Retail
Affiliates May Be a Tax Liability! Amazon Sues New York…
The New York Times is reporting on Amazon’s lawsuit contesting the recently enacted New York state law which requires online retail outlets to collect sales tax on items sold to the state’s residents.
Slashdot sums up the new tax law:
“…based on a novel definition of what constitutes a presence in the state: It includes any Web site based in the state that earns a referral fee for sending customers to an online retailer. Amazon has hundreds of thousands of affiliates–from big publishers to tiny blogs–that feature links to its products.”
We should all support Amazon in their fight. This could affect all of us who buy online in the future — at least in the United States. Let’s all buy something from Amazon today to show our support of their fight.
P.S. - If you need a suggestion on what to buy, you can always pre-order our next book, Always Be Testing.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: February 2008
Here it is, the list of February’s top 10 converting retail sites*…
1. Snapfish - 17.4%
2. Vistaprint - 16.8%
3. Lands End - 15.2%
4. ProFlowers - 15.2%
5. Lane Bryant Catalog - 14.7%
6. LL Bean - 14.7%
7. HSN.com - 14.6%
8. 1800flowers.com - 14.2%
9. ebay - 14.0%
10. Blair.com - 13.8%
Last month, I wondered if we would see any Valentine’s day influence to this month’s list. What do you think?
This is the first time we are seeing Snapfish and Vistaprint. I wonder if they are being tracked for the first time ever or did they do something to move the needle. LL Bean dropped from a 23.6% conversion rate that they had in January and December.
Which one of our readers will make it to the list next?
*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Why Free Web Tools Make Customers Want to BUY NOW
Makeup is like deodorant to me. I would rather not think about it — ever — and I only wear it because I have to.
I don’t know makeup brands or colors, and I don’t care enough to research what makeup would be right for me. Usually, my need for makeup only results in a purchase if a friend recommends something specific, or when I run out of an essential piece, like mascara. Then I’m found sprinting to the local pharmacy to pick one that looks decent.
How do you look for people who aren’t looking for your product? Anticipate their need.
Search engine marketing is a great platform for gaining the attention of those who already have some kind of motivation, need or want for a particular solution. It’s much more difficult to get the attention of people who don’t currently need or want whatever it is you sell.
Historically, the most common forms of online marketing tactics used to gain the attention of potential customers have been pay-per-click advertising, banner ads and email marketing. But today’s customers are ignoring unwanted marketing efforts, so our tactics can easily fall flat. In order to get a higher return on investment, marketers need to find new ways to speak to customers and help them figure out what they want.
How do you speak to potential customers when they aren’t listening? Find out when and where they’re listening and provide an experience that fuels demand for your solution.
Social networking sites are growing by the second and people are looking for more interactivity and experiences online. TAAZ.com captured my attention by first offering me an interactive experience.
First, I uploaded a picture of myself without makeup:
Then I proceeded to add different eye shadows, lip liners, mascaras, etc. Each shade or style that I chose was a real product color and brand. The quality of the widget impressed me, so I spent a good deal of time uploading the image of myself and messing around with different styles and colors.
Apparently, I was going for the Cindy Lauper look!
Not a bad look, I know, but I digress. 
Eventually, I played around with some shades I would have never even thought of purchasing and realised that some of them actually didn’t look too bad on me. Not only could I interact with different colors and brands of makeup, I could actually see what they looked like on me without ever trying it on.
There are some things TAAZ still needs to work on. The hair portion of the widget doesn’t look as real as the makeup portion. They don’t yet offer hair dyes relating to the color of hair you choose to place on your image.
I could go on, but suffice it to say, the look I ended up with…
…didn’t exactly measure up to their best makeovers. Still, this is a smart way to attract ad dollars from cosmetics brands like Revlon (pictured) and Sephora (which currently has banners on the site).
There’s also a great opportunity here to push the business model further. For instance, TAAZ could create a Facebook widget so users could share their makeovers amongst friends. They could get one of their advertisers to sponsor a “best makeover” competition. You get the idea.
In case you haven’t heard us talk about “The ROI of Free,” here’s what we mean: If you want to gain the attention of potential customers who aren’t actively searching for the solutions you offer, don’t just tell them about your solution, give them a way to interact without having to commit to anything. Bring the visitor into the experience and let the experience sell itself.
What are some interactive marketing examples you’ve seen have turned you into a sale or lead?
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Written by:Melissa Burdon
Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: January 2008
Here it is, the list of January’s top 10 converting retail sites*…
1. LL Bean.com - 23.6%
2. J Jill - 19.8%
3. Proflowers - 17.8%
4. Office Depot - 17.8%
5. Drugstore.com - 17.3%
6. Coldwater Creek- 15.6%
7. CDW - 15.0%
8. Chadwicks.com - 15.0%
9. Bose.com - 14.9%
10. eBay - 14.9%
Several new sites made the list that we didn’t see in December, November, or October.
LL Bean tops the charts with an impressive 23.6% conversion rate. They had the same conversion rate during the holiday season. They must have had some great campaigns this month. (If you have screen shots, please let me know.)
I can’t wait to see those February results. I imagine we’ll see some influence from Valentine’s Day on retailers’ conversion rates.
. .
*Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts
[Editor’s Note: Our original report on the top-converting sites for January 2007 mistakenly credited a previous year’s data. It seems a fellow blogger cited outdated numbers and we overlooked the error during fact check. Bryan stands by his analysis, however, as it was not intended to be time sensitive or bound to any particular retailers’ performance.]
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Is Something Wrong With Your Design?
I’m still settling in from my trip last week to the Internet Retailer Design conference. If you didn’t attend, you missed a great first-time show, so you’ll have to check it out next year.
Over 800 people showed up to hear the speakers and meet with consultants (like me) to evaluate their current websites — and some even discussed mock-ups and prototypes of new versions of their sites. My back-of-the-napkin calculation is that Internet Retailer gave away around $150,000 worth of consultations, but I’ll ask you the one common question I asked several of the companies I met with just for the price of spending a few minutes reading.
What makes you think the new design you’re working on is going to work any better than the one you have today?
I recall sitting with one of the most recognized brands on the Web and him pulling out his mock-ups. They felt that they had issues around how products were presented and how their navigation worked. They offered a complex menu with way too many options in their current navigation, and were hoping to improve it by using a top level menu with a javascript rollover.
“What research do you have that indicates that new navigation will work better than the current one?” I asked. He was honest and said, “None.”
So why don’t you test it?
Internet Retailer did a pre-conference survey and asked the top 500 retailers if they’re doing multivariate or A/B testing, and included the results in their Website Design & Usability Guide.
Amazingly, 76.7% of retailers surveyed don’t test!
Huh? Now that you can get A/B and Multivariate testing tools for free from Google, why aren’t you testing?
We’ve also found that it’s safer to roll out a redesign in stages, in order to avoid the initial drop in conversion that often results from a redesign. Why not roll this out as a series of tests?
If you need help, call us at 877-643-7244 (ext. 3316). We’d be happy to help you make more money before and after your redesign.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
The UK’s Top 50 Ecommerce Sites
Recently, Hitwise published their 2007 list of the top 50 e-commerce websites in the UK.
While many of the usual suspects are represented, it’s worth noting how consumer demand compares with the huge differences in the quality of customer experiences offered by these sites.
Of course, it’s one thing to know who the top retailers are, but it’s quite another to have qualitative data that shows how certain e-commerce sites actually engage customers. That’s why we spent months reviewing hundreds of American retailers for Future Now’s 2007 Retail Customer Experience Survey — and why we’re expanding our research to include EU retailers.
In just two weeks, I’ll be at the Search Engine Strategies conference in London, where we’ll discuss web analytics, boosting conversions, and most of all, redefining the customer (experience). In the meantime, I’d love to hear from our European friends, colleagues and readers, about whether you think this list is a good place to start:
1. Amazon UK
2. Play.com
3. Argos
4. Tesco.com
5. Apple Computer
6. Dell EMEA
7. Amazon.com
8. Marks & Spencer
9. Tesco Direct
10. Next
11. HMV.co.uk
12. Expedia.co.uk
13. Thomson Holidays
14. LastMinute.com
15. Currys
16. Ticketmaster UK
17. John Lewis
18. RyanAir
19. easyJet
20. British Airways[See the rest of The IMRG-Hitwise Hot Shops List.]
Any other European retailers you’d like us to evaluate? Let’s hear it in the comments!
P.S. If you are going to be at Search Engine Strategies in London and then a few weeks later in NY, let me know. I’d love to connect with some of our readers.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: An Analysis
[Erratum: The following report on the top-converting sites for January 2007 has been corrected, as it mistakenly references a previous year’s data. It seems a fellow blogger cited outdated numbers and we overlooked the error during fact check. Bryan stands by his analysis, however, as it was not intended to be time sensitive per se.]
Here it is, the list of January’s top 10 converting retail sites:
1. Proflowers.com - 14.1%
2. Coldwater Creek - 13.3%
3. FTD.com - 13.0%
4. QVC - 12.8%
5. Office Depot - 12.4%
6. eBay - 11.5%
7. Lands’ End - 11.5%
8. Tickets.com - 11.2%
9. 1800flowers.com - 10.0%
10. Amazon - 9.6%
[Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts]
Only four of these companies were on December’s list:
(4) Amazon - 17.60%
(6) Lands End - 17.20%
(7) QVC - 17.10%
(8) Coldwater Creek - 17.10%
A big retail SIGH! If only people’s buying habits stayed consistent all year long, to be like they are in December.
My friend Craig provides an interesting analysis of this month’s numbers. He’s right on the money when he says:
There are many things most sites can do to dramatically improve conversion rates. There are also much smarter ways to measure and consider conversion rates than the overall site average. While that may be an interesting for conference-room conversation, it’s a lot more important to break down conversion rates by method-of-contact (email vs organic vs display vs PPC), based on the place in their buying cycle where visitors engage with you, or based on user intent as evidenced in their actions/expressions.
But then he tries to explain, then excuse, why small retailers supposedly can’t have a 10% conversion rate:
The message it seems is that if you need to deliver an overall conversion rate of 10% or greater, you need 30M registered users who buy from you 3-5 times per year, a 24-hour television channel, a pattern of inflicting back pain on innocent mailmen 3-4 times each year, or to sell products which are purchased as a result of some ages-old game of emotional blackmail.
Craig’s as smart as they come, but while offering an insightful analysis, he doesn’t nail the primary reasons. Then again, he hasn’t been focused exclusively on conversion for almost a decade, so allow me to shed some light: The number one reason the “average” small retailer hasn’t achieved a conversion over 10% is because they haven’t worked hard enough to deserve it.
Have you?
Oops! Have I tossed a turd in the punch bowl? (Don’t be offended, please continue reading.)
Several of the websites on this month’s list have been clients of ours and most of the others have staffs that I’ve known professionally for many years. What most of them have in common is they work harder consistently, year after year, at continuously improving their websites for customers than you (the average) do. Their results demonstrate it.
Let’s examine more carefully at some of the points Craig makes since, in one form or another, they are often repeated excuses that pass for the conventional wisdom about conversion rate optimization.
Catalogs Alone Are Responsible For High Converting Websites
It isn’t just having a catalog that gives you a high converting website. If it did, L.L. Bean that was on the list in December with a healthy 23.60% would show up the rest of the year. Lands End, however, has been on it in December, November, and September. Where are all the other thousands of catalogers? Why aren’t they making the list? A strong catalog brand can be a factor, but it isn’t always the primary driver of website conversion.
Television Home Shoppers Aren’t Auto Converting
I love it when Craig says, “QVC. What’s their conversion rate for TV viewers? Their website is functionally a cart, so it could be argued that they’ve got 86.2% cart abandonment.” Absolutely.
However, why doesn’t HSN (Home Shopping Network) or the other large DRTV advertisers show up consistently on the top converting list? While it’s true that many of these shoppers come pre-sold from watching the show hosts sell them the product, they aren’t arriving to the website in a hypnotic trance with credit cards in hand ready to click on that final order confirmation button.
Just Because People Replenish Staples Frequently, Doesn’t Mean…
Craig refers to OfficeDepot.com as having “many no-point-in-comparing products and I assume lots of business orders from people who have accounts and replenish online frequently.” So do Staples, OfficeMax, Quill, FreshDirect and many others. Why don’t they show up on the list? Again, while this might contribute to conversions it doesn’t guarantee a top converting website.
But You’re No Amazon
Craig’s right. Comparing eBay and Amazon to almost anyone today isn’t fair. Part of what helped these companies to become who they are is their commitment to the customer experience. They each had significant competitors but Amazon and eBay just kept pushing the bar higher. In the offline world, there are very few companies that could touch the retail influence of WalMart. Why doesn’t WalMart.com make the the top converting website list regularly?
Wal-Mart’s absence is simple enough to explain. Until recently, Wal-Mart hasn’t worked as hard online as they should have. Wal-Mart has been successful but, like other online retailers, sales volume online often covers up for all those customers that would have converted but didn’t.
Eliminate The Excuses
Do you have a road map to improve your conversion rate from where you are at today, then one to exceed that tomorrow, and then again after that?
FutureNow can help. I invite you to email or call us: 877-643-7244.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: 12/2007
Some very interesting results for the top converting websites from the holiday season. Last month, I wondered who you thought would be the top 10 converting online retailers in December. One of our readers guessed Amazon would make an appearance on this list, and sure enough, here they are:
The Popcorn Factory - 29.50%
L.L. Bean - 23.60%
Abebooks - 20.60%
Amazon - 17.60%
Hollister Co. - 17.60%
Lands End - 17.20%
QVC - 17.10%
Coldwater Creek - 17.10%
Cabela’s - 16.80%
Gymboree - 16.00%
[Source: Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts]
From a quick review of this list, I sure hope the clothes were ordered one size larger with all that popcorn people have been eating.
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Internet Retailer Web Design Conference, Miami
Who: Bryan Eisenberg offers one-on-one advice on how to optimize attendees’ websites to boost conversion and ROI by reducing friction in the customer experience.
What: No area of e-retailing is covered more thoroughly by Internet Retailer than the related topics of retail web site design and web site usability. That’s because no area of e-retailing affects the web merchant’s bottom line more than this one. Simply put, web sites that are inviting, easy to navigate and simple to use are more likely to convert web shoppers into online buyers. The agenda for this premier edition of the Internet Retailer Web Design ‘08 Conference is focused exclusively on showing attendees practical ways for designing more attractive and user-friendly web sites that improve online conversion rates—the single most important metric affecting web site profitability.
Attendees who have pre-registered prior to midnight on Friday, January 18th, qualify for free consultations [like the ones Bryan is providing]. Due to demand, the consultations have been extended to Thursday, January 31st and Friday, February 1st. Please note that Wednesday, January 30th is completely booked and all remaining appointments will be provided on Thursday and Friday as space permits.
Where: InterContinental Hotel, Miami
When: January 30 - February 1
Why: Because real beauty in retail web design is far from skin deep. If you want to boost your site’s performance, best practices and high style will only get you so far. And to optimize your site so it sells, you must know what truly helps customers buy.
More Info: Visit Internet Retailer’s Web Design Conference site for info on pricing, speakers, workshops, and travel arrangements.
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Google Reveals What People Are Buying Online
Wouldn’t it be great if we could get insights as to which products people preferred. We could get research into which products we should merchandise more prominently. Google just released a new trending tool for those of us curious what people are buying and selling online. From the official Google Checkout Blog:
Many of you are aware of Google Trends, the handy tool that enables you to track and compare what Google users are searching for. Now imagine a similar tool that can give you some insight into what people are buying and selling online. That’s exactly what we’ve built: Google Checkout Trends aggregates the sales data of Google Checkout merchants and charts it in a matter of seconds. (Of course, all the data is anonymized first.) So if you’re interested in how sales of Batman or Spider Man paraphernalia compare, or are wondering just how popular Ugg boots are these days, visit Checkout Trends for a glimpse into online shopping. Go ahead and try it out — and get creative with the searches. You may be surprised at what you find.
I was having problems this morning getting any results from my searches, even from their six suggested searches. Every time I searched, I received a message that said:
Your terms - ipod, zune do not have enough search volume to show graphs.
If you want to see what the graph of results looks like you can find people discussing it here, here, and here.
Regardless, I think once these issues are resolved, like Google Trends this will provide some interesting data. One thing to keep in mind though is that in our analysis for our 2007 Customer Experience Retail study we found only 10% of the 300+ top retailers offered Google Checkout as an option.
How meaningful will the results really be?
Have you had better luck with Google Checkout Trends? Your impressions?
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
