Chip Arndt asked:


As EVP at MerchantAdvantage, one of my responsibilities is to analyze multiple shopping cart technologies before integrating storefront data into our Channel Management system.

This is an essential process as it ensures that an online merchant’s data is compliant with our data transport system from which we easily distribute data into various marketing channels, such as shopping comparison sites, comparison shopping engines, marketplaces, such as Amazon, Shop.com and Underbid, and other unique marketing channels such as m-commerce sites, such as iSave.com, mPoria.com, mShopper.com, and review and coupon sites, such as PowerReviews.com and MyCoupons.com.

As I do this, I have established 3 points of analysis to make the process as reliable as possible. As technology changes, and new marketing outlets emerge, I think it is important for each merchant to look at their shopping cart infrastructure and analyze the ease of portability of their data into other systems in order to keep ongoing marketing integration “surprise-less”.

Merchants should perform this type of analysis in between the busy season; let’s say before or after March – ergo after the holiday season and before the summer rush. My suggestion is that a technical person should compile a list of questions to ask their shopping cart vendor, in order to ensure that the online merchant fully understands the “power” and “limitations” of their shopping cart technology and how it allows the online merchant to utilize many other software technologies to help the online merchant grow their business.

To begin, here are some definitions to consider – just so we understand each other.

Portability: A shopping cart’s capacity to integrate into a totally disparate system without losing product data impact.

Data Impact: The scale of impact that product data has functioning independently within an online merchant’s or marketed outside of an online merchant’s website. Product data contained within a an individual shopping cart, and website, may have “high impact” on marketing — as product descriptions, manufacturing names, pictures, pricing, and general marketing is robust and current.

However, if incorrectly formatted and mapped to an outside “software system”, the robust product data will have a “low impact” if it is taken out of its current shopping cart technology infrastructure and put on/within a marketing. In order to maintain product data’s “high impact” it is essential to ensure that the original data is mapped to correspond to the required elements of a marketing channel. This might include updating and creating: varied coding requirements, dropping/eliminating symbols, dropping/eliminating line breaks, adding varied prices and inventories levels, changing pictures and product names, and updating marketing descriptions.

An example of something that can cause “low impact” data on marketing channels is a shopping cart’s capacity to output a “new” product file on a scheduled basis, without encoding or symbols. This type of “new and daily export” yields usable data and not blank columns, or duplicate columns, in a data feed to marketing feed, that then will be rejected.

Marketing Outlet or Channel: A separate system used to market product data and drive sales into an online merchant’s site or on another site on behalf of the online merchant.

Marketplace: A marketing channel where the purchase is made outside of the cart and orders are fulfilled by the merchant. The order may be processed by the marketplace or the merchant, but the merchant is somewhat invisible during the view and ordering process. Examples would be Amazon.com, Shop.com, and Underbid.com.

CSE: Comparison Shopping Engine, a.k.a. Comparison Shopping site. This is a marketing channel where the goal is to drive a consumer back to your shopping cart to complete the purchase there. CSEs may charge the merchant a pay-per-click pay-per-lead or commission from all sales referred by the CSE to the online merchant, such as couparison shopping sites do.

Parent /Child Relationship, Options: Many products have options associate with the product before a final purchase is made, i.e., size, color, etc. This is especially true with clothing. These options show up on web pages and the website directs the consumer to select certain options related to a product before the consumer proceeds to checkout. This is great when the purchase happens on the merchant’s website, but how does an online merchant handle all of these options when exporting data to marketing channels and having to deal with a myriad of taxonomy and mapping issues as they relate to each marketing channel?

To answer this, the online merchant must assess:

1. the origination point of the data within their shopping cart technology

2. the options available to access the date therein

3. portability issues (i.e. ease of output and export)

…ultimately forcing the online merchant to analyze how the data is stored in its rawest form in the original database.

Just because a shopping cart technology can export data does not mean that that data is exported in the “form” that you need it exported. For instance, some shopping cart technologies export feature creates new line items for each option; some may create a field with every possible color/size possibility, while others do not.

Essentially shopping cart technologies, while trying to “play well with other,” simply do not and export features inherent in many shopping cart technologies are not designed to sync easily with the many requirements that are essential to working with marketing channels.

This lack of syncing of data is why we created MerchantAdvantage – to make the communication between systems seamless – and is the NUMBER ONE BREAKING POINT for online merchants to work with, and integrate with, systems and marketing channels out side of the their shopping cart technology.

So what should an online merchant be asking themselves to work effectively and efficiently with marketing channels and other systems out side of their shopping cart technology?

Remembering the definitions I outlined above, here are the questions I ask of online merchants about their shopping cart technology before transporting their data to ensure that we have the same “highest impact” data on/within marketing channels. I would be glad to do it with any online merchant, just give us a call at MerchantAdvantage, or you can do it on your own.

5 Questions to ask about your company data & company to see if your shopping cart is portable:

1. Where will this data be used to market? Marketplaces, CSEs, other marketing channels?

2. Is there a unique identifier for each product that stays the same all of the time?

a. Is that unique number for joined products (options) referenced in all joined products (i.e., do child products reference parent – see definition above)?

3. Are there Product URLs and Image URLs? And do they work?

4. Are there encoded characters, ASCII Characters, Line-breaks, or data anomalies?

5. Can any product data export process be automated?

a. Is the location to where exports are updated and pushed to always available on the internet

b. Is the location updated on a scheduled basis that parallels your shopping cart technology cart updates and changes?

5 Questions to ask to see if your portability is optimized:

1. Is each piece of necessary data stored in separate fields or columns, i.e., manufacturer, manufacturer part number, or availability, and not all clumped together in one general description.

Special Note: Some marketing channels require this data in different orders and formatting unique to their marketing channel.

2. Are the marketing descriptions sensible and concise, containing all important data at the front of the description (within first 100 characters)?

Special Note: descriptions can be indexed/searchable and are usually trimmed to the first set of 100 characters.

3. Is the “Cost Field” present in the export?

Special Note: Adjustments to the “Pricing” and “Marketing” fields may be made at any time of the product data dispersion process.

4. Do the unique identifiers match competitors’ unique identifiers?

Special Note: Consumers will and can see your items when viewing competitors’ products on CSEs.

5. Does my data meet all of the requirements of each requested marking channel that I am trying to get/feed to?

Special Note: Each marketing channel requires different types and formats of data delivery.

Okay, now what?

My suggestions:

1. after each question has been answered and each possible point-of-failure has been addressed then you can move onto the planning and process of into which marketing channels you want to work with and feed your product catalog data.

2. You have taken the most important step of data feed integration and marketing, namely understanding what your shopping cart technology allows you to do and not to do and, most important, understanding what you need to do to make sure that you create and market the “highest impact” data to your marketing channels.

3. Integration is ready to be achieved.

Good luck and if you would like to make your life a lot simpler, give us a shout at MerchantAdvantage, we would be glad to work with you, and start feeding and having fun with over 100 marketing channels, cost effectively, with the most uptime, least surprises and zero technician’s heart attacks!!

Happy Holidays!

– Chip Arndt

chip@eTaildTail.com

chip@merchantadvantage.com



DARWIN

Adam Jaylin asked:


Price comparison may sound as a very normal word in the contemporary scenario. Well, those amongst you who haven’t got their concepts about price comparison clear, let us try to understand this concept in a better way. In a very simplified manner, price comparison is a means of comparing two or more products by assessing its price. It decides as to which product is offering them the best value for money. By looking into the above definition, it looks as if the price comparison is a very effective method for shopping.

The world of Internet marketing is an alluring place where the user tends to get swayed by the various exclusive offers and the discount schemes. Somewhere amidst this hullabaloo, the quality of a specific product or service is hampered to a great deal.

This exactly is taken care of by these price comparison portals. They do a thorough research and survey and ensure that the meatiest deals, which are cheap and are according to your suitability, should be made available to you. You could simply visit these website and find the ready made comparison for yourself without actually hunting from one online shop to another.

You can easily locate many trusted websites that have been in this business since a long time and also a few other relatively new websites that could easily be found on the World Wide Web. With an evident growth of Internet as a trusted medium of shopping, there could be seen a boom in these comparison websites allowing an average user explore more and more lucrative methods of Internet shopping.

There are different specialised players that dominate a certain area of comparison, like travel, car insurance, bad credit finance, mobile phones, and so on.

However, you must understand, that these comparison websites cannot be helpful in every kind of shopping. Like, if you plan to buy a piece of furniture then it is advisable that you should not go for a comparison. Thus explore the horizon of comparison shopping and you would be able to find the best for yourself.



ALBERTO

Amelie Mag asked:


When we want to have fun and relax we go shopping. When we want to buy something nice for our family we go shopping. When Christmas is near and we all feel the Christmas spirit we go shopping. But there is much more to the whole shopping experience.

UK shopping is sometimes really confusing. There are many stores from little boutiques to huge high street stores ready to offer you the best products available. But managers and executive directors are fully aware of the fact that UK shopping requires a lot of time and energy. And not many people are up to this.

Online UK shopping has proved to be more than one could wish for. Virtual superstores were created in order to ensure that people can purchase goods and also services from the comfort of their own home. And it worked like a charm. They provide all imaginable facilities so that browsing and ordering different products on web is a pleasure.

UK shopping online sites offer an up-to-date list of the available items and the payment systems are effortless. Choose carefully the delivery options and also try to provide your address correctly (including postcode) to make sure that your product is delivered on time. Choose from the multitude of sites available for UK shopping, the most secure and trustworthy with safe payment information. Check that the address of the company is real and also get an email address for contact information. Keep in mind that all contact and security information of UK shopping sites should be readily available for the customers to see.

The Internet has made UK shopping a wonderful experience. Some UK shopping sites even offer cash-back shopping meaning that customers receive reward points every time they purchase something from the website. These points can be exchanged in order to buy other goods and this service is made especially to reward the client’s loyalty. You can even use discount coupons and codes for online UK shopping.

More and more people also choose to browse price comparison shopping sites in order to take a complete decision based on accurate information and detailed description of the products they are interested in. These sites also have product reviews. Basically, you just do a little research and do some price comparison shopping in order to determine how good the product really is and see if the price is appropriate.

When you go online and survey a price comparison shopping site, you should also check out the store’s warranties, return policies, service records and customer ratings. All this information is vital in order for you to be proper informed. It really shows which of the price comparison shopping sites are reputable and also improves your ability to research for different products.

Many consumers who are interested in buying goods won’t purchase anything until they consult with a price comparison shopping site. They are people who like to be informed and who understand that price comparison shopping helps them to get the best offers available. The Internet is a powerful tool for a lot of consumers who are uncertain about what features a product has or where to find the best price. By doing a little price comparison shopping, they make better decisions and are satisfied with the product purchased.

Offering shopping reviews and detailed product information are not the only things that price comparison shopping sites do. They also protect customer from scams or misleading information. That is if you search long enough to find a credible and reputable company.

UK shopping has never been better than when price comparison shopping sites devoted their services to customer satisfaction. They help the consumer look for particular features; offer a nice selection of brand names and an accurate description of specific terminology. Price comparison shopping sites also provide a newfound experience of shopping and the possibility to read in depth information about the products they offer. Check the detailed description about the items; look for marked price and also for the discounted prices.

So, even if you look for a gift for your mum or wooden toys for your children, you can easily find whatever you are looking for online. No matter what your shopping habits are, it is all about to change once you discover how easy it is to browse for products and purchase them while you enjoy your coffee at home.



ELLIOT

Jeev Trika asked:


When was the last time you went around hunting for a discount? I am sure a lot of us are familiar with the sight of someone in the family clipping out newspaper coupons and sifting through catalogues for some good deals. The search for saving money has always been around in different forms. After all, when it comes to saving a buck or two, everyone is interested.

Now, the Internet puts a new twist to the whole idea of discount shopping. As people become more and more comfortable with shopping online, they realize that they actually can search out products based on the budget they have for a certain product. It’s a rather easy process. There are numerous shopping comparison sites where you can search out what kind of offers retailers have and make a decision based on that information.

Shopping comparison sites, more popularly known as ‘shopping bots’, are appearing all over the Internet. The Internet has already taken the strain out of shopping and now shopping comparison sites are here to make the whole deal easier (though there are others who believe that shopping bots are not doing as well as one might think they are). Shopping bots take advantage of the fact that there is too much information on the Internet. If you want to buy, say for example, a mobile phone, simply searching the words “mobile phone” or “buying mobile phones” (or other variations of these search terms) will most probably give you a mind-boggling list of results. You couldn’t possibly go through all those sites without driving yourself crazy with information overload.

A better option might be to refer to a shopping bot. A shopping bot will give you prices that are available online based on your specifics. So you can actually choose the brand and model of the mobile phone you want and these sites will help you find the relevant information and usually the best prices.

It all comes down to the fact that everyone loves to save money. Previously, the obvious choice was to scurry in and out of stores, gathering information and then making your final decision. Shopping bots make it possible to do the same by sitting in front of your computer screen. Shopping bots are not necessarily used only as part of a high involvement purchase. Even if the product that a shopper is seeking to purchase costs only a few dollars, he or she might choose to refer to a shopping bot. This is mainly due to the convenience factor. Information can be found on a shopping comparison site within a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

One thing we all have got quite used to is the amount of choice we have when we buy something regardless of if it is online or offline. That is one major attraction that shopping bots have for consumers. As if the Internet didn’t already provide enough choices, shopping bots aim at bringing all these choices on to one page for you. Online shoppers also put in a fair amount of confidence into these bots and this is what these sites should aim to maintain.

The flipside of comparison shopping sites, on the other hand, is that they might not actually be giving you what they are saying they are giving you. There are sites on the Internet, which does a good job at finding the best that there is on offer, and there are other sites that don’t perform so well with the information gathering. Your task is to identify the good quality bots from the less efficient ones.

At the same time, it pays (no pun intended) to know how these shopping bots actually work. To the general population it might seem like shopping comparison sites rank products merely based on their prices. That does not always need to be the case. There are instances where retailers can pay for top ranking which means that those retailers who are willing to pay more will occupy the top slots on the site. This is a slightly sticky situation since consumers might not realize that a site appears on top, not because it has the cheapest offer, but because it has paid to be there.

Not all shoppers are all starry-eyed about shopping bots. There are plenty who are not really convinced that these comparison sites are as good as they claim to be. It could be the skepticism towards something that works so easily. After all, there are plenty of people who believe that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Then again, there is also that section of consumers who believe that they can do a better job at finding the best prices available and do not need to rely on a website for that.

It all comes down to your personal attitudes towards shopping comparison sites. There is no doubt that these sites make shopping online easier than it already is. It, of course, helps to know how these sites work so that you can be aware of where the information is coming from. After all, it is your hard earned money that is going to these retailers.



LAZARO

Monty Alexander asked:


While numerous brands are available for a type of product, the choice galore can be very confusing for the consumer. Brands are widespread and it is difficult to find them all at one place. But this is possible in the virtual arena where online shopping websites can list products from various brands and offer instant comparison. This makes it more feasible for the shopper to have a complete comparison of products across brands.

Online shopping catered offers and discounts for the consumers. The main reason of providing these heavy discounts is being in the virtual space and saving on the physical costs. Online stores need not hoard products and can buy as per orders thus reducing on the initial investments. Thus the e-commerce arena has clear profits from the launch of their website. Discount shopping has been famed by the introduction of online shopping.

One can see e-commerce and online comparison shopping based websites flourishing in India. Though the growth has not been drastic and tremendous but it is gaining momentum and has a steady upward progress. Online shopping websites give clear and detailed product description and is coupled by expert reviews and user analysis which show the real worth of that product. Comparison-shopping makes the buyer smarter and opens him to varied options and even guides him to the right purchases.

Online shopping in India is slowly growing with number of websites making a mark in the online shopping scenario. Comparison shopping is the buzzword for all these online shopping websites thus banking on comparative analysis of the products. This is enabling the consumer to get the best from the lot, which suits his needs and fits his budget. Making payments is also made easy with secured servers and ease payments options. Websites also offer ‘cash on delivery’ option, which is favored by most Indian buyers.

There is even comparison of prices and offers of the varied listed sellers. Thus such healthy competition in induced naturally where the consumer is the king and has the ease of browsing though the products and even the sellers. Thus there are lowered prices and more options for the consumer.

For more information visit: http://www.naaptol.com



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