I was surprised to find an article about the importance of maintaining an up-to-date Web site on Multichannel Merchant. It’s not that the content of the article is particularly surprising; what shocked me is that it was posted yesterday.

Since it is our job to power things like personlized customer experiences, dynamic and tailored offers and contextualized search results, I had assumed that things like live links and up-to-date press release pages were a given!

But the fact that a leading trade publication would publish a story like this in 2007 serves as a stark reminder that ”the basics” need persistent attention.

Where are you putting the effort and attention in your online storefronts? Has the attention on “next-generation” features and functionality distracted from Web fundamentals? Or, does it raise the bar for what’s expected from basic site content?

This Sunday, Michael Barbaro of the NY Times discussed the cleverness and implications resulting from Samsung’s introduction of ‘experience stores’ and subsequently, the introduction of similar outlets (or plans for them) from AT&T, Motorola, Apple, Sony, Maytag and Verizon. Now, what’s interesting is that while some of the stores will offer product for purchase, most don’t. This concept of brick and mortar experience stores is about putting product into the hands of consumers and having them try it out, get used to it, etc. with the expectation that it will gently (or not so gently) urge said shoppers to go out and buy what they like.

Barbaro points to drawbacks including: “All those demonstrations and seminars require longer shopping trips, which customers may have little enthusiasm for. And because each store carries its own brand, but not those of competitors, they limit consumers’ options, making the big-box stores more appealing.” Here, we start to get into the meat of what separates online shopping from in-store.

For Web storefronts, the entire business has always been about experience shopping. These physical stores encourage customers to come in, try things out and “loiter.” But at the core, what they’re asking consumers to experience is product-focused…and then in most cases they aren’t providing the opportunity for fans to bring that product home. For online stores, the customer experience is brand-focused and relies on the actual act of browsing and (hopefully) buying. Long visits aren’t an issue because shoppers can log on anytime they want. Not offering competitors’ options is less of a concern, too. In many cases, a consumer visits a website because she is drawn to the brand due to successful marketing campaigns, or is already loyal to it as a result of past experiences.

The online experience is about finding the right products, navigating the store, connecting with the messages and voice of the brand and when done correctly, communicating a relevant call to action so a browser feels compelled to take your brand home.

[tags] Michael Barbaro, NY Times, experience shopping, Samsung, e-commerce [/tags] 

It’s true – personalization is the future; if they haven’t already, e-retailers must begin personalizing their web sites now, to ensure success.  It is a tremendously powerful way to move you away from haphazard methods for retaining customers, and can really help boost sales…

Retailers need to work on better understanding individual customers through their shopping and buying habits and their needs and wants – and then cater to them. The future is here – time to personalize!

Our friends at The E-Tailing group came out with some preliminary results of their Sixth Annual Merchant Survey: 34% of merchants plan to add the function in 2007. Are you one of them? More here

[tags] personalization, atg, e-commerce [/tags]

Internet Retailer recently spoke to our friends at Road Runner Sports to get some insight into the company’s sales trends.

The company’s sales mix is 40% Web, 40% catalog and 20% in-store. I wonder if that ratio is consistent for all multi-channel retailers or if there is a difference between how people shop for athletic apparel and, say, home furnishings.

Anybody up for sharing similar info here in order to do a little anecdotal research comparing the percentages in different retail categories, as well as discussing expectations for how they will shift in the future?

[tags] e-commerce, multi-channel retail, sales trends, internet retailer, road runner sports [/tags]