At Book Expo America in NYC, host Dave O learns how retailers can advertise on popular blogs to reach their preferred demographic. Lanae and Nicole from Blogads.com (Blogads blogs - natch) also explain the myriad benefits to retailers resultant from targeting early-adopters and taste-setting consumers on niche blogs.
Everyone gets distracted when shopping online. That’s one of the nice things about shopping via the web - you can take a phone call, refill your coffee, walk the dog, quick nap in the hammock … then come back and your order is still there. The flip side of this scenario is the theme of sorts for Crazy, Messed-up World of Ecommerce video #7 “Abandoned.”
Video #7 - Abandoned
For online retailers though, abandoned carts are the root of endless worry and concern. These conversion killers piling up in your logs beg questions like: Why did they leave? Were they just comparing prices or features or is it something I did? Maybe there’s something wrong with my site’s usability! How can I make it better? How can I get them back? How can I raise my conversion rates? Would adding “wishlists” or “saved cart” features reduce cart abandonment? and so on …
Well for sure usability is important (check The Ecommerce Checkout Report for more on best practisesc) and certainly retailers loathe leaving money on the table, but sometimes, cart abandonment just happens. Just hope they come back, right?
Why is a printed magazine about websites relevant? Why do websites matter anyhow? Is a social network page a website? Is a blog a website? and, What will become of websites as technology evolves? These questions and more are posed to Website Magazine’s Christian Wilson by Get Elastic host Dave O while at Internet Retailer 2007 in San Jose.
Beware - As you watch the video, you may experience the dread and frustration of a server bonking out mid-session. You know when you are shopping along and all of a sudden the server drags to a slow crawl and by the time the hourglass/spinny-wheel stops, the site has lost it’s marbles. Your flow is lost and the site seems to have no idea where you were/are, what you were looking for and throws you back a heinous error. Fun over - insert coin to play again. Plus bananas are inherently funny.
At Internet Retailer in San Jose, Sitebrand’s Justin Shimoon joins Dave O to discuss strategies for presenting content with geographical granularity, the real deal on conversion rates, and the bottom-line benefits of presenting relevant content for shoppers’ tastes - fortified with real-life examples from online retailers, plus a bit of Stanley Cup playoff banter.
As the Book Expo of America tradeshow in NYC winds down, Elastic Path’s ‘Away Team’ of Mark, Ryan and Dave O recap what they’ve learned about the book publishing industry in the midst of period of transition including the challenge of establishing new distribution methods without cannibalizing existing channels - plus random celebrity spotting and show banter.
OK I really laughed out loud on this one. In Price Checked, Mark, as the clueless cashier, harasses the fetching customer “Jen” for personal info before he’ll tell her cart’s total. Mark really gets his cheese on for this one and emanates the tact and charm of a creepy small town used car salesman (apologies in advance to all smal town used car salesfolks).
Anyhow, this topic of ‘when should sites ask for personal info?’ touches on privacy, ID security, logistics, as well as, well … tact. Not knowing the final tally is a personal pet peeve for me when shopping online … I simply ask for the REAL GRAND TOTAL, with tax and shipping, before surrendering my name, rank and credit card number. Sheesh, is it so hard?
Certainly, some etailers want to capture this info in order to oblige you into making a purchase and also send you newsletters, coupons, offers, … but in reality, this lack of transparency is just annoying (and almost insulting) to increasingly sophisticated shoppers.
My (radical) opinion is: if you show a running total (with tax/shipping estimates) shoppers will abandon less and buy more since the mystery is removed. Of course I might be totally wrong - anyone have a study on this?
They discuss the power of blog comments, sock puppet blogs, being a dull person and how blogs shorten sales cycles with plenty of examples and anecdotes including how to buy a hammock.
Founder of gift and gadget retailer I Want One of Those, Tim Booth chats with Dave O at eTail UK about starting his business, keeping it fresh, sourcing products internationally and forming successful partnerships for the customer’s benefit.
[Reposted with updated audio] At Book Expo of America in NYC, Dave O checks in with Joe Beaulaurier of PR Web to discuss when - and how - to send a press release and discuss the useful social networking features built-in to to PRWeb’s distribution system to encourage conversation and increase distribution of media releases.
