| |
| |
|
Ecommerce Information |
|
|
|
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 Merchant America a nationwide provider of credit card, debit card and check verification services for merchants. Rick also writes a comedy column entitled, Don't Laugh, It Could Happen To You For online merchant account information click here.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Online Merchant Account - Costs and Alternatives Merchant Account BasicsA Merchant Account is a commercial bank account established by a merchant to receive payment via credit cards. Three parts are required to accept credit cards. Implications Of E-Commerce For Tax Legislation As e-commerce develops ambiguities in the current tax code in which it may be exposed. It would not be regarded as too early to take premature steps for undertaking such a review at a time when detailed international legislation are going on to promulgate acceptable standards laws for imposition taxation in this regard. How To Find the Best Merchant Account For Your Business What a great idea! Start accepting credit cards and watch your profits soar. Nothing could be simpler. Selling Online for Newbies If you are interested in selling online, it is quite easy to get started. First of all you must have a product or service to sell. ECommerce Scenario in Pakistan Pakistan with highest growth rates in 1960s and bad politics in 1980s and 90s but, the stage is totally changed in 2000s as the economy is managed by those who once run the most successful Global Financial Houses. Today Pakistan has achieved 8. What You Must Know About Selling Online to Europe The European market is a multi-billion $ sector which you can not afford to ignore. If you are based within Europe, American or Canada you must be aware of the legal restrictions and requirements or face a hefty fine which could close your business. How to Gain Your Visitors Trust If you are serious about selling on the world wide web and being successful, your number one priority must be gaining your visitor's trust. Without trust you won't sale much and that's really being optimistic. The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eager buyers - and satisfied customers.When meeting potential clients, you wouldn't dream of showing up late in a mismatched outfit, hair disheveled, with food on your tie and no business card, would you? And if they asked for testimonials or explanations about your company policies you'd hardly say, "Sorry, I don't give out that information. Cost Effective Ecommerce Solutions Ecommerce use to be about spending thousands of dollars on setting up your shop and hundreds of dollars on getting a merchant. My, how things have changed over the years. The Art of Being Human This isn't the first time I have written about the benefits of inserting a human voice or presence into your online communications. And I make no excuse for writing about this again. 10 Tips To Build, Manage And Profit From An E-Commerce Website Just because you've built your e-commerce website doesn't mean the customers will begin to come. You need to bring in the visitors, showcase your products, convince them to buy, and bring them back yet again to make any significant gains. Intranet - The Benefits Realisation Plan The Millennium ExperienceA successful project is one that delivers on-spec ('quality'), time and cost. Right? Well consider these two projects?The Millennium Dome was delivered on time for the 31 December 1999 and safely within a budget (fixed in 1998) of 289 million. 10 Reasons Why People Wont Buy A Second Product From You 1. You didn't follow up after the first sale. Your Site is all Direct Marketing This may not be a popular view, but I think writing a web site is very similar to writing a piece of direct mail. I'm not talking about smash-and-grab fliers. Shopping Carts For The Faint Of Heart The chief criteria for judging an ecommerce shopping cart are the number of credit card processors and shipping services it supports, and the number of people that support *it*.Why? Because credit card processors and shipping services mutate all the time. 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. Mr and Mrs Smith Go Online, as Internet Technology Moves from Fantasy to Normality According to NOP World, 48% of all Internet users have researched or purchased financial products such as insurance and loans on the internet, or used online banking facilities. In April, NOP World had already recorded estimates of 28 million people online in Great Britain, with 13. Cyber Banking The use of electronic cash as a means of transacting internet business may prove to be an acceptable alternative to credit card payments. It is reported that the withdrawal of major players from the attempt to develop e-cash is a significant setback. How To Implement E-Business Solutions Successfully Pitfalls of E-business solutions installation processA large distribution company has decided to use a new online supply chain management solution. The people - those who were supposed to use the system - were quite skeptic about the ability of the system, as they did not have enough knowledge and had very little or no training in using a similar system. Web Store - Why Do You Need One? Internet has opened a new era of business opportunities. Each day, thousands of new consumers are joining the Internet.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
