February 25, 2009
I’m a big fan of web design conventions, especially when I’m shopping online. They save time and reduce confusion because I know what to expect from websites I visit. If I’m trying to find an address, I know to look for a link that says, “contact” or “contact us.” If I get lost, I know I can click the logo and get back to the home page.
I know that if I want to use the internal site search, I can find it in the header on a website, to the center or right hand side of the page….or can I?
Lately, I’ve been noticing that internal site search has been creeping out of the normal spot in the header, down into the left navigation. My first reaction was, “you can’t do that – that doesn’t follow conventions!”
So I did a little research. I looked at the screen shots of the top 100 e-tailers in Internet Retailers’ Top 500 Guide from 2008. I figured with their success, they have to be doing something right. Here’s what I found for search box placement:
Centered in header – 16%
Right side of header – 36%
Left side of header – 28%
In the left navigation – 5%
Clearly, having internal site search in the header was more common, which would (at least partially) validate the idea of search box placement in the header as a convention. But search and navigation both do the same thing. They both help visitors find what they are looking for – why not have them together on the left side of website pages?
Maybe it makes complete sense from an ecommerce usability standpoint, especially with many sites now using that left navigation area for filtering search results, like Bluefly.com does.
Is the convention for placement of the search box changing? What about for the use of the left navigation area for filtering – is that a trend that will become a convention? It’ll be interesting to watch and I can’t wait until the 2009 Top 500 Guide is out so I can see if there has been a shift over the past 12 months. Stay tuned!
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eCommerce Usability, eMerchandising | 
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Posted by Anna Slyter
February 17, 2009
It’s been said that there is no substitute for a good salesperson. I can agree with that on a lot of levels. But what about on your ecommerce website, when your salesperson isn’t there to answer questions or demonstrate products?
Here are 5 ways to make your website one of your best salespeople:
- Detailed product information
Do you give shoppers all the information they need to make a purchase? Make sure you give shoppers all the details and specifications they need, but be cautious about overwhelming them with information. National Camera has a lot of information on their products, but organizes it in a clear way with lots of white space on the page. It’s easy to skim the page top find the details I want. 
- Multiple Images and Views
Does your product come in different colors or look different from the front than it does from the back? How about the little details – can you get a close-up? A lack of an image in the right color or from a different view has stopped plenty of shoppers from buying what see can’t see, especially with clothing. J Crew makes sure their shoppers can see how their jacket looks from the front, back, side, and up close. I can mouse over each thumbnail and get the larger image if I want to see the different views. I can also click on the small swatch to see the jacket in a different color. 
Zoom features, like Nordstrom’s has, give shoppers more control of seeing close-ups for the details they want to see. Either way, multiple and detailed images can give your conversions a great boost.
- Product Videos
Do your shoppers need to see how people use their products or point out features and details that a single, still image can’t? If you answered yes, then product videos are a great asset.Just from this short video at Lowepro, I know that this bag has a tripod holder, adjustable inside compartments, side pocket for memory cards, and a water bottle holder. I also could see how to get my camera out of the back without having to set the pack on the ground. They answered all my questions quickly and I didn’t have to read a thing.
- Customer Reviews
Who do shoppers trust more than anyone else? Other people, like themselves, that have bought and used the products. Conversion rates increase dramatically when shoppers can see what other people have to say. To make an even bigger impact, consider tailoring your reviews to your products like American Musical Supply does. I can see a lot more information on this review than on simple rating systems or general “comments” boxes. This is especially helpful when the information is new and is helping me to know what questions to ask when I’m new to the products.
- Related Items and Additional Products
What are you doing to merchandise additional products on your ecommerce site? Try suggesting related items, accessories or giving “customer also bought” suggestions to pump up your average order value. Combine it with a deal for buying multiple items like Amazon does to make the offer even more attractive. I’m looking for deals when I shop online now more than ever and features like this get my attention. 
This will give you a great start to turning your ecommerce website into your best salesperson.
What else are you doing to give your customers a great online experience?
1 Comment | General eCommerce, MulitChannel Retail, Online Marketing, eCommerce Usability, eMerchandising | Tagged: ecommerce, ecommerce software, increase conversions, increase online sales | Permalink
Posted by Anna Slyter
February 9, 2009
We’re in difficult economic times. Many retailers are battening down the hatches, cutting spending and delaying ecommerce improvements for ‘better times”. It’s hard to argue with the logic of cutting spending when times are tough. But savvy e-tailers know better. They know that these times offer an excellent opportunity to reach new customers and gain valuable market share. Why are they spending instead of saving?
- Online sales growth is out-pacing other channels. More people are shopping online, and the trend doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
- Web users conducted 137 billion searches on the top 5 US search engines in 2008, that’s up 21% from 2007. (comScore’s 2008 Digital Year in Review reported in Internet Retailer)
- Online retail sales grew by 6% in 2008, according to comScore, whereas US Department of Commerce statistics showed a decline of .1% for general merchandise in the same period.
- According to Forrester Research Inc., US retail ecommerce sales are expected to grow 11% in 2009, even with consumers cutting back on their overall spend.
- Poor shopping experiences leave a gap that you can fill. Underwhelming satisfaction during the holiday season left consumers looking for better online shopping experiences and now is the time to show them what you’ve got.
- Now is the time to get ahead of the competition. Improve your ecommerce experience to keep your loyal customers and acquire new ones, before your competition does.
- According to an Internet Retailer survey from January 2009, 49.9% of merchants rolled out a new design in the past year, including 26.6% in the last six months and 13.3% within 90 days.
- Improved site optimization is the top priority for 72.9% of merchants, followed by clearly organized home, category and product pages at 62.4%, better navigation at 49.4%, improved site search at 47.1% and faster checkout at 40%.
Now is the time to act!
Leave a Comment » | General eCommerce, MulitChannel Retail, Online Marketing, eCommerce Usability | Tagged: e-tailers, ecommerce software, ecommerce technology, economy, online sales, retail economy | Permalink
Posted by Anna Slyter
February 4, 2009
I love browsing through catalogs (it makes me feel like I’m still multi-tasking when I’m watching TV.) I got a great one this week and they had some really nice sweaters that I wanted to order. Naturally, I wanted to order online – actually picking up the phone and calling is so inconvenient.
I went to my trusty computer and typed in the company name and a “.com” thinking I’d get the website, but that didn’t work. So, I grabbed my catalog and looked on the front cover – no URL there. Flipped it over to the back side – no URL there either. Inside cover – nope. Finally found it on the order form in the middle of the catalog in teeny-weeny print.
So, I started to wonder, why would a company not want to make it easy for me to know their URL – especially when it isn’t just their company name followed by “.com”? Why would they want shoppers to have to search for it? Or Google it and potentially get distracted by other sites, or find bunches of coupon sites so they can pay less than they would have? Or wonder enough to run to their computer and blog about it?
I started checking the other catalogs I got this week. Only 1 out of 5 had the web address on the front cover. 2 managed to put it in small print on the back of the catalog and 3 hid it somewhere inside the catalog.
Catalogs are no longer an entity to themselves. They can successfully drive BUYERS who’ve finished browsing to your site. Make it easy for them – get that URL on the front of the catalog.
1 Comment | Catalog, General eCommerce, MulitChannel Retail | Tagged: Catalog, ecommerce, ecommerce website, online sales, traffic | Permalink
Posted by Anna Slyter
