|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)
The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those days are long gone and merchants are advised to make sure their websites are female friendly to faciliate the rising surge of busy i-Moms shopping online for their family and friends. Women now account for 51.7% of Internet usage according to a 2005 Lucid marketing study but that's only the tip of iceberg. When it comes to online purchasing, women are clearly leading the way. According to a Bizrate survey, women accounted for 62% of online purchases in the fourth quarter of 2004! The above statistic shouldn't be that surprising when we consider that women are busy household managers and make many financial decisions across the United States. According to Small Business Administration, "women currently make up 80 percent of consumer spending. They currently purchase more than half the automobiles that are sold in this country. They consistently purchase more groceries, apparel and durable goods than men and they have become the primary ones to make healthcare decisions in 75 percent of American households." Other research shows that women are less likely than men to use the Internet for entertainment purposes, but rather they are looking for information, household tips, low prices, and, especially, ease of use in purchasing online. Merchant Strategy The following seven recommendations will make your website a friendly home for busy moms online. 1. Make your website easy to navigate. A specific product should be easily found and only be a few clicks away from anywhere in the website. 2. Provide in-depth product information. The more product comparisons, reports and reviews you can add, the less likely they'll leave your website to round out their research. 3. Provide quality graphics. Seeing and feeling is of course the best way to examine and test a product, but the shortage of time has trumped that luxury. A quality fast loading image is extremely desirable. 4. Offer a maximum selection. Whether in your store or on your website, this always makes sense. 5. Maintain competitive pricing. The Internet facilitates easy price comparisons, if your prices are too high, it won't be a secret. Check the prices of your competitors. 6. Offer a variety of shipping options including gift wrapping. Women buy the great majority of family gifts. Merchants who gift wrap will get a lot of free advertising by word of mouth. 7. Offer excellent customer service. If there's a problem, a return or a question, there's nothing like a friendly voice by telephone. Personal Story During last Christmas, I noticed a tremendous scene. At my in-laws about 8 of us were sitting in the family room together. Some of the men were watching sports on television, others were chatting, while my wife, mother-in-law and daughter were online at three computer terminals on a long table in the same family room, all shopping for the holidays. They were comparing, giving each other advice, had their credit cards out, and were getting it done. Presents were being picked, wrapped and shipped all over the country. My mother-in-law gets the credit for realizing that she could keep the whole family together by moving the computers into one living area. Everyone was having a great time. Make your online store female friendly and you'll receive a loyal clientele for years to come. Rick David writes a feature column for sandiego.merchantamerica.com/merchant_center.php?x=periodicals&t=is_article">Merchant America a nationwide provider of credit card, debit card and check verification services for merchants. Rick also writes a comedy column entitled, sandiego.merchantamerica.com/index.php?x=articles&type=is_sd">Don't Laugh, It Could Happen To You For online merchant account information click here.
MORE RESOURCES:
|
 |
|
|
Is ECommerce Right for Our Business? If your business features products or services for sale, undoubtedly the topic of eCommerce has come up. What is eCommerce? Literally defined as "the conduct of financial transactions by electronic means," it refers to purchases made over the Internet. Intranet Portals - Search and Taxonomies Knowledge Management for beginnersKnowledge Management (KM) can be defined simply as the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Knowledge assets are often grouped into two categories:(1) Explicit Knowledge Generally, everything and anything that can be documented, archived and codified. Google to Compete with PayPal? PayPal is secure in its domination over the electronic payment industry, at least for now.Following reports that Google planned to launch a new Internet payment service (nicknamed Google Wallet), Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, denied that Google would be directly competing with PayPal. Turn Your Rusty Junk Into eBay Gold Often times people to stop to realize the income potential of their "junk". And, when they DO decide it might be worth selling, they never give eBay a second thought. Online Consumers - What Are They Complaining About? For many businesses, e-commerce represents a tremendous method for generating revenues. To maximize the profit potential, you need to keep an eye on issues that drive your prospects nuts. Short Story: The Benefits of Shopping Online Maria's new lifestyle: Short story about the benefits shopping on the Net has given to a dedicated artist.I've got this strange friend; her name is Maria. Say Something Worth Talking About I recently published a short e-book called 'One Thing I Know About Doing Business Online'. Seventeen people contributed - including Seth Godin, Jeffrey Zelman, Danny Sullivan, Jared Spool, Gerry McGovern and Ann Handley. Your Readers are Publishers Too Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as if it were just like any other medium. We know it isn't, but somehow we just can't resist retaining complete control of the creation and publication of our website and newsletter content. 10 Second Internet Person, sound familiar? Some people do not understand the Internet idea of online commerce, but then again some people do not understand themselves either. To fully understand Internet Commerce you really only need to monitor your "clicking habits" for a few days to see where you are going and what if anything you are buying. When Do You Ask For A Refund? Have you ever asked to have your money refunded after buying something online? Do you do this often? What are the reasons you've asked for refunds? Savvy marketers will try to find out why without making you feel you should not have asked. This would be valuable information to them. Using Drop Shipping for E-commerce Thanks to the ubiquity of the internet, online virtual businesses have become very popular business opportunities. Online retail stores are gradually playing a more important role in our lives than the traditional 'brick-and-mortar' retail shops. The Internet Challenge In spite of the increasing attention on how the Internet is changing the business landscape, many small business owners are still struggling to understand its influence. But unlike the ceaseless blinking of the home VCR, the impact of the Internet cannot be ignored. Government Buying and Selling on the Internet Global Insight, a leading economic and financial forecasting company, (formerly DRI-WEFA), states that all levels of government (federal, state, and local) should see steady increases in the purchases of goods and services through the year 2009.Vendors willing to make the commitment to sell to government can reap the benefits of this projected government spending. eCommerce, How Much Does It cost? Making profits with your existing website design or creating a new online store can be exciting, affordable and most of all; rewarding. Mmmm . Electronic Commerce Tax Jurisdiction and Principles of Permanent Establishment The principle of "permanent establishment" is very important for avoidance the conflict of law of matter connected imposition of taxation. In the absence of a permanent establishment, a country where goods or services are sold has no jurisdiction to tax the resulting profits. 12 Powerful Ways To Use Autoresponders That Will Take YOU To The Top If only I had known that autoresponders are a necessity to your online business when I first ventured online, I would have saved a lot of time and money. You have to automate in as many areas as possible and if used responsibly, autoresponders can be your best friend. Projecting Your Image Whether you sell a product or merely sell time to your employer in your labor, your main product is you. You sell yourself with every move you make, every word you speak or write, every attitude you display. How Merchant Accounts Can Save You Money We all know that accepting credit cards is the key to online sales. Unfortunately, most merchants are unaware that acquiring a merchant account can actually save them money. Excuse Me, Are You Wasting Traffic? The largest cost and concern of an internet business is customer acquisition; traffic. Both quantity and quality of traffic directly determines the succes of an internet business. Rules for Achieving Online Success The Internet brought a great deal of benefits to our life. Access to a lot of free and useful information is, probably, one of the most important out of them.
|
|||||||||||||
| Interesting sites: site map - express lån- Rejse information- |
UBB Webdesign.com © 2008