'Net Features : atg

Social Commerce Tools Safe for All Ages

Linc Wonham — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:00:00 GMT

While many Web marketers and merchants want conclusive data before investing in a social commerce campaign, a new report suggests taking action sooner rather than later. According to the study conducted in July 2010, online shoppers in virtually every demographic are becoming increasingly reliant on social commerce tools and platforms.

Below are the key findings from Consumer Shopping Experiences, Preferences and Behaviors, the report released this week from e-commerce solutions provider ATG. The study, deployed by independent research firm MarketTools, polled 1,002 respondents age 18 and older:

•    50 percent of consumers aged 18-34 use Facebook for shopping-related activities such as product research, searching for coupons and interacting with merchants.
•    By comparison, 28 percent of those 35 and older use Facebook for these activities.
•    41 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds use mobile devices to browse or research products or services, up from 23 percent reported in another study released earlier this year.
•    47 percent of those 55 and older discover products via emails from merchants, compared to 41 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds and 39 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds.
•    37 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds consider it “important” or “very important” that merchants provide an opportunity to interact through social networks
•    Nearly 40 percent of those aged 55 and older cited more live help options as an important upgrade for online merchants.
•    15 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds, as well as 15 percent of those over 55, said they use price comparison services when shopping online.

Merchants Want to Re-platform, Re-launch

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:30:00 GMT

A report released today by ATG reveals mid-market merchants' thoughts about their current online storefronts and their plans for the future.

The survey found that 80 percent of mid-sized merchants see e-commerce growth as very important or critical to their overall business in the next 1-3 years. While driving revenue should be the objective of every company, 40 percent of the merchants surveyed said they are not satisfied with their site’s current shopping experience, as it pertains to maximizing revenue potential.

Ninety-eight percent of mid-sized merchants said segmentation and targeting are important to their overall Web and cross-channel merchandising strategy, yet the majority are not satisfied with the business tools they use. Below are some of the specific areas of concern:

• 62% said they would like to improve their ability to offer, control, and manage cross-sells and up-sells to encourage more sales
• 60% said they would like to improve their site search functionalities
• 55% said they would like to improve their ability to offer, control and manage promotions
• 37% said they would like to improve the “help” and customer service features on the site

In regards to current merchandising and promotions tools:

• 66% said they are too manual, not automated enough
• 38% said they are difficult to use
• 30% said they do not have enough control over site content
• 23% said they do not have enough control over the product catalog

When it came to how merchants plan to improve customer experience and their site’s performance to drive additional growth in the near future:

• 53% plan to improve by experimenting with emerging sales channels, such as mobile and social commerce
• 42% plan to improve by investing in add-on services, widgets and tools they can implement on their existing sites
• 33% plan to improve by completely replacing their existing commerce platform and re-launching their web store

"Our study reiterates the strategic role of online channels in growth strategies for mid-sized companies," said Nina McIntyre, ATG's senior vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer. "It's clear many mid-market brands are recognizing the need for more agile and sophisticated business tools that can help them target customer segments efficiently and effectively. Given the importance of e-commerce growth to mid-sized business today and the high dissatisfaction with current business tools and platforms, it's not surprising that a large portion of the market is planning to re-platform their e-commerce infrastructure."

ATG Live Help Options & Chico's

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:56:00 GMT

If you’re an Internet retailer in today’s e-commerce landscape, then you better have a live chat solution available to consumers. Fortunately, these offerings are not in short supply and merchants are realizing their value to conversion.

Case in point, E-commerce solution provider ATG (Art Technology Group) and Web retailer Chicos’s FAS (chicos.com, soma.com) extended their relationship to include a live help strategy by launching ATG’s eStara Click to Chat solution.

“As our business continues to grow, it’s imperative that we are able to provide a seamless cross-channel experience for our Web site visitors,” said Jason Acevedo, director of e-commerce and DTC operations, Chico’s FAS, Inc. “Different customers like to interact with a company in different ways, and therefore we wanted to add features to each of our sites that would help them quickly connect with associates in an efficient way. Each and every customer should have positive experiences with our brands so that they return to our Web stores and physical stores again and again.”

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