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,... [...]

Jen Gray says, “It may be July, but now is the time to start thinking about the holiday season. Although it’s one of the most important times for driving revenue, the holiday season is difficult for brands to set themselves apart from competitors andCONNECT with customers in meaningful ways. Therefore it’s important for marketers to harness emerging technology to drive customer engagement. From receipt validation to building sharable content, brands have more tools at their disposal than ever before as they prep their strategies for the biggest spending season of the year“. Four... [...]

Greg Wise says, “If you’ve ever signed up for a gym membership, then you’re already well aware of the power of sunk cost effect. Basically, every time you sigh and grumble your way to the gym to power up the elliptical, you’re falling prey to this phenomenon that says we’re reluctant to pull out of something that we’ve already put a lot of time, money, or effort into. The sunk cost effect is obviously a very real thing, as you’ve experienced for yourself. There are also studies surrounding other items that prove the phenomenon exists outside of the physical improvement realm.... [...]

Sam Edwards says, “To celebrate its 20th birthday, Amazon has officially declared July 15 “Prime Day” an event that will offer more deals than the traditional Black Friday. And while Prime Day could offer customers some pretty generous deals, business experts and savvy entrepreneurs know Amazon’s goals run much deeper than rewarding shoppers with hefty discounts. Amazon wants you to meet Prime Day In a July 6 press release, Amazon officials made it very clear that their new Prime Day wouldn’t just rival Black Friday — it would surpass it. (The title of the release reads “Step... [...]

Sucharita Mulpuru says, “The hottest topic in eCommerce these days seems to be “buy buttons.” The energy though appears premature. Pinterest announced its buyable pins with a press conference and sentimental Hallmark-like videos though the buyable pins are actually hard to find. Facebook, the king of all social networks, announced a buy button more than a year ago but it’s been relatively mum on the details (and they appear to only have one formal eCommerce partner). Media reports and blog posts of Instagram, Twitter, and Google doing the same seem to further excite merchants and vendors... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “A few weeks back I wrote a post about how the top five UK ecommerce brands use Pinterest.  As you can probably tell by reading some of my posts I’m a sucker for video content, so today I’m going to be focusing on those same brands but looking at their activity on YouTube. Just to recap, the top five ecommerce brands in the UK according to the Internet Retailing UK Top 500 are: Amazon UK. Argos. House of Fraser. John Lewis”. How the top five UK ecommerce brands use YouTube ‘Econsultancy’ Blog  [...]

Thomas Smale says, “There are many entrepreneurs whose greatest desire is to build a business that allows them to live a lifestyle of their choosing, and have it run more or less on autopilot. Ecommerce tends to be fairly complementary to those desires. However, if you want to turn your ecommerce store into a massive business, the only thing getting in the way is you. The potential is always there, and you have to make a decision to start putting in the time and effort it requires to scale up. Here are five top secrets to running a successful ecommerce business. 1. Treat your ecommerce... [...]

Christopher Ratcliff says, “Celebrating the weird, the different and the atypical. Sure we have a set few ideas about user experience and what we consider best practice, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for experimentation. The following examples offer a different view, whether it’s in their search tools or in the way they present their products. Some of the following are perhaps better in principle rather than execution, and none of them should be considered as anything more than ‘interesting’, however you may just find some inspiration here… The First World Problems Store This... [...]