Every online retailer is in a competitive market. As an online retailer you’re not only competing for customers, you’re competing to be found in search engines. Without visibility in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, your store doesn’t stand a chance. Competing against big brands is difficult online because corporations have a large budget…
Larry Alton
E-commerce is the heart of retail today, with U.S. e-commerce spending expected to reach $605.3 billion this year. Is your business attracting its share? If your numbers don’t hold up to digital growth trends, it may be that your website is poorly designed. The following page elements are must-haves for e-commerce businesses, so make sure…
Millennials are a unique segment of the consumer marketplace. They do things differently than the generations that precede them and aren’t afraid to make their opinions known (and often very loudly). In particular, businesses are learning that millennials are extremely price sensitive. The Millennial Psyche According to data gathered and published in an IRI survey,…
Discount sites like Groupon, the former LivingSocial (acquired by Groupon in 2016), and niche markets like Restaurant.com are popular with consumers, allowing them to pre-purchase gift cards for local services and activities at a cut price. From a business owner’s perspective, though, what’s the advantage of promoting your brand on such a site? Is it…
The retail industry is a growing part of the big data revolution, but exactly how should retail organizations start integrating data analytics into their business models? The question doesn’t have a straightforward answer, but it helps to understand the role of data for modern retail companies. You might be tempted to hire your own data analyst…
Signage is something the average customer doesn’t think about when pulling up to a store, but without it, most customers wouldn’t know whether they were in the right place. From a business perspective, getting your signage right requires more than merely making it visible. How to Make the Most Out of Physical Signage Physical signage,…
Getting your product reviewed by popular bloggers is a sure way to get free advertising. Who wouldn’t want that? There's an art to capturing the attention of popular bloggers, though. You need to do more than just toss a freebie their way. These bloggers have put time and energy into building their credibility and they…
For promoting products, content marketing, and a blog in particular, promises more traffic than many online retailers realize. Why do retailers hesitate to use blogs for content marketing? They fear that by marketing through blogs that their websites will appear spammy and become less appealing to consumers. However, blog content can be an important way…
Identifying everything that affects your e-commerce sales is a daunting task that just might be impossible. However, here are two uncommon factors you probably haven’t considered:
True philanthropy isn't a public relations tactic; it’s a genuine expression of contributing to a cause. Centennials — the generation following millennials — place heavy importance on philanthropy when choosing what businesses to support. The centennial generation will soon make up the majority of consumers, and their preferences can’t be ignored. If you’re involved in corporate…
In the world of retail, the right point-of-sale (POS) system can make a huge difference in your overall profitably, security and stability. The problem is that there are dozens of different platforms on the market, each claiming to do different things. Do you know how to choose the right one for your business? Evaluating POS…
Customer service is evolving. Companies are beginning to find and favor advanced technologies and automated strategies that allow them to field customer questions and needs more efficiently and without the need for direct human management. For example, more companies are launching interactive knowledge bases that customers can consult to find the answers they need on…
Over the past few decades, we’ve seen a lot of physical retail businesses transition to become online businesses (or physical-online hybrids). This makes sense. Online juggernauts like Amazon.com have changed the way people buy things, and physical retail stores have had difficulty keeping pace. Transitioning to at least a partially online model is a kind…
Personal assistant technology is increasingly popular and, especially with niche versions like Amazon.com's Alexa, it plays an important role in the evolution of e-commerce. When people think about using artificial intelligence (AI) technology for e-commerce, though, most focus on how buyers use it to expedite the purchasing process, not what the devices can contribute to…
First impressions are more important than you realize. It’s said that people form their opinions about someone within 15 seconds of meeting them. If you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store, first impressions are vital. Overall, competition in the retail sector is intense, but things are much tougher when opening a brick-and-mortar store. Consumers should be able…
