Tag Archives: ecommerce

How Reviews Influence Consumer Culture

June 5, 2024 The Silo Leave a comment

The internet and its vast adoption have now had a huge impact on our shopping and consumer habits. It provides more choice than ever before when it comes to shopping around. If you’re going to get your car insured, there are many sites that directly compare providers of insurance so that you don’t have to.

There are also plenty of sites that specialise in allowing you and other consumers to leave honest reviews on products or services that are offered by businesses, no matter what country they’re in. In fact, the sole purpose of some of these websites is to help you, aid you in making informed decisions, and hold businesses to account when it comes to bad reviews to explain themselves and resolve their issues.

A lot of choice out there

And if you’re looking to make a choice between one business and another, a review can have a huge sway in eventually helping you decide which is the best one to choose. A fine example is a website called casinos.com that allows users to leave reviews on both online casinos and on the top slot games. And in the casino industry, in particular, competition is so fierce amongst some of the top brands in the industry at the moment that having positive reviews can help them gain more players, so it’s essential they provide good service and an entertaining experience.

The consequences of negative reviews

Put yourself in a typical consumer’s shoes. If you go to a review website and see a raft of bad reviews for a particular store or a particular website, this immediately throws up warning flags. If a business has thousands of reviews left and there’s the odd low rating that can be looked past, but when you notice trends or the vast majority are negative reviews, you won’t consider joining that site. It’s like the internet’s version of word of mouth, and so it’s vitally important that online casinos and businesses in other industries ensure that they have support structures in place to help consumers and online users, rather than them resorting to leaving a bad review.

How many people will look online for a review?

To put into numbers just how influential reviews are, a recent study found that 93% of customers will look at an online review before going ahead and spending money online. That is an absolutely huge majority. And so, essentially, if you have shocking reviews for your business online, on average, about 93% of your potential customers are going to be able to see these negative reviews, and this will more than likely ensure that these are lost sales where they go to one of your competitors. A lot of the top eCommerce sites such as Amazon also allow customers to leave reviews on products following their purchase directly on the site so that users don’t have to go to other sources in order to discover other peoples feedback.

A digital form of word-of-mouth

A lot of our consumer behaviour is influenced by what others think. Reviews are just the internet equivalent of a personal recommendation from a friend. You may have had it before where you’ve asked either on social media or directly to friends or family about a recommendation for a certain service, and you’ve gone ahead and chosen their recommendation due to your affiliation and pre-existing relationship with that particular person. And although you don’t know the people directly who leave reviews, there is no doubt that if there is a large quantity, it can certainly influence a purchasing decision.

Reviews of products

Although you’re looking for online reviews, they are only available on online websites. A lot of people will also share reviews in video format on places such as YouTube. This is popular amongst electronics such as smartphones and watches, and a common method is called unboxing, whereby they will show you the features of a certain product after unboxing it.

There are also a lot of blog websites where someone will blog about their experience or their personal views and opinions on a certain service, subject, or product. This is also a very popular resource for people to look at before potentially reaching a decision on whether to buy a product.

In Summary

From what we’ve discussed today, it’s abundantly clear that reviews can and do have a huge influence on our consumer culture and behavior. They help a lot in helping us make informed decisions as consumers prior to making a decision to purchase either a product or a service. There are also many resources on the internet that can help you find reviews that cover almost every single industry that you can imagine. For the Silo, Diane Hutton.

Finance

Ecommerce Is Evolving And Here’s How

July 23, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Thanks to the digital technology, we can carry out commercial transactions online. We can buy and sell items or services, pay bills, make orders, and so much more.

Online enterprises are heavily relying on this commodity. This is why we have numerous online businesses nowadays.

The infographic below from Subscriptionly will inform you about the current and future tech trends that will influence the ecommerce sector. Some of the main trends are as follows.

Personalized Experience

Technology has enabled online businesses to give their customers personalized shopping experiences. For e-shoppers, this has engendered an engaging and satisfying shopping experience.

Businesses recorded an increase in revenue by employing this concept, since 48% of customers spend more when their experience is personalized.

Automated Customer Service

AI has transformed the way customer queries and complaints are attended to. Consumers now have their issues promptly resolved. It was reported that, this year, AI handled 45% of customer queries on its own. And it does this swiftly and effectively, which is definitely a factor that makes customer support a positive experience.

Excellent customer service is essential to building customer loyalty. In fact, 42% of customers buy more when they are served properly.

It is projected that, by 2020, AI will handle 85% of customer interactions.

Cryptocurrency

Soon, commercial transactions will be carried out with cryptocurrency. Via the use of cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin), customers will get to make secure payments quickly and conveniently.

Also, businesses that add cryptocurrency as a payment method will make better sales. One retail outfit did and in 5 months, it generated $2million alternative currency sales and a 60% boost in new customers.

Drone Delivery

In the nearest future, e-shoppers will possibly have their purchased items delivered the same day. When this become reality, customers will be happier and businesses will undergo a rise in brand awareness and sales. The 72% of shoppers stated they would shop and spend more if same day delivery was available.

A method that is being considered to initiate same day delivery is the drone delivery. DHL tried it and recorded a 70% improvement in first-attempt deliveries, and a 90% success in resolution of customers’ critical cases. When popularized, 40% of parcels will be drone-delivered in 2 hours by 2028. For the Silo, Josh Wardini.

Fashion

Fashion And Technology Connect At New York Fashion Week

August 24, 2018 The Silo Leave a comment

What would it be like to listen in on a discussion on new materials/textiles by a director at NASA, an entrepreneur focusing on branding for dogs and an international superstar in fashion? It may sound odd at first thought, however, in the fashion industry today everyone is linked through technology – which nowadays is every brand’s biggest competitor.

Marcelo & Jordana Guimaraes (husband and wife) are the founders of FASHINNOVATION – an event bringing the thought leaders in the fashion and technology industries in front of an audience to discuss topics including production/manufacturing, sustainability, textiles/technology, branding/design, e-commerce, celebrities in fashion and “fashion-tech on the rise”(startups). These conversations will take place in moderated panels sharing a common goal: to spark the entrepreneurial mindset through inspiration and knowledge.

FASHINNOVATION will take place during New York Fashion Week on September 12th, 2018.
“I’ve been involved in the entrepreneurial eco-system throughout my life – always with a focus on technology. The challenge with the fashion and technology industries, is having them always inter connected to have a finger on the pulse of the latest innovations – making things exciting and thought provoking. With the merge of ideas, the outcome is unimaginable” says Founder, Marcelo Guimaraes.

A look back at an earlier NYC Fashion week show-

Confirmed to participate are: Vice President of Shopify/Co-Founder of Shopify Plus – Loren Padelford, Co-Founder of Ministry of Supply – Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Global Fashion Industry Leader & Partner at IBM – Karl Haller, Best-Selling Author & Host of TV Show: Elevator Pitch – David Meltzer, Designer/Founder at Kris Harring – Kris Harrington, Co-Founder of Bolt Threads – David Breslauer, Fashion Designer (Project Runway season 11 & All Stars) – Layana Aguilar, Art Creative for MAC make-up & Fenti by Rihanna – Jason Naylor, Founders of HICKIES (collaboration w/ DVF) – Mariquel Waingarten & Gaston Frydlewski, Co-Founder of M.Gemi – Ben Fischman, Executive Director at FIT’s Infor Design and Tech Lab – Michael Ferraro, Co-Founder of Universal Standard – Alexandra Waldman, Founders of Haerfest – Tim & Dan Joo, Founder of ByBorre (NIKE & Louis Vuitton collabs)– Borre Akkersdijk, Founder of Zee Dog – Thadeu Diz, Co-Founder of WindowsWear – Jon Harari, Program Executive at NASA – Jenn Gustetic and Founder of Fashion Tech Consortium – Michael Reidbord. Institutions in participation include Singularity University (NYC Chapter) and Endeavor. Part of all proceeds will be donated to NFTE.

“It’s exciting to see the positive feedback on FASHINNOVATION from leaders in the fashion and tech industries. We have additional confirmations on the way ranging from fashion personalities to platinum record superstars – the eclectic mix of people and companies participating, will ensure that everyone who attends walks away with knowledge that is unmatched” says Co-Founder & PR Director Jordana Guimaraes.

The event will resume with a cocktail networking reception, with live performances by: “violin superstar” who’s performed w/ Beyonce, etc. – Ezinma and singer/songwriter Heather LaRose – recently hitting 1 million streams online & best known for her song “New Moon” featured on MTV’s “Teen Wolf”.

Culture

How To Start An eCommerce Business

November 30, 2017 The Silo Leave a comment

More than half of the world’s population made an online eCommerce purchase in 2016, and these numbers are only expected to increase.

This means establishing an online presence is more crucial than ever if you want to keep up with the competition, continue to expand your brand, and generate more annual revenue.

Luckily, we are here to show you how to start a successful eCommerce business, so that you can begin attracting, converting, and retaining loyal customers in no time.

1. Choose a Business Name

After deciding what you want to sell, you’ll need to choose a business name that will withstand the test of time. Make it easy to remember, relatable to your target audience, and personal – to give your business an edge against the competition.

2. Register a Domain Name and Build a Website

Typically, people aim to use their business name as their domain name. However, if that’s not possible, register a domain name that is at least compatible.

At the same time you are registering your domain name, you should be considering the platform you want to build your eCommerce site on. There are plenty of options including Shopify, which is an all-in-one solution, or other more customizable options such as WooCommerce (which is built on the WordPress CMS).

3. Find Products

You will need products to sell in your eCommerce shop. And sometimes, this can be a challenging process because startups can be expensive.

However, for those looking for an affordable way to get an eCommerce shop up and running, there is always the dropshipping method.

With dropshipping services you can find products you would like to include on your eCommerce shop and import them directly.

From there, customers purchase those products, you place an order with a third-party supplier, and they ship the item straight to your customer.

The dropshipping method is popular because it eliminates the need to stock and deliver inventory yourself.

4. Marketing & Retargeting

It is not enough to have an online presence. You need to invest some time into marketing your brand so your target audience learns you exist.

Here are some great ideas to get you started:

Create a “Coming Soon” page
Build landing pages leading site visitors down your sales funnel
Build an email list to stay in touch with customers
Publish consistent blog content to engage customers and build product interest
Utilize multiple social media platforms to interact with customers and share information

In addition, you will need to work on a concept called retargeting. This means finding ways to encourage those that visited your online shop, but didn’t buy anything¸ to come back and make a purchase after all.

According to Kissmetrics, the number one reason people abandon their shopping cart is unexpected shipping costs. Make sure to address all of the reasons people fail to finalize purchases and urge them to come back and try again.

Final Thoughts

In the end, starting an eCommerce shop is relatively easy to do. There are plenty of services and tools available to guide you through the process and make the startup process easier. As a result, you are able to focus on the important things, like getting customers to visit your shop and make purchases. For the Silo, Dimitry Karloff.

Featured image – https://pixabay.com/en/ecommerce-shopping-credit-card-2607114/