Posts By Jasmeet Sawhney
Facebook Commerce: Marketplace or Just Referral Source? – Retail Spokes Blog
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about Facebook’s eCommerce efforts. Many believe it is the next big thing in eCommerce. According to IDC, in three to five years, 10 to 15 percent of total consumer spending in developed countries may go through sites such as Facebook. I agree that some consumer spending will go through social networks, but these numbers along with predictions by many others are somewhat inflated. Facebook’s initiatives like Open Graph, Like button, Facebook Credits and partnerships with retailers indicate a push towards making its platform more conducive for eCommerce transactions. But, it will take years before physical product sales become mainstream on Facebook.
What can really work in near future is Facebook as a referral platform. The real value for anyone trying to leverage Facebook comes from heaps of social data that the platform owns. But, collecting data is one thing and putting it to use is another. It will take a while before Facebook itself can effectively mine and use this social data, let alone its partner being able to make good use of it. Currently, when making a buying decision outside of Facebook, this data rarely helps. This is due to the fact that at a user level limited amount of product recommendations can be derived via Facebook APIs, and anything outside user’s immediate social graph very quickly becomes vague. But, if Facebook itself were to launch a product recommendation engine (or such), they would have huge amount of data to analyze and tremendous targeting opportunities.
E-Commerce Videos: Benefits And Optimization Best Practices – Retail Spokes Blog
For a long time, retailers held back from adding video content on their eCommerce sites. This delay was due to high production and hosting costs, inept distribution and marketing channels, and few optimization opportunities. All in all, there was no clear ROI for the investment. Today, technology advancement has cleared most of these roadblocks. About 68% of top 50 US online retailers offered some kind of video content on their site in 2009 (eMarketer). This number is growing rapidly as adding video content has now become the second-highest priority of multichannel retailers. According to a recent Forrester Research study, videos are 53 times more likely to generate a first-page ranking than traditional SEO techniques.
Turbans Unwrapped Published on YesPunjab
Sikh turban is an article of faith that has been made mandatory by the founders of Sikhism. It is not merely cultural paraphernalia. The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage, devotion, and style, but, the foremost reason all practicing Sikhs wear a turban is just one – out of love, obedience and commitment to the wishes of the founders of their faith. The turban is deeply intertwined with the Sikh identity and is a manifestation of the mission given to all Sikhs – to fearlessly stand against tyranny and protect the downtrodden. Wearing a turban ensures that no Sikh can hide in the crowd and escape this responsibility. Turban was included in the Sikh dress code contrary to the prevailing diktat that only the superior class could wear a turban. The Sikh prophets sought to uplift the subjugated and make them the equals of the highest of the high. They diligently worked to create an egalitarian society dedicated to justice and equality.
The New Shopper – Informed, Connected And Demanding! – Retail Spokes Blog
It is amazing how Apple rules over its consumer’s mindsets. They pre-sell millions of products and even get away with shortcomings (think iPhone 4 signal issues) without hurting their fan base. Only Steve Jobs has the ability to instruct his consumers to stop holding the phone ‘the wrong way!’ But, Apple fanatics are a rare breed providing such leeway to a seller. In the times that we live in, it is difficult even to get shoppers’ attention. To think of commanding what, where, when and how they buy is like daydreaming. Shoppers today have complete control and they have tools at their disposal that facilitate this authority.
So, what has lead to this shopper authority? Internet and other digital mediums have essentially changed the way we shop. The effect of internet shopping is far greater than the dollar value of online sales transactions. It is the influence on offline shopping where online produces a much bigger impact. Let’s list down some of things that have changed shoppers’ attitude and in effect transformed the retail landscape.
Turbans Unwrapped Published on CNN
The turban being part of Sikhism has given me much inner strength, courage, wisdom, clear conscience, and the ability to stand up to my actions. I have enjoyed every moment of it and threatening episodes have only made me a stronger and better human being. Every time excited children gaze at me from the back seat windows of their car, I am reaffirmed of the legacy and the virtues of the Sikh identity.
How Comparison Shopping Engines Are Innovating – Retail Spokes Blog
I always get into an argument with a friend who works at a first generation Comparison Shopping Engine (CSE). My opinion that CSEs need to do much more than just provide price comparisons does not fare well with him. His mantra – “Get shoppers in and out as quickly as possible and run with your cut”. Until recently, no one seemed interested in engaging shoppers, or providing better experiences. But, what my friend doesn’t realize is that the CSE world is changing. What was once considered taboo is soon going to become a hygiene factor. And, new breed of Comparison Shopping Engines are leading the charge to see about this change.
Decline of Comparison Shopping Engines – Retail Spokes Blog
Comparison shopping or ability to compare prices was (and to a large extent continues to be) one of the greatest innovations since the advent of internet shopping. Why? Because it put shoppers in control of the single most important shopping insight – ability to find the best price. So, understandably, comparison shopping engines (CSEs) were once a rage. But, they are constantly losing their clout with advent of new technologies and pressure from players like Google and Amazon. Here are some of the factors that are taking away CSE traffic:
Search engines are investing on their own shopping platforms
Google and Bing continue to evolve their own product search platforms. In addition to standard product information, they are enriching product pages with content like product reviews, videos and related products. There is a clear conflict of interest when it comes to product related search results. And, guess who wins? It is definitely not CSEs.
via Decline of Comparison Shopping Engines | Retail Spokes – Online Retail Focused Content Solutions.
What Can Retailers Do To Build a Brand (And a Loyal Customer Base)? – Retail Spokes Blog
Social media
It is not rocket-science to understand that the web is becoming increasingly social. Most retailers have a social media marketing strategy, but campaigns are mostly geared towards putting deals on Facebook and Twitter. What would really make a difference is content that can enhance experience on these social touch points. The goal is to enable your most influential existing customers to spread word of mouth that would bring in more traffic. Soon, online shopping will be the same friends and family experience as it is in a traditional brick and mortar store.
Multi-channel
It is now common understanding that retailers have to provide consistent products, pricing, information, and experiences across all their channels. Multi-channel retailers have an advantage over pure-play retailers in that they have more opportunities to convert shoppers. This includes features such as ‘ship to store’, ‘ship to home’ (if not available in-store) or in-store access to content and community over mobile devices.
Building a Loyal Brand Following – a New Focus For Online Retailers – Retail Spokes Blog
If there is one thing to be learned from Amazon’s dominance in eCommerce, it is the importance of building a brand. It is phenomenal that 33% of all shoppers visit Amazon for research, according to a recent study by e-tailing group and PowerReviews. Although, it is apparent that Amazon does not provide best product choices or shopping experience for many product segments. Nonetheless, their ability to attract direct traffic is unmatched. This is where most eCommerce sites need to become better in that they have to build loyal customer bases.
How to Create Effective Email Marketing Campaigns? – Retail Spokes Blog
Through all the social media hype, email has held its ground as one of the most effective online retail marketing channels. According to a survey by the E-Tailing group, 79% of retailers want to increase their spending on email campaigns. Here are some of the things that retailers can do to ensure their emails convey the message and achieve desired results.
Content and Targeting
Content is where most email campaigns fall short. As a customer, very few would like to repeatedly receive just coupons and discount-oriented emails. Most users have anyways gotten used to searching the web for coupons before making a purchase. So, these messages do not offer too much value for the time and energy users would spend reading them. On the other hand, users would show more interest if contextual content can be added to these emails along with a relevant subject line.