Live Blogging from Internet Retailer Post #2

I’m blogging live from Internet Retailer 2008 with KEY TAKEAWAYS from each session I’m attending (first post here). eBoost Consultants are spread out throughout the convention, Nick and Evan will be contributing the top takeaway from each session they attended which will be posted nightly.

The next sessions I am writing about are on Design, eCommerce Technology, and Fulfillment. Some of the speakers included: Sacha Loughton from FastPivot, Seth Newman CEO of Action Envelope, Roman Kagan CEO of Appliance PartsPros.com, Gene Alvaraz from Gartner Inc, Kevin Watts from Organize.com, and Spencer Chesman CEO of iGourmet.

The KEY TAKEAWAYS I received from these speakers are:

#1) Listen to Customers – Keep data on customer service calls from customers and utilize that data to improve the information architecture of your site, improve merchandising, and improve inventory management. One example of this way Action Envelope who added a field for custom quantity because the “Quantity Choices” of 500, 1000, or 5,000 didn’t serve customers who needed quantities in-between. They noticed this by looking through their call center logs and seeing lots of requests for alternative quantities.  After implementing this change call center inquiries decreased and customer experience improved.

#2) Persuasion Architecture is Important but EXPENSIVE! – Improving conversion rates can provide huge returns but can be very expensive. ActionEnvelope.com spent $100k on their first redesign which increased business by over 100% year over year and invested $200k in yet another redesign which increased sales from $350k the month after the first redesign to $950k the month after the second redesign. It was a large investment but if it pays off and provides less than a 1yr. payback I believe its worth it.

#3) Pictures Sell – Clear, Huge, Great Pictures sell and increase conversion rates.

#4) Site Search Attributes are Key – With Site Search capabilities you can’t have enough attributes (like color, material, type, etc). Mercado was recommended as a site search solution.  Mercado has an intuitive dashboard which allows ecommerce retailers to build their own business rules around the search features.

#5) Search Result Pages can make Great PPC Landing Pages! – It was recommended to try a search results page as a landing page rather than a category landing page for PPC campaigns.

#6) AJAX helps conversions – Organize.com successfully uses Express Ship through a AJAX interface to help speed up the conversion process. I’d like to see it in action, if any of our readers have purchased of this site, please comment on your experiences.

#7) Macro Economic influences – The falling dollar was noted as having a huge influence in US based ecommerce sites increasing sales in Canada and Europe. Rising Gas prices are said to have a positive impact on ecommerce as buyers are seeing the cost savings over driving and shopping.

#8) Negotiate with Shippers – Spenser had some great negotiation tactics for shipping fulfillment. If anyone is interested in learning more on this subject post a comment or shoot me an email and I’ll provide greater detail.

More Key Takeaways to Come!

~Micha Blogging Live from Chicago @ Internet Retailer 2008!

Comments

[Johnny Chan]

Pictures selling is a huge takeaway that a lot of internet retailers don't take into consideration. In fact, budget is best spent there in most cases and then in persuasion architecture.

Those numbers for ActionEnvelope.com can be eye-opening, no doubt, but the figures do reflect that it's worth the investment. The ROI is right there, plain as can be.

-johnny