E-commerce | Internet Marketing Blog

Best of 2009: 24 e-commerce sites reviewed

While online retailers are generally improving when it comes to usability there are still plenty of areas for improvement.

Retailers such as Asda, Debenhams and M&S have made some good improvements to their sites, while sites such as Kiddicare and The Book Depository offer excellent examples, though some, such as Woolworths and Whistles, could do a lot better.

Here's a selection of the e-commerce site reviews we've done on the Econsultancy blog this year..

by Graham Charlton 23 December 2009 11:00am 3 comments

Xmas 2009 online retail stats round up

Predictions for online retail this Christmas have been generally positive, and initial results seem to be bearing this optimism out.

I've gathered together some stats on e-commerce spending for the holiday season so far...

by Graham Charlton 22 December 2009 09:45am 3 comments

21 e-commerce experts interviewed

We've interviewed nearly 100 industry experts this year on various topics, from affiliate marketing to web analytics.

I've gathered together our interviews on the subject of e-commerce in 2009, all 21 of them...

by Graham Charlton 15 December 2009 10:38am 3 comments

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.

by Graham Charlton 04 November 2009 09:40am 4 comments

Royal Mail strike: are etailers reassuring customers about deliveries?

With the Royal Mail strike going ahead today and tomorrow, there will naturally be some doubt in customers' minds over whether their online purchases will arrive on time, or at all.

Those online retailers that have made alternative arrangements for deliveries, or who don't rely on Royal Mail anyway, can do a lot to reassure customers with some timely messaging on their websites. So how are etailers communicating this information to visitors?

by Graham Charlton 22 October 2009 08:59am 3 comments

Q&A: Dan Wagner of Venda on e-commerce

Dan Wagner is founder and chairman of Venda, a full service e-commerce platform, which has several big name clients in the US and UK, and recently won the contract to provide Tesco's next e-commerce site.

I've been talking to Dan, who also owns Brightstation and the newly formed Aigua Media, about Venda...

by Graham Charlton 02 September 2009 11:04am 4 comments

One in three web users afraid of shopping online

Lack of trust and security concerns are still holding people back from shopping online, though consumer confidence has grown significantly over the last few years.

According to a consumer survey (pdf) carried out by the Office of Fair Trading, nearly one in three are put off from shopping online. For 30%, lack of trust was the biggest reason, followed by concerns over personal security (20%) while 15% said they did not trust companies that sell online.

by Graham Charlton 12 May 2009 10:58am 8 comments

Amazon relying on brand credibility instead of good usability

If ever a retailer could get away with having exceptional cross-selling and up-selling functionality, yet provide a new visitor checkout process and web forms that break many usability rules, Amazon is certainly one of them. On the other hand one of Amazon's competitors, The Book Depository, certainly appears to focus more on providing better usability throughout the buying journey, especially for new customers.

Following the recent e-commerce training course I delivered for Econsultancy, the usability benchmarking that is part of the course threw up some really interesting market insights. Although many retailers are featured in the course, providing examples of good and bad e-tail usability and best practice, I purposely refrained from including Amazon.

by Paul Rouke 07 May 2009 10:10am 13 comments

Are retailers following best practice to improve conversion rates?

Now with our economy firmly in a recession, most retailers no longer have the types of budgets available to replatform. Instead, 2009 will be a year for improving their existing platforms, trying to increase conversion rates, average order values and returning visitor numbers.

So with this primary drive to improve performance, are retailers doing all that they can? Are retailers following best practice to help more visitors complete the buying process, and are retailers removing usability barriers to ensure that in such competitive times visitors aren’t encouraged to find reasons why they shouldn’t complete their purchase?

by Paul Rouke 23 March 2009 10:30am 18 comments

New E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide released

Although e-commerce is one of the relatively stable industries in these challenging times, it does not guarantee that any individual etailer will survive the downturn we are seeing in the UK economy. However, there is one important step that can be taken to minimise the risk, as outlined within the new E-commerce Platforms Buyer's Guide.

by Jake Hird 16 January 2009 12:34pm 2 comments