The Importance of eCommerce Branding: Takeaways from 2012 Internet Retailer Web Design Conference

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 by John Deines

The 2012 IRWD conference covered many different topics ranging from site design to e-commerce personalization. Here are some of the highlights and key takeways from presentations made by some of the leading minds in the online retail industry. There were so many that we're dividing our IRWD recap into two parts! In this blog, we'll discuss customer experience analytics and branding. In Part 2, we'll look at what presenters had to say about customers' first experience and post-purchase experiences.

 
Customer Experience Analytics:
 
Laura Freedman (President of the e-Tailing Group) kicked off the three day conference with some exciting metrics from the 2011 holiday season. Some of the most exciting metrics included:
  • 2011 holiday retail sales rose a total of 4.1% over 2010
  • Ecommerce experienced ten $1 Billion days – far exceeding the 2010 results
  • 40% of shoppers purchased 23% of all their online purchases at Amazon. 

The most interesting findings included why customers purchase online and why they pay full price. Customers buy online today for three glaring reasons – The price is perceived to be less expensive, consumers can get their products quickly (1 to 2 days), and the convenience can't be beat. Shoppers pay full price if the product is hard to find or if the item they are researching never goes on sale. However, many customers will rarely or never pay full price for any items online.

 
Branding
 
Branding plays a crucial role in driving loyal repeat customers and encouraging first time shoppers to make a purchase. Since so many shoppers (56% of total online shopping) are doing research before converting, having a brand that is unique and memorable will push customers to the first purchase and drive loyalty. 
 
Consider This: When customers are in a “relaxation period” on their tablets surfing the web, they are visiting roughly 50 websites. How does your brand and story stand out from the other 49 sites when a final purchasing decision is about to be made?   
 
Here are a few tips to help create a better story and brand that customers will remember:
  1. Consistently remind customers what website they are shopping on during their sessions. After they have left the site, send personalized emails to remind them of the products they have viewed. 
  2. Understand and demonstrate what makes your brand unique. Start by internally understanding what makes your website / product unique, and then display that story throughout the website experience.
  3. Display your story and culture. Can the customer relate to your core values? If you are able to connect with a customer emotionally, that customer is more likely to return, be loyal and drive referrals. It's okay if everyone does not match your culture. If they don't, they may not be the right customer.
  4. Build a community. Tom Ryan, president of Threadless.com, talked about how his community members are the most engaged and profitable customers. He has created a community that allows shoppers to interact with his brand, create new products and vote on new items. Engagement means more revenue. A community provides an opportunity for a customer to interact with your brand in a different forum. Community creates engagement, word of mouth advertising and loyal repeat customers. 
Stay tuned for Part 2. In the meantime, if you would like to discuss the conference in greater detail, please feel free to shoot me a note at jdeines@igodigital.com.  
 
Here at iGoDigital, we are helping retailers create many of these same experiences and would be happy to discuss how these capabilities could help your business. We will also be attending eTail West next week and look forward to providing you with some new and exciting takeaways from that conference.

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