Infographic: Ecommerce Trends to Watch in 2016

Fuel your Ecommerce strategy by staying up to date with the major industry trends!

We have compiled a list of some major game changing trends you can take advantage of this year:

Use Big Data and Predictive Analysis to gather even more information about your buyer personas and use the perks of advanced personalization technologies to gain competitive advantage.

You have probably heard Mobile is getting even bigger with the customers this year, so you might want to consider investing more in your Mobile Marketing Campaigns in 2016 as the industry’s mobile payment methods will diversify, mobile revenues will peak and mobile traffic will soon push past the 50% mark.

If you are a retailer, we recommend you to start blending Digital Tech, from iPads to Beacons, in your brick and mortar store to win your customers’ hearts, minds and wallets.

Investments in Customer Experience is predicted to be the No.1 priority for the major Ecommerce players, so we recommend you  to consider hiring more UX specialists and invest in training your Customer Support team to offer the best customer care on your specific market.

Looking at the technological aspects of the Ecommerce business, 2016 will bring an increased adoption of one-stop shop technology partners – online shopping platforms that support all touch points: digital, traditional retail, enterprise technology.

We have gathered all the Top Ecommerce Trends to watch in 2016 in one Infographic that we hope will help you employ the best strategies and tactics to achieve your business goals this year.

Courtesy of: EuroITGroup

Ecommerce site owners warned to prepare ahead of Cyber Monday as UK popularity increases

Online store owners should be prepared for another record Cyber Monday as the ecommerce shopping event continues to become increasingly popular in the UK, according to online printer and office supplier TonerGiant.co.uk .

Spikes in traffic on the 1st December will give brands the chance to sell to a new audience hungry for an offer. From ensuring servers can cope with this excess demand to creating strategic promotions, site owners should prepare now in order to capitalise on this opportunity.

Things to consider:

  • Preparing servers for increased volumes in traffic
  • Easy to navigate landing pages
  • Effective email marketing campaigns
  • Data-led offers and promotions
  • Leverage social media channels to maximise exposure
  • Paid search ads

In 2013, consumers set a record of 115 million visits to retail websites on Cyber Monday, beating the record number of visits in a single day which was set on Boxing Day 2012. (1)

UK shoppers also spent 15.3 million hours shopping online, spending on average 8 minutes per site visit. (1)

Last year saw total UK sales on Cyber Monday reach £600 million, almost double the figure from three years ago, as more British shoppers and retailers continue to adopt the day that’s been a fixture on the American shopping calendar since 2006. (2)

Gary Flynn, Managing Director of TonerGiant.co.uk, has also stressed the importance of not assuming that Cyber Monday applies only to certain product sectors and niches.

“These figures highlight just how big a day Cyber Monday has become in the online business calendar in this country. But it’s not just your traditional high street brands that benefit from this surge in shopping.

“For example at TonerGiant.co.uk we primarily sell office and printer supplies to businesses; not your typical festive season purchase. Yet even we noticed increased demand on Cyber Monday. Indeed last year we saw a 15.9% increase in traffic and a 33.2% increase in transactions on Cyber Monday compared to the Monday the previous week.

“It goes to show that no matter how big a business you are, what you sell and what your customer base is you can capitalise on the heightened popularity of Cyber Monday.”

TonerGiant.co.uk has created an infographic that details some of the key statistics from Cyber Monday 2013, as well as detailing a list of steps that site owners can take to ensure they’re suitably prepared for this year’s event. For more information visit http://www.tonergiant.co.uk/blog/2014/11/cybermonday/.

Cyber Monday Info Graphic

Cyber Monday Info Graphic

Notes for editors:

About TonerGiant.co.uk
Launched in 2006, TonerGiant.co.uk is one of the UK’s largest online suppliers of printers, printer consumables and office stationery. It’s a trading brand of NetGiant Ltd, founded by Gary & Joanne Flynn in 2003. The company is based in Atherton, Greater Manchester. An asset library for the TonerGiant brand can be found at http://www.tonergiant.co.uk/blog/assets/.

 

Sources

  1. ‘Cyber Monday’ biggest shopping day ever seen in UK: http://www.experian.co.uk/marketing-services/about/news/cyber-monday-biggest-shopping-day-ever-seen-in-uk.html
  2. Cyber Monday gave Amazon its biggest day ever as it handled 47 orders per SECOND – despite computer meltdown that left millions of Natwest customers frozen out: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2516953/Cyber-Monday-biggest-online-spending-spree-EVER.html
#wmcreative30 Sightsavers

WM Creative 30 years in business and the Sightsavers Challenge to celebrate #wmcreative30

This July marks 30 years in business for WM Creative, a Birmingham-based branding & design agency.

I am proud to say I have been part of the wmcreative team for the last ten years – bringing my digital expertise to meet client needs. I have seen the company evolve.

To mark this occasion and to give something meaningful back, managing director Paul Whitehouse is doing the #wmcreativee30 campaign for Sightsavers:

“I have decided fundraise for Sightsavers. Restoring sight is a gift I want to give.

Simply, I’m trying to raise £3000 for a fantastic charity called Sightsavers.

This will help them restore the sight of thirty children. My challenge is doing thirty 10K runs over a three month period. I am looking for all support I can get – all donations large or small are welcome, they are going to a great charity. Or you may want to join me in one of the runs, you’d be most welcome!”

Visit Sightsavers

Get involved

Donate now
JustGiving https://www.justgiving.com/wmcreative30

Text WCAA63 £2 / £5 / £10 to 70070 to donate now. eg WCAA63 £5 

Join in the conversation
Use the Hashtag #wmcreative30 on Twitter and Facebook to join in on the conversation.

Take part
If you would like to take part on one of the 10K runs:

Call WM Creative on:
0121 233 4845

Send an email to:
hello@wmcreative.com

Or send a message to @wearewmcreative

Why you shouldn't give a rats ass on the quantity of likes or followers on Facebook, Twitter & Google+?

Why you shouldn’t give a rats ass on the quantity of likes or followers on Facebook, Twitter or Google+?

We live in a vain world where numbers matter and are a symbol of status. Whether it is how many zeros are in your bank account; offering you a sense of security to how, many people are friends with you on your Facebook, the number of likes you have on your Like page, or the number of followers you have on Twitter.

In the late 1990’s business made a bee-line to get their businesses online because that was the craze at the time. The current day craze is Social Media. Of the many board rooms I have been in, up and down the country. the talk is, “we need to be on Facebook, our competitors are already using Facebook” or “our  competitors have more twitter followers than us, we need more followers, and we need them fast”.

Businesses know that Consumers make a snap shot decision about their business based on how many followers or likes they have. Ultimately this leads to whether the Consumer decides to make a purchase. There is pressure on businesses for this reason to have high number of likes and followers. Consumers use these figures as an indicator of popularity, good service & quality of product.

This gives rise to the wholesale purchase of likes and followers from shady websites to whom you pay a small fee to for followers. This works on a sliding scale, the more you pay ,the greater number of followers your money gets you.  Although this method may get you the much desired numbers beware of these likes and followers, which are mainly all dummy accounts that do not interact with you.  At the core of Social Media is interaction between your patrons. Dummy accounts are like people who do not hear or speak or spread the good word about your brand. Other than giving you a false image of popularity a purchased like or follower has no value whatsoever and is a cancer to social media.

Conversely a natural like or follower will be a real person and more inclined to  interact and spread the word about your product or brand to others.  Essentially this all boils down to the age old Quantity versus Quality argument.

So I put these two questions to you; would you rather have just a few hundred natural likes and followers who regularly interact with you, or thousands of purchased likes and followers who make you look popular but with little or no interaction?

Businesses should focus on getting natural likes and followers.  They need to add a bit of personality in their statuses, do regular interesting status updates, interact with their audience, and finally exercise a bit of patience and the followers will slowly grow.

Romancing the Customer

Romancing the Customer is something we all do to some degree. Whether that is in the form of taking a Customer out to lunch to scope the new project on hand or be proactive and strategise for the future. Some of you may think of romancing the Customer as keeping things “sweet” with the customer, or keeping the customer on your “side”. If you can relate to this in the remotest form, then you have arrived at the right place and at the right time to read what I have to say.

Wider Issues
Globalisation, economic crisis in the USA (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fall as much as 50% in the stock value today), the UK housing market reported drop of 6% in house prices, the credit crunch in the UK continues, oil, basic food, and utility prices sore, we have entered a recession period and yet life must go on. In these challenging times those that build solid relationships upstream and downstream in their supply chain will stand a chance to survive albeit the profit margins are strangulated.

What is this Blog post about?
I believe I am fortunate to have met Angi Egan, Owner of Pure Vision UK. She is a specialist in how one may “romance one’s customer” and get the most out of one’s Customer. This is something we can all learn from in these challenging economic times. Angi Egan, specialises in “Client Journey, Brand, Service excellence, romancing the Customer, seducing the senses, coaching programmes, workshops, and keynotes that are delivered at conferences. She is a member of the Professional Speakers Association, BNI, and Scary! Women.

“Creating loyal customers who rave about your business demands commitment, laser-like focus and a fanatical obsession with customer expectations.Right now, meeting & exceeding expectations matters more than ever. Businesses need to stop assuming they know what Customers want – ASK!Perceived indifference, or being taken for granted, is the killer for most relationships. Our familiarity dictates that we stop assuming and start asking. Resurrect the notion of romance and you’ll automatically become obsessed with finding out what floats the boat of your Customers.” Angi Egan Pure Vision UK (2008)