It’s been well documented that luxury brands are late getting into the ecommerce game. It wasn’t until after the recession hit in 2008 and many high-end designers found their products relegated to discount bins in well-known upscale department stores, that they started getting serious about the online space.

The problem isn’t that they’re late to the ecommerce world, the problem is they are bringing their glossy magazine mindset to their websites, and in doing so, they are building sites based on how they want their sites to function, without considering how users want to shop.

Flash heavy sites, light on usability

Most luxury brands break many, if not all, usability rules. They create sites that look and feel like look-books, not ecommerce sites.

These sites are largely flash driven, with big glossy images, pages that load slow, often have their own “unique” brand specific navigation and are anything but easy to use. Once a user figures out how to get to the product level (no easy feat on many of these luxury sites), the information provided is so basic it’s almost not useful at all.

Don’t believe me? Compare the experience of looking at Stuart Weitzman shoes on Zappos.com, versus on StuartWeitzman.com.  On Zappos.com, we have easy filtering of products, fast page loads, navigation that matches the mental models we expect from ecommerce sites, and detailed product descriptions and reviews. All of this is accomplished without “cheapening” the brand at all.

On the company site, we are subjected to big, bold flash pages that are utterly useless to a user. The user has to go 4 clicks in (clicking “shop the site”) two different times on different pages, just to get to shop a “default” style of shoe. The default is set to pumps. If we want to shop flats, or something else, we need to click again. Web sites aren’t the same as brick and mortar stores, and users don’t have the same expectation or attention span when shopping online. In a flash (no pun intended) users can find the same brands and products elsewhere.

Site Usability is only one part of the problem. In Part 2 – we’ll go over why even those brands that have usable sites are still missing out on sales.

In Google Analytics, you can review traffic and sales from mobile devices. The critical factor is making sure to account for iPads. For many businesses, iPads make up a large percent of what Google considers sales from mobile devices. But the thing is, while iPads are definitely mobile… they aren’t technically considered mcommerce because you can shop a  website as though you were on your regular laptop. The experience is the same. So, it’s not like trying to navigate a site on an Android, Blackberry, iPhone or other smartphone where the user really needs either an App or a slimmed down site that’s easier to navigate on a handheld device.

To get a true sense of revenue from mcommerce, you have to pull out iPad traffic and sales. Once you look at those numbers from 2010, triple or quadruple them for 2011. Then you’ll have an idea of how much traffic you can expect, and the kind of revenue it may generate. In looking at the estimated increase in traffic, would your revenue increase appreciably if you provided those users with a true moble experience? What if a better mobile experience doubled your conversion rates? Is that enough to justify the investment?

Once you’ve done this quick overview, you can get a sense of revenue from mobile and you may decide it’s worth the investment now. Or you may decide that for the remainder of 2011, you want to focus on growing sales for the website as is and that mobile might need to wait another year.

We are excited to see what other features they will have to offer and will keep you updated on what’s to come.

Here is the link to the full post:

http://analytics.blogspot.com/2011/03/looking-towards-future-of-google.html#links

 ”The app is split into three sections; each features four scenes to interact with. It’s a good showcase but not a useful shopping tool.”

The free app is designed to showcase the new 2011 spring collection in a fun, interactive manner. The problem is it does nothing to entice the shopper to buy and  will unlikely be any sort of revenue driver.

“It feels like a showcase, though, rather than a genuinely useful shopping tool. Tap on the shop button, and you’re simply sent to the RLX section of Ralph Lauren’s website, rather than the  specific item of clothing that you’ve been looking at.”

Small usability problems like this negatively affect sales. If a potential customer sees something they like, they should be able to get to that outfit easily so they can buy it. Sadly, these are the types of features that we see many companies focusing their time and limited resources on, since they are visually stimulating and “fun” to implement. These apps and new technologies are so new, that companies are exploring the boundaries and testing the waters.

But, do these fun gimmicks really make a difference to the bottom line? Probably not. People will not keep coming back to your site and be a lifelong customer just because you have a clever game on your site that incorporates some of your products. Of course, Ralph Lauren will be fine shoveling out the money that went into building this little app. But, what about the small to mid-sized companies that want to keep up with the times? We see these companies spending thousands (or tens-of-thousands) on nifty virtual try-ons,  24 hour video streaming, and flash  introductions which bring no additional sales to the website, and in some cases can actually hurt business by taking focus off of making the sale.

Be aware of what is entertaining and fun for you vs. what is actually going to set you apart from your competitors in the e-Commerce world. Websites need proper SEO and SEM implementation to bring in qualified customers. Customers need simple ways to shop via correct website/app. usability practices. And,  businesses need to bring in the sales. Make sure these fancy new devices and exciting technologies don’t drive business down. Simplifying is sometimes the best way to stand out. 

See the Full Article Here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/appsblog/2011/feb/28/ralph-lauren-app-review

“Internet retail sales in the U.S. will grow 10% a year through 2015 as shoppers spend more time online, Forrester Research says, and the implications aren’t good for brick-and-mortar stores… not only are customers increasingly shopping online, but savvy in-store customers are also armed with smartphones that can help them find better deals elsewhere or score price-matching offers.”

Shopping online is only growing and not going away anytime soon. Therefore, businesses need to think about how they want to structure their operations to move with the times. They should not be relying on brick-and-mortar stores to merchandise, brand, and sell their products when sales continue to decline. Mulpuru writes,

“Companies need to think about the permanent implications of smaller margins on stores in the longer-term future and how their multichannel initiatives can help to offset this trend.”

This concept is something that we are always talking about and working on with our clients. Although it is intimidating to make changes to an existing supply chain, you don’t want to miss the boat on this fast moving online gravy train. Either, companies need to work with their distributors to come up with a profitable e-commerce plan (selling wholesale to ecommerce sites), or market themselves online in a way that appropriately represents the brand and creates revenue through their website.

See the full article here: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/02/27/e-commerce-will-keep-rolling-research-firm-says/?mod=dist_smartbrief