Adobe Scene7 Blog – MackTalk

With a new decade upon us, the focus on customer experience with greater attention to rich site functionality (zoom & video) and social media (blogs & reviews) continues to blaze the trends trail. But we already knew that. Our 2009 quantitative survey, "Online Customer Experience - The Next Generation", received 474 responses from retailers, agencies, media, manufacturers, and high-tech companies worldwide, and we were able to identify nearly 12 months ago that the key trends shaping the eCommerce landscape are largely focused on enhancing customer experience. For example:

• 92% of respondents planned to conduct customer experience projects within the year

• Nearly one-fifth of all respondents had already deployed blogs, RSS feeds, user ratings/rankings/comments, and syndicated content

• The top five features deployed among all respondents included lifestyle imagery/photos (38%), alternative images (36%), audio/animation (31%), blogs (29%), and zoom (27%)

Ultimately, consumers are looking to e-tailers to provide more than products and traditional product information, they are wanting to be heard and understood and even messaged to appropriately which means that merchandisers will have to commit to more sophisticated solutions, including the more robust integration of rich media, rich Internet applications and social media.

So what's in store for the future? We think a continued emphasis on multi-channel shopping with mobile being a key driver and the next big growth area. Tell us what you think. Take the Adobe Scene7 2010 Survey: Customer Experience in the New Decade and you'll not only help to shape what online trends will drive 2010, but you'll have first access to the worldwide results covering rich media/merchandising, social media, mobile and personalization features used or planned to enhance customer experience.

Take the survey!

Posted by Scene7 at 9:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that eVideo has been shown to come as close as possible to bringing the retail shopping experience online, it's also been made simpler than ever for business users to feature on their sites. In a few clicks of the mouse, anyone (really!) can upload, transcode, edit, manage and stream video content online. And now, video sets and new 'clickable video hotspots' can augment the customer-facing experience--upping the time consumers spend online and consequently spiking conversion.

Okay, but what are clickable video hotspots you ask? Clickable video hotspots take the guesswork out of shopping for consumers by enabling them to "click" on video clips, captions or graphics of interest and link to external references (with more info or a way to buy). For the business user, it's simple to create this cutting-edge effect, with drag-and-drop elements that make it easy to add things like pop-up messaging. Delivering information about your product's availability, inventory level, and color or size options, will captivate your audience and help them reach a purchase decision more quickly--an unstoppable combination!

Don't just take it from us though, a recent survey of US marketers by PermissionTV ranked interactive video experiences as the top future trend in online video.*

By now you're likely imagining how interactive video can help bridge the gap between your products and the purchase decision.

*eMarketer, Video Content: A Premium Opportunity, Aug 2009

Posted by Scene7 at 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you want to move merchandise, just showing customers a picture of a product isn't enough. Gone are the days where heavy copy and small imagery moves the needle. Now, displaying a combination of dynamically served product images including alternative views or full 360-degree spin (leveraging interactive zoom and pan) and product video tells the whole story. After all, dynamic zoom and pan enables users to interactively examine a product in detail, 360-degree spin creates an in-store experience, emulating the process of picking up and examining the merchandise, and video completes the story, replacing the in-store clerk, and demonstrating in perfect clarity the product features and benefits--on demand (no waiting for the clerk to finish up with another patron first!). And the ability of video to educate, inform, and show off products in all their glory has proven again and again to complement the product images and details.

The perfect execution leverages an "integrated viewer or player" that serves any type of rich dynamic content (high resolution sets of images including colors, lifestyle and alternative angles for zooming and panning, sets of videos or both). A user must be able to clearly understand which type of content he/she is viewing, as well as have the ability to easily toggle back and forth between each dynamic content type. That is why in the latest Adobe Scene7 release, mixed media viewers have been added as they enable even "non-technical" users to upload, build, publish and serve integrated combinations of videos, images (color and multiple views), SWFs, spin sets and audio.

Titanium Jewelry is a great example of a site that leverages product imagery alongside product video for the ultimate online shopping experience. Customers can see jewelry in as much detail as they might within a retail environment, and the video brings the piece to life - showing every angle of an item of interest.

Field & Stream is another strong example of a site that integrates product photography stills with product video in a tray viewing format for easy access to expanded product detail. Shoppers can toggle between product shots (hero and lifestyle) and video for an end-to-end overview of the desired merchandise. Field & Stream worked with Circumerro Media, its interactive agency to enable the dynamic media display using Scene7.

Posted by Scene7 at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An online shopper clicking on zoom is the equivalent of an in-store shopper picking up an item to take a closer look. That's generally when a sales associate steps in to offer assistance, point out key features, and basically helps to guide the shopping experience. You can accomplish a very similar scenario on your website by adding zoom targets to your product's images and incorporating text tips as well. Here are some great examples:

TravelSmith
This site uses large thumbnail images in its viewer to recommend specific areas on the larger image where shoppers can zoom to see specific product details.

ExOfficio
In a pop-up zoom viewer, this site adds merchandising copy beneath each thumbnail target to describe a feature, giving the user more information prior to clicking on any target.

Telescope.com
This site incorporates a similar approach as the first two mentioned above, but with an embedded zoom viewer. Also, the thumbnails and text appear as an overlay directly onto the product image itself.

Zoom targets with rollover text can be especially helpful when trying to point out multiple products in a single lifestyle shot. For example:

Liberty Hardware
This site uses one single image to point out items in the collection such as the towel holder, towel ring, robe hook, and toilet paper holder. Rollover text indicates each specific SKU number. Shoppers can also interactively pan the entire image themselves by simply moving the image with their mouse and clicking on the zoom controls. This is a great way to use lifestyle room scenes that show off each fixture in a collection.

Posted by Scene7 at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been getting some interesting feedback on our Brand Loyalty blog article and whitepaper released in June. What appears to be really capturing people's attention most is Universal McCann's survey of online shoppers and what motivates them to share opinions about their shopping experiences. In the survey, six of the eight top reasons to share opinions involve the shopper's own experience--good or bad--or the experience of their friends. And, most interestingly, the good experiences outrank poor experiences two to one as reason to motivate sharing opinions. Also, good experiences were the top 3 reasons to "spread the word" to others.

The question then, is why web behavior is seemingly polar opposite of traditional retail behavior. Normally we (as consumers) all talk a lot more about a negative shopping experience than a positive one. It's simply human nature to want to "vent." So why are people so much more eager to post a positive review/experience online than a negative one?

One reader believes the reason there is such a great variance in offline/online shopping behavior is because offline transactions are considered "normal," every day fare--we shop, we wait in lines, we encounter all types of sales associates and we pay. It's a non-event. We may talk about the product we've just purchased, but not the process of purchasing it. So, when we complain, it's about the product. For instance, when we buy a new car, we don't typically talk about the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of the showroom and the coffee we consumed in the waiting room, we talk about the car and all its features.

Well, on the internet, the shopping and buying experience become so co-mingled that we become nearly as "wowed" by the process as we are by the product. And that may be the primary reason shoppers are so enthusiastic when all the stars align; when we save a trip to the store (saving precious time), find exactly what we're looking for (versus a wasted trip) and at the price we want to pay (versus wondering if it is available for less elsewhere)... plus enjoy an efficient checkout process (no waiting in line), shoppers just might feel motivated to really celebrate the experience, not just the product, by telling a friend about it. I can't recall that last time I told someone about a great in store experience - but am wowed all the time about things I see on the web. I was just telling someone the other day about a great experience I had using Netflix... that had nothing to do with the movie I was checking out.

What do you think? When you shop do you tend to share your experiences more when you're shopping online or offline? Do you talk more about a good or bad experience?

Posted by Scene7 at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been proven that shoppers' eyes are drawn first to images, so that's the best place to put important information. But you certainly don’t want to be updating your graphic files every time you want to change the text. By using dynamic overlays to flag important messages — such as "New" or "On sale" or "Offered in multiple colors"— you can increase response, click through, and conversion rates.

Let’s look at some examples:



House of Fraser, an International department store group known for delivering a robust online shopping experience, employs flagging to bring attention to items on the site that are "New" or "Exclusive." They do this so that shoppers can learn as much as possible about a product right on the category or browse pages – without having to drill down to a product page level or even the shopping cart. When a product is no longer new or exclusive, it's easy to update the graphic by removing the overlay. It keeps the site fresh and customers looking for the telltale flags.

The Home Shopping Network does a great job at tying overlays to inventory levels and showing that on the product pages. Depending on the level, a different overlay will appear such as "Almost sold out" or "On wait list" or "Sold out.” Elevating such real-time details can instill a sense of urgency that encourages shoppers to act quickly and that, in turn, elevates HSN’s ROI.

Click here if you’d like to learn more about Adobe Scene7 and applying dynamic templates to your site.

Posted by Scene7 at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With more ways than ever for consumers to get what they need when they need it, it’s tougher for retailers to build and maintain brand loyalty online. Online shoppers are in fact the most demanding of all shoppers, with high expectations surrounding the breadth of products offered, up-to-date pricing including sales and promotions, a variety of shipping options and more detailed information than is available in a retail store or catalog.

It is a highly competitive online market space and it is not always the traditional multi-channel retailers that are top of mind when shopping online. In our newly released Brand Loyalty Whitepaper leveraging privately-funded research undertaken with BRS Group Modern Research earlier this year, we found that only eight e-retailers score higher than 6% in unaided recall among online shoppers. Further, social media, more than advertising, is shaping customers’ perceptions on businesses (reviews, feedback forums, blogs, etc.) and the result is an influenced economy that is forcing everyone in the public realm—including the owners of products and brands—to become more transparent, open, conversational and honest. Merchandisers are now in a position where they will have to rethink the way influence is distributed and the new role of marketing communications in an information landscape dictated by consumers.

A few affordable suggestions to gain the much-needed traction e-retailers are after include price transparency, product interactivity (connecting with customers via live chat), RIA’s to create an overall engaging online experience and feedback forums to encourage shoppers to share their recommendations with others.

Our research shows that online shoppers are still walking away from shopping carts (an epidemic rarely seen offline) mainly because there is a lack of information, even less engaging content, and little promise that security (still a top concern for consumers) won’t be compromised. How are you stopping this trend? We would love to hear about loyalty tactics that have worked for you. It’s important to us to share that kind of insight with our customers and reveal problem-solving techniques we know can make a difference in ROI. Download the new whitepaper here.

Posted by Scene7 at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The answer is a resounding “yes” – and it is on the rise. From recent data, online shoppers are far more likely to purchase big-ticket home items, including major appliances like refrigerators and washer/dryer combos, directly from a website than they were 2 years ago (according to a 2008 study by PriceGrabber, a Web-based comparison-shopping service). The study found that “unease with online merchants’ customer service and the fear of making large online purchases have all decreased” since a similar survey was taken back in 2006.

According to the current survey of 1945 shoppers, 24% said they would be apt to buy major appliances online today, compared with around half that number two years ago. While the desire to “touch and feel” large home items remains an important reason for people not buying off the Web, the percentage citing that reason has dropped over the two surveys (from 70% to just over 50%). That is namely because certain retailers have become so good at merchandising online.

Thirty-three percent of online users will now conduct more research online to make sure they get exactly what they want before purchasing. (Source: Jupiter Research Economic Downturn Online Consumer Survey, Q4 2008.) A whopping 13% use the Web specifically to reduce the number of visits to the store. This research process shows an increased concern for doing more targeted shopping and making fewer impulse purchases. Of the online buyers who use more than one Web site when shopping around, 30% are in search of more product information—better images, product detail and beyond—and the vastness of the sites offering relevant product information has proved valuable rather than daunting. In fact, 58% of online users say that the breadth of information available online helps them feel more confident that they are buying the right product to meet their needs. (Source: JupiterResearch/NPD Retail Consumer Survey (04/08), n = 2,231 (US).)

Ultimately, much of our goal at Adobe Scene7 has been to support the consumer quest for information for either direct ecommerce purchase or research prior to store purchase – ranging from basic enhancements (zoom, alt views) to more advanced shopping tools such as visual configurators, where shoppers can actually visualize more on the web than they can in the store with these interactive selling tools. Swapping out basic colors is one thing, but Sub-Zero is one appliance manufacturer that has given new meaning to customization, actually enabling shoppers to view appliances in different kitchen environments, and change appliance finishes, cabinets, walls, countertops, trim and floors to reflect personal style and color palette. As this implementation caught my eye – I thought anyone who is selling bigger ticket items would be interested in checking this best practice out.

Posted by Scene7 at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why should shoppers have to navigate all the way down to product detail pages to find key information? By making details available sooner rather than later, you can improve the overall shopping experience. Add more information in your category and search result pages, including details like price, available colors and sizes, alternative views, special offers, and even an ‘Add to cart’ button. For example:

Lands' End
This site requires minimal clicking. By just mousing over any image, alternative views for pricing, special offers, and color options are immediately displayed. When you click on a color swatch, the alternative views change to that color. When you click through to the product page, the color remains the same as what you were just viewing on the category page.

We conducted a survey earlier this year and the results only confirm that Lands’ End is following “best practices” in the way that they merchandise their inventory. Of those who responded to our survey, the following tactics were found very effective/effective:

Alternative images – 99%
Color swatching / colorizing – 97%
Lifestyle imagery / photos – 95%
Quick looks & rollover views – 93%
Visual filtering & advanced search – 93%

Posted by Scene7 at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As consumers continue to retrench on discretionary spending – most retailers find themselves in fierce competition for stagnant spending across all channels. Traditional brick and mortar shops with a weak web presence are losing business to shoppers who’d rather surf the net for what they need. Web-only retailers are, for the first time, seeing the natural growth of ecommerce slow – and thus, they can no longer rely on automatic growth from new shoppers and a higher percentage of mix moving online. Enterprising multi-channel retailers are well positioned to win the fight for existing shoppers and existing spend – by bolstering their website content, offering unparalleled accessibility and providing new levels of customer service.

House of Fraser is a great multi-channel example that I’d like to call out. HOF is a premium UK department store group with 62 locations across the UK and Ireland. Their brick and mortar business has been around for 150-years (!) – and they did not stop at simply bringing their business online, they are continually seeking ways to connect their channels. Some of their successful initiatives include:

- Historically, they’ve only offered their catalogs in store due to their cumbersome nature. In order to make them much more broadly available, they have brought them to life as eCatalogs on the web.
- Better yet, most items purchased online can be returned at one of House of Fraser’s many department stores.
- House of Fraser gift cards can now be purchased and exercised on the website or at one of the 62 department store locations, which make them far easier for the consumer to redeem.

Thus, faced with a tough economic and competitive environment, multi-channel retailers such as HOF have some unique advantages they can leverage that would be difficult for their single-channel competition to match.

HOF is not alone is connecting channels for unique advantage. Most multi-channel retailers offer store locators and some, present in-store inventory availability. Many multi-channel retailers offer ship-to-store shopping which provides a great convenience to consumers - especially during the holidays when people flying to visit family and friends are faced with new baggage restrictions and checking fees. This also appeals to highly price sensitive shoppers who are willing to drive the ‘last mile’ to save shipping costs. Other multi-channel retailers offer in-store shoppers access to its website through Internet-enabled kiosks – giving shoppers real-time access to additional product information, customer reviews and other information to help facilitate the purchase in store—even the ability to order an item that may be out of stock in their local store. Early adopters are leveraging mobile devices for direct orders and as a direct marketing tool to drive in-store or to the web for online purchases. Examples include click- to-order and direct connection to your address book for gift deliveries, texting for in-store pick-ups and specials, pushing newest arrivals that are regionally linked to local store phone numbers for inventory availability, mobile search or UPC scanning capabilities tied to GPS navigation, and web search to find closest available items in store or best prices on the web.

If you are a multi-channel retailer and are thinking about pushing the bounds on connecting your channels, the April 2009 online shopper survey by Opinion Research Corp may be of interest to you. The survey identified five standout pain points in online shopping:
1. Not being able to speak to anyone to answer questions (25 percent)
2. Learning that items are back-ordered or out of stock after they are in the cart (11 percent)
3. Receiving an item that doesn’t look anything like it did on the Internet (11 percent)
4. Web sites that malfunction as the payment is being processed (9 percent)
5. Not being able to find an item (8 percent)

In thinking about the above challenges of buying online, you may be able to leverage an integrated cross-channel strategy to remove some of these customer pain points. In the end, "real time retailing” will be a significant advantage as retailers recognize the immediate benefit of meeting customer expectations at the time of demand, and customers recognize the retailers who provide it. Those retailers already employing this approach – making the sum of all channels greater than each individual channel – will likely weather the current economic downturn better than retailers who are retrenching to ‘focus’ on a single channel as their survival plan. The trend is showing consumers becoming savvier and demanding more information, greater accessibility to products and services and convenience like never before.

Posted by Scene7 at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is no doubt that improving customer experience is a priority or at least a planned initiative for most eCommerce professionals. As I mentioned last week, hundreds of respondents to the Adobe Scene7 survey on customer experience provided feedback on features they use or plan to use and their effectiveness.

If you have run across my 'predictive' presentations or writing in the past, you may recall my eCommerce 3.0 whitepaper, which documented trends and innovations in customer experience, drawn from experience working with leading e-tailers over many years. With new technology and innovation in the marketplace, I have now expanded on these principles in a new, whitepaper – "Customer Experience, What's Best? What's Next?" – to address trends driving the next wave of online innovation, highlight unique examples of companies with leading edge implementations, and expand on best practices for differentiating your website to drive brand loyalty and repeat business over the next two to three years.

Download a copy and let me know what you think.

I am constantly in search of great new principles and supporting best practices. If you have an example that fits into one of the principles described in this paper, or perhaps an example that is driving a new one –please drop me a note in the comment section.

Posted by Scene7 at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)