Multi-Channel Commerce & Retailing

Socially networked Marketplace - Would Ecommerce retailers want it?

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:22:57 +0000

In one of my earlier blogs on rediff i had discussed this concept of a socially networked marketplace. I had discussed the concept of a market-place like Amazon or Ebay with an embedded functionality of social networking. Therefore, sellers and customers end up socially networking - Sellers to promote their services and products and customers would network with other customers and sellers. Also there was another idea envisaged there - A scocial networking site with the functionality of an e-commerce website (e.g what happens if Orkut / facebook / Myspace - enable their users to list products and services with a basket checkout functionality). There are other nuances to be considered as well, when we talk of a socially networked marketplace - Would an ecommerce retailer ever want such a functionality to be built into their website, where customers can network amongst each other?

I happened to come across this artice http://www.storefrontbacktalk.com/securityfraud/setting-limits-on-customers-talking-with-each-other-in-e-commerce/ last week. Amazon has made its first move against customers and sellers getting in touch with each other directly. This only means that Amazon is now moving into a phase where they want customers and sellers to network through the amazon network and not through personal email, as before. Once the communication between users of the marketplace goes out of the network, Amazon looses all control. Having said this, we may assume that amazon would want to enable the feature of social networking on its own network - rather than customers joining the sellers personal twitter, myspace or linkedin networks and letting amazon loose all control over its customers.

This is probably the first move of its kind and in the days to come other retailers would take cue and follow.

flip-flop-flit

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:04:34 +0000

I have always been advocating the point of providing physical store experience over the online stores. The idea is to provide great usability experience. A customer entering the stores normally looks after the labels and gets the product. He might flip- flop through various brands within the store.

Knowing the Customer

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:51:45 +0000

Much has been written about the need for customer understanding and indeed, customer intimacy. We hear from all quarters about how we need to know who is buying our products, in what combinations and why. We can then target our marketing at them with a laser-like focus providing them with offers and information that will be interesting to them. This benefits the customer by reducing the amount of marketing that we are sending them and saves money for the organization by reducing the total number of marketing items.

Growing out of ecommerce packages

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:40:03 +0000

Most of the large retail enterprises start multi channel commerce transformation initiatives with a strategizing and package evaluation phase - the idea being that the selected ecommerce package would act as the center pin of their multichannel strategy. But is it really about the package or is it about what is done over and above to what the package provides that really matters?

Banks and the Third Party Marketplace

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:26:11 +0000

Marketplace is the buzz word these days. Sears recently announced the launch of the Sears marketplace which was preceded by Walmart a couple of months back. Play.com, the Jersey based online retailer of music and electronic products also has its own third party marketplace where one can sell DVDs, CDs, Games, Books etc. And ofcourse we have Amazon and eBay which has been around for so many years now. No doubt this gives ample opportunity for everyone to sell and most importantly a wide and competitive choice for the consumers thus giving the right thrust to the Long Tail economics that Chris Anderson proposed a couple of years back. Talking about Long Tail, this is one thought that has been going around in my mind for sometime now. Marketplace has evolved in Retail as well as in the Entertainment space. What about Banking? Is a third party marketplace possible for the Banking industry as well? Can there be a one stop shop for consumers that would address all their banking needs? A marketplace where, not only banks, but individuals can come and sell customised banking products and other individuals come and buy them? Looks improbable ...

1-800-Flowers blazing m-Commerce trail

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:37:43 +0000

Right about last week, I was reminded ones again by my wife that our one month marriage anniversary was fast approaching and I needed to do something “special”. I went to 1-800-Flowers.com app and ordered Tulips for same day delivery with lighting speed without ever leaving the app (of course this requires existing 1-800-Flowers.com account). You might think there is noting “special” about purchasing flowers, and having it delivered on the same day. You are right; there isn’t and my wife will agree with you. However, 1-800-Flowers' mobile site has made it so simple for forgetful husbands like me (if you are in the same boat, I suggest you give 1-800-Flowers.com app a chance available on iPhone, Blackberry and Android) that it seems “special”. The experience, app which is sleek and easy-to-use, begins with a practical list with colorful icons: Birthday, Get Well, Anniversary, Same day Delivery and more and ends with checkout in few touches. This magic happens on Didby's Mobile Commerce Suite. 1-800-Flowers.com understands that Mobile shoppers typically want to make a decision fast hence providing relevant no non-sense information is a key.

According to Internet retailer magazine, Mobile site had 295,000 (monthly average) unique visitors in 2008 with site response time of 6.10 seconds and site was scored “Excellent” in Consistency. 1-800-Flowers mobile site was also selected as one of the best m-commerce site from 156 m-commerce sites and apps.

This is all exciting and great however; my position with my wife hasn’t improved and am still looking for something “special”.

3-D browsing

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:18:59 +0000

So Mr. Dhir has taken us through the some of the possibilities of scanning and using 3-D images for selling such things as clothing online. There are a lot of dependencies for this to come about and put the "reality" in augmented reality. Once the dependencies are in place, the possibilities are amazing.

So what needs to be in place for this Web 3.0 to work? Along with viewing things in 3-D (think Halo, except for shopping and not shooting), there is also the potential for 3-D browsing. All of this will put a strain on your graphics card. You'll also need a new 3-D monitor and 3-D navigation tool. Technology has a funny way of catching up quickly though, I expect these items to be in place before someone can write a practical application for them.

Assuming all of the technology comes together (it always seems to), what does this mean for eCommerce as we know it?

With Adobe's Scene 7 already showing 360 degree views of products, augmented reality proposing more 3-D views, the next step is 3-D browsing. The question is, does this really create a better browsing experience?

My prediction is that what starts as a gimmick could develop into something tangible. The obvious place for this phenomena will be at a store kiosk. It's unlikely that brands and retailers build 3-D browsing for the net in an environment where no one has a 3-D monitor, mouse, or "goggles." However a store kiosk at a high street retailer can generate interest and create a unique shopping experience. Coupled with endless aisle (the idea of being able to purchase items at a kiosk that are out of stock or not available in the store) this creates a cool shopping experience. DIY retailers have been using virtual showrooms for the past few year but this presents a whole new level of that experience.

As the technology develops, Web 3.0 will catch up with gaming industry, and we'll practically be browsing in "The Matrix." Where do you see the opportunities? As always I have more questions than answers......

Augmented Reality Arrives for the Fashion Industry

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:22:32 +0000

Back in June I came across an ingenious online shopping experience that Zugara had developed to allow customers to ‘try on’ clothes online before committing to a purchase. By using an Augmented Reality interface between their site and a customer’s computer and webcam, Zugara provide a service whereby customers can see an augmented reality version of the clothes they’re interested in, projected onto their image on screen. Sounds pretty cool huh?

Mobile Momentum – What’s the Hold-up?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:02:18 +0000

Every retailer in the eCommerce world is excited about the prospect of interacting with their customers via mobile devices like iPhones. They dream of the day when a customer places an order using an iPhone app, then drives by the store to pick it up. They envision their customer creating a shopping list, pushing a button, and getting an ordered pick list mapped to the layout of their local store. They also want to create an item-Finder where the customer walks into the store, enters an item description on their phone and gets an aisle and shelf location for that item returned to them on their screen. They would love for their customers to be able to access product reviews, video demonstrations and detailed specifications from their mobile device so that the purchasing decision could be made on the spot, even for expensive items like cameras and TV sets.

SEO Vs marketing: Which is more important?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:12:22 +0000

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a necessity for retailers in today’s e-commerce market. A customer should not be expected to know the URL for a retailer, they should be able to search for the product they are looking have the retailer’s URL returned for them.

Your Web Page is Too Quiet

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:16:41 +0000

If you are like me, you always have some streaming music either from an internet radio or a favorite playlist when shopping online. If you turn it off for a while you will notice how awfully quiet everything becomes. While retailers have done a decent job to attend to the consumer’s every sense in their physical stores, they have largely left the online domain to the visual dimension only. While technology is not there yet to help with touching, tasting and smelling, hearing is definitely possible, yet ignored by everyone. I can definitely do without some of the annoying overhead messages or background noise heard in the stores, but I would not mind listening to music or have some sort of sound effects while I browse a site. Using some carefully selected music or sounds can add a totally new dimension to the online user experience. A retailer can utilize this to drive brand recognition, improve product visualization and even call to action to drive sales. The trackable user experience and instant feedback from deploying this online can also help the retailer fine tune their sound messaging and improve the customer experience and sales conversion in their physical stores.

A great overview and introduction to deploying sound can be found in this TED speech by Julian Treasure - http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/julian_treasure_the_4_ways_sound_affects_us.html. It is fun, dynamic, educational and only about five minutes long. Mr. Treasure represents the effect of sounds based on the sound properties he refers to as Drivers (Time, Pitch, Texture, Density and Dynamics), the situational influence – Filters (Function, Environment, People and Brand Values) and the effect itself – Outcomes (Physiological, Psychological, Cognitive and Emotional). The proper combination of Drivers and Filters can be used to trigger the desired Outcomes.

Below are a few things that come to mind when implementing the use of sound online:

· Start small with playing sounds/effects on individual items only (ex. Forest sounds on hiking gear) or use compositions to tie whole themes together like Halloween or a Summer apparel collection

· Allow users to voice record their product ratings. This can bring more credibility and life to the review

· Employ a control on the web page which is easy to see, displays what music is being played and is easy to turn on/off

· Link to the music store or CD item being played. If someone likes it, let them easily buy it

· To take things further, an online radio station like Pandora could be deployed where the retailer can create their own “Station” centered on a theme or event. This station can be easily shared with the consumer and placed on sites like Facebook and Twitter

It would be very hard to get something like this right the first time, so proper testing and measuring results will be keys to success:

· Start with allowing only certain users to hear the music/sounds played and measuring the effectiveness. If a company knows more about the online user, it can also measure response in various segments and use to fine tune segment specific messaging

· Some metrics to consider:

-       Time spent on pages with or without music
-       Sales conversion ratio while music is playing
-       Size of basket when music/sound is used
-       Percent of time music was selectively turned off
-       Sales of specific music tracks which are playing
-       Above metrics broken down by the set of Drivers and Filters employed

As shown in the video above, sounds invoke deep and complex responses and getting the desired ones while still maintaining the correct branding may be a challenge. However, I feel that with the proper marketing resources, technical backing and the right amount of testing the potential is very exciting!

Please share any experience you have had around this topic or companies you have seen that have successfully implemented this.

Website Accessibility – a potential Revenue generator

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:45:26 +0000

The power of the web has always enthralled me. It truly has changed our lives in so many multiple ways. My consulting assignments on retail and ecommerce have taken me through various personas that have been created and reached out to by most of the web companies. But at times I have wondered how much of an effect would the web world have on a differently abled person. Has ecommerce companies of the world thought of a differently-abled persona? A population size to the tune of almost 10% (650 million) of the world’s total population and a great potential for revenue generation? Has the power of the web changed their world too?

How do you rate in Retail Decision making?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:22:00 +0000

I came across a compact sample of typical EDW reports utilized to track and support Retail decision making, when trawling across Teradata’s website (https://www.teradata.com/t/assets/0/206/280/fbff8440-b4c5-4211-a03a-c933460f35e0.pdf). It raises the question for many organisations as to whether the time spent deploying custom developed reporting and processes for their EDW could not be better served by moving to a purpose built solution such as provided by the leading EDW vendors

In-Flight e-Commerce: A New Sales Channel?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:43:52 +0000

In my recent business travels I have started noticing more and more airlines offering wireless internet services aboard their flights. Wi-Fi is being offered to all passengers, not just the business class fliers, essentially opening up a whole new world of e-commerce.

Currently airlines such as Jet Blue, Airtran, Delta, Virgin, and American have partnered up with services like Go Go to offer passengers a free pass during their flight to experiment with the online in-flight experience. Jet Blue even went as far as to invite you tubers and bloggers to a sample flight to write about their experiences and share amongst their audiences.

Aside from the convenience and efficiency it offers when traveling on a regular basis (which as a consultant I greatly appreciate), it also has the potential to drastically change the way we do business. Airlines have struggled with their duty free sales on planes, and their paper catalogs offering knick knacks in their Sky Mall are not maximizing on their potential to reach consumers. Having a consumer’s undivided attention on an airplane for an extended period of time could provide some very exciting opportunities. Here are some ideas…

Seeing is believing: A retailers guide to augmented reality

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:38:16 +0000

Since the birth of virtual reality, developers have strived towards developing virtual environments, and with manufacturers developing more powerful computers at more affordable prices this dream doesn’t seem so far away.