Sucharita Mulpuru says, “In a recent Forrester-Shop.org study, we found that 70% of online retailers are investing in “content” in the coming year. What sort of content you may ask. Usually when they say “content” retailers mean videos, blog posts and magazine-like content that is best for consumers at the top of the shopping funnel. This type of content though is notoriously difficult to monetize though. A number of companies like Babycenter in the late 1990s were the first wave of content-driving-commerce digital players to try this. They quickly realized it was not only difficult... [...]

Arie Shpanya says, “If you’re new to the ecommerce industry, I’ll let you in on a “little” secret. There’s an 800 pound gorilla in the room that is nearly impossible to take down. Its name is Amazon, and it’s the largest online retailer in the western hemisphere. It’s safe to say that all online shoppers are familiar with Amazon. New studies have actually found that 44% of shoppers turn to Amazon first when looking for an item. That’s because the company is known for having an incredibly wide product assortment, low prices, and impressive customer service. But... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 44% of US e-commerce shoppers say they bypass the rest of the Web and go directly to Amazon.com to search for products, according to a recent report from BloomReach and Survata. The report was based on data from two surveys, one of 2,000 consumers living in the US, and the other of 500 US retail marketers. Search engines such as Google are the second most popular method for finding products online (34% of respondents begin searches there), followed by the websites of retailers other than Amazon (21%)“. How Dominant Is Amazon.com in E-Commerce? MarketingProfs  [...]

Philip Rooke says, “Social media stars have always been keen on merchandising and fully understood its value to their business (especially when their content is free). But now, we’re seeing a change in their understanding of how merchandise can raise their brand awareness. It’s not just about selling, well, maybe not at first. For online stars, merchandise can be a way of spreading cool ideas, new designs or just general silliness with their fans. UK Vine stars Stuggy & Ashton, YouTubers like Stampy Cat, iBallisticSquid and Sweden’s Sp4zie have huge audiences who engage with... [...]

Jerod Morris says, “If you’ve been following the media not marketing approach, then you’ve used appropriate forms of digital media to develop a legitimate relationship with an audience that knows, likes, and trusts you. Here’s another characteristic of such an audience: They want to buy from you, assuming you can deliver them a product or service that solves their problems and satisfies their needs. At that point, it’s time to give them just that. And what could be better than something that is digitally created, sold, fulfilled, and supported completely online? If this is the path... [...]

Nicole Dvorak says, “If you’ve noticed fewer window shoppers on the streets lately, it may be because they’re at home window shopping from their couches; that is, they’re discovering and exploring products without necessarily intending to purchase. For our 2015 US Mobile Landscape report*, Forrester analyzed mobile audience data from our behavioral tracking panel to understand how consumers use smartphones and tablets in 2015. We found that although professionals often group both devices under the “mobile” umbrella, consumers use smartphones and tablets in very different ways.... [...]

Peter O’Neill says, “Last month, I enjoyed working with my colleague TJ Keitt as he prepared his report “B2B CX Professionals: Find The Full Range Of B2B Customers”, now published for customer experience professionals who are Forrester clients. As he writes, “Despite the clear benefits of improving B2B customer experience, there’s a hitch: Before B2B CX professionals can help their customers, they have to identify them. But at most of the B2B firms we spoke to, it’s hard for CX professionals to locate and engage customers other than the complex groups of decision-makers... [...]

Arie Shpanya says, “The ecommerce landscape is a competitive one. To guarantee success online, retailers can get help from various resources that will improve their presence. This help usually comes from third party add-ons that specialize in different aspects of an ecommerce business. Selling online can feel like a juggling act. You have to manage your inventory, your pricing, your marketing efforts, and more, while somehow fulfilling orders in an efficient manner to prevent angry customers. Entrusting your data to an outside source can help automate processes that may have been previously... [...]

John Dukes says, “One of your goals as an ecommerce store owner is to remove as much friction as possible, right? When you know where your customers are hanging out, you should be able to set up shop right there. That’s why the Facebook store option is such an important opportunity. Rather than crossing your fingers that your Facebook fans will remember to slip on over to your ecommerce site to purchase the products you introduce there on social media, what if they could just buy it right away? That’s how powerful the removal of friction can be, and that’s why you might just want to... [...]

Marina Iermolaieva says, “Upselling and cross-selling are popular approaches to increasing average order size and total revenue. Customers, too, are amenable to such tactics because they discover products they need or will need in the near future. The market is full of similar products, with many brands offering the same products; recommendations and cross-sell tactics can help get additional revenue from each customer. But, first, it’s essential to understand the difference between cross-sell and upsell. An upsell is when you offer an upgrade to the existing product; you convince the... [...]