Customer Retention

Last week, Swedish furniture retailer IKEA posted record revenues of $36 billion in 2012 and an 8 percent increase in net profit. The US market was a primary growth driver, with $4.1 billion in total sales. Since opening its first American store in 1985, the low-cost furniture seller now counts 38 stores and has become the second biggest home furnishing company in the US, behind Ashley Furniture. Mike Ward, president of the US division, believes it's just the beginning. "We're still very small," he says. "We have huge potential to grow our business here."

If you have an online catalog or e-commerce site, you already know that a critical aspect of conversion optimization is reducing your cart abandonment rate. According to comScore, 67 percent of shopping carts are abandoned just before the purchase is made. If your site stats are similar, that means 67 percent of the money you've put toward getting traffic to come to your site has gone to waste. It also means you have a huge opportunity to improve your profitability simply by addressing these three common reasons shoppers bail.

A study conducted by Reims Management School reveals that consumers are often put off by promises of lowest prices which are coupled with high-refund guarantees — contrary to the usual strategies of many top retailers. The research found that such strategies can cause consumers to become suspicious of the offer and may result in them avoiding making a purchase altogether.