eCommerce Blog - Page 24

Why so much time, effort and money are being invested by many e-Commerce business owners on the design of the website? The answer is quite simple, to drive customers to conversions. One of the most critical things on an online store site is the homepage as that’s the first place where customers will interact with your online business.

We all have heard the famous saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it means that a good picture can easily tell a story and convey the meaning behind it. Just like this phrase, a homepage of an online store should have the power to tell your customers who you are, what you do and what you have to offer during their first interaction with the site. Any time, if your homepage fails to impress the online shoppers, they will go somewhere else to buy what they are looking for.

Here are a few key elements that you store site homepage must offer.

Drop shipping is a practice of order fulfilment that allows online merchants (or store owners) to sell online without having to stock inventory or ship orders. In the whole process, when a product is sold, the 3rd party wholesaler or manufacturer ships out the product directly to the customer and the merchant / store owner never sees or handle the product but still earns the profit. Drop shipping is a great way to start an online business conveniently and practicality without worrying about stock as it helps in minimizing the risks in the e-Commerce industry.

Today, we will discuss a few reasons why e-Commerce retailers should consider drop shipping.

The term “design” is a very wide-ranging and an ambiguous term. It is wide-ranging because it covers a wide range of categories in design. It is ambiguous because when someone says that he/she is a designer, it not a clear answer as there are number of responsibilities that are incorporated under the umbrella of term “designer”.

In e-Commerce industry, a bad design and cluttered website can easily drive away the potential customers from your online store. So, while planning the design of the store site, it is very important for store owners to understand the difference between user-experience and user-interface. If a store owner wants to hire a person to work on the design of the website and do not understand the difference between UI and UX; he/she might end up hiring a wrong person for the job.

In today’s technical environment, you will often hear the terms user-experience (UX) and user-interface (UI). Just because these two terms has a similar nomenclature, it does not make the meaning of both terms same. The most common misconception is that many people think that UX and UI is a same thing and terms can be interchanged but it is not true. The fact is that the user-experience is affected by user-interface but at the same time, is not depended on it.

Choosing a right domain name is the first important step to a successful planning of an online business. Domain name is just like an internet identity for your online business which reflects who you are, what you do and what service / product do you offer to the online shoppers. The reason domain name is seen as an “internet identity” is because no two domain names can be same and while choosing a web address that is unique to you is a chance for you to select the best possible domain name that describes your online business (or e-Commerce store).

Many times, business owners do not put much effort in choosing a right domain name for their business which can be as devastating as choosing a wrong physical location for your business. Domain name is just like a virtual address for your online store so you should invest same amount of time, thought process, planning and effort to select a right web address just like how you would select a prime physical location for your business where shoppers can find you easily. Yes, it can be a little tedious process to come up with a good unique domain name that has not been taken yet but it is not that difficult if you think strategically.

According to many researchers, 2015 is going to be an amazing year for an e-Commerce industry. In 2015, online store owners (or retailers) must bring their A game in order to survive in this competitive e-Commerce industry. Today, customers are not only knowledgeable but know what item they want on what price by doing a price comparison. Customers are also interested in knowing product reviews, availability of the product (or inventory) and expect free as well as fast shipping.

People are shopping online more than ever before. This makes it quite critical for online retailers to know what online shoppers are interested in buying and how they would like to buy. So, it is important for all retailers to keep an eye on all the ongoing trends.

Here are a few key trends for the year 2015...

Today, online businesses are making use of all possible channels to market their store sites and attract more customers. Email marketing continues to be one of the top marketing channels that every retailer likes to use. ROI (return on investment) is one of the most captivating reasons why email marketing is beneficial in promoting your e-Commerce store.

Some retailers think that email marketing was killed by spam, facebook, twitter and blogs. Well, the surveys tell a complete different story. If emails are kept short, interesting, and relevant by providing the customers (recipients) an option to unsubscribe, it does bring the revenue. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing is responsible for bringing in $40 for every $1 spent (reference).

Today, we are going to discuss, how to make use of email marketing for promoting your e-Commerce store.

It is quite important to acknowledge the value of customers and rewarding them time to time as they strive to drive the business revenue. Rewarding your customers for being a loyal to your business ensures that they will return to your store to make their next purchase.

An infographic from Zendesk shows that acquiring new customers is an expensive process for businesses, so it’s vital that some of them become loyal to the brand and return for repeat purchases. The data also shows that 34% believe that exceptional customer service is the best way to build customer loyalty.

Rewarding is a great way to make a connection with your loyal customers to your brand. It shows that you care for your customers who play a significant role in the success of your business and you are willing to go above and beyond to make them happy.

Have you ever wondered why onsite search is an important feature (or must-have) for your online store? An effective search feature offers a lot of potential benefits that can make your store online user-friendly.

As a store admin, you should always see the search feature on your site as a valuable communication system that provides answers (search results) to your customers on the spot depending on what product / item they are looking for. A lot of times, retailers pay more attention to search engine optimization (SEO) and forget about onsite search on their online stores. It is certainly a good idea to pay attention to SEO because that’s how the potential shoppers find your website on search engines. But, when customers are able to find your store site quickly via search engines and land on your site, they will expect a similar experience on your e-Commerce site. So it is quite important to make sure that your customers are not getting disappointed using the onsite search feature.

Here are a few tips for a better onsite search feature for your e-Commerce website.

For many new store owners, the idea of starting an online business is an exciting experience and potentially rewarding in terms of finances. With all the excitement of starting a new online store, many store owners make some common mistakes by taking some crucial things for granted or do not consider taking some important actions carefully.

It is quite understandable that why these mistakes are made by new owners. Store owners are so much focused on getting off the ground with their new online stores that many times some important things are overlooked that can impact the business down the road.

If we try to take a closer look at these mistakes that new store owners make, there is a common pattern or trend that is being followed all the time repeatedly. Today we are going to discuss these common mistakes.

Product reviews are great for online businesses even the ones that are not positive. According to a 2009 study conducted by “The Nielsen Company”, 70% of the shoppers do trust consumer opinions / reviews posted online. These days, majority of customers look for online product reviews before purchasing a product. Statistics shows that e-Commerce stores that offer product reviews have increased their average order rate as compared to other online stores that do not offer this feature.

Today, we will discuss some reasons that makes product reviews a must-have for any online store.