E-Commerce Blog

Personal recommendations and coupons or flyers passed on by friends are key factors in how female shoppers select products, according to a survey of 2,000 women from SheSpeaks, a marketing agency and social network for women.

“SheSpeaks members are representative of influential and engaged consumers nationwide, and they want to be able to pass along the ‘wealth’ of being in the know,” said Aliza Freud, CEO of SheSpeaks in a release from the company. “Brands and retailers really stand to benefit from making women feel like they have access to a unique offer. This year it is especially important for marketers to engage women using direct marketing that gives them a personal incentive to shop.”

SheSpeaks found that “nearly 75 percent of w…

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Survey: Female Shoppers are Influenced by Their Friends

A newly released consumer survey from Harris Interactive, a research firm, and Volusion, a hosted shopping cart company, suggests that payment security is—not surprisingly—a top issue for online shoppers.

The survey asked more than 2,400 online shoppers aged 18 or older what factors influenced them to buy from a particular online store initially. In response, 93 percent thought that a secure checkout process was important or very important.

The survey also found that a variety of quality products and easy to use navigation and features are also important.

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Secure Checkout Most Important in Attracting New Customers

The Camino Project released its newest version for Mac OS-X in September 2008. Version 1.6.4 of this union of Mozilla and Macintosh offers a solid, Mac-compatible browsing experience with quick load times and crystal-clear renderings using the Gecko engine.

For the past several weeks, Practical eCommerce has been reviewing the leading web browsers, pointing out each one’s strengths and weaknesses. The Apple minority is a vocal one, so when Google upped the ante in browser performance with the release of its powerful and clean Chrome browser—a PC only tool so far—Mac users called for a better browser too. Mike Pinkerton and the rest of the Camino Project heard their cry, and released the newest version of its open source, Mac-centric br…

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Camino Web Browser is Best in Mac Universe

JL Hufford is a gourmet coffee company that started life with a small café in Seattle, Wash. The company went online six years ago and now boasts over 400 different specialty beverage blends as well as a wide range of “coffee lifestyle” products.

In this conversion review, I will evaluate the JL Hufford site at a high level, using it as if I was a potential customer. Specifically, I’ll pretend that “I’m really getting into good coffee and have recently completed a barista course. I’m now looking for a decent machine for home that will give me great espresso and frothed milk.”

Kyle Burke, JL Hufford’s marketing manager, describes the company’s unique proposition as a combination of excellent customer service, free giveaways, and risk-fr…

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Conversion Review: Coffee Purveyor Needs Clear Purchase Path

Practical eCommerce counts over 300 different shopping cart platforms. In this, our “Cart Of The Week” feature, we’ll profile—but not evaluate—a specific shopping cart and ask its management about its strengths and weaknesses. We’ll then ask a competitor or a customer about the cart, too.

In this installment, we’ve featured MightyMerchant a hosted cart that offers store owners a flexible platform, a rich content management system, and full-service design and PHP development. Michael Stearns is co-owner of MightyMerchant.

PeC: What are MightyMerchant’s biggest strengths?

Stearns: Advanced and custom functionality. From complex pricing structures, custom product ordering layouts, wholesale/retail environments, customized visual designs,…

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Cart of the Week: MightyMerchant Offers Full-Service Ecommerce Platform