People need more from their online shopping experience

Multi-Channel Merchant published an article last week about 'Shoppable and User-generated content' and this has got us thinking about the importance of content in all forms. Naturally, the Smartzer technology requires content to serve a purpose and solve problems that retailers are facing in this current digital landscape of monetising video content. However, it helps to understand why content alongside a website and physical store is important in the first place.

In order for brands to keep up the pace, and develop alongside the advancements in tech and digital, they must produce content. Content can help build trust and loyalty with customers and can grab the attention of potential customers. This could be through images, videos, blog posts and across social media, it is not enough to just have a website anymore. With billions having access to the internet, people expect more from their online shopping experience.

Younger audiences such as Gen Z and Millennials expect the most from e-commerce. This is due to a broadened technological awareness as a result of rapid advancements in social media and mobile technology. These audiences are incredibly apt at using tech and navigating the internet whether this is by checking feeds or ordering a new pair of shoes from anywhere in the world. While their internet attention is hooked, brands should seize this opportunity to stand out with the best and most engaging content.

This is where it gets interesting. For example, picture someone browsing social media and they come across a campaign image promoting a new collection or they watch the video to showcase some of the new product. Firstly, this content has immediately proven itself as effective as it made them stop, look and consider their options for obtaining the product. This content could be taken one step further by making it interactive. By clicking on the product, the customer is taken on a clear and simple route to purchase that will drive a sale and provide the viewer with info in a matter of seconds. In an age where people (particularly the younger generation) are increasingly less patient, it is really important to supply a fast and easy solution for the audience.

Upping the content game and ensuring that it is engaging, efficient and fun means that an audience will have a more enjoyable online experience. We strongly believe that brands should never underestimate the importance of good content and look for ways to enhance it to make it more engaging for the consumer.

You can find out more about what we do on our site. Please feel free to comment and give us any feedback on this subject as well. You can email info@smartzer.com or tweet us @smartzer.

Marketing Tech News

We found a great article on the Marketing Tech News website last week, that we thought was really interesting and insightful; ‘Shoppable video is the next big marketing opportunity’.

Here are some key points we took away:

• Viewing figures for television have been dwindling for a couple of years, but the presence and production of online video has been going from strength to strength. This is probably due to the amount of devices that allow people to access video anytime, anywhere, but then this is something we’ve always considered as well. People can now watch video at basically any time so any opportunity for brands to promote themselves through this medium should be taken without hesitation.

• “...video ad spend grew by 56% in the first half of 2015...this growth demonstrates the recognised ad potential of video…” Not only the recognised potential but the proven examples of when video advertising with an interactive element has produced positive results in engagement and sales.

• Interactivity and data are intertwined, with “data being at the heart of intelligent marketing”. We absolutely agree with this statement, and as you all know, data plays a large part in our product because we understand it’s importance especially in such a data heavy industry. Numbers and analytics speak volumes.

• “...the future is bright for video across all platforms and devices, and it won’t be long until it also provides a shopping experience that’s as interactive as the real world.” We believe the present day is already looking bright, especially with the increase in video content. Although, many are still wary of interactive technology and sceptical of the benefits it will bring it’s really exciting for us to see articles like this being published. Anything that encourages more people to think outside the box and be attuned to what the future of video looks like, is fine by us!

How to reduce shopping cart abandonment

We thought we’d give a little shout out to our friends at Styla this week after reading their article on Actionable Tips to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment. This is a very real and current problem for fashion retail ecommerce, in fact as stated in the article “Shopping cart abandonment rate is as high as 68.63%". It’s a case of people almost becoming customers, but then not actually becoming customers.

Illustrated by a graph, the article clearly displays reasons why people leave a retailer’s website with “hidden and unexpected costs” appearing to be the key factor.

As well as advising numerous helpful ways to encourage buying; always show costs, offer free shipping and use more images, to name a few, another suggestion is to make content shoppable.

“...if your content is directly shoppable, i.e. if people can buy products directly from it, people can add items to their shopping carts right away - and as a result, buy more.”

Something that we noted and found really interesting is that by making your content interactive, you can also tick off other points made by Styla such as improve speed and be smart about CTA’s.

Overall, this is a really great article with some seriously useful tips that have been proven to work for some companies. With the abandonment rate being at almost 70%, it’s really important that all companies read this and take note. Don’t just settle for people browsing your product, adding it to basket and then changing their mind. Find the route of the problem, address it, and resolve it.

You can read the article for yourself HERE.