Q&A: Zappos' Jane Judd on customer loyalty
Zappos has built up a reputation for excellent customer service, and owes much of its success to this. The fact that 75% of its business comes from repeat customers provides convincing evidence of its importance.
I've been asking Jane Judd, who is the senio manager of Zappos' Customer Loyalty Team, and was one of the keynote speakers at the recent Internet Retailing conference, about the company's approach...
PayPal turns to developers in its quest for world domination
When Steve Ballmer repeated the now-famous and parodied words, "Developers,
developers, developers", he may have been far more sane than he looked at the time.
From Apple to Facebook, some of today's most successful and popular internet companies are taking advantage of third party developers to extend their products and make them more useful and appealing. In many cases, these companies owe some of their success to developers.
Royal Mail strike: some etailers see sales fall
Two thirds of online retailers have seen a 30% fall in their revenues since the Royal Mail strike began, and a third have seen a drop of around 24% in visitors numbers.
In a IMRG survey of online retailers, 85% believe that, with no sign of a resolution to the dispute in sight, the strike will discourage people from shopping online this Christmas.
30+ Twitter Lists and 5000+ Twitter accounts worth following
Twitter Lists are now officially available to all of Twitter's users. And there are plenty of them. While it remains to be seen whether Twitter Lists will help Twitter boost user engagement, Lists offer a no-hassle means to discovering and following people who you might find interesting.
Here are 30+ Twitter Lists that collectively follow more than 5,000 interesting Twitter accounts.
Which etailers make it too hard to phone them?
Providing contact options for customers is a pretty basic requirement for online retailers, yet often users are forced to hunt around on websites for contact details.
While email can be a useful contact method, responses are rarely instant, so a contact number should be provided for customer support. yet so many retailers don't seem to want customers to call them.
38% of visitors to e-commerce sites in research phase: survey
Of all visitors to e-commerce sites, 38.6% are there to research products and prices, and to gather information, though just 85% are able to complete this task successfully.
This is one if the findings of an iPerceptions e-commerce survey, suggesting that improvements in navigation and usability can have a significant impact on sales.
Facebook changes put end users above app developers
The app economy generates big bucks for Facebook's most prolific developers. Thanks in large part to virtual goods, the companies which develop some of Facebook's most popular apps are reportedly pulling in over $100m/year individually.
But what's good for Facebook's app developers isn't necessarily good for Facebook's users. App developers are understandably willing to go as far as Facebook will allow them to in their quest to acquire more users and generate more revenue.
What should be above the fold on an e-commerce site?
As a number of usability studies have shown recently, the fold on a webpage doesn't have to be a barrier to users, and people are willing to scroll down to see more.
However, the area above the fold is the first thing visitors to your website will see, so what should be above the fold? Here are a few suggestions, with e-commerce sites in mind...
GSI Commerce goes upscale with RueLaLa.com acquisition
The good life isn't so good for luxury brands these days. Thanks to the Great Recession, many consumers aren't as eager to spend big bucks on high-end fashion and accessories. Spending less is in vogue and that has been good news for companies that are ready with bargains.
And that explains why GSI Commerce, an e-commerce and multichannel solutions provider, is paying up to $350m for Retail Convergence, the company that operates private sale website RueLaLa.com and off-price e-commerce website SmartBargains.com.
Mobile app review: Amazon
Online retail behemoth Amazon launched the UK version of its iPhone app this week, allowing users to search and shop from their mobiles.
I've been trying out the Amazon mobile app...
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
