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Check out "Outsourcing Takes Flight," a recent article from Chain Store Magazine featuring ShopVisible client ShopBags.com. The article discusses Shop Bag's partnership with ShopVisible as a SaaS ecommerce solution. With an integrated solution, ShopBags can take advantage of marketing tools, analytics, drop-shipping, fulfillment, and easily update the look of their site all with the same platform.
ShopVisible is a SaaS ecommerce solution based in Atlanta, GA.
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Following up on the last blog about the Abobe/ BRS Group study “Customer Experience: Lessons for Loyalty,” I wanted to share the findings on abandoned cart rates. Every retailer can improve abandonment rates, and many are frustrated because they can’t seem to pinpoint where carts are abandoned and why so many are left behind.
As it turns out, 79 % of online shoppers report that they abandon carts, with the top three reasons being shipping and handling charges higher than expected, a desire to continue comparison-shopping, and simply a change of mind. Other reasons included poor customer service, learning that items are back-ordered or out of stock only after dropping them into the cart, and errors in the payment process. These are all big problems, but the good thing is that there are solutions. Few ecommerce providers, however, can truly provide the features and functionality to fix them all. Let’s take a look:
Problem: Shipping and Handling Charges Higher Than Expected (72 %)
Solution: Find an ecommerce provider with the technology to run estimates on shipping and handling from the product page, or once the item goes into the cart. Do not wait until the end of checkout to give a customer the shipping and handling estimates.
Problem: Decided to Do More Online Comparison Shopping (62 %)
Solution: Make sure to mark “low price guarantee” on items when possible. Shoppers will be more inclined to take your word for it and less likely to continue comparison-shopping.
Problem: Just Changed My Mind (60 %)
Solution:This one is tough, because it’s hard to convince a noncommittal shopper to buy. This is where your smart marketing comes into play. First, it’s important to provide all the information a shopper needs to make an informed decision (attributes and specs like color, weight, dimensions as well as visuals including multi-angle shots or zoom functionality help). Product reviews, ratings, rich content—also important. If everything you’ve got still doesn’t seal the deal, send an email to the person who abandoned offering him a discount for coming back to purchase what was left in his cart. You will need an ecommerce solution or email marketing provider with the capability to capture abandoned carts and the SKUs within them.
Problem: Poor Customer Service, Namely, No One Online to Answer My Questions
Solution: Live Chat! Live Chat! Live Chat! Not only can you answer questions that will help a customer buy, but you have the opportunity to up-sell more products. Just make sure you have a sales representative available during business hours, because a Live Chat window with a “no one home” message can be just as frustrating to a shopper as having no option to chat at all.
Problem: Finding Out Items are Backordered or Out of Stock Only After They Place Them in the Cart
Solution: You need an ecommerce provider that can automatically update inventory in real-time, so items that are not in-stock or backordered will automatically appear on the product page in a timely manner. Trying to buy what you want and then finding out you can’t get it is extremely disappointing for shoppers. (And exactly the reason I hate shoe shopping – I fall in love with a pair on display, wait around for someone to help me, and then I’m told it’s not available in my size! At least online you can find out before you get your hopes up! Similar idea here.)
Problem: Error in Payment Process
Solution: Your checkout process must be quick and convenient without any sign of error. It’s also important not to ask for too much personal information from the shopper—most already hesitate to give out their credit card numbers to retailers. Go through your own checkout process as if you were a customer to make sure that no security messages or error messages appear anywhere. It’s also a good idea to consider alternate payment methods as options for consumers such as Google Checkout, Checkout by Amazon, in addition to PayPal. These payment methods allow shoppers to buy items from independent retailers with their Amazon or Google credentials. It’s quick, easy, and shoppers feel safe when their transaction goes through a company that they already trust.
ShopVisible has been focusing on the issue of abandonment rates for a while, and we've come up with some innovative ideas on how to further prevent them with proper cross-sell marketing tools. In addition, included in our analytics package are specific reports surrounding abandonment.
Stayed tuned for more on the customer experience…
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Shipping is one of the more difficult aspects of owning an online business. Whether you ship products in-house, ship from a fulfillment center, or you use drop-shippers, the process of getting an order to a customer from the moment it is received is as complicated as it is extensive. Multiply that order by hundreds, and the potential for problems increases at every step of the way. That’s why many merchants in the market for a new ecommerce platform make sure to team up with a provider that has the kind of sophisticated shipping technology to make things easy and efficient. ShopVisible is one of those providers. This week’s blog entries are dedicated to highlighting ShopVisible’s unbeatable shipping system for every client’s needs.
Today’s Feature: Built in Label Generation
While it might seem like an afterthought, having the technology to print shipping labels easily is quite important to many online merchants. Most ecommerce providers do not have label-printing capabilities built into their platform. They typically integrate with a third party software packages like TrueShip or require the merchant to go through the shipping carriers like FedEx or UPS themselves.
ShopVisible has built in technology to allow for label printing directly from the client’s Site Manager, which is the same user-interface the client uses to manage every aspect of his business including marketing, IT, back office, accounting, inventory, and of course shipping. Automatic label generation saves the client time and hassle of managing separate software or involving another step in the process of shipping.
ShopVisible’s label generation technology includes a batch printing system, which allows clients to set up printing options so that they don’t have to hit the print button every time there is a new order or item going out. A wide variety of options can be created to suit the client’s preferences. For example, a client can create an option to pull all order labels every thirty minutes or he can decide to print sporadically, and create an option that will automatically pull any news labels since the last batch was printed.
ShopVisible’s built-in application also creates a local archive of shipping label PDFs in case a client makes an error and needs to print a label more than once. This handy archive is a great way to automatically back up information, and it saves the client a lot of clicking around in the website to find and reprint old labels.
Finally, ShopVisible supports label generation for thermal printing if needed.
If you’re an online merchant who has experienced frustrations with your platform’s shipping tools, it may be time to switch providers. Read more about ShopVisible’s shipping technology and check back on this blog for more information on special features that come with our standard platform.
ShopVisible is an ecommerce solution based in Atlanta, GA.
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This holiday season is especially busy for our clients. While online merchants gladly welcome the surge of orders, handling shipping complications during a chaotic time of year is an e-tailer’s worst nightmare.
At ShopVisible, we’ve created the most robust shipping engine available. With our easy-to-use, reliable tools, clients can put their shipping frustrations aside and focus on growing their business. In addition, customers can track their packages with ease and get those gifts in before its too late. ShopVisible’s shipping tools are just one more way we’re helping to save Christmas for business owners (and consumers) one online storefront at a time.
With ShopVisible, you can choose to offer three types of shipping.
1. Multiple carriers, including FedEx, UPS, DHL, and USPS. Our handy shipping calculator formulates costs against real time rates.
2. Freight shipping including Yellow Freight, Conway, Etes, and FedEx Freight, also calculated against real time rates. Clients can program special freight options into the site manager to help determine the appropriate cost for their customers (i.e. does the customer need a lift gate?).
3. Custom shipping just for you. Create your own business model around shipping. Offer free shipping as a holiday promotion or an extra “white glove” cost to customers with special delivery requests.
With ShopVisible, drop shipping is easy. We’ve completely automated the process to eliminate communication mishaps between the drop-shipper, retailer, and consumer. Anytime a package is shipped, a record with all order data is sent to the client and drop-shipper. Tracking numbers are emailed directly to the customer. In addition, if a customer purchases multiple products that ship from different locations, he will receive all tracking numbers accordingly.
However, we don’t just service retailers with drop-shippers. We service manufacturers, wholesalers, and franchises using fulfillment houses, in store inventory and more.
So if your business could benefit from a sophisticated, user-friendly shipping engine like ours, you may want to consider changing platforms. Online shopping is in full swing, and with the ShopVisible ecommerce solution, our clients can celebrate the holidays without the added stress.
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