Webinar:
The Web as a Workhorse
Featuring Lauren Freedman
President, the e-tailing group
A Few Housekeeping Items Before We Get Started:
•
•
To Join the Teleconference: Tel. 866-469-3239 or 650-429-3300
Presentation Content:
• Slides and Webinar recording will be made available for download at
www.demandware.com
• Please use the “Q&A” function to ask questions.
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Webinar Agenda
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Adam Forrest, Product Marketing Manager, Demandware
Main Presentation: The Web as a Workhorse
Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group
Active Merchandising
Adam Forrest, Product Marketing Manager, Demandware
Best Practices that Lead to Superior Customer Experiences
Heather Reasonover, Director, Marketing & Interactive Services, PFSweb
Questions & Answers
2
About Demandware & PFSweb
Demandware
• Leading and top rated on-demand ecommerce platform
• Over 100 brands live on the platform
PFSweb
• Leading provider of integrated business infrastructure solutions
and fulfillment services
• Service Fortune 1000, Global 2000 and brand name companies
Together, we provide the leading end-to-end ecommerce solution
3
Leading Brands
Choose Demandware
4
(Partial Client List)
Copyright 2008 Demandware, Inc. - Confidential
About Lauren Freedman and the e-tailing group




15 years e-commerce consulting
Author, It’s Just Shopping
50+ years traditional retail and catalog experience
Fortune 500 client projects ranging from strategic planning,
merchandising, marketing, to technology development and messaging
 Proprietary research studies on mystery shopping and merchandising,
egeg Index, marketing and multi-channel customer mindset, In-Store
Pickup and Gift Registry
 E-commerce expert and frequent speaker at industry events, trade
associations
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Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group
 State of the eCommerce Times
 5 Ways Web is a Workhouse
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Resource Allocation Review
Global Branding
Category-Centric Merchandising
Confidence-Building Content
White Glove Service
6
Profile of 8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey Respondents
Merchants of all sizes (annual sales)
30% $<$1M to $20M
24% $20M to $100M
28% $100M to $1B
18% $1B to $5B>
Senior level participation
41% CEO/President/Principal or VP/
General Manager
51% Director, Senior Manager or Manager
8% Analyst, Specialist, Assistant or Other
Cross-section of B2C products and services
33% Apparel
30% Home & Garden/Home Improvement/
Tools/Appliances/Furniture
23% Accessories/Shoes/Luggage/Jewelry
17% Sporting Goods/Outdoor Gear
16% Gifting/Greeting Cards/Food & Wine
13% Health & Beauty
12% Toys/Kids
10% Books/Music/Video
9% Consumer Electronics
7% Pets
5% Computer Hardware/Software/Peripherals
Selling through a mix of channels
28% Internet/Store/Catalog
27% Internet only
24% Internet/Store
18% Internet/Catalog
3% Other
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Merchant Survey Topline Findings



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

Despite the lagging economy e-commerce is showing more resilience than other
channels; 66% anticipate ‘09 Internet revenues to increase over ’08 as this channel
continues to see growth
Ecommerce core to multi-channel success where senior management satisfaction is
waning while pressure rests on ecommerce channel performance more than ever before
Profitability means scrutiny on both achieving desired revenue goals while being diligent
in cost savings
Merchants are challenged to get customers to convert where conversion numbers are
being tested and other engagement metrics are being considered in the broader context
of multi-channel shopping
Resources are stretched and budgets cut where ROI mentality prevails
Testing is central to understanding what works in this climate where analytics and
performance data underlay decision-making
Targeting and segmentation are the order of the day onsite and particularly via email
where merchants ratchet up efforts from personalized email to triggered email including
abandonment efforts
Optimization is important and in order to get optimization you may need to replatform
while others will get optimization with built-ons
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34% report a flat or downward trend in their e-commerce
business; though this channel continues to see growth as 66%
anticipate ‘09 Internet revenues to increase over ’08
Compared to 2008, how do you anticipate your
Internet revenues to change in 2009?
24%
17%
15%
14%
13%
9%
4%
-6% to -20%
-1% to -5%
4%
Flat
+1% to 5%
+6% to 15%
+16% to 25%
+26% to 50%
> 51%
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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eCommerce value to core business growth ensures that in ‘09, despite
the current economic climate, 70% of those surveyed intend to invest
the same or somewhat more in e-commerce than they did in ‘08
How will your e-commerce investments be impacted
by the current economic climate?
No change
8%
Investing somewhat more than 2008
as e-commerce is the fastest
growing part of our business
36%
Investing about the same as 2008
26%
Investing somewhat less than 2008
given our current business state
Investing significantly less than 2008
given our current business state
22%
8%
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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5 Ways the Web is a Workhorse
CategoryCentric
Merchandising
Global
Branding
White Glove
Service
Resource
Allocation
Review
ConfidenceBuilding
Content
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I. Resource Allocation Review
To exceed consumer expectations
independent retailers must meet ever
greater demands with limited resources
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Demands of ecommerce are not sufficiently met with the right
resources particularly in these cash-strapped times
How many full time employees are working
in your e-commerce program?
12%
1-2
21%
3-5
26%
17%
6-10
11-15
8%
16-20
4%
4%
21-30
4%
3%
31-40
4%
41+
29%
20%
12%
6%
14%
16%
2009
2008
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Merchants look to find the right model
“We are implementing a new e-commerce platform because we are held back right now
by having to develop everything in house; it is time to put control in the hands of the
marketers and merchandisers on our team.”
I need to run my
business not my
site.
Is our time best spent on the nuts
and bolts of my business or on
merchandising and marketing to
create differentiation?
Do I have the resources to
compete in my category?
With capital expenditures
tightly controlled am I
better off to take a more
flexible approach to driving
my e-business?
What is the fastest road to
profitability—I need to minimize cost
of infrastructure yet maximize ROI
where internal pressure to perform
grows daily?
Time to market is more important than
ever before so it is essential that we be
able to quickly test and deploy
promotions to meet the needs of the
changing retail climate
Global selling is
intrinsic to our
brand and the
overall success of
our business
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44% merchants plan to change e-commerce platforms within 3 years due to
inadequate functionality (55%) and inadequate systems (40%) along with
outgrowing existing platforms (50%)
Why would you look to switch platforms? Check all that apply.
55%
Inadequate functionality
50%
Outgrew existing platform
40%
Backend systems are not adequate
39%
Needed more control
20%
Poor account services
Seeking a new business/financial model
16%
15%
Long-term security/PCI compliance
14%
In-house model no longer working for us
Wanted less control
1%
Not looking to change
6%
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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II. Global Branding
Today many brands are universally known
while others hope to extend their reach
beyond our borders to tap into international
opportunities
16
Brand translation tops initiatives
Putting your best foot forward whether you are a retailer, a manufacturer or both
requires consistent and diligent marketing efforts
17
Coordinated marketing programs across channels are already in place for 67%
of merchants as customer expectations and an elevated merchant opportunity
to offer a seamless shopping experience drives such efforts
What is your time frame for coordinating marketing programs across
sales channels (retail, direct, Internet, TV)?
Already have coordinated
programs in place
67%
10%
This year
Next year
Not currently planned
Will always remain separate
Don't know
4%
6%
4%
9%
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Execution consistency
A brand voice that is delivered seamlessly across channels
resonates best with the customer
19
While 46% of merchants report already being international most are still
considering such efforts or have no plans as economic challenges at home may
likely take precedence
When do you anticipate selling and shipping internationally?
46%
40%
25% 24%
20%
16%
9%
9%
7%
4%
Aleady international
This year
Next year
2009
Not sure
No plans to go
international
2008
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Translation takes many forms
15% of EG 100 offer the ability for consumers to shop in another language while
international shipping beyond Canada is seen on 34% of sites
4Q08 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping
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III. Category-Centric Merchandising
A merchant’s assortment must influence the
supporting tools and tactics to be competitive
online once the basics are in place
22
Conversion rates in ‘08 appeared to be somewhat lower than in ’07
with consumers likely researching products more including
comparison shopping as a result of the economic times
Over the past year (2008) how has your conversion rate
been relative to the prior year?
45%
32%
30%
21%
24%
14%
12%
8%
6%
3% 3%
Significantly
higher
Somewhat higher
About the same
2009
Somewhat lower
Significantly
lower
2%
Don't know
2008
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Merchants find value in a array of features: keyword search (94%), sales and specials
(93%), cross-sells (92%), and email as a merchandising vehicle (90%)
All 52 features in the survey in decending order as rated very to somewhat valuable (5-3)
Keyword Search
Sales or Specials
Cross-sells
Email as a Merchandising
Vehicle
Seasonal Promotions
94%
93%
92%
Category Content
Email-a-Friend
Free Shipping -
67%
62%
61%
Wish Lists
Contests
Sharing via Social
46%
46%
46%
90%
Gift Center/Suggestions
60%
Blogs
44%
88%
59%
Community Features
41%
Top Sellers
87%
Guided Navigation
Email Customer Service
Alerts
59%
Frequent Buyer Programs
40%
Free Shipping - Conditional
86%
Video
58%
Pre-Orders
38%
What's New
84%
Recently Viewed
57%
38%
Up-Sells
81%
Gift Certificates/Cards
55%
Live Chat
Create Your Own Custom/
Personalized Products
Promotional Incentives to
Buy
79%
Multiple Ship-to's
55%
Deferred Payment Plans
34%
Exclusives
77%
Alternate Payment Methods
54%
Coupons/Rebates
74%
Search/Order by Catalog
Number
53%
Search Landing Pages that
are Merchandised
74%
Brand Showcase
52%
As Advertised
31%
Alternative Views
73%
Online Outlet
51%
Interactive Tools
30%
Product Ratings & Reviews
69%
Limited Hour Promotions
51%
Gift/Wedding Registry
27%
Advanced Search
69%
Color Change
50%
Zoom
69%
Product Comparisons
50%
Shop by Outfit/by
Solution/View in a Room
In-store Pick-up and/or
Returns
In-store Product Locator
Look-up
3D Visualization
Audio
36%
34%
32%
24%
24%
23%
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Category-centricity starts with an optimized search experience
From landing page sorts to customized category treatments this highly utilized area of your
site must continually be tweaked for usability and performance
25
Strategic placement of promotions mandatory
From the product page to the cart and post-order communication all locations
are fair game for promotional selling
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Customers take control via engagement tools and customization
37% of EG100 offer interactive onsite tools while 27% have product configurators and
24% allow personalization of product
4Q08 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping
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IV. Confidence-Building Content
Merchants are investing heavily in
category, product and channel
information to deliver a robust and
comprehensive consumer experience
28
Behind targeting, onsite search and site redesigns both content and product
enhancement tools are on the list to tackle this year
What initiatives are you planning to improve website performance?
Check all that apply.
76%
71%
More targeted email programs
69%
65%
67%
67%
Adding or improving onsite search
Site redesign/upgrades
65%
65%
Enhanced onsite merchandising features
55%
58%
Cross-sell/up-sell
52%
55%
Content development
49%
54%
Adding customer-generated content (including reviews)
45%
43%
Overhauling shopping cart
41%
41%
Personalization
38%
36%
Product enhancement tools/rich media
Gifting features (including multiple ship-to)
Interactive tools (virtual models, configurators)
24%
36%
24%
28%
2009
2008
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Play your value proposition
Embrace your assortment and branding to give customers a sense
of their true shopping options
30
Product page content must be robust
From a complete product description to targeted recommendations comprehensive
content best serves the consumer
31
Supporting views fill a selling void
The right views can seal the sale where all questions about the
products are covered
32
Technology supports selling
Showcase product that layers the complete look or shows consumer a better
way to visualize their product in use
33
Videos vault in importance
Video adds another dimension as 65% EG100 vs. 45% last year
embrace the opportunity to show more
4Q08 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping
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V. White Glove Service
Customer service differentiation is even
more critical in tough economic times as
consumers look for risk-free shopping and
merchants must deliver
35
The top-ranking marketing and customer service tactic for retaining customers is
exemplary customer service
followed by targeted email and streamlined checkout
Please rank your top 3 marketing and customer service tactics for retaining
customers with "1" being the most important to your strategy and "3" being the
least important
47%
Exemplary customer service
Targeted and/or segmented
email marketing campaigns
Streamlined checkout
41%
31%
8th Annual e-tailing group Merchant Survey
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Stellar service across the board should be non-negotiable
Reality
Expectation
4.76 days
Next day or quicker deliveries
based on the high bar set by
Amazon, Zappos and others
Mixed bag
Support personnel must know the
product and move beyond order
takers and delivery informants
Email Response
Time
20.15 hours
Real product knowledge sent in a
personalized fashion delivered
within 24 hours of query
Live Chat
32% of EG100
merchants utilize live
chat where service
levels mimic overall
brand execution
Complete product and institutional
information where more consumers
come to expect this option
available to them as part of site
experience
Delivery
CSR's
4Q08 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping
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Reinforce service differentiation
From the home page to your guarantee make shopping a risk free
proposition for your customer
38
Supply exemplary expertise
Translate corporate knowledge via useful onsite tools and communication to
elevate customer experience
39
Incorporate time-saving tools
From quick views to express checkouts (some multi-store) shopping simplicity
appeals to time-starved shoppers
40
Take service beyond the call
Connect with your customer for both brand building and buying opportunities
41
Lead with loyalty
Remind shoppers of how they can be rewarded in these challenging times
50% of EG100 merchants up from
43% in 2007 have introduced loyalty
programs
4Q08 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping
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Is the web a workhorse in your business?

Take timely measure of your brand’s ecommerce state assessing your internal
resources and where your dollars and investment can make the biggest ROI impact

Tackle the basics and then elevate the customer experience with category-centric
tools

Total content requirements must be delivered from a category, product and
channel point of view

Test new tactics periodically to enhance the site’s merchandising

Target unique customer segments with distinct experiences that support their
needs

Take advantage of every opportunity to deliver exemplary customer service

Think global for greater customer reach
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Contact Information
Lauren Freedman
President,
the e-tailing group, inc.
1444 W Altgeld Street
Chicago, IL 60614
773-975-7280
lf@e-tailing.com
www.e-tailing.com
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Active Merchandising™
Tailored Customer Experiences, Total Control, Strategic Selling
Adam Forrest
Product Marketing Manager
Demandware
Merchant Survey Topline Findings








Despite the lagging economy e-commerce is showing more resilience than other
channels; 66% anticipate ‘09 Internet revenues to increase over ’08 as this channel
continues to see growth
Ecommerce core to multi-channel success where senior management satisfaction is
waning while pressure rests on ecommerce channel performance more than ever before
Profitability means scrutiny on both achieving desired revenue goals while being diligent
in cost savings
Merchants are challenged to get customers to convert where conversion numbers are
being tested and other engagement metrics are being considered in the broader context
of multi-channel shopping
Resources are stretched and budgets cut where ROI mentality prevails
Testing is central to understanding what works in this climate where analytics and
performance data underlay decision-making
Targeting and segmentation are the order of the day onsite and particularly via email
where merchants ratchet up efforts from personalized email to triggered email including
abandonment efforts
Optimization is important and in order to get optimization you may need to replatform
while others will get optimization with built-ons
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Benefits of Demandware Active Merchandising™
Increase
Revenue
Efficiency
Through
Automation
Accuracy
Ease of Use
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• Improve conversion rates and average order size by providing
the right merchandising to the right customer at the right time
through a data-driven rules engine
• Your own digital merchandise analyst, turning your data into
relevant customer interactions
• Allows you to react to customer, product, search, site metrics,
and promotion thresholds to deliver relevant merchandising
• Offers a task-based, merchandiser centric Web UI for creating a
holistic view of your merchandising
Demandware Active Merchandising™ is Comprised of:
Core Merchandising
Searchandising
Smart Search – search relevancy ranking driven by analytics
Personalized
Merchandising
Customer Targeting, Customer Rules Engine, Merchandising Slots
Analytics-Driven
Merchandising
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Catalog, Pricing, Promotions, Recommendations
Advanced data collection used for merchandising automation
Demandware Active Merchandising™ Architecture
Tags your merchandising pages
Store merchandising data in reports
Collect Data
Trigger rules based
on data threshold
Closed Loop
Automate search sort orders and personalize merchandising
offers dynamically
Manage merchandising rules through unified UI
Fill Slots
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Manage All Merchandising with Total Control
Core Merchandising
•
Leverage a single, task-based user interface to quickly and easily control all merchandising functionality
Robust Product Catalog
Demandware ‘s comprehensive product catalog functionality includes: category and product definitions, image files,
variations, attributes, up-sells, cross-sells, substitutions, product bundles recommendations, product comparison,
catalog syndication, import/export and more
Flexible Pricing Engine
For developing complex pricing strategies that serve multiple geographies Demandware offers: price books,
markdowns, tiered pricing, multi-currency (100 types), and quantity discounts (bulk)
Industry-Leading Promotions Engine
The Demandware promotions engine features rules and restrictions, import/export for multi-channel consistency,
and 55 promotion types including: conditional, unconditional, item level, order level, tiered, coupon, shipping, gift
with purchase, discounts, and BOGOs
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Automated Rules-Driven Product Sort Orders
Searchandising
•
•
•
Searchandising is a comprehensive search engine combined with ecommerce data and rules for
automating the ranking of sort orders
Searchandising rules containing ecommerce data thresholds can be easily configured
Merchants can set up multiple sorting rules for displaying products including availability and sales rank
Industry Leading eCommerce Search Functionality
Features include: Guided Search & Browsing, Guided Search Redirects, Category Search, Advanced Search, Search
Refinement Buckets, Explicit Price Buckets, Flexible Sorting, Relevancy Ranking, Explicit Product Ranking.
Searchandising Rules for Control and Accuracy
Merchants can create Dynamic Product Scores and include them in sorting rules for driving the automation of relevancy
ranking.
Dynamic Merchandising Data
Active attribute-based sorting conditions that are driven by merchandising data (such as availability of inventory data, and
sales velocity) can be calculated inside of Demandware or with an outside system for driving Searchandising rules.
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Tailor Shopping Experiences for Customers
Personalized Merchandising
•
•
•
Gives merchandisers the ability to dynamically segment customers
Segments are tied to different merchandising offers such as promotions and products
These offers can be dynamically displayed in Merchandising Slots
Demandware Dynamic Customer segmentation
Personalized Merchandising supports several customer
group types including predefined groups set by
Demandware, static groups you manually configure,
and dynamic groups that are rules-driven.
Segmentation Rules
Dynamic customer group rules define what a specific
segments sees as they move around your Demandware
ecommerce site; interactions based on regularity, visits,
login, and explicitly through the merchandiser UI or API.
Merchandising Slots
Dynamic page real estate that is tied to segments for
merchandising to customers on the fly. Display
products and promotions directly in Merchandising Slots
throughout your Demandware eCommerce website.
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A Merchandise Analyst in a Box
Analytics Driven Merchandising
•
A cutting edge merchandising data model combined with a leading analytics engine to automate data
collection & decision making for facilitating search, recommendation, & personalization rules
Merchandising Data Model
Utilizes data from Active Merchandising , Web analytics tools, order management, or other third party systems to enable
merchandising precision.
Active Data
This unique data type pulls information on customers and products for use with specific rules, conditions, and limitations
contained in Active Merchandising. Data attributes include: availability, SKU coverage, return rate, cost, etc.
Merchandising Analytic Engine
The Merchandising Analytic Engine captures analytics data from Demandware sites, derives new data sets as required
for the Merchandising Data Model and creates reports (preconfigured to collect data automatically for no customization)
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Thank You!
Adam Forrest, Product Marketing Manager
Demandware
aforrest@demandware.com
www.demandware.com
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Best Practices that Lead to Superior
Customer Experiences
Heather Reasonover
Director, Marketing and Interactive Services
PFSweb, Inc.
hreasonover@pfsweb.com
972-881-2900, ext. 3474
Key Facts About PFSweb
•
Leading End2End eCommerce Solution
Provider
- $2.8+B in Merchandise Sales
-
•
1,000+ Professional Resources
2M+ Square Feet Fulfillment Capability
10M+ Shipments
3M+ Customer Contacts
International Presence
- United States
- Canada
- Europe
- The Philippines
•
40+ Globally Recognized Brands
- LEGO, AAFES, SunglassHut, Roots…
- Specialize in high-touch brands
1
Take a customer-centric, holistic view of your total initiative.
•
A superior customer experience is greater
than the sum of its parts
•
Embed the essence of your brand throughout
- Rich brand interactions on-site
- Rich brand interactions off-site
•
Strike a balance between focusing on the
front-end as well as the back-end
- No component should be an afterthought
eCommerce Technology
Business Intelligence
Order Fulfillment
Interactive Marketing
Customer Care
Payment Processing
21
Online merchants today are pressured to compete on price. Don’t
commoditize the channel. Compete on differentiation and rich
interactions.
“Just Price” leads to…
- Brand erosion
- Reasons to shop elsewhere
- Heavy promotion cadence that sets an expectation
- Negative impact to profitability
In this economy, now is the time to “wow”
our customers with the experience.
3
•
It’s not a call center. It’s a customer care center. Leverage it as an
embassy for your brand.
Cultural indoctrination is critical
- Be collaborative and engaged in training
- Close gaps between in-store service and online service
•
Create consistency in online activity and customer care
activity
- Promotions
- Visibility into customer behavior/profiles/preferences
- Cross-sell/Up-sell methodologies
•
Realize that baseline customer expectations are high
- Example: eMail response in less than 24 hours
4
Arguably, the physical experience is the most powerful moment of truth. Use
it to delight them and invite them to come back.
•
Fulfillment is the last touch point in the purchase cycle and one
that weighs heavily on their intent to repeat
•
Customers expect it to be right; they are delighted by the
experience
•
View “the box” as something more – invite them to come back
- Consistent promotions online and in-store
- Samples
- A gift order presents opportunity for extended reach
- Your brand should be … must be… properly extended
5
Market with insight and relevance.
•
Integrate visibility throughout the online platform, OMS and
marketing tools (web analytics, eMail marketing, etc.)
•
Advance segmentation, targeting and A/B testing methodologies
•
Focus investments on measurable revenue drivers
- How do you monetize Facebook or Twitter?
- Do ratings/reviews lift conversion?
•
Optimize your conversion rate
- Actively merchandise
- Understand why they abandon
- Iteratively improve the experience and continually innovate
6
Harness multi-channel capabilities practically.
•
Focus on what you can do today while planning for tomorrow
•
Be realistic in what your organization is prepared to do and what
your customers truly benefit from
•
Low hanging fruit:
- Cross-channel information gathering and customer insight/CRM
- Ship to store/in store pick up
- Expand in-store breadth with kiosks or access on online channel
- Return to store/exchange in store
•
Complex and potentially risky:
- Ship from store to support the online channel
Questions?
Please use “Q&A” function.
Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group
Adam Forrest, Product Marketing Manager, Demandware
Heather Reasonover, Director, Marketing & Interactive Services, PFSweb
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Thank You.
Go to www.demandware.com to Download
Webinar Re-Play and Slide PDF
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