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Articles by Ben Abiola
E-commerce checkout process: 12 ways to optimize the experience
Popular tags Popular topics Drive conversion, Drive revenue, Long reads March 11, 2024 A shopper just finished perusing your website. They’ve filled their shopping cart with goodies only you can provide and now stand at the threshold of commitment at the end of the checkout process: the checkout page. This moment is where either the magic happens or fizzles into the abyss of abandoned carts. Why does the checkout page wield so much power?
What is a lead magnet? 10 effective ideas and examples
Popular tags Popular topics Drive conversion, Drive revenue, For retail, Long reads, Scale your brand February 16, 2024 In the world of e-commerce, competition is only one click away. Your ability to sweeten the deal can very well mean the difference between a browser that bounces and a customer who engages. This means you have to set effective honey traps — lead magnets — that attract shoppers, provide a pathway to nurturing them, and set the stage for lasting relationships.
15 ways to improve your e-commerce website performance
Anyone who’s gone grocery shopping the day before a big holiday knows the pain of circling for a parking spot and fighting your way to items fifty other people are after. That’s not an experience anyone wants to replicate on their e-commerce store — but you just might if you don’t put in the work to improve your website performance. Okay, okay, maybe we’re being a bit hyperbolic.
12 best content curation tools for your brand
Popular tags Popular topics The struggle to consistently post engaging, novel, and brand-safe content across channels is neverending for digital marketers and e-commerce managers. Which is where content curation tools come in handy. Because creating every piece of content from scratch isn’t always a feasible option, especially if you’re working with limited time and budget.
The art of authentic content curation for e-commerce success
Popular tags Popular topics Whether it’s the scarcity of authentic content or the hurdles in repurposing it cohesively across channels, brands grapple with effectively meeting consumers’ content expectations. The right content curation strategy will not only resonate with consumers but also enhances the brand’s image consistently, irrespective of the touchpoint. Social media and search algorithms reward fresh, relevant content and frequent posting.
Apparel industry trends research report 2023
Popular tags Popular topics Popular tags Popular topics Research Industry: Apparel & Accessories August 16, 2023 From athleisure wear to shopping via social media, we wanted to know what consumers are saying about their apparel-buying habits. So, we surveyed 24,000 global shoppers to learn about the latest apparel industry trends in 2023. One of the biggest apparel-related changes to come from the pandemic era? What people wear.
How to display reviews on your website and beyond
Consumers don’t trust traditional marketing the way they used to. But while the world of retail and shopping continues to evolve, one constant is starting to take shape: the consumer to consumer marketplace. We rely on recommendations from friends, family, and fellow shoppers to make informed purchase decisions, not just brand descriptions written on product pages. Which is why displaying reviews in more places will mean more sales.
Best practices for defining marketing attribution
There’s numerous touchpoints with consumers across a variety of channels — how do you know what caused a consumer to make a purchase? This is the challenge facing marketers. And because marketing attribution is challenging, so is measuring success. Today’s marketers have an unprecedented amount of technologies, tools, and data available to them, giving them the ability to execute increasingly sophisticated campaigns, better report the ROI of their efforts, and inform future marketing plans.
How to respond to negative reviews: Examples and best practices
You offer high-quality products and stellar customer service, and your customers tend to agree. Just look at the thousands of rave reviews that you have! But, occasionally, a negative one pops up. While that likely feels like a punch in the gut, a negative review isn’t actually a bad thing. And, when you respond to negative reviews, it will benefit your brand. Customer ratings and reviews matter, with 89% of shoppers consulting them before purchasing anything.
How to sell on Walmart Marketplace
For you and I, getting into Walmart is as easy as stepping through the door. But for many brands, getting into Walmart is a faraway dream. And one of the best ways to make that dream a reality is to start selling on Walmart Marketplace. The Walmart seller Marketplace is an online platform that allows third-party sellers to list their products on Walmart.com.
How to increase organic traffic: User-generated content for SEO
When you think of SEO and ways to increase organic traffic, your mind likely jumps straight to keyword research and tools like SEMrush. But there’s an easier, more effective method. We’re going to teach you why user-generated content (UGC), like customer ratings and reviews, images, and videos, is all you need to boost your SEO strategy. Chapters: The keyword on the street You’ve done everything right.
Report: The 2021 Shopper Experience Index
While some argue that 2021 is just months 13-24 of 2020, the start of the decade is (thankfully) behind us. With the close of that chapter comes a slew of insights. Brands, retailers, and shoppers faced a year unlike any. Quick pivots both professionally and personally lead the way for new strategies, partnerships, and needs. The brands and retailers that stepped up and found new ways to meet their customers’ needs excelled. And shoppers were vocal about what worked and didn’t.
Six feet apart but still together: How Valentine's Day is being celebrated in 2021
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The gifts on your wishlist this year
Who doesn’t love receiving presents? In a year where we’re all looking to spread a bit more joy, shoppers are building their wishlists and checking them twice. We found shoppers are less likely to gift experiences this year and are leaning more heavily towards physical gifts – 71% of shoppers are planning to buy physical gifts this year for loved ones. Shoppers are also looking forward to receiving tangible products as gifts as well.
5 consumer behaviors #trending in 2020
There is no doubt that 2020 will be a fascinating chapter written into history textbooks. A year that has been so surreal, polarized, self-reflective, and all at a time where it’s quite apparent we’re ready to move forward for the better.
How COVID-19 is still impacting shopping behaviors
When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March, few expected that six months later we’d still be dealing with its effects, or that it would have such an impact on every aspect of our lives, including how we shop.
How shopping on social media evolved during the pandemic
In a recent blog post, we explored how consumers’ social media behavior has changed during the pandemic. While under lockdown and working remotely, people in North America and the UK are consuming social media a lot more than they were before the pandemic (no surprise there!). But what about shopping behaviors? As brick-and-mortar stores around the world have either temporarily closed, are limiting capacity, or completely shut down, have consumer shopping behaviors changed? The answer is yes.
The state of social media behavior in 2020
From an ever-evolving pandemic and countrywide shutdowns, to political conversations and civil unrest, our day-to-day behaviors look a bit different in 2020. Grocery shopping, going to the gym, and even (especially) scrolling through social media are completely different now than they were in early March. With all of these societal changes, the role of social media continues to serve as different outlets of expression, escapism, and information.
How the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting beauty routines
“The only times that I wear makeup and style my hair now is for a Zoom happy hour with my friends” is a sentiment that most of us can relate to during our extended time at home.” From rethinking how we socialize with friends and how we do our jobs, to how we cut our hair and how we work out, the pandemic has changed almost every aspect of our work and personal lives.
How women are shopping differently during COVID-19
During this unusual time of either an abundance of free time or no time at all while trying to balance homeschooling, maintaining relationships, and work, it’s no surprise that women are adapting their behaviors to suit their new realities.
Report: 2020 Shopper Experience Index
Every year, the shopper experience evolves. Some years, at a natural cadence – slowly, as trends emerge over the course of 12 months. But in a year like 2020 with a global pandemic looming over shoppers and business owners alike, the shopper experience is evolving at a rapid rate. Instead of slowly winding and changing, we saw COVID-19 act as an accelerant, kickstarting shopper behaviors that were in their incipience and accentuating other behaviors already well in progress.
A celebration of procrastination: Green Monday 2019 trends
About 60% of Americans plan to do their holiday shopping online, and with only about two weeks until Christmas, Green Monday saw an even bigger spike in shopper activity this year than last. Coined by eBay in 2007 and named for the amount of money consumers spend on holiday shopping, Green Monday is the second Monday in December.
Report: Half of in-store purchases start with online customer reviews
Far from the sensational headlines clamoring about the imminent “retail apocalypse,” the vast majority of consumers prefer brick-and-mortar stores to e-commerce. But the coupling of mobile and e-commerce is quickly changing consumer behavior in the aisles. In our latest study, we set out to uncover how consumer behaviors in the aisles are evolving with the proliferation of smartphones and e-commerce.
Why brands and retailers should seize Amazon Prime Day
Tomorrow, Amazon will offer thousands of deals to Prime Members across the globe for the company’s third annual Prime Day. It should be no surprise that Prime Day generates big sales for Amazon; in fact, Prime Day 2016 was the company’s biggest sales day in history. But did you know that this busy day in e-commerce also gives other online retailers a boost?
5 European companies with best-in-class CGC strategy
Now in 2017, consumer-generated content (CGC) is an important part of the shopping process around the world. In 2016, reviews submitted on the Bazaarvoice platform came from 186 countries in 37 languages. CGC is on the rise throughout Europe; although North America remains the highest-volume CGC market in 2016, consumers in Europe have generated 8.649M reviews last year alone. Regardless of where you live, we all know CGC is a crucial influencer in the increasingly fragmented customer journey.
5 Things I learned at Bazaarvoice Inspire: Europe
On Wednesday 7th June, we opened the doors of Chelsea Football Club to welcome nearly 300 of Europe’s leading brands and retailers to our annual Bazaarvoice Inspire: Europe 2017 event. The day lived up to its name; it was truly inspiring to hear more than 20 industry gurus, from John Lewis to GHD, share their experience using consumer-generated content (CGC) to transform the retail landscape.
The PwC Total Retail Survey 2017: Challenges for the new normal
The 2017 version of the PwC Total Retail Survey is out, and it has a lot to say about the state of retail today. We love the study for its global perspective (nearly 25,000 respondents from 29 countries and territories) and what it tells us about how people shop around the world. Around the world, times are tough for pure-play and omni-channel retailers alike.
Mobile shoppers & millions of orders: Black Friday by the numbers
Strategies for engaging consumers in a social, mobile, data-driven world. Popular tags Popular topics Popular tags Popular topics With over 5,000 brand and retailer websites and more than 590M shoppers monthly, the Bazaarvoice Network has a unique perspective on the holiday shopping madness. Growth of online shopping Each year, online shopping continues to grow as consumers avoid the in-store crowds and take advantage of free shipping.
How to prepare your company for Black Friday in 3 easy steps
Ok, so it isn’t easy, but it is well worth it! Black Friday through Cyber Monday – the four busiest days of the retail year. The average consumer views this four-day period as a time filled with door-buster sales, shoulder-to-shoulder in-store crowds, and online shopping galore. But having an understanding of the holiday shopping “behind the scenes” paints an entirely different picture of this period – one better defined by meticulous planning, carefully executed logistics, and traffic load.
Why reviews do still matter -- now, even more
Recently, a study by the University of Colorado at Boulder caused quite a stir in the digital advertising, commerce, and media worlds about the actual relevance and value of online reviews.
How consumer-generated content is shaping the online grocery shopping experience
The online grocery industry has proven to be one of the more difficult for retailers to conquer, both in the US and Europe. With the explosion of social media and new technologies, consumers are empowered to research and share their opinion on products and brands like never before. Combined with the increase in competition, changing consumer behaviour, and a volatile economy, growing grocery sales online is both a major challenge and an opportunity for supermarkets.
Five realities that will shape the consumer market in the next five years
Today’s consumers are more and more connected, through an increasing number of devices. At the same time, their expectations are growing based on standards set by industry leaders and new market entrants that are, thanks to the ubiquitous connectivity, easier to connect with and adopt. Consequently, all industry sectors, especially retail, are seeing rapid evolutions that will shape the market in the next five years.
Democratizing the market: Virtual Reality vs. CGC in 2016
We made it to 2016! If like me, you’ve been keeping up with the industry news over the holiday period, you’ll know that the New Year’s press has been inundated with the inevitable industry wrap-ups and “hot-and-not” lists that coincide with the end of one year and the beginning of another. Similarly, we have also seen an influx of studies and predictions around what 2016 will bring our industry.
‘Tis the season…to treat your customers to the most relevant content
The holiday season is upon us and with it, one of the most crucial times of the year for brands and retailers. According to an infographic from webloyalty, 85% of European shoppers will do at least part of their Christmas shopping online, and 39% of shoppers intend to spend more than 200 euros online.
Uncover the top 10 reasons why rich snippet stars don’t display in search results
When visible in search results, rich snippet stars typically provide a healthy boost in click-through rates from Google. However, getting those attractive little yellow stars to display in search results has proven to be quite the challenge for many domains. In fact, an October 2015 study from Raven Tools reports that 80% of sites do not have Schema markup.
3 consumer-generated content strategies for holiday shopping success
It’s no secret that consumers trust the opinions of like-minded shoppers, and often look to product reviews and other forms of consumer-generated content to inform the decision-making process. This content becomes even more helpful during the holiday season when shoppers are not buying for themselves, and rely more heavily on the experiences of others to select the perfect gift.
Consumers love food, but not endless food choices
Food is big. With the rise of celebrity chefs, restaurant review websites, culinary apps and social media feeds, you can’t go far without hearing about food and drinks. Alongside the food and beverage industry’s dramatic growth, consumers are increasingly going online to decide what, when, and how to eat. But even as consumers eagerly contribute to and consume online content, food culture’s growth has yet to translate to significant ecommerce in the United States.
On October 27, search changed forever. Did you notice?
If you have ever been around someone doing a technical SEO audit, it’s likely that you are familiar with the technique of using View Source in a web browser, which allows you to see the initial HTML markup used to create the page. Since the beginning of SEO time (about 1995) it has been well accepted that search engines read this version of web pages, which is commonly referred to as server-side markup.
Today’s marketplace is a networked dialogue between brands and consumers
In our follow-up to last week’s post on the growth of user-generated content (UGC), we’re continuing to highlight how UGC is changing the Internet and consumer marketplace. This post provides a condensed version of subjects covered our eighth edition of The Conversation Index, which details how sharing UGC across networks (such as Bazaarvoice) and channels improves sales, insights and search results traffic. Content must be authentic On the web, content has always been king.
Learn why there’s no such thing as “enough” user-generated content
The internet is evolving even faster than we imagined—and in ways many of its earliest pioneers never predicted. This is especially true for businesses and consumers in the online marketplace. The driving force of this evolution is user-generated content (UGC), such as product reviews, photos and videos.
How YETI Coolers went from UGC spectator to consumer conversationalist
YETI Coolers knew they could get more out of word of mouth. They had happily watched their brand spread from consumer to consumer, but always, it seemed, from a distance.
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