January 19, 2012
By the ZippyCart Content Team

January is always a great time for merchants to plan their strategy for the coming year, so it makes sense that they would want to gain some insight as to what type of trends could impact their business in 2012. We recently had the opportunity to discuss some of these trends with Senior Vice President of Marketing for Shopatron, Mark Grondin, and asked him some questions about eCommerce in 2012.

What ecommerce trends do you see being most important for merchants in 2012?

Broadly, the impact of the web on how people shop is really going to take hold in 2012. Retailers are going to see the web impact all sales—not just online, but in-store and catalog as well. Now people are going online to research products, compare pricing, read reviews, share information and even find retail locations. It’s old-fashioned to think merchants can compete without a solid eCommerce strategy. And with the growth in mobile browsing and shopping, a pervasive and comprehensive web presence is even more critical to merchants. Mobile traffic to Shopatron brand websites increased from 6.5% to 12.2% of visits over the course of 2011, and is expected to grow to 18% – 20% in 2012.

Merchants need to work toward expanding and integrating their sales channels. This is a key topic of our recent whitepaper and webinar, which target how the web will change the way brands and retailers do business in 2012. It is imperative that merchants focus on presenting a well-rounded, convenient and united front across all channels to build consumer confidence and produce more sales overall. Focusing on just one channel is going to result in lost sales.

Any other trends to pay attention to?

We see strong indications from retailers that they will move away from brands that sell aggressively online. As eCommerce plays a more prominent role in sales, retailers are revolting against competition from their supplier brands that are supposed to be working with them, not against them. In a 2009 survey of Shopatron retailers, 51% of respondents said they would reduce or cease buying from brands that decide to sell online direct to consumers. That number went up to 64% of retailers in the same survey of Shopatron retailers in 2011. Brands will need to find a way to integrate their online sales with their retail partners, or else suffer a reduction in sales in their core sales channel.

Where do you see in-store pick up going in 2012? Do you think more businesses will adopt this into their strategy?

The number of merchants offering in-store pickup is going to continue to grow in 2012. In-store pickup will become another customer expectation, much like once rare features like free shipping or PayPal. For consumers, it’s often the preferred delivery method based on convenience, in-store support options and reduced shipping fees. For the retailer, it’s an opportunity to draw more shoppers into their store for add-on sales. For the brand, it lets them serve their customers how they want to be served. It’s a win-win for all.

The emergence of federal online tax legislation will also drive growth for in-store pickup. A universal eCommerce tax will reduce the price incentive to buy online from out-of-state retailers, giving local brick-and-mortar retailers an even playing field. As a result, merchants that can pair an online purchase with the convenience of local in-store pickup are going to capture more sales. Shoppers are no longer going to have to choose between convenience and a “no-sales-tax” online discount.

And big retailers like Walmart, Ace Hardware, Toys “R” Us and Home Depot did not launch in-store pickup solely for customer convenience. Early reports by Walmart noted that 60% of orders picked up in store resulted in additional sales at the store. Another report by Internet Retailer revealed that of the 73% of Ace Hardware’s online orders that were fulfilled through in-store pickup, 33% purchased additional merchandise.

At Shopatron, we have hundreds of brands that now offer in-store pickup through their retail channel; in some cases in-store pickup is the optimal delivery channel for their online orders. For example, Alpine uses local dealers who also can handle installation and Raleigh uses local bike shops in order to have new bikes properly assembled and configured.

“The Shopatron service adds a new dimension to Alpine’s retail strategy,” said Mike Anderson, Assistant VP of Sales for Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. “The ship-to-store model offers the convenience of an online shopping experience, while providing consumers with the in-person customer service and installation expertise that can only be delivered by our authorized Alpine retailers.”

What tips/advice do you have for merchants in January? What types of things should they be doing to prepare for the rest of the year?

Merchants are going to want to establish continuity between all sales and marketing channels in 2012. There have been growing pains, with merchants trying to keep up with constant evolution of technologies. It’s going to be critical to refine initial efforts into something more elegant.

That means integrating consistent messaging and pricing to customers across all channels; from your website, your retail stores, and your customer call center. It also means having all of those channels open to begin with. If a customer’s search for you online, on their mobile phone, or on Facebook leads to a dead end, they can (and will) easily find another store that accommodates their query.

Do you think merchants will put a bigger emphasis on customer service in 2012?

I think customer service, convenience and simplicity will become more significant factors in retail buying. Merchants need to be at the top of search engine rankings, provide a secure and easy-to-navigate shopping experience, and offer delivery options that make life easier for their customers.

Merchants should focus on their unique value proposition. When online tax legislation settles in, competition is going to get even more intense. When prices are equal, convenience and service will be the deciding factor for shoppers.

Brick and mortar retailers should leverage their place in the local community to strengthen relationships and market their personal service. Then they can support those physical locations with an online presence that allows local customers the convenience of searching, browsing and even shopping online.

What marketing techniques for 2012 do you recommend to merchants wanting to drive more traffic to their online store?

Every day there are tons of companies, platforms and websites giving online merchants new ways to reach out to shoppers. Some of them are great; some are unproven. But it’s important not to get caught up in all of it. Start with the proven standbys and make sure you are doing them well—email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, affiliate marketing, press relations and social media.

If merchants are still on the fence about social marketing, now’s the time to jump in. The two-way conversations with customers provided by Facebook and Twitter are becoming invaluable. Not only do these channels foster customer loyalty, they provide insights into shopper preferences and behavior you would normally pay an arm and a leg for. No other platform allows you to geographically and behaviorally target and personalize your marketing the way Facebook does.

Another trend to watch is location-based mobile marketing—also another reason to make sure you have continuity between marketing channels. Being able to send product or promotional alerts to customers when they are near one of your retail locations could become very powerful as marketers refine what works and shoppers get more comfortable with letting this type of marketing in.

And lastly, don’t forget about your packaging and in-store merchandising. One of the many benefits of integrating your online channel with your retail partners is that it opens up more marketing opportunities. If your retailers are fulfilling your online sales, they will be happy to help you promote your website in their store This will allow you to reach more shoppers and expose those shoppers to your whole product line, not just what is on the shelf in front of them.

About Mark Grondin:
Mark has over 15 years of experience in eCommerce, web and mobile technology, having provided eCommerce consulting to organizations like the German Stock Exchange, Swissair and Johnson Outdoors, and managing web agency relationships with Hewlett-Packard, Disney, and Apple. He is currently Senior Vice President of Marketing for Shopatron, responsible for business development, PR, demand generation and outbound sales for the #1 retail-integrated eCommerce solution in the world.

December 19, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Countless ecommerce sites are offering holiday deals this year, but shoppers will gravitate to retailers that provide security and efforts to prevent identity theft. Given the ease of global Internet shopping, consumers are buying products from companies all over the world, and, especially when dealing with foreign ecommerce sites, customers want to be assured they are shopping securely. Shoppers are concerned with the security risks and scams associated with online deals, and retailers must combat this fear to break through the cluttered ecommerce landscape and attract more customers.

TransPerfect, a leading provider of language services and technology solutions, announced that it now has PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification for its GlobalLink OneLink technology. This makes OneLink the first website localization solution to boast this added layer of data security, thereby giving shoppers further reassurance to the safety of their information when shopping online. PCI DSS certification minimizes the risks associated with transacting business over multilingual e-commerce sites around the world.

GlobalLink OneLink is designed to address the specific needs of ecommerce, retail and travel sites via a proxy-based approach. Once the site is launched, advanced change-detection capabilities ensure that multilingual versions remain current whenever updates occur. In markets where SKUs, prices or other vital information changes daily, hourly or even by the minute, automating site maintenance across all language versions of a customer-facing website is critical to a successful multilingual web strategy. The addition of PCI DSS certification provides localization security for these sites.

PCI DSS is a set of requirements designed to ensure companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information or other personal information for site users maintain a secure environment, guarantees that all guidelines are followed when handling sensitive client data related to online commerce and customer interaction.

Phil Shawe, co-CEO of TransPerfect, had this to say about the company’s new certification:

“Since we work with e-commerce and other types of sites that require users to enter highly sensitive personal information, it was important to our firm to take the lead by investing in PCI Certification. Our clients want the greatest possible assurance that their customers’ data is secure when transacting business over the web globally.”

When using TransPerfect’s OneLink, ecommerce sites are able to ensure that their customers’ sensitive information, including credit card data, social security numbers and contact information, will remain confidential when transacting business globally over the web.

August 29, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Do you have a great idea for an online store, but you’re not sure how to get started without spending a lot of money to hire a developer to design and build it for you? Maybe you currently sell products online, but via a third party site like Etsy or Bonanza, and want to take things to the next level with a dedicated online store just for your products. Well now you could have the opportunity to make your vision a reality, without having to spend money buying ecommerce software. ZippyCart has partnered with SumEffect Inc., creators of the top-rated CoreCommerce ecommerce solution, for the “70 Websites Challenge” contest. This contest will allow five lucky winners to each win a free Starter-level online store for one year. This package would cost you $39.99 per month – that’s almost $500 in total over the course of a year. In addition we will also be giving away other cool schwag like ZippyCart t-shirts, stickers, and even a poster of the “70 Websites Challenge” graphic.

So I guess by now you probably want to know what the “70 Websites Challenge” contest is all about, and how you can enter to try and win an online store for a year powered by ecommerce software from CoreCommerce. Over the last decade more and more people are spending their free time surfing the Internet, reading news on their favorite blogs, checking their social networks, and looking for cool new websites that match their interests. As a result many people now have knowledge of hundreds of different websites – whether they realize it or not. This is what the “70 Websites Challenge” is all about. We’ve created a cool graphic that contains the names of 70 popular websites hidden in colorful and creative imagery. It’s a visual puzzle that you can try to solve.

Your job, should you choose to challenge yourself and enter, is to try and figure out at least 50 of the 70 websites represented in the imagery of the “70 Websites Challenge” graphic below, to be entered into the contest.

Maybe you need a bit of a push to get started so you can see exactly how the contest works. Do you see the chalk outline that is in a grid shape on the image? It looks a bit like the game Foursquare you played as a kid. So…you think that image might represent…oh…I don’t know…mobile check-in platform Foursquare.com? See how it works? Now that we’ve given you one answer for free, you only need to get 49 more to be eligible for the prizes. We’re pretty sure that once you get started you will want to figure out all 70!

If you want a little taste of how sweet the top prize from CoreCommerce truly is (and it is pretty sweet), then we recommend that you head over to their site to sign up for a free trial. Take a test drive and get a hands-on feel for exactly how easy it is to use their ecommerce software to create your very own online store. In the past, the CoreCommerce free trial was limited to 15 days, but now you can take as long as you want to get familiar with the product before you start paying for it.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the contest can review all the details, checkout a larger version of the image, and visit the official “70 Websites Challenge Entry” form.

August 22, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

WePay, an independent, smaller-scale alternative to larger transaction services like PayPal, has been creating a buzz since 2008 when the company was founded. Their claims of “real customer service by real people,” and super-easy-to-use interface help intensify this buzz when they officially launched to the public in March 2010.

The fourth quarter of last year saw their notoriety jump even more. The holiday season is when people look to sell items, accept donations to charities, or sell tickets to events – all things that WePay excels at. Individual consumers and businesses of all sizes have been using their platform to serve a variety of different needs. Now it’s likely that even more will use their product thanks to the release of an enhanced API for developers and merchants.

There are a number of different reasons why the new API should be well received, but in speaking with WePay co-founder and CEO Bill Clerico last week about the release of the upgraded API, it seems that their are two things attracting people. The first is that the API brings small businesses the ability to use the expedited WePay platform experience, with a  lightning-fast approval process that only takes 2 clicks.

WePay’s website boldly proclaims: “Start accepting money in less than a minute!” Now that’s a claim that we can all get behind. The smooth, streamlined process helps ensure that people do not abandon in the middle, so that they can quickly get set up. We talk about “shopping cart abandonment” all the time on this site – the situation where people put something in their shopping cart but don’t complete the transaction. Well, apparently, even when users are trying to get set up with a service to allow them to accept incoming sums of cash, they still want the service to be easy to access and not take too long,

Some small businesses may compare WePay to PayPal, but one of the ways in which WePay looks to differentiate their company from the competition is by providing attentive and quick customer service. Merchants running small businesses have a lot of things they need to deal with on a daily basis, and having a simple way to collect payments online, with the support of solid customer service can be a big benefit.

As part of their API-upgrade announcement today, WePay also announced that they have established a ticketing partnership with Attendstar, who were previously using PayPal. This win for WePay could be a sign of things to come, as more businesses look to work with a smaller more nimble company to support their payment collection needs.

June 3, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Every ecommerce solution wants you to think that they are secure. Some of them are even PCI compliant like BigCommerce. But finding great security combined with a powerful shopping cart for a good price can be hard. Here are Zippycart, we pride ourselves on bringing you unbiased inside information that you can count on to help make your own decision. We sat down with BigCommerce co-founder and CTO Mitchell Harper to discuss BigCommerce and what it brings to the ecommerce solution table in terms of security and functionality for 2011 and beyond.

Has PCI compliance helped increase business for BigCommerce in 2011?

Yes. Because we’re one of only a handful of truly PCI compliant e-commerce platforms, it’s helped increase our conversion rates. My advice to business owners regarding PCI compliance is to really check if the vendor you’re interested in is PCI compliant. Being PCI compliance takes months of hard work and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. All PCI compliant vendors have an Attestation of Compliance (AoC), which is a document stating they have been verified as compliant by a third party assessor. Take a look at ours. Beware of vendors who simply show a McAfee ScanAlert badge – this is NOT PCI compliant and could result in hefty fines from the banks for using their services.

How did you decide on the oLark and Ordoro integrations? Were those customer driven requests?

Actually we were speaking with the founders of both Ordoro and Olark and realized we got along well. The Ordoro team had already built the integration, so it was a matter of formalizing a partnership while we built the Olark integration in a few hours. Ordoro was client driven because they help make dropshipping easier and we decided to integrate with Olark because it takes live chat to the next level.

How do you think the Visual Website Optimizer will help elevate merchants ability to sell more online?

Anything you can test can be improved, and your online store is no different. We already had the most robust integration with Google Website Optimizer before version 7, but Visual Website Optimizer is a lot easier to use. You can test single page versus multi-page checkout and see which improves you conversion rate. You can test different product names, photos, etc. It’s a great way to sky rocket your conversion rate.

Can you tell us a bit more about the new and improve control panel? Does it make it easier for first time merchants to run an online store?

It does. The whole idea here was to simplify the interface as much as we could. To strip back unnecessary links, buttons, borders, etc and just help our clients focus on getting in, getting the job done, and getting out. We also wanted to bring the look of the control panel up to modern standards. It wasn’t old, but it hadn’t been updated in about 2 years, so we did that with subtle rounded corners, a few gradients and some improved visual enhancements to buttons and dialogs.

Overall BC7 seems packed with features. Is there anything that didn’t make the release, that we should look forward to later in 2011 or 2012?

Our roadmap for 2011 is huge. We’re about to release a new bulk import/export wizard that lets you mass update products, SKUs, options and rules in a single spreadsheet, as well as more features around product options and merchandising. After that we’ve got a lot more features planned, including heavily customizable URL formats for products, categories, web pages and news.

What are some of your favorite features to BC7 that we have not already discussed?

My favorite features all revolve around product options. If you sell products that are reliant on options, such as apparel, then BigCommerce is now the most flexible platform for accommodating the needs of sophisticated merchants who want extreme flexibility when it comes to their products and stock. Our goal with product options was to give our merchants all of the functionality you’d find on Amazon.com or Zappos.com and we’ve done that. The level of control you have over product configuration, SKU and inventory management and on-site merchandising is really impressive.

Can you tell us a bit more about the growth of BigCommerce staff in 2011, and how new employees are helping to offer merchants the best ecommerce tools possible?

We grew our client count 680% last year and we’ll double the size of our team by the end of the year. We’re about to move our Austin, TX team into a new office that’s twice the size of our existing one (from 40 people to 90) and we’ll outgrow our Sydney, Australia office by this time next year, so we’re growing very fast in all aspects. The most important thing we can do is continue to list to our clients, continue to improve our product at a rapid pace and continue to look at support as a function of marketing, which helps drive word of mouth referrals and builds trust in us as a company

Here at Zippycart, we like to showcase new and innovative businesses in the ecommerce space, especially when those businesses use ecommerce solutions featured here on the site. It’s a great way to show electronic entrepreneurs in action, using the tools you can find right here to get the job done. Tom Baker, co-founder of HighKey Camera Straps, uses Shopify to keep his business running smoothly. As an avid amateur photographer myself, I was really keen to sit down with Tom and hear about how he and his business partner Andie came up with the idea for HighKey, and how they use the Shopify ecommerce solution to handle the various aspects of their daily business routine. Here’s what I found out:

Q. Why did you choose to go with Shopify for your ecommerce solution? What have you liked best about it so far? Anything you do not like? Did you try any other solutions before going with Shopify, or seriously consider any others?

We chose Shopify because the previous ecommerce service we were using was charging us an arm and a leg for everything. Shopify offers unlimited bandwith (our biggest factor in choosing them), great templates (half of them are free, ours was $120) and the fastest/nicest customer service I’ve ever seen. The one thing we’d like to see changed are the options available inside of our store. Right now the set-up seems very basic, and an example of something we’d like to see is the option to automatically sell and redeem gift cards.

Q. Are people with DSLR your primary audience, or what kind of insight do you have into which kinds of cameras customer have?

DSLR shooters are our primary audience. All of these large cameras have the same size camera strap, so it’s easy to sell to customers regardless of what brand their camera is. We’ve also heard of people using our straps for binoculars, but that’s not very often.

Q. It sounds like you and your business partner Andie are also photographers. What kind of durability tests have you put the straps through? I assume you two have used them more than almost any other person, so would be great to hear more insight into how they have been field tested.

We use these straps every day with heavy gear and sometimes in nasty conditions, and they have held up perfectly the whole time we’ve been in business. We’re planning some demonstration videos in the near future to show the strength and durability, but they’re definitely holding up to everything we put them through.

Q. What kinds of things do you promote or discuss in your newsletter?

We like to feature other photographers around the web doing fun projects, cool gadgets and gear, and any other topics that might be interesting to photographers. We don’t really talk about ourselves, because we do that enough on our website.

Q. How do you decide which new designs to try, and which designs to phase out?

A lot of our newer designs are based on customer input. Facebook has been a huge help in getting feedback on new ideas we’re interested in launching. When we first started, we chose all the styles ourselves, and since then we’ve phased out a majority of our first run straps. Some styles are made by various artists which we offer only as a limited edition, so when those are sold out we remove them from our website.

Q. How long have you had the custom strap component to the site? How popular is it?

The custom straps have been around for almost a year, and account for about 40% of our sales (and growing!).

Q. You call out international shipping, what kind of traction do you have outside the US? Are any countries outside the US buying a lot of custom straps?

Oh yes! International orders make up half of our shipments, and we ship internationally every single day. I think our last count was that we’ve shipped straps to over 60 different countries. It’s really fun seeing the different custom straps with words in all different languages, and then shipping them to places you rarely ever hear about.

Q. You look to be active on FB and Twitter. How have those helped your business grow? It looks like FB has more traction in comparison to Twitter.

We are doing a better job maintaining our Facebook account than we are our Twitter. With Facebook we’re able to post photos of new straps, customers can post photos of their straps, etc, and it’s much easier to interact. Twitter seems like a good place for making announcements, but the interaction level is very low.

Q. Anything new planned in 2011 you can tell us about?

Oh yes! We’re in the process of creating some custom 100% leather straps (just purchased a laser machine!) while also giving customers the option to design their own. Also on our list of things to do this year is to release our coming line of camera wrist straps and straps for smaller cameras.

Q. What is an average day like for the High Key Camera team?

In terms of running the business, we’re inundated with emails every day, and we spend a lot of time answering them. It’s actually quite surprising how many questions people have about camera straps, even with our extensive FAQ. We’ve been trying to get people to read the FAQ before they email us because that would cut down on 90% of our emails, but it’s not working very well. Besides email, we spend a few hours packaging and shipping the straps, and we like to devote the rest of our time finding, creating, and getting feedback on new styles. Also, a big secret of where our creativity comes from is frequent trips to Jamba Juice and 5 Guys Burgers.

April 1, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Believe it or not, April Fools 2011 is finally here and pranksters around the world have already been playing practical jokes on their friends and co-workers. Over the past decade, April Fools has started to become a bigger deal online, with businesses like Google, YouTube, and ThinkGeek becoming go-to sites for those looking for the coolest pranks online. Because so many are tirelessly surfing the net for the best pranks, we decided to publish the infographic below so you can quickly get your April Fools 2011 fix. However if you want to go the old school route, you can read about top pranks below the infographic, in the traditional list format provided.

Click to Enlarge

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April Fools On the Web by ZippyCart is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.zippycart.com.

Top April Fools 2011 Pranks Online

Google – Motion gaming has become extremely popular over the past few years with the Wii, Move, and Kinect. Now Google wants to make Gmail motion controlled, thus launching Gmail Motion. No keyboard or mouse needed, hand and body gestures will control everything for you. All of this is detailed on the custom site Google launched for April Fools day. The motion functionality even looks to extend to Google docs, for which Google also created a custom site experience. Another Google prank you will notice when typing in a search today is a job open for autocompleters, and you only need to type 32,000 words per minute to apply.

YouTube -  In honor of April Fools, YouTube decided to go retro and give users a feel for what it would have been like for the business in 1911. They even have 1911 logos on all YouTube videos, and when you click it, the video will transform into a vintage, silent, motion picture. Everything will turn to a dirty and grainy yellow accompanied by old-school piano music, looking something like a Charlie Chaplin film.

ThinkGeek – A couple changes popped up on ThinkGeek today, with one being an X over the M in the word masses of their slogan: “stuff for smart masses.” Additionally they have a variety of new products that look to be fake, which is their traditional technique, however in years past some of these prank products have become the real deal. This year some of the fake products include an Apple Store playset, Angry Birds Pork Rinds, Star Wars Light Saber Popsicles, The Original Shirt Plate, and a USB Desktop Nether Portal.

CollegeHumor – When you arrive at the site it appears as if you are logged into their web admin as Intern22, and when you click the admin access it goes into what looks like a fully functional admin panel. However the joke is on you as it does not work, and when you go back to the homepage the folks at CollegeHumor.com confirm that you have been tricked by their April Fools 2011 prank.

GrooveShark – My favorite online music site looks a bit different today, as they decided to harness the power of HTML 5 to bring their users 3DS+. This new technology allows listeners to experience music in the third dimension. They have a link to their blog where you can print out the ridiculous accessories to help you hear the 3DS+ experience.

Mozilla (Firefox) – Many of you reading this may be using Mozilla Firefox, and if you do not want to deal with April Fools pranks online for the rest of the day, then you can get an add-on to fix that. The DNF (Do Not Fool) add-on will let you set the browser to opt-out of April Fools jokes, via a Do Not Fool HTTP header with every click or page view in Firefox.

FunnyorDie – Last year Justin Bieber took over, and now it looks like the recent web fame of Rebecca Black and her song Friday are taking over, with the site renamed FridayorDie. Since many view this as one of the worst songs ever, it is not surprising that FunnyorDie took a stab at it for April Fools. The entire site is now plastered with everything Rebecca Black, so it looks like her 15 minutes of fame will continue a bit longer.

Groupon – When you are a multi-billion dollar company, you better go big for April Fools. Groupon has been raising money and acquiring companies for the last year, and now they have a patent application for the phrase: “April Fools.” They even designed a full PDF patent application where you can see all the funny details.

Reddit – Over the last year Reddit has become increasingly popular, and is now a major part of the Conde Nast business. Reddit, not to be outdone this year for April Fools, decided to launch Reddit Mold, which seems to be almost as good as the real Reddit, but with a few disadvantages. Comments limits go from 500 to 490, but you get access to a secret members-only lounge. Apparently things can get worse, if more people give you Reddit Mold, so be careful.

We will be updating this post throughout the day with any new and exciting April Fools’ Day pranks of 2011.  Keep your eyes peeled and while you wait, checkout our April Fools 2010 post, and enjoy the above April Fools infographic which includes the top pranks of today as well as the past.

Update 11:00am – More Funny April Fools Jokes

LinkedIn Got in the Game! – Finally, LinkedIn has entered the mix with a funny feature in their “People You May Know” tool. Today only, let your ego explode at the fact that you might know Albert Einstein, Sherlock Holmes, and many more.

Living Social - Living Social is offering up a funny deal, and this definitely rivals Groupon’s patent of the term “April Fools.” Today at Living Social you can treat yourself to a great day at the world’s only all-meat spa: Spa-Lami in Porkland. The picture for this one is worth a thousand words, and the cost of the package is worth $100 (but you get a 75% discount!)

Virgin – After 2 different April Fools riding the wave of Virgle, Virgin has now issued a press release that they have purchased Pluto and will reinstate it as a planet.

WestJet – Solving the world’s energy problems, WestJet says they are lightening the load of airplanes by adding helium to them, thus making planes more fuel efficient.

Whole Foods – The internet allows even brick and mortar stores to join in on April Fools jokes with online announcements. Today, Whole Foods has announced 3 great deals: Insects raised with compassion, refurbished spices (huge savings), and the chance to have your whole paycheck converted into a Whole Foods gift card. Gee thanks Whole Foods!

March 22, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Over the last few years, the needs of online merchants have evolved. To keep up with this, the top ecommerce software solutions have had to focus on merchant expectations in order to continue to grow and expand their business. Some solutions have embraced changes, while others still lag behind and are slow to include new features.

However the top ecommerce solutions have stayed at the forefront for change, and are constantly evolving their ecommerce software to meet the growing needs of the savvy Internet merchant. With economic conditions in the United States still a bit rocky, more and more people are considering starting their own online business in 2011.

Partnering with the right solution can have a major impact towards achieving success. While there are dozens of specific things that merchants expect from their ecommerce software, the four items below seem to be top concerns in 2011. Consider them to help you decide which solution is best for your needs.

Easy of Use – Regardless of whether you are a seasoned merchant or looking to start your first online business in 2011, easy to use ecommerce software is critical to your success. Merchants want to be able to tackle their daily duties easily so that that they can make time to market their online store, drive additional visitors to the site, and just live their lives. Some solutions have affordable price points, but when a merchant dives in to use the software they find a user interface that looks like it’s from 2001 instead of 2011. Merchants are accustomed to the way in which popular sites like Facebook or Amazon are designed and they want the experience to be just as simple for their ecommerce software.

Robust Feature Set – The number of features merchants get with their ecommerce software varies based on package and provider, and in some case the features provided will be limited unless a merchant pays for the high-end option. Merchants want to have access to all of the most popular features for use in their online store without paying $200+ each month. Top solutions tend to offer their full suite of features (including social media options) on all of their packages, and then limit the merchant based on storage and/or bandwidth. While this model is not universal across all of the top ecommerce software providers, it seems to have become the standard that most merchants are familiar with. When different solutions have similar pricing models, it makes it easier for merchants to better compare them against each other to determine the optimal choice for their online business.

Mobile Commerce Capabilities – Ecommerce software solutions still have a long way to go when it comes to mobile commerce capabilities. Merchants continue to look for advancements in this area as most feel that there is huge growth potential in the mobile realm in coming years. Some solutions offer merchants the option to have a mobile optimized storefront, while others actually have apps to let you manage your online store from your mobile phone. In 2011 it is likely that we will see the top solutions improve in this area and provide more advanced offerings to their merchants.

Actionable Reporting Tools – Reporting is instrumental in helping online businesses take their efforts to the next level, but only if the reports provided by the ecommerce software are actionable. Merchants need the power to get a solid overview of which products are driving the bulk of their traffic and revenue, so that they can adjust accordingly to make their businesses even more profitable. Some solutions do a better job than others at providing advanced reports. Cautious merchants should scrutinize the reporting utilities included in any software under consideration to ensure that they will deliver useful information.

March 9, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Deciding which ecommerce software is best for your business can be tough, and after you pick a solution and set up your online store, you still need to address which blogging platform is right for you. Almost all online stores now include a blog as part of their content strategy to help drive additional traffic to the site, which can be converted into paying customers.

However, many ecommerce software solutions do not have a built-in blog software, leaving it up to merchants to find a suitable third-party platform to fulfill their blogging needs. 3dcart is one of the few solutions that actually provides a built in blog for their merchants, but often times merchants prefer working with a top blogging platform that is more robust and flexible. Every merchant takes a different approach to tackling blogging, therefore different solutions will be better suited for certain merchants. Below are 4 great blogging platforms that almost any merchant should be able to easily use in conjunction with their ecommerce software.

Traditional Blogging Options

WordPress

Where would the blogging world be without WordPress? It was created in 2003 by the then 19 year old Matt Mullenweg, and since then it has had significant growth, with the blogging platform now being used by 13% of the 1,000,000 biggest websites. Additionally WordPress has an established group of developers who are constantly making new plug-ins and themes, so merchants will always have a variety of options for their blog that can be used with almost any ecommerce solution. Merchants interested in using WordPress should check out the domain mapping section of their site, to learn how to point the blog at a custom domain.

Blogger

Back in the day (1999 – 2003) Blogger was an independent platform that was part of Pyra Labs, and was one of the early tools used by some of the first serious online bloggers. Google decided to acquire Pyra Labs and Blogger in 2003, and roll it into their larger suite of tools. One of the co-founders of Pyra Labs was Evan Williams, who left Google in 2004 and went on to create social media giant Twitter. Merchants who want to add a blog with Blogger to their site should follow the details at Google, which will help walk them through the process.

Microblogging Options

Tumblr

Microblogging fits somewhere in between traditional blogging and Twitter, and Tumblr is the pioneer of the space, giving merchants an easy way to have a fun blog added to their site. The idea behind microblogging is that it can be longer than a small 140 character tweet, but does not have to be long and formal like most blog posts. Tumblr started back in 2007 by David Karp with Marco Arment as lead developer, and since then it has slowly risen in popularity, and has of late has really started to catch on with a variety of bloggers. Fashion bloggers are particularity found of Tumblr, and many popular fashion blogs are on the platform. If you want an easy to use blog platform to complement your ecommerce software, then you should seriously consider Tumblr. Merchants can review their help section on putting a Tumblr blog on a custom domain to learn more about how to get things set up.

Posterous

This microblogging platform started in 2008, and has already become quite popular, but is still in the shadow of Tumblr. Posterous is a Y Combinator-funded venture, and is also a good option for a merchant wanting to add a blog to their online store. As with the other blog options, merchants can use the help section about custom domains on Posterous to get a better understanding of how to get things started.

March 7, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Lately the only celebrity that everyone seems to be talking about is Charlie Sheen, after he refused to go to rehab and had to visit the hospital due to some reported intense partying. All of the chaos resulted in Two and a Half Man stopping production, and therefore denying Sheen of his $2 million paychecks that he received for each episode. Additionally Sheen made some hilarious comments which have helped to  keep the public talking about him, with some of the fan favorites being  “I was bangin’ seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that’s how I roll” and “I got tiger blood, man.”

As of now it is still unclear if Two and a Half Men will go back on the air, so until then Sheen has started to use Twitter (@charliesheen) as a means to communicate with the public. Sheen also seems to be looking for new ways to make money, as he just announced on his Twitter that he was coming out with a new book titled “Apocalypse Me,” which he says is Warlock Latin for WINNING. Since Sheen is set on releasing a book, it would seem logical that he would take that to the next level and open up his own online store. Below are 5 reasons why Charlie Sheen should launch his own online store, and some possible product ideas to compliment the revenue he will get if he does release a book.

Capitalize on Current Publicity and Create a Passive Income Source – This small span of elevated super stardom will not last long, and soon enough Sheen will be back to being a regular celebrity, (unless he has another major public incident with drugs or call girls) or even worse than normal, he may fall below the ranks of Mel Gibson. Therefore he should take advantage of all of the media attention and give consumers a forum to show their Sheen support.

Over 1.6 Million People Follow Him on Twitter – It is not clear why Sheen decided to join Twitter, but many now believe it was a way to hype up his book which he just mentioned. He actually had to partner up with celebrity Twitter company Ad.ly, to help him get set up, and it looks to be working as he has quickly amassed over 2 million followers in less than a week, and this number just keeps growing every few minutes. If he keeps adding followers at this rate, Sheen could have a chance to surpass some of the most followed people on Twitter like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, or Britney Spears. Currently he is just outside of the top 100 list of most followed people on Twitter, but he should break into the top 100 very soon.

His Goddesses Will Make Great Spokeswomen – Sheen already has two attractive women, aka the Goddesses, to help him promote his online store. Similar to Barkers Beauties from Price is Right or the GoDaddy Girls,  Sheen can have Charlie’s Goddesses showcase his products, and star in commercials to drive people to his online store. It is not hard to envision his Goddesses doing print ads for the  online store, in a style similar to the racy ads from American Eagle. Plus they would probably do it for free.

Charlie Has The Money to Pay Someone to Launch it For Him – Ad.ly already helped him with setting up Twitter, so it would not be too hard to find a company to assist with the creation of an online store. With Sheen banking $2 million per episode, he should have some spare pocket change lying around to pay for someone to launch it for him.

Great for Furthering His Side of the Story – Sheen obviously wants to share his side of the story, and what better way than his own online store where his fans can support him by buying various products? Additionally it would help to solidify Sheen as a brand, while his name is hot in the media.

Possible Product Ideas

Charlie Sheen Fedora Hat – He is frequently photographed wearing a Fedora Hat, so why not get one of the manufactures to make a Sheen branded Fedora hat? The Fedora hat is becoming quite popular with hipsters, and in certain cities across the U.S., so Sheen would likely do quite well selling this product.

Charlie Sheen Sunglasses – No matter if you want to wear your sunglasses at night or the day time, Sheen Shades will be the darkest option on the market. The ultra dark shades allow Sheen to hide his partying that isn’t much of a secret, but with them, no one is able to see how bloodshot his eyes happen to be.

Charlie Sheen Spirits - He can brand a Liquor as Sheen Spirits, and could easily partner with a few companies to produce a special blend just to his liking. Many celebrities have jumped into this market, such as Sammy Hagar (Cabo Wabo Tequila) or John Paul DeJoria (Patron Tequila), and a seasoned drinker like Sheen would make a great addition to this market.

Charlie Sheen Condoms – It is surprising that Trojan has not already created some sort of partnership with Sheen, but since they have not, he should move forward and get his own brand. Even if it is a novelty product, Sheen should still be able to make some additional money.

His Twitter and Interview Quotes Printed on Various Items – Some of his tweets and his Twitter hashtags #WINNING and #tigerblood, would be great to have on a t-shirt, mouse pad, coffee cup, or almost any gear. Sheen could even add in some of his quotes about seven-gram rocks, because that is how he rolls.

March 3, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Recently ZippyCart had a chance to chat with Matt Scoble, VP Business Development at Quorus, a Seattle startup with SaaS-based social commerce solutions that a variety of online businesses can leverage. There are plenty of companies dabbling in social shopping and social commerce, but not many of them have unique technology that can engage customers and drive socially influenced purchases.

Quorus manages to combine the two, but most consumers are still not aware of these types of social shopping tools. This presents a challenge to any company in the space: figure out how to alter a consumer’s typical shopping patterns, and include a social layer. Many people consult with their friends and family before putting an item in their shopping cart and checking out, however these consumers don’t all do it the same way.

Below is a Q&A with Matt Scoble, where you can learn a bit more about their unique technology and how online businesses might find it useful.

1.  How is the Quorus technology different from other social commerce solutions?

• Broadly speaking, social commerce solutions can be grouped into 3 categories:  (1) those that leverage Facebook as a platform/channel, (2) 3rd-party sites that are social and (3) solutions which introduce a social layer to the transactional ecommerce site.  (This isn’t 100% true because you have services such as Blippy which are social in nature and use Twitter as the platform for activity, but you get the idea….). Companies like Context Optional and Usablenet focus on #1.  For #2, there are sites such as Shop2Gether, Kaboodle and others where consumers can shop with friends or “the community” broadly, create looks, share them, etc.  Quorus is in the third bucket where we are bringing social to commerce.
• Also, unlike a full app (many of which are in #1), or a consumer-facing 3rd party site that tries to build eyeballs (#2), Quorus is a SaaS solution that seamlessly integrates with our customer’s website and which makes their site the focus of the social interactions, woven right into the user experience on their site.
• Finally, because of the sophistication of our technical foundation, we’ve invested a lot in the ability to deploy all kinds of social widgets on the customer’s site, far beyond just our Discus social shopping product.  So, for example, we have the foundation to leverage the Facebook APIs to introduce on a customer site the same kind of social functionality that exits on Facebook (“Likes,” seeing what your friends have “Liked,” making recommendations based on your friends’ “Likes,” etc.)

2.  Which ecommerce niches are seeing the Quorus technology have the most success?

• At a very high level, we think of 3 use cases that our solution is very suitable for:  (1) sharing, (2) validation and (3) collaboration.  You will find consumers struggling with these 3 use cases every day in a number of verticals
• Consumer electronics = Product complexity means that consumers often seek validation from influencers in their network– “Is this the right one?  Should I get this?”
• Apparel/fashion = Validation plays heavily here–  “Does this look good on me?”  “Is this a good deal?”
• Wedding planning = A very social key life event.  The bride-to-be wants to get the opinion of family and friends on a wedding dress, on invitations, on registry, etc.
• Real estate = Heavily collaborative process to buy property.  Quorus can be used to smooth the work flow in finding and seeing properties.
• Young parents with infants = Heavily social demographic with high buying needs—constantly seeking advice of friends on what gear to buy, etc.
• Private sales = The whole private sales segment is RIPE for our solution because it has (a) limited time to the sales and (b) limited inventory — prime for friends reaching out to friends before buying

3.  I know you have been focused more on Quorus Discuss, and was curious if Quorus Engage will get a bigger push in 2011?

• Quorus Engage is definitely a less mature product but one which we think holds tons of promise.  We’d like to have a more sophisticated rules-based engine that can power it so that it “knows” how to make different offers (different calls-to-action) under difference scenarios.  We don’t want to recreate the wheel and build that ourselves because we think others have done it—for example, the players in the live chat space typically have rules engines already because they push chat contingently (based on the user or based on how long they’ve paused on a page or other parameters).  We think it may be more effective to partner with them and leverage their work.
• That said, there is a great opportunity for Engage.  When you consider what Adobe charges customers for Test & Target and we can provide some of that for a fraction of the price, we think this is a great opportunity.

4.  Many consumers are confused about what the difference is between Social Shopping and Social Commerce, how does Quorus fit into the mix?

• Check out the Syzygy presentation on slideshare that tries to apply some definition:  http://slidesha.re/hvAZmf
• That analyst, Mark Ellis, defines social commerce as “selling with social media”.  I think social shopping is a sub-set of social commerce because it deals specifically with enabling consumers to invite their friends into these rich, social discussions around the online buying experience, either in real-time (synchronously) or offline (asynchronously).  That is where Quorus fits and is precisely what we do.
• Unlike the creation of shops on Facebook (“helping people buy where they connect” as described in the deck), Quorus is about adding the social layer to the transactional site (“helping people connect where they buy”).

5.  Do you feel the 2011 holiday shopping season will be a time that is a tipping point for social commerce?

• Holiday 2011 will certainly be a time of increased activity over the same period for 2010. At the same time, however, we expect to see (and are already seeing) increased focus on social shopping in the first quarter of 2011 so we believe we are already seeing a recognition of its importance and an openness to testing approaches.

6.  What can you tell us about what an average day is like for the team at Quorus?

• We try to keep it fun at Quorus while also recognizing what we need to do to build the business.  We have a very open space that we work in so there is a lot of sharing among the team.  There are periods where everyone is intensely focused on the task in front of them and then there are times when we’re discussing the latest political shenanigans or sharing a new goofy thing on The Onion.  Our closed group on Facebook which we use for team sharing is a mix of true work-related content and crazy stuff we find that brings some humor into our day.

March 2, 2011
By the ZippyCart.com Content Team

Since about a year ago, the term “infographic” has become a hot buzz word flying around the Internet.  For those of you who don’t know what an infographic is, here’s one we did all about Kickstarter and Crowdfunding.  For those of you who don’t want to click through to the image, let me explain: an infographic is a graphic representation of detailed information.  Some call this data visualization.  The basic concept is simple: take a complex, data driven topic and use imagery to explain it.  Using imagery makes the topic easier to digest in a short amount of time, and let’s face it, that’s where the Internet has brought all of us; we want to take in a lot of information as fast as possible.

Infographics provide online businesses with the opportunity to supply viral content that builds their brand, educates their users, and returns hundreds (if not thousands) of inbound links.  Infographics have become so popular, that even Google has jumped on the bandwagon by hosting a data visualization contest and large companies like GE are hiring an entire data visualization division.

Infographics & SEO

In today’s competitive online space, making sure your website is properly optimized for search engines is a must.  Beyond the standard on-site optimization techniques, it’s important to promote your website across the net.  Doing this will help you build your brand while also helping you gain high quality inbound links, and linkbuilding is an important factor in any SEO campaign.

Evangelizing your site online often does more than just get you inbound links though, it also gets you attention in social media.  Your participation in social media should be another important focal point of your SEO strategy.  The reasons behind this are fairly simple: Google doesn’t want to rank a website that is spammy or not trustworthy.  Because the folks at Google can’t manually pick and choose what websites to rank, they use various signals in their algorithm to determine a site’s integrity.  If a site is consistently mentioned in social media, has positive brand recognition, and has a large amount of quality inbound links, then it has a better chance of ranking well in search engines.  Of course, these are just some of the many factors that go into SEO, but they are necessary factors in successful SEO campaigns.

Infographics provide online businesses with a great tool to tackle these SEO campaign musts.  ZippyCart is a prime example of this.  Our Kickstarter infographic was submitted to only 15 blogs, but one of those blogs was Mashable.com.  Getting onto Mashable got us nearly 700 verified inbound links in the first week.  We still receive a minimum of 10 inbound links per day for the infographic.  Beyond links, this infographic helped us build our brand in the ecommerce space and gained us more followers on Twitter than anticipated.  While an infographic campaign should not be the end all be all of your SEO strategy, it’s a necessary addition.

The Wrong Way to Use Infographics for SEO

There’s a right way and a wrong way to use infographics for SEO.  Google cares about the quality of the websites they rank, as shown through the recent farmer update.  That being said, if you are only putting out low quality infographics that are not related to your website, you’re basically producing spam.  Your infographics should be focused and relate to your industry.  All of the infographics we have produced relate to ecommerce and the various ways one can make money online.  This is because ZippyCart.com is a resource for ecommerce merchants looking to improve their online business.  We want our infographics to be relevent for our audience. Doing otherwise would mean that we are just producing them for links, which would inevitably harm our long term SEO strategy because it would result in low quality, irrelevent links back to our site.  Infographics are a link building tool, but that should not be their only focus because they have many more benefits beyond that to help your audience.

OK, I Know How Important Infographics Are, But What do I do Next?

Engaging in an Infographic Campaign may seem far more daunting than it actually is.  You’ll need to determine a topic, research it throughout the web, and then hire a designer who has experience with designing infographics.  It’s important to note that designing an infographic is not easy.  Just because the designer is good, doesn’t mean he can wrap his head around the mindset required for data visualization.  Often times, great designers can still turn around pretty lousy infographics because they let the words tell the story of the infographic instead of the images.  To quote my friend Matt at Killer Infographics “If you can take all of the words out of an infographic and no longer understand it, then it’s not an infographic it’s just a well designed article.”

Asking for Help

If you’ve never run an infographic campaign before, it’s important to ask for help. There are many great infographic design agencies out there like Killer Infographics that will help walk you through all the necessary steps.  The best agencies to work with are the ones that will take the reigns for you so that you don’t have to worry about building your infographics.  These agencies will brainstorm ideas and help you choose the best ideas for your business.  They’ll do the research for you.  And finally they’ll supply you with an amazing design.

Budgeting an Infographic Campaign

An infographic campaign doesn’t have to break the bank.  There are many firms out there that charge an arm and a leg for infographics (think $1500+) and then there are firms out there that can charge in the low hundreds.  Find a company that can work out a plan that fits your budget, while still supplying you with a decent number of infographics to get your campaign up and running.

Marketing Your Infographic Campaign

To stop this blog post from getting too long, I’m going to pass the baton onto the team at Killer Infographics.  The folks there produced a great guide entitled Infographic Marketing 101 which you can download for free.  Check it out to learn what to do next.

March 1, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

It is becoming increasingly common for merchants who are starting their very first online store to decide to go with hosted shopping carts in order to start selling as quickly as possible. There are a variety of reasons why merchants choose hosted solutions instead of licensed software to power their online stores. Technology continues to advance rapidly leading more and more merchants to see the value in choosing a hosted solution. The pricing models of licensed software versus hosted solutions are very different, but the differences in what they offer are driving many merchants away from licensed solutions.

Below are 4 reasons why hosted shopping carts are becoming a favorite among merchants, shifting the way in which these software companies do business.

1) Opens Up The World of Ecommerce to the Masses

Many people who run an online business or want to open up their first online store do not have advanced web development skills. They turn to hosted shopping carts as the solution to their problems. The ability to leverage a hosted solution that is powered by a software company filled with ecommerce experts brings the option to start an online store to a much larger audience, who might have been hesitant to jump into a licensed solution which would require more technical expertise. Now there are a variety of great options for those merchants who want to partner up with hosted shopping carts.

2) One Stop for Ecommerce Needs

One of the downsides of most licensed software is that the merchant is left to do much of the setup work on their own. They need to find a hosting partner and establish a relationship with a credit card processing company, assuming they want to let customer pay with something other than PayPal. Merchants like the fact that companies offering hosted shopping carts will help them to do everything they need to get going. Many even offer design and SEO services should you want a bit of extra help to take your online store to the next level. As the market for online merchants keeps expanding, it’s not surprising to see more and more merchants going with hosted shopping carts, as opposed to a licensed solutions.

3) Receive Constant Software Updates

Ecommerce technology is constantly evolving and those merchants who use licensed software are often left in the dark about new features. They also typically have to pay to upgrade their software in order to access new functionality. Licensed solutions also do not improve their software very often. For many licensed solutions, once a year is all you get. That can be a long time to wait in a fast-paced world like ecommerce.

Merchants using hosted shopping carts, on the other hand, periodically receive updates, upgrades, and new features, sometimes as often as once a month. This gives them a chance to test out new features and tools and see how they can affect their business. Selling on Facebook is a great example, as those merchants using a hosted solution were able to set up an online store on Facebook in 2010, but most licensed solutions are just getting around to adding this as a feature. So those merchants waiting for it via their licensed software are falling behind on learning if it could aid their online store.

4) Merchants Can Leverage Customer Service Support

Many licensed software options do not provide great customer service, and some do not provide it at all unless you pay for it. Granted they will answer basic questions, but when you need real technical help they will often want you to pay for support. Merchants who opt for hosted shopping carts are paying for customer service support as part of their monthly package, which allows them to utilize them whenever an issue occurs, without having to worry about paying additional fees. Merchants who lack tech skills will often need the most help from customer service, making a hosted shopping cart a logical decision.

February 25, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

In 2010 one of the hot topics among merchants was social commerce, and as a result the best ecommerce solutions started to provide ways to tap into Facebook which helps merchants expand the reach of their online store. Some solutions jumped on this merchant demand early in 2010, while others only got on board with the changes toward the end of the year. Tech savvy merchants are always on the lookout for the latest and greatest tools and technologies they can leverage to be more successful, and those who partner with the best ecommerce solutions do not have to worry about it. This is because the top companies are constantly trying to push forward and figure out where the ecommerce industry is going, and what their merchants will need to do while selling online. Below is some additional information about six great ecommerce solutions that have similar ways in which merchants can utilize Facebook

CoreCommerce refers to their offering as Facebook Integration, and as with other technologies it allows the merchant to post their products directly on their Facebook profile and pages. Merchants are enjoying this aspect of the software as it is automatic and comes standard with all plans at no additional charge. Selling on Facebook is still very new, and consumers are slowly becoming aware that some of their favorite brands have a shop set up on their Facebook page.

3dcart added in the ability to open up an online store directly on a Facebook Fan Page toward the end of 2010, where merchants have the ability to pick the products they want to sell via that channel. One of the cool features is that merchants’ Facebook fans can actually resell items via the 3dcart built-in affiliate feature, which is a great way to get expanded reach. Merchants at any package level have the option to use the Facebook integration tool, which is a great value for those entry level merchants only paying $19.99 per month.

Volusion calls their product the Social Store Builder, and as with the other best ecommerce solutions, it will allow the merchant to start selling on Facebook. One of the only downsides is that the Social Store Builder is only available to those Volusion customers on a Gold plan ($99 per month) or above. Volusion has been getting good feedback so far on the Social Store Builder, and during 2011 we should hear more about what their merchants think.

BigCommerce helps merchants sell on Facebook via their application called the BigCommerce Social Store, and they provide simple instructions to help guide a merchant through the process. Merchants who have been using the product for a a few months seem to like it so far, and overtime we should start to see some more data around how successful a Facebook store is for some merchants.

AmeriCommerce added in the option for merchants to open up a Facebook store with their 2010.6 release, and they provide their merchants with a great walk through of how to get everything going to start selling online. It can be a bit tricky as there are a lot of steps involved in the process, but almost anyone should be able to get it going in no time via their tutorial.

PinnacleCart provided their merchants with the ability to sell on Facebook via the Pinnacle Cart Social Media Platform, which also includes other features to help in social channels. This new plugin came at the very end of 2011, and merchants are just warming up to using it as part of their marketing strategy.

February 23, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

The process of conducting an ecommerce software review can be very different depending on the experience level of the merchant and their particular niche of business, but it is always important to have some solid tips on how to go through the process. Those who are new to ecommerce will need to spend a lot more time researching their options and reviewing them to see which is best for their online business. This is true across almost all niches of online business, including those who want to sell their photography or music. An experienced merchant will have a much different process as they have already been exposed to what is good and bad about their existing solution, so their ecommerce software review is much more targeted, and therefore tends to be a bit quicker. Below are some general tips that should apply to almost anyone who is in the process of looking for new ecommerce software to power their online business.

Read Up-to-Date Unbiased Reviews

One of the first steps that most take when looking for a new solution is to read ecommerce software reviews, to get a deep understanding of what other merchants think about various solutions and what they can do for your online business. However not all ecommerce software review sites are the same, as many of them are very outdated and therefore serve little value. It does not help to read about what a particular solution was like 2 years ago, as things change frequently, and you want to get a current perspective. In addition it is very important to understand if the reviews are unbiased, and what the methodology is behind the scoring and ranking. Some sites only review ecommerce software on a few factors, and some sites just write up a couple paragraphs. Therefore you want to scrutinize each site where you read ecommerce software reviews to determine if you should include them in your decision making process.

Test the Software Via a Free Trial

You can read dozens of ecommerce software reviews about a particular solution, but much of it will not matter unless you test it out on your own. The best ecommerce software solutions all offer merchants a free trial of their software, so you can see up close how easy they are to use, which will help you make a more confident decision. Merchants often sign up for a free trial for the top two or three solutions they are considering, so they can compare them against each other, and determine which one is best for their online business. Testing out software via a free trial does not take much time, and it is worth it as it will help to save you headaches in the future.

Interact With Customer Service

New merchants often rank customer service as one of the most important things that they look for in an ecommerce solution, as they know they will need help somewhere along the way, and want to feel confident that they can get the proper support. When a merchant is testing out the software via a free trial, it is the perfect time to interact with the customer service team to see what it is like to work with them. This is an important part of conducting an ecommerce software review, as you want to be sure you choose a solution with excellent customer service who is there to help you grow your online business. When you chat with them it is a good time to make sure that you fully understand how their pricing model works, and what hours you can contact them if you need assistance. After reading reviews, testing out the software and interacting with customer service, merchants should be able to decide which solution is best.

February 23, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Typically when an NBA player is traded there is not much chatter about it, but when the news broke that superstar Carmelo Anthony (aka Melo) was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks, fans quickly started to give their opinion. This was not a small trade either, as it involves an 11-player deal, which includes the Knicks giving up a first round pick and two second round picks in the 2014 draft, plus $3 million. However there are now other interesting things going on as a result of the trade, and one of those is that the price to buy tickets online has jumped up significantly. Popular ticket site StubHub has tickets listed for well above what they were selling for just last week. One crazy example involves the upcoming game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks on March 4, where tickets for Mezzanine Corner 408 | Row C are listed for $755,550 per ticket. In general the price for all future Knicks games are up, and it all looks to be attributed to Anthony coming to the team.

Higher ticket prices online are not the only economic boost that will come out of this trade, as die-hard Knicks fans are waiting to hear what official number Anthony will wear, so they can be one of the first to buy his jersey online. Once the new jerseys go on sale, the NBA store online and other ecommerce sites selling merchandise should see a nice bump of activity. He has worn No. 15 since his college days, and that is not available with the Knicks, which led many to believe that he would pick No. 13, but the latest reports are thay he will go with No. 7. Currently Kelenna Azubuike wears No. 7, but it is not unheard of for a superstar like Anthony to get his pick of numbers as part of his welcome for coming to the team. New York seems to be truly embracing the trade even though the news just broke, and this is illustrated by the fact that the famous Carnegie Deli has created a Melo Sandwich, which will run you $21.95.