Greg Wise says, “Getting people to spend money online is easier than ever, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone. There are still plenty of consumers out there who aren’t comfy passing along financial information, no matter how secure the transactions get. One small slip, and you could turn them off of shopping with you for good. So, how can you get your visitors to trust you enough to convert to customers? Here are some tips to help. Updated Design Anyone who shops online is familiar enough with websites to recognize old or bad design. If you haven’t updated your design lately,... [...]

Adam Silverman says, “When I tell friends and family I’m researching the future of the digital store, they more often than not conjure up a certain image in their heads: robotic sales associates, augmented reality dressing rooms, holographic advertising displays, and maybe even hovercraft-friendly shopping malls (à la The Jetsons). And while components of digital stores are absolutely in line with this flashy and quintessentially futuristic vision (Samsung’s virtual fitting room—equipped with 3-D cameras and depth perception software—can virtually drape an article of clothing over... [...]

Kath Pay says, “When creating and optimising our ecommerce customer journey, not only do we need to ensure that we make this as frictionless as possible, but also that we make it as persuasive as possible. Our journey today When creating and optimising our ecommerce customer journey, not only do we need to ensure that we have made this as frictionless and easy to use journey as possible, but also that we have made this journey as persuasive as possible. Working Psychology defines Persuasion as being: Persuasion attempts to win “the heart and mind” of the target. Thus persuasion... [...]

Michelle Beeson says, “Europe’s eBusiness professionals are increasingly focused on their digital presence, and with good reason. Digital touchpoints are feeding into almost every stage of the customer life-cycle. For many retailers over half of all online traffic comes from mobile devices, like smartphones – yet, smartphone conversion rates are considerably lower. Initially this may appear as a cause for concern. But Forrester’s updated European Cross-Channel Retail Sales Forecast sheds a different light on this phenomenon by quantifying the influence of digital touchpoints,... [...]

Zia Daniell Wigder says, “In last year’s global eCommerce predictions report, we wrote that in 2015, cross-border eCommerce would become “more seamless and less apparent to shoppers”. We’ve started to embark on this path: Today consumers around the world have access to growing selection of products as more retailers make their offerings available to shoppers in other countries. My colleague Michelle Beeson recently documented that cross-border sales in Europe alone will reach €40 billion by 2018. Retailers that haven’t yet started to ship cross-border—and those that... [...]

Dustin Thompson says, “Marble Slab Creamery has been in business for 32 years and has locations in more than 15 countries worldwide. In order to reach this level of greatness, we had to learn how to adapt at the first sign of trouble. One such instance occurred about two years ago. For roughly five years, we experienced a significant decline in sales. We knew that we had to do something to turn our business around—but what? Many people may have found themselves in a similar predicament, especially after the recession. So how do you combat declines in sales when the economy is to blame?... [...]

Thomas Stern says, “Consumer behavior does not solely apply to physical stores today as ecommerce has become more and more prevalent. Online shopping has grown in popularity with consumers due to the efficiency, speed and convenience it provides. As such, retailers and e-tailers alike must apply the “psychology of marketing” in order to satisfy customer needs and grow their sales. Identifying how online buyers think and feel about where they hangout online can help marketers improve existing campaigns and flesh out strategies that can reach consumers better”. The Mind of an... [...]

Christopher Ratcliff says, “There are many reasons why someone might buy something on your ecommerce site, aside from the promise of free cake and endless Gifs of kittens yawning. Here are the three most glaringly obvious: Because you are selling exactly what I’m looking for. Because you’re selling it for less than everyone else. Because you are Amazon and it’s just easier if I just do all my shopping with you. The first two are so glaringly obvious, that they’re hardly worth talking about. But I will anyway, because I like the sound of my own voice”. 17 ways your ecommerce... [...]

John Fetto says, “It’s actually a bit ironic that Amazon promoted Prime Day as having more deals that Black Friday. That’s because visits to Amazon.com have actually been growing so steadily that last year’s Black Friday isn’t even among the site’s 10 biggest traffic days of the last 12 months. Nearly half of the days in July this year, in fact, have had visit counts that surpassed Black Friday. Compared to the previous Wednesday (July 8), the number of visits to Amazon.com on Prime Day rose 68 percent. But Amazon wasn’t the only retailer celebrating. Prime Day was definitely... [...]

Denice Surjan says, “Labor Day weekend, signifying the end of summer, tends to bring customers back to reality — but not before one last bash. As such, the holiday can be an opportunity for retailers to make a final seasonal push before diving into the winter holiday madness. Luckily, we’ve just released a Labor Day Hot Sheet, which includes insights on online search, email and content trends to help marketers guide their content and messaging strategy for the holiday weekend. Recipes and store hours top the search keyword lists Labor Day-related searches, like those around many holidays,... [...]