NOTES FROM THE ECOMMERCE EXPERTS... 
Making your online store more profitable

A message from our CEO, Steve Moen

Picture this . . .

Almost 40 percent of the biggest U.S. retailers don't provide product detail photography on their websites. This is despite the understanding that online shoppers need to rely on product images to help them make purchase decisions. In the eCommerce world, a picture isn't just worth a thousand words; it can also drive higher conversion rates and increased sales.          

eCommerce image audit

To discover how today's biggest retailers use images to market their products online, we surveyed their websites. The results show that there's definitely room to improve.         

Articles to read

Improve your eCommerce design with brilliant product photos: Smashing Magazine

Why presentation and context are crucial to eCommerce product photos: KissMetrics

How to take gorgeous product photos:Practical eCommerce 

V I S I T  U S  A T  B O O T H  # 1 4 4 3

Shrink eCommerce images to improve load times

Loading up a site with stunning, high-res photos comes with a few caveats, such as the drag that they can create on load times. When pages are slow to load, patrons are quick to leave.

Progressive thinking for eCommerce JPEGs

Performance gains can be made by using progressive JPEGs, which load in increasing detail as opposed to only appearing once the entire file has downloaded. 

NOTES FROM THE ECOMMERCE EXPERTS...
Making your online store more profitable

A message from our CEO, Steve Moen

With so many disparate definitions, does the cloud really have a silver lining?

When you Google “the cloud,” more than 1 billion results are revealed. When you ask a group of individuals what the cloud means to them, their answers might be just as varied. For some, the term is nothing more than a catch-all phrase created by marketers trying to generalize any IT activities that aren’t hosted in-house. The cloud can also be as simple as a metaphor for the Internet or any host of platforms that don’t depend on any physicality. For others, it's just a way to stay buzz-word compliant.

No matter how you refer to it, the cloud is being implemented in various ways to reduce operational costs associated with in-house servers and the personnel required to manage them. For this newsletter, we’re focusing our cloud conversations around subscription-based services like SaaS or IaaS, which can be leveraged to extend the capabilities of an IT team.

Introducing BalanceMaxx

To improve your performance on Amazon, eBay, NewEgg, Rakuten (formerly Buy.com) and Sears, BalanceMaxx, a cloud-based subscription service, can convey your order information to reduce labor costs and increase accuracy. To learn more, download the brochure.

Articles to read

How the rise of multi-cloud is transforming eCommerce: AppsTechNews.com

Staying secure in the cloud-adoption aftermath: eCommerceTimes.com

Forecasting public cloud adoption in the enterprise: Forbes.com

Creating a successful website requires a strategically driven effort. It also requires a holistic understanding of technology, UI/UX, marketing and analytics.

As a full-service eCommerce firm, we have the expertise to help you coordinate your website development efforts.

What does it mean to move a business to the cloud?

Forward-thinking businesses are moving to the cloud. And it’s what your business should be doing, too. Right? Well, before jumping on the bandwagon, it’s best to understand what it means and if it’s well-suited for your business.

4 things to know before selling on eCommerce marketplaces

The potential revenue that comes with making your products available on sites like Amazon and eBay is great, but that possibility also comes with an additional cache of responsibilities.

NOTES FROM THE ECOMMERCE EXPERTS...
Making your online store more profitable

A message from our CEO, Steve Moen

Mobile by the millions

If we've heard it once, we've heard it a thousand times: mobile's momentum isn't about to slow down. Or is it? Despite reports citing the ongoing uptick in smartphone adoption, market saturation is inevitable. Some firms are forecasting that saturation in the United States could come as early as November 2015.

The mobile story to follow, therefore, is that smartphone prevalence in daily lives is just now getting interesting. Furthermore, tablet adoption is on the rise. As of June 2013, there were 69 million U.S. users powering up their Apple iPads, Galaxy Tabs and Microsoft Surfaces, leaving a large percentage of the population still anxious to get on the tablet bandwagon.

Mobile design tip sheet

Before you get in too deep with a mobile design project, download our tip sheet, which includes a handful of commonly overlooked mobile design elements.

Articles to read

eCommerce Is growing nicely while mCommerce
is on a tear: Forbes.com

How Mars, Venus and maps affect mobile shopping: MultichannelMerchant.com

Mobile commerce returns tricky for retailers:
ZDNet.com

Creating a successful website requires a strategically driven effort. It also requires a holistic understanding of technology, UI/UX, marketing and analytics.

As a full-service eCommerce firm, we have the expertise to help you coordinate your website development efforts.

Staying relevant with mobile, WebSphere Commerce

If the whole point of online shopping is convenience, then why aren’t more sites mobile enabled? Some of it may have to do with the perceived difficulty in developing an effective mobile site.

3 things to know about mCommerce in 2013 and beyond

As the mobile market continues to mature, merchants will want to understand how it's changing - be it in the market's users or its technologies.