Useful e-commerce trends: the promo strip
This post highlights a simple, useful feature that's crept onto most of the UK's largest e-commerce sites over the last couple of years, with no real coverage.
"The promo strip" is not new, but has slowly caught on to the point it's almost standard for high street retailers, yet still fairly rare on smaller sites.
It's a very useful addition from both the customer perspective (quickly informative without being overbearing) and from the brand perspective (conversion orientated without being overbearing!).
There are 12 examples below, including variations on the central idea.
The Four Seasons site is beautiful, but not for disabled users
The press release announcing Four Season’s new site states that it was "thoughtfully designed...to deliver an immersive and effortless experience tailored to every user".
But shouldn't that include disabled users?
The Four Seasons site review focusing on web usability highlighted some important shortcomings in terms of the booking process and other areas, and briefly mentioned some of the accessibility issues.
Here we take a closer look at some of these and the actions that should have been taken to truly make the site available and usable to every user.
The Digital Ocean: how to market to fishers and swimmers
More B2C and B2B marketers are shifting their focus towards increased digital in their tactical mix.
Understanding the digital locations of their target audiences is becoming a standard step in the creation of a digital plan, but many are overlooking the intentions of their online audiences, and adapting their tactics accordingly.
This blog introduces the concept of the digital ocean and the need to locate and market to both fishers (those actively researching products/services) and swimmers (those not looking and just ‘hanging out’ online).
StumbleUpon brings the iFrame back
You thought they were gone. Those pesky, annoying, experience-destroying things. Yes, I'm talking about iFrames.
Popular a decade ago, they've made a few appearances in the past several years. The once-popular Digg, for instance, turned to them to implement its DiggBar.
But now they're back.
Site review: Four Seasons $18m redesign
Four Seasons unveiled its new website earlier this month, with many eyebrows raised as a result of the reported $18m pricetag.
While this seems like a lot of money for a site relaunch, it is an international brand, and the $18m may cover more than just a redesign.
The important point is whether or not this website will help it achieve its aim of improving its online revenues, which currently stand at 12% of overall sales.
With the help of some user testing videos (kindly provided by whatusersdo), I've been looking at the user experience on the new Four Seasons site.
While the site contains some great imagery and content, there is plenty of room for improvement, and it's a big fail on accessibility...
Websites crucial to CPG brands: report
Major CPG brands spend eye-popping sums of money every year across multiple channels trying to convince consumers to buy their products when they walk into the supermarket.
When it comes to how that money is spent, you're probably more likely to think about high-profile television campaigns than you are to, say, websites. After all, a funny television ad for a cereal probably seems more appealing than a cereal website.
Techmeme: this is what happens when aggregators aggregate aggregators
For many in the tech community, Techmeme is one of the top places to turn when you want to discover the latest news. Launched in 2005, Techmeme was automated, but since 2008, it has employed human editors to curate the best tech news on the web.
The idea: human involvement is necessary to filter the wheat from the chaff. Which seems like a good idea given just how much chaff there is on the web.
But is it working for Techmeme?
DC Entertainment rebrands with interactive logo
Rebranding is never easy. A company's visual identity is extremely important, and established companies can risk a lot when they make changes, making change challenging.
Such a challenge was faced by DC Entertainment, which yesterday unveiled its new brand identity. The iconic comic publisher, whose fictional characters include universally-recognized figures like Superman and Batman, was founded nearly 80 years ago. But you wouldn't know that looking at its new logo.
Apple wants to reinvent the textbook, but is it destined to fail?
A few hours ago Apple held its much-anticipated education event in New York City, and as expected, announced a new offering that seeks to reinvent the textbook around the iPad.
Seeking to make textbooks more interactive, more durable, more searchable and more easily refreshable, iBooks 2 offers a "new textbook experience for the iPad." And boy is it pretty.
Topshop launches first local language sites in French and German
British retailer Topshop has launched its first two local language sites in French and German as a response to demand from shoppers.
Both sites will operate from the Topshop.com address, and feature all collections and concessions with prices in euros.
