Big Ecommerce Priorities for 2014

Here’s the write-up from the #EcomChat on Big Ecommerce Priorities in 2014 on Monday 6th January.

Q1) What are the key activities ecommerce teams should be doing in January?

@aattias: Clean/replan your dev queue. Parked low priority work may need removing for example (sorry Im late btw) #ecomchat

@eCommera: @JamesGurd @danbarker although online was a winner over Xmas, would be interesting to understand impact of returns in Jan #ecomchat:

• ‏@danbarker: @eCommera very good point – especially with ‘online sales -> in-store returns’ less visible in some businesses. #ecomchat
• @emmabonar: @danbarker @eCommera Less visible yes, but arguably an opportunity for b&m stores – at least they get the footfall #EcomChat
• @eCommera: @emmabonar @danbarker indeed & this is likely to be one of the trends in 2014 – leveraging the current store estate #ecomchat
• @danbarker: @eCommera @emmabonar fully agreed – lots of opportunities to do nice stuff from a customer point of view too. #EcomChat

‏@danbarker: Lots of businesses are reporting what worked for them over Christmas. Figure out how you can test those tactics. #ecomchat  Eg. Jigsaw said holding off sale until after Christmas & ramping up stock helped them. Can those be tested before next peak? #ecomchat:

• @JamesGurd: @danbarker Re stock, Selfridges has this challenge online. Simple test = take low converting product segment, ramp up stock then.. #EcomChat
• @GingerWarriorX: @JamesGurd @danbarker We have a plan with one client to expose store / online stock to help move inventory – no more silos #EcomChat
• ‏@emmabonar: @GingerWarriorX Interesting, are you planning to display store stock availability online? #EcomChat
• ‏@GingerWarriorX: @emmabonar that is planned, in tandem with the store locator (big bit of work!) Also for stores to see that stock too #ecomchat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @GingerWarriorX @emmabonar @danbarker Exciting + challenging – universal stock. @mcmillanstu Haven’t you done something Stuart? #EcomChat
• ‏@mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd @GingerWarriorX @emmabonar @danbarker yes, all stock globally available #EcomChat
• @JamesGurd: @mcmillanstu And is that a single stock holding and sales update in real-time from store + web? #EcomChat
• @mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd there’s about a 5 min delay #EcomChat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @mcmillanstu That’s impressive. How do you tackle @emmabonar point about store stock reliability? #EcomChat
• ‏@mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd @emmabonar not such an issue when shoes are in a store room, also easier to continually stock check. #EcomChat
• ‏@emmabonar: @mcmillanstu I see your point. Much harder with something like pants #EcomChat
• @mcmillanstu1h
• @emmabonar {insert joke about elastic stock thresholds} #ecomchat
• @ecomchat: @mcmillanstu @emmabonar are there any *cough* ‘elastic stocking’ systems?
• @mcmillanstu: @ecomchat @emmabonar not sure, but in all seriousness, thresholds need to be dynamic/elastic, to maximise availability, reduce OOS #ecomchat
• @emmabonar: @mcmillanstu @ecomchat Hmm yes need to take into account differences in store size etc… #EcomChat

‏@Metakinetic: A1: @ecomchat #EcomChat its all about analysing the vast data. For most, xmas brings most traffic in the year. Analyse the data and improve.

• @JamesGurd: @Metakinetic Yes, often good way to ID broken journeys as traffic spikes often reveal breaking points. #EcomChat

@Magique83: A1) Check post Xmas traffic for mobile/tablet usage jumps. I’m seeing a 20% increase in tablet usage thus far #ecomchat

• @JamesGurd: @Magique83 Yep aND @mcmillanstu reported a big spike around Christmas for tablet/mobile – seems uniform growth? #EcomChat
• @emmabonar: @JamesGurd @Magique83 @mcmillanstu johnlewis reported 76% traffic on mobile on xmas day, yikes #EcomChat
• @ChinaShopBull: @emmabonar Wondering what the spread of mobile Vs desktop for purchase was or mobile to desktop to purchase? #ecomchat
• @emmabonar: @ChinaShopBull Yes good point, would be interesting to know conv mob/tablet/desktop
• @JamesGurd: @Magique83 Yep aND @mcmillanstu reported a big spike around Christmas for tablet/mobile – seems uniform growth? #EcomChat
• ‏@mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd @Magique83 I’ll report back next Monday as to the device split this week, now that people are back to work #EcomChat
• @ProjectOcto: @mcmillanstu @JamesGurd @Magique83 Had one client’s desktop visit % drop from 73.6% to 56.4%. Tablet up 7%, mobile up 10% yr on yr

@dkoblintz: @ecomchat #EcomChat priority 3 – conduct style research into whether SEO is or is not dead. Not enough attention paid to this #hotsportstake

• @JamesGurd: @dkoblintz answer = check analytics. Organic still contributing well to traffic/revenue = SEO well and truly alive! #EcomChat
• @dkoblintz: @JamesGurd WRONG. the only way to know for sure is to count the number of blogs on each side and see who wins #EcomChat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @dkoblintz Ha ha. Curse my naivety. Perhaps i’ll spam the blogopshere with lots of “SEO is alive” articles and influence the vote! #EcomChat

@Magique83: A1) Liaise with Cus Serv dept to gauge any common problems that can be avoided next year (last del date issues, size problems etc) #ecomchat

• @emmabonar: @Magique83 Great idea, they probably have a much clearer perception of what went wrong #EcomChat

‏@mcmillanstu: @ecomchat A1: have a retrospective about Christmas training and make notes about what problems you had #EcomChat

• @emmabonar: @mcmillanstu @ecomchat Good one, and take the time to dig into analytics to help plan for next xmas #EcomChat
• ‏@eCommera: @emmabonar @mcmillanstu @ecomchat Indeed, planning for Christmas 2014 now will pay dividends #EcomChat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @eCommera @emmabonar @mcmillanstu @danbarker @ecomchat + essential learning of how site performs during campaign peaks, helps for future

General Points:

• @Magique83: A1) Full 2013 reports compiled to see what lessons can be learnt and what trends can be tracked. #ecomchat
• @mcmillanstu: review project plans to see what will be getting released out of code freeze, you may not have seen it for weeks #EcomChat
• @haydens30: #EcomChat A1: getting rid of any seasonal stock asap, especially returned goods
• @JamesGurd: #EcomChat 1) 2013 lessons 2) comms/content calendar for Q1 3) Site health check 4) Plan Valentines’ campaigns (if relevant)

 

Q2) What are the key ecommerce trends to watch out for 2014?

@mocwoods: A2 – Agreed @danbarker I see this year being much more about customers and what we can do to add value to a visit #EcomChat:

• @Metakinetic: @mocwoods @danbarker The main focus will be offering users an easy experience on mobiles and tablets. Speed is the key
• ‏@mocwoods: @Metakinetic @danbarker certainly is! We’ve just managed to reduce load time on a new travel site by over 100% from cached feeds #EcomChat
• ‏@Metakinetic: @mocwoods @danbarker Google have set the benchmark for mobile page load speed to be under 1 second – yikes! #ecomchat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @Metakinetic @mocwoods @danbarker But page load speed is elusive – 1st byte/usable content critical, full load less so (caveats!) #EcomChat
• ‏@mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd @Metakinetic @mocwoods @danbarker true dat! However, it’s usually not rocket surgery to work out how to fix it. #EcomChat
• ‏@mocwoods: @mcmillanstu true, but depends if you can get the buy-in. #EcomChat
• ‏@iamjonjackson: @mocwoods @mcmillanstu we demonstrated an improved conversion rate / bounce rate when we sped up average page load by 1sec for a client
• ‏@iamjonjackson: @mocwoods @mcmillanstu suggest getting buy in by showing case study metrics #EcomChat
• ‏@mcmillanstu: @iamjonjackson @mocwoods what % of the load time was that 1 sec? Were the changes focused in one area, e.g. TTFB? #EcomChat
• ‏@mocwoods: @iamjonjackson @mcmillanstu It’s amazing how improving a user experience helps conversions… 🙂
• ‏@iamjonjackson: @mcmillanstu @mocwoods around 10-20% as I recall. So fairly significant. I’ll publish some data when I make the time 🙂
• @mcmillanstu: @iamjonjackson @mocwoods I’ve set a goal this year for our mobile experience to load above the fold in 1.5s on a 3G connection #EcomChat
• ‏@iamjonjackson: @mcmillanstu @mocwoods good target.
• @mocwoods: @mcmillanstu @iamjonjackson That’s pretty fast, custom platform? #EcomChat
• @mcmillanstu: @mocwoods @iamjonjackson yep, means we work the stock hard #EcomChat
• @JamesGurd: @mcmillanstu And what tools are you using to monitor/measure? 3G connections vary in signal strength! #EcomChat
• @mcmillanstu1h
• @JamesGurd webpagetest mobile connection 1.6mbps, 150ms RTT latency #EcomChat
• @mocwoods: @mcmillanstu @iamjonjackson and the user… 15% next purchase discount for a review – I bet that works realy well #EcomChat
• ‏@buyapowa: @mocwoods @mcmillanstu @iamjonjackson Rewards for advocacy is the way retail needs to go. Much better than dumb, generic % off for everyone.
• @mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd when it comes to bandwidth, whatever limit you choose you should be saturating it as early as possible 1/2 pic.twitter.com/a511QQHk5M
• @mcmillanstu: @JamesGurd you’ll note that we don’t saturate it until about 6 secs, so there is major opportunity to load content sooner 2/2
• ‏@mocwoods: @buyapowa @mcmillanstu @iamjonjackson Yup I totally agree. User generated content, cheap user data & increased profits. Wins all round!

@GeoffreyB: Maybe I was stretching a point… but business buyers need content and B2C marketers hate content. Want to talk brand, brand, brand. #ecomchat

• ‏@emmabonar: @GeoffreyB You have just neatly described my major B2B challenge for 2014. Lack of content. #EcomChat
• @aattias: @emmabonar @GeoffreyB maybe this will help Emma? https://bit.ly/1dIGVJU  #ecomchat
• @buyapowa: @emmabonar @GeoffreyB Try drawing content from people, not pushing it. Don’t know your specifics but empower yr audience to make decisions.

‏@GingerWarriorX: manufacturers selling more direct to consumers, and the repositioning that involves #EcomChat

• @KevinWaugh: @GingerWarriorX #ecomchat if the manufacturer is able to sell direct, they will, some might have to do some internal work first.
• @buyapowa: @KevinWaugh @GingerWarriorX Or partner with someone who can help them hit the ground running.
• @KevinWaugh: @buyapowa @GingerWarriorX agreed, some us agencies to support ecom business #ecomchat

‏@dkoblintz: #EcomChat oh! and actual proper trend, free next day delivery will become the norm

• @emmabonar: @dkoblintz That’s a worrying one for retailers with low basket values, wrecks margins to have to provide free next day delivery #EcomChat
•  ‏@mcmillanstu: @emmabonar @dkoblintz we charged £1 before Christmas as a promo, uptake was fantastic. I wonder if £1 is better than free #EcomChat
• @dkoblintz: @mcmillanstu @emmabonar suspect delivery costs will come down with increased competition, more retailers will offer, customers will expect
• @emmabonar: @mcmillanstu @dkoblintz That’s an interesting idea. I’d rather customers weren’t conditioned to expect free… #EcomChat
• @dkoblintz: @mcmillanstu @emmabonar that said – suspect basket sizes will rise at same time..
• ‏@ProjectOcto: @dkoblintz @mcmillanstu @emmabonar People will shop around less, buying into single multi-product sites instead. Bigger baskets, more margin

@danbarker: A few commonish b2b functions that could be used in b2c sites: simple regular orders, paid product placement, volume pricing #ecomchat:

•  ‏@emmabonar: @danbarker Yes, plus lifecycle management (effective crm based on buying patterns), personalised pricing… #EcomChat

‏@willdymott: #ecomchat A2: Still mobile, still multi-channel integration, still service, still marketing automation using big data (hate that term):

• ‏@emmabonar: @willdymott Like you I’m seeing very similar trends to last year #EcomChat
• ‏@buyapowa: @emmabonar @willdymott Which is a worry, innit? Last year’s trends should be this years’ business as usual. #EcomChat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @buyapowa @emmabonar @willdymott But surely trends like big data, mobile, automation etc are so big they endure? #EcomChat
• ‏@buyapowa: @JamesGurd @emmabonar @willdymott Of course. I feel churlish now!

@GeoffreyB: Agreed. B2B will ape B2C digital techniques and….fail. Business buying behaviour is fundamentally different. Not impulse driven. #ecomchat.

• ‏@willdymott: @GeoffreyB disagree – B2B will learn from B2C and use tech developed for and by B2C, but will do it smartly to maximize benefit #ecomchat
• ‏@bradbox: @willdymott @emmabonar @GeoffreyB The Internet has always been a broad, overlapping grey line of the two. #EcomChat
• @dergal: @bradbox @willdymott @emmabonar @GeoffreyB agreed #ecomchat – B2B needs to evolve massively tho in some sectors (electronics)
•  @dergal: @bradbox @willdymott @emmabonar @GeoffreyB but in some areas they are well ahead!
• @MontseCano: @bradbox @willdymott @emmabonar @GeoffreyB Totally agree with this. One area that needs to evolve is finance. #EcomChat

‏@Magique83: A2) Universal Analytics was largely ignored last year, probably due to complexity but we will see more making use of it in 2014 #ecomchat

• @Metakinetic: @Magique83 To evolve this further, the whole “Not Provided” saga will evolve the usefulness of analytics tools on the market #EcomChat
• ‏@Magique83: @Metakinetic Agreed – This is probably a good niche to be involved in this year #ecomchat
• ‏@JamesGurd: @Magique83 @Metakinetic what you mean you don’t think Google will become altruistic and revert back to providing organic data?! #EcomChat
• ‏@Magique83: @JamesGurd @Metakinetic Only if they can make some money from it without coming across as hypocrits #toolate #ecomchat

@so_on: #EcomChat A2: Personalization – “who sees what”, segmentation – “how my customers differ” and targeting (3W) – “when, where and what”.

• @JamesGurd: @so_on Hey Ernest hope you’re well. What tools do you think people will use beyond core web analytics? #EcomChat
• ‏@so_on: @JamesGurd #EcomChat I think UA will not gain popularity – more data != more insights. I think we will see growth in niche analytical tools

‏@danbarker: #EcomChat A2: Ecommerce trend: Facebook & twitter trying to grab advertising money from AdWords.

• ‏@JamesGurd: @danbarker I fully expect to see more ‘paid media’ budget going to social campaigns – Twitter sponsored tweets, FB ads etc #EcomChat
• ‏@buyapowa: @JamesGurd @danbarker Interesting angle, but the smart money is on ‘socialising’ your ecommerce so people advertise for you. #EcomChat
• @danbarker: @buyapowa a bit like the seo vs ppc debate – most do both 🙂 #ecomchat @JamesGurd
• ‏@buyapowa: @danbarker @JamesGurd Advertising deffo helps to *seed* things, but it’s a rotten destination. Aim should be to take foot off spending gas.
• @JamesGurd: @buyapowa @danbarker I don’t seem it as either/or – it’s a blend. Same with paid search + organic. Use data to learn what works #EcomChat

‏@JamesGurd: Is anyone currently using UA and learning anything practical from it, or is it ‘coming soon’ for everyone? #EcomChat

• ‏@Magique83: @JamesGurd Not yet but I’ve been planning for a while! I’ve not heard of anyone using it for anything practical yet #ecomchat

@aattias: More will jump on content marketing bandwagon, some will do it well. https://bit.ly/1gbspKl  #ecomchat

• ‏@MontseCano: @aattias I was just typing this. I predict lots of internal processes interfering with relevant content. #EcomChat
• ‏@aattias: @MontseCano yes, tricky in bigger orgs. Did you see the excellent content strategy checklist by Velocity? https://bit.ly/1dIGVJU

@eCommera: A2: 2014 could be the year the high street is re-imagined as retailers leverage existing store estate thru ship from store etc #ecomchat

• ‏@mcmillanstu: @eCommera we’ll also be analysing the total SKUs in the business and making sure that we maximise the number available online #EcomChat

@mocwoods: Sadly RT @dergal: @MontseCano @aattias @ReferralCandy @KevinWaugh ha – SEO seems to have an unfair bad name! #EcomChat

• @ReferralCandy: @mocwoods @dergal @MontseCano @aattias @KevinWaugh I think people pin on messianic expectations, then get disappointed #EcomChat
• ‏@KevinWaugh: @ReferralCandy @mocwoods @dergal @MontseCano @aattias mostly because they want great results for minimal work, which is not SEO #ecomchat
• ‏@mocwoods: @KevinWaugh @ReferralCandy @dergal @MontseCano @aattias True, but the number of references to ‘quick wins’ has fallen #EcomChat
•  ‏@MontseCano: @mocwoods @KevinWaugh @ReferralCandy @dergal @aattias Replaced by the low-hanging fruit, maybe? #EcomChat
•  ‏@MontseCano: @mocwoods @KevinWaugh @ReferralCandy @dergal @aattias A tad sceptical here. #EcomChat

General Points:

• @aattias: I think we’ll see a rise in B2B companies providing commerce aiming to replicate B2C successes #ecomchat
• @eCommera: A2: International expansion continues apace, especially for brands transacting directly with new audiences #ecomchat
• @haydens30: A2) possibly universal analytics – although I’m not yet convinced there’s enough market understanding there yet #EcomChat
• @mocwoods: A2. I would also watch out for some more special arrangements with the high-street & online channels – like eBay & Argos #EcomChat
• @danbarker: #EcomChat A2: Ecommerce trend: ‘.uk’ domains coming up in the UK, which will no doubt peak in interest as it approaches.

 

Q3) How will ecommerce budgets be used this year?

@GingerWarriorX: @JamesGurd a3 if you are not fully responsive, to aim to be – obvious but still true #EcomChat (edit)

@aattias: a3: Ours will be 30% dev, 15% SEM, 43% SEO/Content for next 6 months #ecomchat

‏@danbarker: 3 themes so far in where people should spend budget: 1. Content. 2. Mobile. 3. Data-driven testing/improvement. #EcomChat

• @hwjgage: @danbarker @jamesgurd I think Mobile would make a good subject for an #ecomchat if not done already.
• ‏@JamesGurd: @hwjgage @danbarker any specific focus Hugh? We’ve done mobile a few times so would be good to pick a fresh angle. #EcomChat
• ‏@hwjgage: @JamesGurd @danbarker Maybe it’s all been covered. I was thinking specifically mob phone (NOT tablet)……
• ‏@hwjgage: @JamesGurd @danbarker Is mob really a conversion channel or just research. Is there any point in a £ centric conversion strategy 4 mob?
• @hwjgage: @JamesGurd @danbarker Many mob sites I see appear to have conversion rates which are no better than mob phone visits on desktop sibling.
•  ‏@danbarker: @hwjgage agreed. a while ago now, but I did a few straight a/b tests on desktop vs mobile sites on mob. would be great to do again.
• @hwjgage: @danbarker I think that’s pretty interesting. I think it says a lot about customer’s behaviour, habit and expectation.

Thanks to everyone for tuning in and contributing.

James & Dan