Ecommerce News: Online 2012 Sales Forecasts, Twitter Marketing & Improving Customer Experience

by admin - May 8th, 2012 8:27 pm

This week in ecommerce, online retail stores are seeing a certain rise in sales. Some of the highlights we’ve seen are:

1) Will online retail sales finally exceed their B&M counterparts in the near future?

2) Optimizing your company Twitter account

3) Anand Subramaniam insight on enhancing online customer experience

4) Define your businesses value proposition to increase awareness, loyalty & authority

2012 Ecommerce Sales Forecasts

Interactive retail stores have been shaking the foundations of conventional retail stores for years, but this question remains: how much of the market share will the ecommerce sector command in 2012? Is there a natural ceiling for online sales or will ecommerce eventually overtake physical retail sales as a percentage of the retail industry? Experts predict that online sales may soar to 15% -20% of the overall retail industry, and while it is unclear how the next few years will impact brick and mortar stores, ecommerce has certainly become a power player in the retail industry.

Source: http://www.insideretailing.com.au/IR/IRnews/The-magic-number…-4866.aspx

Is Twitter an Effective Social Marketing Tool for Your Businesses?

In some circles, Twitter is hailed as an excellent medium for business owners looking to promote their products and services, but in other ways, Twitter seems to not stack up as well to Facebook and the new virtual pin board site, Pinterest, in terms of driving sales. However, online vendors can still utilize this wildly popular social networking site to release deals to their customers, promote special offers, and drive more traffic to their website. As an ecommerce strategy, Twitter can help promote your website and sell products and services, as long as calls to action and special promotions are used in the company’s tweets.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3510-Using-Twitter-to-Promote-Your-Ecommerce-Products

Insights from eGain’s Anand Subramaniam on Improving the Customer Experience

In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Anand Subramaniam answered some very pointed questions as they pertain to ecommerce businesses and ecommerce website design. Anand pinpointed certain problems that are arising with ecommerce websites, despite the fact that he calls the industry ‘white hot’ and projects that online sales will hit nearly a trillion dollars in 2012. He discusses shopping cart abandonment and how businesses can revamp their shopping model to encourage a better user experience and increased sales. “Ecommerce sites need to make it easier for the customer to buy by making it easier for customers to find, decide, and complete their purchase transactions,” he says when discussing how online vendors can correct this problem.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesinsights/2012/05/04/forbes-insights-qa-with-egains-anand-subramaniam-on-ecommerce-and-the-customer-experience/

Defining Your Ecommerce Company’s Value Proposition

As an ecommerce business, it is essential that the company’s point of differentiation be stated as a value proposition to the customer. Whether the proposition is to provide the lowest prices, the highest quality products, or the best customer service, defining a value proposition will help customers understand the best reason to shop with you instead of with someone else. By engendering trust and loyalty through meeting the expectations that you set forth for your clients through the value proposition, ecommerce business owners can increase brand awareness, improve brand loyalty, and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. When defining your company’s value proposition, merchants should ensure that the proposition is in alignment with their business model and demonstrates the best aspect of their company to the customer.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3516-What-s-the-Value-Proposition-of-Your-Ecommerce-Company-

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 8th, 2012 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Announcements, Ecommerce, Marketing.

Ecommercepartners.net