Rose Leadem says, “Even with the rise of ecommerce, nothing beats an in-store shopping experience. Aside from books, electronics and office supplies, a majority of people still prefer to shop in a physical store, according to the Walker Sands Future of Retail 2016 report. The report, which surveyed more than 1,400 U.S. consumers, revealed surprising predictions about the growing importance of supply chains and future of retail. Although people might prefer to shop in stores, there’s been a year-over-year increase in the frequency of online purchases since 2014. Today, nearly a third of... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “According to recent research, serial returners are on the rise. This is the term used to describe online shoppers who send back more items than they keep. However, this behaviour is not usually due to indecision, but rather the confusion over variations in size and fit. It’s been suggested that online retailers should request the personal measurements of consumers, and in a recent survey on the subject, 60% said they would be willing to provide this information if it meant they’d be guaranteed the perfect fit first time. While it’s unlikely that this... [...]

Richard Stevenson says, “Some months ago, a colleague of mine ordered a pair of shoes from an online store. When they unpacked the parcel during lunchtime, there was a leaflet in it with pictures of three friendly looking men working in the shipping department of that online shop: With a marker, there was a cross below one of them, indicating that Toby was the person who packed the parcel. Did I need we know that? No, not really, but it did it turn the anonymous online store into a likable business run by real people. This is just one example of how online stores can make themselves unique.... [...]

MOZ team says, “From your top-level nav to your seal-the-deal content, there are endless considerations when it comes to crafting your ecommerce page. Using one of his personal favorite examples, Rand takes you step by detailed step through the process of creating a truly superb ecommerce page in today’s Whiteboard Friday”. How to Craft the Best Damn E-commerce Page on the Web MOZ  [...]

Olivia Solon says, “China’s unique ecosystem means that international brands can’t adopt a ‘business as usual’ approach to reach its tantalizingly large population. Dr. Sara Ye, president of Chinese ad tech titan iPinYou’s international business, explains how to crack the People’s Republic with programmatic buying. Dr. Ye will be speaking at the forthcoming ad:tech conference in New York on 2-3 November. How would you sum up the challenges faced by international brands trying to break into China? Many international companies find it a very difficult market to enter. Even if... [...]

Gregory Gazagne says, “It seems that barely a week goes by without fresh evidence of the unstoppable rise of the smartphone. Just last month, two new reports highlighted just how much of a focal point our phones have become in all our lives. Deloitte’s Mobile Consumer Survey found that UK citizens look at their smartphones over a billion times a day, declaring that “no other personal device has had the same commercial and societal impact as the smartphone, and no other device seems likely to.” Around the same time in late September the IAB released its ‘Mobile Commerce: A Global Perspective’... [...]

Anna Johansson says, “We’ve all seen blogs – both personal and business – launch with great imagination and aspirations, only to eventually fade away and fail. A company blog is a tremendous asset for e-commerce companies and the benefits are numerous. Four Reasons E-commerce Sites Need Blogs If you’ve yet to start a blog for your e-commerce website, then it’s probably because you don’t understand the value it could provide your brand. Let’s take a look at a few of the top reasons why thousands of e-commerce sites have made the plunge and the investment. 1. Blogs give your... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “Ecommerce checkout design has come a long way in recent years. As many big retailers focus on making the process as seamless as possible, guest checkouts are now seen as standard and slow-loading speeds are a thing of the past. But what about payment preferences? I’ve recently been questioning whether people do actually care if a site has a one-click buy option. If the process is quick, transparent and easy – does it really matter? According to new research from PayPal, the answer appears to be yes. Here’s a closer look at the stats and the reasons why payment... [...]

Barry Levine says, ““Mobile wallet” conjures up the virtual equivalent of a worn leather billfold harboring credit cards, coupons, boarding passes, and discount cards. But that’s only because its name is borrowed from the wallet’s heyday, when all “stores” were tangible. The future of the humble mobile wallet may turn out to be something much more unique than acting as a billfold-substitute. Corey Gault, director of communications of mobile engagement provider Urban Airship, told me via email that his company believes “mobile wallets will become [a] marketing platform”... [...]

Satish Meena says, “The first week of October witnessed the start of the holiday sales season in India as the big three online retailers — Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal — launched high-profile sales. Originally started by Flipkart in 2014 as Big Billions day, this week witnessed a discount-driven war among the top three players. Online retail in India has witnessed significant growth during the past five years, powered by highly funded online retail companies that bought growth through discounts. This gross market value (GMV)-led growth led to very high valuations and burn rates for... [...]