Shopping Cart Abandonment: Still a Big Problem

Posted on August 30, 2017 by bermanevansretail

For years, online retailers have had to deal with shopping cart abandonment — whereby consumers decide not to make purchases after placing items in their shopping carts. We have posted about this issue for years. As examples, see 1, 2, and 3.

So, here we are in 2017. Are things getting any better? Not really, according to a Yahoo Small Business study. As noted by Phil Grier for Aabaco Small Business from Yahoo:

“In a recent Yahoo Small Business study of 5 million total site visitors, 250 thousand shoppers added to their shopping carts, and 83% of them did not finish checking out. There are all kinds of reasons visitors don’t finish paying for their order — from being surprised by the cost to disliking the site’s design — but one important reason many merchants make the mistake of not paying close attention to is customers getting warning messages [about incomplete orders, incorrect credit card data, and other information input errors] at checkout.”

Click the image to read more.


 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Are YOU Good with Data? There’s a Job Waiting

Posted on August 29, 2017 by bermanevansretail

As more and more retailers up their use of in-depth data analysis — and big data — the job market for data analysts has exploded. At the same times, not enough qualified applicants are available.

As Taylor Cromwell reports for Bloomberg:

“Despite an onslaught of bankruptcies, store closures, and layoffs, there’s one retail job that’s still in hot demand: data scientists. The battle against E-commerce is putting new pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers to fix up stores and deliver a more pleasant experience for shoppers. And that means studying data — lots and lots of data.”

“Department-store chains and other businesses have tons of information that they could use to refine their customer service and get more revenue from shoppers; they just need someone to help them go through it. Every company collects mountains of data: some valuable, most not,” said Jay Samit, a vice chairman at technology consulting firm Deloitte Digital. “It’s the data scientist’s job to distinguish between the two.”

“Data scientists aren’t just in hot demand in the retail industry. Job postings and job searches for the role have reached an all-time high, according to the Web site Indeed. Harvard Business Review has called the field ‘the sexiest job of the 21st century,’ and employers across industries and government agencies have scrambled to add such workers to their ranks.”

 
Click the image to read more from Cromwell. 


 

Posted in Career Useful Information, Careers in Retailing, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tips on How to Get Great Customer Reviews

Posted on August 28, 2017 by bermanevansretail

We know that lousy customer reviews can be the KOD (kiss of death) for some retailers. We also know that strong customer reviews can enhance sales in a meaningful way. So, how do we get great customer reviews?

Consider these observations by Ajay Prasad, writing for Business2Community:

“Word-of-mouth is the big differentiator. It can make or break a brand, increase conversion rates and catapult a company to new levels. And that was before the Internet even existed. In this new interconnected world, word-of-mouth buzz matters more than ever before – and that’s why you need to convince your customers write reviews. Social media makes it easier than ever for people to solicit recommendations and referrals from friends and family members – and those referrals carry with them an awful lot of clout.”

“74 percent of consumers say they consider word-of-mouth buzz before making a purchasing decision; Ogilvy reports that 84 percent of consumers say they trust (somewhat or completely) recommendations of family, colleagues and friends. According to Nielsen, 88 percent of people online say they trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they do those which come from personal contacts, according to BrightLocal. Now you know why word-of-mouth buzz can set you apart from the competition – for better or worse.”

Click the image to read NINE tips from Prasad.


 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment