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Archive for the ‘Ecommerce’ Category

15 Nov

The e-commerce experience

BY

Recently we’ve been considering the shape of the future for e-commerce websites. There is no question that online shopping is a growing success, and why wouldn’t it be?

Online shopping has given us the power to browse from the comfort of our sofa and to select products that offer unlimited choice and value. It has also given us the authority to make choices about whom we purchase from without being railroaded into shopping with whichever chain store giants dominate our local high street. But as online shopping has developed in the last decade, so too have our expectations and needs as users.

When it comes to online shopping the overall user experience falls short of expectations. Creating an experience that satisfies the target market seems to be a secondary priority for most retailers, favouring a quick and easy solution based on what they think their shoppers want to see, or indeed what their budget dictates. Many retailers founded on the high street have branched out or made a complete transition to e-commerce, but compared to the standards in place across their branches and despite being responsible for such a vast proportion of their revenue, the quality of their online experience seems to have taken a back seat.

The initial groundwork period is a difficult one but it is crucial in setting the tone for the future of a website. Getting the design right is one thing, but it’s the functionality that can make or break those vital sales. Nailing this down takes planning – an important stage that appears to be neglected all too often by many retailers.

Once it has been decided how the site will navigate, it’s time to upload your products and let the shopping commence, right? Well yes, ultimately, but consideration must be taken at every stage. It is the little details that set the good and great online stores apart; like professional product images, and in-depth information about key features. Once you’ve entered these products it’s vital to keep them fresh and vibrant, merchandising them as you would a shop display. As a high street shopper you would expect your favourite clothing retailer to have new products and displays, but you will always know where to find the jumpers, and the same principles should be applied to an online store.

One of the main barriers to quality is ultimately the cost and time involved with creating and maintaining an e-commerce website. But with so many technological advances at our disposal, it feels like a cheap excuse for laziness. Software and hardware alike are so readily available and developers are practically tripping over themselves with the latest updates and advanced features, it’s hard to believe that we aren’t taking full advantage of the benefits they have to offer in order to create the ultimate online shopping experience.

In recent times the e-commerce world has hit somewhat of a ‘sweet spot’. With consumers being driven to the Internet in search of choice rather than quality of experience, there really has been no reason for retailers to up their game. They have taken their eye off the ball, certain they have the upper hand – this confidence is arguably misplaced in the current financial climate. With the ever growing popularity of online shopping and the volume of e-commerce traders rapidly increasing, to contend in such an aggressively competitive environment online retailers must up their game and take their shoppers seriously.

7 Jun

Magento bought by eBay

BY

Long ago 2am decided to pick one of the open source ecommerce platforms and focus on getting really good at it. We chose chose the market leading ecommerce software: Magento. It’s fair to say that we are by now mighty Magento developers.

eBay recently validated this choice with their recent acquisition of Magento.

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16 May

What is Bitcoin?

BY

Bitcoin is a P2P (peer-tp-peer) digital currency based on user networks.

This currency is based on the principle of the open source/wiki revolution of recent years, meaning there is no central authority rather all actions are taken at a collective level (unlike traditional method of monetary valuation which is based on government or financial authority regulation – known as Fiat Currency).

Is Bitcoin the future of currency?

In an economy that’s becoming far less centralized the relentless drive towards market led decentralisation can be felt everywhere – currency and payments methods are no different. From the advancements made through PayPal to Bitcoin, a full on online not for profit currency for the good of mankind. As commerce becomes increasingly trans-national and as the knowledge economy becomes increasingly dependent on homeworkers it’s likely that this will be developed into a truly global phenomenon.

Think of emails, within a few short years they had changed the way we thought of mail forever, within two decades they have become a real threat to the traditional form of paper mail, mail is now becoming synonymous with email whilst traditional mail forms are taking on derogatory names, most notably snail mail.

Does Bitcoin put the user back in control?

Bitcoin looks to change the way we view money in a very similar way to the way we view mail, by combining old and new technologies, Bitcoin put the user for the first time in direct control of the currency they use for the first time since the advent or the barter society way back in the mists of the stone age.

1 Nov

Magento Adaptive Resize/Resize to best fit

BY

Magento’s built in image resizing is a pretty powerful in its own right but there is one function Magento’s image helper lacks and that’s adaptive resizing!

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21 Sep

New Ecommerce Website: Peachy Cheeks

BY

From time to time a job comes along that is a real pleasure to work on: Peachy Cheeks is one of those jobs.

Sexy Underwear Ecommerce Web Development

Contact 2am for your Ecommerce Web Design

2am Media are specialists in research orientated web design and this is best seen in our development of ecommerce websites. Whether you’re after raunchy lingerie or sexy underwear Peachy Cheeks is the website to check out.

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