Weekly Blog Roundup - Friday 9th August 2013

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Digital Matters Blog
blog.act ivat e me dia.com /po st/57785794670/week
ly- blo g- ro undup- f riday- 9th- august- 2013
eCommerce Checkout Tricks Ask f or Less and T
heyll Buy More http//blog.kissmetrics.com/1step
- checkout- right- way/ This article takes a
look at the checkout process for e- commerce
shops and how simplifying the checkout process
can create a more streamline purchase for the
customer. This article looks at four ways in
which to create a smoother check out
process. This first of these looks at web forms
used by the customer to fill out delivery
details. These are all the same and ask for the
details in the same format that people use on
envelopes, its what people are familiar with so
therefore reduces the chance of error. However,
in a world where we can deduce information and
categoriz e relationships into tables, theres a
better way to format the fields. By moving the
postcode box to the front of the form the
information entered here can then be used to fill
out other areas of that form automatically i.e
country, county thus speeding up the checkout
process. The next way to speed up e commerce
check out looks at credit card information. Lots
of checkouts are still asking for the credit
card type upfront along with the number, expiry
date and CVV digits. As with the postcode lookup,
credit card type can also be calculated by the
card number itself. By asking this first the
other relevant information can be filled in
without user interaction. The next area of the e
commerce check out process that is analysed is in
regards to returning customers. Determining
whether a customer is a returning one or not is
another scenario where algorithmic detection can
help work this out. The users email address can
be looked up automatically in the e- commerce
stores database to determine whether they are a
returning customer or not. The final area of the
check out process which is looked at is in
regards to shipping method. Though most stores
are corrected this some still fail to select a
default shipping method for there user. By
selecting the most inexpensive option by default
the checkout does the work of filling in yet
another form for the user. 3 steps to consistent
omni-channel branding http//www.imediaconnection
.com/content/34615.asp This article discusses
consistent branding and how it is vital for brand
marketers and their retails partners to achieve
this in todays multichannel shopping
environment. If marketed successfully a retailers
product can become more
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ingrained in the consumers everyday life. If they
fall short the consequences can be severe. This
post provides three steps which should be taken
to deliver a consistent and effective branding
strategy in a multichannel environment. These are
as follows. Leverage a cent ral product dat
abase To streamline the accuracy, efficiency,
and reliability of product content, brand
marketers can leverage a central database for
product information. By doing so this creates a
one- stop- shop for product content, allowing
marketers to save time in their daily tasks to
ensure the information that they provide vendors
and partners is consistent, accurate and drives
efficiency. Commit t o const ant updat
es Its often said the only constant in life is
change. This is especially true in the world of
consumer products. Brand marketers should put in
place a system that helps guarantee that product
information is constantly updated to maintain the
validity of data. St reamline dist ribut ion
channels The final step in the path to a
consistent multichannel branding strategy is to
distribute that information to the right sources.
With new channels for product information popping
up each day, such as, websites, social media,
blogs, and mobile apps, its important to focus
on reach and efficiency in your distribution
strategy. Amaz ons mobile shopping basket and
consistent multichannel strategy http//econsulta
ncy.com/uk/blog/10803- amaz on- s- mobile-
shopping- basket- and- consistent- multichannel-
strategy This article looks at Amaz ons
multichannel shopping experience as an example of
the seamless experience retailers should be
providing their customers. Amaz on have hit the
nail on the head with the way that they
synchronises a customers shopping basket across
its desktop and mobile app. This makes perfect
sense given the research that shows a majority of
shoppers switching between channels when
researching, comparing prices and purchasing
products. This is a great example of offering a
consistent experience across multiple channels
rather than viewing on a desktop and mobile as
separate elements. This article then goes on to
look at mobile apps for eight other retailers to
see whether they offered the same function.
Responsive Web Design and T he Future of
Websites http//www.creativebeacon.com/responsive
- web- design- and- the- future- of-
websites/ This article looks at responsive web
design and what this means for the future of
websites. Responsive web design is best described
as a flexible framework that enables a website to
dynamically change the look and usability for
the user dependant on which device they are
viewing your site on. No matter what the siz e of
the screen or type of browser used the layout of
the page will always look and work effectively.
This approach to design has been born out the
number of different devices that can now be used
to browse the web. Responsive web design means
that online companies do not need to develop
their website for individual platforms. This will
affect online marketing agencies in terms of
changing/adding to the services they currently
offer. Responsibly designed website will ensure
that all web pages correspond with each other,
and therefore there will be less web development
due to less coding involved as one siz e will
fit all. The article then goes on to look
further at the advantages of this approach to web
design, how it will affect online marketing and
the future of web design and development. 3
Online Shopping Needs T his Holiday
Season http//www.business2community.com/digital-
marketing/3- online- shopping- needs- this-
holiday- season This article looks at three
online shopping needs consumers will be expecting
from e- retailers that will ultimately lead them
to purchase. These are as follows.
Avoid t he st ore
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Last year 51 of shopper planned to do their
Christmas shopping from home. This was due to the
fact that they felt they were getting a better
deal online. In addition to this other reasons
included saving money on petrol travelling to the
shops and avoiding crowds of other
shoppers. Painless Navigation Making a purchase
online can be a frustrating experience
particularly in regards to the checkout process.
A smooth checkout process is essential in making
a sale online. Not only this but a seamless
experience across the whole website including
site search and category or brand pages should be
in place to ensure a purchase is complete. Lend
a Hand Just as you would in store make sure you
provide the shopper with the information they
require in making a purchase. Make sure you
provide gift guides and great SEO for shoppers
and customiz ed product recommendations in order
to help them make a decision. T he Branding Perf
ection Myth http//www.business2community.com/bra
nding/the- branding- perfection- myth-
0570725 Rather than looking at how to perfect
your branding, this article provides a refreshing
read by discussing how the idea of branding
perfection is an unattainable myth. Individuals
and companies looking for perfection in their
personal or corporate branding are chasing a
myth. People see branding as an attempt to be
flawless or perfect, when in reality were all
human which means we are flawed. Businesses being
a group of human beings therefore means they too
are not perfect. The real challenge in branding
is managing others perception of you over the
long term. This begins with identifying and
setting a set of values of which you stand for.
Next is about managing your reputation and
message to reinforce those values. If you have a
positive and powerful brand then the market will
be quick to forgive and forgot should actions,
words or decisions go against you. Instead of
chasing the unattainable, strive to have a great
brand and a defensive game plan in place should
you slip up. Web Design Trends f or
2013 http//www.webstarttoday.com/blog/2013/06/27
/web- design- trends- for- 2013/ This article
loo ks at six trends that are likely to shape the
face of the internet and the way in which web
design is approached. The first of these looks at
responsive web design and how designing a site
that dynamically adapts to various display siz es
is if not already essential in todays
multichannel environment. The next looks at
minimalist design and its continued rise in
popularity. We can already see this trend in the
form of authentic design and this trend
continues to prove popular among the design
community, this is said to be influenced by the
demand for responsive designs due to the rise in
mobile devices being used to browse the web. This
type of design makes it easy for the user to
navigate and interact with the brand whilst also
making the content the star of the show. The
next trend seen in web design this year is
increased interactivity. With the rise in mobile
device adoption users can now simply tap their
screen, access a dedicated app and perform
virtually any task. To compete with mobile and
web apps web designers and developers are
including additional features and interactivity
in their site designs. From mobile HTML optimiz
ations for maps or contact information to dynamic
content, these features are likely to become a
standard part of the web in 2013. The concept of
endless pages is another trend to be seen this
year. Tumblr and Pinterest are two examples where
this can be seen already. This eliminates the
need for the user to constantly click to navigate
to the next page and load further content.
Although this will not be a perfect fit for all
sites, many web 2.0 designers and developers will
likely be adding this trick to their arsenal in
the coming year. The next trend this article
discusses is CSS3 and integrated media. HTML5 and
CSS3 offer a wealth of media and user experience
options for web designers without the need for
embedding, plug- ins or additional resources.
Since many of the elements are rendered with the
page this creates smaller pages, faster load
times, cleaner code and
more efficient management of web design projects.
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• The final trend this article discusses in regards
  to web design is the trend of UX over UI.
  Interfaces are becoming simpler, increasingly
  streamline and offering core features with little
  fluff. The emphasis for many websites now is user
  experience over user interface.
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