Emma Forward says, “Changing ecommerce agencies is a big job, even if you’re sticking with the same platform and looking for a different agency to maintain and optimise your existing site. Migration can be a cheaper alternative to a complete re-build, providing you choose the right agency by asking timely questions. The below will be a good starting point for discussions. 1. How agile are you? Heaps of agencies claim to be agile but you’ll want to check your expectations on workflow and practices are aligned before you sign up. You might want to consider the following in your negotiations: Visibility... [...]

Kristen Gramigna says, “When you have an e-commerce business, successful marketing requires that you create a brand customers come to recognize, identify with and trust, just as they would a physical business they can visit and experience. Here are four marketing tips custom-designed for e-commerce businesses. 1. Personalize your marketing messages. You may never meet an e-commerce customer face to face — but you should know what the customer wants, when and why, just as intimately as if you spoke to him or her on a sales floor. More than half of respondents to one online shopper... [...]

Edwyn Raine says, “It’s safe to say that the influence that Google has had in the last two decades has been phenomenal. The search giant has completely changed the way we discover and access information, providing a faster and more direct path to what we are seeking. In fact, it is estimated that in 2016 over 2trn searches were made worldwide, equating to well over 50,000 per second. Introduction to responsive search While search engine innovation continues to push new boundaries of user experience, working harder than ever to understand search intent, it is still only the larger websites... [...]

Nash Riggins says, “Every business wants to see big demand for its services. But when you’re running a small eCommerce business, big demand can often spell disaster if you lack the capacity to fill and ship out orders. After all, it’s hard to secure enough capital to invest in a whole load of inventory you aren’t confident you can sell, and it takes a lot of time and energy packing and shipping orders all over the place. That’s precisely why more and more small businesses are experimenting with drop shipping. What is Drop Shipping? Simply put, drop shipping is a retail fulfillment... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Location data platform PlaceIQ and mobile messaging tool AppBoy have teamed up. In the context of their announcement, the two companies showcased a case study with retailer Urban Outfitters. The noteworthy aspect of the case study is that offline location data were used to target audiences online — for e-commerce purposes. The result: location data from PlaceIQ outperformed online signals alone. I spoke to PlaceIQ CEO Duncan McCall about the case study. While marketers are increasingly aware of the value of offline data for digital attribution and competitive analytics,... [...]

Matt McGee says, “Walmart’s recent focus on digital commerce appears to be paying dividends. In its Q4 earnings today, the company has reported 29 percent growth in US e-commerce sales, and a 36 percent jump in gross merchandise volume (GMV). That includes sales data from last year’s Jet.com acquisition, as well as online grocery sales. In today’s earnings call, the company also touted several other e-commerce successes: * Walmart now has more than 35 million SKUs — more than quadruple the number Walmart had at the beginning of the year, according to CEO Doug McMillon. * More than... [...]

Ashley Lockridge says, “By now you’ve all seen the headlines about the burgeoning success of eCommerce compared to the relatively drastic decline in transactions for brick-and-mortar stores during the holiday season. ComScore data showed desktop online sales in the last two months of 2016 rose 12%, and are expected to rise to 16-19% once the mobile commerce numbers are tallied. This steady downward trend for brick-and-mortars has been caused by a variety of factors. Amazon has carved out a desire for free, fast shipping and one-stop shopping. The rise of “fast-fashion” pushes consumers... [...]

Amy Gesenhues says, “According to a recent report from the US Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales brought in $394.9 billion in 2016. The Commerce Department reports online sales grew 15.1 percent in 2016 and accounted for 8.1 percent of total retail sales for the year. Internet Retailer, which covered the Commerce Department’s report last week, noted that the Commerce Department’s retail sales data included items not normally bought online, such as fuel and automobiles. Excluding fuel and car sales, Internet Retailer’s calculations showed e-commerce growth slightly higher at 15.6... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “The $354 billion in 2016 e-commerce sales is small potatoes compared with offline retail spending: over $4.5 trillion according to US government figures. But what’s also larger than e-commerce is offline spending influenced by the internet — between $1 and $2+ trillion, depending on the estimate. According to a new Forrester research report, $1.26 trillion of local retail sales were affected in some way by digital media in 2016. The firm also projects that by 2021 mobile devices alone will influence $1.4 trillion in local sales. Forrester’s total retail figure is... [...]

Phil Barrett says, “After Wal-Mart acquired Jet.com last year, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillion predicted that “Walmart.com will grow faster, the seamless shopping experience we’re pursuing will happen quicker, and we’ll enable the Jet brand to be even more successful in a shorter period of time.” Company executives brokered the partnership to create a standout digital experience, making it ever easier for consumers to shop online. The Wal-Mart app, its website and stores all were part of the strategy. Already, the move is putting pressure on ecommerce leader Amazon.com. As two of the... [...]