Christmas
is Coming,
Start Making Your List
A great December starts in April
Despite the slowdown in the economy, online
retail sits in an interesting spot. In
fact, a MediaPost blog article goes as far to
say that “innovation and e-commerce are looking
impervious to economic ravages, at least, for
now.” Internet spending for Valentine’s Day was
up almost 8˝% more than last year - reports
Retail Decisions. The growth in U.S. unique visitors
to online commerce sites rose 7%
in January , 2008, compared to the same period
in 2007. Online retail growth is averaging
21% so far this year, compared to 5.4%
growth for offline retail.
Now for the interesting stuff…
A March news story from Internet Retailer reports
“Retailers strive for a better customer experience.”
We’re sure that online customers are keyed into
this as well. If retailers are placing more emphasis
this year on upgrading the usability of their
online stores, then staying ahead of the competition
takes on a new level. In addition to improving
online usability, it has become important to add
online functionality and use rich Internet applications
to improve the customer experience.
What does this mean to you?
Planning for an optimal Christmas no matter
what the economy needs to start now. The
drive for more usability coincides with increased
spending on technology and methods for measuring
how well web sites are supporting a better online
customer experience. Increased spending this year
is planned for web analytics, customer
satisfaction surveys, and usability labs.
Is it time to:
- Creatively
or strategically refresh your site?
- Add
more interactive features, like registries or
reviews?
- Add
rich imaging?
- Add
social networking, such as page links to Facebook
or Dig?
Not sure? Start with a Baseline Health
Analysis of your site to see where you
”rank” with those who land on your site, as well
as your competitive market.
Indeed, Christmas is coming - time to make your
list and check it twice.
Start
Today
Learn how FastPivot can
help you stay up in a down economy
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