This is my journey as an E-commerce Consultant
E-Business
Internet Retailing Expo 2012
53 days
I was at Internet Retailing Expo last week, spending a good deal of time with Tamebay and my friend Jane who is an eBay consultant.
My mission (which I chose to accept) was to find suitable partners for our new Wishops eBay design offering. We are now entering the SME space with regards to marketplaces so we appeal to a different audience.
Also our clients have various challenges so it’s always good to know who is out there and doing what so we can recommend solutions and partners.
New acquaintances for us this year have been Brightpearl and Sellerexpress, and we visited our partners Channeladvisor, eSeller Pro and iContact also at their stands.
However, I found lack of inspiration at this event. Have I been over exposed now so know all corners of my field? I found no ‘oh wow that is cool’ this year, or any information that was not old news. I attended some of the talks but found myself fiddling with my phone because the information was old hat.
Our set of partners are always cutting edge and forward thinking so maybe now it seems UK business is playing major catch up with respects to technology and information.
I am looking forward to Channeladvisor catalyst as the information and topics discussed here are normally looking to the year ahead rather than behind us.
I was surprised at the lack of interest in Asian markets also in my discussions with various people. Plenty were talking about the acquisition of playtrade by Rakuten but many didn’t know it WAS an actual marketplace.
I did have fun though, talking to the various companies and meeting up with old friends.
Jane and I had a few instances of ‘lets dumb it down for those females’ with a few companies, who of course will not be on my recommended list to clients!
UK is plugging into the hyperweb more than ANYWHERE else….
060 days
by Liz
in E-Business
If the BBC says it, it must be true:
UK is the ‘most internet-based major economy’
So with this kind of report UK small businesses should be more than ever looking to develop their online business or expand what they have. Never has it been a better time to do so. Household incomes are squeezed and people are looking to save money on petrol, parking and essentially time.
For the past 10 years the only physical shopping I ever do is in the supermarket. I like to browse a supermarket and make up my mind as I go round each week.
If I wanted to shop for a hell bunny dress in my local city (something I tried recently)….I wouldn’t drive as parking is £6-8 then add £5 petrol on top, so public transport is £4.10 with a short drive to the station £1.
After a 20 minute stroll I arrive at my destination. The dress I want is £3 cheaper on eBay with free shipping…damn it…and they didn’t have my size.
I go home disappointed after a quick stop in Yo-sushi so I feel it was a day out and not a wasted trip that cost £6.
The moral of my story is..buy on-line, and spend your weekends doing something worth of the travel cost. For example I was at the Victoria and Albert museum this weekend. Better than trawling around the shops trying to find an outfit.
eBay for me is always my first port of call, if I find what I want on eBay within a desirable price range then I buy it off eBay. I check sellers websites as sometimes it is cheaper or you get free shipping.
I don’t buy off eBay sellers that don’t have eBay design any more. I need to know they are professional sellers.
Occasionally I will buy used items of bedroom sellers, but normally only if they are ‘clearing their loft’ or getting rid of a few key items (and you can tell this from their feedback and other listings)
So, business of the UK…stop dying out like the DODO and get on-line.
Rare spare time and competitor analysis
265 days
by Liz
in E-Business
Once in a while I have spare time. Normally this is due to waiting for feedback/content/info for clients which means every so often I have an afternoon free.
So I stalk competitors for fun and research. Everyone does it, I wish I had more time to do this as it is rather amusing at times.
Some of my competitors in the design space pay or discount services in exchange for positive reviews on sites with negative reviews.
You can spot these a mile off because (possibly due to the agreement) full business details, names and links to the design are normally included. They also typically post on multiple designated sites, so when you are browsing these review sites it’s weird to see the exact same text and companies.
One review was funny though, and I think you needed to catch it at the right time. A full glowing positive review was posted on how great the company was and how sales increased due to the design…however….when you clicked the link, the design was obviously not installed yet. This means in order to get the discount or benefit you have to review the company BEFORE you have your live design.
There are two things you can draw from this:
1. Never trust a company who offers discount benefits for positive reviews
2. Never review a company publicly before work has ended and you HAVE seen these benefits.
I decided to do clicking of more links and out of three stonkingly positive reviews I found:
1. One didn’t have any design still (review months old by this point)
2. One had a broken design
3. One looked as though it was how it should be but the design and layout was BAD….poor sod. Looked like it had suffered an attack of the 90′s internet (and not in a retro funky way)
So, if your design company offers something for a positive review (especially before completion of the project) run away as fast as you can.
Internet reviews should be based on real, unbiased opinions as it is very clear when they are not.
Very clear.
However it does amuse me for a while!
WIDSHOP eBay design at Channeladvisor Catalyst 2012
067 days
Well…it’s that time of year again. Sandra (from the Berlin office) and I have been discussing hotels for Catalyst
This year though, we are introducing our Widshop eBay design service so we have a four strong team, 3 from Berlin and yours truly.
The reason we sponsor Catalyst and have done for 5 years is the very reason people GO to catalyst.
Relevancy.
The content reflects on the past success but mainly focuses on the future of e-commerce and what areas need investment for business expansion.
This year Catalyst will focus again on cross border trade as this is SUPER important and not just looking at Europe.
The east is where there is a massive amount of money and a love of UK goods. Check out http://import.buy.com – a site pushing American goods to the Japanese market.
And who owns Play.com – A Japanese company! Should you be selling to the East? Have you been watching the telly recently? Loads of programmes on the expansion of China and the east. Heck, we are asking China to bail out Europe!
I digress, where was I..oh CATALYST 
This year are some great speakers talking about social commerce, search, female representation in business (you can tell I have started to go to Girl Geek stuff and networking with my fellow business women) and all kinds of things relating to being a successful e-business.
One of the great things about Catalyst is meeting like minded people with the same goals, needs and problems as you. There are a lot of opportunities to network, party and you are ALWAYS well fed at this event.
This event is about information, relevant to your on-line business and where the sector is heading.
The other great thing about Catalyst is you can speak to various third party service providers (which I am one) and discuss potential future partnerships. Having everything in house is expensive and hard to run, third party companies are essential in e-businesses.
Well, I hope to see you at Catalyst and I (Createyourtemplate) will be there with chocolates and sweets as always.
eBay Design 3.0 – Widshops the New Generation of eBay Shop and Listing Template Design
102 days
Well as promised full details of our new eBay design service…
Some might say we are ‘late to market’ with now providing a solution for the SME market but we decided not to rush. We wanted to be ahead of the game and provide something that is intuitive and very ‘now’ in relation to how the world of e-commerce is progressing. We wanted to look forward with our design innovations like with our premium service eBay designs. We want you to be future proof!
Widshops is an affordable ebay design solution (set up and design around £1500) but it provides all the look and feel of a professional stream lined shopping experience. It carries a subscription cost based on number of listings (http://widshop.com/en/prices/)
The key features are:
- Fast – Your new template delivered quickly
- Easy – only the best features show up in your shop
- Economical – Sales increase, costs decrease
- Optimised – HTML template also works on iPhone and iPad
- Compatible – works with all eBay listing and sales management tools
- Professional – Project managers at your side
The best bits are:
Category and filter navigation just like on the eBay platform
We filled an important technical gap with the eBay category and filter navigation. eBay® customers are already familiar with the intuitive filter navigation. This is now available with WIDshop in your eBay® storefront as well.
WIDshop navigation sorts your items out in real time and automatically recognises in which eBay® categories, and with which items specifics they have been listed. Through this, the WIDshop generates a navigation that displays all of your eBay® categories and item specifics filters. This way, your customers can search by category and filter the results according to items specifics. Your customers will easily and comfortably be able to find the right size, colour or material! You are thereby significantly enhancing your customers’ shopping experience!
Sell more with clever cross-selling
Every eBay® customer who clicks onto one of your products is very interested in buying. You keep your customer in your shop by using clever cross-selling. For this purpose, WIDshop makes a product gallery available to you which automatically presents similar products from the same eBay® category. This way your customer sees, for example, additional t-shirts, CDs from the same music genre, more hard drives or different trainers. The WIDshop cross-selling gallery can also work with customised rules based on item specifics or keywords, if desired. We would be happy to advise you.
Reach more customers with Facebook etc.
By linking the WIDshop to Facebook and Twitter, your customers can inform their friends that they like your storefront. You benefit from this additional marketing channel, which increases the popularity of your storefront and thus, the number of your clients.
The list of search results for a positive shopping experience
The most important thing about search results is their speed. Not only have we made the WIDshop search very fast. We have also made it look appealing and incorporated a few added features for your customers, such as wish lists or the display of the item condition. The search results are compiled and loaded anew in the navigation and filters after each click. This way, your customers always have an overview and can find their way easily and quickly through storefronts, even with a larger selection of items.
Integration of custom pages
All custom pages such as the legal notice, etc., that you’ve created as personal pages in your eBay® storefront can be easily accessed through the navigation and are displayed in your storefront design. This way, the entire storefront features your corporate design.
You can also easily manage and update your custom pages in your eBay® account. Therefore, the WIDshop works like a small editing system.
Examples:
http://stores.ebay.de/Sport-Fischmann
http://stores.ebay.de/outdoorsportshop24
http://stores.ebay.at/123boerse
So feel free to quiz me or comment on our new service and watch our for the discount code worth £250 in the 2012 Tamebay Tools and Services Guide
