Not too long ago, I did a post on “Welcome” emails. Since I had to sign up for all those accounts — and newsletters — it only makes sense that I take a look at newsletter emails sent by ecommerce Web sites.

Email newsletters offer great opportunities for highlighting products and services, as well as creating a sense of urgency for a potential customer (special 24-hour Internet-only sale!). And, if done with personalized linking, it is possible to offer customers great deals on products and services they actually want. Unfortunately, most of the email newsletters I received did not address my personal preferences.

One of the exceptions is Amazon. When my husband bought me a piece of jewelry off Amazon, the company began sending me email newsletters geared toward the jewelry line:

Other aspects of this email newsletter that I enjoyed include the following:

• Ability to go to shopping cart from the email.
• Additional products I might be interested in.
• Visible savings.

However, despite the fact that this email was aimed at a personal preference, it wasn’t personalized with my name. That sort of bothered me, since the point of personalized email newsletters is to personalize them.

Perhaps PacSun did a better overall job with its email newsletter. It offers full ecommerce Web site navigation, as well as options for better email viewing, signing up (in case a friend forwarded the email) and to unsubscribe to the list. Additionally, there are customer service links in this email newsletter, including to live help.

Cafe Press sent this email in a timely fashion, advertising its St. Patrick’s Day merchandise. This is a smart idea, since the email newsletter arrived early enough that I can receive any ordered items in time for the holiday. Timeliness is a good trait for email newsletters. Additionally, note the “send to friend” option:

Ace Hardware offers a full search function from the email newsletter, which is something I like.

One that I thought interesting was this from the Food Network store. I’m not sure whether it was my browser or what, but something went awry with the picture.

Here are some more email newsletters. What do you think of them?

1-800 Flowers

Altrec

Brooks Brothers

Dale and Thomas

eBay

FTD

J.Crew

Lancome

Levenger

Netflix

Skechers

Vivre

One of the most important pages on your ecommerce Web site is the customer service landing pages. This page often has contact information, and maybe even FAQs. The idea is to make it easy to find, and ensure that the information on the customer service landing page is easy for the customer to use.

Altrec has a rather “ultimate” customer service landing page:

Some of the aspects of this customer landing page that I find especially helpful include:

• Full navigation
• Live help (Altrec includes pictures of the associates)
• Ability to login to your account
• FAQs to help with common concerns
• Easy to find phone numbers and email addresses

Another interesting customer service landing page that I enjoyed is this from Apple. Apple includes access to a rich media video tutorial and an easy-to-find “search” function:

ABT.com includes an option for Spanish help. In a country where Spanish is becoming increasingly spoken, this is a wise move.

In a rather interesting move, Best Kiteboarding has opted not to have a customer service landing page. Instead, customer service options appear as part of the drop-down menu when one is on the main page.

Here are some more customer service landing pages. What do you think of them? Are any missing “must-have” characteristics? Which are done really well?

Amazon

Coach

Ecampus

FYE

Guess

JC Penney

Karma Loop

KL Wines

Kohls

Nike

PC Universe

PlumberSurplus.com

Repair Clinic

Stacks and Stacks

Swell

Vera Bradley

In online shopping, it is common to sign up for an account. Often, an ecommerce Web site will send you an email welcoming you to the site. But it doesn’t always happen. And while it can seem annoying to have an inbox cluttered by welcome emails, I think it’s a good thing to send a “welcome” email. And not just because I had to register on 36 Web sites in order to get the 20 examples I provide here.

A “welcome” email confirms to the customer that s/he has, indeed, signed up. And for the ecommerce Web site, it can be a great marketing tool. After reading all of these registration emails, I can see how an etailer can get added value from sending the right kind of “welcome” email.

Examples of “welcome” emails

One of my favorite examples of a great “welcome” email is this registration email from Ace Hardware:

As you can see above, there are some opportunities for deep, personalized email linking. Here are some of the other good qualities for “welcome” emails:

• Search right from the email.
• Personalized with the customer’s name.
• Attractive picture with logo.
• Special promotion offer for ordering from the etailer.
• Link for another version if the customer can’t see links or images.
• Unsubscribe link, since often when you register you sign up for email newsletters and offers.
• Doesn’t include the password for security reasons.

Blue Nile also offers a special. You can refer a friend, and receive a discount. These kinds of offers in the “welcome” email can encourage wider ecommerce marketing efforts and help you spread your brand through word of mouth.

By far the most image-rich “welcome” email I received was from Altrec. Not only does this ecommerce Web site send a rather colorful registration message, it includes pictures of customer services representatives. This is really taking the customer service email linking to the next level. Indeed, it might even be verging on the superfluous.

One “welcome” email that I wasn’t overly fond of was this, from Abe Books. While email linking does appear (a ton of it!), the email is just too long. I had to give up reading it. And there are no images to help break up the text.

Here are some more examples of “welcome” emails. What do you like about them? Can you see any that could use serious improvement?

AE.com:

American Stationery:

Brooks Brothers:

CafePress:

Drugstore.com:

Home Depot:

J. Crew:

Lancome USA:

Moosejaw:

Netflix:

PacSun:

Shutterfly:

Skechers:

Sony Style:

Vivre:

Wal-Mart:

What does that page look like just before you “confirm” or “finalize” an order? This can be a big deal in ecommerce. Ecommerce Web sites should consider what their confirmation page offers, just before online shoppers are completely committed.

I think this Abercromie & Fitch page offers a good example.

Some of the features that make this confirmation page a good example include the following:

• Full navigation to the rest of the ecommerce Web site.
• Includes tax and shipping, offering the whole total to be paid.
• Alternative payment (in this case a gift card) option.
• Picture of the item, so you can verify the product.
• Addresses (note: mine is fake) of shipping and billing, for verification.
• Progress bar so that you can see how far along you are in the process.

One thing that is missing, that I would like to see on the above Abercrombie “confirm order” page is the ability to change quantities in the cart.

As you can see below, Drugstore.com does offer the option to change quantities inside the cart. I also like that this page reminds you of the gift wrap option and allows you to look at your credit card information (also fake in my examples). The security measure showing only the last four digits is a good move as well.

Another “confirm order” page I find interesting is this page from Palm. This is, in fact, the final step before submitting an order. But because you have to sign up for a service package, even when buying smart phones online, a credit check is run. So in addition to entering your basic credit card information, you also have to enter information used in a credit check. I like how Palm explains the purpose of this step in the checkout process.

This page includes the payment option of a check. This is quite interesting to me, since it is rare to see an ecommerce Web site that accepts a check. Unfortunately, I think it looks a little “busy” with all the blank lines. I don’t know if I like filling everything and placing the order without being able to review it before finalizing.

Netflix offers a rather interesting “confirm order” page. If you are a member, you have the option of having automatic billing to your credit card. When you go to buy a DVD from those offered for sale, a pop-up appears, asking you to confirm automatic billing to your card — and shipping to the same address your rental movies are sent to.

Here are more examples of “confirm order” pages. What do you like, or dislike about them?

Ace Hardware:

Amazon:

Anthropologie:

Art.com:

Audible:

Cabela’s:

Coach:

Crate and Barrel:

Delightful Deliveries:

J. Crew:

Lancome USA:

Overstock:

PacSun:

Sony Style

Vivre:

One of the more popular features with customers on many ecommerce Web sites is “customer reviews.” They allow insight into products and help consumers feel more comfortable making purchases. There are several ways online customer reviews are implemented on ecommerce Web sites, some better than others. In this post we look at how different retailers implement reviews.

The best example of reviews is, surprise, Amazon.com. This site is the ultimate in user reviews. It is easy to find the user ratings, and the system is easy to understand. Not only can you rate products, but you can also rate others’ ratings. You can rank reviews so that those deemed most helpful are listed first, meaning that you can avoid the time-wasting fluff. Also cool? The rollover feature. Of course, you do have to be logged in to write your own review.

Dell also offers a rollover option. Additionally, it is possible (once you log in) to rate different aspects of the product, from features to quality. Dell also allows you to indicate whether or not the review was helpful.

Another company that allows users to rate individual aspects is Lowe’s. And, unlike many other ecommerce Web sites, you do not have to be logged in if you want to submit your own review.

Another site that didn’t require a login to write a review was FYE. However, the reviews are located below the fold, and therefore somewhat hard to find.

One of the more frustrating ecommerce Web sites was the Audible site. Even though it was easy to find the reviews, I had a hard time figuring out where I could write a review. It isn’t clearly marked even after you log in.

Here are more examples of the different ways ecommerce Web sites handle customer reviews. Let us know in the comments which elements of reviews you think are most helpful to driving sales.

Abe Books:

Barnes and Noble:

Blue Nile:

Buy.com:

Chapters.Indigo.ca:

Home Depot:

JTV.com:

Levenger:

Netflix:

Net Shops:

Overstock.com:

Shop NBC:

Step 2:

Tiger Direct:

Wal-Mart:

Many good ecommerce Web sites know that the product details page can have a material say in whether customers stick around — and even whether they come back. Customers like to learn as much as possible about a product before buying, and product details pages can allow customer to explore a product.

One of my favorite examples is the product details page for the Amazon Kindle. As you can see below, this page includes zoom features for the images, as well as a video about the Kindle.

On top of that, the Amazon Kindle product details page offers additional rich media that allows you to spin the Kindle 360 degrees in a pop-out window.

Another example I like is this product details page from Blue Nile. The zoom feature comes up where the original picture was, rather than as a pop-up. I think I like this better. It’s great for a jewelry ecommerce Web site, since it includes a small ruler to the right of the zoom image so that you can see actual size.

Another good example of the different views feature is this, from Gap. You can choose different views to see how the clothing would fit. For a clothing ecommerce Web site, this is an excellent feature, since it gives the customer an idea of how the clothing might look when actually worn.

One product details page that I was disappointed in is this one from FYE. All this product detail page offers is a zoom option to look at the video game cover closer. A video game is an excellent opportunity to include rich media, such as a brief video. Even different stills from game play would be an improvement. While it is important to include sections on requirements and features, and it was good of FYE to do so, I was hoping for a little bit more to give me a better idea of what the game looks like.

Here are some more examples of product detail pages. Which are obviously interactive? Which are patently boring? Which ecommerce Web site would you be more likely to purchase products from?

6 PM:

ABT:

Cafe Press:

Carol’s Daughter:

Drs. Foster and Smith:

David’s Bridal:

Gift Tree:

Moosejaw:

My MMs:

Nine West:

Palm:

Patagonia:

Rampage:

REI:

Vera Bradley:

Working Person:

Your Electronics Warehouse:

Loyal ecommerce shoppers often like to set up an account with etailers they visit frequently. This means that how you set up the “My Account” page can be important. In terms of design and usability, it is important to cater to your ecommerce shoppers. All of the examples below are the My Account pages for various etailers. Each represents the first thing that comes up when the My Account selection is made on an ecommerce Web site.

Personally, I like the Apple My Account page:

This page illustrates the following features:

• Fully navigable to the rest of the ecommerce Web site (including shopping cart)
• Order status
• Change account information option
• Company phone number easy to see
• Clearly states that you are logged in
• Search capability
• Simple, uncluttered design

Another interesting example is the Skechers Web site. In addition to having most of the features seen on the Apple My Account page, Skechers includes product recommendations. Those shown for me are not personalized, since I haven’t ordered anything yet. Presumably, as you place orders, your My Account page would reflect your preferences.

Another interesting feature can be found on the Wine.com My Account page. At the top, this ecommerce Web site keeps a running total of how much time is left for you to ship to make it to a major holiday — in this case Valentine’s Day.

An example I wasn’t too thrilled with is this one from Viva Terra. On the My Account page, your address immediately pops up. Not pleasant if you are not at a secure location. (Note: When I saw this, I changed my address for the purposes of this exercise. The address shown is not, in fact, my real address.)

Here are some more examples of My Account pages. Which do you like? And which do you dislike? Why?

In the US, the ecommerce forecast looks good. ComputerWorld reports that online shopping is likely to grow by between $20 billion and $30 billion per year. This means that by 2012, ecommerce shoppers could account for between $215 billion and $335 billion each year.

Much of this growth has to do with the fact that even when the US economy slows, online shopping continues to grow. ComputerWorld reports that this has to do with the fact that online shopping is often done by those with higher incomes. The affluent are less likely to be impacted by adverse economic conditions.

Challenges to etailers

Even with the ecommerce forecast looking so favorable, there are plenty of challenges for etailers. ComputerWorld reports that online shopping is becoming more seasonal. More ecommerce shoppers are making many of their online purchases during the holiday season. Additionally, online shoppers spend less time browsing on ecommerce Web sites. It is important for etailers to design ecommerce Web sites so that customers will find them useful, prompting return purchases.

Items that can make ecommerce Web sites more attractive in terms of online shopping include:

• Product images
• Accurate product information
• Payment option flexibility
• Lower shipping costs (including offering free shipping)
• Flexible return policies
• Personalized product recommendations

Major online retailers are leading the way in adopting alternative payment methods. A recent study by Brulant points out that out of 100 major online retailers, 30 percent offer alternative payment methods to credit cards. Brulant reports on some of its alternative payment findings:

“One of the most surprising findings is the increase in retailers offering all three alternative payment methods,” says Brulant principal Adam Cohen, noting that none of the same retailers offered all three methods in February 2007. “Today we find 5% adoption of all three at a variety of retailers from Toys ‘R Us to PetSmart to Rite Aid. This reinforces the ‘customer is king’ mentality, as retailers begin to offer a multitude of choices for checkout.”

This is further indication that ecommerce shoppers want the ability to limit how many ecommerce Web sites get their personal information. It also emphasizes the increasing customer focus in online shopping on increased options.

The study did not address the Amazon “Pay Now” widget, instead focusing on the more popular options: PayPal, Google Checkout and Bill Me Later. These three services are making inroads, it appears, and it may be difficult for Amazon, a late-comer to the alternative payment game, to catch up. Adding the “Pay Now” widget to your ecommerce site, in addition to the three other major alternative payment methods won’t hurt, though. Ecommerce Trends points out that alternative payment is becoming a consideration, along with product choices:

“As online shopping continues to grow, it is critical to not only expand your product assortment,” but to also offer “alternative means of payment,” says Marty Keane, senior vice president of e-commerce at Bluefly an online retailer.

Magento has been selected to present in Under the Radar: The Business of WebApps Conference, taking place on March 20th in Mountain View, CA.

Under the Radar will uncover 32 startups, that have launched within the year, showcasing the newest web apps created by developers with a quest for innovation and a tendency towards disruption. Having launched numerous companies into startup stardom, acquisition and beyond, Under the Radar is the most discerning and reliable platform today for discovering tomorrow’s leading technology companies … Out of the hundreds of nominations and startups we found in our own research - we’ve looked at them all - these startups are the best of the best. We’re looking for game-changers, innovators and, most of all, startups that have a real shot at success.

We’re excited to take part in this prestigious event. Past companies include Zimbra, Writely, Flickr, Userplane, and more. Thanks to the selection committee for giving us a shot