels. It’s interesting that in the total volume the share of mobile traffic is 73.5%.
Note that in the graph on the left, the Search traffic consists of Organic and Paid traffic, their relationship is shown in the graph on the right.
Traffic Structure for websites on Magento
Sites on Magento receive 38.2% of Organic traffic.
Traffic Structure for websites on Shopify
The leader in mobile traffic Shopify receives 20% of total visits from Social Media. Organic traffic — 32.4%.
Traffic Structure for websites on WooCommerce
WooCommerce receives above average traffic from Search — 58%, including Organic — 50.5%.
TOP eCommerce Platforms by Organic Traffic
There is an opinion that the success of SEO largely depends on the correct choice of the eCommerce platform. Let us verify this assertion. Most often, the platforms are compared by technical parameters and flexibility of the configuration functionality, but let’s start with the main thing — result.
Given the data, we wondered which platform gets the most Organic traffic on average per site. We conducted an analysis of this indicator, because this is the main source, and therefore, important when choosing a platform with a focus on SEO.
So which platforms give the maximum Organic traffic? Weebly eCommerce is leading with the share of organic traffic 55.7%.
TOP eCommerce Platforms by Organic Keywords Volume
We also decided to check which positions are in the top of each of the platforms. These data can tell which platforms are easiest to get to the top of the search engines.
Oracle Commerce and InterShop have more than 8% of Organic Keywords in top3. For Ecshop, IBM Websphere Commerce and Hybris this value is 7.3–7.6%. For Custom Platform — only 4.6%.
Read More at: https://medium.com/ecommerce-platforms-research-2018-which-is-the/ecommerce-platforms-research-2018-which-is-the-best-1d63cc873d48
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Is It Possible To DIY My Ecommerce Store Design As A Beginner?
By: Desirae Odjick
Welcome to Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.
Who’s we? We’re the ecommerce experts both inside and outside of Shopify. Between our team, who spend all day immersed in the world of ecommerce (and who sometimes run stores themselves!) our squad of Shopify Experts, and our amazing customers, we have access to world-class expertise—and now you do too. So let’s dig in and get to your questions, because they’re good ones.
Question:
Is it better to start from scratch and design your own store, or hand it over to the experts? Every time I’ve consulted with a web developer they never quite seem to grasp the concept, yet when I try myself I know what I am going for, just not how to go about doing it. What would be the best thing to do in this situation?
Answer:
When you’re new to building an online store, it’s easy to think that hiring a pro is the best option to bring your vision to life. However, communicating what’s in your head to another person, and working with them to make it a reality, isn’t always a perfectly smooth process—especially if you’re not familiar with how websites are built, or the terminology in the industry.
While there’s no one right way to start your store, and we know of many successful stores that have started by working with seasoned web professionals right off the bat, it sounds like what might be holding you back from a DIY-first approach is a lack of confidence in your ability to bring your vision to life on your own.
That’s why to help answer your question, we spoke with two people who brought their stores to life without hiring someone. Spoiler alert: they highly recommend it.
Both of them are Shopify merchants, and work at Shopify by day—but importantly, neither of them are designers or developers. They were just as new to building an online store as you are.
Here’s a bit more about how that process worked for them, what they learned, and what they’d recommend to someone at the start of their journey.
Yes, you can DIY
Even if you’ve never built a website before, much less an online store, both women were clear that you can build a version of your store yourself.
“My business partner has a business and marketing background. I have a theater degree,” says Kiersten, of Scrub Inspired. “We are the perfect example of people who have no idea what they're doing when it comes to technology, but with the resources that were made available to us, we could do pretty much anything.”
Those resources included everything they could get their hands on, from Google searches, to forums, to help docs and more. After trying to tackle problems themselves, Kiersten mentioned that chatting in to Shopify’s support team was also a great way to find answers and help when they needed it.
And yes, building a website yourself might involve some learning, whether it’s from Google or your friendly neighbourhood Shopify Guru, but Victory Omotayo of Her Crown Collection saw big benefits from learning the basics of how her store works.
“I always say you should do it yourself to start with,” says Victory. “Hiring a pro can feel reassuring, because you know they know what they’re doing. But you’ll still do some work, since you’ll spend time with them so they understand what you want, and afterwards you’ll need to rely on them for any changes. If you don't know how to change products in your store, for example, you’ll have to call your developer every time you need a tweak.”
Getting clear on the basics of how your store works is a good time investment for a small business, whether you DIY forever, or bring in pros later on in the process.
Choose the right theme
DIY-ing an online store these days doesn’t mean you need to head over to Codecademy and dive into a few key coding languages. Instead, the first step to building your own store often starts with a theme—which can do most of the heavy code-lifting for you.
When Victory was building Her Crown Collection, “I just kept looking at different themes, both paid and free, and then one day I just bit the bullet and bought a theme. It was really nice, so I just started playing around with it. Every day I would tweak something, change a color here, and that’s how I got to where I am today.”
You’re also not married to your first theme. Scrub Inspired has had three website versions so far, and Kiersten shared that it was their second theme that really hit the mark.
“When we were choosing a second theme, we went with the simplest, most basic long-term theme that Shopify had, which is 'Minimal.' We chose it because one, it’s a Shopify theme, so when updates happen to Shopify, they'll update their own themes. Also, we knew we could make it look like anything.”
If flexibility is important to you, as it was to Kiersten and Scrub Inspired, steal a page from their book and see how real businesses are using the theme you’re considering before you commit.
“We did some research into other sites that had 'Minimal.' Some of them, you could tell that that was the theme, but most of them, you could adjust it enough that it just didn't look like a template. The goal for us was finding something simple that we could stamp our brand onto.”
If you want to dig in to find examples of how other stores are using a theme, many theme pages will feature examples of the theme in action, like these examples of Minimal out in the world.
Kiersten also suggested reading through the comments left by other users on the theme’s page, since the reviews will sometimes include a link back to their store, like this one from Americat Company.
Understand what makes a store great
With all of this talk of choosing themes, and hiring pros, you’d be forgiven for thinking that those two things are the real make-or-break parts of your store. However, when it comes to ecommerce, there’s nothing that can elevate (or sink) your store quite like your photography.
Whether it’s your product photography, or the photography on your home page, it’ll have a bigger impact than almost anything.
“I feel like the mistake most people make is they think ‘Well, I just need to build a great website and that's it, and a developer can help me do that,’” says Victory. “What they forget is that photos are really important. Even if you hire a developer, if your photos aren’t nice, they can't make your website beautiful, right? It's all about the pictures.”
If you have any doubts, just do what Victory did and take a look at websites you really love, especially ones that are in your niche.
“When I first started Her Crown Collection, I looked at Luxy Hair, and I noticed that like their website just looks so beautiful because of the photos and the way it's arranged. When I saw that, I decided that ‘You know, I'm going to invest and actually go into a studio and get my photos done’ to work with the theme I had in mind.”
Know when to hire out
Just because you’ve chosen to DIY your website doesn’t mean you’re out on a limb by yourself forever. Actually, it’s exactly the opposite: since you haven’t committed a huge chunk of your business budget, you have more flexibility to hire experts for specific sections of your store or your project.
That’s how Victory was able to pay for professional photos for her site, and it’s how Scrub Inspired was able to work with a designer when they wanted to rebrand.
“When the business was growing, the next step for us was a rebrand. We wanted to figure out what our product looks like, and who we're selling this to, and use that information to inform all of our visuals,” says Kiersten.
“That's the first time that we discussed with a designer, who worked with us on our brand. Building out our entire branding guide meant that when we were going to build a website, we knew what colors that we should be focusing on. We knew who our target market was. We knew what paths our buyers needed to be going down on the site.”
That’s a big benefit of starting slowly, especially if you’re not sure how to communicate what you want to a pro just yet. Your DIY experience will help prepare you to work with a professional web designer or developer when the time is right.
Read More at: https://www.shopify.ca/blog/diy-ecommerce-store-design-as-a-beginner
Welcome to Ask Shopify, a series where ecommerce experts tackle real questions from store owners who are trying to launch, build, and scale their stores. We’re here to help with every aspect of your store, from marketing to HR to accounting.
Who’s we? We’re the ecommerce experts both inside and outside of Shopify. Between our team, who spend all day immersed in the world of ecommerce (and who sometimes run stores themselves!) our squad of Shopify Experts, and our amazing customers, we have access to world-class expertise—and now you do too. So let’s dig in and get to your questions, because they’re good ones.
Question:
Is it better to start from scratch and design your own store, or hand it over to the experts? Every time I’ve consulted with a web developer they never quite seem to grasp the concept, yet when I try myself I know what I am going for, just not how to go about doing it. What would be the best thing to do in this situation?
Answer:
When you’re new to building an online store, it’s easy to think that hiring a pro is the best option to bring your vision to life. However, communicating what’s in your head to another person, and working with them to make it a reality, isn’t always a perfectly smooth process—especially if you’re not familiar with how websites are built, or the terminology in the industry.
While there’s no one right way to start your store, and we know of many successful stores that have started by working with seasoned web professionals right off the bat, it sounds like what might be holding you back from a DIY-first approach is a lack of confidence in your ability to bring your vision to life on your own.
That’s why to help answer your question, we spoke with two people who brought their stores to life without hiring someone. Spoiler alert: they highly recommend it.
Both of them are Shopify merchants, and work at Shopify by day—but importantly, neither of them are designers or developers. They were just as new to building an online store as you are.
Here’s a bit more about how that process worked for them, what they learned, and what they’d recommend to someone at the start of their journey.
Yes, you can DIY
Even if you’ve never built a website before, much less an online store, both women were clear that you can build a version of your store yourself.
“My business partner has a business and marketing background. I have a theater degree,” says Kiersten, of Scrub Inspired. “We are the perfect example of people who have no idea what they're doing when it comes to technology, but with the resources that were made available to us, we could do pretty much anything.”
Those resources included everything they could get their hands on, from Google searches, to forums, to help docs and more. After trying to tackle problems themselves, Kiersten mentioned that chatting in to Shopify’s support team was also a great way to find answers and help when they needed it.
And yes, building a website yourself might involve some learning, whether it’s from Google or your friendly neighbourhood Shopify Guru, but Victory Omotayo of Her Crown Collection saw big benefits from learning the basics of how her store works.
“I always say you should do it yourself to start with,” says Victory. “Hiring a pro can feel reassuring, because you know they know what they’re doing. But you’ll still do some work, since you’ll spend time with them so they understand what you want, and afterwards you’ll need to rely on them for any changes. If you don't know how to change products in your store, for example, you’ll have to call your developer every time you need a tweak.”
Getting clear on the basics of how your store works is a good time investment for a small business, whether you DIY forever, or bring in pros later on in the process.
Choose the right theme
DIY-ing an online store these days doesn’t mean you need to head over to Codecademy and dive into a few key coding languages. Instead, the first step to building your own store often starts with a theme—which can do most of the heavy code-lifting for you.
When Victory was building Her Crown Collection, “I just kept looking at different themes, both paid and free, and then one day I just bit the bullet and bought a theme. It was really nice, so I just started playing around with it. Every day I would tweak something, change a color here, and that’s how I got to where I am today.”
You’re also not married to your first theme. Scrub Inspired has had three website versions so far, and Kiersten shared that it was their second theme that really hit the mark.
“When we were choosing a second theme, we went with the simplest, most basic long-term theme that Shopify had, which is 'Minimal.' We chose it because one, it’s a Shopify theme, so when updates happen to Shopify, they'll update their own themes. Also, we knew we could make it look like anything.”
If flexibility is important to you, as it was to Kiersten and Scrub Inspired, steal a page from their book and see how real businesses are using the theme you’re considering before you commit.
“We did some research into other sites that had 'Minimal.' Some of them, you could tell that that was the theme, but most of them, you could adjust it enough that it just didn't look like a template. The goal for us was finding something simple that we could stamp our brand onto.”
If you want to dig in to find examples of how other stores are using a theme, many theme pages will feature examples of the theme in action, like these examples of Minimal out in the world.
Kiersten also suggested reading through the comments left by other users on the theme’s page, since the reviews will sometimes include a link back to their store, like this one from Americat Company.
Understand what makes a store great
With all of this talk of choosing themes, and hiring pros, you’d be forgiven for thinking that those two things are the real make-or-break parts of your store. However, when it comes to ecommerce, there’s nothing that can elevate (or sink) your store quite like your photography.
Whether it’s your product photography, or the photography on your home page, it’ll have a bigger impact than almost anything.
“I feel like the mistake most people make is they think ‘Well, I just need to build a great website and that's it, and a developer can help me do that,’” says Victory. “What they forget is that photos are really important. Even if you hire a developer, if your photos aren’t nice, they can't make your website beautiful, right? It's all about the pictures.”
If you have any doubts, just do what Victory did and take a look at websites you really love, especially ones that are in your niche.
“When I first started Her Crown Collection, I looked at Luxy Hair, and I noticed that like their website just looks so beautiful because of the photos and the way it's arranged. When I saw that, I decided that ‘You know, I'm going to invest and actually go into a studio and get my photos done’ to work with the theme I had in mind.”
Know when to hire out
Just because you’ve chosen to DIY your website doesn’t mean you’re out on a limb by yourself forever. Actually, it’s exactly the opposite: since you haven’t committed a huge chunk of your business budget, you have more flexibility to hire experts for specific sections of your store or your project.
That’s how Victory was able to pay for professional photos for her site, and it’s how Scrub Inspired was able to work with a designer when they wanted to rebrand.
“When the business was growing, the next step for us was a rebrand. We wanted to figure out what our product looks like, and who we're selling this to, and use that information to inform all of our visuals,” says Kiersten.
“That's the first time that we discussed with a designer, who worked with us on our brand. Building out our entire branding guide meant that when we were going to build a website, we knew what colors that we should be focusing on. We knew who our target market was. We knew what paths our buyers needed to be going down on the site.”
That’s a big benefit of starting slowly, especially if you’re not sure how to communicate what you want to a pro just yet. Your DIY experience will help prepare you to work with a professional web designer or developer when the time is right.
Read More at: https://www.shopify.ca/blog/diy-ecommerce-store-design-as-a-beginner
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Mode.ai launches ecommerce bot platform powered by computer vision
By: KHARI JOHNSON
Since coming out of stealth last year, Mode.ai has created bots for Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, and ProFlowers, but today the computer vision startup announced it has launched a platform for small businesses and ecommerce merchants to create their own Facebook Messenger bots.
Since automated bots for sales or customer service have grown in popularity in recent years, there are dozens of bot platforms to choose from, but Mode.ai’s offering for small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) leverages its computer vision AI, trained by millions of images from online retailers, to create bots with both text and visual search capabilities.
That means a user of the bot could take a picture of an item of clothing and have it matched to a similar item in a merchant’s shop. Most SMBs don’t have an inventory large enough to make visual search a huge value add, but in time, the goal is to use computer vision to power a fashion recommendation engine that enables a referral and revenue-sharing program for ecommerce businesses.
“The example I like to give is we’re powering a bot for the t-shirt company that doesn’t sell anything but t-shirts, but another company sells the pants or the jeans,” Mode.ai CBO Karen Ouk told VentureBeat in a phone interview. “They could promote each other’s items within their own bots.”
The initiative to quickly generate bots that act as a storefront on Facebook Messenger will begin by serving Shopify’s more than 500,000 merchants.
“They submit and then we do all of it on the backend stuff to pull in all of the product information, metadata, and tags and generate that bot automatically based on the structure they have setup on their Shopify site so we map it in a similar way,” Ouk said.
The SMB offering from Mode.ai will surface many of the capabilities found in the Mode.ai styling bot, which uses computer vision to match a user’s style with clothes from brands like Amazon, Levi’s, and other retailers.
At launch, shoppers who interact with bots by Mode.ai for small businesses will be taken to the merchant’s store to complete transactions. In the future, a one-click purchase within the bot may be provided.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/21/twitter-will-crack-down-on-automation-and-simultaneous-actions-across-multiple-accounts/
Since coming out of stealth last year, Mode.ai has created bots for Levi’s, Louis Vuitton, and ProFlowers, but today the computer vision startup announced it has launched a platform for small businesses and ecommerce merchants to create their own Facebook Messenger bots.
Since automated bots for sales or customer service have grown in popularity in recent years, there are dozens of bot platforms to choose from, but Mode.ai’s offering for small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) leverages its computer vision AI, trained by millions of images from online retailers, to create bots with both text and visual search capabilities.
That means a user of the bot could take a picture of an item of clothing and have it matched to a similar item in a merchant’s shop. Most SMBs don’t have an inventory large enough to make visual search a huge value add, but in time, the goal is to use computer vision to power a fashion recommendation engine that enables a referral and revenue-sharing program for ecommerce businesses.
“The example I like to give is we’re powering a bot for the t-shirt company that doesn’t sell anything but t-shirts, but another company sells the pants or the jeans,” Mode.ai CBO Karen Ouk told VentureBeat in a phone interview. “They could promote each other’s items within their own bots.”
The initiative to quickly generate bots that act as a storefront on Facebook Messenger will begin by serving Shopify’s more than 500,000 merchants.
“They submit and then we do all of it on the backend stuff to pull in all of the product information, metadata, and tags and generate that bot automatically based on the structure they have setup on their Shopify site so we map it in a similar way,” Ouk said.
The SMB offering from Mode.ai will surface many of the capabilities found in the Mode.ai styling bot, which uses computer vision to match a user’s style with clothes from brands like Amazon, Levi’s, and other retailers.
At launch, shoppers who interact with bots by Mode.ai for small businesses will be taken to the merchant’s store to complete transactions. In the future, a one-click purchase within the bot may be provided.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/21/twitter-will-crack-down-on-automation-and-simultaneous-actions-across-multiple-accounts/
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
LET’S TALK… ECOMMERCE
By: JAMES HARKNESS
As consumers increasingly opt for online shopping experiences over in-store, businesses of all sizes can ill afford having a lacklustre ecommerce presence – or worse, none at all. In the Amazon era, that means obscurity, even oblivion. But how can small businesses with limited resources go about establishing an effective ecommerce presence that captivates new and existing shoppers?
That’s the question we put to a dozen thought leaders, this week, for our exclusive “Let’s Talk…” feature examining ecommerce. As one commentator assured budding e-tailers, “the proliferation of digital e-commerce tools, platforms and services has brought down the cost of entry, making it possible for almost anyone to set up an online trading presence”. Read on for further insights from this week’s line-up:
Mick Spencer, CEO, ONTHEGO: “The trick for resource-poor businesses is creativity. You need to assess what roles staff can play, what additional skills they have and what can be outsourced. Think scalability. Why hire someone in house who is a jack-of-all trades when you can draw on a network of specialist freelancers? By tapping into on-demand talent you can better service your team and clients, without the fixed cost of a salary. Also, not all jobs require people. In the age of the internet, technology and systems can aid your online presence – think engagement through automation i.e. scheduling EDMs, harnessing sharing platforms and leveraging off other people’s audiences to grow your own.
Rohan Lock, Regional Director (APAC), dotmailer: “In order to establish an effective ecommerce presence, an efficient website design is needed. The emphasis should not be on costly and overcomplicated designs but on providing a seamless and smooth experience for the user. From browsing to payment, make sure that the interface is intuitive and supports mobile devices.
“Maximise the value of the ecommerce platform via targeted email marketing campaigns that drive traffic to your website. Consider the likes of abandoned cart emails or targeted promotions/sales to boost traffic. Contemporary customers actively choose to engage with brands that provide relevant content; leverage this to your advantage.
“As word of mouth is indisputably the most effective form of communication, make sure to prioritise the positive customer experience. With such customers acting effectively as your brand ambassadors, your ecommerce presence will effectively be tied with trust and authenticity.”
Ivan Lim, Co-founder & CEO, Brosa: “There are plenty of off-the-shelf solutions that help with getting an ecommerce presence set up with templates and functionality right out of the box.
“For example, if you want to get a store set up you can use tools like Shopify or BigCommerce to have a website up and going in less than an hour.
“There is a wealth of tools online that are just a google search away, this can be varied, everything from email marketing through to social media tools and advice can be found via searches.”
Kristy Chong, CEO, Modibodi & Portfolio CEO, Heads Over Heels: “There are numerous ways to establish an ecommerce presence without money, all of which require time and good content. My number one recommendation is earned media, which involves pitching your brand/product to online media and influencers who represent the customers you are talking to. For those influencers who want payment, suggest a commission instead, where they make a percentage of the sale for every referral. I also suggest writing a weekly blog that includes engaging, SEO-rich content that is shared via social media channels and pitched to online media. Lastly, it is useful to partner with like-minded brands with large followings and offer giveaways or incentives for their customers.”
Greg Taylor, Group VP (APAC), New Relic: “For any business looking to set up an online presence at low cost and quickly, an e-commerce platform can bring a lot of benefits.
“There are some great e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Amazon or Magento that upstart businesses can partner with to establish an effective online sales presence.
“This online presence can take various forms such as a branded website, marketplaces like eBay or selling on social media platforms, which can significantly expand customer reach.
“Just moving to an ecommerce platform is not enough in itself. There are many ways to sell to consumers over the internet; however, to be successful from the get-go, businesses should focus on high value products that can be easily consumed online. It is also very important to use tools like SurveyMonkey to test and improve the user experience and make it as easy as possible for consumers to access, navigate and buy online.”
Dan Ross, Managing Director, Optimizely ANZ: “Going up against the likes of Amazon, Kogan, and The Iconic is no small feat. In a resource-poor environment, you aren’t going to outspend your competitors so you must find ways to outflank or out-innovate them. “The only way to do that is to make the most of every digital decision and investment you make. Utilising experimentation (aka A/B testing) with your digital experiences and testing variations of a customer’s journey will allow you to identify winning and losing digital experiences, thus focusing your limited resources to greatest effect.”
Fran Ereira, General Manager, Sales & Solution Delivery, zip.co: “You need to ensure your website is optimised and that your customer hat is firmly on your head. Just like a physical store where the layout is changed frequently, your ecommerce store needs to instantly captivate and invite new and existing shoppers. Really welcome your shoppers and let them know what options you have available as early in the buying journey as possible to ensure they don’t go elsewhere. Banners on homepages, product page call outs, checkout pages, eDMs, social and other marketing channels are all keys to success. Simple to implement and very effective.
“Delivering personalised and relevant content to your customers utilising best-of-breed marketing automation platforms differentiates you from your competitors and builds loyalty. Finally, don’t forget to provide choices that your customers want with regards to delivery and payment. Options like express shipping and digital wallets are what consumers want. They will help you minimise cart abandonment, increase basket sizes and maximise conversion.”
Simon Banks, Managing Director, Hyperwallet APAC: “New digital marketplaces are emerging every day, and there is a myriad of options for both ecommerce buyers and sellers. If your online payment process is slow or complicated, users can simply choose to move on.
“This is a particular concern for two-sided marketplaces. Roughly 59% of independent sellers and gig economy workers report that the speed of earning payments are essential to their sense of platform loyalty. Marketplaces hoping to retain these users need to ensure they’re making their payouts as fast and convenient as possible.”
Ben Pfisterer, Country Manager, Square Australia: “With the rise in DIY platforms and affordable cloud-based payments software, e-commerce is now more accessible than ever for businesses on a budget. No longer is the online world populated only by the big retailers, there are now plenty of opportunities for smaller players to start selling online.
“Firstly, they need to decide whether it makes more sense for them to create their own online shop or host their goods on an existing site that already has great traffic and can help smaller retailers promote their wares to the world (such as Etsy, eBay, Amazon). For hobby sellers, an existing website that they can host and sell their products through is probably more viable, but for those looking to get a bit more serious with online sales, they shouldn’t be scared off by the cost of deploying their own web presence.”
Nima Yassini, Founder & CEO, New Republique: “Ensure your online and offline environments are connected. Automation is key and there are a variety of tools that will help you automate and improve your level of conversion. For example, Shopify is an excellent e-commerce platform that can help you set up your e-commerce business online. If you have a physical footprint then it will plug in with your point of sale or warehouse to help you collect data on your customers so you can continue the conversation post sale.
“As someone who specialises in conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and UX design, I believe price and shipping are critical factors you have to get right. The older the customer, the more likely they are to be enticed by free delivery. Another useful software tool is Criteo, which allows you to track when customers put items in their cart but don’t complete the transaction and then follow them up through targeted emails and tailored social media ads.”
Azam Kassim, Owner, Hab Shifa: “Some of the primary factors that have contributed to the success of Hab Shifa’s ecommerce presence can be attributed to the following: an operational website, sophisticated content management system, effective marketing strategies and fluid logistic operations.
“A functional website that is in line with current website trends is key in capturing a consumers’ attention and being able to retain that attention for longer than a few seconds.
“Successful content management systems comes with a strategy that effectively manages inventory, dedicated purchase, payment, and support systems along with customer relationship management procedures and efficient logistic management.
“The marketing strategies used to drive sales have been a combination of social media marketing and an investment into online advertising such as Google Adwords.
“Establishing and maintaining an effective ecommerce presence requires an ongoing investment in research, marketing and financial resources to be able to capture and sustain a strong presence in the online marketing space.”
Andrew Johnson, CEO, ACS: “This is an excellent topic as smaller companies and businesses may not have the internal skill sets and capital to establish an e-commerce presence. Fortunately, today the the proliferation of digital e-commerce tools, platforms and services has brought down the cost of entry, making it possible for almost anyone to set up an online trading presence.
“As a result, entry is not so much the issue, but rather finding the right fit for your business – is the platform just an online shop front, or does it provide POS capabilities? Can it integrate with social media services like Facebook? Does the service provide adequate security? Does it fit your unique business requirements? And importantly – can it scale if your trading takes off and your business grows?
“Finally, examine how flexible the tools are to build and maintain the e-commerce presence, keeping in mind any training for your staff. One other important factor to consider — depending on the service, the e-commerce site may sit on the service provider’s domain name, which you ultimately won’t own. Remember to register your own unique site address and re-direct it — this is your brand, and from the start you want to ensure that as its presence grows it’s associated with a domain you own.”
Source: http://www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/featured/lets-talk-ecommerce-2.html
As consumers increasingly opt for online shopping experiences over in-store, businesses of all sizes can ill afford having a lacklustre ecommerce presence – or worse, none at all. In the Amazon era, that means obscurity, even oblivion. But how can small businesses with limited resources go about establishing an effective ecommerce presence that captivates new and existing shoppers?
That’s the question we put to a dozen thought leaders, this week, for our exclusive “Let’s Talk…” feature examining ecommerce. As one commentator assured budding e-tailers, “the proliferation of digital e-commerce tools, platforms and services has brought down the cost of entry, making it possible for almost anyone to set up an online trading presence”. Read on for further insights from this week’s line-up:
Mick Spencer, CEO, ONTHEGO: “The trick for resource-poor businesses is creativity. You need to assess what roles staff can play, what additional skills they have and what can be outsourced. Think scalability. Why hire someone in house who is a jack-of-all trades when you can draw on a network of specialist freelancers? By tapping into on-demand talent you can better service your team and clients, without the fixed cost of a salary. Also, not all jobs require people. In the age of the internet, technology and systems can aid your online presence – think engagement through automation i.e. scheduling EDMs, harnessing sharing platforms and leveraging off other people’s audiences to grow your own.
Rohan Lock, Regional Director (APAC), dotmailer: “In order to establish an effective ecommerce presence, an efficient website design is needed. The emphasis should not be on costly and overcomplicated designs but on providing a seamless and smooth experience for the user. From browsing to payment, make sure that the interface is intuitive and supports mobile devices.
“Maximise the value of the ecommerce platform via targeted email marketing campaigns that drive traffic to your website. Consider the likes of abandoned cart emails or targeted promotions/sales to boost traffic. Contemporary customers actively choose to engage with brands that provide relevant content; leverage this to your advantage.
“As word of mouth is indisputably the most effective form of communication, make sure to prioritise the positive customer experience. With such customers acting effectively as your brand ambassadors, your ecommerce presence will effectively be tied with trust and authenticity.”
Ivan Lim, Co-founder & CEO, Brosa: “There are plenty of off-the-shelf solutions that help with getting an ecommerce presence set up with templates and functionality right out of the box.
“For example, if you want to get a store set up you can use tools like Shopify or BigCommerce to have a website up and going in less than an hour.
“There is a wealth of tools online that are just a google search away, this can be varied, everything from email marketing through to social media tools and advice can be found via searches.”
Kristy Chong, CEO, Modibodi & Portfolio CEO, Heads Over Heels: “There are numerous ways to establish an ecommerce presence without money, all of which require time and good content. My number one recommendation is earned media, which involves pitching your brand/product to online media and influencers who represent the customers you are talking to. For those influencers who want payment, suggest a commission instead, where they make a percentage of the sale for every referral. I also suggest writing a weekly blog that includes engaging, SEO-rich content that is shared via social media channels and pitched to online media. Lastly, it is useful to partner with like-minded brands with large followings and offer giveaways or incentives for their customers.”
Greg Taylor, Group VP (APAC), New Relic: “For any business looking to set up an online presence at low cost and quickly, an e-commerce platform can bring a lot of benefits.
“There are some great e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Amazon or Magento that upstart businesses can partner with to establish an effective online sales presence.
“This online presence can take various forms such as a branded website, marketplaces like eBay or selling on social media platforms, which can significantly expand customer reach.
“Just moving to an ecommerce platform is not enough in itself. There are many ways to sell to consumers over the internet; however, to be successful from the get-go, businesses should focus on high value products that can be easily consumed online. It is also very important to use tools like SurveyMonkey to test and improve the user experience and make it as easy as possible for consumers to access, navigate and buy online.”
Dan Ross, Managing Director, Optimizely ANZ: “Going up against the likes of Amazon, Kogan, and The Iconic is no small feat. In a resource-poor environment, you aren’t going to outspend your competitors so you must find ways to outflank or out-innovate them. “The only way to do that is to make the most of every digital decision and investment you make. Utilising experimentation (aka A/B testing) with your digital experiences and testing variations of a customer’s journey will allow you to identify winning and losing digital experiences, thus focusing your limited resources to greatest effect.”
Fran Ereira, General Manager, Sales & Solution Delivery, zip.co: “You need to ensure your website is optimised and that your customer hat is firmly on your head. Just like a physical store where the layout is changed frequently, your ecommerce store needs to instantly captivate and invite new and existing shoppers. Really welcome your shoppers and let them know what options you have available as early in the buying journey as possible to ensure they don’t go elsewhere. Banners on homepages, product page call outs, checkout pages, eDMs, social and other marketing channels are all keys to success. Simple to implement and very effective.
“Delivering personalised and relevant content to your customers utilising best-of-breed marketing automation platforms differentiates you from your competitors and builds loyalty. Finally, don’t forget to provide choices that your customers want with regards to delivery and payment. Options like express shipping and digital wallets are what consumers want. They will help you minimise cart abandonment, increase basket sizes and maximise conversion.”
Simon Banks, Managing Director, Hyperwallet APAC: “New digital marketplaces are emerging every day, and there is a myriad of options for both ecommerce buyers and sellers. If your online payment process is slow or complicated, users can simply choose to move on.
“This is a particular concern for two-sided marketplaces. Roughly 59% of independent sellers and gig economy workers report that the speed of earning payments are essential to their sense of platform loyalty. Marketplaces hoping to retain these users need to ensure they’re making their payouts as fast and convenient as possible.”
Ben Pfisterer, Country Manager, Square Australia: “With the rise in DIY platforms and affordable cloud-based payments software, e-commerce is now more accessible than ever for businesses on a budget. No longer is the online world populated only by the big retailers, there are now plenty of opportunities for smaller players to start selling online.
“Firstly, they need to decide whether it makes more sense for them to create their own online shop or host their goods on an existing site that already has great traffic and can help smaller retailers promote their wares to the world (such as Etsy, eBay, Amazon). For hobby sellers, an existing website that they can host and sell their products through is probably more viable, but for those looking to get a bit more serious with online sales, they shouldn’t be scared off by the cost of deploying their own web presence.”
Nima Yassini, Founder & CEO, New Republique: “Ensure your online and offline environments are connected. Automation is key and there are a variety of tools that will help you automate and improve your level of conversion. For example, Shopify is an excellent e-commerce platform that can help you set up your e-commerce business online. If you have a physical footprint then it will plug in with your point of sale or warehouse to help you collect data on your customers so you can continue the conversation post sale.
“As someone who specialises in conversion rate optimisation (CRO) and UX design, I believe price and shipping are critical factors you have to get right. The older the customer, the more likely they are to be enticed by free delivery. Another useful software tool is Criteo, which allows you to track when customers put items in their cart but don’t complete the transaction and then follow them up through targeted emails and tailored social media ads.”
Azam Kassim, Owner, Hab Shifa: “Some of the primary factors that have contributed to the success of Hab Shifa’s ecommerce presence can be attributed to the following: an operational website, sophisticated content management system, effective marketing strategies and fluid logistic operations.
“A functional website that is in line with current website trends is key in capturing a consumers’ attention and being able to retain that attention for longer than a few seconds.
“Successful content management systems comes with a strategy that effectively manages inventory, dedicated purchase, payment, and support systems along with customer relationship management procedures and efficient logistic management.
“The marketing strategies used to drive sales have been a combination of social media marketing and an investment into online advertising such as Google Adwords.
“Establishing and maintaining an effective ecommerce presence requires an ongoing investment in research, marketing and financial resources to be able to capture and sustain a strong presence in the online marketing space.”
Andrew Johnson, CEO, ACS: “This is an excellent topic as smaller companies and businesses may not have the internal skill sets and capital to establish an e-commerce presence. Fortunately, today the the proliferation of digital e-commerce tools, platforms and services has brought down the cost of entry, making it possible for almost anyone to set up an online trading presence.
“As a result, entry is not so much the issue, but rather finding the right fit for your business – is the platform just an online shop front, or does it provide POS capabilities? Can it integrate with social media services like Facebook? Does the service provide adequate security? Does it fit your unique business requirements? And importantly – can it scale if your trading takes off and your business grows?
“Finally, examine how flexible the tools are to build and maintain the e-commerce presence, keeping in mind any training for your staff. One other important factor to consider — depending on the service, the e-commerce site may sit on the service provider’s domain name, which you ultimately won’t own. Remember to register your own unique site address and re-direct it — this is your brand, and from the start you want to ensure that as its presence grows it’s associated with a domain you own.”
Source: http://www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/featured/lets-talk-ecommerce-2.html
Monday, February 19, 2018
Shopify vs Magento – Comparing Both Platforms
By: Bogdan Sandu
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
ALL Shopify vs Magento – Comparing Both Platforms
ByBogdan SanduPublished on February 18, 2018 SHARE TWEET SHARE COMMENT
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
Magento, on the other hand, is a solidly hosted cart option, backing up some of the most powerful companies in the ecommerce world. Ranking high on the list, this platform dealt with some serious brand iterations (for example, the on-cloud Magento Go which specializes in small retail). Let's dive right in to our Shopify vs Magento post:
Shopify: Basic, Professional, or Unlimited?
There are two different versions of Shopify, both of them containing several separate editions. The leading version has the following editions: Basic, Professional, and Unlimited.
All three are hosted directly by Shopify, meaning that a customer’s store starts running immediately upon registration. As a successful retailer whose store receives incredible traffic, you’ll be free of additional expenses for configuring a personal server.
Shopify Basic doesn’t impose restrictions on the number of products you’re selling. In fact, retailers with a vast product spectrum can sell here for as long as they want, without paying top dollar every year. Basic’s storage, on the other hand, is limited to only 1 GB, and you cannot display the entire range at once (you’d have to put fewer photos for some products). The good thing about this plan is that it still provides great telephone support.
Shopify Professional provides 5 GB of storage space, meaning that it can showcase more of your products to clients. This plan charges 0.4% less per credit card payment, and will entitle you to a detailed analytics report on your store’s performance.
Before you decide to upgrade, we recommend you to do some Google Analytics exploring: the service is free, and it’s quite straightforward when it comes to understanding your store’s modus operandi. Additional extras worth of attention are Gift cards and Abandoned Cart Recovery, even though both could be easily attached to the starter plan too.
Take Shopify Professional and think of the coolest features that can be added there to make your store perfect: we bet our dollars that your imagination won’t take you far from the Unlimited package. There is a reason to call it Unlimited: there are absolutely no limits on storage, products, and possibilities. Not to mention the financial advantages of having one: transaction fees are completely absent, and a shipping carrier is always included in the price.
The Unlimited package was designed to serve the needs of medium e-stores, but large merchants also can take advantage of the package. They pay $179 per month, and without transactional fees, they end up having a better deal than the owners of a Professional package.
Shopify Plus for High-Volume Enterprises
What about owners of pre-existing online businesses? Shopify might be the platform for novice merchants, but that doesn’t make it less competent for handling established ecommerce businesses. In fact, there is a specially designed pro version for high-volume stores and enterprises. It’s called Shopify Plus.
Does it make sense to own a Shopify account if you’re already selling goods on the web? Actually, it does! Shopify Plus assigns you a team of expert managers to develop fast and efficient solutions for your online store. For instance, you'll get a personal project manager to connect different aspects of the business, and to help you build a reliable network of integrations. Basically, the core purpose of this package is to assist with technical support, and to provide well-wrapped knowledge entrepreneurs don’t always have.
With Shopify Plus, you’ll be able to accomplish more integrations than you ever thought you would. There is an outstanding API to connect all important aspects in an extremely functional way (accounting, CRM, multi-channel software, etc). The package also grants you access to Shopify’s best on-site apps, such as Yotpo and Justino.
As you expect, Shopify Plus goes beyond what entrepreneurs perceive as a reasonable price for technical support. The pricing model for Shopify Plus varies, and the amount depends on the services you’re using. However, we believe that a developed business could and should afford it, because it is the best online support and software management that money can buy. Many successful stores already know this!
The Magento Story
Magento was developed under the same concept as Shopify, aiming to attract users searching for versatility and a more flexible configuration when it comes to their ecommerce platform. Many aspects coincide, including the fact that there are different versions to choose from (even if the versions are fairly different from each other).
Magento Community Edition
Magento’s open source version is called Magento Community Edition. It is a ‘win-win’ for small store owners who want to host their own space, and it is absolutely free of charges. So far, it has been the dream choice of web developers, whose online stores are heavily charged and customized.
Being an open-source store, Magento CE doesn’t really offer user support, and will not assist every of your problems. Instead, there is an online community of colleague operators, where you can discuss the problem with interested developers, and parties enthusiastic to help you deal with your issues.
The basic edition is well-cut for launchers, especially those that sell via newsletters, special offers, and coupons; and ask customers to fill wish lists, so that they could know what to expose next, or in which direction to update their work. It may require some personal know how-s here and there, and you’re likely to do your own feature customization, but the modules are fairly simple and there are many online solutions that can help you do that (gift certificates, orders registers, etc). Long story short, you get what you paid for!
Magento Enterprise Edition
ALL Shopify vs Magento – Comparing Both Platforms
ByBogdan SanduPublished on February 18, 2018 SHARE TWEET SHARE COMMENT
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
Magento, on the other hand, is a solidly hosted cart option, backing up some of the most powerful companies in the ecommerce world. Ranking high on the list, this platform dealt with some serious brand iterations (for example, the on-cloud Magento Go which specializes in small retail). Let's dive right in to our Shopify vs Magento post:
Shopify: Basic, Professional, or Unlimited?
shopify
There are two different versions of Shopify, both of them containing several separate editions. The leading version has the following editions: Basic, Professional, and Unlimited.
All three are hosted directly by Shopify, meaning that a customer’s store starts running immediately upon registration. As a successful retailer whose store receives incredible traffic, you’ll be free of additional expenses for configuring a personal server.
Shopify Basic doesn’t impose restrictions on the number of products you’re selling. In fact, retailers with a vast product spectrum can sell here for as long as they want, without paying top dollar every year. Basic’s storage, on the other hand, is limited to only 1 GB, and you cannot display the entire range at once (you’d have to put fewer photos for some products). The good thing about this plan is that it still provides great telephone support.
ecom
Shopify Professional provides 5 GB of storage space, meaning that it can showcase more of your products to clients. This plan charges 0.4% less per credit card payment, and will entitle you to a detailed analytics report on your store’s performance.
Before you decide to upgrade, we recommend you to do some Google Analytics exploring: the service is free, and it’s quite straightforward when it comes to understanding your store’s modus operandi. Additional extras worth of attention are Gift cards and Abandoned Cart Recovery, even though both could be easily attached to the starter plan too.
shopmore
Take Shopify Professional and think of the coolest features that can be added there to make your store perfect: we bet our dollars that your imagination won’t take you far from the Unlimited package. There is a reason to call it Unlimited: there are absolutely no limits on storage, products, and possibilities. Not to mention the financial advantages of having one: transaction fees are completely absent, and a shipping carrier is always included in the price.
The Unlimited package was designed to serve the needs of medium e-stores, but large merchants also can take advantage of the package. They pay $179 per month, and without transactional fees, they end up having a better deal than the owners of a Professional package.
Shopify Plus for High-Volume Enterprises
What about owners of pre-existing online businesses? Shopify might be the platform for novice merchants, but that doesn’t make it less competent for handling established ecommerce businesses. In fact, there is a specially designed pro version for high-volume stores and enterprises. It’s called Shopify Plus.
Does it make sense to own a Shopify account if you’re already selling goods on the web? Actually, it does! Shopify Plus assigns you a team of expert managers to develop fast and efficient solutions for your online store. For instance, you'll get a personal project manager to connect different aspects of the business, and to help you build a reliable network of integrations. Basically, the core purpose of this package is to assist with technical support, and to provide well-wrapped knowledge entrepreneurs don’t always have.
store
With Shopify Plus, you’ll be able to accomplish more integrations than you ever thought you would. There is an outstanding API to connect all important aspects in an extremely functional way (accounting, CRM, multi-channel software, etc). The package also grants you access to Shopify’s best on-site apps, such as Yotpo and Justino.
As you expect, Shopify Plus goes beyond what entrepreneurs perceive as a reasonable price for technical support. The pricing model for Shopify Plus varies, and the amount depends on the services you’re using. However, we believe that a developed business could and should afford it, because it is the best online support and software management that money can buy. Many successful stores already know this!
The Magento Story
magento
Magento was developed under the same concept as Shopify, aiming to attract users searching for versatility and a more flexible configuration when it comes to their ecommerce platform. Many aspects coincide, including the fact that there are different versions to choose from (even if the versions are fairly different from each other).
Magento Community Edition
community
Magento’s open source version is called Magento Community Edition. It is a ‘win-win’ for small store owners who want to host their own space, and it is absolutely free of charges. So far, it has been the dream choice of web developers, whose online stores are heavily charged and customized.
Being an open-source store, Magento CE doesn’t really offer user support, and will not assist every of your problems. Instead, there is an online community of colleague operators, where you can discuss the problem with interested developers, and parties enthusiastic to help you deal with your issues.
The basic edition is well-cut for launchers, especially those that sell via newsletters, special offers, and coupons; and ask customers to fill wish lists, so that they could know what to expose next, or in which direction to update their work. It may require some personal know how-s here and there, and you’re likely to do your own feature customization, but the modules are fairly simple and there are many online solutions that can help you do that (gift certificates, orders registers, etc). Long story short, you get what you paid for!
Magento Enterprise Edition
enterprise
CE is mostly chosen by mid-size companies, and would be the first version large ecommerce business would look at. Still, Magento picked the pace of not having a large-scale operative mechanism, and designed an Enterprise Edition of its own.
There isn’t much to make the EE special, but customers seem to fancy the Full Page Caching, meaning that each cached version (categories, products, CMSs, etc) can be served separately. It makes shopping significantly faster, even when a lot of users are ‘doing their window-shopping’. Sounds like the ‘total sales’ master, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, the ‘speed trick’ means Magento is known for being slow OOTB and you have to consider caching carefully before you become a full-time user. A good way to reduce the risk is to opt for the Enterprise Edition, since it offers full page caching, and it preserves your right to contact the Magento Community for support and advice.
Both the Community and Enterprise edition are rated as user-friendly, with intuitive customization and powerful features. Their strongest feedback is that the website never stops improving, and there is always an innovative feature to showcase the values of a particular brand.
Which One to Choose: Shopify or Magento?
A decent comparison will not be as streamlined as you expect it to be: both platforms offer different solutions, and they excel in completely different ways. If we had to draw a top criterion that is actually comparable, that could only be their performance history; and it would instantly put Shopify on top of our list.
Besides, Shopify has the advantage of intuitive interface, fast and simplified setup, and millions of online retailers behind them to tell their happy endings.
If you still can't decide on Shopify vs Magento, then at the risk of sounding biased, we’ll face the music and recommend Shopify. I guess that being almost through with this article, most of you won’t even need us to say this.
So, go and try Shopify! Compare their features to your needs, and focus on your business. It won’t drain your budget, but it could be the perfect technical solution you always wanted.
Source: http://www.bittbox.com/all/shopify-vs-magento
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
ALL Shopify vs Magento – Comparing Both Platforms
ByBogdan SanduPublished on February 18, 2018 SHARE TWEET SHARE COMMENT
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
Magento, on the other hand, is a solidly hosted cart option, backing up some of the most powerful companies in the ecommerce world. Ranking high on the list, this platform dealt with some serious brand iterations (for example, the on-cloud Magento Go which specializes in small retail). Let's dive right in to our Shopify vs Magento post:
Shopify: Basic, Professional, or Unlimited?
There are two different versions of Shopify, both of them containing several separate editions. The leading version has the following editions: Basic, Professional, and Unlimited.
All three are hosted directly by Shopify, meaning that a customer’s store starts running immediately upon registration. As a successful retailer whose store receives incredible traffic, you’ll be free of additional expenses for configuring a personal server.
Shopify Basic doesn’t impose restrictions on the number of products you’re selling. In fact, retailers with a vast product spectrum can sell here for as long as they want, without paying top dollar every year. Basic’s storage, on the other hand, is limited to only 1 GB, and you cannot display the entire range at once (you’d have to put fewer photos for some products). The good thing about this plan is that it still provides great telephone support.
Shopify Professional provides 5 GB of storage space, meaning that it can showcase more of your products to clients. This plan charges 0.4% less per credit card payment, and will entitle you to a detailed analytics report on your store’s performance.
Before you decide to upgrade, we recommend you to do some Google Analytics exploring: the service is free, and it’s quite straightforward when it comes to understanding your store’s modus operandi. Additional extras worth of attention are Gift cards and Abandoned Cart Recovery, even though both could be easily attached to the starter plan too.
Take Shopify Professional and think of the coolest features that can be added there to make your store perfect: we bet our dollars that your imagination won’t take you far from the Unlimited package. There is a reason to call it Unlimited: there are absolutely no limits on storage, products, and possibilities. Not to mention the financial advantages of having one: transaction fees are completely absent, and a shipping carrier is always included in the price.
The Unlimited package was designed to serve the needs of medium e-stores, but large merchants also can take advantage of the package. They pay $179 per month, and without transactional fees, they end up having a better deal than the owners of a Professional package.
Shopify Plus for High-Volume Enterprises
What about owners of pre-existing online businesses? Shopify might be the platform for novice merchants, but that doesn’t make it less competent for handling established ecommerce businesses. In fact, there is a specially designed pro version for high-volume stores and enterprises. It’s called Shopify Plus.
Does it make sense to own a Shopify account if you’re already selling goods on the web? Actually, it does! Shopify Plus assigns you a team of expert managers to develop fast and efficient solutions for your online store. For instance, you'll get a personal project manager to connect different aspects of the business, and to help you build a reliable network of integrations. Basically, the core purpose of this package is to assist with technical support, and to provide well-wrapped knowledge entrepreneurs don’t always have.
With Shopify Plus, you’ll be able to accomplish more integrations than you ever thought you would. There is an outstanding API to connect all important aspects in an extremely functional way (accounting, CRM, multi-channel software, etc). The package also grants you access to Shopify’s best on-site apps, such as Yotpo and Justino.
As you expect, Shopify Plus goes beyond what entrepreneurs perceive as a reasonable price for technical support. The pricing model for Shopify Plus varies, and the amount depends on the services you’re using. However, we believe that a developed business could and should afford it, because it is the best online support and software management that money can buy. Many successful stores already know this!
The Magento Story
Magento was developed under the same concept as Shopify, aiming to attract users searching for versatility and a more flexible configuration when it comes to their ecommerce platform. Many aspects coincide, including the fact that there are different versions to choose from (even if the versions are fairly different from each other).
Magento Community Edition
Magento’s open source version is called Magento Community Edition. It is a ‘win-win’ for small store owners who want to host their own space, and it is absolutely free of charges. So far, it has been the dream choice of web developers, whose online stores are heavily charged and customized.
Being an open-source store, Magento CE doesn’t really offer user support, and will not assist every of your problems. Instead, there is an online community of colleague operators, where you can discuss the problem with interested developers, and parties enthusiastic to help you deal with your issues.
The basic edition is well-cut for launchers, especially those that sell via newsletters, special offers, and coupons; and ask customers to fill wish lists, so that they could know what to expose next, or in which direction to update their work. It may require some personal know how-s here and there, and you’re likely to do your own feature customization, but the modules are fairly simple and there are many online solutions that can help you do that (gift certificates, orders registers, etc). Long story short, you get what you paid for!
Magento Enterprise Edition
ALL Shopify vs Magento – Comparing Both Platforms
ByBogdan SanduPublished on February 18, 2018 SHARE TWEET SHARE COMMENT
Both Shopify and Magento are well-established ecommerce platforms whose business consists of providing online-store operations for every type of interested business owner. Ever since it was launched, Shopify has hit a lucky streak, and boasted more than $10 billion of merchant profit in only 10 years. No wonder its carts are the most popular in the world right now!
The customers are mostly small and mid-sized businesses, but some of them have grown into serious ecommerce players with solid stake in their industries. The reasons why people choose Shopify are good customer service, slick themes, and a user friendly interface.
Magento, on the other hand, is a solidly hosted cart option, backing up some of the most powerful companies in the ecommerce world. Ranking high on the list, this platform dealt with some serious brand iterations (for example, the on-cloud Magento Go which specializes in small retail). Let's dive right in to our Shopify vs Magento post:
Shopify: Basic, Professional, or Unlimited?
shopify
There are two different versions of Shopify, both of them containing several separate editions. The leading version has the following editions: Basic, Professional, and Unlimited.
All three are hosted directly by Shopify, meaning that a customer’s store starts running immediately upon registration. As a successful retailer whose store receives incredible traffic, you’ll be free of additional expenses for configuring a personal server.
Shopify Basic doesn’t impose restrictions on the number of products you’re selling. In fact, retailers with a vast product spectrum can sell here for as long as they want, without paying top dollar every year. Basic’s storage, on the other hand, is limited to only 1 GB, and you cannot display the entire range at once (you’d have to put fewer photos for some products). The good thing about this plan is that it still provides great telephone support.
ecom
Shopify Professional provides 5 GB of storage space, meaning that it can showcase more of your products to clients. This plan charges 0.4% less per credit card payment, and will entitle you to a detailed analytics report on your store’s performance.
Before you decide to upgrade, we recommend you to do some Google Analytics exploring: the service is free, and it’s quite straightforward when it comes to understanding your store’s modus operandi. Additional extras worth of attention are Gift cards and Abandoned Cart Recovery, even though both could be easily attached to the starter plan too.
shopmore
Take Shopify Professional and think of the coolest features that can be added there to make your store perfect: we bet our dollars that your imagination won’t take you far from the Unlimited package. There is a reason to call it Unlimited: there are absolutely no limits on storage, products, and possibilities. Not to mention the financial advantages of having one: transaction fees are completely absent, and a shipping carrier is always included in the price.
The Unlimited package was designed to serve the needs of medium e-stores, but large merchants also can take advantage of the package. They pay $179 per month, and without transactional fees, they end up having a better deal than the owners of a Professional package.
Shopify Plus for High-Volume Enterprises
What about owners of pre-existing online businesses? Shopify might be the platform for novice merchants, but that doesn’t make it less competent for handling established ecommerce businesses. In fact, there is a specially designed pro version for high-volume stores and enterprises. It’s called Shopify Plus.
Does it make sense to own a Shopify account if you’re already selling goods on the web? Actually, it does! Shopify Plus assigns you a team of expert managers to develop fast and efficient solutions for your online store. For instance, you'll get a personal project manager to connect different aspects of the business, and to help you build a reliable network of integrations. Basically, the core purpose of this package is to assist with technical support, and to provide well-wrapped knowledge entrepreneurs don’t always have.
store
With Shopify Plus, you’ll be able to accomplish more integrations than you ever thought you would. There is an outstanding API to connect all important aspects in an extremely functional way (accounting, CRM, multi-channel software, etc). The package also grants you access to Shopify’s best on-site apps, such as Yotpo and Justino.
As you expect, Shopify Plus goes beyond what entrepreneurs perceive as a reasonable price for technical support. The pricing model for Shopify Plus varies, and the amount depends on the services you’re using. However, we believe that a developed business could and should afford it, because it is the best online support and software management that money can buy. Many successful stores already know this!
The Magento Story
magento
Magento was developed under the same concept as Shopify, aiming to attract users searching for versatility and a more flexible configuration when it comes to their ecommerce platform. Many aspects coincide, including the fact that there are different versions to choose from (even if the versions are fairly different from each other).
Magento Community Edition
community
Magento’s open source version is called Magento Community Edition. It is a ‘win-win’ for small store owners who want to host their own space, and it is absolutely free of charges. So far, it has been the dream choice of web developers, whose online stores are heavily charged and customized.
Being an open-source store, Magento CE doesn’t really offer user support, and will not assist every of your problems. Instead, there is an online community of colleague operators, where you can discuss the problem with interested developers, and parties enthusiastic to help you deal with your issues.
The basic edition is well-cut for launchers, especially those that sell via newsletters, special offers, and coupons; and ask customers to fill wish lists, so that they could know what to expose next, or in which direction to update their work. It may require some personal know how-s here and there, and you’re likely to do your own feature customization, but the modules are fairly simple and there are many online solutions that can help you do that (gift certificates, orders registers, etc). Long story short, you get what you paid for!
Magento Enterprise Edition
enterprise
CE is mostly chosen by mid-size companies, and would be the first version large ecommerce business would look at. Still, Magento picked the pace of not having a large-scale operative mechanism, and designed an Enterprise Edition of its own.
There isn’t much to make the EE special, but customers seem to fancy the Full Page Caching, meaning that each cached version (categories, products, CMSs, etc) can be served separately. It makes shopping significantly faster, even when a lot of users are ‘doing their window-shopping’. Sounds like the ‘total sales’ master, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, the ‘speed trick’ means Magento is known for being slow OOTB and you have to consider caching carefully before you become a full-time user. A good way to reduce the risk is to opt for the Enterprise Edition, since it offers full page caching, and it preserves your right to contact the Magento Community for support and advice.
Both the Community and Enterprise edition are rated as user-friendly, with intuitive customization and powerful features. Their strongest feedback is that the website never stops improving, and there is always an innovative feature to showcase the values of a particular brand.
Which One to Choose: Shopify or Magento?
A decent comparison will not be as streamlined as you expect it to be: both platforms offer different solutions, and they excel in completely different ways. If we had to draw a top criterion that is actually comparable, that could only be their performance history; and it would instantly put Shopify on top of our list.
Besides, Shopify has the advantage of intuitive interface, fast and simplified setup, and millions of online retailers behind them to tell their happy endings.
If you still can't decide on Shopify vs Magento, then at the risk of sounding biased, we’ll face the music and recommend Shopify. I guess that being almost through with this article, most of you won’t even need us to say this.
So, go and try Shopify! Compare their features to your needs, and focus on your business. It won’t drain your budget, but it could be the perfect technical solution you always wanted.
Source: http://www.bittbox.com/all/shopify-vs-magento
Sunday, February 18, 2018
5 Practical Social Media Marketing Strategies That All eCommerce Sellers Must Know
By: Aaron Agius
With more customers shopping online than ever before, and ever-increasing competition for attention, online businesses will only be able to maximize their success if they learn how to build on organic engagement in social media.
Don't get me wrong, gaining organic traffic through search, and even conversions from paid ads, are still great ways to build business. However, leveraging a community to build sales from organic engagement costs nothing more than your time. And besides that, there are plenty of tools available to help you along the way.
Here are five practical strategies you can implement straight away which will help boost traffic and sales through your social channels.
1. Create, Curate, and Share Awesome Content
If all you do through your social channels is promote your own products, your audience is going to burn out on your pages and posts pretty fast. The more the engagement drops on your posts, the less often your new posts will be seen by your followers - after all, channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest want to display only the most interesting content to keep users engaged (and there are a lot of brands competing for the limited space in a user's social feed).
Ramp up engagement by finding really awesome repurposed content. I'm not just talking about reposting old articles or sharing cool stuff you found on other websites. Instead, take the Skyscraper approach or create something similar to Buzzfeed's listicles.
Find an interesting topic and mold it into something much better than the original. That's what the guys at Shopify did when they were tasked with launching a profitable business in just three days.
Using BuzzSumo, they searched for pieces of highly-shared content that was relevant to their audience. Using the original video created by someone else, they took the tips and created a targeted list post, then shared that to a relevant community online.
It didn't take long for the new content to start driving traffic to the online store where the article was hosted.
While this surge of new traffic usually won't result in immediate sales, well-optimized content like this will continuously send traffic and generate sales over the long-run.
2. Embrace Micro-Content
One of the problems faced by many marketers today - not just those in ecommerce - is that the web is in a constant state of information overload. Audiences are bombarded with updates from their favorite brands, publishers, and media outlets, both directly and through the shares from people in their network.
With limited time and shrinking patience, consumers just aren't willing to spend a lot of time digesting content anymore, you can't expect them to be willing to watch a 10-minute video or read a 5,000 word article when they're on-the-go.
This is why micro-content comes in handy. Short, 10-second Snapchats or brief videos posted to Instagram and Facebook - or even a video converted to GIF format for Twitter - can bump up your engagement.
With micro-content, you get the same benefits of video, and your audience is more likely to watch when they know it won't cost them more than 10-20 seconds of their time.
Major brands have been leveraging this since Vine took off, including Lowe's, Doritos, Taco Bell, and even NASCAR.
3. Blogs Are Social, Too
It's not uncommon for marketers and online store owners to have tunnel vision and get stuck on the idea that social media is all about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. But blogs are absolutely forms of social media - they're platforms where content is posted, and that content sees shares and comments, just like the more popular social platforms.
When you're marketing an ecommerce business, be sure to include regular blog outreach in your social media strategy. It can drive a LOT of traffic back to your store if you do it right.
That's what Richard Lazazzera from A Better Lemonade Stand learned when he challenged himself to launch a t-shirt business in just 24 hours. After creating his store on Shopify and listing his products, he reached out to a local blogger to ask if he would be interested in covering the products since they related to an article the blogger had recently published.
When Richard woke up the next morning, he found a stream of notifications from new customers that came from that blogger publishing a post about the shirts. That post not only led to sales, but other people interested in collaborating with Richard.
Don't just create your own content, reach out to influencers and bloggers who align with your audience and work with them to get your business or products featured on other sites and social channels.
4. Create More Engaging Content
Whenever you post content on your social channels, it should have a purpose, whether that's to generate comments, shares, drive traffic to your store, etc. The best way to do that is to always create content with a focus on maximizing engagement.
Some of the best ways to do this include: asking questions, crafting strong call-to-action specific to engagement, and targeting your audience's emotions with a little controversy from time to time.
This is particularly effective if you center your content around a product or your brand, like Ahole Gear has done.
Doritos recently combined another one of the above approaches by creating a short video clip that leverages their product and adds a touch of political controversy to get people talking.
The more engaging your content is, the farther it will reach beyond your immediate followers as they comment, like, and share the content. This will lead to repeat customers as well as the acquisition of new customers who weren't previously aware of your brand.
5. Use Social Reviews
Customer product reviews are a great ways to build social proof on your product pages and let new customers know what they can expect when making a purchase from you. A lot of ecommerce platforms use apps like Yotpo to develop more engaging reviews in their online stores, but you can also leverage reviews from your social media.
Not only does Yotpo enable you to connect your social accounts to post user-generated content on your pages, but Facebook also has its own native reviews that you should activate. This way, when prospective customers discover you in social media they can see right from the channel, without ever going to your site, that people are raving about your products and service.
For example, Coval Vapes is a brick and mortar store that also sells its products worldwide on its online store, and it has amassed a nice run of highly-rated reviews on its Facebook page.
Be sure to consistently encourage your fans to leave reviews. Rather than ask for reviews through your social channels, send follow-up emails after purchases and include a highly visible call-to-action note. Ask them to please come back and review their purchase on your social channels, or within your store, so you can later benefit from greater social proof generated by satisfied customers.
Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/5-practical-social-media-marketing-strategies-all-ecommerce-sellers-must-know
With more customers shopping online than ever before, and ever-increasing competition for attention, online businesses will only be able to maximize their success if they learn how to build on organic engagement in social media.
Don't get me wrong, gaining organic traffic through search, and even conversions from paid ads, are still great ways to build business. However, leveraging a community to build sales from organic engagement costs nothing more than your time. And besides that, there are plenty of tools available to help you along the way.
Here are five practical strategies you can implement straight away which will help boost traffic and sales through your social channels.
1. Create, Curate, and Share Awesome Content
If all you do through your social channels is promote your own products, your audience is going to burn out on your pages and posts pretty fast. The more the engagement drops on your posts, the less often your new posts will be seen by your followers - after all, channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest want to display only the most interesting content to keep users engaged (and there are a lot of brands competing for the limited space in a user's social feed).
Ramp up engagement by finding really awesome repurposed content. I'm not just talking about reposting old articles or sharing cool stuff you found on other websites. Instead, take the Skyscraper approach or create something similar to Buzzfeed's listicles.
Find an interesting topic and mold it into something much better than the original. That's what the guys at Shopify did when they were tasked with launching a profitable business in just three days.
Using BuzzSumo, they searched for pieces of highly-shared content that was relevant to their audience. Using the original video created by someone else, they took the tips and created a targeted list post, then shared that to a relevant community online.
It didn't take long for the new content to start driving traffic to the online store where the article was hosted.
While this surge of new traffic usually won't result in immediate sales, well-optimized content like this will continuously send traffic and generate sales over the long-run.
2. Embrace Micro-Content
One of the problems faced by many marketers today - not just those in ecommerce - is that the web is in a constant state of information overload. Audiences are bombarded with updates from their favorite brands, publishers, and media outlets, both directly and through the shares from people in their network.
With limited time and shrinking patience, consumers just aren't willing to spend a lot of time digesting content anymore, you can't expect them to be willing to watch a 10-minute video or read a 5,000 word article when they're on-the-go.
This is why micro-content comes in handy. Short, 10-second Snapchats or brief videos posted to Instagram and Facebook - or even a video converted to GIF format for Twitter - can bump up your engagement.
With micro-content, you get the same benefits of video, and your audience is more likely to watch when they know it won't cost them more than 10-20 seconds of their time.
Major brands have been leveraging this since Vine took off, including Lowe's, Doritos, Taco Bell, and even NASCAR.
3. Blogs Are Social, Too
It's not uncommon for marketers and online store owners to have tunnel vision and get stuck on the idea that social media is all about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. But blogs are absolutely forms of social media - they're platforms where content is posted, and that content sees shares and comments, just like the more popular social platforms.
When you're marketing an ecommerce business, be sure to include regular blog outreach in your social media strategy. It can drive a LOT of traffic back to your store if you do it right.
That's what Richard Lazazzera from A Better Lemonade Stand learned when he challenged himself to launch a t-shirt business in just 24 hours. After creating his store on Shopify and listing his products, he reached out to a local blogger to ask if he would be interested in covering the products since they related to an article the blogger had recently published.
When Richard woke up the next morning, he found a stream of notifications from new customers that came from that blogger publishing a post about the shirts. That post not only led to sales, but other people interested in collaborating with Richard.
Don't just create your own content, reach out to influencers and bloggers who align with your audience and work with them to get your business or products featured on other sites and social channels.
4. Create More Engaging Content
Whenever you post content on your social channels, it should have a purpose, whether that's to generate comments, shares, drive traffic to your store, etc. The best way to do that is to always create content with a focus on maximizing engagement.
Some of the best ways to do this include: asking questions, crafting strong call-to-action specific to engagement, and targeting your audience's emotions with a little controversy from time to time.
This is particularly effective if you center your content around a product or your brand, like Ahole Gear has done.
Doritos recently combined another one of the above approaches by creating a short video clip that leverages their product and adds a touch of political controversy to get people talking.
The more engaging your content is, the farther it will reach beyond your immediate followers as they comment, like, and share the content. This will lead to repeat customers as well as the acquisition of new customers who weren't previously aware of your brand.
5. Use Social Reviews
Customer product reviews are a great ways to build social proof on your product pages and let new customers know what they can expect when making a purchase from you. A lot of ecommerce platforms use apps like Yotpo to develop more engaging reviews in their online stores, but you can also leverage reviews from your social media.
Not only does Yotpo enable you to connect your social accounts to post user-generated content on your pages, but Facebook also has its own native reviews that you should activate. This way, when prospective customers discover you in social media they can see right from the channel, without ever going to your site, that people are raving about your products and service.
For example, Coval Vapes is a brick and mortar store that also sells its products worldwide on its online store, and it has amassed a nice run of highly-rated reviews on its Facebook page.
Be sure to consistently encourage your fans to leave reviews. Rather than ask for reviews through your social channels, send follow-up emails after purchases and include a highly visible call-to-action note. Ask them to please come back and review their purchase on your social channels, or within your store, so you can later benefit from greater social proof generated by satisfied customers.
Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/5-practical-social-media-marketing-strategies-all-ecommerce-sellers-must-know
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Which Ecommerce Platforms Are Right for You? Here’s Foundr’s In-Depth Review of the Top 5
By: Jonathan Chan
These days, if you want to sell something, anything, you can be selling it online in a matter of hours, sometimes for free. There’s more opportunity than ever to create a successful ecommerce business. But there’s also a dizzying selection of ecommerce platforms.
That’s why we did the work for you, and took a deep dive into the five leading ecommerce platforms, outlining what each one has to offer and which one might be right for you.
One that will become immediately apparent to anyone looking to get into ecommerce is that it is impossible to find a one-size-fits-all ecommerce platform.
You have some platforms that are better for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, and other platforms better suited to small-to-mid-sized businesses. Some platforms are easier for beginners, but might seem too simple for those who like having more options.
Each one has its own pros and cons, so there’s truly no one best choice, but finding the right one for you is a whole different matter entirely.
As part of the release of our newest online course, Start and Scale, where we teach you everything you need to know about starting your own ecommerce business, we spent several hours picking apart the ecommerce platforms on the market to see how they compare.
In the end, we came up with our top five favorite tools for today’s ecommerce entrepreneur, and put together the following in-depth reviews of each one. Again, because your needs and skills may vary, this isn’t a ranking—more like a handbook for selecting the right ecommerce platform just for you.
Listed in no particular order, here’s the Foundr review of the five best ecommerce platforms.
Best Ecommerce Platforms
Note: Full disclosure, there are affiliate links within this post. However, the opinions and reviews I give are based on my own personal experiences and research.
Shopify
If you’ve been searching for an ecommerce platform to run your store, you’ve no doubt seen the name Shopify before. Out of all the current players on the market, Shopify is by far the most popular, with over 400,000 merchants using it in 175 countries.
It’s the preferred ecommerce platform of Gretta Rose van Riel, head instructor of the Start and Scale course. Gretta is the founder of SkinnyMe Tea, The 5th, and Drop Bottle, along with brands like Tesla and Black Milk Clothing.
With all that in mind, let’s see what makes Shopify the preferred choice for so many different ecommerce businesses.
Shopify: Short and Sweet
Pros
1. Intuitive and straightforward to get your online store up and running in a short amount of time;
2. Over 100 well-designed themes and templates to pick and choose from;
3. All the essential features an entrepreneur needs to run an online store, already natively integrated within the Shopify platform;
4. An impressive app store for added customization and features for your site;
5. Incredible customer support;
6. Multiple payment plan options, depending on your own needs;
7. Shopify POS, for those who want a brick-and-mortar business as well, which allows you to update inventory, orders, and customers from any device.
Cons
1. Shopify does charge you for every transaction, unless you sign up for Shopify Plus;
2 .Costs can very easily snowball, as extra features, apps, and themes all have their own individual payments from one-off, to monthly, to annual;
3. Even if you already have a background with HTML or CSS, you will need to understand Shopify’s own coding language “Liquid” if you want extra customization;
4. All the native features offered by Shopify are incredibly bare bones. You can work with them, but you will need to go to the app store for extra functionality.
Shopify Pricing
There are four basic payment plan options when it comes to Shopify, with the lowest starting at $9 a month and their most expensive plan at $299 a month. For enterprise-level businesses, though, you can also sign up to Shopify Plus.
Shopify does also offer a 14-day trial for you to test out its various features before committing to anything.
With their basic plan, at $29 a month, you have access to the core Shopify features like being able to create discount codes, host a blog, and access their app store. However, purchasing their higher-tiered plans also gives you access to other features like the ability to generate gift cards and calculate shipping rates of third parties, and abandoned cart recovery.
While Shopify’s pricing does make sense, and it is indeed competitive in comparison with other ecommerce platforms, I should also point out that it is incredibly easy to find your costs snowballing if you’re not careful.
Shopify places a transaction fee on all orders on your store unless you’re on Shopify Plus or your customers are using Shopify Payments. The basic plan charges you an additional 2% fee per transaction, and their advanced plan only charging you an extra 0.5% per transaction.
Also, not all of Shopify’s apps are free. Depending on what kind of functionality and features you want for your online store, you will need to purchase these apps, which can add up.
For example, to integrate your Shopify store with the CRM tool Infusionsoft, you’ll need to purchase the app for $55 a month, on top of whatever you’re already paying on your Shopify plan.
While this is by no means a deal breaker, since these features can end up saving you a lot of time and money in the long run, you have to be careful with your budgeting. You can find out more about Shopify’s payment plans and pricing here.
Ease of Use of Shopify
Where Shopify really shines is how easy it is to use. This is by far the most intuitive ecommerce platform I’ve experienced, and I managed to set up a functioning store in around 50 minutes.
The layout of Shopify’s backend is fairly straightforward, allowing you to quickly add new products quickly. Everything you might need to customize about your product, including tracking inventory, adding variants, and even SEO, is all on one page.
While all of Shopify’s features do seem intimidating at first, I was pleasantly surprised by how they onboard new users with a simple checklist for you to follow, even suggesting different apps you can use to expand your store’s functionality.
Even when you dive in deeper with your Shopify store, it’s fairly easy to manage and track your orders and customers. I didn’t find myself experiencing any major problems when I began “scaling up” my store and started adding in extra features. Even when I did encounter a problem, Shopify’s support team were very quick to help me out.
I can’t see anyone having problems setting up a Shopify, especially for beginners who have never used this type of tool before.
Shopify Design
Shopify offers over a hundred different themes and templates you can choose from for the design of your store. Each theme is professional designed and visually appealing, and they all look very sleek and modern. While there are free themes for you to choose from, you can visit their theme store and purchase one with extra features for $160, on average.
When it comes to customizing the look of your store, Shopify has a straightforward drag-and-drop feature, and it’s easy to make basic design changes like picking new color schemes and fonts. Something I was pleasantly surprised by was that Shopify also offers one complimentary hour of free design support to whoever wants it. And, for those looking to make extensive changes to their theme, you can hire a “Shopify Expert” to handle it for you.
One caveat, though, is that while you can upload your own themes and templates to Shopify, for one reason or another, they end up being very difficult to edit.
I also encountered problems when I tried to customize the code myself, and ended up scrapping it and starting again because of Shopify’s unique coding language.
Shopify Features
On the bright side, Shopify’s native features offer essentially everything you need to get your store up and running as soon as possible.
The SEO features are all built in and automated, so you can customize your own target keywords, URLs, and other details quite easily on your product pages. If you already have a paid ad campaign going, with Google Adwords or Facebook advertising, for example, all you need is the code to immediately integrate it into your Shopify store.
Even using their basic plan, you can create discount codes for any item in your store. Upgrading to their other plans also gives you built-in features for marketing like gift cards, and abandoned cart recovery, which is always useful for any ecommerce entrepreneur.
But, and this is a big but, all the native features are stripped down to their most basic form. This means if you want more functionality, you have no choice but to head over to their apps marketplace.
For example, while you can set up a blog with Shopify, it only has the most basic of features. You can do text, add in images, and all the other basics. But for someone used to the robust nature of WordPress, it was definitely a step back from what I was used to.
Read More at: https://foundr.com/ecommerce-platforms/
These days, if you want to sell something, anything, you can be selling it online in a matter of hours, sometimes for free. There’s more opportunity than ever to create a successful ecommerce business. But there’s also a dizzying selection of ecommerce platforms.
That’s why we did the work for you, and took a deep dive into the five leading ecommerce platforms, outlining what each one has to offer and which one might be right for you.
One that will become immediately apparent to anyone looking to get into ecommerce is that it is impossible to find a one-size-fits-all ecommerce platform.
You have some platforms that are better for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, and other platforms better suited to small-to-mid-sized businesses. Some platforms are easier for beginners, but might seem too simple for those who like having more options.
Each one has its own pros and cons, so there’s truly no one best choice, but finding the right one for you is a whole different matter entirely.
As part of the release of our newest online course, Start and Scale, where we teach you everything you need to know about starting your own ecommerce business, we spent several hours picking apart the ecommerce platforms on the market to see how they compare.
In the end, we came up with our top five favorite tools for today’s ecommerce entrepreneur, and put together the following in-depth reviews of each one. Again, because your needs and skills may vary, this isn’t a ranking—more like a handbook for selecting the right ecommerce platform just for you.
Listed in no particular order, here’s the Foundr review of the five best ecommerce platforms.
Best Ecommerce Platforms
Note: Full disclosure, there are affiliate links within this post. However, the opinions and reviews I give are based on my own personal experiences and research.
Shopify
If you’ve been searching for an ecommerce platform to run your store, you’ve no doubt seen the name Shopify before. Out of all the current players on the market, Shopify is by far the most popular, with over 400,000 merchants using it in 175 countries.
It’s the preferred ecommerce platform of Gretta Rose van Riel, head instructor of the Start and Scale course. Gretta is the founder of SkinnyMe Tea, The 5th, and Drop Bottle, along with brands like Tesla and Black Milk Clothing.
With all that in mind, let’s see what makes Shopify the preferred choice for so many different ecommerce businesses.
Shopify: Short and Sweet
Pros
1. Intuitive and straightforward to get your online store up and running in a short amount of time;
2. Over 100 well-designed themes and templates to pick and choose from;
3. All the essential features an entrepreneur needs to run an online store, already natively integrated within the Shopify platform;
4. An impressive app store for added customization and features for your site;
5. Incredible customer support;
6. Multiple payment plan options, depending on your own needs;
7. Shopify POS, for those who want a brick-and-mortar business as well, which allows you to update inventory, orders, and customers from any device.
Cons
1. Shopify does charge you for every transaction, unless you sign up for Shopify Plus;
2 .Costs can very easily snowball, as extra features, apps, and themes all have their own individual payments from one-off, to monthly, to annual;
3. Even if you already have a background with HTML or CSS, you will need to understand Shopify’s own coding language “Liquid” if you want extra customization;
4. All the native features offered by Shopify are incredibly bare bones. You can work with them, but you will need to go to the app store for extra functionality.
Shopify Pricing
There are four basic payment plan options when it comes to Shopify, with the lowest starting at $9 a month and their most expensive plan at $299 a month. For enterprise-level businesses, though, you can also sign up to Shopify Plus.
Shopify does also offer a 14-day trial for you to test out its various features before committing to anything.
With their basic plan, at $29 a month, you have access to the core Shopify features like being able to create discount codes, host a blog, and access their app store. However, purchasing their higher-tiered plans also gives you access to other features like the ability to generate gift cards and calculate shipping rates of third parties, and abandoned cart recovery.
While Shopify’s pricing does make sense, and it is indeed competitive in comparison with other ecommerce platforms, I should also point out that it is incredibly easy to find your costs snowballing if you’re not careful.
Shopify places a transaction fee on all orders on your store unless you’re on Shopify Plus or your customers are using Shopify Payments. The basic plan charges you an additional 2% fee per transaction, and their advanced plan only charging you an extra 0.5% per transaction.
Also, not all of Shopify’s apps are free. Depending on what kind of functionality and features you want for your online store, you will need to purchase these apps, which can add up.
For example, to integrate your Shopify store with the CRM tool Infusionsoft, you’ll need to purchase the app for $55 a month, on top of whatever you’re already paying on your Shopify plan.
While this is by no means a deal breaker, since these features can end up saving you a lot of time and money in the long run, you have to be careful with your budgeting. You can find out more about Shopify’s payment plans and pricing here.
Ease of Use of Shopify
Where Shopify really shines is how easy it is to use. This is by far the most intuitive ecommerce platform I’ve experienced, and I managed to set up a functioning store in around 50 minutes.
The layout of Shopify’s backend is fairly straightforward, allowing you to quickly add new products quickly. Everything you might need to customize about your product, including tracking inventory, adding variants, and even SEO, is all on one page.
While all of Shopify’s features do seem intimidating at first, I was pleasantly surprised by how they onboard new users with a simple checklist for you to follow, even suggesting different apps you can use to expand your store’s functionality.
Even when you dive in deeper with your Shopify store, it’s fairly easy to manage and track your orders and customers. I didn’t find myself experiencing any major problems when I began “scaling up” my store and started adding in extra features. Even when I did encounter a problem, Shopify’s support team were very quick to help me out.
I can’t see anyone having problems setting up a Shopify, especially for beginners who have never used this type of tool before.
Shopify Design
Shopify offers over a hundred different themes and templates you can choose from for the design of your store. Each theme is professional designed and visually appealing, and they all look very sleek and modern. While there are free themes for you to choose from, you can visit their theme store and purchase one with extra features for $160, on average.
When it comes to customizing the look of your store, Shopify has a straightforward drag-and-drop feature, and it’s easy to make basic design changes like picking new color schemes and fonts. Something I was pleasantly surprised by was that Shopify also offers one complimentary hour of free design support to whoever wants it. And, for those looking to make extensive changes to their theme, you can hire a “Shopify Expert” to handle it for you.
One caveat, though, is that while you can upload your own themes and templates to Shopify, for one reason or another, they end up being very difficult to edit.
I also encountered problems when I tried to customize the code myself, and ended up scrapping it and starting again because of Shopify’s unique coding language.
Shopify Features
On the bright side, Shopify’s native features offer essentially everything you need to get your store up and running as soon as possible.
The SEO features are all built in and automated, so you can customize your own target keywords, URLs, and other details quite easily on your product pages. If you already have a paid ad campaign going, with Google Adwords or Facebook advertising, for example, all you need is the code to immediately integrate it into your Shopify store.
Even using their basic plan, you can create discount codes for any item in your store. Upgrading to their other plans also gives you built-in features for marketing like gift cards, and abandoned cart recovery, which is always useful for any ecommerce entrepreneur.
But, and this is a big but, all the native features are stripped down to their most basic form. This means if you want more functionality, you have no choice but to head over to their apps marketplace.
For example, while you can set up a blog with Shopify, it only has the most basic of features. You can do text, add in images, and all the other basics. But for someone used to the robust nature of WordPress, it was definitely a step back from what I was used to.
Read More at: https://foundr.com/ecommerce-platforms/
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
6 Ways Retailers Can Leverage Email Receipts – Shopify
By: Lauren Ufford
Email receipts were once only utilized by ecommerce stores to send online shoppers a record of the transaction and way to track their package. What was originally just a necessity for ecommerce merchants has now spread to offline sales channels as well. Recently there’s been a movement for both online and brick-and-mortar retailers to send email receipts to their customers.
While digital receipts are undeniably better for the environment (helping retailers go paperless and saving some trees in the process), they also make it easier for customers to keep track of their purchases. Who hasn’t lost an important paper receipt before?
However, digital receipts can help retail businesses with more than saving on paper costs and helping customers track their transactions — they also offer a number of benefits and opportunities to retail merchants. And it’s easier than ever to send email receipts with simple-to-use tools like Shopify POS.
When sending a digital receipt, retailers collect their customer's email address, which is a valuable piece of customer info that — with the right permissions — can be used for future retargeting and email marketing campaigns.
Aside from the potential to communicate with your audience in the future via email, the email receipts themselves can be an opportunity to speak with your customer about more than just their recent purchase. You can turn that simple proof of transaction into another communication and engagement channel.
Not sure how to accomplish that? We’ve gathered six ways that your retail business can leverage digital receipts.
1. Include Coupons and Promotions to Entice More Sales
So, you’ve made a sale and you’re sending a confirmation to your customer by way of an email receipt. While this is ending one sales cycle, it’s also an opportunity to begin a new one. By including coupons in the email, you may entice the reader into looking again at your inventory or drive them to complete a sale on an item that they looked at but saved for later.
While this tactic isn’t new, it’s effective. According to Forbes: “A recent study showed that 70% of people make use of coupons or discounts they learn about from email.”
To add an extra sense of urgency, make your coupons time sensitive.
This is an example of a follow-up coupon included in an email receipt from an Etsy retailer:
Tools like Unific make it easy to create these digital coupons and customize them with options like “expirations, products/collections, minimum order amount, free shipping, and more.”
2. Notify Customers about Upcoming Events or Promotions
Take advantage of the unique chance that email receipts present to communicate with your audience. In the article “6 Key Insights from 100K Email Receipts Sent,” Conversio found that email receipts have an open rate four times higher than regular email, with almost 71% of them being opened.
With this kind of email engagement, take the time to let customers know about upcoming sales, promotions, events, or other news that you have on the horizon — think of it as highly effective, free advertising to your core audience.
One example is this email receipt from Home Depot. The home hardware retailer takes the time to thank customers for their recent purchase, and use the rest of that valuable receipt real estate to make customers aware of other promotions. In this case, the store let the customer know about their price-matching discount of 10%.
3. Let Recipients Know About Your Programs
Does your retail business have a loyalty program or referral program that you want your customers to know about? Increase your chances of turning first-time buyers into returning customers with some info about your programs on your email receipts.
If you don’t have a loyalty program currently, consider creating one — it’s a great way to collect data about your customers, track their spending, and creating one can be easier than you think. Additionally, a referral program is a great way to reach potential new shoppers and keep your loyal consumers regularly engaged with the brand.
Here is an example of a coupon from The Honest Company that reminds customers of their referral program:
This example from an email receipt from The Honest Company encourages those you already trust the brand enough to have made a purchase to recommend the company to their friends and family — something they may have done without any incentive. But the purpose of this coupon and their referral program is to drive those recommendations through a program that The Honest Company can track and analyze.
4. Increase Brand Engagement
The completion of a purchase can be viewed as the end goal, but it can also be the beginning of a relationship between your brand and your customer. Take advantage of email receipts to promote different aspects of your retail brand. Include images of your products and/or brick-and-mortar stores to make the emails more aesthetically pleasing and remind the reader of your brand identity. Add customer testimonials to further the trust that you’re building with this customer.
Free People offers product suggestions at the bottom of their email receipts that look like this:
Email receipts are also a great occasion to suggest similar products based on the buyer’s previous purchase. Showcasing your diverse product offering and how many options you carry that match their interests via email is a great upselling opportunity.
You can include these brand elements in your emails easily with tools like Spently, which allows you to customize emails and organize the layout to match your retail branding.
5. Let Customers Know How to Reach You
There are a few reasons why a customer may be looking to contact your business after they’ve made a purchase — to ask a question, leave a review, inquire about a return, or maybe they just want to stay in touch with your brand through social channels for future purchases.
Because of this, you’ll want to include any applicable ways to reach you in your email receipts. In the article How To Revamp Your Email Receipts To Boost Conversions, Forbes states: “Customers often look back to email receipts to find contact information if they need to reach you. Make it easy for them and ... give customers different ways to reach you.”
Including contact info in the footer of your email receipts, similar to this example from Structube.
Contact information to include could be your company’s phone number, a link to your chat or inquiry form, the address for a local brick-and-mortar store, links to your social channels, and even your preferred hashtag for customers to share images of their new purchases.
6. Ask for Feedback
Lastly, use this opportunity as a way to ask a pressing question to your target audience. Did they find your checkout experience easy to navigate? Were they happy with the selection of products that you offered? Include a short questionnaire in your email receipt to get answers to your questions through an online survey provider like SurveyMonkey.
To incentivize customers to take your survey, offer them a discount code or the opportunity to get free merchandise or gift cards, like in this survey request from Nike:
Also, if you’re sending email receipts after in-store purchases, it can be a great time to ask customers to leave a review of the product and direct them to the product review page. Customers tend to leave a review if they’re avid reviewers, are extremely happy with the product, or have an issue with the product. But by prompting them just after a purchase, you may be able to capture their initial reaction before they forget to leave a review.
Moving Forward With Email Receipts
Hopefully, these suggestions have you thinking about ways to utilize your email receipts to promote your business and better your customers’ experience.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/retail/6-ways-retailers-can-leverage-email-receipts
Email receipts were once only utilized by ecommerce stores to send online shoppers a record of the transaction and way to track their package. What was originally just a necessity for ecommerce merchants has now spread to offline sales channels as well. Recently there’s been a movement for both online and brick-and-mortar retailers to send email receipts to their customers.
While digital receipts are undeniably better for the environment (helping retailers go paperless and saving some trees in the process), they also make it easier for customers to keep track of their purchases. Who hasn’t lost an important paper receipt before?
However, digital receipts can help retail businesses with more than saving on paper costs and helping customers track their transactions — they also offer a number of benefits and opportunities to retail merchants. And it’s easier than ever to send email receipts with simple-to-use tools like Shopify POS.
When sending a digital receipt, retailers collect their customer's email address, which is a valuable piece of customer info that — with the right permissions — can be used for future retargeting and email marketing campaigns.
Aside from the potential to communicate with your audience in the future via email, the email receipts themselves can be an opportunity to speak with your customer about more than just their recent purchase. You can turn that simple proof of transaction into another communication and engagement channel.
Not sure how to accomplish that? We’ve gathered six ways that your retail business can leverage digital receipts.
1. Include Coupons and Promotions to Entice More Sales
So, you’ve made a sale and you’re sending a confirmation to your customer by way of an email receipt. While this is ending one sales cycle, it’s also an opportunity to begin a new one. By including coupons in the email, you may entice the reader into looking again at your inventory or drive them to complete a sale on an item that they looked at but saved for later.
While this tactic isn’t new, it’s effective. According to Forbes: “A recent study showed that 70% of people make use of coupons or discounts they learn about from email.”
To add an extra sense of urgency, make your coupons time sensitive.
This is an example of a follow-up coupon included in an email receipt from an Etsy retailer:
Tools like Unific make it easy to create these digital coupons and customize them with options like “expirations, products/collections, minimum order amount, free shipping, and more.”
2. Notify Customers about Upcoming Events or Promotions
Take advantage of the unique chance that email receipts present to communicate with your audience. In the article “6 Key Insights from 100K Email Receipts Sent,” Conversio found that email receipts have an open rate four times higher than regular email, with almost 71% of them being opened.
With this kind of email engagement, take the time to let customers know about upcoming sales, promotions, events, or other news that you have on the horizon — think of it as highly effective, free advertising to your core audience.
One example is this email receipt from Home Depot. The home hardware retailer takes the time to thank customers for their recent purchase, and use the rest of that valuable receipt real estate to make customers aware of other promotions. In this case, the store let the customer know about their price-matching discount of 10%.
3. Let Recipients Know About Your Programs
Does your retail business have a loyalty program or referral program that you want your customers to know about? Increase your chances of turning first-time buyers into returning customers with some info about your programs on your email receipts.
If you don’t have a loyalty program currently, consider creating one — it’s a great way to collect data about your customers, track their spending, and creating one can be easier than you think. Additionally, a referral program is a great way to reach potential new shoppers and keep your loyal consumers regularly engaged with the brand.
Here is an example of a coupon from The Honest Company that reminds customers of their referral program:
This example from an email receipt from The Honest Company encourages those you already trust the brand enough to have made a purchase to recommend the company to their friends and family — something they may have done without any incentive. But the purpose of this coupon and their referral program is to drive those recommendations through a program that The Honest Company can track and analyze.
4. Increase Brand Engagement
The completion of a purchase can be viewed as the end goal, but it can also be the beginning of a relationship between your brand and your customer. Take advantage of email receipts to promote different aspects of your retail brand. Include images of your products and/or brick-and-mortar stores to make the emails more aesthetically pleasing and remind the reader of your brand identity. Add customer testimonials to further the trust that you’re building with this customer.
Free People offers product suggestions at the bottom of their email receipts that look like this:
Email receipts are also a great occasion to suggest similar products based on the buyer’s previous purchase. Showcasing your diverse product offering and how many options you carry that match their interests via email is a great upselling opportunity.
You can include these brand elements in your emails easily with tools like Spently, which allows you to customize emails and organize the layout to match your retail branding.
5. Let Customers Know How to Reach You
There are a few reasons why a customer may be looking to contact your business after they’ve made a purchase — to ask a question, leave a review, inquire about a return, or maybe they just want to stay in touch with your brand through social channels for future purchases.
Because of this, you’ll want to include any applicable ways to reach you in your email receipts. In the article How To Revamp Your Email Receipts To Boost Conversions, Forbes states: “Customers often look back to email receipts to find contact information if they need to reach you. Make it easy for them and ... give customers different ways to reach you.”
Including contact info in the footer of your email receipts, similar to this example from Structube.
Contact information to include could be your company’s phone number, a link to your chat or inquiry form, the address for a local brick-and-mortar store, links to your social channels, and even your preferred hashtag for customers to share images of their new purchases.
6. Ask for Feedback
Lastly, use this opportunity as a way to ask a pressing question to your target audience. Did they find your checkout experience easy to navigate? Were they happy with the selection of products that you offered? Include a short questionnaire in your email receipt to get answers to your questions through an online survey provider like SurveyMonkey.
To incentivize customers to take your survey, offer them a discount code or the opportunity to get free merchandise or gift cards, like in this survey request from Nike:
Also, if you’re sending email receipts after in-store purchases, it can be a great time to ask customers to leave a review of the product and direct them to the product review page. Customers tend to leave a review if they’re avid reviewers, are extremely happy with the product, or have an issue with the product. But by prompting them just after a purchase, you may be able to capture their initial reaction before they forget to leave a review.
Moving Forward With Email Receipts
Hopefully, these suggestions have you thinking about ways to utilize your email receipts to promote your business and better your customers’ experience.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/retail/6-ways-retailers-can-leverage-email-receipts
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
5 Black Friday Ecommerce Trends to Prepare for in 2018
By: Aaron Orendorff
The tide has turned on traditional retail …
Black Friday — a term originally coined in the 1950s to mark the advent of Christmas shopping when retailers went from “in the red” to “in the black” — has become synonymous with doorbusters, cheap TVs, and stampede-videos posted to YouTube.
According to the National Retail Federation, more people opted to skip the madness and did their Black Friday shopping online than in-store in 2016. Considering this shift in consumer behavior, and the epic rate at which stores are shutting down, at first glance, it seems we’ve reached a tipping point.
But make no mistake, offline shopping isn’t going anywhere. People are still going to stand outside and wait in line for great deals. It’s what we do while we wait, and who we’re willing to wait for that represents the biggest shift in how we shop.
Retailers who understand this and participate in these Black Friday ecommerce trends early aren’t just chasing after the next new thing, they’re preparing for the future of ecommerce and tackling omni-channel in a way that’s easier to digest.
After thorough research, we’ve identified these five Black Friday ecommerce trends that will put you ahead this year.
1. Mobile Shopping Can No Longer Be an Afterthought for Holiday Ecommerce
For the first time ever, 53% of all orders on last year’s Thanksgiving Day came from mobile devices.
According to Mobify, this trend is set to continue, with mobile revenue overtaking desktop just in time for Black Friday 2017. It went on to predict that mobile will reach 70% of ecommerce traffic by the end of 2018.
But mobile checkout rates are still trailing computers by 13%.
According to Stripe, “Mobile websites don't convert well: while mobile devices represent 60% of browsing traffic, they only account for 15% of purchasing.”
So how can you boost mobile revenue?
Start with improving navigation, website speed, and offering one-click purchases, according to Fluent’s 2017 Devices and Demographics report:
Mobify suggests that “retailers who take advantage of these – ASAP – will be among the retailers that see mobile revenue surpass desktop before Black Friday 2017.”
Improve Your Website’s Navigation
The little things can add up and make a big difference. For example, Print Globe increased conversions by 18.5% simply by improving their website navigation design.
Start with your sitemap and menu layout. Andy Crestodina, strategic director of Orbit Media, recommends you, “Limit the number of menu items to seven.”
But most ecommerce sites have a lot more than seven pages. So what happens next?
They put a drop-down menu on your drop-down menu.
The problem with this approach is that drop-down menus are almost always annoying and studies show that drop-down menus “encourage visitors to skip important pages.”
Crestodina explains that “Visitors move their eyes much faster than they move their mouse. When they move their mouse to a menu item, they’ve likely already decided to click… and then you gave them more options. It’s a hiccup in the mind of the visitor.”
However, some other studies show that ‘mega-drop-down menus’ perform favorably. The annoying moment of finding more options is worth it since the number of options given helps the user find exactly what they’re looking for.
Of course, with the limited amount of space on mobile devices, this can be incredibly difficult to do well. Which is why the standard in responsive design is now the ‘hamburger’ icon:
If you have a lot of menu items, it’s important to group them into drop-down categories, so the user doesn’t need to scan information irrelevant to their search. Amazon has turned their mega-drop-down menu into a page of its own, with a clear hierarchy of information:
Be sure to highlight site search, too. Waterfilters.net managed to increase conversions by 11% just by adding Google Site Search to their website. Notice how Amazon highlights the search bar on every page of their site in their last example.
Increase Your Site Speed
Consumers want it yesterday.
A study by Radware discovered that “a two-second delay in load time during a transaction resulted in abandonment rates of up to 87%. This is significantly higher than the baseline abandonment rate of 67%.”
We’ve written extensively on how to improve ecommerce site performance and page speed, as well as suggested diagnostic tools. Be sure to pay particular attention to your checkout process where load time is critical:
1. Use Google Tag Manager
2. Consider measuring and improving your time to interact (TTI) speed
3. Optimize your images
4. Use fast and reliable hosting servers
Offer One-Screen Checkouts for Impulse Purchases
UIE found impulse purchases represent almost 40% of all the money spent on ecommerce.
You can boost impulse purchases by reducing the amount of effort it takes to buy something. ‘One-click’ purchasing allows customers to buy items with a single click, with the required payment information having been entered previously by the customer. You can enable one-click purchases using:
1. Shopify Pay
2. Apple Pay
3. Android Pay
4. PayPal
Ideally, you’ll want to set up all four of these payment services, as customers may already have an account with one of them.
2. Pop-Up Shops Provide Three-Dimensional Black-Friday Ecommerce Experiences
In preparation for this coming holiday season, it might be time to step away from your screen. There’s a world out there.
Tom McGee, president and CEO of ICSC, said, “The convergence of physical and digital continues to be important as consumers have come to expect an integrated experience allowing them to buy products through a variety of channels.”
What does this mean for you? Pop-up shops.
McGee continues, “The survey data proves that omnichannel retailers are the real winners this season.” Google recognized this early on when they created Google Local Inventory Ads to show online shoppers product availability in nearby stores.
In their post-holiday shopping survey, the ICSC found that 61% of people who bought items online to pick up in-store, bought another item in-person when they came to pick it up.
You can also attract new customers. Katherine Hill, Director of Offline at BaubleBar, said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints, “We see about half of the people who walk into our pop-up shops have never heard of our brand before … It’s a very strong customer acquisition channel for us.”
But why are pop-up shops so appealing to consumers?
In a poll by PopUp Republic (as reported by VMSD), 61% of people said the top reason to visit a pop-up store was to “find seasonal products.” Other key reasons were to find new and unique products, to shop locally, and to benefit from great prices.
And then there’s the fear of missing out. “The great thing about pop-ups that we find all across the board,” said Jeremy Baras in Shopify’s Ultimate Guide to Pop-Up Shops, “is that they have this ‘fear of missing out’ quality to them.”
Roughly a third of Shopify’s merchants also sell in the physical world, a pop-up shop, a permanent store or at a group venue. Join them and exploit this growing trend during Black Friday.
Read More: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/black-friday-ecommerce-trends
The tide has turned on traditional retail …
Black Friday — a term originally coined in the 1950s to mark the advent of Christmas shopping when retailers went from “in the red” to “in the black” — has become synonymous with doorbusters, cheap TVs, and stampede-videos posted to YouTube.
According to the National Retail Federation, more people opted to skip the madness and did their Black Friday shopping online than in-store in 2016. Considering this shift in consumer behavior, and the epic rate at which stores are shutting down, at first glance, it seems we’ve reached a tipping point.
But make no mistake, offline shopping isn’t going anywhere. People are still going to stand outside and wait in line for great deals. It’s what we do while we wait, and who we’re willing to wait for that represents the biggest shift in how we shop.
Retailers who understand this and participate in these Black Friday ecommerce trends early aren’t just chasing after the next new thing, they’re preparing for the future of ecommerce and tackling omni-channel in a way that’s easier to digest.
After thorough research, we’ve identified these five Black Friday ecommerce trends that will put you ahead this year.
1. Mobile Shopping Can No Longer Be an Afterthought for Holiday Ecommerce
For the first time ever, 53% of all orders on last year’s Thanksgiving Day came from mobile devices.
According to Mobify, this trend is set to continue, with mobile revenue overtaking desktop just in time for Black Friday 2017. It went on to predict that mobile will reach 70% of ecommerce traffic by the end of 2018.
But mobile checkout rates are still trailing computers by 13%.
According to Stripe, “Mobile websites don't convert well: while mobile devices represent 60% of browsing traffic, they only account for 15% of purchasing.”
So how can you boost mobile revenue?
Start with improving navigation, website speed, and offering one-click purchases, according to Fluent’s 2017 Devices and Demographics report:
Mobify suggests that “retailers who take advantage of these – ASAP – will be among the retailers that see mobile revenue surpass desktop before Black Friday 2017.”
Improve Your Website’s Navigation
The little things can add up and make a big difference. For example, Print Globe increased conversions by 18.5% simply by improving their website navigation design.
Start with your sitemap and menu layout. Andy Crestodina, strategic director of Orbit Media, recommends you, “Limit the number of menu items to seven.”
But most ecommerce sites have a lot more than seven pages. So what happens next?
They put a drop-down menu on your drop-down menu.
The problem with this approach is that drop-down menus are almost always annoying and studies show that drop-down menus “encourage visitors to skip important pages.”
Crestodina explains that “Visitors move their eyes much faster than they move their mouse. When they move their mouse to a menu item, they’ve likely already decided to click… and then you gave them more options. It’s a hiccup in the mind of the visitor.”
However, some other studies show that ‘mega-drop-down menus’ perform favorably. The annoying moment of finding more options is worth it since the number of options given helps the user find exactly what they’re looking for.
Of course, with the limited amount of space on mobile devices, this can be incredibly difficult to do well. Which is why the standard in responsive design is now the ‘hamburger’ icon:
If you have a lot of menu items, it’s important to group them into drop-down categories, so the user doesn’t need to scan information irrelevant to their search. Amazon has turned their mega-drop-down menu into a page of its own, with a clear hierarchy of information:
Be sure to highlight site search, too. Waterfilters.net managed to increase conversions by 11% just by adding Google Site Search to their website. Notice how Amazon highlights the search bar on every page of their site in their last example.
Increase Your Site Speed
Consumers want it yesterday.
A study by Radware discovered that “a two-second delay in load time during a transaction resulted in abandonment rates of up to 87%. This is significantly higher than the baseline abandonment rate of 67%.”
We’ve written extensively on how to improve ecommerce site performance and page speed, as well as suggested diagnostic tools. Be sure to pay particular attention to your checkout process where load time is critical:
1. Use Google Tag Manager
2. Consider measuring and improving your time to interact (TTI) speed
3. Optimize your images
4. Use fast and reliable hosting servers
Offer One-Screen Checkouts for Impulse Purchases
UIE found impulse purchases represent almost 40% of all the money spent on ecommerce.
You can boost impulse purchases by reducing the amount of effort it takes to buy something. ‘One-click’ purchasing allows customers to buy items with a single click, with the required payment information having been entered previously by the customer. You can enable one-click purchases using:
1. Shopify Pay
2. Apple Pay
3. Android Pay
4. PayPal
Ideally, you’ll want to set up all four of these payment services, as customers may already have an account with one of them.
2. Pop-Up Shops Provide Three-Dimensional Black-Friday Ecommerce Experiences
In preparation for this coming holiday season, it might be time to step away from your screen. There’s a world out there.
Tom McGee, president and CEO of ICSC, said, “The convergence of physical and digital continues to be important as consumers have come to expect an integrated experience allowing them to buy products through a variety of channels.”
What does this mean for you? Pop-up shops.
McGee continues, “The survey data proves that omnichannel retailers are the real winners this season.” Google recognized this early on when they created Google Local Inventory Ads to show online shoppers product availability in nearby stores.
In their post-holiday shopping survey, the ICSC found that 61% of people who bought items online to pick up in-store, bought another item in-person when they came to pick it up.
You can also attract new customers. Katherine Hill, Director of Offline at BaubleBar, said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints, “We see about half of the people who walk into our pop-up shops have never heard of our brand before … It’s a very strong customer acquisition channel for us.”
But why are pop-up shops so appealing to consumers?
In a poll by PopUp Republic (as reported by VMSD), 61% of people said the top reason to visit a pop-up store was to “find seasonal products.” Other key reasons were to find new and unique products, to shop locally, and to benefit from great prices.
And then there’s the fear of missing out. “The great thing about pop-ups that we find all across the board,” said Jeremy Baras in Shopify’s Ultimate Guide to Pop-Up Shops, “is that they have this ‘fear of missing out’ quality to them.”
Roughly a third of Shopify’s merchants also sell in the physical world, a pop-up shop, a permanent store or at a group venue. Join them and exploit this growing trend during Black Friday.
Read More: https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/black-friday-ecommerce-trends
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