November 2023
Blog
eCommerce TL;DR – Edition 2
7th November 2023
Welcome to the eCommerce TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read!) from C3! Containing the latest news, trends, advice, and insights within Digital Commerce, in a time-efficient, bite-sized format.
In this edition…
- Organic traffic decreased? – A set of tools on what to do in the event of a traffic downturn.
- How you can use AI in eCommerce today – Examples of AI applied to eCommerce.
- Forget AI, focus on BI! – It’s all about the data.
- Lessons from the top 1000 European retailers – Are you doing these?
- A note from Jamie – The state of retail.
Organic traffic decreased?
A set of tools for an organic traffic downturn:
- It’s vital you stay up-to-date with Google Search’s Core updates, found here.
- Identify technical changes and errors.
- Identify content changes.
- Keep an eye on seasonality for your site and vertical.
- Complete your own SEO review of the basics: content, technical, and off-page. Check SEM Rush’s SEO Checklist here as a starting point.
- Know when to bring in the experts and what to expect.
For more detail on what to do when you experience a downturn in organic traffic hit ‘Find Out More’ below or get in touch to discuss your SEO!
How you can use AI in eCommerce today
The hype around the use of AI in eCommerce and across tech generally is loud, noisy and chaotic, However, in 2023 AI has gone from being a fringe innovation to something in day-to-day use by a vast amount of people.
Here we highlight some of the areas where AI is now commonplace:
- Copy creation and SEO research.
- Summarising emails and meetings.
- Image creation AND refinement!
- Translations.
- Data processing.
- Writing and fixing code.
- Customer support (e.g. Chatbots).
- Conversion Rate Optimisation.
- Dynamic Pricing.
We’ll be spotlighting different uses of AI in this newsletter series and either deep diving into how to implement it within your business or look at upcoming innovations in future editions – so stay tuned!
Forget AI, focus on BI!
Ok, so it’s just a catchy title, and in fact AI can benefit Business Intelligence greatly. In these tough economic times it’s ever more important for retailers to be staying close to their data. What does your data landscape look like? If it’s limited, or even non-existent, you are not alone, and shouldn’t feel bad. The good news is that it’s not difficult to achieve a lot with a little.
We advise starting with the basics. For example, creating a dashboard to monitor your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as conversion rate, average order value, visitor number, and cart abandonment rate. Once you have visibility of your gernal performance, you can begin to supplement this with ever more focused measurements.
The goal is to really understand the performance of your eCommerce solution and customer behaviour. This will allow you to make informed decisions on how best to optimise the experience, and in so doing improve your KPIs.
Whether you’re just starting out, or are further along in your data journey, we’re here to help. We are an impact-driven agency, and much of what we do revolves around data-driven optimisation.
What are the top 1000 European Retailers doing?
A top pick of trends amongst the top 1000 European retailers, according to RetailX’s latest Top1000 Europe report. You should be considering these:
- Offering PayPal as a payment option.
- Showing supported payment options on landing pages.
- Requiring customer registration.
- Saving customer baskets for customer return.
- Adding stock visibility to product pages.
- Promoting product search via price and brand.
- Displaying multiple high-quality, zoomable product images.
- Providing product videos.
- Tagging best-selling products.
- Showing fulfilment options on product pages.
Click below to read a more in-depth analysis of the report, including the reasons behind these recommendations.
A note from Jamie…
At C3 we work with brands from a variety of different industries, including – but not limited to: manufacturing, food & beverage, publishing, and consumer electronics. It’s been interesting – and at times harrowing – to see the effect that the last few years of global turbulence has had on different industries. During the pandemic, some businesses excelled, whilst others faced collapse.
Now, as we approach the end of 2023, for those brands that survived, and in fact for those that thrived, we’re seeing and hearing reports of serious challenges due to a continued downturn in consumer spending. Most organisations are having to tighten up, to work harder at customer acquisition and retention. They also need to become more educated when it comes to their customers’ behaviour.
At C3, it’s no different.When the pandemic hit, our focus became ever more on understanding the challenges of our customers. We worked to make sure that our service is laser focused on adding optimum value. As a result, our customers have become more efficient, stronger, and more resilient; and in turn so have we. Whilst it is hard to predict what’s around the corner, it’s with quiet optimism that I watch the slowly turning tide. By helping our customers adapt quickly and effectively, they are more assured of success.
We’ll be highlighting the changes in retail markets and recommending how you can adapt in this series of newsletters. We start with my piece analysing the latest Top 1000 European Retailers report from RetailX.
Don’t miss out!
To ensure you never miss an edition, submit your email address below and receive each edition of the eCommerce TL;DR directly to your inbox!
About the author
Jamie
Jamie is our intrepid leader, having founded C3 in 2009. He has been working in the field of eCommerce for nearly 15 years, having been at the helm of countless eCommerce projects. Jamie is a proud father of 3 and has a passion for all things internet related.