When designing a mobile site, it's important to remember that it comes with its own set of rules when compared to that of a traditional site. And because of those differences, some elements could go overlooked in the design process. So to keep you from losing any precious time, the following list should prove useful. It covers a few aspects of launching a mobile site that you won’t want to forget:   1. Know your users – even better than before....

“The cultural and organizational implications are huge. Relationships must be fully reciprocal and once that relationship is established, companies of all sizes need to be prepared to act based on the influence of the customer. In this way, organizations are shifting from being merely customer-centric to customer-activated.”   This was just part of the message shared from the editors at IBM in regard to a recent study, which focused on midmarket companies and their intent on developing a digital strategy. The...

There once was a time when manufacturing websites were nothing more than a few flat, static pages. And that was OK. As long as the product specs were available and the contact info was up to date, website visitors were content.   Today, however, those same website visitors have higher expectations. They want what B2C websites have, like the bells and whistles that they experience on B2C’s UI/UX-enhanced sites. And they want those features today.   Despite the ever-growing cases of...

When the in-laws make a last-minute announcement that they’ll be rolling into town, there is undoubtedly a bit of scrambling to do. At the very least, the guest bedroom might need a quick makeover. [Insert favorite home goods store] to the rescue!   For simplicity’s sake, let’s say that favorite home goods store is Target. For this frazzled daughter- and son-in-law, Target usually has the hypoallergenic pillows and sheet sets that they like. But the last thing they’ll want to do...

Let’s face it. Almost every eCommerce organization that internalizes its WebSphere Commerce duties has difficulty finding qualified resources. And that’s because there are simply not enough administrators and developers trained on WebSphere Commerce to recruit and fill the demand. Therefore, the solution to this persistent problem is to outsource that work. By shifting ongoing eCommerce development and support tasks off-site to highly specialized firms, merchants won’t have to worry about finding, training or retaining these skills themselves. Unsurprisingly, the best firms...

With the 2013 holiday shopping season almost in full swing, retail business leaders around the nation are relieved to hear that U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in October. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that their minds will be at ease during the busiest shopping season of the year. As one would expect, their thoughts will be wrought with economic uncertainty, increased competition and the challenges surrounding omni-channel retailing – a multi-faceted (and often difficult) push toward creating a seamless...

Some might say that an eCommerce website is only as good as the added functionality it delivers to online shoppers. While consumers can be enticed by a modern, clean layout with pithy tag lines and professional photography, it’s the functionality that they’ll truly fall in love with.   So whether value-added features come into play before an overall site is designed or if they’re included incrementally, the key is to consider the options and the benefits that they bring to the...

Every time someone purchases an iPhone, it seems like a newer, more powerful version is released just moments afterward. Over the past six years, eight versions of the iPhone have been introduced to the market, leaving so many smartphone users with new-version envy.   The question circling the minds of these not-so-outdated smartphone users then is: Is it worth it to upgrade? Often times, however, the answer is no – especially if the phone is still relatively new. According to NBC...

Whether you’re taking public transportation, at a family gathering, or shopping at a mall, there will, undoubtedly, be individuals who are buried in their mobile devices. Distracted from the world around them, smartphones and tablets are a growing outlet for consumers to get quick answers to their daily, hourly or by-the-minute queries.   And as mobile platforms gain in sophistication and ease of use, those same consumers will lean on those devices even further to buy goods. But for most, this...

With a population of 142.5 million, the eCommerce opportunities in Russia are vast and for the majority, are fairly untapped. According to the CIA World FactBook, the country has experienced major changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, “moving from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more market-based and globally-integrated economy.”   Furthermore, because the cost of living is quite low in Russia, expendable income for the middle and upper class is somewhat larger than those in many other markets....